admissions - askastudent

admissions,  applying for U of T,  getting into U of T,  life science

running to labs vs running drills

October 28, 2025

hi aska,

i’m a current grade 12 student in ontario and i would consider myself to be a pretty good student (taking all APs, usually get pretty good grades, on top of homework, etc. etc.). however, i also play volleyball and it definitely does affect my ability to actually focus on certain subjects, of which i have found mostly to be math.

i’m applying to uoft life science (first choice on OUAC, i REALLY want to get in) and i’m a bit scared because i’m not doing very well in data management (current average after 2 quizzes + a test is 81), and i know it’s not a prereq but i’m still worried.  for context, my overall grade 11 average last year was a 91% (including fast-tracked comp sci and advanced functions).  i got a 97 in G11 AP English, 92 in G11 functions, 89 in G11 AP Bio, 87 in G11 chemistry, 87 in advanced functions, and 90 in G12 comp sci.

starting out this semester, i have bio and english, and i think i can project myself doing pretty well in those.

so, my question is: what is the likelihood of someone with my grades getting into uoft life science? what would be an average i should aim for? how can i ensure i get into uoft?

should i just apply to rmc at this point ?

Thanks!

heyyo,

wellllll I’ve never been to rmc and don’t know anyone who goes there, but im willing to guess that life at utsg life sci is quite a bit different than at rmc. for instance, i have yet to hear of a life sci student who has been forced to do obstacle courses at 7am in order to get their degree. but hey, maybe i just haven’t talked to enough life sci kids yet…

to answer your actual questions though:

the recommended average for life sci admission varies depending on the campus. that’s right, you can take life sci at all three uoft campuses. I don’t know which one you’re at (guys, PLEASE tell me what campus you’re talking about!!), so i took the liberty of doing a bit of research for all of them. so generous, i know.

at utsg (the downtown campus), the approx admission range is mid to high 80s. at utsc it depends on the specific programs you’d wanna do but they’re mostly mid-high 70s, and at utm there’s no grade requirements for life sci specifically but the general requirement is an average of 75%. so i’ll let you make assumptions about that.

also, a quick side note in case you didn’t know about it already: some programs within the life sciences category require certain classes in high school. i would very very very much highly recommend that you look through all the programs listed in the table on this website to make sure you’re taking the classes you’ll need to get into any programs you might be into. there’d be nothing worse than wanting to apply to, like, the pharmaceutical chemistry program but oops! you didn’t take grade 12 physics.

thank me later.

so as for how you can ensure that you get in — life sci is a grades-only admission category, so really the best thing you can do is maintain your good grades.

now as for balancing school with volleyball, it’s of my personal opinion that having something fun outside of academics is almost always a good thing. i think it boosts your mood, can prevent burnout, and if it’s a team sport like what you’re doing it can keep up your social relationships. i mean, if i didn’t have a life outside of academics, i wouldn’t be writing to you right now. and how sad would that be?

however, if you find that it’s really distracting you and having a negative impact on your schoolwork, talk to your guidance counselor and/or coach to see what you can figure out together. if you really feel like you need a bit of a break from volleyball you could try telling your coach, but i would personally never recommend fully dropping out of a sport or ec that makes you happy unless your academics are in really dire straits. which yours are not!

keep up your great work so far, and best of luck with your application! i hope you’ll be running to your labs at uoft this time next year, and not running drills at rmc (unless you decide you’re into that).

cheers,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, engineering, getting into U of T

entering the hallowed halls

October 15, 2025

Hello, I have a question. I’m currently a gr 11 student. i didn’t really care about my grades or study at all. I have an 80 average I know won’t cut it for university. I want to go to UofT Mechanical Engineering. I have amazing ecs, 500+ hours volunteer, intern 4 months, DECA 4 years, STEM 2 years. I can easily get 97+ in gr 12 but I’ve been told they look at gr 11 for consistency which I don’t have so I’m unsure if I can make it in.

heyyo,

i’m far from an expert on engineering admissions but luckily for both me and you, there is a LOT of info about them online. plenty from official sources (check out the ones i link for you!), or, if you are so inclined, you can enter the hallowed halls of reddit to read about the experiences of the applicants before you.

