I'm not a student - but I am a parent of a student, so here goes: The university is bilingual, and they tend to put French first on everything. (Since I'm from Toronto where it's English first, I tend to notice this.) The campus is a great place to visit for a number of (non-educational) reasons, including music performances (check the Faculty of Music performance calendar for recitals and concerts - many of which are free) as well as theatre and art presentations. The Fringe Festival typically has at least one venue on campus. Parking can be a pain in the keister. If you can, take the OC Transpo instead - drops you off right on campus, very handy. Or ride your bike, as it's just off the canal with great bike access. I can't comment too much on the educational value beyond saying my son seems happy with his experience. Would I recommend: Depends on what you want the recommendation for! Would I return: Frequently. read more

Don't waste your tuition money on this school. They don't care about helping their students. Administration is a nightmare to deal with.... if you can even get in contact with them. The school's websites have clearly never been updated. They are confusing to use and often sends you in circles trying to get an answer. I have also had many bad experiences with profs. I have had profs tell the class that they couldn't care less about their students because they have tenure. School cuts program money and gave staff huge raises. DONT GO TO THIS SCHOOL read more

Total disappointment from this university. 18 year old daughter going for nursing was accepted based on academic grades, signed up for radly to ensure she got into residence with a $700 deposit paid, was informed by email on June15th she did not have meet the requirements (80% average, she had a 78% average) which is understandable but refused to give her any deposit back because she requested a refund after the cut off date which is June 15th(she requested it June 16th) this spot in residence is guaranteed to be filled Without issue, and with health care workers in high demand and shortages of these workers this establishment should be as ashamed of taking kids money for no other reason than greed She has been accepted to another university for health care but due to accepting a late enrolment she is living off campus. I would. It recommended Thai's university to anyone for any course, this just goes too show you who's Interest they have in Mind and it is not their students! Congratulations on the $700 you will never see another penny from our family! read more

My daughter is in second year and just completed 5 exams in 5 days! She is totally stressed out and exhausted and has been for weeks. She completed her last assignment for one of her courses 2 days before exams started! If you are in a program (she's in Bio-Chemistry) you would think they would coordinate so the required course exams aren't all bunched up. Add that we are in COVID and students are self teaching a lot, well you are going to have melt downs. I have been concerned about her mental health a lot this year and have had to help her through emotionally. Overall, she likes Ottawa and puts on a brave face whenever we suggest she change schools or come home, but I will say as a parent we feel the stress along with her as she wades through the challenges. read more

I've finished school but the nightmare lives on. They continue to make my life miserable, heres the latest trouble: I took nursing, and am now looking for a job as an RN. To practice as a registered nurse you need to receive a license to practice, and to get a license you need confirmation you've completed schooling successfully. Makes sense. Once the confirmation of completing school is sent out it takes 2-3 weeks to get your license approved. Most of the nurses are scheduled to be starting work in the beginning of June, however the school STILL hasn't allowed us to get our confirmation of completing school. You do the math, 2-3 weeks from now will be too late and many of us are missing our orientations. I thank my lucky stars my employer is willing to hold my job for me, I know others aren't as lucky. We are the ONLY school of nursing in Ontario that has not had their grades released. uOttawa is the worst. read more

OK, OK. I'm biased. I was a Carleton student. From the second I began my university career, I was brainwashed into despising Ottawa U. We'd chant cuss words during Frosh Week and cheer on our Ravens basketball team while making fun of the Gee-Gees. I do have a lot of friends that went to Ottawa U, though, and even had some professors that taught at both universities. Ottawa U is more known for their law and science programs, and, of course, French. They offer programs in French immersion and there is a very large French-speaking student, faculty, and staff population, gaining the reputation as a "Frenchy" school. The only bad thing I actually have to say about Ottawa U is how students choose their courses. Within the Carleton system, you can choose your course section, with the time, room, and professor information on-hand. This isn't the same for Ottawa U. I was choosing my courses while my friend, an Ottawa U student, was choosing his, and he had a much harder time, as he simply wasn't provided the same details as Carleton students were. read more

I did my Masters at Ottawa U and had a great experience. I only met one prof I didn't really like, mostly because our personalities seemed to clash, but I still enjoyed the class they taught. I met a couple of profs that I absolutely loved though. They encouraged me to do a research paper and I changed my program from coursework to research paper because of their encouragement and belief I could do it. I am now very happy I did it and the supervisor this prof sent me to was amazing also. I did notice that everything is french first, which is interesting because yes I believe it should be bilingual Ottawa is more prodominately english first speaking. I liked that I didn't seem like just a number and I enjoyed my time there. The campus was nice and parking can be tough but there is a lot of street parking around and most of my classes were in the evening so it wasn't too bad. read more

