• admissions,  commerce,  repeating course,  UTM

    a grand total of one fact

    Hello!

    I applied for UTM Commerce but the problem is that I retook one of my grade 12 courses. I checked the program details and it says that they use the higher of the two marks when calculating my average but reserve the right to treat applicants who did the course in one go with preference. I was just wondering how much retaking a course will weigh against me and what the chances of getting into the course are (My average currently is in the range that they look for)


    hey there,

    i don’t blame you for being confused (this implies i sometimes blame people for being confused). if i was in your situation, i would have the same question. but honestly, it’s really hard to say. u of t doesn’t have a specific statement on this, and i hate to say it, but it makes sense. things change every year, since the chances of getting in all depends on the number of applicants and how brutal the competition is. there’s really no way to make an exact projection of your chances.

    i think that it would depend on which of your grade 12 courses you repeated. according to utm’s admissions page, you need six grade 12 courses, including english, advanced functions, and calculus & vectors. if it was one of those three courses, i’m sure they would matter more than if you repeated a random grade 12 course. if a repeated course even matters for admissions. it is so unclear.

    i know my answer is not much better than what u of t websites officially say, but that’s because i honestly just don’t have insider knowledge on utm commerce first-year admissions. i’m a student, not a recruitment officer. but i do have an identity crisis about this every time i answer an admissions question!

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    i did find some info about upper-year program admissions, which might give you a feel for the competitiveness. on the undergrad programs FAQ page, they say that they receive about 600 applications for the commerce program and accept around 300 students. i’d say those are pretty good odds, at a 50% acceptance rate! for reference, the management program accepts 60 students out of 300 applications. the competition is pretty bad in that one.

    keep in mind that i’m talking about the acceptance process that happens when everyone applies to their POSt (program of study) after first year. so this is not about first-year admissions, where you are at right now. it’s just meant to give us an idea of the numbers. overall, we’ve learned that commerce is less competitive than management, and that many more students get accepted into commerce.

    i’m working with crumbs here, guys. it’s just that the 3D world is holding me back from unleashing my omniscient powers today, or something.

    Raccoon Snacktime GIF by Disney

    then we finally come to the one and only concrete fact we’ve really got about your chances. the admissions site says that the approximate competitive average for first-year commerce admissions is in the mid 80s. so if your average is in that range, i think you should be fine. but keep in mind the site says “meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee you admission to the university”. again, this is because “admission is subject to space availability and competition”.

    anyways, sorry i couldn’t be more helpful. i recommend checking out my previous answer about retaking grade 12 courses, and reaching out to a utm recruiter. if you want to know specific details, definitely please reach out to a recruiter. good luck with everything! i think you will do great.

    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  repeating course

    why so ambiguous

    Hi. I am retaking MH4U1 (12 Advanced Functions) and SCH4U1 (12 Chemistry) in private school. I already got a conditional offer from UTSC in neuroscience, but was wondering if it hamper the decision later on? UofT websites are not that clear on repeating courses.


    hey there,

    yay, congrats on getting an offer!

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    you know, this is such a fair question. i looked on u of t websites, and i agree, they really are not clear on how repeating a course might impact your admission offer. it’s almost like they’re trying to be ambiguous (they probably are, idk).

    all that the utsc admissions page says is: “while we recognize that there may be valid reasons for repeating a course, in general we urge you to do as well as possible on your first attempt”. and then the arts & sciences admissions page just really clears things up with: “in some instances, repeated courses will not be accepted for competitive admission categories”.

    Confused What Now GIF by NOW WE'RE TALKING TV SERIES

    i mean, yeah… wouldn’t it be nice if they elaborated a bit? well, while we can’t fix the lack of communication skills, we can go through a couple different scenarios here:

    if you disclosed the repeated courses on your application, there shouldn’t be an issue. since you’ve already received a conditional offer of admission, all you can do at this point is to meet the conditions on that offer. but if you had specific questions about your offer or the conditions, you should definitely reach out to the utsc recruitment team.

    meanwhile, if you didn’t disclose the repeats on your application and were admitted based on your first attempts, it probably is still not an issue. the only scenario where you might have a problem is if you are repeating a course and didn’t disclose an earlier, lower grade on your application. you honestly might still be okay if you fall into this camp, but i really recommend reaching out to the utsc recruitment team to clarify. *points at you* i know we’re scared of human interaction, but you can do it!

    over and out,

    aska

  • future,  getting involved,  lost

    a spoonful of salt helps the life advice go down

    I’m a second year life science student with a pretty good cgpa but absolutely no experiences – am I screwed?

