University of Toronto iSchool

[frannyt]

@Nick.lb hey, the meet and greet was pretty good! Basically discussed a lot of preliminary things. started out with a welcome talk, talked about student services and affairs (ex: co-op option). Then moved into a student panel discussion about the different programs. Heard the students speak about their experiences, etc. Lastly we got a small tour around the school before the meet and greet part. Teachers weren't around, but are going to be present at the second event on July 8th (which is supposed to be more focused on registration). 

 

@Legacy23 I have been told by most places I have contacted that I am too early in the process. Usually the earliest you can inquire is approx 3 months prior to a move in date. These are the sites I have been using though:

https://www.padmapper.com/ (my personal favourite)

http://www.rentseeker.ca/

https://www.torontorentals.com/

https://www.casalova.com (also pretty good)

A friend of mine also added me to a group on fbk where people post about rentals and people who are looking for roommates and stuff (could be good for you!), but its a closed group I think. So you need someone to invite you (you can check the group to see if you know anyone who is in it and then ask them to invite you to it, its called Bunz Home Zone). Hope this helps! 

[Supratim Chakraborty]

12 hours ago, Legacy23 said:

Does anyone want to share a 2/3bhk apartment ? 

@frannyt @Spzr did you guys find any decent apartments near UofT? I have been trying to look around , but haven't had much luck as yet. 

 

when are you planning to begin the house hunting, I will be coming last week of august so I guess looking right now will be a bit too early

[Taylorski]

@Legacy23 I also need to look for a place in Toronto, and would be interested in looking together!

Kijiji, depending on how comfortable you are with the concept, is also a good place to look, it's where I've found past apartments.

The most important thing I got out of the meet and greet was that there was another session on July 7th and that funding information should come out next week

[Nick.lb]

@Spzr @frannyt Thanks for the info, sounds like it was informative. Did they mention if there would be a second Meet & Greet for students accepted in the coming weeks?

Also, were there alot of students present for Fall 2017?

[Legacy23]

5 hours ago, frannyt said:

@Nick.lb hey, the meet and greet was pretty good! Basically discussed a lot of preliminary things. started out with a welcome talk, talked about student services and affairs (ex: co-op option). Then moved into a student panel discussion about the different programs. Heard the students speak about their experiences, etc. Lastly we got a small tour around the school before the meet and greet part. Teachers weren't around, but are going to be present at the second event on July 8th (which is supposed to be more focused on registration). 

 

@Legacy23 I have been told by most places I have contacted that I am too early in the process. Usually the earliest you can inquire is approx 3 months prior to a move in date. These are the sites I have been using though:

https://www.padmapper.com/ (my personal favourite)

http://www.rentseeker.ca/

https://www.torontorentals.com/

https://www.casalova.com (also pretty good)

A friend of mine also added me to a group on fbk where people post about rentals and people who are looking for roommates and stuff (could be good for you!), but its a closed group I think. So you need someone to invite you (you can check the group to see if you know anyone who is in it and then ask them to invite you to it, its called Bunz Home Zone). Hope this helps! 

Thank you so much! Also, did they discuss about co-op and career options/procedure in the meet & greet event ?

[Legacy23]

@Spzr @Taylorski @Supratim Chakraborty Oh I guess it IS too early to start for me then. I'd be moving to Toronto in August. Should probably start house-hunting some time in June? I was just worried cause alot of residences around UofT have already started filling up pretty quickly.

[Nick.lb]

5 hours ago, Legacy23 said:

@Spzr @Taylorski @Supratim Chakraborty Oh I guess it IS too early to start for me then. I'd be moving to Toronto in August. Should probably start house-hunting some time in June? I was just worried cause alot of residences around UofT have already started filling up pretty quickly.

I applied to the UofT gradhouse and offers should be sent out around June. So in case I don't get an offer, i'd also be interested in looking for an appt. Do you know what the average rent is around campus?

[Legacy23]

@Nick.lb Downtown, toronto is ridiculously expensive. The residences affiliated with toronto - parkside and campusone are really great but around 1400$-1600$ per month. There are plenty of condos and semi-furnished/furnished apartment about 20 mins walk to campus for around 700-900$ . 

As frannyt and spzr mentioned earlier, if we look for an apartment further away and not just in downtown, we might be able to find a good deal. 

[frannyt]

@Nick.lb I don't think there is another meet and greet specifically, but there is an event on July 8th. I think in general its the same concept but more specific since all decisions will be sent out by then. Honestly not a huge group. I'd guess maybe somewhere between like 40-50 students like max?? Not totally sure though. 

