u/BrinsleySchwartze

I'm a first year student who's organizing my timetable, and I want to take an online course during the winter to ease my workload. However, EVERY SINGLE COURSE I add to my shopping cart is either full or reserved.

I particularly want to take IDIS 199 because I'm interested in mental health, but it is reserved despite it being open enrolment right now.

I will literally take any course that is available to me as a Commerce student. Please drop them below.

Here's my schedule. I like it as it is, but I will change it if multiple people tell me to switch out of a course.

• COMM 101A/B - Greg Libitz
• COMM 111 - Amanda Simmers
• COMM 121 - Naceur Essaddam
• COMM 151 - Sue Haywood (Poor ratings on RMP, but my friends never heard of her).
• COMM 161 - Matthew Thompson
• COMM 162 - Tatsiana Levina
• COMM 171 - Felix Fosu (I heard bad stuff about him from my friends).
• COMM 172 - Unknown

All insights appreciated! :D

I'm going into first year Commerce and I have two days where there's 3 back to back classes (1.5 hours long each). That sounds daunting.

Will I be OK and is this common?

Hi! I'm a first-year Commerce student with no experience in recording or editing music (though I do enjoy listening to it). This was one of the only electives still open when I picked my courses.

Am I cooked? How hard is it to get an A, and how time-consuming is the course?

I'd like to hear the opinions of upper-year Commerce students.

I got approved for accommodations (private room + private washroom), but I am on the waitlist. Does this make getting off the waitlist harder since I have accommodations that need to be met? For example, if I'm at the top of the waitlist, but there are no rooms I require available, do I literally still remain on the waitlist?

I emailed res, but got no response. It's kinda wild how un-transparent they are.

Personally, I see Hollyleaf as having OCD (specifically moral scrupulosity), Bluestar as having Major Depressive Disorder, Alderheart as having Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Moth Flight (along with multiple other characters) as having ADHD.

Those are just some of the examples I have in mind. I can definitely think of more! I think it would be cool if Warriors had more obvious mental health representation, although I understand that this theme might be too dark for its target audience :(

Edit: I removed a claim that may have been inaccurate or harmful.

Hi! I’m an incoming first-year at Queen’s. I got my offer in late May, so I wasn’t guaranteed residence and I’ll be living off-campus.

One thing I’m a little worried about is that it might be harder to meet people compared to living in res, so I figured I’d reach out and see if anyone else is in the same situation (or if you’re just looking to make new friends)!

I’m not 100% sure I’m looking for a roommate right now, but I’d be open to that possibility too.

A bit about me: I’m an introvert, I’m going into Smith Commerce, and I’m really into music (I collect records). I’m also not from Kingston, so I’d love to explore the city, find cool places, and have people to do stuff with.

Also, if you’re already a Queen’s student, do you know of any clubs, organizations, or resources that are good for first-years living off-campus?

I’d also love recommendations for places to meet people who are into music—record stores, clubs, events, anything like that.

So, I'm heading to Queen's Commerce next year, mostly because U of T (Rotman) rejected me and Western (Ivey) is too far away.

I'm honestly not fond of the school. I visited the campus twice: once last year, and once on Saturday. I don't feel a pull towards Kingston or Queen's itself.

I know there's a huge emphasis on spirit and community, but I was a loner in high school (I'm probably autistic, idk) and I feel incredibly defiant/overwhelmed around people, especially extroverts and toxic personalities, which seem very common in Queen's Commerce.

Due to these factors, along with the logistics of living alone off-campus (I didn't get guaranteed residence), I'm feeling a lot of anxiety going into university.

I'm scared I won't do well there; I'll have a mental breakdown and end up in the loony bin (or ruin my social image or something). Wtf do I do?

People who have gone through stuff like this, please give me some advice. I lowkey don't know anybody going to Queen's either (well, I do, but they're not people I would typically associate with) and all my friends are at U of T, so the loneliness/Imposter's syndrome epidemic is real.

Edit: Before someone comments, yes, I did look at the clubs offered at Queen's. The thing is, I lowkey have niche interests and wdym there isn't a club for record collecting? :(

As a result, I don't know where to look to find friends. I've been proactive about connecting with people from my area who are heading to Queen's, but they're all very extroverted, which overwhelms me, and we don't share any interests.