    In all honesty I don’t have an idea what I’m going to do with my future and I haven’t joined any clubs. I applied to a program I’ve been really wanting (MRS at uoft!) but honestly not sure if I’ll get in and have been so anxious these past few months about the future. I don’t especially have any backups if I don’t get into MRS and I’m worried that I’m wasting time.

    Any advice to stop being so anxious about the future and to just take action?


    hey there,

    man, isn’t that the question of the year. you want advice on how to stop being anxious about the future and to just take action. well, ok, but take all my personal life advice with a spoon of salt, please. not just a grain. this is a proceed at your own risk typa thing.

    if it makes you feel any better, i’m kinda in the same boat! and i definitely don’t think you’re screwed—like you said, you’re only in second year, and you have a good cgpa! that puts you in a good position.

    when you say “experiences”, i’m going to assume you mean like, internship / research experiences relating to your programs? with that, i really don’t think you should be worrying about having no experiences in second year, since a lot of these opportunities are geared towards second years and above. i mean, in first year, everyone’s still trying to figure out what they want to do. as a result, most people don’t get involved in professional experience stuff until the summer after their second year, when they have a better idea of the path they want to take.

    overall though, i completely understand feeling overwhelmed at this stage of your life, when everyone around you starts looking into research opportunities and internships. but the first question you should ask yourself is: do you even want to do research?? do you even want to do that internship? because you do not have to follow the paths that people around you are taking. just do what you want to do!!!

    Emphasize Love Is Kind GIF by Kim's Convenience

    in terms of not being anxious about the future, i can tell you something that has really helped me recently. i used to be overwhelmingly anxious about the future, but i feel like this has shifted since i started to change the way i thought about opportunities. taking action and applying for things can seem so daunting and like such a commitment in itself, especially when the chances of getting accepted feel low. and i totally get the feeling of wasting time!! so recently, i’ve been telling myself that we get one chance at life, and every time you doubt yourself, it’s like throwing the winning lottery ticket away. you’re telling me you have a winning ticket and you’re just not doing anything with it?! tiktok might be rotting my brain, but it does give me solid motivation like that sometimes. pretend you already have the future you want! you have ONE life and you wanna spend it doubting yourself?? we don’t do that here. are you actually scared of failure, or are you scared of people seeing you try? what if you started acting like it’s impossible for you to fail?

    some gentle food for thought. weaving in a little bit of delusion into your confidence can be healthy, particularly when you have worst-case-scenario anxiety like me!

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    ok but finally, let’s get real:

    in the case that you do want to, now is definitely the time to start looking and applying for summer opportunities. if i knew what branch of life science you were in, i could probably point you towards more specific opportunities. but first, if you’re into research, a good thing to look into would be the ROP (research opportunities program). if you go onto CLNX, you’ll see that there are many ROP options listed in different fields. ROPs are popular and a lot of people i know are applying for those, so i’m pretty sure they’re good! meanwhile, if you want an internship, you should look into the ASIP (arts & science internship program), or course-based experiential learning.

    your TAs are also a great resource to ask about experience opportunities! they have the connections and the knowledge to help you out with this search. sometimes, they might need assistants in the research they’re carrying out. and if you want work experience, check out CLNX under the work-study category. work-study postings should open up on april 2 for the summer session.

    anyways, good luck with everything! i hope you get in to your program. maybe this was all just me projecting, or maybe this was helpful for you. i really hope it was the latter.

