jimf

If anyone has any info on resources, good/bad areas etc for student accommodation in downtown Toronto it would be good to hear about it...

dbd33

The old Best Western on College is UofT housing and a dump. The Neil McNeil building, by Ry High is, by all accounts, ok.

Jerseygirl

My daughter stayed on UofT campus for the first 2 years. Very, very basic accommodation...but a good place to meet friends if you are new to TO. After two years she rented an apartment off campus with a friend.

Flossie and Jim

I stayed here on a six month student exchange back in 1995. It was absolutely fine from a student perspective - really close to downtown (adjacent to Ryerson), individual rooms grouped together in about 5 or 6 rooms with communal kitchen and two bathrooms per unit. Think there were some posher units available too. Laundry, social room, TV room, etc, too. Obviously haven't been inside in a long time *cough* so can't vouch for its acceptability now but might be worth a look!

Student Residence

jimf

Staying on campus for the first year would be ideal even if it is a bit basic - apparently triple rooms are not unusual. However, being on the wait list that may not be an option - UofT seem to think it's fine to offer a place on a course to a child (aged 17) but not necessarily offer a place in university accommodation.

Jerseygirl

My daughter was classed as an International Student...I think they were given priority...along with out of area students. The accommodation varies depending on the college the student is in. The building my daughter was in was old...co-ed...with double or single rooms...shared bathrooms.

MarylandNed

At UofT, first year undergrads are guaranteed a place in university accommodation. Are you sure you didn't mess up on the application?

https://housing.utoronto.ca/stgeorge...-Guarantee.htm

The 2015 Residence Guarantee
Residence is guaranteed for all new full-time students entering their first year of university in an undergraduate program for the first time, provided that they have indicated their interest in residence by completing the University’s common residence application (MyRes) by March 31, 2015 at 11:59pm EST, and have received and accepted an offer of admission by June 1, 2015.

Students must respond to all deadlines and meet all deposit requirements in order to maintain their eligibility.

dbd33

That's the place I intended to refer to above.

jimf

Application for course and residency in January 2015. Offer accepted the day of the offer and fees paid promptly. No sure what aspect of that could be considered to have been messed up by the student? The university offer was made after 1 June though. It appears that some UofT residencies prioritise returning later year students over first year students without a guarantee - that certainly sounds messed up. Anyway we will have to sort out.

MarylandNed

Keep at them regarding the accommodation. Escalate if necessary. My daughter missed a housing deposit deadline at another uni in Ontario and their attitude was basically "tough shit, she's going to have to find her own place". No sympathy or compassion for a kid who was new to all the red tape and going to be 10 hours drive away from home in a different country (we live in the US). All I wanted to do was have a reasonable conversation about if/how she could get on a wait list in case a spot opened up (she did eventually get a spot in a university residence building). Often you initially deal with people who can't/won't solve problems. Once you start creating a fuss and escalating, you often find that you actually get somewhere.

jimf

Polite persistence is the strategy for now. Some of the residences have been asking those on the wait list to reconfirm they wish to stay on which is perhaps a good sign. I suspect though there won't be any openings for a couple of months.

dgagitw

Eh? It hasn't finished being converted yet, how can you know it's a dump already? When I walked past there yesterday it was still under construction!

dbd33

My daughter, when a school girl on that block, had a thing with a UofT student who was in residence there. I suppose it, or some floors of it, have been student housing for fifteen years.

jimf

Where on College is this one out of interest?

Called by to see a place called Parkside yesterday. They were doing the City inspections still and it looks like a construction site and students are due to move in tomorrow. According to the old map it used to be a hotel called Primrose.

Also walked out towards a place called Alexandra Hotel which is on the university list but not a university residence. Walking along Spadina and Dundas was sufficient to take it off the list without going in.

The university campus is nice enough redbrick style so living on campus looks fine. Off campus all looks pretty poor so far.

dbd33

That's the one. Perhaps it'll be nice when it reopens.