• admissions,  applying for U of T,  getting into U of T,  rotman

    what in the psychic connection?!

    June 9, 2026

    Hi, I’m a grade 11 student in ontario and I’m taking advanced functions and I’ll get roughly an 89 or 90 if I do really good on the final. The thing is, my school doesnt offer calculus so I’ll have to apply with my AF grade unless i take it in nightschool the first semester of next year.  So how are my chances of getting into rotman (finance and economics) and if theyre not good, should i take calculus in night school to get a better grade and apply with that? if not, what can I do to improve my chances 

    Hi, I want to apply to rotman finance and economics but i have an 88 in advanced functions and a 95 in english, my school doesnt offer calculus first semester so I’ll have to apply with my AF grade unless i take it in nightschool so how good are my chances, and if theyre bad should i take calculus in night school or work on a strong supplemental application? 

    heyyo, 

    sooooo to address the elephant in the room… 

    these two asks are so so SO similar that it’s scaring me a little. the logical side of me assumes you two are bffs who go to the same school and both realized you should consult the very wise askastudent you found on google. but part of me kinda hopes that you go to school in two entirely different cities and had the same idea at basically the same time because you have a crazy psychic connection….

    ok with that out of the way, to answer your question(s). it’s definitely not weird for schools to only have calc in second sem, i’m pretty sure my medium-sized high school did the same thing. i’d be pretty surprised if your school truly didn’t offer it at all, though. from what i know, every school in ontario has to provide any course that’s required for post-secondary programs. but if not, then yeah, night school/online school is a valid option.  

    however. with that said. i would highly, highly encourage you both to take calc in day school during your second semester of grade 12. that’s right, aska is getting a little serious with this one. 

    now this is of course not to say that you’re completely doomed if you don’t follow my advice, but there’s quite a few reasons why i think you should just stick to day school for calc. for one, the rotman admissions website says that they encourage students to take courses in their day school if possible. while this isn’t an automatic disqualifier and you could probably explain this away IF your school doesn’t offer calc at all for some reason, you might as well avoid doing anything that could potentially hurt your chances. 

    another reason is that… your marks in advanced functions aren’t bad at all. the rotman website says that mid-high 80s averages are the general range they’re looking for. i know that it can get competitive and you’d prob wanna be a bit higher than that to feel safe, but even THEN, having an 88-90 in one course will not make much of a difference to that average.  

    and also, hate to break it to ya, but calc is probably gonna be harder than advanced functions. imo, pushing it forward into first sem will only make things a little trickier for you in what will probably already be a stressful time! both of your advanced function marks seem pretty solid to me, so it’s not like you’d need calc to “save” your average anyways.  

    so what i think you can do to improve your chances is, as you said, to start prepping for an awe-inspiring supplemental application. 

    (this will be the admissions officers when they see it, fr fr) 

    the supplemental app will include some timed written and video responses, usually about your skills/interests and community involvement/extracurriculars. the questions change every year so there’s no way to know for sure what will be asked, but you can work on strengthening your involvement in ecs, volunteering, or a personal project, as well as jotting some points down about why you’re interested in business (and rotman in particular). 

    that’s all i have for you, you psychically connected duo. i hope my advice landed, and godspeed in calc and your applications! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • architecture,  daniels,  internal transfer

    they light the way

    June 5, 2026

    I’ve been accepted into the UTSC Arts & Science co-op program; and while initially planning an intended major, I’ve recently been exploring other options more thoroughly and found one that I’m really interested in at UTSG, specifically the Architectural Studies program at the Daniels Faculty. I came across your webpage and posts while searching for information regarding the internal transfer process and first-year course planning, and I wanted to ask a few general questions from a student perspective: 

    How realistic is the UTSC to Daniels transfer pathway in practice? 

    Is it common for students to take some Daniels or other St. George courses during first year before transferring? 

    If a student transfers after first year, do most first year credits usually still count toward the Daniels degree as electives/breadth requirements, or do students often end up significantly delayed? 

    Are there any particular first year courses or strategies you would personally recommend for students planning this kind of transfer?  

    I’m really trying to plan my first year carefully before course enrolment opens, so I would greatly appreciate any advice or insight from someone familiar with the process. 