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    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  math,  prereqs

    another mathless student

    hi, I’m currently in highschool in India (not a Canadian citizen) and am trying to get into UofT for chemical engineering. Unfortunately I did not take math in 11th grade, despite being excellent at it. How can I still apply for the undergrad? Should I complete math courses from TVO ILC? Thank you.


    hey there,

    well, first of all, you’re not alone. i’ve recently received some similar questions about not taking math prerequisites in high school.

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    so, to apply to chemical engineering at u of t, you’ll be applying under the admission code TB to the faculty of applied science and engineering. that means you’re looking at the admission requirements for all applicants to the faculty of applied science and engineering. according to their website, this includes senior level courses in mathematics (including calculus), chemistry, physics, and english.

    (also, if you’re interested, there is a specific section at the bottom of this site on requirements and document details specific to each country).

    and so we’ve got ourselves in a little bit of a situation here. your program requires that you take senior level high school math, but you haven’t taken grade 11 math yet. here’s the good news: the engineering website says that in the case that you haven’t taken one of these prerequisites, you can complete the grade 12 ontario high school equivalent prerequisite subject. furthermore, they actually recommend completing the course through the independent learning centre (ILC), so yes, to answer your question, you can complete math courses from TVO ILC.

    You'Re Correct Lena Dunham GIF by Girls on HBO

    but hold on, let’s dial it back for a sec. i noticed that you’re only asking about grade 11 math. to my understanding, you would actually need grade 12 level math to meet the admission requirements, since they specify that calculus is included. meanwhile, i looked at the ILC website for you, and it also seems like you’ll need grade 11 math as a prerequisite for the grade 12 math courses on there. so i think you might need to take both grade 11 and 12 math on the ILC, unless there’s a way for you to somehow bypass the grade 11 prerequisite.

    just keep in mind that for ontario school systems, the admission requirements specifically ask for two grade 12 math courses:

    1. advanced functions (MHF4U)
    2. calculus & vectors (MCV4U), which requires advanced functions as a prerequisite

    so if you’re taking your grade 12 math prerequisite through the ILC, which is within the ontario school system, i think you would need to take both of these courses. the international student admission requirements are “senior level courses in mathematics (including calculus)”, which probably means you need the calculus & vectors course. but according to the ILC website, to take calculus, you need advanced functions. and to take advanced functions, apparently you need a grade 11 math course.

    blegh, that was a mouthful. so many prerequisites! for your sake, i am glad you’re good at math.

    anyways i really hope i’m understanding this right. just keep in mind that this is just my best interpretation of what steps you need to take, and don’t follow this blindly. i would actually really recommend that you directly contact the engineering admissions office at admissions@engineering.utoronto.ca to make sure you’re doing all of this right. and if you’re still confused, you can shoot me another question!

    good luck! i hope it all works out for you.

    Charlie Brown GIF by Peanuts

    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  scholarships/bursaries

    you’ve got good things going for you

    Hi! I’m a Grade 12 who got accepted into UTSC. For the automatic entrance scholarship, I received $1500 (which is for an overall 90% average), which I figured out must be based off of my first semester midterms since my first semester finals gave me an average of 94.3%. My question is, am I stuck with the scholarship amount based from my first semester midterm? Is there no possibility that UTSC will increase my scholarship amount since they admitted me after first semester ended, when I had actually a 94.3% average?


    hey there,

    first of all, congrats on getting accepted AND on receiving a scholarship! geez those are some high grades, your future is blinding me. based on this question, i’m diagnosing you as an overachiever. source? me. credibility? i’m an anonymous blogger on the world wide web.

    No Way What GIF by The Swoon

    so i checked directly with a recruitment person at UTSC, and i can tell you that your entrance scholarship will not be reassessed (meaning it will not increase but also should not decrease).

    but the good news is, there are more paths towards funding sources than just your automatic entrance scholarships. for one, if you really wanna be up and at ’em about it, you can connect directly with the UTSC recruitment team.

    i also highly recommend that you submit your awards profile by the deadline, may 31. with the awards profile, you can be considered for multiple scholarships with just one application, and you can find a list of all these awards in the previous link. i definitely wish that i had filled this out when i was going into first year, so please don’t be like me and put it off until it’s too last minute to complete—you’ll need to get a reference letter!