oh, and there’s quite a bit on the lovely site you’re already on, too (shameless self-advertising, i know i know).

anyways, for now i will save you a bit of time sorting through all that info and give you the important stuff:

so i’m gonna assume that you’re an ontario high school student. if you’re out of province but in canada, see here for the requirements. if you’re international, check here.

now if you are indeed a student in ontario, according to the admission faqs, you need to have an average of about high 80s to low 90s to be competitive for mechanical engineering. it’s important to note that when grade 12 final marks aren’t available yet, admissions will look at your grade 11 prerequisites to help calculate your average. they also consider your individual grade 11 and 12 courses along with the average.

you’re right that extracurriculars are important for engineering admissions. according to the admission faqs, you’ll have a chance to write about your experiences and submit a personal profile. part of that personal profile involves recording yourself answering questions. i do believe that there are workshops that can help you prep for that part of your application, but i couldn’t find any available at the moment. i did, however, find a site which lists some upcoming events for hopeful engineers. keep your eyes peeled!

my advice for what you can do right now is to start getting some help from teachers and guidance counselors. ask your teachers for more feedback so you know what skills you can work on. and my friend, i am very sorry to be the one to inform you of this tragedy, but if you wanna go to uoft, you will have to start studying.

i know, i know, it’s all quite upsetting. but you can start now by doing some research on study tips (there’s SO MUCH out there, google is your friend), and asking your guidance counselor if you want some more personalized advice.

and one last thing: 100% keep aiming for mech eng, but there are also other programs at uoft (and at other unis, forgive me for being a bit traitorous) that you would probably find cool too! check out all of the programs that the math and physical sciences admission category at uoft’s st george campus can lead you to, or browse more options at uoft’s mississauga and scarborough campuses. oh, and there’s always the other programs within the faculty of engineering.

best of luck with applying to uoft next year! enjoy the rest of high school!!

cheers,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, engineering, extracurricular, grades

it’s brutal out here

July 14, 2025
hey, im an extremely extremely average student. grades are always in 70s or 80s. I’m in grade 10, I’m really interested in both uoft’s st George campus and Scarborough for civil engineering and computer engineering.

but as you know.. my grades wont really cut that.

i know grade 11 grades r the *most* important. how much will my extra-curriculars matter? (next year / gr11) and how do I go from this to a 90s student? I’m worried I’m wasting my time and not using my full potential but I don’t know how to get to that level lol.

thank you.

hey there,

well, you’re right. grade 11 and 12 marks are the most important for university admissions. so it’s great that you’re thinking ahead about how you can do your best in school during these next years!

you said you’re interested in the st. george and scarborough campus engineering programs.

ok. let’s hit the basics first. you can find all the info about engineering admission requirements at U of T here. in short, they will base your admission on the average of six grade 12 level courses:
- english
- calculus and vectors
- chemistry
- physics
- advanced functions
- one other academic course (will take the course with the highest mark)
BUT, most of the time when you send in your application, your grade 12 marks might not be out yet. in that case, they will calculate your admission average using the grade 11 equivalents of those courses.

so your best bet is to focus your energy on those ^ subjects during both grade 11 and 12.

based on the engineering admissions reports from 2023 and from 2024, the mean of admission averages is in the mid 90’s. geez, the competition is brutal.

keep in mind though, that’s just the mean. not everyone who was admitted was in the mid 90’s.

we, however, are special and do want to be in the mid 90’s. so how do you lock in and become a 90’s student, you ask? hmmm. honestly, i’m not sure i can tell you anything you haven’t already heard before, without knowing about your study habits or specific issues you’ve been having.

i feel like the main thing people struggle with these days is just time management and planning how you’ll spend your time prepping for assessments. procrastination is really a grade killer, man. (if you wanted specific advice to help with it, check out this other post i made.)

