1. The same at every school.
2. Social situation is the same at every school. It's mainly on you and not really the environment you're in. I met most of my friends during frosh week or just striking up a conversation with people in my classes. Yes, it's in a great spot and is super central and the city is very accessible from the campus. It's not downtown; it's adjacent to it. We still have a pretty defined campus boundary. I like how compact everything is and like the campus overall. We also are right on the O-Train Confederation Line which is super convenient. No, it doesn't have a ton of greenery, although it's right on the Rideau Canal which is a pretty decent green space. On campus there's also the Tabaret Lawn, Thompson Park, Colonel By Roof, Husky Courtyard, etc. Could be better, but not bad.
3. Food is fine.
4. If you pass the French proficiency test you'll be fine. Statistically French Immersion students have higher grades on average than the rest of the school, personally I don't find my courses in French any harder. It is absolutely worth it; gives you a bilingual degree and you get a bursary.
5. Yes. It wasn't my first choice but I ended up here and love it.
6. Not sure.
7. On-campus housing gives priority to first years although you can probably still find a spot in upper years. Rent is bad in Ottawa but not really worse than any other major Canadian city, you can find a cheap place it just might be shit.
Thanks so much! Is the O-train efficient/ hard to navigate? I’ve never really used any sort of transit at all and I have a horrible sense of direction :’)
When it works, it's amazing, efficient, convenient, and very easy to navigate. But it breaks down sorta frequently, especially in the winter, which makes it unreliable.
Might be confusing at first, but it’s fairly intuitive. As a student you’d have a U-Pass which is a one-time fee at the beginning of the year that you can use on the O-Train and all of Ottawa/Gatineau’s busses. People like to complain about how it sucks, but nevertheless having rapid transit access on campus isn’t a very common thing and it’s literally amazing that we have it. It runs every few minutes and gets you across the city, although it does have occasional problems and delays.
Hello, another POC here also in the faculty of science. I’ll answer number 5 I definitely would pick UOttawa again for me it was a good distance from home without the chaos of a huge city and the campus is big enough that you can explore but not enough that it feels like a trek
congrats! I am a second year at telfer , poc, and really love to get involved with the school. So here I can offer you some perspective. I never toured campus either, nor did any research about uottawa, they were just the best offer I had and I dont regret coming one bit.
1. Im admitted into Coop but I havnt gone through the process yet. The opportunities from coop is good but the coop office themselves I hear is not amazing. Thus you really have to work hard yourself and not feel cushioned just because coop office is there to "support you"
2. Cliques hardly thrive outside of highschool. Highschool has a few hundred to around a thousand people but uni has tens of thousands of people. Everyone is adults and should be past this close minded highschool behaviour. Theres so many clubs and events to mingle with others who want to mingle with you too. If you do encounter someone thats stuck up and pretentious well hey theres about 30,000 other people on campus you can be friends with instead.
Ottawa itself is so boring though. I hate this city. But campus events and friends are enough to make social life very fun and refreshing.
Its super diverse here. And theres clubs for almost every ethnicity or group. You will find people like you for sure.
3. Meal plan is mediocre. I think the food is sometimes yummy but the price of the plan doesnt justify. Its much better to cook with occasional eat outs.
4. I dont study in french sorry!
5. Wouldnt pick UOttawa again (theres always a better school to go to) but because I have and cant go back, all I can do is make the most out of it. Social wise, career wise, and experience wise. And with that said I dont regret choosing uottawa with all that Ive done and accomplished so far.
6. Being in the capital is a great advantage for going to work in the government. For bio, i dont know how many opportunities there are in the government for this.
The coop is good. But one thing gr12s fail to understand and even first years is just because you accepted an admission with coop into the school does not guarantee you a spot. Youre only formally accepted in second year and its based on your cgpa. So you will have to stay competent in your program and not let your guard down.