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    and finally, if you’re still looking for more, check out the awards explorer to find other potential sources of funding—there are a lot though, so filter by key words to see the ones relevant to you.

    anyways, i hope this was helpful! good luck with everything. they say don’t count your chickens before they hatch, but i’d say you’ve got some good chickens (grades) going for you.

    over and out,

    aska

  • choosing,  fun & places,  study abroad

    to abroad or not to abroad

    Hey Aska,
    I have a bit of a dilemma.
    I want to go on exchange for a semester or even a year, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford it – or if I want to extend my degree by a year.
    I’m double majoring in Political Science and European Affairs, and for an exchange I can see myself studying in Britain, France, Spain, or Belgium. The thing is, I’m a transfer student to UofT-  I’m in second year of uni, but it’s my first year here. I started my degree at Dalhousie, didn’t like it, took a gap year, and now my friends from high school are in third year while I’m in second. I kind of feel behind, a little bit. Which I know I’m not. But, I also don’t want to be spending six years getting my Bachelor’s when it’s already going to be at least 5 total. It’s also not ideal financially, especially as I plan on getting a master’s.
    This brings up another consideration: I plan on doing my master’s degree in Europe, so it’s not as though I won’t have the opportunity to study there in the future. However, I really want to experience the undergraduate experience abroad. Summer courses are, of course, an option, but I try to work in the summer to supplement my income.
    I’ve applied to a summer abroad course, knock on wood that I get in, but I still wonder whether I should put aside a semester or a year to study abroad – or maybe to do an internship or work term placement.
    Time and money are precious, but I also value education, and want to make the most of this time of my life.
    Let me know what your thoughts are.
    I’m just kind of rambling and wanted some guidance and someone to bounce ideas off of.
    Thanks

    hey there,

    1. my take on exchange

    hm. this is indeed a dilemma if i ever did see one. so you’re double majoring in poli sci and european studies. it absolutely makes sense for you to go abroad to europe for your studies—it would be super beneficial for you to have that exposure and world experience. and to be so real, i absolutely support you for really wanting to have that undergrad abroad experience, especially in europe! it just sounds fun and cool lol.

    but i feel you, bro. i’m kind of in a similar boat, weighing the decision to take a longer time to complete my degree to enjoy it more, while trying to stay grounded with the financial practicality of it. not to mention the nagging feeling of being behind all my friends, and also maybe wanting to take a masters, which would add more years to this situation.

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    but the good news is, a LOT of people go through this same thing, and i’m learning that it is so normal to take 5 or 6 years for undergrad. like, so normal. in my opinion, it’s better to get the most you can out of your degree and flush it out for what it’s worth rather than just rush to complete it faster—assuming it’s financially viable for you. because being in undergrad gives you so many opportunities and chances to gain experience, and try new things, in every way you could think of!

    i’ve never done it myself, but my best friend went on exchange for a semester last summer. my take away from that was that going on exchange during undergrad is a fun, (chaotic), life-changing experience that really broadens your perspective on the world. so, like, these websites aren’t lying to you. it truly is a valuable use of your time and money.

    Video gif. A person points to a lie detector chart. Text, “...No Lies Detected…”

    but if you’re weighing it against getting an internship or work term placement, i mean, you can always get those a couple years down the road, right? there’s really only one period in life for you to go on exchange for undergrad. and it doesn’t have to be for a whole year, if you’re worried about that. one semester would provide you with the same experience and something is better than nothing.

    2. transfer credits

    my question is, will going on exchange really extend your degree by a year? maybe i’m not totally understanding your situation right, but you can transfer your credits earned so that your time spend abroad counts directly towards your degree. however, it’s true that it would depend on your program requirements and what is offered at the host institution you’re applying to. so i would highly recommend checking out transfer explorer to find out what courses you’ll be able to get transfer credits for.

    (according to my holy grail, the artsci website, you can transfer a max of 2.5 credits per term for fall and winter, and a max of 2.0 for the full summer session. that’s the same amount of credits you would take in your normal year at u of t.)