usually, the student mentor side of me would point you towards the vast resources that U of T offers for its students. but, since you’re still in high school, i’m not sure what your situation is. if possible, i think a good course of action is to look into learning strategies, or study counsellors — whatever resources your high school might provide. sure, it might feel like dork behavior, but you have nothing to lose. best case scenario, it actually helps you develop good study haits, and you get into U of T! yippeee.

but if you don’t have any study-help resources available to you, you are not powerless!! the best thing you can do is be aware of what works and doesn’t work for yourself, and react accordingly. you know? like, if your night study sessions are not that effective, try studying in the early morning instead! try different things out and see what sticks.

meanwhile, bro to bro, my alternative advice would be to befriend the top student in each of your classes. they can be really good at explaining things and it makes them feel good about themselves. like, let’s be real, having the smart kid’s help is a tried and true way to boost your grades in a pinch. and don’t worry, it’s not a parasitic relationship, because you’ll boost their ego! *whips around* who said that…

anyways, real advice and silly advice aside. let’s talk extracurriculars! how much will they matter?

well, unlike most programs, extracurriculars do matter quite a bit for engineering applicants. U of T wants to see that incoming engineering students have strengths outside of the classroom. i guess we’re trying to beat the all-engineering-students-are-sunlight-deprived-allegations.

you’ll be able to show your extracurricular activities through the online student profile, which is a supplementary application you send in after you’ve submitted your OUAC application. with this, they’ll be most interested in activities that show your “leadership, dedication, and overall excellence”. the good thing is that your activities do not need to be engineering related. for example, they can include student clubs, volunteering, arts, athletics, community involvement, or paid employment.

on top of that, you’ll also submit a “personal profile”, which includes some timed written and video responses. these will apparently help U of T “get to know you as a person”, and are mainly meant to assess your communication skills.

and, yeah! that’s kinda an overview of what U of T asks for in engineering applications. the short story is that grade 11 and 12 marks matter the most, and extracurriculars do matter quite a bit. overall, all you can do is your best! you’ve already got a great start by asking the right questions and wanting to improve.

i hope i gave somewhat useful and sensical information here lol. wishing you good luck in all your endeavours! i believe in you <3

over and out,

aska
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admissions, applying for U of T, summer

mmm, refreshing!

July 7, 2025

Hi thanks for answering our questions ur a life saver, so my question is will me taking courses over the summer affect my ability to get into Uoft st.george or UTSC for general science or human biology, my grade 11 mark for chemistry wasn’t very competitive so I decided to take grade 12 through the summer so I can focus on the course one on one, also the course wasn’t available through the TDSB so I was recommended to take it through the TCDSB I hope it doesn’t make a difference, Thank you again for your help!!

hey there,

aw you’re sweet! thanks for the thanks :)))

and, have i got great news for you!

taking courses over the summer will definitely not affect your acceptance. U of T doesn’t actually care when you take your courses, whether it’s summer or during the school year, it’s all the same to them.

you said you’ve decided to take chemistry during the summer so that you could commit more focus to it. that sounds like a really great decision to me.

taking grade 12 chemistry during the summer also means that your final chemistry marks will be out by the time you apply to U of T. this is good because it means they will focus less on your grade 11 marks if they have access to your grade 12 marks! for context, usually, U of T puts focus on grade 11 marks during application season because most people’s grade 12 final marks aren’t released yet. basically, having your grade 12 chem mark released is a good thing for you, if your grade 11 mark is not competitive.

you also said you’re taking the course with the toronto catholic district school board instead of the toronto district school board. i can see why you might be concerned, but i’m quite sure that will not make a difference on your application — they’ll mainly just pay attention to your mark, not where you took the course.

yeah, all i see is some good decision making and good planning. wow, we love to see it. refreshing! (this is not a subtweet at anyone else, i promissse.)

sending you the bestest luck for chem 12 and your grade 12 year!!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, prereqs, rotman

i’m an ap calculus hater

May 31, 2025
So I recently got accepted into UofT into their Rotman Commerce Program. The thing is, this was stated in my terms and conditions (conditional offer):”Maintain your current academic standing, particularly in any prerequisite subjects for the admission category to which you have been admitted, and graduate. If you have already completed your studies, ensure your official results are submitted.” Does this mean I have to submit my AP Calc results?

