I study natural sciences (chemistry and psychology) at Nottingham. For me, my year abroad was pass/fail, so the credits did not count towards my degree. For others, their year/semester abroad counted towards their degree and so they spent more time studying than I did. I also had to take 5 modules at UofT, while most people I knew took 3-4 modules. Additionally, since I didn’t have specific credits/requirements to fulfil, I had more freedom in taking modules that had nothing to do with my degree – I did some music, philosophy and sociology! All of this is just to say that everyone’s experience will be different – I will just be sharing how I experienced the academic aspect of my year abroad.  

One of the main differences I found between UofT and Nottingham is the assessment system. Here, the overall grade you get for a module is spread across different assignments of varying weightings. For example, one of my modules was assessed as such: 

1. Quizzes – 30% 

2. Participation – 10%  

3. Essay – 10% 

4. Assignment – 20% 

5. Final exam – 30%  

The good thing about this system is that I was not too stressed going into the final exam period, as I had done well enough in the rest of the module. The main negative aspect though is balancing various quizzes/assignments for all 5 modules, throughout the entire term. Once I finished an assignment, there was little to no break before I had another assignment due, or a midterm approaching. I did struggle with balancing these assignments and would usually be staying up late to finish things that were due the next day. However, with the start of the second term in January, I decided to try and stay ahead with my work. The main reason for this was some weekend trips I had planned during the term, for example, I went to Montreal and Quebec City and had 2 assignments that were due that weekend. I made sure to complete them the week before I went on my trip so I could enjoy it stress-free!  

Secondly, most of my modules had a midterm, which is basically just a test of the content you’ve learnt so far. In that sense, UofT is much like school, and it felt strange to be back in such a working routine. Balancing midterms and assignments can be tricky as you might end up having to prioritise one over the other if they are due on the same day (this happened to me a few times)! I’m not a huge fan of timetables, but while here, I found that creating a spreadsheet/calendar of my assignment and midterm due dates and checking them off as I completed them was really helpful. This made it easier to visualise what I had left to do that week, and things coming up in the following week that I needed to keep an eye on!  

Another difference I realised is that the lectures here are much more like school classes. This could depend on the subject, but most of my classes were much more interactive than the lectures I was used to – another similarity to school. I did enjoy this and founds myself paying more attention in lectures. All of my modules had a teaching assistant you could reach via email and they were helpful with questions about assignments, content etc. Most of the lecturers also had office hours where you could pop in (either in person or online) and speak to them directly. The teachers are generally very approachable and understanding when it comes to deadline extensions and missing things such as labs. Some of my modules did monitor attendance and factor this into your grade but it was usually less than 10% of the mark.  

Finally, a big difference at UofT is how the timetabling works. You can essentially create your own timetable using UofT’s timetable builder, which is brilliant! Some modules have multiple time (and day) slots and you simply pick the time slot you want and that fits best with your schedule. If the module has a mandatory tutorial don’t forget to choose your slot as they can fill up pretty quickly. A lot of modules (especially computer science apparently) fill up very quickly, so you may end up on the waiting list. To avoid the stress of finding a module to enrol in once term starts, have a list of second options ready. Additionally, a lot of classes start at 6pm and can go on until 9pm, which I found was not a very productive time slot for me. Final exams can start at 7pm and go on until 10pm which I honestly found ridiculous but managed to survive!  

So overall, the academic life at UofT was definitely a new experience for me, but I’m glad it’s something I got to adapt to. Good luck with your studies (and otherwise) at UofT!