There are various factors you should consider when choosing the right university for you. Now, I advise my students to apply to multiple schools for obvious reasons, but if you are set on applying to the one school of your choice, you may do so as well. While you do your research on some if not all of these schools, here are important things to look for.
1. Have a rough idea of what courses the school offers
I know it may seem like it's way too far in advance for you to be checking out courses offered by the school. But having a skim over them will give you an idea of whether majority of the courses is in fact in alignment with what you'd be interested in taking. For instance, Queen's Health Sciences program offers courses from cell biology, chemistry to mental health and more and my students have said that most of these courses were what they would be interested in learning. Frankly, the same program offered by different schools will usually offer similar courses, in which case you'd consider other factors to choose the right school for you. My point is, you don't want to show up to school just to realize that all of these courses are not what you were expecting, this would only delay you a year if you decide to transfer to other programs or other schools (let alone all the process you must go through to transfer).
2. Internship/externship programs
It is also worthwhile to check if your school offers good internship/externship programs. This is because you may decide you want to begin work while you're in school, and with lots of internship/externship opportunities, it will be a lot easier for you to find work in the relevant field. For instance, Queen's University offers QUIP which is a 12-16 month internship program you can involve yourself in at the end of 2nd year or in 3rd year. After that period, you can always come back to finish off the rest of school. Major universities generally provide ample opportunity, so if you find one that intrigues you the most, you may consider this another factor for choosing the right school.
3. Location
Where the university is located is certainly another important factor to consider. Some students want to be near their family and others the opposite. Personally, when I had to choose between Western dental school (a bit more suburban) and University of Toronto (major city), I chose the latter because of the perks of the city life such as food, drinks and entertainment. Likewise, you may research the area near your schools of choice. If you like the quiet and peaceful area, you'd want to pick schools that are more out in the suburban area. If you want to enjoy the city life like I did, then pick schools located at or in close proximity to the city. And obviously you'd want to see whether the area is a safe neighbourhood with no major safety issues (check the news from time to time!).
4. Residence
I know a student of mine who chose the school solely based on the quality of the dorms. Whatever the case, doing some research on the different residences, their quality and proximity to restaurants, grocery stores, etc. is also a wise move. I mean, despite being able to switch residences the next year, you might as well have a good living experience right from the get-go while you're on campus. Also, if you enjoy studying at home, then you certainly want a dorm which you'd like to come back to after class.
5. Rankings
Now, I know quite a few people who chose their university solely for its top rankings without considering other factors, but it is not my general recommendation. After all, name value only goes so far, and you should be more focused on learning and making most amount of positive experience in school. It's the old, "process is more important than the final product." Just to share experiences of my peers, they chose a highly ranked university in Ontario because their parents insisted on doing so. Since they didn't have a specific school in mind, they adhered to their parents' suggestions and enrolled in first year of the highly ranked university. Contrary to their expectations, they were overwhelmed with the tremendous amount of work and heavy courseloads, but also the fiercely competitive landscape made it more difficult to make genuine friends that were willing to enjoy and help each other out through school. With the accumulation of stress and loneliness, they decided to take a year off to recuperate but ended up not coming back because of what they had previously experienced. I am not suggesting that this is the case with every highly ranked university, but what I do want to emphasize is NOT to select a university solely based on its ranks and reputation. I'd suggest you take other factors into account as well, especially if you want to maximize your learning and the positive experiences throughout your four years there.
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