So you've finally touched down in Canada.
All those months of preparation; From finishing your final exams, doing extensive (or not so extensive) searches to determine where you wanted to pursue your post-secondary education, which school you wanted to attend, perhaps deciding what your major would be, waiting to be accepted, applying for the visa, getting the visa accepted, booking your flight tickets, arriving at the border getting your permit, and finally stepping food on the Canadian soil.
After all that, you're probably like, "Now what?"
Yeah, I've been there, and in true Maya fashion, I've comprised a list of things I recall doing that first week I arrived in Canada.
Arriving to Canada is just one step in the journey. After you leave the airport, there's still a few things to get done before you sit in your first class, so I hope this list kind of helps narrow some of the most important things you should tackle as soon as possible to get them out the way so you can continue enjoying the more exciting moments of your new post-secondary journey.
The list isn’t in necessarily order of importance, but rather order of how I remember.
I'd say most of it is common sense, and I'm sure most of you may have already thought of these things, but sometimes it's easy to get lost in all the excitement and confusion and nerves and everything in between when you first arrive in Canada, so here's a reminder or two if you need it!
Here's the condensed list discussed below.
1.. If you haven’t already, go pick up your student card.
2.. Visit your campus(es) !
3. Any pre-orientation sessions prior to the major one? Attend it!
4. Set up a phone plan
5. Open up a bank account
6. Buy any required items that couldn't fit in your suitcase
7. Don’t get all your schoolbooks all at once!
8. Take some time to be a tourist
9. Look into on-campus clubs that'll be active for the upcoming academic year.
10. Enjoy the time with your family and loved ones.
Keep scrolling to check out this list in more detail!
1. ↠↠ If you haven’t already, go pick up your student card.
Most likely you’ll need it to sign in for on campus events like orientation, or residence (if your school uses your student ID as a residence card, some do, some don't) so it’s great to have that before hand.
Some schools also use your student ID as your meal plan card if you live on residence (like at York for example) so it's great to pick that up early and go buy something small like a bottle of water in the cafeteria to make sure it's working.
2. ↠↠ Visit your campus(es) !
One of the downsides to searching for schools to attend as an international student, is that you don't have that benefit of getting to go to an open house, or book a campus tour before you decide to enroll in the institution.
When you arrive in Canada, and if you arrive a few days before the first day of class, or orientation week, this is a great time to wander around and begin familiarizing yourself with the space you're about to either call home (if you live on residence) or is about to become the place you'll spend most of your time for the next 3-4 years while you attend classes.
I was a student at York's smaller campus, Glendon, so it wasn't too hard to get familiar with the space, but some campuses, even York’s main campus one are huge.
It'll work in your favour if you even try to make note in advance, of the location of some of your classrooms or lecture halls, food hubs, major social spots, or quiet study rooms.
If you're lucky enough to have had family come up with you, bring them along too! They're probably just as nervous sending you off to university or college as you are going. This might help ease their nerves, even envision you going off to your classes.
In true Caribbean father form, my dad came along with my sister and I to check out or "inspect" my campus, ask questions, and just see where I'd be living and going to class.
3. ↠↠ Any pre-orientation sessions prior to the major one? Attend it!
To my knowledge, most schools tend to have a general (usually mandatory) "Orientation day," to welcome the start of a new academic year. At York it's a big show with bagpipes, performances, fireworks and everything.
As an international student though, the reality for many of us, myself included, is that this may be your first time, in a foreign country, and perhaps all on your own.
Your transition to the post-secondary life will be a bit different from the transition for domestic students, which is why I'd advise you seek out additional information, especially any sessions tailored specifically for international students.
I'll admit, some sessions do feel a bit pointless. You may sit down in one and think "I could've probably googled this," but on the other hand, some sessions can provide some really helpful information.
I’m stressing its importance even more if you’re studying in a country you’re brand new to. The sessions can vary from academics, health care and health insurance, transit and getting around the city and lots more.
Plus, being around other international students in those sessions is somewhat relieving, giving you a chance to meet people who may be going through the same process, and experiencing similar thoughts as you.