hey there,

huge congrats on your acceptance to rotman!!! conditional or not, that is a big deal and i hope you are being celebrated. if not, this is me celebrating you. YIPPEEE!!! YAYYY!! YAHOOO!!!

ok party’s over. now to your question.

hmm, AP calculus is not necessarily a pre-requisite for rotman admissions. but i know that calculus & vectors (MCV4U) or an equivalent course is required. so i’d say..
1. if you took a different grade 12 level calculus course, you probably don’t need to submit your AP calc results.
2. if AP calc was how you fulfilled the calculus & vectors (MCV4U) requirement, you should submit your AP calc results.
if this was any other AP course, i’d say either way, you should probably just submit your AP scores for the sake of getting a transfer credit. i remember having to do this manually — ie. the AP college board will not just automatically send your scores to your university.

basically, once your scores are available in early july, you just go to the AP website and submit them using U of T’s code, 0982. as long as you submit by the end of august, you’d automatically have a transfer credit show up in your transcript, assuming your AP exam mark is at least a 4.

BUT, the thing about U of T is that they don’t actually accept AP calc for transfer credits. (this made me soooo mad in grade 12.)

so if you were to submit your AP calc marks, it would only be to show them your final grade.

anyways. in short, i’d recommend you should definitely submit your AP calc marks if that was your fulfilment of the MCV4U requirement. however, if you fulfilled the requirement with another calc course, you still could submit the AP calc scores, because AP calc is technically a course that will show up on your grade 12 transcript and U of T might want to know your final score.

regardless of whether it’s a required pre-requisite for you or not, i don’t think it hurts to submit your AP calc scores to U of T.

finally, just to preface!! i am just a student, not an admissions officer. so as much as i hate to admit it, there is a chance what i’m telling you is not completely accurate. if you want an answer that is 100% true, i’d suggest checking out some of the contacts on this page. or, email the rotman registrar at ro@rotman.utoronto.ca. i don’t wanna lead you astray 🙁

good luck with everything!

over and out,

aska
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admissions, engineering, scholarships/bursaries

yess internet, give us nothing!

May 21, 2025

hi aska! i’m a gr 12 student accepted to utsg engineering, and i searched for engineering admission scholarships requiring applications on the uoft award explorer. when i clicked apply, some of the application links (like for the Albert and Rose Jong Entrance Scholarship) lead to this page saying: ‘The University Registrar’s Office is making changes to the process for 2023-24. Updates will be available shortly. Stay tuned!’ do you know how/if i can apply for them? thank you!

hey there,

that is weird. but, also unsurprising. i see this happen way too often with U of T websites. in fact, i encountered the same problem last year when i was looking for scholarships in my program.

and ok i see what you mean. i just went to the award explorer and it led me to that same out-of-date page you saw!

well, i spent over an hour searching for answers to your question and i hope you’re hungry, cause i came up with…

a whole bunch of nothing! 😀

i could not for the life of me find a working application link to those awards. which is weird, because if they’re listed on the award explorer, i’m pretty sure you should be able to apply to them….

so even if i can’t figure out the exact answers to your questions, i will not leave you starving. here’s my advice on where to go from here:

honestly, if the “apply” link keeps leading to this out-of-date page, i would just recommend that you directly email the faculty offering the award and ask about whether you’re able to apply. tell them the same thing you told me. tell them that the links aren’t working, and specify that you’re interested in engineering admission scholarships requiring applications.

in general, if you have questions about a scholarship that can’t be answered on the info page, don’t be afraid to reach out directly to the faculty offering the scholarship.

that’s exactly what i did last year when i couldn’t figure out how to apply to some scholarships — i just went directly to the people in charge. and they got back to me within a week and very kindly answered all my questions!

so if you balk at hearing “email them” like i do, let me tell you, do not be scared. it’s actually so very chill! and if you ask me, it’s the faculty’s job to make its award application process clear for applicants. if students can’t find their award applications in an accessible or easy way, that’s on them.

