For many students, student life plays an important role in selecting a college or university. Student life includes residence and housing, athletics, and students with special needs.
Most school websites contain this information, if the link is not visible on the homepage, it may be located in the prospective students section. In addition to checking out websites, you may wish to visit a school or ask any current students you might know about the school.
The Ontario Colleges website lists information on college open houses and campus tours under the heading News and Events.
Ontario Universities Info lists information on university open houses and campus tours under the heading Upcoming Events.
Residence and Housing
The Ontario Colleges website has a summary of residence information for all of the Ontario Colleges. Most college websites have a section on the residence and off-campus housing options that are available at their college.
The Ontario Universities Info website has a summary of basic residence information for each of the universities in Ontario. By clicking on each university, you can find this information under Residences and Meal Plans.
Athletics
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association maintains a site that describes the opportunities for intercollegiate sports at all of the Ontario Colleges.
The Ontario University Athletics website allows you to explore the opportunities for intercollegiate sports at all of the Ontario Universities. Athletic financial awards are now available for many sports at all Ontario Universities.
Students with Special Needs
Most colleges and universities offer support for students with:
visual impairment
hearing impairment
mobility impairment
learning disabilities
psychiatric disabilities
other non-visible disabilities (e.g. chronic medical conditions)
It may be possible for you to get similar accommodations in college or university.
You may want to contact your Special Education Teacher for a copy of your Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Do not send your IEP to OCAS or OUAC. Wait until a college has contacted you and confirmed that they have received your application, then make a photocopy of the IEP, write your OCAS or OUAC number on the IEP, and send it to the special needs office at the college.
The College Committee on Disability Issues (CCDI) promotes and provides quality leadership in the development and delivery of support services to students with disabilities. The CCDI maintains a list of disability service links for each of the Ontario Colleges.
The Inter-University Disability Issues Association (IDIA), is an association of disability service providers from Universities throughout Ontario. IDIA maintains a list of disability service links for each of the Ontario Universities.