    Thank you very much for your time! 

    heyyo, 

    oo i really love your question, it got me doing a ton of research. which isn’t a complaint btw, it was a great opportunity to expand my amazing and ginormous repertoire of uoft knowledge.  

    first of all congrats on your acceptance to utsc!! getting into uni is probably the biggest step of all, so you’re already halfway there.  

    now sadly, i can’t exactly tell you HOW realistic it is to transfer to daniels, or if it’s common. i’ve personally never seen it, but i’m sure it does happen. i just haven’t met anyone personally who’s done it, probably because aska isn’t exactly the biggest social butterfly in existence. surprising for a person crouched behind a computer all day, i know. 

    (me, btw)

    the daniels website does mention transferring into the faculty from utsc, so it’s not like it never happens. you can see more about how credit transferring works here, but basically, all of your utsc courses and the marks you got in them will be retained. none of them will apply to your daniels program, but they will count towards completing your degree. 

    oh also, another thing you have to consider is that you may end up taking a program in the faculty of arts and science (st george’s faculty for the majority of undergrad programs) along with your daniels program. this is because even the specialist in architectural studies is only 10.0 credits, and you need 20.0 to graduate. it seems like this should be relatively easy once you’re in daniels, but to be 100% honest with you, i’m not sure how exactly this works. gasp, yes, unfortunately aska is not omnipotent :/ 

    i’d really recommend getting in touch with the undergrad admissions or registrar’s offices at daniels to find out about how that whole thing works. there’s so so much red tape to navigate at uoft, ESPECIALLY with transfers, and talking to someone who knows what’s up will make that infinitely easier to navigate. 

    as for what you should do in first year… you can totally take some courses at daniels if it’s possible for you to get downtown easily. you can check out the requirements for the program(s) you might wanna do here, and from there check the first- or second-year courses that are available to non-daniels students. lots of them ARE restricted to current daniels students, but not all.  

    another recommendation would be to take some utsc courses related to potential programs you’re interested in, just in case you change your mind and to have a backup plan. if at all possible, i’d try to have certain days only for utsc courses and others only for daniels. because as someone who travels somewhat frequently from downtown to utsc myself, i think i would die if i had to do it, like, three times every day. 

    anyways that was super long-winded but i hope it helped, it was very fun to do all this research for you. in the end, though, i’m no academic advisor so i really really think you should reach out to admissions/the registrar at daniels and also the utsc registrar. they will light the way (any house of the dragon fans? no? sigh…). 

    i promise they won’t be this creepy.

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  business,  getting into U of T,  rotman,  social sciences

    what is the high school teacher lore??

    June 1, 2026

    Hi aska! Hope you’re doing awesome!  

    I’m a grade 11 student, and I plan on applying into the finances and businesses for Uni, I can’t say exactly what I’m applying for since I unfortunately haven’t decided yet (I couldn’t even decide if I want to go int social sciences or business ?). Tho unfortunately I’m failing a class, it’s a communication technology course (I have a 40% in that class), which has dragged my average down by a lot. My other classes are in high 70s and low 80s, and I have two courses (one of them is night school) in the higher 90s. Despite that, my average is around a 78% currently, which is freaking me out since I’ve been told grade 11 matters for university. I wish I could blame my teacher for it (since it’s technically his fault I can’t lie….hello you’ve been suspended for 67 years why are you still failing me….) 

    I wanted to know if my fail would matter and if I still have the possibility to get into the more competitive business courses (like accounting for example) or just into UofT in general. It’s been a very rough year so a lot of my grades are impacted by my mental health and current living situation, but I don’t know if that would make any difference when it comes to admission and looking over at my grades (A.k.a be kind to me world I’m just a baby….)  

    Ok thank you aska! You’re awesome and I hope I’m not cooked….? 

    heyyo, 

    i am definitely doing awesome, wow, thank you for being interested in your dear old aska’s life. 