but exactly who should you contact, you ask?

well, i can see that engineering admissions award links offered by both the university’s registrar office and the faculty of engineering are leading to that same page. so i guess you could contact either of them. but, honestly i’ve never tried contacting the university’s registrar office so i’m not sure how fast their response time would be. they’re the main office for the whole university, and they might receive a higher volume of emails than other registrar offices.

so what i’d recommend you do is contact the engineering registrar, since you might have a better chance of them getting back to you quickly. plus, now that you’ve been admitted, you are one of the students that they are in charge of helping!

here is the link to the emails and contact information of people in the faculty of engineering. don’t worry, i know there are a whole lot of people and emails on that page — so to help you narrow it down, the emails i’d recommend you contact are either the “awards and honors” person, or the undergrad admissions email: admissions@engineering.utoronto.ca , or the main registrar email: registrar@engineering.utoronto.ca .

and yeah, i hope this somewhat helps? sorry i couldn’t give you a better answer :((( the internet fails me sometimes.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, Transferring, UTSC

who plants flowers in a sandbox

May 16, 2025

First year uni transfer student here. I was curious what UTSC actually cares about when looking at transfer students? Is it the cgpa (x/4) or my last years average (xx%)? Also I was just curious what the status update from “application under review” to “application under review by faculty/division” meant… is there even a difference or have my hopes been squandered like a flower in a child’s sandbox?.

P.s. thank you aska!!!

hey there,

thank you for the thank you!

so no, i don’t think your hopes have been squandered like a flower in a child’s sandbox, though i rock with the way you put that. i think your hopes still have a chance at life! don’t you dare let anyone kill them.

in fact, let me pull out my nonexistent CPR skills and revive them, right here, right now.

because there is still hope for your application. the status update from “application under review” to “application under review by faculty/division” basically means that your application is moving through the system. so now, it’s under review by the faculty you applied for — and that is good news! yippee.

but what does UTSC look for when reviewing your application?

officially, they say here that they look at your complete academic record, with more emphasis on your most recent year of full-time study. they also say they look at both your academic and non-academic credentials, depending on your program.

but honestly i’m not sure if they look at your cgpa or your percent average. i’d say it’s safer to assume that they’ll look at both? all they actually tell us is that they look at your complete academic record — there’s nothing i can find that gets more specific than that.

beyond that, they will likely look closest at relevant subjects for the program you’re applying for. this might mean they even look at some of your high school marks, if you didn’t take anything on the subject in uni. for example, if you applied to statistics, they would probably pay the most attention to any calculus and functions courses that you’ve taken, whether that be in high school or first year university.

finally if you’re worried because you’re still waiting to hear a response right now, just know that the people reviewing your application might still be waiting to receive your final marks from this past uni semester. the semester did just end, and not everyone’s marks are out yet.

so not all hope is lost! according to this page, decision letters go out from january to may, and the month of may is not over yet.

anyways, good luck with everything, my friend. hope you enjoyed my live demonstration of CPR.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, hard

the waiting game

May 9, 2025

I’ve completed my application in January and I have received multiple emails from uoft admissions (probably more than 40 emails have been sent back-and-forth between us), yet I have not been admitted and it is now April and I already understand why people called the school uoftears. I already have hair loss before even entering the school.
Like bro if you’re gonna reject me just say it already.
No need to ghost me to make me like you more or smth.
Also if you’re in the admission team and you see this please let me in.

hey there,

dangg i’m sorry that’s happening!! i know this season is already such a hard time for high school applicants, and what you described sounds so stressful 🙁

i hate to let a homie down, but i’m not actually working on the admissions team. i’m just a student! (albeit a super duper cool one who knows a lot of things about the university). so even if i wanted to, i can’t let you in. (unless i went rogue, became a supervillain and hacked the system idk).

but while i don’t have the super-hacking powers to let you in myself, i can tell you some things that might help ease the uncertainty.

based on what you’ve said it seems to me like there is good news: and it’s that you haven’t been rejected. U of T will clearly and formally tell you if you have been rejected, so if you haven’t received a rejection letter, there is still hope for you to get in. U of T will not just ghost you.