Drown yourself in as much information as you can. Believe me, it’ll work in your favour one day when you least expect it. There's nothing to lose from gaining some additional information that may help you down the line.
4. ↠↠ Set up a phone plan.
You’re going to find a lot of public places in Toronto that offer free WIFI, like in the Subway stations, Starbucks, or local stores and cafes, but given that you're going to be living in Canada for sometime, you're going to need a local Canadian phone number.
Especially during that first week of school, if you signed up for orientation week, you'll find yourself having to provide that number numerous times.
There are numerous affordable phone plans in Canada, which can relieve some stress off that student budget, but it ultimately depends on which company you sign up with.
The cheapest option in general tends to be a bring-your-own-phone plan.
When I first arrived, I started with a bring-your-own-phone plan with Virgin Mobile, but that plan was 1GB for $40 a month + tax.
Let me tell you, 1GB, is very little if you didn't already know. Within a few months I'd switched over to Freedom Mobile where I was able to get a new phone on a two year contract, paying $50 a month (plus tax) for 5GB of data (Plus some additional contract fees.)
Other major phone companies here in Canada include; Fido, Rogers, Koodoo, Bell, Telus and Public Mobile and more. Their coverage differs (Toronto-wide vs. Canada wide) and so do their prices, so it's up to you to determine what's most important to you when you sign up with a phone company. Price or coverage.
For example, if you plan to remain in Toronto for the majority of the time, a company like Freedom has relatively lower prices, but their coverage is mostly limited to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and the furthur outward you go, the weaker the service is. A more nationwide/Canada-wide option would be with Bell Mobile, but their prices are higher than Freedom Mobile's.
5. ↠↠ Open up a bank account.
Opening a bank account is arguably one of the most important things on this list, as this will be the way you handle your money in Canada, get paid for any student jobs you pick up, pay your bills and more.
Family member gave you some cash? Open up a student checking account and deposit the money on there. Want to start building your Credit in Canada? Open up a student credit card.
Many of the major Canadian banks offer specifically tailored Student banking accounts. You can even get rewards at some of these banks, like with Scotiabank for example, you can earn Scene points which can later be used to redeem free movie tickets, or get money off at select restaurants.
Major banks here include: Scotiabank, TD, CIBC, RBC and BMO.
Check out their websites to see what kind of student accounts and offers they have so you can determine who's the best to go with for you.
Something new I learned about when I first came to Canada, is the phenomenon that is e-transfer. In a nutshell, through your banking app, you're able to send money to someone by simply inputting their email address, and how much you want to send.
It comes in handy when you need to pay your friend back for covering the Uber fare after you got lost downtown for example (personal experience too, trust me).
There's also the phenomenon that is Apple pay, where you can save your card details on your phone and not even need to pull your card out to pay for something, rather you just hold your phone up to the reader, and boom-money extracted, and item bought.
Compared to back home, I would say its (dangerously) easier to spend your money up here in Canada.
Read up more about setting up a student bank account in my post here.
6. ↠↠ Those additional things you have to get that couldn't fit in your suitcase? Now's the time to get them!
That first week you touchdown is a great time to gather things you need, like bedding, pillows, room decorations to spruce up the new space that couldn't otherwise fit in your suitcase when you were preparing to leave.
Everything you learned from watching all those dorm room hauls and dorm room tours (if you're like me and spent the entire month of August fanaticizing on how you'd decorate your dorm room) now is the time to apply that information!
I think this is the part I was most excited about. That and a mini fridge all for myself.
If you've living in a dorm and want to get a mini fridge though, I'd advise you wait till the day before, or the day you move in to get it (if you don't have a lot of help when you're moving in) because those things may look small, but trust me, they are heavy.
7. ↠↠ Don’t get all your schoolbooks all at once!
You're probably excited to dive into your very first university/college class, but don’t go overboard just yet!
I'm not too familiar with how other schools operate, but with York, you’re able to access your required booklist to check what books or texts you may or may not need for your courses relatively early in advance.