     

    ok so you aren’t cooked. and you definitely aren’t alone. i actually had someone else in a really similar position to you (as in, they failed a non-required class), write in last month, so i think you may wanna check out that post too. 

    the short answer is that failing a non-required course doesn’t mean you’re, like, automatically disqualified from uoft. yes, grade 11 marks do matter, and yes, uoft will see if you failed a course. HOWEVER grade 12 marks will matter more, especially if you show improvement. and since comm tech is not a prerequisite for anything, it will matter even less.  

    taking a look at the programs you’re into, you are a little below the admission range now, but like I said, grade 12 matters more. business is actually offered at all three uoft campuses and the requirements differ a lil. rotman commerce at utsg i know is quite competitive, website says they’re looking for mid-high 80s but that may be on the lower end? the misssissauga (utm) and scarborough (utsc) campuses are around mid-80s. some of these programs also require supplemental applications (i know rotman commerce does for sure). soc sci will be a bit less competitive, especially at utm and utsc, and no pesky supplemental applications. i guess the world can be kind to you in these small ways. 

    so my advice to you is absolutely DON’T GIVE UP!!! it is still very possible to get into university 🙂 

    oh, and one last thing, because there was no way you were getting away with saying it and then not elaborating: i am seriously concerned about your teacher in that class?! what is the lore behind this guy being suspended for 67 (haha very funny) years? what on earth did he do??? 

    Music Video Wtf GIF

    please reassure aska that this high school classroom is not ground zero for some horrific crimes. please.

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  computer science,  UTSC

    be patient, young grasshopper

    May 22, 2026

    Hi! I am an international applicant and got admitted to CS Co-op @ UTSC. I have accepted the offer and applied for a study visa. However, I am most probably getting an aggregate final score of high 80s even though I predicted high 90s. The drop will majorly be due to Physics and Chemistry, though Math and English will still remain strong enough. Do I risk my offer getting rescinded by any chance? Thank You! 

    heyyo, 

    ooo i feel ya, this is a rough situation to be in. however, as your true and bestest friend ever, i am here to provide some encouragement. 

    the first thing i want you to know is that it is NOT joever until it’s joever. and luckily, we’re not joever just yet. 

    since you didn’t mention that your conditional offer said you have to maintain a specific average, i’m gonna assume that it just had the standard “maintain your academic standing” mysterious and cryptic message that most people get. 

    and in that case, from what I’ve heard, offers are very rarely rescinded. you mentioned that you predicted your grades would be high 90s, but i’m wondering if that was your average when you were admitted? even if so, a drop of 10% from high 90s to 80s doesn’t seem like a death sentence to me.  

    also, the fact that your drop in grades is mostly because of chem and physics (pesky sciences smh), and not the program prereqs of math and english, will likely be another point in your favour.  

    another consideration which may work in your favour (yippee!) is how you’re calculating your average. i’m not sure if it’s different for international students, but for ontario applicants, your average is calculated by taking your grades in each of the program prereqs (in this case, two math courses and english), along with your remaining highest grades, up until they have 6 total courses. so for you that would be two math courses + english + your three best grades in any other upper-level grade 12 course. so if you calculate things that way… new horizons may be open to you. 

    there is still a possibility that your offer is rescinded, though. if that does happen, you can contact the admissions office to explain any extenuating circumstances. my advice is to only do that if you get your offer formally revoked, though. i don’t personally see a point in contacting them prior, before anything is decided, as they might not even have an answer for you yet. you’ll just have to be patient, young grasshopper. 

    oh, and last thing: in the scenario where your offer gets rescinded AND the appeal doesn’t work, there’s a possibility you might get an alternate offer. this could be for non-coop comp sci (which has an approximate grade requirement in the low 90s rather than high 90s), or to a similar admissions category, like mathematics. 

    i really hope i was able to ease your worries a little bit! keep working hard and I’ll be cheering you on! 

    cheers (literally), 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  UTSC

    info from a not-so-secret resource

    May 10, 2026

    What is the competitive avg to get into life sci (health sci stream) at utsc? Do they care if I take courses in summer school and night school? Will I acc get in?? ??? 

    Hi aska!  

