Enrolment Appointment!

I am really sorry, its been a while that I updated my blog! And few more days until I start school, yay! Super hyped up!

So I had to update you guys about my enrolment appoinment! Yes, I did go to my enrolment appointment which was on the 8th of December at 9 am.. I wasn't quite impressed with my selection of time slot since I had to get up super early but thanks to my dad who gave me a ride to York University! Thanks Dad, love you! So i reached school around 8:30.. I am going to include a campus map so you can have an idea of where your enrolment appointment be.

Note: My enrolment appointment was at Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. Depending on your program, your appointment will be at the respective faculty. But if you are a LA&PS new student then you can read the map otherwise, skip it :)!

So if you haven't noticed yet, I was coming from the Finch Avenue towards Keele. Follow the orange Follow Me line and it would lead you to the where I got dropped off. Now you would see a lime green color Follow Me line right after the orange. Just to clarify, orange line stands for me in a car and green line shows how much I had to walk to my building which wasn't much, trust me!

After I got off the car, I just followed the signs on the Campus Walk (which is the green line) and the other thing I had was a Campus Map in my hand which is crucial if this is your first time coming to the university. It was my fourth time and I still carried it around with  me. It is very easy to follow, I didn't get lost on my way to the LA&PS. So I reached there around 8:40, glad that I had made it on time. I went to the reception and they guided me to a room and two people were there already. I introduced myself to both of them, found out one of the girl was in my program. Lovely girl, must say! Then we heard somebody call us in to a small computer lab which was connected to the room, and the person was a student himself who was going to help us enrol in our courses. Oh wait, before we went in there we had to sign off an attendance sheet. I walked in with my new friend ( I think it's right to call her a friend, since we are trying to make the exact same schedule so we get to be together in all of our classes). We sat there, reading our program requirements and trying to understand but it didn't really make any sense until the presentation was given by our coach (the same student who guided us to the lab). He was very helpful and was ready to answer any questions we might have about our program and the degree requirements.

The enrolment appointment was fun, I think I asked probably most questions out of everyone there. Oh yeah, there were approxiametly 8 other people from different programs with us as well.

At the end of the appointment, me and my new friend (Nadia) exchanged numbers so we can stay in touch with each other. I didn't even have to try that hard to make friends at York. She was as nervous as I was until I said Hi to her and soon we found ourselves talking about everything! Women just can't keep their mouth shut :)!

There are some key things which you should do before your appointment:

1. Carry a campus map with you, no matter how good are you with the directions.
2. Arrive 15 minutes before your appointment.
3. Have a pen and a notebook with you to jot down key points in there.
4. Activate your Passport York (It's very easy, just go to www.yorku.ca and click on Current Students. On the right hand side, you would see a Passport York button,click that and have your stuff ready and activated before you get to your appointment since you would need that to make your timetables).
5. Just smile and try to make friends, you never know you might find someone from your program like I did.

I will update you on my timetable soon, I am still waiting to get into the classes that I want to. I hope you guys are having a good week and I will see you guys very soon :)

xox,
    Sobi

YU Connect!

"Good Morning, Welcome to York University! Give us a big smile", were the few Students Ambassadors cheering us up in the hallways while guiding us to Vari Hall on the Fall Campus Day 2012. I kept thinking, what do these lovely group of people get out of this by getting up so early and greeting complete strangers, messing up their throats. Well until then, I did not know what Yu Connect was! It is an online hub for York University's co-curricular activities. It is a facility provided by the courtesy of York University to track our out-of-class involvement with the school. And let me tell you, if you need all those jobs, scholarships what-not, you need to be involved in school, and what's better than getting an experience record for every little thing you are doing at York to help the community ;)!

Once you have activated your Passport York, your second stop should be YuConnect. Log in with your username and password that you created with passport York and there you go, sit at home and browse the organizations, events, all at one stop! You can sit at home and even join the organization of your interest from there. Few of them, that sparked my interest were:

• Free The Children
• Food Rescue Action!
• Incendies Magazine (Incendies)

The descriptions are compelling me to join in already but I am going to wait until I make my timetable. There are plenty more and oh oh oh!! Did I forget to mention about the university newspaper, Excalibur (their YouTube name is ExcalWeb!). You guys should definitely check out this awesome team if you need any inside updates on school. I have heard if you write five articles for Excalibur and if approved by the editor, they automatically consider you a staff! Isn't that so cool? I am trying to brush up my writing skills for the sake of it.