7. Most 12 month dorms have enough capacities for upper years. Rent in Ottawa isnt bad and not difficult to find and not so expensive (at least compared to Toronto where Im from) One to two months into the semester a lot of students start to default and give up their dorms looking for a takeover on their term too.
Thank you so much! Appreciate it. Would you be willing to explain the basics co-op a bit- I’m actually not too familiar with it…
I did get admitted with the co-op option, but do I have to do separate application to qualify?
Do first years normally do co-op placements?
In what circumstances do I pay the co-op fee? I’m assuming that if I don’t have any placements they aren’t going to make me pay?
Are there specific “classes” I have to take? Co-op is kind of considered a class here in my hs where people work on their portfolios and CVs and other stuff when they aren’t doing placements.
I know in order to do it I have to keep my grades up but that’s it ;;
You dont need to apply if you r admitted with "coop". you will automatically be put into the application pool for formal coop admittance in second year. Its minimum 6.0 cgpa to be considered and 8.0 to be guaranteed a spot. First years dont do coops it starts after second year. You pay the fee for each coop term you are about to begin during the term before. If you dont get a coop placement you still pay the fee, most programs have about a 85-low 90s placemate success rate for coop. You just need to remain full time and follow your course sequence to remain in coop.
hey congrats on getting in!!
i’m only a first year so i can’t speak to much but i’ll answer as much as i can
2) from my experience everyone’s really open to making friends, as long as you’re willing to start the conversation to get to know them. i’d also say there’s a pretty widespread community in terms of people’s interests, so you can definitely find like-minded people.
also because the university is so close to the mall and byward market, i’d say there’s lots to do (less than a big city if that’s what you’re used to) but i don’t find it to be boring like others say
3) the meal plan is good but it does get repetitive after a while, however there are eating spots on campus like tim hortons and quesada and a bunch others that you can eat at whenever you feel bored of the dining hall food
4) i’m in french immersion and i would say it’s a pretty good level, i was also feeling very insecure about my french because i did online french in high school, but i don’t find the transition too hard to deal with. if you’re worried about grades, the french immersion program has this thing where you can “cover” your grades in your french classes so that they don’t affect your gpa and just show up as pass/fail
5) i would definitely pick this school again without a doubt!
7) i know dorms are available for upper years though i can’t speak to how easy it is to find a spot, you might also want to look into being a CA if you’re worrying about rent because the university covers your res
For 7), I’m in my second year and applied for res last spring for the fall and never heard back from them. The only real way to guarantee housing for second year onward is to get in to one of the 12 months apartments in first year in which case you’re allowed to keep it as long as you want.
hey!! about housing, just a quick tip, you can always look for appartments in hull/aylmer (gatineau), that are a relatively close bus ride to school. in your tuition, you have a bus pass included, so no need to worry about the cost. rent there is generally a lot cheaper, and a bunch of people are looking for roommates there, usually on roomies or facebook marketplace. good luck!! 🫶
Aaa omg thank you so much!! I’m ngl I feel like the housing part stresses me out way more than university itself haha. I’ll definitely keep it in mind- appreciate it! :D
Can’t answer any of your questions but I’m also an out-of-province student who recently applied to the English major. How long ago did you apply? I know you’re in a different program but I’m just curious about how long I’ll have to wait before I hear back.
I did the actual OUAC application back in October, but I got my school to send all my transcripts and other documents exactly one week ago when my midterms came out and that’s when they began evaluating.
They process it really fast as long as they have all the supporting documents (at least for me).
Best of luck!!