    I was wondering if uoft can reject you based on grade 11 grades? Or if you don’t get in through early admissions can you reapply w/ grade 12 grades? And do they only care about grade 12 grades? 

    heyyo, 

    soooo I’ve decided to do a dual post with this one because 1) i think it’d be useful for each of you to see the other answer, and 2) GUYS SO MANY ADMISSIONS QUESTIONS! Which isn’t a bad thing, btw. you give me purpose (because, as you all know, aska only activates when a question comes in. you admissions folks are keeping me from hibernating). 

    to my hopeful future scarborough dweller: nope, uoft doesn’t care about summer school. and utsc health sci stream is looking for a mid-70s average, or high 70s for co-op. i found this information from a very secret source. oh wait, it was actually just ontario universities’ info, which you can check yourself anytime to search for the admissions average/requirements of literally every program at, you guessed it, every ontario university. actually insane. 

    as for whether you’ll actually get in, well, i’m just your (not) humble aska, not an admissions officer. so while i can tell you that taking all the required prereq courses (english, chem, bio, any uni math course) and having your top six average in the admissions range would give you a great shot, i can’t tell you for sure. forgive me. 

    now for my early admissions-concerned future applicant: i think there’s a few things i gotta clear up. 

    i have a feeling that reddit may have you in a tizzy over “early admissions.” because the truth is there really aren’t any early admissions at uoft. the way things work is that EVERYONE applies in the fall of the year before you wanna start uni (in grade 12, for ontario). while yes, there is an “early application date” on the website, that date only exists if you want to be admitted in the first round of admissions, in february. 

    however there isn’t any reapplication that happens. you submit one application, in the fall. i’m no expert in how things work internationally, but i know that in ontario, your grades are automatically uploaded as they come out. so when the decisions are made, uoft will have access to all of your grade 11 grades and every midterm/final grade you’ve gotten so far in grade 12. so thankfully, you only gotta worry about applying once. and then you can relax! well, when you’re not dealing with the calamity of twelfth grade. 

    you’re also far from the first one to ask about grade 11 grades mattering. the short answer: yes, but maybe not as much as you think. unis will have access to grade 11 marks and will consider them, but since grade 12 is more recent and shows your overall trajectory, the latter will be more important. 

    anyways that was my long-winded answer to you guys. i do have a final piece of good news for you though: you two (along with the MANY recent future/current applicants who’ve reached out in the last several months) have inspired me to make an applicant/new student guide. so stay tuned for that soon! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  getting into U of T,  life science,  UTM,  UTSC

    the gutter called, your grades aren’t there

    April 28, 2026

    Hello, currently a grade 12 student in my final semester and I’ve already been accepted to the other 2 campuses, life sciences for scarborough and Forensic. Currently panicking my mind with admission to the St George Campus for Life Sciences as with my first semester finals (83.3%) and 2nd semester mid-terms combined (86.7%), my average looks to be in the gutter with an 85% average currently. Since there will be 2 final rounds of admission in may, I felt like my chances are on the bleak side. 

    heyyo, 

    well I’ve heard about a lot of things being “in the gutter” but for some reason, i haven’t heard someone say that about having an 85% average in grade 12. weird, huh? 

    maaaaybe that’s ’cause an 85 is absolutely not in the gutter! that’s already solid enough for many many programs and is even within the range for utsg life sci, which is mid-high 80s. i also wanna point out that your marks have even improved in second semester, which may help you out too. 

    another thing i gotta wonder is if the averages you gave me are only for your top six classes, or if they’re you’re overall averages? for utsg life sci, and assuming you’re in ontario, admission average is determined by looking at your marks for eng4u, mcv4u, and your top four 4u/m courses that aren’t english or calculus. if you gave me your overall average, you may be in an even better position than you think.  

    and even if you don’t get in to utsg life sci… there’s so many other awesome paths forward. for one, it’s great that you got into utm and utsc! forensics sounds pretty cool to me, and if that’s something you want to pursue specifically, utm might be the better choice anyways because utsg doesn’t have a forensics program. if you end up at utm or utsc but think that being downtown is more your thing, you could always take courses at utsg as well. you’d just have to take a shuttle (utm) or a bus and subway (utsc), which kinda sucks, but it’s worth it if you want your big-city moment. 

    there’s also the possibility of getting an alternate offer, which means you might get an admission to another utsg category (like humanities) instead of life sci. while you may think that being subjected to studying philosophy or international relations for 4+ years sounds like actual hell (i’m allowed to say this because one of my programs is in the humanities), fear not: you can take programs outside your admission category as long as you meet the prereqs.  