Guys, my recommendation is to check out YuConnect website and read their blogs! They are written by some fabulous group of students from their experiences. Let me know what do you guys think about the website and getting involved in school?

Until then, Ciao!

Est-ce qu'il neige deja dehors?

I woke up this morning with an excitement thinking Toronto would be covered with the blanket of snow when I get up, but I faced an utter disappointment after pulling the curtains. What? No snow :(! I want to have a snow-fight with my siblings already! I was on a holiday tour last year around this time, so I have not seen snow in about two years. That is the only reason why I am longing to see the snowfall.

As I have told you guys in my earlier post that I have activated my Passport York! I never actually read the offer of Admission letter carefully earlier. Last night, I was going through my papers and wanted to read the offer of Admission again, in case if I missed out on anything. Oh my God! one of the paper had my student number on it. I quickly went on http://www.yorku.ca/ and clicked current student and from there I went to Passport York and activated it. If you guys have recieved your offer of Admission and have accepted the offer already, go activate it! There is a treasure full of information in there and also sign up for the Career website. One of my main goals at school is to get a job on campus, that would help me to build my resume. I have searched for jobs on campus, there are many jobs for you guys! I am going to work on my resume in a while so I can apply for a job, wish my Good Luck :)!

What school gives you a full fledge facility of Career website before your first day of class?Only York University!!
Meilleurs vœux (Season's Greetings!)

Oh! How I Love The Snow!

The season's first snow has already touched Toronto and it's been freezing ever since then. I am sorry for not blogging for almost four days now (I think!), been extremely busy with work and catching cold isn't a good sign either. I have been in my bed since this evening with a cup of hot chocolate and some oreo cookies to relax my sweet tooth. How are you guys are enjoying this weather, or what ever climate you guys are in? I am sure, some of you guys are still enjoying the warmth of sun.

I went to York University today to update my file which had been quoted as an International Student by mistake. The officials had asked me to visit the campus with my passport and someone would help me right away and get that changed. It was really cold and I had to try very hard to read the map (bad at reading maps!), ended up walking for almost 30 minutes to find Bennett Center for Student Services. The next adventure was to find the Admissions Office, but that didn't take long. I asked almost five people and all of them were very generous to guide me to the right place. Everyone was very helpful and sweet around the campus, it was quite impressive! The Admissions Office was at the third floor and when I came out of the elevator, the reception desk was right infront of it and this lovely lady took only two minutes to resolve this issue. So guys, that issue has been resolved thankfully. I am looking forward to my enrollment appointment now, might get my Yu card the same day as well. I have already activiated my Passport York, so the next time I am at the campus, I can use my iPhone for navigation and would not have to walk that much (I do not have internet on my phone) - Yeah! I am 'cheap' like that. :)

Textbook Rental

Oh my Gosh you guys, it is actually true. If you haven't read my previous post, I was asking if any of you guys know about textbook rental plan York University is offering or it might just be a rumour? No! It is actually 100% true.

You can now rent a book for a semester for a lot less and it started just in 2011. Fairly new plan, but I am sure many students have already been taking the advantage.

You can rent the books here: http://yorkuniversitybookstore.rentsbooks.com/

But make sure you return them before the due date, you don't want to end up paying the late fee ;)! Let me know how many of you guys would be renting books for upcoming semester? I will raise my hand up, how many of you will?

xox,
    Sobi

Letter From York!

I woke up this morning with an utter disappointment because I had to go to work, though only for few hours but getting up at 7 a.m., is always painful in winter. I had a pretty good day at work which is not exactly considered 'normal' for the place that I work at haha! When I got home, my dad handed me a letter for me from York University. It was a big envelope that had my offer of admission and the estimate of tuition for immigration purposes. Immigration Purposes? What? But I am a Canadian citizen, what immigration problem could I possibly encounter? I scanned through the letter many times only to find out that I was considered an International Student by mistake. The tuition cost literally gave a minor stroke, $30,000 for a year! Come on! It can make anyone cry. So, I called the Admissions Office and asked them to help me. Now I have to take my passport to York University to prove my citizenship so that the Office of Admissions can change it in my records.

Just for your information guys, my enrollment appointment is not tomorrow :( ! Thank God I checked it beforehand. It is on the 8th of December, that makes me super sad because I was so excited to finally be able to see my timetable and plan my work schedule accordingly well in advance. Well now I have to wait two more weeks for the appointment and to update you guys. Meanwhile, I have been trying to contact the Career Center at York to get an on-campus job. Will let you know it goes, until then!

xox,
    Sobi

Renting a book?