I was accepted to Queen's in late May, so I wasn't guaranteed residence. Yesterday, I received an email saying I've been waitlisted for housing.

Should I start considering off-campus housing? My main concern is that I'm not from Kingston, so I don't know anyone I can house with and I'm not sure which areas are safe and convenient for students. Cooking for myself would also be a challenge.

For those who lived off campus in first year, what was your experience like? Were you still able to make friends and feel connected to campus? I'm not very proactive when it comes to making friends, so that's something I'm worried about.

I also submitted a residence accommodations form before the deadline, and Queen's Housing said I'll hear back by June 26. If my accommodation request is approved, does that mean I'll be placed in residence, or will I still remain on the waitlist?

Here are the universities listed in chronological order based on the dates I received my admission decisions:

I completed Calculus and Vectors through e-learning, which I think may have contributed to my rejection from U of T.

Carleton University: Honours Bachelor of Commerce ✅

University of Ottawa: Honours Bachelor of Commerce ✅

Wilfrid Laurier University: Business Administration (BBA), Waterloo Campus ✅

McMaster University: Business I ✅

York University: Business Administration (BBA) ✅

Western University: Management & Organizational Studies + Ivey AEO ✅

University of British Columbia: Bachelor of Commerce ❌

McGill University: Bachelor of Commerce ✅

University of Waterloo: Accounting and Financial Management ✅

Queen's University: Smith Commerce ✅ (the offer I accepted)

University of Toronto: Rotman Commerce ❌

Feel free to ask me any questions about my extracurriculars and supplemental applications.

I'm heading to Queen's for Smith Commerce, and I know I should be proud of my achievement since it's one of the best business programs in Canada. However, I feel very "meh" right now.

I was happy when I got in, of course, and I'd rather do business than, let's say, computer science or health science. But I don't feel any sense of accomplishment. I'm not even sure if I WANT to go to Queen's or if I'll be happy there. I feel trapped.

Anyone else feel that way?

Lately, ChatGPT has been shutting me down for anything even mildly problematic in the most condescending way possible.

I was asking it to help draft an email today. For context, it wasn't anything toxic—I literally just included a single "🙄" emoji in the text. But the AI immediately went into preachy mode, lecturing me to soften my tone so I wouldn't "rub off as emotional."

I repeatedly told it that this was just a casual, non-professional email written for a friend, but it completely ignored my explanation and kept preaching at me anyway.

To make things worse, it started accusing me of saying things I never actually wrote. When I called it out, it literally replied: "Yes, but you implied it indirectly." Genuinely, what is that even supposed to add to a conversation?

After reminding it multiple times that its role is to be helpful, not argumentative, it responded with: "Let me set things straight: my role is not to agree with everything you say."

I feel completely gaslit. I remember paying for an assistant, not a defensive teenager.

This is a question for other introverts, preferably those going to or already in the Ivey program.

I’m a grade 12 student who’s going to Western for BMOS + Ivey AEO in September. While I enjoy the 2+2 learning style and London as a city overall, I’m worried about the student body. I’ve heard Western is an extremely extroverted and somewhat elitist school, especially in the Ivey program.

Meanwhile, I’m pretty neurotic, skittish, and my interests are quite niche :( I’ve struggled to feel like I belong for most of my life. Also, I'm not big on partying or drinking, and I want to be authentic, not performative.

To other fellow introverts: is Western a welcoming school?

Do you feel like you don’t belong, or is finding your people possible? I had trouble integrating in high school, so I’m worried it might be worse for me at Western. Should I consider switching to my local university instead?

I'm a second-generation East Asian student thinking about going into Smith School of Business at Queen's University, and I've heard the school is mostly white and pretty clique-y.

While my Asian friend who goes to Queen's says she hasn't experienced any racism, I've heard a lot of horror stories online. Therefore, I'm curious to hear perspectives from other people of colour at Queen's.

When I say “racism,” I don't just mean blatant hate speech or assault. I also mean things like discrimination, social segregation, feeling excluded, or feeling like you don't share the same values or background as a lot of the student body. Also, are there many people of colour—especially East Asians—in the Commerce program?

I also have a more general question for all Queen's students: what has your experience with classism been like? Is there nepotism involved when it comes to clubs and opportunities, or is that exaggerated?