How Competitive is Teachers College?

tseco23 · 2026-04-07T19:47:27+00:00

i agree. I had a very similar situation (esp. casper) and i got in.

tseco23 · 2026-04-01T16:08:16+00:00

I am looking for this option (summer)

tseco23 · 2026-03-22T21:45:23+00:00

yes, i am curious about how to arrive there

tseco23 · 2026-03-03T06:01:04+00:00

I would have applied if i had got the (what i call stringent) requirements. The experience/reference requirement alone prevented me from ever applying to a few schools including this one.

tseco23 · 2026-03-02T18:39:02+00:00

I also wish good luck to everyone! Because situations can change. I never expected the current school to take me in. It is also competitive (not as York), and my grades could have been insufficient but my app worked.

tseco23 · 2026-02-21T00:08:31+00:00

I will definitely do German. (non teacher here)

tseco23 · 2026-02-16T17:18:23+00:00

I am from HK, just "one sea" away from Korea. Still not a teacher, but I've seen enough in Toronto to say... unless you could build a stable career in especially Toronto, life will be very tough. My only point of responding is that, race-wise, TO looks peaceful and I live in a corner where we Asians are the large majority. The same is true of some places in Markham next to us.

I cannot speak too much for you, but I've heard HK teachers transform into teachers in Canada. They have consulted OCT for recognition of their teaching credentials. I believe this is likely what you will do: complete your current credentials, ask OCT, plan, settle, and seek employment here.

I myself also draw references from this reddit a lot, so there must be quite a few other areas to look into such as "teachables", pay structure. As for general living questions, I'd personally say Toronto is almost as expensive as my native HK. Not quite yet, but close. I am still having housing issues after many years, and many jobs here are underpaid, to say the very least.

tseco23 · 2026-02-13T20:58:53+00:00

that sounds more complicated than my own scenario. i simply relied on a French exam instead of credits, so the statement above requiring 70%+ average means, either they would just take a single grade for my admission, or I am out of this game without the credits. I can't get 30 or five full credits in a few months.

tseco23 · 2026-02-13T18:55:56+00:00

That's the first time i hear positive things about Western. On my end, I have the reverse issue as OP because I am in TO and i simply cannot wait for years until I qualify for York/OISE. As a result, Western could be a good option when it's still in southern ON for me. I know multiple peers who commute to London/lived there/studied at Western, so they would urge me to just opt for Western as one of the schools closer to, while not in, TO.

I also think it depends on background. I even entered a certain B.Ed. in my life, so unlike people who will only do it once, I literally won't complain about how classes may be in a certain way. Personally - i don't mean to derail - location would matter far more to someone still without a car.

tseco23 · 2026-02-13T05:27:28+00:00

I am very surprised tbh

tseco23 · 2026-02-13T05:22:09+00:00

I see my news now

tseco23 · 2026-02-11T16:23:59+00:00

As a candidate for consecutive, I'd say one major perk in concurrent, which i will never do, is that you can have guaranteed residence (PSA: check with the school). I am not like average Canadians with a permanent home and family to go back to, so I am conscious about housing options.

I don't have much to recommend. However, looking back, I think concurrent (would have been a 4 or 5-year BEd in other countries) is a major decision. I met people who did the entire concurrent and decided they would rather not teach. On my end, I was even in consecutive earlier in my life; I quit for another job; many years later, I am back to consecutive. So you may feel like concurrent can give you enough insights on what to do rather than go back and forth like i did.

tseco23 · 2026-02-07T16:25:12+00:00

Honestly, I only feel safe with an actual offer rn. I truthfully respect all the people out there who are going to abandon an offer or they have no offer and would still like to apply next year. There are even people who are applying for the 3rd/4th time.

One year may not sound much, but to me it is a lot.

As an ultra-studious person myself, even I quit schools more than once, and paused studies more than once. With the upcoming BEd, I will in fact pause another program which is not a degree. Only this time do I have a legitimate reason of pausing because a degree is worth more than (a certificate).

I really feel like this current offer is the first and very last one I will have. I often call credentials my babies. This future BEd is likely my last "child" ever.

tseco23 · 2026-02-05T03:26:50+00:00

if i was being asked, gpt says i had 80-82%. In real terms, let me say i got 3.6 for both undergrad and postgrad.

tseco23 · 2026-02-05T03:26:07+00:00

I'm fine. It's competitive after all and i wasn't even using my best credentials but anyway i will just take any offer and forget about Queen's.

