Trent University (reviews)

The university fosters a strong sense of belonging, particularly for out-of-state and international students facing challenging transitions. This welcoming environment, combined with robust financial support, enabled me to fully embrace a college journey filled with diverse opportunities, academic progress, and financial stability.

I spent 6 months at Trent and it was, without exaggeration, the worst 6 months of my life. I don’t know what the hell everyone else is talking about when they praise this school, maybe they’re just inexperienced as to what a university should be, but Trent is ABYSMAL.

For context, I moved to Trent fresh out of high school and lived in the Otonabee dorms. The dorms at Trent are AWFUL. If there’s anything you take from my review, it should be that LIVING IN A TRENT DORM IS A MISERABLE EXPERIENCE. The entire building is made of cinderblock and the inside is painted a painful shade of blue, everything including the stairs and rooms themselves is made of concrete or metal. If you live in Otonabee like I did, you cannot do much of anything (even using the bathroom) without doing at least one flight of stairs; to get from my room to class, I had to walk down 3 flights of stairs, then up a massive flight of stairs between the mail room and main entrance, then down another flight into the cafeteria entrance, and then down one more flight to get to the main lecture hall. I am a fit person, I could make this walk every day, but I am also small, and carrying groceries and jugs of water on this path was exhausting. It goes without saying that this school is NOT accessible despite any claims (the few elevators they have break every other week too).

The amenities are also less than bare minimum. You will be sharing one bathroom with 2 stalls and 2 gross showers with THREE FLOORS OF PEOPLE, if I had to estimate, I’d say that’s about 60 people (24 rooms on the first and third floor X two people each + 12 rooms on the second floor with one person each) in total, so around 30 people per gender using the same bathroom. There is no “kitchen” despite what may have been advertised to you. There is a microwave and a toaster oven if you’re willing to walk down the stairs for it. Your room will not have its own sink, fridge, microwave, etc. unless you bring it yourself; my roommate and I were forced to purchase a massive water jug with a spout and a Tupperware bin just so we had water to drink and a spot for dirty dishes.

These rooms are SMALL, and unless you’re willing to cough up an extra $900 to live in Gzowski, they are sweltering hot (up to 28c on our thermostat) because there is no air conditioning. I was lucky that my roommate was someone I like, but if you don’t get along with your roommate you will be living within 9 feet of someone you hate for 8 whole months. I would like to reiterate that these rooms are so much smaller than they seem online. Between my roommate and I, only one of our beds lofted properly, and the mattresses provided were a foam slab and an old spring filled lumpy mattress that looked at least 20 years old.

The food is easily the next worse thing about this place. When I applied they said they have Tim Hortons and various cafes on campus; they are all closed. You get to choose between pizza pizza, subway, and grill and co if you live in Otonabee, and if you’re willing to walk to Gzowski or Lady Eaton you can spend $16 on a soggy Caesar salad the size of your fist. The food here is, to put it simply, not good. At all. Their website says something along the lines of “world class culinary experiences” which is genuinely appalling considering how stale and effortless the food actually is. If you decide to live on campus, save your money and skip the meal plan, get a microwave and make your own food.

Now to my absolute worst Trent experience: mold. Black mold. The buildings at Trent (with the exception of Gzowski) are old and water damaged, THE MAIN LECTURE HALL HAS A LEAKING ROOF AND STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SIT IN CERTAIN ROWS. The dorms also have black mold, which was NOT disclosed to me; I tried my best to continue with my studies but I became so violently ill from the mold infesting our dorm that my mother had to FLY IN FROM MY HOME PROVINCE AND FLY ME HOME TO THE HOSPITAL HALFWAY THROUGH MY SECOND SEMESTER. I could barely wake up in the morning, even when I had a steady supply of energy drinks all day, I threw up randomly all the time including in the middle of a psychology lecture, I could barely eat and lost 13 pounds in the last 2 or so months of my stay, and worst of all, I started experiencing black mold psychosis symptoms. PSYCHOSIS. FROM THE MOLD IN MY DORM. I felt like I was going crazy, I thought that flickering lights were Morse code and that soap dispensers could talk, I thought there were bugs under my skin and that my smoke detector was the eye of God. I’d sue Trent if I could, believe me, but they’ve already exempted themselves from responsibility for illness contracted through a dorm because they made me sign a LIABILITY WAIVER ACKNOWLEDGING THAT OTONABEE WAS FILLED WITH ASBESTOS.

This school’s management is genuinely unhinged and negligent, they don’t give a rat’s ass about your health or wellbeing and they don’t really pretend to once you arrive.

The one positive thing I have to say is that all of my professors were lovely and the actual quality of the education seems up to par. Perhaps you could have a good experience at Trent if you lived off campus and avoided their food, but even then Peterborough is crawling with junkies shooting up right on the curb so it’s not exactly the loveliest place to live.

I’ve recovered and do not experience psychosis symptoms now that the mold has left my system, but the mistake of choosing this wretched school cost me a year of my life, thousands of dollars, and my health.

THEY ARE LYING TO YOU ON THE WEBSITE. THIS SCHOOL IS NOT LIVEABLE AND DOES NOT CONTAIN THE FACILITIES IT CLAIMS TO. SAVE YOURSELF TIME AND MONEY AND PICK SOMETHING BETTER.

Moving to Canada to continue my education was a daunting commitment. I was mostly afraid because I knew that succeeding in education had a lot to do with how well one understands the system.

However, my fear was easily relieved after attending the orientation. The staff, faculty, and fellow students at the Durham campus were very helpful and willing to answer any questions I had. There are many resources and people available to help you settle in both academically and socially.

The classes are interactive, and the lecturers are accessible and understanding of individual situations. I highly recommend Trent University, especially the Human Resource Marketing and Entrepreneurship Dual postgraduate certificate program, to anyone interested in continuing their education in the business/social science field. Moving to Canada to continue my education was a daunting commitment. I was mostly afraid because I knew that succeeding in education had a lot to do with how well one understands the system.

However, my fear was easily relieved after attending the orientation. The staff, faculty, and fellow students at the Durham campus were very helpful and willing to answer any questions I had. There are many resources and people available to help you settle in both academically and socially.

The classes are interactive, and the lecturers are accessible and understanding of individual situations. I highly recommend Trent University, especially the Human Resource Marketing and Entrepreneurship Dual postgraduate certificate program, to anyone interested in continuing their education in the business/social science field.

Trent university ensures exceptional opportunities for personal and intellectual development through its acclaimed faculty and diverse academic programs. The university strives to cultivate an inclusive and inviting campus atmosphere that values diversity, making sure that students feel accepted and supported.