Media Production at Ryerson University
Brianna (Year 2)
brianna.anqi.wong@gmail.com
What did you wish you knew before going to your university? What made you choose this institution over all others? What are advantages and disadvantages of your institution or campus? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your university.
I chose Ryerson based on the program that I was applying for. Media Production is one of a kind and you cannot really find another program of this caliber at any other school. Ryerson is mainly a commuter school and I live close enough to take the TTC to get to class. The subway station is relatively close to where my classes are. I like how the Eaton Centre is nearby as well as multiple other restaurants to choose from so you never run out of options when choosing what to eat. Since Ryerson is so close to downtown, on your way out of the subway station as well as coming back home, you tend to run into a lot of people asking for money (sometimes personally). The smell of weed is also quite prevalent and I am not particularly fond of the smell. In addition, there is a Tim Hortons that many students frequent due to how close it is to our campus, as well as a drug injection centre that is right next to one of our buildings. Therefore, you see a lot of people coming from the centre going over to Tim Hortons to get something. This is obviously uncontrollable by the school since it is off school grounds so I just deal with it because I cannot really do anything about it.
What did you wish you knew before choosing your specific program? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your program? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your program of study.
I think I would have double checked everything that you needed to submit before handing in everything required in the admissions process. My program needed three references that were credible in order to be qualified for an interview (the next step) and I ended up misspelling one of my reference's emails incorrectly, causing them not to get the form needed for them to fill out. Thankfully I realized my mistake and was able to get the form resent with the correct email, but I could have gotten my interview way earlier instead of waiting two months after the first wave of interviews. I actually love my program a lot and I would not really change anything about the curriculum. We cannot change the circumstances of what the pandemic brought, causing many changes in my schedule since some courses are not being run due to the fact that you need to physically handle the equipment.
What was your favourite university experience?
My best experience was probably going to my classes. I loved learning the curriculum as it was quite interesting and I learned a lot compared to when I started. I also loved being in class with my friends. It is quite mundane but I really liked being in the classrooms and feeling insignificant, just soaking in what the professors would be talking about.
What is the hardest part about your program and what were the steps that you took to overcome any difficulties?
I struggle a lot with examinations; I always have. For some reason I just freeze up and forget whatever I ended up cramming into my head the night before. The only way for me to remember the info is if I can recall if from a specific lecture or if I had an experience with the topic I learned (if I applied it in some way). Another way for me to remember the information is if I take a lot of time to study and do it bit by bit so that I would give time for the information to sink into my brain. Studying with your friends and asking questions about things you do not understand is also a good way to remember what is going to be on the exam. When you and your friends help each other answer the mock questions, you then realize what you do and do not know that way you can later focus on the things that you need to study.
If you were able to take electives, what was your favourite elective? If you were not able to take electives, what was your favourite course and why?
I really loved Music and Film (RTA180). It was a super fun course and the professor teaching it (Patricia Wheeler) was super cool and nice. She really made the class more enjoyable. I have a musical background so learning the different intervals as well as what kinds of time signatures were in the songs that she played was easier for me. I loved learning about the films and I definitely have them all on my watch list for later. I loved connecting the different motifs to certain movies and learning about the different directors. There are three or four short quizzes that were also super easy and a small paper that you had to write which was also pretty simple in my opinion. This class was super hard to get into since it is super popular but if you have a chance to take this course, please do because you will not regret it.
Additional Comments
Due to Covid-19, incoming students will not be having the full experience that I did, with frosh/orientation, being able to experience the different facilities that Ryerson has to offer. Classes are mostly being held online for my program and residence I believe is not an option right now. Just stick to what you are learning online and hopefully you will be able to see the equipment and your friends in real life in the winter semester.
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