Many first-year U of T Engineering students stay at Chestnut Residence, although you might choos CampusOne, Oak House, Parkside, a U of T college residence, or an external apartment instead. Regardless, moving in will be one of the very first things you’ll do as a university student. Even though the experience can be stressful, it’s also very exciting.
Finding Roommates
Choosing roommates is important: you’ll be living with them for the next eight months, and a good roommate can enhance your experience as a student. But finding one can be a challenging task, especially if you don’t know anyone else attending U of T.
If you’re living at a U of T student residence, you’ll have access to the StarRez portal, where you can fill out a short personal profile and browse through the profiles of other students with whom you may be compatible. You can then message them and strike up a conversation.
We recommend you speak with multiple candidate roommates and select one based on sleeping habits, study preferences, shared interests, and how well you “click.” It’s very important to be honest in your personal profile about your habits – if you prefer studying late into the night, for example, you probably won’t enjoy living with a roommate who’s an early riser.
Once you move in, it’s important to establish some personal agreements and guidelines, such as noise limits and when the lights in the room will be turned off. Your Residence Don will help you through this process.
Overall, staying with roommates can be a great experience. Whether you’re outgoing or more reserved, you’ll find “your people” and make connections.
Room Tours
Some residences offer in-person and virtual residence tours throughout the summer.
If you’re able to visit in person, many residences offer tours that let you see your unit before move in. If you can’t make it to campus, many residences also provide virtual tours that’ll give you a good idea of what to expect when you move in.
Chestnut Residence holds afternoon in-person room tours until mid-August. They are a great way to see what your room will look like and determine some of the items you’ll need to bring. You’ll also see the building’s amenities so you can make the most of your residence experience. Chestnut also has virtual residence tours that can be found on their YouTube page.
Logistics of Moving In
You’ll be notified in late summer to book a date and time for moving into your residence. During this scheduled time, you’ll receive your room key and be permitted to bring guests (such as family) to help you get set up.
Living in residence has its pros and cons. While you’ll find stores, restaurants, and entertainment within walking distance, if you don’t have a car, travelling and moving large items may be difficult. Our advice is to bring as many items from home as possible to minimize the time and money spent shopping at the beginning of the school year. You might still need to buy some items after you move in. Make sure to do so before the semester starts!
Note: For those looking to attend the engineering F!rosh week orientation events, it’s important to plan where you’re staying for that week. Some residences (such as CampusOne) offer early movein, so be on the lookout.
Packing List
Residences are equipped with beds, desks, wardrobes, and pillows. Check with your residence for the list of what is included in your room. If you’re moving into an unfurnished apartment, you’ll need to provide all your furniture, kitchenware, and other items. Usually, furnished apartments will have necessities such as a bed and a desk.
You should communicate with your roommate(s) to determine if you’ll be bringing any common items, such as a minifridge or laundry detergent. In this case, you should decide who’ll purchase what and how to reimburse each other.
Extremely recommended items:
- Mattress cover — goes over residence mattress (check your residence’s website for bed size information)
- Bedsheets
- Duvet or comforter and cover — main blanket
- Pillow(s) if not provided by residence
- Pillowcase(s)
- Towels — body towels, hand towels, face towels
- Toiletries — soap, shampoo, dental hygiene items, and any other products you may need
- Laundry hamper/bag
- Laundry detergent (liquid or pods)
- Flip flops for shower if your residence has communal showers. Please DON’T wear flip flops in your room’s personal shower without first consulting your roommate, and please DO wear flip flops in communal showers!
- School supplies
- Desk lamp — if your residence does not provide one
- Small trash bin — again, check if your residence provides one
- Extension cord/power bar — some rooms may only have one (reachable) power socket
- Cleaning supplies — Chestnut Residence provides weekly room cleaning
- Furniture — for unfurnished apartments
- Clothing! — we recommend you do not bring all your clothes from home; try to select some clothes that work for multiple situations! Consider weather, comfort, style, and utility (e.g. you might want some athletic clothes or formal wear)
- For students who may not be familiar with the climate in Toronto, check out the pre-arrival page by the Centre for International Experience (CIE) to prepare for all four of Toronto’s (sometimes harsh) seasons.
Optional items:
- Desktop computer/PC and/or Computer monitor – can be helpful for heavy duty 3D modelling or coding if you use a light laptop or iPad for daily work
- Noise-cancelling headphones and/or earplugs – residence can be noisy, and you’ll want to focus while studying, so you might want to invest in these.
- Food and snacks and storage containers – if you’re staying in residence, the dining halls will only be open at certain times during the day, so having snacks in your room can be extremely convenient and affordable. Be sure to keep them in proper containers to avoid attracting pests.
- Minifridge – for storing your food and snacks. Although Chestnut Residence has common refrigerators for each floor, you might choose to keep your items separately.
- Desk chair or ergonomic chair cushion– if you’re not a fan of the provided chairs
- Books, hobby items, decorations – you might want to keep some fun items to use in your spare time and remind yourself of home!
