What's The Word YU?

Entering University is an intimidating and scary experience even for the most “prepared” high school graduate. Moving to a new country, leaving behind friends, family and the familiar is another equally intimidating and scary experience. Doing BOTH at the same time can be an extremely overwhelming experience.

Ms. International

Like Pitbull :P

As an international student I did just that. I left behind my home, my culture, my friends and my family to move to Canada for University. Honestly, it was the BEST and most challenging experience of my life. When I first got here I had to deal with the harsh reality that my mom wasn’t there to cook and clean for me. I was on my own. There were some growing pains, (like doing LAUNDRY) but eventually I was able to settle in and find my niche. 

For many international students their first glimpse of Canada will be at the Lester B. Pearson International Airport. I can still remember entering the MASSIVE airport and being amazed by how many people were buzzing around.

After clearing customs and collecting my luggage I walked out into the outer waiting area. In movies when people enter this area they are greeted warmly by family and friends excited to see them, this was NOT my experience!! When I walked out into the greeting area I was met by no one, worst of all I had no idea where I was supposed to go. 

I am VERY happy to report that things have changed and International Students are welcomed as soo as they set foot on Canadian soil!!!

Welcome to your home away from home!

The Pearson Airport and The City of Toronto in conjunction with local post-secondary institutions unveiled a “Student Welcome Program” last year which focused on providing International students with a warm welcome to Canada and support as soon as they arrive! The program was such a huge success last year that they have decided to host the program again this year.

What does this “Welcome” look like?

The City of Toronto will set up ‘welcome’ booths next to the main information booths in both Terminal 1 and 3 of the Pearson International Airport.

At these booths, new International Students will be offered:

-A warm greeting from a current International Student attending an institution in the GTA

-A welcome package

-A free phone call home

-Accommodation and Transportation Support

Does this sound like something you’d be interested in?

Want to know WHEN these booths will be open??

Hours of Operation:

-August 11th- 17th: 7:00am-12 noon and 6:00pm-11:00pm

-August 18th -September 3rd: 7:00am-11:00pm

-September 3rd -10th: 7:00am-12 noon and 6:00pm-11:00pm

If you’re looking for more information feel free to check out this link!

If you’re an International Student and you have the opportunity to experience this service, let me know what it’s like! I’d LOVE to hear about it!

School’s expensive and times are tough…but no worry cuz you’re in LUCK!

I have 3 words for you… STUDENT. FINANCIAL. PROFILE.

Ummm Student Financial Profile? What the heck is that??

Money, Money, Money….MONNNNEEEEYYY!!!

The Basics:

• York University has millions of dollars to give back to students in the form of scholarships and bursaries. Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, while bursaries are awarded year-round to students who demonstrate financial need and are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons. You can access all this simply by filling out an SFP.  

Things you might not know:

• A lot of times students don’t try to apply for scholarships or bursaries because they don’t know what they qualify for or what the requirements are, and then they just miss out on the opportunity to get some help with paying for school. 
• The SFP is amazingly convenient since it takes all the guess work out of the process. It takes about 10 minutes to fill out, it’s an online application and it’s super easy! 
• Financial support is customized to your level of financial need, support could include: loans, grants, bursaries and scholarships. 

Where to find the SFP:

• Head over to: http://sfs.yorku.ca/services/sfp/  to fill out the SFP. 

Want an example of a scholarship?

Show me the MONEEYY!!

• York University Renewable Entrance Scholarships
• York University Continuing Student Scholarships

Want an example of a Private Award? 

• William and Nona Heaslip Scholarship
• It is awarded to an undergraduate student who has made outstanding contributions to community life, social action, neighbourhood development or who has demonstrated leadership at York. 
• It is RENEWABLE for two years. 

My tips:

• You never know what you might qualify for…so fill it out. 
• To all my international students out there…we don’t qualify for OSAP or the Ontario Tuition Grant… buttt we do have access to the SFP. So fill it out…you never know what kind of help you could get. 

Another GREAT thing about the SFP is that when you fill it out…you become work-study eligible. That means that you can get a job on campus. Working on campus is AMAZING and soo convenient, if you want to know more check out my friend Lindsey’s blog: http://yulindseyo.blogspot.ca/ for some totes cool info all about on campus jobs!

If you have any more questions about the SFP feel free to ask me anything in the comments sections!

Nicole

I’ve never thought of myself as SUPER outgoing. Some people think that I’m super confident and totally into talking to random people, but I’m a very private person, and there are times when I’m REALLY SHY!

Me and My Partner in Crime

a.k.a Me and My sister

So when people ask me “How do you know so many people on campus? or Wow you’re so friendly!” I’m always a little surprised…”Who? You mean me?” is my typical response.

In high school we all know our place, we know who our friends are and we have settled into our nest. But in university it’s a completely different situation. Suddenly we’re not the captain of the team, we’re not the A.V. geek we’re all BRAND new people. We can become anything we want!

