A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET
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Your Post Secondary Decision
Q&A with the Caleon Twins
Mediaplanet sat down with Samantha and Madeleine Caleon, who shared their advice for students as they transition to post-secondary life.
Were you a part of any school clubs or activities? Why is it so important that students get involved? During our early years all the way up to high school we were involved in a few extracurricular activities such as volleyball, ultimate frisbee, dance team, choir, and band. We find that it's important for students to get involved as it teaches them many life skills — one main skill being time management. Also, skills learned in the classroom can be applied to many extracurricular activities — teaching students to be more well-rounded.
Understanding you started your YouTube careers as first-year students, how did you find balance between classes, YouTube, and mental health? We made it a point to establish what was a priority to us. We always knew that school would come first. If we had several assignments and tests in the same week, we'd put off filming for our social media accounts. At one point in
time, we went a couple of months without posting just so that we could concentrate on studying. Besides this, we made sure we made time for ourselves by doing things we enjoyed doing. Family time was a big thing for us, and stepping aside from social media and even studying for a couple of hours in a day to spend time with our family was something we'd do to make sure that we were taking care of our mental health.
What is your biggest piece of advice for incoming students? The biggest piece of advice we could give to incoming students would be to take care of your physical and mental well-being. Post-secondary school can be stressful and very overwhelming at times, and we think it's so important that students are in a good place mentally and physically in order to put their best self forward in tackling what post-secondary school brings.
Read the full interview online at yourcareer guide.ca.
Finding the U in Uni Project Uni tackles the big questions of post-secondary education. Today, we’re answering: “How do I pick the best university?” Alex Kearn, Co-Founder & Director of Communications, Project Uni
T
he modern post-secondary-bound student faces a daunting road. With applications in full swing, students encounter the same questions as those before them — most famously, “What’s the best university?” While many have their own “factual” ranking, the answer is subjective in nature. Different students have different needs to prosper in a post-secondary environment. Let’s examine some key criteria to find your best university.
Academics and opportunity Academic excellence is the most important tenet of any university. Researching teaching styles (for example, lecture-style versus flipped classroom), mandatory courses, electives, and difficulty helps gauge what
might be a good fit for you. Contacting current students and alumni with real experience via social media is invaluable here. Think about career opportunities you can take advantage of at a given university. For example, attending one school may offer certain business opportunities, while another may offer political prospects.
Housing and lifestyle Attending higher education can significantly impact your lifestyle, with the big choice being between staying at home or on campus. Living on campus, you’ll enjoy more independence, comfortable scheduling, and networking. But campus living also means evaluating housing prices, location, access to grocery stores, potentially sharing an apartment, and so on. Living at home gives you the
luxury of being with family and generally having fewer living expenses. However, living at home could mean less independence, and having to account for transportation.
Campus and community Carefully consider the school’s campus and its attendees. If you’re paying to be there, then you should enjoy being there. Take a tour of schools you plan to attend — visit lecture halls, labs, and classrooms. Is there a gym nearby? Is the library quiet and well-kept? Is the campus navigable and well-connected? Consider the student reputation — do you prefer party schools or academic schools? Furthermore, the quality of staff and student support within your desired faculty or program is key to success. Websites and student opinions are priceless here!
If applying to university is hard and you want to make it easier, check out projectuni.net and our Program Decision Matrix to find your best university.
Publisher: Sarah Ferreira Business Development Manager: Chelsea Siemon Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content & Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designer: Kylie Armishaw Content & Web Editor: Karthik Talwar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The Toronto Star or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com. @MediaplanetCA
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