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    3. finances 

    if your issue is financial constraints, there are scholarship opportunities for going on exchange. you can apply for learning abroad scholarships from the centre for international experience, as well as ones through your faculty/program. they also have a list of country cost estimates to help you vibe out how expensive this will be. and if you’re currently receiving OSAP, you can continue receiving it while learning abroad.

    i also see that you try to work in the summer for income. this does put a little block in our road. one option you could consider is taking up a small work-study job at u of t during the fall/winter semesters that has flexible/fewer hours. i know that this isn’t an option for some people depending on where their workload is on the dying-surviving-thriving spectrum.

    but work-study jobs at uni know that you are also a student and take that into account in what they demand of your time—it’s called a work-study for a reason! this is a much safer option with healthier boundaries for students, rather than getting a part time job somewhere else, and would give you a little stream of income to help. you would just have to make sure you find one that’s more chill.

    anyways, that was lot of thinking for me. time to take a nap.

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    i hope this helped, and that the ideas bounced off me to your satisfaction. good luck with everything, sending the best vibes your way!!

    over and out,

    aska

  • life science,  neuroscience,  research

    the vibes are good, methinks

    Hello! Got accepted into life sciences ’24. What are the research opportunities like, how hard are the courses if I’m planning on neuroscience and how’s the general atmosphere (competition, friendliness etc)?

    Thank you 🙂


    hey there,

    welcome and congrats!!

    research opportunities 

    so, asking what the research opportunities are like is like asking where the uoft library is. there are so many in so many different directions, and it really depends on what you’re looking for.

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    personally, i would say that the research opportunities for neuroscience are very good—from what i’ve heard and general vibes. disclaimer, i am not a neuroscience student. however, i am in another life sci program and there’s a lot of overlap/similarity between life sci programs.

    once you get here, there are always events and panels going on (if you know where to look) where you can learn about research opportunities and future pathways for your program. i would recommend checking out the u of t undergrad research students’ association, @uoftursa on instagram, since they post about great opportunities and events on there. also check out this site about research opportunities program courses to take in your upper years. it’s never too early for you to be looking into this stuff, but do keep in mind that research is something people start getting into after their second year.

    i would say the best way to hear about opportunities in my experience is from being on the mailing list for your program—you’ll get on this when you get into your program after first year. i currently receive an email every few days about research/experience/scholarship opportunities to do with my program.

    also, one of my friends is a neuroscience major, and she has said you can also get into research just by getting to know your profs and asking them if they have any opportunities for students. for example, they might be working on a research project and could use an assistant. however, this is a bit iffy and less common, and i honestly don’t know how she managed to do this.

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    courses

    you can see all the courses you’ll have to take for the neuroscience major listed on this handy dandy arts & sciences website. (i open these pages too often but i do appreciate how convenient it is all laid out like this!!!! big fan.)

    though i’m not a neuroscience student, i have taken some of the same general first year courses required for the neuroscience major. specifically, out of the courses listed for neurosci, i took mat135, chm135, and bio120. i’d say in comparison to high school, these courses go through material very fast, condensing a lot of content into each lecture. though some of first year is kind of review, they assume you remember everything you learned in high school and pile new concepts on with the same sort of speed.

    my main message to you though is to not be overwhelmed or scared going into your first year life sci courses. everyone around me was literally scaring me so much, telling me it was super rough and difficult, but i don’t think it’s as bad as its reputation makes it seem? the hardest part is just staying on top of the amount of content each week, and not falling behind. like, it’s less about stuff not making sense but more about the amount of stuff and being able to balance all your courses.

    general atmosphere

    i would say that the competition isn’t too bad in life sci. people are just trying to get through the courses, and nobody’s out to get you or trying to step on you to get ahead (like in rotman). however, in terms of friendliness, it really depends how hard you try to make friends. people mostly keep to themselves, but if you are friendly, you’ll find friendly people! hit ’em with an “it’s so cold today” or a “it’s too early for this” and you’ll be fine.