What NOT to Bring:
Student residences (and some external apartments) will have a list of banned items.
If you’re staying at Chestnut, you cannot bring:
- Candles, incense, etc.
- Cooking appliances (i.e., hot plates, rice cookers, toasters, kettles, coffee makers, etc.)
- Extra furniture
- Large stereos or DJ equipment
Be sure to check with your residence for a more comprehensive list. Most residences at U of T will have a packing guideline on their websites outlining what furniture each unit has and suggestions for what to bring. A packing and moving-in guideline for students staying at Chestnut Residence can found on their website.
Tips for Move-In Day
Move-in day is everyone’s first day, so everybody is as excited (and nervous) to meet new friends as you are!
Understand that people will be nervous and out of their comfort zones when they first get to university. You’ll also be meeting tons of new students from around the world and from all walks of life, so have a positive mindset and be accommodating. Take the first steps to build a great, inclusive community!
For now, focus on getting all your stuff in the room. Later, you can rearrange your furniture to make your room feel like your own.
Many students move in with their families and many students from out of Toronto move in on their own or with friends. There will be help available if you need extra assistance.
Tips for Life In Residence
Your residence room will be your home for the next eight months, so have some fun decorating it.
Given the choice between taking your meal up to your room in a box and eating downstairs, we recommend the latter. Eating in the dining hall is an incredible way to get a change of scenery and meet new people, and you get to knock out two birds with one stone by simultaneously eating and hanging out with friends!
Residence buildings offer a variety of services from gyms to music rooms. If you’ve never been to the gym before, want to try foosball, or have a downtown view while studying, the facilities and spaces in your residence can fulfill these desires.
Your floor don will probably organize a monthly floor-wide social, during which you can have fun and meet other people from your floor; attend these!
If you’re not from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), take advantage of your prime location in downtown Toronto and explore! There are tons of things to check out in Toronto, such as art exhibitions, basketball games, and restaurants. For more information, read the page about Having Fun in Toronto.
Make sure to keep in touch with your friends and family. Staying connected can help you feel supported, reduce stress, and make the transition to university life easier. Even if you’re busy and all you have to say is that you’re studying for an exam, give your people a call or fire them a quick message. Seriously, don’t skip out on this step!
Your Blog Admins’ Experiences Living in Residence
Amanda’s Experience
In first year, I lived at St. Michael’s College, specifically in Elmsley Residence. I found my roommate, Megan, on the StarRez platform over the summer after talking to quite a few people. I knew Megan was the one because we had similar stances on a lot of important residence things and we also both mentioned that we wanted to build a genuine connection with the people we were living with. What really sold it for me, though, was her talking about how much she loved cats in her StarRez bio.
We ended up living together really well, and I think that was because of the open communication we had from the beginning. On our first day, we talked about expectations and set some ground rules, but a lot of our habits developed naturally. For example, whenever one of us turned off the light, it was our signal that we were going to sleep, and the other person knew to keep the noise level down. One thing I also really appreciated was that Megan was in Humanities while I was in Engineering. It was nice having a close friend outside of my program because it gave me a different perspective and helped me branch out.
My biggest piece of advice would be to try to build a genuine connection with your roommate because it can make the whole residence experience so much more fun. Also, always wear your shower shoes in the communal bathroom. Trust me on that one. It was also helpful for me to get involved in the St. Mike’s community. This included going to monthly socials with my floor and college-wide events like the end-of-year gala. Eating in the dining hall helped me make a lot of friends during the first few weeks, and it made it easier to meet people from my program and find classmates to walk to class with.
Overall, I had a great experience in residence. If you have any questions about living on campus, things to pack, roommates, St. Mike’s, or anything else, please feel free to reach out. I’d love to talk more about my experience and share any advice I can.
Monika’s Experience:
For the past two years, I have lived in an off-campus student residence that is still mostly filled with U of T students. The place is called Tartu College, and it is located between St. George and Spadina subway stations on the north border of the campus — only a quick five-minute walk from Robarts Library. I ended up there because the building is owned by Estonians, so my family already knew about it before I came to Canada.
The building is also home to the VEMU Estonian Museum of Canada, where I have been working for the past two years. Because of that, it has been very convenient to work in the same building where I live.
I was lucky with the roommates I had during my first two years. After first year, we applied to live together again because we had built systems that helped us enjoy living with each other. For example, we had a schedule for washing the shared kitchen and bathroom towels, always had someone bulk-order toilet paper who we would e-transfer back, and were pretty open about calling people out in the group chat if someone was being too messy. We also celebrated Thanksgiving, birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, and other major holidays together since we were all away from our families.
I like that the residence has kitchen spaces in each apartment and that we are not required to purchase a meal plan, although I also really enjoy eating at Master’s Buffeteria, which is located on the first floor of the building. My biggest recommendation is to set up a room that makes you happy to spend time in and to organize your belongings well, so the space stays clean.