I love to read and have a huge collection at home ranging from comics to mystery novels. Just like many of you guys, I hate course textbooks and as much as I want to learn, I start feeling sleepy when it is open in front of me. I have learnt many tips and tricks for keeping my eyes open, which I will be sharing in my blog soon. Textbooks make a huge part after tuition in your university finance. I think it's a major pocket-hole damage sometimes.

I heard York has renting a textbook for a semester plan? Is that true? Is it really $19 approximately? I need to find that out, because that's like illegally photocopying the book in a legal manner :)! If I get any information, I will be posting about it in a few days once I get my books. Till then, just keep wondering and asking people around you ;. You never know your messiah is just around the corner ;).

xox,
    Sobi

I Almost Had A Heart Attack!!!

Just as the title of this post says, I almost had a heart attack when I recieved an e-mail from York University today, until I opened it and saw that I had been thanked for my visit to the Fall Campus Day. I wonder how they noticed my presence? Any ideas ;) ? Heart Attack why? Because, whenever I get excited something always goes wrong.

Everything has been going right for me these days. Fingers Crossed!!!

How To Book An Enrollment Appointment!

I bet you cannot wait to start university in January or whenever. When I accepted my offer, I went to York University website right away to see what my next step should be? It was the enrollment appointment, when you meet with the advisor and plan your first year schedule (that's all I know for now, until I go on mine this Thursday). From what I have read from different blogs, it is very important to book your enrollment appointment as soon as possible to ensure the spot in your choice of courses.

To book an enrollment appointment, log into your MyFile with your Reference Number and Date of Birth. Once you are logged in, click on Book/Manage my Enrollment Appointment. Scroll down to the program that you accepted the offer for and click on the Book/Manage under the Advising Column. It would then redirect you to the next page and at the bottom of the page, click on Book/Manage and you would see a table of available time slots. Book whatever time is convenient for you and confirm it. The confirmation would be e-mailed to you. If you have to make any changes, follow the same steps but you have to cancel the first appointment before you can book the next one (Note: You cannot see the available time slots until you cancel the first one), so be really sure before you cancel it. You never know they might be fully booked and you surely do not want to be late :).

So guys, hurry up and book your enrollment appointment so you can do some shopping after everything is planned with the help of the awesome advisors :) ....

xox,
    Sobi

After Acceptance!!

So just like me, most of you have got the acceptance letter in the mail/ e-mail from York University. Now, make an effort to go to https://apps2.sis.yorku.ca/Apps/WebObjects/AAS.woa/wa/DirectAction/student
and log in with your Reference Number provided in your e-mail/letter of acceptance (note that: this reference number would be different than the one you got when you submitted your application, that is your payment reference number!) and your date of birth. When I logged in, I clicked on the Application Status and it stated that I was accepted for my program of choice. I immediately accepted the offer, thinking what if they change their mind Haha! After I accepted the offer, I went to book an enrollment appointment (Will let you know how to do that in the next post!). I seriously don't know what that is until I first attend it. I booked mine for Thursday, 21st November. It is a 3-hour appointment. Erm, for what? Any of you guys know what that is? Comment below and let me know, anticipation kills :) !!!

xox,
   Sobi

Happy Days Are Here Again...!!!

So its November 18, a Friday and I am off from work. I normally do not check my e-mail in the morning but today I felt lazy and logged in. I had an e-mail from Admissions Expert and it started something like this, "Good news! You have been admitted (Erm, What? Mom, Dad OMGKHHP!! I got accepted at York)......." I didn't even read the e-mail and came downstairs literally jumping. I was so happy, that I realized after an hour that I have to check what the rest of the e-mail say!! Haha!!!

I want to know the how you guys felt when you first saw the acceptance letter/e-mail? The joy....!!!

xox,
    Sobi

Fall Campus Day 2012

Today was the Fall Campus Day, I normally don't like getting up early but I managed to get out, so I can ready for the FALL CAMPUS DAY. Yes! I made up my mind just last night to go to the Fall Campus Day. I left home around 9:20 a.m.. The event was supposed to start at 10 a.m. but I wanted to get a parking spot, so didn't want to be late. I arrived at York, Keele Campus, exactly at 10 a.m. and found a place to park in the alloted parking lot. There were so many student Ambassadors in the parking lot, to help the future students who came for the Fall Campus Day with their parents, friends, husbands or anyone ;) !