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    good luck with everything!

    over and out,

    aska

  • GPA,  non degree

    so you wanna increase your GPA

    Hi, I have graduated from Syria and moved to Canada, I would like to so an MBA and I match all the criteria but my GPA is low due to the war situation in Syria, I’m wondering if you know how can I increase my GPA with some programs at UFT so I can get an acceptance for MPA?


    hey there,

    so you wanna increase your gpa! ok, so the main way that people increase their gpa for grad school is to take courses as a non-degree student.

    Spongebob Squarepants Yes GIF by nounish ??-?

    to do this, you can apply to u of t as a non-degree student through ouac. in terms of admissions, they consider you based on your entire post-secondary academic record and your most recent annual gpa. and once you get in, you would be able to take arts, science, or commerce/management degree credit courses, either in-person or online!

    in terms of getting an MBA (master of business administration), i’m not sure if you want to apply to u of t or another school? but i can give you a link for a page about the requirements at u of t.

    here, it outlines several requirements about grades, work experience, english proficiency, and the like. for example, you need a final year average of at least mid-B from a recognized university, and a minimum gpa of 3.0 in the final year of your bachelor’s degree.

    it also might be useful for you to look into this page about international degree equivalencies, as well as this transcript guide for the MBA at u of t.

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    that might be a lot of stuff, but it is also stuff for later!

    so i would first focus on getting your gpa up. idk why i’m looking so far ahead, someone stop me.

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    but anyways, if you had more specific questions about getting in as a non-degree student, you can get in touch with enrolment services. and if you want more resources, here is a page about applying in general, and here is woodsworth college’s really great guide to being a non-degree student.

    i hope this helps, good luck with everything. and happy valentine’s day! i might have no plans, but i do have a sweet date with a midterm pretty soon! life is so fun.

    over and out,

    aska

  • computer science,  minor

    if you got into cs, you ate (the competition up)

    hi aska! I am a 1st year in rotman interested in pursuing a cs minor. I read something on reddit about asking the cs department to grant a minor after completing the required courses, and was wondering if it is possible to get a cs minor without being officially enrolled in the stream? (as I know there is an official application process that’s very competitive)


    hey there,

    i guess it’s that time of the year when everyone rethinks their choice of programs, huh? it seems like that’s all anyone can talk about these days (the time of year is everyday, All Semester Round! it never ends!)

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    anyways. take a look at the cs page on the artsci calendar. you’ll see that it is possible to get a cs minor without being officially enrolled in the admission stream. however, it’s true that it is very competitive. i personally have no experience in applying for the cs programs, but the general vibe i’ve gotten is that it’s hard to get into, and hard to stay in — in terms of the coursework. but for getting in, it really depends on how the competition is your year. eat or get eaten i guess?

    those in the cs admission stream have different enrolment requirements compared to those in different admission streams:

    people already in the cs admission stream have guaranteed admission into the minor, as long as they meet minimum grade requirements: they need a 70% in CSC110Y1 and a 70% in CSC111H1.

    meanwhile, to my understanding, those not in the cs admission stream (you) have to fill out a 250 word supplemental application where you answer three questions to tell them about your non-academic skills, like leadership and the like. in terms of prerequisites, the minimum grade changes depending on how many people are applying that year, but grades below 70% will not be considered for admission. the course prerequisites are also different, being CSC148H1, and either CSC165H1 or CSC240H1.

    just note that the cs minor is available only in the first enrolment request period, so apply between march 1, 2024 and april 26, 2024.

    i hope this helps, good luck, dear future cs student! you’ll be brilliant!

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    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  human resources,  management,  UTSC

    is the human relations program in the room with us?

    Hello, I hope you’re doing well!!
    I am currently a 3rd year student at University of Toronto, Scarborough and wanted to start applying to uoft for my younger sister who is currently in 12th grade.
    She has not taken mathematics but wanted to Human Relations or Marketing and as far as I know getting directly into the program for the same is not possible since maths is a requirement. Is there a way she can get in undeclared and finish pre requisites in first year and then apply for her selected program by 2nd year?
    Also are there any programs that do not require maths as a prerequisite? If yes would you be able to guide me to the list of the same.
    Thanks

    hey there,

    ok, i have a couple questions. first: what campus is your sister hoping to apply to? and, second… are you lonely, buddy? i think you had a freudian slip there. did you mean human resources or international relations?? if you wanted human relations, uoft is not the place for you. it’s fine, don’t worry about it, this is not the time to unpack all that. i’m going to assume you meant human resources since a human relations program doesn’t exist.

