The first year of university is an exciting time for students and a year of significant growth and development — students will be exploring new friendships and relationships, will have opportunities to engage with world-renowned scholars, but they may also feel pressure to perform well in their classes.
Since a lot of change can take place in their first year, it’s a good idea to talk with your student before classes start and set some guidelines for communication, financial matters and academic expectations.
Orientation
August 26 – August 31, 2024
Orientation is sponsored by New College and the New College Student Council. It is a great way for incoming students to meet new friends, learn about New College and discover academic supports and resources. Students will also have the opportunity to engage in a variety of activities to help them acclimate to university life. Mock lectures, primers on equity, diversity and inclusion as well as fun social events are all on the Orientation schedule. Students will meet members of the Registrar’s Office, Office of Residence and Student Life, Librarians and other key members of New College, who will be important supports for them at the University of Toronto.
Check out New College Orientation for more information about this year’s event.
Fall Term
September 3 – December 21, 2024
The first few weeks of classes are an exciting time for new students as they adjust to their schedule (which can include evening classes), find their way around campus, and decide which student life activities to join. Students will find life in a university classroom is different from that of high school. Students often find the workload is increased and need to manage their time and plan ahead. Students should expect to spend 3 hours preparing for class for every hour in the classroom.
October Mid-terms and Fall Reading Week
October 28 – November 1, 2024
Most students will be very busy around the Thanksgiving holiday with mid-term tests. It is common to have several 2- to 3-hour mid-terms in a week. It is also the time of year when students will receive their first set of grades in courses, and some students may be disappointed with the results. It is important to support your student if they are disappointed by their grades and encourage them to make use of resources such as the New College Writing Centre, D.G. Ivey Library Research Consultations, Math Aid Centre and our Learning Strategist.
December Exams and Holiday Break
December 6 – 21, 2024 and December 24, 2024 – January 3, 2025
Classes in the fall term usually end after the first week of December, and exams are scheduled the weeks before the holiday break. Students put a lot of effort into studying for exams — in some cases, the final exam can represent 50% of the overall mark in a course. You can expect students to require dedicated time for studying and preparing. If they are living away from home, you may not hear from them as much as usual, and if they are living at home, they may spend long stretches of time at the library or at home studying.
Winter Term
January 6 – April 30, 2025
Students return to classes in January rejuvenated and ready to focus on their courses. Many will have new courses and new professors. It is important to help students reflect on their experiences during the fall term, to help them with their studies and their co-curricular activities in second term.
Winter Reading Week
February 17 – 21, 2025
Students will have a week off in February for Winter Reading Week. Many will have research papers they are working on or will be preparing for mid-terms when they return to class. Students will also be thinking about which programs to enrol in for second year, as well as work options for the summer, and might be looking for summer research or intern opportunities. New College also offers an array of opportunities for co-curricular learning and skill-building activities during Reading Week.
With 300+ programs at the Faculty of Arts and Science, student may be uncertain about which programs to choose. After a year of classes, they may decide on a new academic route — perhaps something completely different from what they originally intended. It is important to keep in mind that there is a lot of choice available to students and so there are programs that can work best for them. This is also the time when students who are living in residence will need to start considering where they’ll live next year. Upper year residence applications are due in March, but if they choose to move off-campus, students will need to begin their apartment search, and consider who they may want to live with.
Final Exams
April 9 – 30, 2025
In April students will be heading into final exams. It is not unusual for students to have 5 exams, some of which may be on the same day or scheduled together over a few days. By the end of the term, students are proud that they’ve made it to the end of the year but may also be tired. It is important for them to keep focused throughout the exam period — they may want to still make use of resources such as the Centre for Learning Strategy Support for study skills and exam prep.
The end of first year is often a time of reflection — students take stock of what went well in first year and what didn’t, think of plans for the summer and consider academic programs and activities for second year.
