Transferred into Ryerson Computer Science and Couldn’t be Happier

Abhishek Tewari

What was your experience in transferring universities, and what was the whole process like?

Before my transfer I went to Brock University for Computer Science and Mathematics, but in my first year there I quickly realized that this wasn’t the university for me. I felt as if my opportunities and the resources provided to me were restricted. In my first semester at Brock I made the decision to transfer, but I still had to complete my first year. Transferring universities isn’t an easy process, as there are a lot of forms and applications to fill out, and the application fees into other universities can be up to $150 per university. You start by filling out the 105 application, which includes your high school transcript, university first year transcript, and a supplementary application for why you want to transfer, and also miscellaneous applications for the universities that you’ve applied to.

One of the most difficult things you must do is achieve and maintain a GPA competitive enough to be considered over the other transfer applicants. In my university there were a lot of people that were transferring to different universities, and because of that there was heavy competition where you had to achieve higher grades than the rest of your class. Another thing to keep in mind is that you aren’t the first option for universities, as they will give preference to incoming high school students and first years. Only if there is remaining space would you get admittance there. This is because the year of acceptance is dependent on your transfer credits. You might not get the transfer credits for each course, as the curriculum has to be almost the same in both universities. My transfer made me start from first year again because there were courses in Ryerson first year that weren’t taught at Brock, hence I was not eligible for certain transfer credits. Even though I should be a second year student, I am repeating the first year, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make for better education and school experience. I’ll admit that transferring is a quite stressful procedure because of the pressure to keep grades up and the uncertainty and competition of admission, but it’s the path I chose. With some luck and lots of hard work and dedication I was ecstatic to receive my acceptance from Ryerson University. I don’t regret working to get my transfer for one second, as I am much happier where I am now.

How has your experience been in Ryerson Universities Computer Science Program so far?

My experience in Ryerson has been very limited as I have only attended online classes so far due to the pandemic and have yet to fully experience the downtown university experience. But I can say that I am more than satisfied with the way Ryerson classes have been so far. One of the best things was that for Computer Science, Ryerson had 3 professors each teaching different levels of difficulty for their coding classes; novice, intermediate and advanced. This is very advantageous for students that may not have any prior coding experience, so that they can choose the level of difficulty they want to learn at. I also personally found it nice that they teach Python before moving onto Java, as this provides a good understanding of concepts using an easier language then moving onto a complex language like Java. Ryerson does a great job with after lecture assistance, because there are many resources you can utilize if you need help. The professors help during their office hours, but also there are many T.A.’s available for help. Another quick way to get help is from the CSCU (Computer Science Course Union) where they have fourth/fifth year students as the founders, a huge discord server (400+ students), events (such as hackathons, interviews, workshops etc.) and many more features all for the students to get help and enrich their coding skills. I can confidently say that my first semester had been a very positive experience for me, and I can’t wait till next fall to truly experience Ryerson in person.

What advice would you give to a student that doesn’t know if the university they chose is right for them?

I think you should start by doing all the possible detailed research for the universities you're interested in. Attend the open houses, virtual tours, and most importantly speak with first or second year students that are already attending that school and their personal experience of the university. This way you can get a dual perspective, one from the university itself and one from the students at the university. One thing people do far too often is choose their university based on its rank, and when they get there they may or may not like it. Ranking is not something that should take priority when picking schools, as in the long run the university itself won’t matter but it will be your experience, accomplishments and skills that employers will look at. If you picked carefully, spend the first year there and see if the university provides and lives up to everything you wanted. If it doesn’t, don’t feel conflicted or conscious to transfer somewhere else before it’s too late. Keep in mind that in some rare cases, you can also transfer during the first couple of weeks of September but most likely, it will be after first year. You might have to sacrifice a bit but trust me, you will thank yourself in the long run.

Conclusion

My first year in university wasn’t what I wanted it to be, so I made the big decision to transfer into Ryerson University. I won’t lie, the process was tedious, it required hard work, but I made an investment into my future education and overall life, and I’m more than happy with my decision. For other people that think that the place they are currently in may not be for them, consider this path and maybe it will be a decision that will benefit you too. If you need any more information or just want to talk about any topic that's stressing you out, feel free to reach out to me through Instagram: @abhi.t12

Interview by: Deergh Gandhi

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