I was greeted by many students on the way. They were so helpful in guiding us to Vari Hall, where the event was taking place. There were so many people, quite overwhelming at first sight! I approached to the Liberal Arts and Professional Sciences table, looking all confused and suddenly I was greeted by a very cheerful (high on coffee, in other words), sweet girl. She asked if I wanted to ask her something, so I gathered up a little confidence and asked her about the Political Science program. Luckily, she was a 4th year Political Science student, because that's what I have applied to. She gave me directions to the Political Science table at the back of the Vari Hall. I approached one of the professors standing there (Wow, already approahing people to spark a conversation! Can we call this confidence?) She was very nice and explained me what this program was all about and what career paths it would open for me. She gave me her card, and asked me if I ever need to ask her anything, I can contact her! Super sweet, I thought! That was too much sweet for me today! So my last stop was Admission Experts corner, no wait, I did manage to get a free coffee that was offered that day ;)! I headed towards the Admissions Expert corner and was waiting for my turn while sipping on a coffee. Waiting, waiting, waiting......painful yeah! But wait, it was well worth it. I'll tell you how, I had been advised by Atkinson Center to bring my supporting documents to the Fall Campus Day. I walked into the room where four of the admissions experts were assisting the future students! I approached one of the Admissions Expert, she took my documents and went over them and guess what, she told me that I have an excellent chance of getting in.

So happy that I was, I ran to my car after getting some goodies from York Lanes to fill my empty stomach!

My advise is to attend the Campus Day, it is well worth it! There are so many questions that you might have in your mind! Jot them down and get help with the students who are already in your program and the professors! I think it is a perfect oppurtunity to get your application noticed as well ;) ....

xox,
   Sobi

Guys, do you think waiting is painful?

It's been two days since I applied, should I recieve a reply? Is it too soon to recieve a reply? I don't know! I am thinking ways to treat myself if I get rejected :( ! Well, that would not be good! I really hope I get into York University and I don't have to go through the pain of 'WAITING' anymore........

What happens after you apply?

After you have recieved an e-acknowledgement, you have to make sure the Office of Admissions of your choice of university, has recieved all of your supporting documents. You application cannot be processed until all the documents have arrived, and that is why I said in my last post, TIME IS CRUCIAL. When all your documents and transcripts have been recieved, you will be notified in your account, (Example: MyFile, York Application Services).

Now, just keep your fingers crossed and see what happens after. I have applied through York Application Services for Winter 2012 Academic Session and now waiting for a reply. The Fall Campus day is this Saturday, November 12th. I have been advised to make an effort to attend this event. I am not sure if I want to go there or not. I have watched videos on YouTube about what happens on a Fall Campus Day, and me being a really shy person, I don't think it would be a good idea to go. So still deciding! Let's see, but I will fill you guys in if I happen to go!!

xox,
   Sobi

Applying to University

I was always fascinated by a big campus and seeing people from different cultural backgrounds around me. But, that was not the focal point in choosing a university. I was looking for a university which is not too far from my house, helps me to gain leadership skills and yes, help me in having a successful career. York has absolutely talented professors, who not only teach at university but team up with students to do research as well. Now thats impressive!

There are a few key points when you are applying for any university and they are:

• Travel 
•  Faculty
• Community
• Ranking
• Diversity

Always make sure you apply well in advance. Sometimes, the Office of Admissions, might require you to take language proficiency tests, portfolios or auditions. So timing is crucial in this matter. You can apply through OUAC ($125 - for three university/progam choices) or York Application Services ($90- two program choices at York University only, this was how I applied). After you make the payment, you will recieve an e-acknowledgement in your e-mail. Make sure you save this information, it is very important to keep this e-mail safe.

I will be posting you guys on what happens after you fill in your application and pay the application fee, in the next post.

Until then!

xox,
    Sobi

On a ride with me...

University life is just like a roller coaster...Fun and fear filled...Many of us have browsed so many blogs just to find some information on how it feels to be at the university and few of us have even thought about what happens in a day to day life of a university student (Well! I lied, almost everyone thinks about it)...And that's the purpose of this blog, to give you an insight of my personal university life. I will be posting my day to day routine, including organizational tips, time management skills, note-taking skills and much more....I am a transfer student at York University starting this Winter (2012) session, majoring in Political Science......

I can tell you one thing...I am super excited, so let's begin this journey.....

xox,
   Sobi