@Legacy23 they discussed co-op and career options briefly. I imagine they will discuss it again in July. The session was supposed to be taped for students who couldnt go so maybe message Andrea to see if you can get a link to it or something. 

 

I am personally going to start looking in may for an apartment available in August. Turnover for apartments and stuff is pretty high so I think between May and June is the best time for anyone looking in August (based on what I have been told and stuff). I find the prices range so much in toronto its insane. all depends on what you're looking for. 

[Nick.lb]

13 minutes ago, Legacy23 said:

@Nick.lb Downtown, toronto is ridiculously expensive. The residences affiliated with toronto - parkside and campusone are really great but around 1400$-1600$ per month. There are plenty of condos and semi-furnished/furnished apartment about 20 mins walk to campus for around 700-900$ . 

As frannyt and spzr mentioned earlier, if we look for an apartment further away and not just in downtown, we might be able to find a good deal. 

A 20min walk isn't that bad, but I agree finding an appt a bit farther would definitely be more affordable. A standard room in the gradhouse is around $950 which is pretty good since the gym is a walk away and you're essentially in downtown. I don't currently live in Canada so I thought living on campus for a semester would be a good choice

[Spzr]

Rent downtown is crazy expensive. From my own experience (I've been living in Toronto for many years), a 1 bedroom appt within a 20 min walk to campus will be $1500-1900 

[M.gooseberry]

8 hours ago, Spzr said:

Rent downtown is crazy expensive. From my own experience (I've been living in Toronto for many years), a 1 bedroom appt within a 20 min walk to campus will be $1500-1900 

Hey Spzr! My bf got accepted to the SPPG so we are looking for a one-bedroom place close to campus. Do you have any recommendations? Also Im curious, how bad would it be to walk for 20 min to campus in the winter lol...?

[Taylorski]

@Nick.lb My problem with the gradhouse is that its incredibly restrictive. I know they are liable for anything that happens, but if Im paying almost 1000$ I want to be able to have people over whenever I want, and my boyfriend for overnight, instead of having to register them and have them in a different room.

@M.gooseberry A 20 minute walk in the winter in Toronto isn't too bad, they clear the streets pretty quickly, but walking in the winter in Canada in general is just something that everyone has to deal with

It's pretty easy to find rooms in apartments for around 800-900. The Kensington Market is a great place to look, as well as around Little Italy and Korea Town. The transit system may not always run on time in Toronto, but its pretty damn good.

[Nick.lb]

41 minutes ago, Taylorski said:

@Nick.lb My problem with the gradhouse is that its incredibly restrictive. I know they are liable for anything that happens, but if Im paying almost 1000$ I want to be able to have people over whenever I want, and my boyfriend for overnight, instead of having to register them and have them in a different room.

@M.gooseberry A 20 minute walk in the winter in Toronto isn't too bad, they clear the streets pretty quickly, but walking in the winter in Canada in general is just something that everyone has to deal with

It's pretty easy to find rooms in apartments for around 800-900. The Kensington Market is a great place to look, as well as around Little Italy and Korea Town. The transit system may not always run on time in Toronto, but its pretty damn good.

I agree on-campus housing can get annoying, especially since you can only have overnight visitors 3 nights per month (according to their website). Not sure about their policy about having friends over, but I think you can get away with stuff if you're room mates are chill. Never heard about having to register people when they come over... 

[Taylorski]

@Nick.lb I honestly cannot remember where I heard that, it might have changed since the last time I saw it. I'm more worried about the overnight guests policy. They do have a 'guest room' for overnight guests but it costs $85, so maybe thats what I'm thinking of.

I've just been looking around tonight at apartments that are available, I've been able to find 2+ bedroom apartments that would round out to less than $1000 a month

[Legacy23]

@frannyt Thanks! How good is the MI co-op program anyway? I heard the best co-op program in Canada is that of Waterloo.

[Legacy23]

2 hours ago, Taylorski said:

@Nick.lb I honestly cannot remember where I heard that, it might have changed since the last time I saw it. I'm more worried about the overnight guests policy. They do have a 'guest room' for overnight guests but it costs $85, so maybe thats what I'm thinking of.

I've just been looking around tonight at apartments that are available, I've been able to find 2+ bedroom apartments that would round out to less than $1000 a month

Which area are you looking at ? 2 bhk for 1000$ is a really good deal!

[RabbitCreek]

7 hours ago, Nick.lb said:

@Nick.lb My problem with the gradhouse is that its incredibly restrictive. I know they are liable for anything that happens, but if Im paying almost 1000$ I want to be able to have people over whenever I want, and my boyfriend for overnight, instead of having to register them and have them in a different room.