    i’m not sure when the april admissions round happened so you might’ve been accepted in the time between when you submitted this question and the time i’m writing this, in which case, congrats! but also, man, i guess you didn’t need me after all… 

    but if that didn’t happen, just know that plenty of people get admitted in may. you still definitely have a shot at utsg and even if that doesn’t work out, you have some great options in utm or utsc. stay strong and believe. 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  getting into U of T

    we’ve got a clever one on our hands

    April 27, 2026

    Hey, so I have some questions as a grade 11 student in Ontario. So I want to apply to life sciences (Chemistry) and Mathematics and physical sciences. I had a 80% in functions last sem, should I take advance functions in the Summer so Uoft looks at it as my course to refer to my math grade and is Uoft okay with taking summer classes? And how to perform well in advance functions in the summer and will I have a big gap going into Calc after. Thanks.

    heyyo, 

    my my you are clever. doing a summer course so that it can take priority over your grade 11 mark? tricky.

    now i hate to break it to you, but while you are right in some parts, your plan may not be quite as effective as you hope. it’s true that universities tend to focus most on your most recent grade in a subject since, well, it’s the most accurate show of your skills/growth at the time. so in that sense, if you do better in your summer advanced functions than in grade 11 functions, the summer course will be more relevant. and yes, summer courses are totally ok.  

    however, i have two disclaimers for you.  

    one: as you might know, unis will still look at your grade 11 marks, even if you have more recent grade 12 results for those subjects. yes, the newer one will take precedence, but it’s not like your grade 11 mark will disappear.  

    two: i don’t know how things work for you, but from my experience in high school (and what i assume is the default), you can’t exactly decide which semester you take your courses. so this means that it’s possible you could take calculus in first sem. as well, if your application is considered in the april/may admission rounds, your second semester midterm marks will be in play too. so either way you could have calc become your most recent math grade anyways. 

    overall you don’t have a bad plan but i think if you wanna go ahead with it, it should be because you want to work at your own pace/give the course more attention, not just so it can be your most recent grade.  

    as for how to prep for calc if you do it in second semester? weeeeelll i have to be totally honest with you… aska is not a math expert. i maaaaay have never taken advanced functions or calculus. maybe. 

    so i can’t give you super specific tips here. however, i have done online courses in the summer, so the best advice i can give you is to set aside specific time in your day to work. it may be hard at first, but trust, it’ll make things so much more efficient and keep you focused. 

    you may have a bit of a gap for calc if you take it in second sem, but most classes will be understanding of this and provide some review at the start of the semester. i also heard some good things about this youtube channel and this website from friends who took the course. and if you feel like you need a bit more of a refresher, you could always get extra help from your teacher or guidance counselor. or the obvious… review your notes over the winter break. even though that might really suck. 

    good luck with your math adventures and your applications this fall! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  getting into U of T

    crazy times we live in, huh?

    April 26, 2026

    Hi aska!!  

    This is my first time stumbling onto askastudent, and I’ve been able to gather a lot more info on uni, which thanks sm!! 😛  

    And for my question(s), I was wondering if it matters that I fail a course? I’m in grade 11, and I actually have 5 credits right now (that is if I don’t fail one of those courses ?). The subject itself isn’t important to me since it’s a yearbook course, and I’m planning on going into the social sciences or politics, preferably in St. George (or other campuses I’m still debating ?). But I also know UofT (and I’m gonna guess other unis as well) looks at grade 11 courses, which is kinda freaking me out 🙁 I do have a 86% average right now (without the course I’m failing since there hasn’t been a grade out for it yet…. ?), I’m doing decent-ish in my courses, esp w my current mental health and constant missing school for counselling or other issues ?.  

