Group of protesters in front of the York University subway station protesting the experiments on monkeys.

These people are harassing students and making rude comments, and commenting on peoples' appearances if they don't scan their QR code???

Genuinely what are these guys motives? Verbally harassing and bullying random students?

First of all, I’m asian. I moved to Canada almost 6 yrs ago. Most people think I’m Chinese and nobody really think I’m scary person because my face is much like typical baby asian face. Whenever I talk with someone, I feel anxious because obviously I’m introvert. But the problem is, it’s really hard to talk to white people. I’m not trying to be racist but I’m very serious and want to fix this. Especially those girls with all makeup and long nails, I get scared talking to them.

I do have low self esteem, because I don’t think I’m pretty all the time.

People judging by appearance is something I’m scared of, but I’m also scared of people thinking like “oh that Chinese girl talk to me lol” and giggling with their friends.

Plus I get scared because english is my second language and sometimes I don’t understand what people say… (This kinda made me introvert)

I really don’t like thinking this way and wanna ask for advice for anything that can help :(

First off welcome to York University, I completed my undergrad here, got great friends and have received much support from the university in many regards.

I just want to impart some of my own experiences as maybe guidance and hopefully a picker-upper for some of you entering your first year of university.

Note: This is mostly for ITEC students but can be generalized.

First off: It genuinely gets easier: you guys are in a transition phase where everything feels unfamiliar, I know a lot of you are feeling stressed out about the first exam. I've seen some students get deathly scared, freeze up and watch as the paper infront of them gets turned in blank.

Your first year at this university is meant to be tough, you don't know how to navigate the system yet, you don't know what the expectations are, and most importantly: You do not yet know HOW to study.

Studying in Highschool is structured, the teacher tells you the problem, gives you the homework, you do it and get the same problem regurgitated with different numbers.

University is somewhat similar with the caveat of you needing to Find your own structure. Professors will give you the domain knowledge, it is your job to find an effective way to reinforce that information, the terms, and the methods of solving questions.

Effective usage of AI is very useful here: Not to do your assignment/Quizzes for you, but to give you variation to work off of. A lot of first year midterms/final exams are questions that have already been asked throughout the term. Mark those questions, ask AI to change it a bit, answer them and Validate your own answers yourself.

Learning how to mark your own work makes you an expert in that domain, if you know where the find the mistakes you know how to do the question in any configuration.

Also you will eventually figure this out Some lectures are not worth going to, this depends on the student. Some students genuinely need to be in person to be held responsible and be able to effectively learn, but for some students going to the first couple classes figuring out the structure and seeing how comprehensive the slides/textbook are is enough for some students to soar on their own time. You will have to judge this for yourself, in university you are responsible for your own actions.

2: Abuse Resources:

Ask for feedback, understand the structure of your midterm for your final exam. Just because you did poorly does not mean your term is over, you now have an actual resource to understand how the questions are structured. Where the questions get pulled from, USE THAT to study for your final. I can't count how many times students excel in the Final Exam because they get punched by the Midterm and wake up, If your professor gives you quizzes please use them to study.

Financial Resources are also up for grabs, OSAP if you are domestic. Disability if you have anything, you can get support with this, I did not get diagnosed for ADHD until my 3rd year and my grades skyrocketed as so did funding. You can also get accommodations for assignments, whether that be extra time, leniance on certain requirements, depends on how you work it out with your coordinator.

Global Exchange: you are going to need to build rapport with professors for this, but international exchange is a GREAT experience if you can afford it/get funding (University has a funding program specifically for students with tough financial positions). Getting your free-credits through this program is an amazing experience.

Go to Seminars, or ask your professors for near to come seminars: There are many programs available to students for simply joining these seminars, they are incredibly unpopular and sadly so. Most professors don't even let students know when a seminar is coming but if you ask your professor chances are they will tell you if something is near. If you know a professor is part of the graduate department maybe ask for NSERC opportunities as well, get your hands in the field and have fun!

3: Taking summer semesters: Ok some people are going to hate me for this but for someone with ADHD or for people who get overwhelmed easily. This could be a saver. Taking 100% course load for me was impossible, my grades suffered or my mental health suffered and I burnt out quickly. Then when summer rolled around I spent the entire time recuperating and had to suffer the first couple months to Get back into the groove. Moving some of your course load to summer allows you to: Focus on a smaller amount of courses during the regular semester and also doesn't break the momentum in summer.

You can still have fun in summer, just know that the pace in these summer courses is typically faster and will take some focus but honestly: Fast Paced + Low Load -> Slower Pace + Higher Load did wonders for me.

I was still able to have fun in summer with friends, I was also able to actually have balance and GENUINE breaks during the regular semester.

That's all the advice I can think off the top of my head as I go back home on the TTC to mark some exams.... Tired, if you got any specific questions feel free to DM me or ask on the comments below!

Sorry for the long yap session, good luck all new students!

If all goes well, I should graduate this coming April. However, I have found it difficult lately to enjoy anything extracurricular I've been participating in, because I'll just be distracted by thoughts of "Make the most of this while it lasts. These opportunities are going to end soon. This is 'easy mode' for socializing and forming connections, and you're still not making the most of it? You'll be cooked once you're out in the Real World™, especially in terms of finding a path in life since you still have no idea what you want your career to be. Cherish every second. Why are you not cherishing every second? CHERISH IT!".

I'd be lying if I said this mindset isn't at least partially colored by my experience of not participating in anything in high school, followed by COVID-19 snatching away my final semester of Grade 12 just as I was resolving to be more participatory and outgoing. I suppose I just want to avoid looking back on university with the same regrets as high school.