I agree on-campus housing can get annoying, especially since you can only have overnight visitors 3 nights per month (according to their website). Not sure about their policy about having friends over, but I think you can get away with stuff if you're room mates are chill. Never heard about having to register people when they come over... 

From my understanding, this isn't a thing for GradHouse. The handbook says it's preferred that you don't have guests for over 3 consecutive nights or over 9 days within a given month, but it is not a hard and fast rule (http://gradhouse.utoronto.ca/residents/policies/, pg. 22). Roughly speaking, try keep your over night shenanigans to the weekend. Also, I don't remember there being any sign-in policy for guests when I was around there last year with some people. It isn't designed for undergrads, so they kind of assume that you are responsible.

EDIT:

Oh, and the $55/85 guest rooms are just so that if your mom wants to stay in the building but you don't want to sleep with her. I mean, i don't know, I don't judge.

Edited April 4, 2017 by RabbitCreek

[frannyt]

5 hours ago, Legacy23 said:

@frannyt Thanks! How good is the MI co-op program anyway? I heard the best co-op program in Canada is that of Waterloo.

Hey, I'm not really sure how good it is. Dont know many details about it. Based on my understanding the program is pretty small. Only 30 students did co-op last year (if i remember correctly). They didn't promote it all that much. I think the idea of the program is theres tons of options and they emphasized co-op is only one of those. 

[Legacy23]

41 minutes ago, frannyt said:

Hey, I'm not really sure how good it is. Dont know many details about it. Based on my understanding the program is pretty small. Only 30 students did co-op last year (if i remember correctly). They didn't promote it all that much. I think the idea of the program is theres tons of options and they emphasized co-op is only one of those. 

Oh you mean it wasn't promoted that much or only 30 students get to go for a co-op? 

Also, if suppose you take the 8 months co-op option, do you have to pay 1200$(co-op fees) PLUS the tuition for that term?  Does anyone know anything about this? 

[Taylorski]

@Legacy23 Sorry I meant less than $1000 per person. I've found a few on offcampushousing.utoronto.ca, I found a nice three bedroom for 850 each for example and it's in the Annex. I've also found some the in Kensington Market area as well as Church and Wellesley

[Nick.lb]

4 hours ago, RabbitCreek said:

From my understanding, this isn't a thing for GradHouse. The handbook says it's preferred that you don't have guests for over 3 consecutive nights or over 9 days within a given month, but it is not a hard and fast rule (http://gradhouse.utoronto.ca/residents/policies/, pg. 22). Roughly speaking, try keep your over night shenanigans to the weekend. Also, I don't remember there being any sign-in policy for guests when I was around there last year with some people. It isn't designed for undergrads, so they kind of assume that you are responsible.

EDIT:

Oh, and the $55/85 guest rooms are just so that if your mom wants to stay in the building but you don't want to sleep with her. I mean, i don't know, I don't judge.

Hey, so I'm guessing you're a current student at the iSchool? To my understanding, you moved out of the Grad House since last year?

[Spzr]

@M.gooseberry The Annex and Kensington Market are nice neighbourhoods and close to campus. And a 20 min walk in winter is not that bad, some days are worse than others but it's manageable.

 

@Legacy23 The coop program was just introduced last year and that may be why only 30 students were placed. This year I think there are more placements available but I can't remember the exact figure they gave at the meet and greet. Whether you choose one 8-month or two 4-month coop you still need to pay the usual fall/winter tuition (you don't have to pay summer term because it's included in your regular fall/winter tuition), plus the $1200 auxiliary fee. But remember that coop work is paid so it kinda works out. I have a friend that graduated from the MI and did coop and he says many of his classmates that did coop got job offers out of it so it seems like a pretty good program. Here is some more info on coop:

https://ischool.utoronto.ca/current-students/courses/master-of-information-mi/mi-elective-option-co-op/

 

[Legacy23]

1 hour ago, Taylorski said:

@Legacy23 Sorry I meant less than $1000 per person. I've found a few on offcampushousing.utoronto.ca, I found a nice three bedroom for 850 each for example and it's in the Annex. I've also found some the in Kensington Market area as well as Church and Wellesley

Yep, I found some really great apartments on toronto's off campus housing website. But again, I guess it's just too early to look for an apartment right now as most of the postings are for subletting in summer. 

However, I did find fully-furnished apartments for around 850-900$ per room. Some of the landlords have agreed to put me on a priority list. Will probably check again with them in june. 

[Taylorski]

@Legacy23 Where are you coming from?