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    anyways, this isn’t about you, it’s about your sister. so here is some info on the st. george campus (UTSG) since that’s where my expertise lies.

    at UTSG, you don’t apply directly into programs of study, but instead into admission categories. all arts and science programs are categorized into these groups as a way to identify your general area of study. each admission category has the same admission requirements for all the programs within it. so for example, the industrial relations and human resources program is under the admission category of social sciences, which only requires high school level english. on the other hand, the marketing program would be under rotman commerce (basically uoft’s business school) where you can take a focus in marketing by enrolling in their management specialist program. but for this, she would still need high school level calculus.

    so basically, if she wanted to enrol into the human resources major at UTSG, she wouldn’t need high school level calculus! and even if she did, at UTSG, students apply directly into their specific program of study after first year. and after she’s in a program, it’s pretty simple and common to switch later on if she changes her mind!

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    but as for uoft scarborough (UTSC), the program application process is a bit more complicated. what i would recommend is having your sister connect with the UTSC recruitment team to see what the options are. unlike at st. george where students are admitted into very broad admission categories, students at UTSC are admitted into narrower fields and have the option to apply to co-op streams, which can complicate things if they want to make a change later into their studies. overall, while at st. george you only have to complete prerequisites or achieve a certain average to apply for a program, at UTSC there might be other restrictions on switching after being admitted.

    i’ve heard that the recruitment team at UTSC is always happy to help, so you can’t lose anything by reaching out to them! they’re experts on this and will be able to tell your sister about her options.

    on another note, there is a UTSC summer mathematics preparedness course that can be used as a prerequisite for MATA29, MATA30, or MATA32. this could be helpful for your sister!

    and finally, let’s get to your last point. there is no existing list of all the programs that don’t require math as a prerequisite, but someone let me know if you want me to actively make one.

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    for now, here is a list of all the programs at UTSC, sorted by admission category. it seems like the only management program that doesn’t require a math prerequisite is global leadership. but you’ll also see that there are plenty of social science/humanities programs that don’t require math! for general arts and sciences, here is a list of admission categories, where you can click further to see lists of programs per admission category. and here is also a complete list of all the programs in arts and sciences.

    good luck to your sister with her application and decision making!!

    over and out,

    aska

  • failing,  prereqs,  repeating course

    prereqs do be wrecking

    desperately need some help. i kinda did really bad in 3/5 of my courses. i passed my bird courses but the 3/5 that I’m pretty sure I failed….kinda need them. I’m taking the part 2 of those classes next quarter. and I’m taking extra required courses in the summer….what do I do…

    i saw this thing on reddit that the part 2 of classes, I might be kicked out if I did bad first semester. do I take those courses again second semester? can’t I take those in the summer…or do I take my part two classes next year. I’m scared for my life I’m sorry for the long question


    hey there,

    first of all, do not be sorry, my dude. this is not a long question at all.

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    just to be clear on the situation: you may have failed courses that you need as prerequisites for your classes next quarter and over the summer?

    what i’d do is double-check if there’s a certain grade threshold you need to meet in these courses to fulfill your prerequisite requirements. if there isn’t a grade threshold, you don’t need to worry about being kicked out for doing poorly in those prerequisite classes. you just need to make sure you pass the courses.

    if there is a grade threshold you need to meet and you don’t meet it, or if you fail the courses, then you unfortunately won’t be able to take the “part 2” courses you have scheduled, nor will you be able to take anything else that has the same prerequisites. the likelihood is that someone in the department will check whether you have the prereqs at some point in the semester, and if they find out that you don’t have them, you can be removed from those courses at any time.

    so if you don’t fill your prerequisites this semester, it may be best to focus on filling them next semester, and taking your “part 2” courses in the summer instead.