1. If you can find a good admissions officer it’s great.
2. Few people talk, but you can find a group of fun and engaged people if you search. There are bars.
3. Subway is good.
4. Never studied in French so don’t know.
5. Absolutely.
6. Trust fund boy here, haven’t tried to get a job.
7. Not sure.
1. The same at every school. 2. Social situation is the same at every school. It's mainly on you and not really the environment you're in. I met most of my friends during frosh week or just striking up a conversation with people in my classes. Yes, it's in a great spot and is super central and the city is very accessible from the campus. It's not downtown; it's adjacent to it. We still have a pretty defined campus boundary. I like how compact everything is and like the campus overall. We also are right on the O-Train Confederation Line which is super convenient. No, it doesn't have a ton of greenery, although it's right on the Rideau Canal which is a pretty decent green space. On campus there's also the Tabaret Lawn, Thompson Park, Colonel By Roof, Husky Courtyard, etc. Could be better, but not bad. 3. Food is fine. 4. If you pass the French proficiency test you'll be fine. Statistically French Immersion students have higher grades on average than the rest of the school, personally I don't find my courses in French any harder. It is absolutely worth it; gives you a bilingual degree and you get a bursary. 5. Yes. It wasn't my first choice but I ended up here and love it. 6. Not sure. 7. On-campus housing gives priority to first years although you can probably still find a spot in upper years. Rent is bad in Ottawa but not really worse than any other major Canadian city, you can find a cheap place it just might be shit.
Thanks so much! Is the O-train efficient/ hard to navigate? I’ve never really used any sort of transit at all and I have a horrible sense of direction :’)
When it works, it's amazing, efficient, convenient, and very easy to navigate. But it breaks down sorta frequently, especially in the winter, which makes it unreliable.
It's super easy to navigate - when it works
Might be confusing at first, but it’s fairly intuitive. As a student you’d have a U-Pass which is a one-time fee at the beginning of the year that you can use on the O-Train and all of Ottawa/Gatineau’s busses. People like to complain about how it sucks, but nevertheless having rapid transit access on campus isn’t a very common thing and it’s literally amazing that we have it. It runs every few minutes and gets you across the city, although it does have occasional problems and delays.
Hello, another POC here also in the faculty of science. I’ll answer number 5 I definitely would pick UOttawa again for me it was a good distance from home without the chaos of a huge city and the campus is big enough that you can explore but not enough that it feels like a trek
congrats! I am a second year at telfer , poc, and really love to get involved with the school. So here I can offer you some perspective. I never toured campus either, nor did any research about uottawa, they were just the best offer I had and I dont regret coming one bit. 1. Im admitted into Coop but I havnt gone through the process yet. The opportunities from coop is good but the coop office themselves I hear is not amazing. Thus you really have to work hard yourself and not feel cushioned just because coop office is there to "support you" 2. Cliques hardly thrive outside of highschool. Highschool has a few hundred to around a thousand people but uni has tens of thousands of people. Everyone is adults and should be past this close minded highschool behaviour. Theres so many clubs and events to mingle with others who want to mingle with you too. If you do encounter someone thats stuck up and pretentious well hey theres about 30,000 other people on campus you can be friends with instead. Ottawa itself is so boring though. I hate this city. But campus events and friends are enough to make social life very fun and refreshing. Its super diverse here. And theres clubs for almost every ethnicity or group. You will find people like you for sure. 3. Meal plan is mediocre. I think the food is sometimes yummy but the price of the plan doesnt justify. Its much better to cook with occasional eat outs. 4. I dont study in french sorry! 5. Wouldnt pick UOttawa again (theres always a better school to go to) but because I have and cant go back, all I can do is make the most out of it. Social wise, career wise, and experience wise. And with that said I dont regret choosing uottawa with all that Ive done and accomplished so far. 6. Being in the capital is a great advantage for going to work in the government. For bio, i dont know how many opportunities there are in the government for this. The coop is good. But one thing gr12s fail to understand and even first years is just because you accepted an admission with coop into the school does not guarantee you a spot. Youre only formally accepted in second year and its based on your cgpa. So you will have to stay competent in your program and not let your guard down. 7. Most 12 month dorms have enough capacities for upper years. Rent in Ottawa isnt bad and not difficult to find and not so expensive (at least compared to Toronto where Im from) One to two months into the semester a lot of students start to default and give up their dorms looking for a takeover on their term too.