My advice is to wait until the first day of class for the professor to specify what texts they want.
Some profs are open and upfront and tell you just how much you may be using the assigned textbook(s) and you can decide if it's something you actually want to spend your money on, whereas others may have forgotten to update their booklist, or want you get a newer edition of a required book for the course.
I've even experienced Professors flat out telling us don't buy the book because they've changed the syllabus and may provide the readings required either via PDF or print outs (depending on how long the reading would be.)
Others just give you the title of the book and chapter, or the title of the journal article and page numbers and expect you to search it online. It all varies on the class, on the professor, and of course what your area of study is.
A degree in International Studies for me meant lots and lots of readings, but 7/10 times I could find them online as PDFs, but these sometimes required extensive searches, and not all the digital texts were free.
If you're struggling to find the PDFs, or you're not as eager to buy a book with a $350 price tag you're only going to use for one semester, I also discovered a number of Facebook groups where upper year students would sell their used books from completed classes for much cheaper prices than the bookstore. Trust me, you won't regret exploring your options.
Note however, that sometimes you have no choice but to buy the required course material/required text from the bookstore. I had a couple classes at York where professors would put together a booklet comprised of the readings and information you'd need for class, but those usually did still tend to be much cheaper than the bulker text books.
8. ↠↠ Take some time to be a tourist!
While this first week you arrive is an ideal time to prepare for your upcoming student life, take some time to also enjoy the sights!
Especially if it’s your first time in the Canada and you’re lucky enough to have a family member or two with you.
Yes you’re here for school first, but this is also a really good time to get more acquainted with your surroundings outside of your campus(es), and get to know this new city that you're about to call your home-away-from-home!
My family and I explored downtown and did some typical tourist things like visit Ripley's Aquarium and the CN tower.
It was a nice break from all the preparation and planning and just getting to enjoy the moment and breathe in the fact that I was finally here, in Toronto!
First time seeing the CN tower!
Family photo!
9. ↠↠ Look into on-campus clubs that'll be active for the upcoming academic year.
This is definitely a top two for me, and probably isn't number 2.
Looking into which clubs are, or will be active on campus before hand to find out which ones peak your interest, is a great way to get a head start to building your social life in the post-secondary environment.
Academics only make up a part of your life as a student, trust me.
Finding out a bit more about the clubs before hand gives you a chance to follow them on social media, so when they start posting up information as the academic year starts, like events they'll be hosting, meet and greets, ways to get involved or even become a member of their executive boards, you won't miss anything.
I was able to find a number of clubs I was interested in before I even arrived in Canada, and it added to my excitement, imagining what fun it would be being part of them.
Joining clubs are also great ways to meet and connect with people, and can help you find a space that you're comfortable in, by meeting people who look like you, share in similar interests, or both!
This is especially helpful if you know you’re going to be going to be on a big campus. Finding a community and safe space you feel like you belong to can give you some peace of mind, and a well needed break from the hustle and bustle and stresses that comes with the academic side of post-secondary education.
You can read up more about clubs, and making the most of your post-secondary experience through getting involved in student life and clubs in my post here.
10. ↠↠ Enjoy the time with your family and loved ones.
If you’re lucky enough to have family members and/or loved ones go abroad with you to help you move in, get acquainted, even do some shopping - despite all the excitement and anxiety you may be feeling, make sure you make some time to spend with them before they have to return home!
That first night in my new dorm room, the homesickness feeling really hit me, especially since I didn’t get a chance to say by to my parents and my sister and see them off the day they had to fly back home to Trinidad.
I was downtown for an orientation activity that ran way longer than the time we anticipated returning to campus, and the guilt was hitting my heavy after I'd rushed my parents the day before when they dropped off a few things since I was eager to return to the orientation activity that was happening (FOMO, I know).
That guilt stuck with me for a good month, into October, so my piece of advice here is excitement aside, take some time to celebrate the beginning of your new life chapter with the family and friends who may have come up with you!
Thanks for reading!
- Maya 💛