    I also wanted to know if universities would care that there’s a sudden boost in my grades for gr12 (hypothetically, if I could even manage that ?). I’m only doing pretty poorly now because of my current family situation and from missing a bunch of school, I obviously plan on doing much better in gr12 and I was planning on taking Virtual school for the maths because I work better at my own pace, but I’m worried UofT would think I’m cheating and not that I’m actually able to lock in or something like that because my 85% in math is suddenly 90% or more (My mom keeps telling me this so I’m kinda scared ?) and a lot of people keep telling me a lot of different things like grade 11 doesn’t matter only gr12 does, or that gr11 really matters. And then I get told if I fail a course, or get my average under 85% I can’t get into any “good” programs, so I really just don’t know what to believe, and I can’t exactly trust everything Reddit says all the time ? What should I do aska I’m really scared ? 

    heyyo, 

    yowza, this is a lotta words. hey, no shame in that, yappers are great because they give me lots of info to work with! 

    oh, and i’m super glad to hear that aska’s been helpful for you! i was in the same boat as you once so it’s always nice to hear i’m helping others who were in my shoes.

    nooooow first things first: failing a course, especially in grade 11, does not spell doom for your admission chances. for social sciences, uoft will be looking closest at your top six grade 12 u/m courses (assuming ontario?), including english. yes, they will look at your grade 11 marks, but failing a non-required course when you have an otherwise good record won’t be the end of the world.  

    also, side note…. yearbook course? maybe i’m just dumb, but i’ve never heard of yearbook-making as an actual, for-credit class. crazy times we live in, huh… 

    as for virtual school, that’s totally fine as long as it’s accredited (i’m assuming you’re referring to ovs here) or through your school board. and a jump from 85ish to 90ish is absolutely not a problem, in fact the admissions people often really like to see improvement! a jump of that much wouldn’t be suspicious. breathe easy, you will not end up on uoft’s most wanted list just for showing improvement. uoft doesn’t even HAVE a most wanted list… well, as far as i know. 

    you seem to be doing quite well regardless, but if you have any concerns about how missing school or a tough mental health stretch will affect you, you could also always fill out a request for special consideration after you apply.  

    finally, i hate to admit it but i am kind of a redditor too. yeah yeah, throw the tomatoes. 

    so, being an unfortunately chronic reddit user, i too was on r/ontariograde12s at your age and saw all the people absolutely losing it when they got, like, an 83% in a course. don’t let them convince you that an 86% average is somehow bad. that’s still within consideration for most utsg programs, is safe for a lot of utm/utsc programs, and is absolutely enough to get into “good” programs all over ontario. you just gotta remember that most of the people you see on those forums are equally clueless to how unis actually work, OR, if they’re in uni, they may only be aware of their specific circumstances. plus, i hate to say it, but there’s a lot of keeners on there. don’t feel bad comparing yourself to the worrywarts with 98% averages. 

    anyways, i don’t wanna yap for any longer than i have, but i hope i hit all your questions! best of luck with everything! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  life science,  programs

    admission categories: the scandalous truth??

    April 15, 2026

    Hii, I’m currently in grade 12 and I got accepted for an alternate offer at UTM, social sciences, when I originally applied for Life Sciences. I also applied for life sci at UTSG (but now have no hope of getting in🙁 ). So I’m wondering how hard is it to switch from social sci to life sci. Would I be able to get the pre reqs in my first year so I can apply for life sci for my second year. I’m really confused on weather I should to take the risk of accepting my social sciences admission and try to switch but also risk being in a program I don’t wanna to graduate with or not. Plsss help!! 

    heyyo, 

    my friend my friend my friend, you are far from the first person to be in this conundrum. luckily, there is a very simple answer for you and all those who have tread in your path. there’s a little secret: your admission category really doesn’t matter. 

    i know what you’re thinking: aska what do you MEAN the thing that defines whether or not I get into this school doesn’t even matter? has this all been a LIE??? 

    and i guess i should clarify that your category does matter for admission purposes (ie. checking for prereqs, controlling numbers). but once you’re in, the only reason it still exists is to get you slight priority enrollment in the courses relevant to your category. aaaaand that’s about it.  

    you typically enroll in your program(s) at the end of first year. as long as you have the necessary prerequisites for it (either first-year courses or high school courses), there’ll be no difference between you and another applicant who has a more “relevant” admission category. so the only thing you have to do is make sure you have those prereqs for the program you want (you can check here!). while you won’t have priority enrollment for these courses, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. personally, i was able to get into all the courses i wanted in first year, including a few outside of my admission category!