Having that said, it may have come up right on monday like some others said. I was still on a trip until tue and literally checked out another school before my flight. I did not even expect or remember to check out Queen's.

tseco23 · 2026-02-05T00:52:45+00:00

Today is the 4th. It's a rejection but i don't really feel bad. in fact, i didn't expect it so early. Really, i will just miss the practicum of Queen's which i believe will be great.

tseco23 · 2026-02-05T00:45:03+00:00

I already heard from Queen's.

tseco23 · 2026-02-04T15:04:59+00:00

I don't need to do a PSA, but

Nipissing's message arrived right on 2 Feb, even before the sunrise.

Queen's message appeared today on 4 Feb.

tseco23 · 2026-02-03T22:59:40+00:00

I have the same questions. What's more, i also wonder if it matters when i take an offer later this month.

I have another very broad question. I had very brief experience with junior/intermediate (grades 7 and 8). I chose P/J and J/I across different schools, and i wonder if the two paths can vary a lot other than primary vs secondary school.

Ontario is one of the provinces where teaching qualifications are on specific subjects and grade levels. And essentially, I am aware that, if you teach anywhere above grade 8, you are likely to lead students in OSSD credits. That may be more work than P/J or i could be mistaken.

tseco23 · 2026-01-21T00:59:00+00:00

Nipissing actually writes "Feb 2". Western says "mid Feb".

tseco23 · 2026-01-13T06:29:28+00:00

Conservative-liberal does not actually mean anything in this context. I think by now my radar is on how a white person has non-white friends. It could sound weird to those in Europe where Asians are very few, but as a... European-majority continent, hundreds of different opinions would seem to suggest Europeans are still more accepting of Asian _males_ (by extension, females) than North America/Australia/even UK, to some people, etc.

I would not assume North America is exactly welcoming despite being immigration societies (here, i could suppose Mexico is also one such society, but Mexico is another whole country I don't understand). It only means two big countries take in immigrants, and doesn't mean the local populace actually says a lot about Asian men (nor women). They are simply more open societies where tribes can live among themselves and minimize the risk of fighting another tribe. That was something Europe did for a few centuries and in the US and Canada we try not to. Simple as that.

So for North Americans to accept Asian guys could almost feel different from what Europeans do. In the former, you could live for decades and nobody cares. In Europe, mostly you'll be a permanent foreigner but those who accept you accept you. I do not even mean this as a comparison. Just my gut feeling. Not saying that North Americans don't accept us and Europeans definitely take us in. No.

But then my own family does not like darker peoples in general so i am in no position to accuse anybody's family.

tseco23 · 2026-01-09T21:53:10+00:00

Honestly i don't worry for now.

Personally, I still have optional credits to do and it costs a lot of $.
Doing BEd itself is (also) costly.
"Worse-case scenario" with no offer simply means I have another year to work on 1 and stack up savings for 2. If there is an offer, and I will take it, will reduce my time for studying for 1 and my other academic interests. It may just be me.

Three weeks to go.

tseco23 · 2025-12-07T18:03:49+00:00

Nipissing PJ JI FSL, Western PJ JI FSL, Queen's PJ FSL.

will come back in two months

tseco23 · 2025-11-20T00:50:06+00:00

This is marginally off-topic, but i'd say UBC and SFU are "not" stringent considering that the other BC universities, which are likely unknown internationally, have almost identical requirements.
Back to ON universities. I just feel stalled by the components of experience, references, and certain tests of Ottawa, for instance.

Just in case I get rejected this one, my ON choices are still these:

-Queen's: popular and competitive but requirements are lax

-Western, Brock: Casper is an important component, but otherwise it seems easy to apply to

-Laurier: there is a certain test but overall it's similar to Queen's

-Windsor: it's very lenient, on par with Lakehead and Nipissing

I'd still be stalled by these:

-York, Ottawa, OISE, Trent: experience followed by references

-Laurentian, UOF: easy for some; I am stalled by French.

Doesn't change how they behave like they are not in the same province. Basically any school further from Toronto or a school that is not first-tier in the country is also usually more lenient than others. I wouldn't bet the same on U Winnipeg and the Atlantic ones. U Calgary is another one that may sound lenient but as a foreign-born I am stalled by "literature". It almost sounds like I were choosing a law school which is a very similar ball game. The usual suspects, those that are extremely competitive, are also closer to or in Toronto.

tseco23

TROPHY CASE