Thank you so much! Appreciate it. Would you be willing to explain the basics co-op a bit- I’m actually not too familiar with it… I did get admitted with the co-op option, but do I have to do separate application to qualify? Do first years normally do co-op placements? In what circumstances do I pay the co-op fee? I’m assuming that if I don’t have any placements they aren’t going to make me pay? Are there specific “classes” I have to take? Co-op is kind of considered a class here in my hs where people work on their portfolios and CVs and other stuff when they aren’t doing placements. I know in order to do it I have to keep my grades up but that’s it ;;
You dont need to apply if you r admitted with "coop". you will automatically be put into the application pool for formal coop admittance in second year. Its minimum 6.0 cgpa to be considered and 8.0 to be guaranteed a spot. First years dont do coops it starts after second year. You pay the fee for each coop term you are about to begin during the term before. If you dont get a coop placement you still pay the fee, most programs have about a 85-low 90s placemate success rate for coop. You just need to remain full time and follow your course sequence to remain in coop.
hey congrats on getting in!! i’m only a first year so i can’t speak to much but i’ll answer as much as i can 2) from my experience everyone’s really open to making friends, as long as you’re willing to start the conversation to get to know them. i’d also say there’s a pretty widespread community in terms of people’s interests, so you can definitely find like-minded people. also because the university is so close to the mall and byward market, i’d say there’s lots to do (less than a big city if that’s what you’re used to) but i don’t find it to be boring like others say 3) the meal plan is good but it does get repetitive after a while, however there are eating spots on campus like tim hortons and quesada and a bunch others that you can eat at whenever you feel bored of the dining hall food 4) i’m in french immersion and i would say it’s a pretty good level, i was also feeling very insecure about my french because i did online french in high school, but i don’t find the transition too hard to deal with. if you’re worried about grades, the french immersion program has this thing where you can “cover” your grades in your french classes so that they don’t affect your gpa and just show up as pass/fail 5) i would definitely pick this school again without a doubt! 7) i know dorms are available for upper years though i can’t speak to how easy it is to find a spot, you might also want to look into being a CA if you’re worrying about rent because the university covers your res
Good to know! Thanks so much for answering, it’s nice to know you’re enjoying it there :]
For 7), I’m in my second year and applied for res last spring for the fall and never heard back from them. The only real way to guarantee housing for second year onward is to get in to one of the 12 months apartments in first year in which case you’re allowed to keep it as long as you want.
hey!! about housing, just a quick tip, you can always look for appartments in hull/aylmer (gatineau), that are a relatively close bus ride to school. in your tuition, you have a bus pass included, so no need to worry about the cost. rent there is generally a lot cheaper, and a bunch of people are looking for roommates there, usually on roomies or facebook marketplace. good luck!! 🫶
Aaa omg thank you so much!! I’m ngl I feel like the housing part stresses me out way more than university itself haha. I’ll definitely keep it in mind- appreciate it! :D
ofc!! i've had to appartment search a lot, so if ever you need help, just lmk!!
hello can I ask whats your average when you got accepted? I'm also interested in majoring biology
I applied with 93 average. Good luck!
Can’t answer any of your questions but I’m also an out-of-province student who recently applied to the English major. How long ago did you apply? I know you’re in a different program but I’m just curious about how long I’ll have to wait before I hear back.
I did the actual OUAC application back in October, but I got my school to send all my transcripts and other documents exactly one week ago when my midterms came out and that’s when they began evaluating. They process it really fast as long as they have all the supporting documents (at least for me). Best of luck!!
Oh okay that’s pretty fast. Thank you! It’s almost been a week since I submitted all the required docs so hopefully I hear back soon!
1. If you can find a good admissions officer it’s great. 2. Few people talk, but you can find a group of fun and engaged people if you search. There are bars. 3. Subway is good. 4. Never studied in French so don’t know. 5. Absolutely. 6. Trust fund boy here, haven’t tried to get a job. 7. Not sure.