    alternatively, if the program you want is an “open” program, literally all you have to worry about is getting 4.0 credits in your first year. and boom, you’re in. 

    my advice would be to wait to see if you get a utsg offer (for life sci or another alternate) and if you weigh your options and want to come to uoft (duh), take one of the offers! but when you make your decision just know that you aren’t restricted to taking programs from within your admission category.  

    so don’t worry about graduating with a degree you never actually wanted. trust me, there are many opportunities to change your program. if you wake up on graduation day and realize “oopsies, i forgot to change my program”… well, don’t blame that one on aska. 

    here’s to you gallivanting around the medsci building this time next year! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • enrollment,  enrolment,  programs,  UTM

    believe it or not, NOT straight to jail

    April 13, 2026

    Hi aska 🙂 i had a few questions about placeholder programs for POSt. I’m pretty sure I won’t be getting into the T2 or T3 programs I want this round so I’ve enrolled in a T1 just to have something there for now until next year. However, i was wondering if it was allowed to be enrolled in it for the sake of having a program while not taking the courses required, instead just taking the ones for the T2 and T3 i want? I won’t get kicked out or barred or anything, will I? :c 

    heyyo, 

    ah yes program enrollment, definitely always a joyous time for many!

    i’m gonna assume you’re at utm, since that’s the only campus that refers to programs as t1, t2, t3 from what i can see? unless i’m really starting to lose my marbles, which i guess wouldn’t be too much of a surprise. 

    so first of all, i wouldn’t say FOR SURE that you won’t get into your t2 or t3 programs, since the first round doesn’t even end until april 30. and after that, you still have round 2, which reviews applications on an ongoing basis. also, from what i can see, type 2 programs have unlimited enrollment, so whether you get in or not will just come down to if you fulfill the entry requirements for that program. so before you freak out, check out the requirements for the program you’re interested in and you’ll know with (almost) certainty what your chances are.

    in the meantime, it is absolutely okay to take course requirements for the programs you wanna get into! you absolutely won’t get kicked out or barred or anything. believe it or not, NOT straight to jail. 

    YARN | Believe it or not, jail. Right away | Parks and Recreation (2009) - S02E05 Sister City | Video gifs by quotes | c9b0e159 | ?

    there’s just a few things you have to be careful about if you go that route. uno: some classes require you to be in a program to take them. from what i’ve seen this isn’t super common though. dos: IF you don’t get into your t2 or t3 programs at some point and you decide to do something else, you may have to take an extra semester or two to fulfill those program requirements. 

    with all that said, you’ll be ok! there is absolutely still hope for getting into the programs you want and even if that doesn’t happen this year, you can keep working towards them. 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • internal transfer,  tcard

    there can only be one (utorid)

    April 9, 2026

    Dear Sir or Madam, 

    I am currently a first year student at utm. I received and accepted offer from utsg last month. Now I am a bit nervous because I want to apply my program for second year Therefore, I want to ask: will I get a new utorid of utsg (since my utorid is of utm currently). If so, where can I get it?  Thank you. 

    heyyo, 

    ooo it’s not everyday that you guys address me as sir or madam. i’m kinda feeling like royalty??? 

    seriously though, you don’t have to address me like that. as fancy as i feel. 

    as for your actual question… first of all, congrats on getting your offer! my common sense tells me that you wouldn’t get a new one, cause that seems a bit redundant?

    i couldn’t find any info on your exact case (ie, campus transfer) but i did find this page for med student applications that says you should only have one utorid (for med students, this means that they’d use the same utorid that they had if they did their undergrad at uoft).

    so i think it’s pretty safe to say that you won’t need to worry about getting a new id after your transfer. 

    welcome to utsg and i hope you get into the program of your dreams!  

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • grad school,  law school,  non degree

    i am no elle woods jr.