This can be overwhelming even for the most outgoing among us.

So how can you meet people or make friends? Excellent question!

My strategy is to just start talking!! Everyone is nervous, everyone wants to meet people, everyone wants to make a friend…ESPECIALLY in first year.

Here’s a few conversation starters for those novice conversationalists

-Random Conversations in class:

1. Hey! What’s your major/ What are you studying?

2. How do you like the class/ prof/ t.a.

3. How are you finding the readings?

4. Hey do you know the quickest way to (insert building)

5.I really like your scarf…bag…belt…shoes (make sure you do…people can always tell when you’re not being genuine! Don’t LIE! )

You meet the most amazing, interesting and unique people in a school the size of York. There are students from over 155 countries that attend school here…just look at me for example I’m an international student from The Bahamas, I’m one example of the diversity that surrounds you when you come to York.

“Tell me more” keeps the convo rolling!

People LOVE to talk and they always want a chance to tell their story…I saw an AMAZING speech by Tony Conte who gave the following tip for talking to people that you don’t know…

-When you’re talking to someone that you don’t really know, ask them to TELL YOU MORE about their major, interests, future plans…basically anything that will keep the conversation going.

Honestly I use this tip all the time and it really works. I have met TONS of new people and asking them to TELL ME MORE about their hobbies, religions and interests has made our conversations much more interesting.

The people that I’ve met while I’ve been here have been changed my life in the most unexpected ways. I didn’t expect to like York as much as I do now. I thought…I’ll be done with this place in 4 years and then I can get on with my life. I’ve been here for going on 6 years and honestly I don’t know how I’m going to handle having to leave…I don’t even want to think about!

Seriously take the time to talk to the person next to you in class, in line at the book store, in tutorial or even the people standing next to you in the Second Cup line!

You never know where or how you’ll meet your new BEST FRIEND! Try out these tips and let me know how they work out for you…or if you have some other tips that you want to share with me feel free to add them in the comments section!

Please TELL ME MORE about your conversation starters!

Nicole

You can ask any upper year student, at any college or university world wide “what is one thing that you know now that you wish you knew in first year?” and I guarantee that they will have A LOT to say.

The truth is there is always more to learn, more to discover and more to enjoy at university. There’s a TON of stuff that I didn’t know about when I first started here that would have made my first year a lot less stressful! Things that I only know about now as a result of personal inquiry and experience.

Here’s a few things that I know now, that I WISH I knew when I was in first year!

-There are five libraries at York’s Keele Campus and one library at Glendon, as a York student you can use ALL the libraries.

—In first year I assumed that Scott Library on the Keele Campus was the ONLY library. Whenever it was crowded I figured there was no where else I could go to study so I would found myself trying to study in my residence room whenever I couldn’t find a place to sit in Scott; that resulted in a LOT of breaks and ineffective studying. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t until well into my 3rd year that I discovered all the libraries at Keele.

Scott Library…bigg huh?

- There is more to do on campus then just go to class and go home (or back to residence).

—I figured that there must be clubs or student organizations at York. I mean come-on a school this size had to have something going on other than class. However I didn’t really know what was going on since there was no coordinated club directory. My first year was WAYY back in the day before YU Connect. I’m happy to say that now York has an organized listing of all the recognized clubs and student orientation, so getting involved is easier than ever before! So avoid the commuter trap and find a way to get involved on campus.

- Lecture and Tutorial are two separate but IMPORTANT components of a class.

—In my first year I was under the impression that Tutorial was optional and that attendance didn’t matter much. I QUICKLY learned that I was MISTAKEN! Lecture and Tutorial work together to make the material come alive. Lecture introduces new ideas and concepts and Tutorial allows you to work with these ideas and really learn something new. I can’t tell you how important it is to attend both Lecture and Tutorial. Anyone that tells you any differently is doing you and themselves a major disservice.

Check out this lecture!

- Don’t be afraid to ask questions!!!

—In high school you might hear from teachers “In university you’ll be just a number to your professors and t.a’s,” your friends that have gone on to university might say “Don’t ask questions, prof’s hate it when you ask questions in seminars!” When I first got to York I was completely intimidated by the class sizes and asking questions basically the whole she-bang was majorly overwhelming.

Be brave…it’s worth it!

What I learned through the years is that you might be recognized as a number at first but if you make the effort to get to know your professors and t.a’s you’ll become recognized as a student and as a person. Also professors LOVE it when students are engaged in class. Asking questions and challenging assumptions let’s the professors know that you care about the class and you are working with the material. ALL GOOD THINGS!

If I can offer an additional piece of advice I’d say…don’t be afraid to go and visit professors at their office hours. They like to talk about their work, the material and their class, and more importantly they like to interact with students. Make the effort and it will pay off. We’re not children any more, if you want something you can’t wait for it to come to you, you have to go out and get it yourself!

That’s mee in first year…my my my

how much I’ve learned since then!

Well those are a few things that I WISH I knew in first year!