Things I have done:

• volunteered as a Frosh Leader a couple months ago (although I was only on shift for 28 hours out of like 120; then again as a commuter staying there late every night probably wouldn't have been a good idea)
• am an executive of a club; tabled at the YorkFest Village event last month
• attended a "kegger" at one of the frat houses in the Village (I don't even drink, I just wanted to check "attended a cliche wild college party" off the list; I think I was there for maybe 40 minutes before I thought "this is stupid" and left)
• become more active in clubs lately, especially the Astronomy Club

Does anything else come to mind that you think would be worth trying out?

VOTE TO DECIDE YOUR CITY MAYOR, COUNCILLOR, AND SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEE

If you are a citizen who lives in Toronto, or the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), which includes Keele Campus, head to your voting station and vote fast!!!! Its your last chance!!!

If you live in Keele Campus or next to it, you are likely in Ward 7! Head to Victor Phillip Dahdelah Building! The middle of the ground floor is where you can vote!!!

If you live elsewhere in Toronto or the GTA, use https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/elections/voter-information/myvote/ to find where to vote!!

Bring ID (not just health card) and proof of residence! Pictures and digital info works!!!

Tell your friends! Voting can impact utilities, your TTC or parking or Toronto police and more!!!

GO GO GO

Hi y’all, I found this probably handmade plushie on a bench yesterday. It was outside the building between Accolade East and West. I handed it to security at William Small, so it’s there if you’re looking for it.

I find myself often learning a chapter, doing in chapter review questions, getting them correctly, but then during the exam or if I so textbook questions I start getting things wrong. And then I have to sit there learning how to do certain problems, and it feels like im learning something totally different

Does anyone else have this dilemma or am I just slow..

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have the ADMS2510.com videos for the second midterm saved? If so, please let me know. I’m willing to pay half the original price for access to the videos.

Thank you!

Hey everyone,

I'm currently a student thinking of going into York University's BCom program, specifically for accounting. I'm wondering how good the program is in terms of employability and job opportunities after graduation.

My long-term goal is to pursue my CPA designation and hopefully work at a Big 4 accounting firm. However, I'd also be happy working at a mid-sized public accounting firm.

I'm curious about how realistic these goals are for someone graduating from York's BCom program. Do Big 4 and mid-sized accounting firms ever recruit York BCom students, or is it significantly harder to break into these firms compared to students from other universities?

I'm also wondering how difficult it is to find accounting internships during undergrad as a york student.

I'd love to hear from current students or alumni about their experiences finding internships and full-time accounting positions.

Just feeling extreme sadness.

Think I failed my midterm because I couldn't study well, due to falling ill with a cold. Sucks because it was an easy course. Also, I wouldn't defer this because, one I'm broke, and two the weight would have fallen onto my final exam. Stay safe ✌️

Had the first midterm with Reza, got yorked.

hey yall so what do i do if i sprained my ankle pretty bad over the weekend (yesterday) and im on crutches(3 point gait), and i have 1542 lab tmr alongside all my nursing classes. i’ve been trying to not use my crutches as i can still walk but one wrong move and my ankle hurts soo bad. its swollen like the size of a golf ball on outer area and i genuinely don’t know what to do😭. should i just toughen it out and go? cuz if i miss lab.. im done for, they’re really strict abt that and idk if they’ll even let me go with my crutches

How did you guys do?

soooo how was the midterm 😀...

a happy end to the saga, at least for now: the continuing student scholarship seems to have been revived, after not being given out during the usual period (august-september); if you received it in previous years, you should check your transactions in the student financial services website.

after trying to contact YFS about it for a little while they finally got back to me a little more than a week ago and brought it up with the provost/vice-provost of students. so hopefully the pressure worked and it's back for good, though i'm disappointed it took people here to notice and complain before the university did anything / anyone else noticed.

When do exam schedules come out for this year??

I am assuming everyone has at least one acquaintance in each course where you exchange information from right? Or idk how yall stay informed when prof instructions suck.

I hope we all get good marks!

tmrws the midterm all the information abt calculations is GONE also i hate the textbook so much whys there so much information about the most random thing ever reading it takes me years and feels like im doing an exam but also the long division in chapter 3 will take me out idk if im js not using the most optimal method in terms of time but holy moly im gonna start sobbing. anyways does anyone have advice preferably if ur in itec too cus i feel like im gonna lose my braincells in the span of an hour. also ik its uni but bro math is not my strongest suit esp simple long division typa stuff im dumb asf and i wish there was some more direction cus the textbook is so content heavy (the other chapters) 💔 i could use slides but the prof suggested the textbook im crine

that was actually the worst exam i ever written
i literally cried just thinking about how bad i probably did
i hope—pray even—that i pass cause that was just…

does anyone know if there’ll be a curve??

I went to the Open House yesterday, and while I missed the tour to see the Environmental/Health building, I really liked the advice I was given by some of the York University Students. I specifically am considering Cities Regions Planning and Environmental Science. For those in any of the programs, is it any good and what are the pros/cons?

Has anyone here taken BIOL 2070 (Research Methods in Cell and Molecular Biology)? I could really use some advice on how to study for the exams.

I’m honestly so lost in this course. Most of what we do is lab work, and I find the lectures pretty confusing, so I have no idea what to expect on the exams or what I should even be studying.

For those who’ve taken it before, what are the exams like? Are they mostly based on the lectures, lab procedures, or the concepts behind the experiments? What should I be paying the most attention to, and how did you prepare?

I’ve been so caught up with organic chemistry and genetics that this course has kind of been pushed to the back of my mind, and now I’m worried because I genuinely don’t know where to start.

I’d really appreciate any advice, study tips, or insight into what to expect!