    April 9, 2026

    Hi, I’m looking to apply as a non-degree student at U of T to strengthen my GPA for law school. I got my undergraduate degree in business in the UK, I graduated with high honours but WES converts my grades back to a 3.5, so needing to strengthen my GPA for law school. What is non-degree studying actually like, do you have to take a full course load or just a few courses. Also, does it matter what courses and level you take if just trying to strengthen gpa for law school or grad school? 

    heyyo, 

    this is a great question, it’s super interesting to hear from askers not in the more “common” fields of undergrad artsci, eng, rotman, etc. (ofc i love you all too. i mean, I’m one of you)! 

    you’ve probably already checked it out, but in case you haven’t, there’s a page about non-degree studies on the artsci website. tbh i didn’t know all too much about how the program works myself but reading the page was pretty helpful. turns out you don’t need to do a full course load. phew.

    i also have to admit that i’m not at all knowledgeable about law school, i can’t say i know much more about it than the average undergrad. which is to say, almost nothing. i am no elle woods jr.

    however, i tried to do a little but of research for you, and from what i gathered the consensus was that they care more about your GPA than individual courses. so i don’t think what courses and levels you take matter all that much. from my limited knowledge, it’s more your gpa and lsat scores that count. get studyin.

    as for grad school, i think it may be a bit different. i actually attended an event about how grad school admissions work and the relevance of classes does matter. i’m not 100% clear on how much the difficulty aspect matters though. i do know that they go absolutely crazy for “improvement” though, so if you can show that the grades you get in non-degree courses are a step up from your last year (and you had a general upward trajectory during your undergrad) that might help you out.  

    the only thing i’d warn you about if you wanna tackle “harder” courses (ie 300+ level) you may need some prereqs. you should check out the academic calendar to see if that’ll be a problem for the classes you want to take.  

    anyways, best of luck with your postgrad applications and if you do decide to take some courses at uoft, i wish you extra luck with that! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • academic success,  architecture,  course work,  daniels,  writing centre

    rubrics? rubrics for the poor?

    March 11, 2026

    Hi aska! I’m a first year student at the Daniel’s faculty (about to be a second year and have also studied a year prior at the university of Waterloo ) and I am having difficulties with the courses assignment outlines. Throughout high-school I was given very detailed assignment outlines and would average high 80s to mid 90s. When I first entered post secondary schooling at Waterloo I was able to perform to my best capabilities and average mid 80s to low 90s due to their detailed assignment outlines. However the switch to UofT has been difficult since the assignment outlines I get are either very vague and around 2-4 sentences in length, some without rubrics to accompany them. My marks are not at the level that I know I can achieve (around high 60s to high 70s). I was wondering how I would be able to get a more concrete understanding of the assignment and perform well on them. I do constantly ask professors, TA’s, and instructors for help but I find most of their responses to be completely useless or they don’t answer the question I was asking. What should I do? 

    heyyo, 

    i love your question so so much! because I’ve asked myself the same thing.  

    look, i know uoft talks about independent learning and self-discovery and all that great stuff. but sometimes when, y’know, important things depend on that independent learning, you’d really appreciate some clear guidelines. can anyone spare a rubric, anyone?! rubrics, please! 

    Alms For The Poor Robinhood GIF - Alms for the poor robinhood - Discover & Share GIFs

    obviously the first step here would be asking your ta or prof, but you already did that. so my first suggestion would be to try refining those questions. instead of asking generally “what should i do for the assignment?” or “how can i improve?” try asking about something more specific. like: “the assignment says i have to draw on x concept from the reading, could you clarify how that reading relates to the assignment material?” or “i noticed in my last assignment feedback that i could improve my sentence structure, could you give some concrete examples of sentences you felt could have used some work?” 

    oh, and if you haven’t been already, go to office hours to ask your questions. it’ll be way easier to get your points across and push for clarification one-on-one and in person. 

    if that doesn’t work… it might be time to do a little sleuthing. 

    sometimes the best advice you can get for assignments can come from indirect places. listen carefully in lecture to see if your prof says anything that could be applicable (did they spend five minutes ranting about run-on sentences? did they offhandedly mention that they appreciate brief introductions?) also, take a close look at past assignment feedback.  

    if all else fails (or even if everything does magically works out), you can take your work to a writing centre. i actually found out from your question that daniels has its own writing centre. voila! they can help with all stages of assignments and could help puzzle together what an assignment is asking for more specifically. 

    i really hope these tips help you and everyone else who is kinda fed up with vague assignments. i know that thinking through this for you for sure helped me a ton! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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