Awful school. Terrible administrative processes. Buildings and facilities falling apart. Quality of faculty and students are very low. Quality of admin services non-existent. Don't go to OttawaU. read more

Get more English speaking prof's and you'll be one of the best uni's in the country trust me

We lived in their students' residence. 195 dollars including 1 double room and 3 single rooms.

I visited for a conference last month. It's a nice campus, with good facilities. The WiFi was good too, easily usable for a visitor like me. Also, there was a pretty great food court set up, with a food/beverage tent and some food trucks. There were enough options to keep everyone satisfied. Overall, a very good experience. read more

I've taken classes from three universities, and my experience at Ottawa U was by far the worst. The administration is just deplorable. You are treated like a second-class citizen. The website is unnecessarily difficult to navigate. As a student, you're treated like a number, and are basically invisible unless you are flashing cash - for God's sake, they even charge you to get a copy of your own official transcript. Also, the turnaround time for the release of final grades is absolutely atrocious, which can cause huge problems for people whose applications to grad school/job offers depend on a timely release of those final grades (see Samantha M.'s review). The location of the school is nice at least, but a lot of the buildings/rooms are in dire need of renovation (alumni auditorium, omg). Save yourself some money, time, and endless frustration. AVOID THIS PLACE. read more

Has the potential to be a great school.. but the administration is lacking and unfortunately, they are the ones you have to deal with constantly. I can't speak for anything else other than the Social Science department, but ... absolutely ridiculous. Beware of hidden deadlines and fees (not on the website). Be prepared to wait on hold for at least 20 minutes. If you have any issues, there is really no one you can talk too... they don't listen, they don't take students seriously. Beware: if you need ANY documentation at all to get into another school (fast track program, college, masters, etc), they will NOT process or look at any documentation until June 20th!!! This is a major problem as most schools need this documentation by JUNE 30TH!! This is not stated on their website. read more

I attended UofO many years ago and returned this past October for the Deconstructing Success event (and also attended Alumni Day earlier in the year)! The university has grown considerably in size since the 1980s and now has a large student body, excellent staff (academic and administrative) and fine programs & facilities. I would recommend it highly, especially the International Development and Global Studies stream. From Toronto, Canada read more

This food is shit never come here to the dining hall it is literal cancer. No doubt it is the worst place to go to. I ate chicken nuggets from this place and almost threw up after exercising 2 hrs after eating it read more

I know how much I depended on these reviews when looking for a uni last year, sooo I decided to do one. Im in first year at uOttawa and its literally the best choice Ive ever made! The city is stunning, especially during the fall months and the people in Ottawa are some of the nicest people Ive ever met (coming from Toronto) The student life is actually alot better than what people say, there may not be as much house parties as there are at other uni's but every weekend large groups go to Gatineau,QC to go to like a little strip of clubs and a pub. Residence isnt the nicest, but the people you meet on your floor and throughout the building are amazing. Literally anyone will talk to you and its so easy to make friends here- this is coming from someone that came into uni super shy, I've become a completely different person. Oooh also Im at Thompson residence, its amazing and there's actually a decent amount of parties (usually on 7th, 16th and 11th- prob gonna change depending on year though). Im beyond happy I chose to come here! HOPE THIS HELPS. read more

Avoid Rideau Residence as place to stay in Ottawa. Great location but sub-par service. Noisy, poor customer service. Really important to note that laundry room not available during summer months. You can do much better elsewhere. read more

Not really a fan of uOttawa in my undergrad. Lacks school spirit that you see in other universities, websites and pages run by the school rarely work correctly (if at all), and SOME of the professors are terrible. Residences are nice, but the food is absolutely terrible and extremely expensive. You run into a lot of problems if you aren't french. Sadly, if i did it again I'd go to Carleton. read more

See if you can get in rez at 90U or St. Paul (off-campus), more expensive, but better rooms. Professors are qualified, if you work hard you'll do well. BSLA (Black Student Leaders Assoc.) is THE club for Black students, great discussions and events are off the hook :) legit made my year...caf food is not so amazing #learntocook read more