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    also, remember not to trust everything on reddit! it’s a good starting point but we see well-meaning misinformation on there all the time. the best thing to do is usually to hit up your registrar. it’s definitely best to ask them what to do since they help people in your exact situation all the time.

    i hope everything turns out okay, sending love and encouragement! this sounds really stressful too, so if you ever need extra support, here is a resource that might be helpful.

    You Can Do It Love GIF by Loof and Timmy

    over and out,

    aska

  • CR/NCR,  grad school

    here are the 2 crumbs i found while searching for grad school policies

    hi, i have 4 courses right now and i really want to CR a course (i will pass thankfully). however, i don’t know how a CR will be considered by law schools, med schools and grad schools. if i don’t CR, i end with a C and while i know uoft med school drops your lowest 2 FCEs and uoft law school only looks at your best overall 3 years of undergraduate study, i don’t know their policy on CR on a transcript. i’d really like to avoid keeping the C if i can. please let me know. thank you.


    hey there,

    so it seems like you’re asking whether a CR on your transcript will impact your admission into grad schools. the thing is, each law school, med school, and grad school program may have a separate policy on this. so i think the best thing you can do is just reach out to the places you’re interested in and see what they say.

    this is such a valid question, by the way. you probably scoured the internet trying to find an answer and came up empty handed, because so did i.

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    i did however, find a couple crumbs:

    some places have FAQs where they may or may not answer this question. first, uoft med school and uoft law school FAQs both do mention CR/NCR grades, though only in the context of covid-19’s impacts in 2020. second, the law school has a page last updated in 2021 that says they consider a CR grade to be a successfully completed course, and that they “will not hold CR grades against an applicant”. but, keep in mind this in regards to academic grades during 2019-2020, so it might not be relevant anymore.

    so you could absolutely contact admissions directly about this, and follow up about whether this is still true. their email is on that page, and i don’t think it would hurt to ask!

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    i’m sorry i don’t have a better answer, but i do think it’s best if you contact the grad schools directly. programs do change their policies, so i don’t want to tell you something wrong, especially with decisions that impact your future.

    anyways, i hope everything works out for you, sending lots of encouragement!!

    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  extracurricular

    everyone is always doing too much. like, do less pls?

    Hiii! Out of curiosity, does UofT value extracurricular during their undergraduate admission? Here’s the thing, my consular told us that extracurricular is super important so I believed him and really focused on that. After doing some research UofT become dream school of my life but I heard UofT don’t ask for extracurricular. This makes me super stressful since I devoted so much time into those things & Im a BC student, not a Ontario. With an avg of mid 80 is there anything I can do to+the odd


    hey there,

    so, it kind of depends on what admission category you’re applying for. for general arts and sciences, uoft does not look at your extracurriculars during undergrad admissions. you pretty much just send in your transcript through OUAC when you apply, so that’s all they look at when considering your admission. but if you’re applying to rotman, they require a supplemental application that goes beyond your grades. (rotman is always doing so much).

    extra too much GIF

    on that topic, sometimes i feel like everyone is always doing too much. like, please. no. what do you mean you’re involved in clubs and councils and intramurals and have a 20hr job and are taking 5 courses and are still sleeping at night? did you steal hermione’s time-turner? where are you hiding the room full of people getting your work done for you?

    anyways, ignore my exam-week-induced rant. if you’re from BC, i think your consular was telling you that extracurriculars are very important because they are, at least for most schools in BC. ubc admissions rest very heavily on extracurriculars, because of a personal profile that some say is more important than your grade average.

    every school prioritizes grades and extracurriculars differently, so your consular wasn’t lying. their advice just wasn’t universally applicable. because while extracurriculars are make-or-break for ubc admissions, they aren’t like that at uoft. here, extracurriculars are mostly just important when filling our your awards profile, which is how you would apply for scholarships going into your first year.

    something to note is that uoft will mostly just look at your top 6 academic grade 12 grades to compute your admission average. and with an average of mid 80s, i honestly think your odds are pretty fine. most art and sciences programs require top 6 averages of mid to high 80s.

    good luck with admissions, shoot another question if you’re still confused!

    over and out,

    aska