i also know that acceptance/rejection letters are still going out right now, and can even come out as far as in late may, according to this future U of T page. in fact, admission decisions can be sent out late for any number of reasons. for example, depending on your program, they might just be reviewing supplemental information, or even waiting for relevant midterm/interim grades to come out.

the point is, decisions are still being made right now, and you can still be considered in the next round of admission decisions.

however, i know that waiting this long for your admission decision can be quite stressful and hard. just know that your worth is not tied to the university’s timeline or decision! and in the meantime, please be kind to yourself. you’ve already done the hard work, now we’ve just got to sit tight and wait.

wishing you good vibes, good luck, and sunshine-filled mornings. you’ve got this!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, OUAC

whatever you do, do not dilly dally

March 16, 2025

Hi! I’m a student from Vancouver, BC. And I applied for U of T this year and I met a trouble with my information in my account. I got a wrong SIN number and how can I change it? Thank you so much!

hey there,

i’m gonna assume you haven’t gotten a letter of admission/denial yet and are still waiting to hear back.

if you put the wrong SIN number into your personal information page on OUAC (where you applied), you should be able to change it. back when i applied, i’m like 80% sure i was still able to go back and my change personal info after completing the application.

but tbh it’s been a while and i’m not an expert on the OUAC platform.

all i can say is that you should try to fix this asap because it might impact your admission decision. in the best case, you should be able to manually change it, or contact the admissions office to get it changed. in the worse case, a wrong SIN number in your application sounds like it might count as fraudulent information.

officially, the university says this: “you should be aware that when you submit your application you are required to certify that the personal information and documents submitted in the application, or to be submitted (all of which constitutes the application), are true, complete and correct in all respects. if evidence is found to the contrary your admission to the university may be rescinded, your registration may be revoked”

but no need to quake in your boots just yet. if you really can’t figure out how to manually change it in OUAC, you should really contact undergraduate admissions directly at this link or at this phone number: 416-978-2190. and do it as soon as you can.

i really hope this helped and that everything turns out ok!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, extracurricular

a guide to what U of T actually looks at

February 24, 2025

what should i do to get a better chance of getting into u of t? is there anything particular they want to see in a student? and do i have to be good at leadership or its not that important?

hey there,

well, this is sorta hard to answer because it depends on which admission category, which campus, and which faculty you’re applying to.

soooo i guess i’ll just cover the main options and hope one of them is relevant to you?

humanities, life sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, and social science categories

within the faculty of arts and sciences, there are six admission categories, which are basically just general categories that help sort all the programs. if you’re applying to the humanities, life sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, and social science categories, you won’t have to hand in anything other than your grades. since these are the most common areas of study at U of T, this will be the case for most people.

if this is you, U of T will base your admission based on the average grades of your top six academic grade 12 courses, including pre-requisite courses. no leadership skills required, and no extracurriculars. which is a little cray-cray considering how much effort i put into that stuff in high school just to apply to a uni that didn’t look at any of it :DDDD.

anyways, admission for these fields of study is literally just based on grades and all you can do is try to keep your grades above the competitive average for your category.

so if you’ve got good marks, YAY. U of T made it super simple for you!

and if not. ugh, U of T sucks for that who gave them the right.

rotman commerce and computer science categories

meanwhile, if you were applying to rotman commerce or computer science, they will look at both your grades and your extracurriculars/experiences in a supplemental application. so yes, things like leadership and extracurricular activities are important.

for rotman commerce, it seems like this supplemental application will include written and video responses to assess your leadership skills and community involvement, as well as your passion for business. i’m sure for rotman, leadership skills are a big factor, since that’s kinda essential for business school.

and for comp sci, this application will look at similar things. it’ll be a 250 word response about your leadership skills and experiences. but questions won’t be centred around computer science.

faculty of engineering

for engineering applicants, they will be looking at your grades alongside an “online student profile” that you’ll fill out. this will focus on your extracurriculars and interests, and they are especially “interested in your activities and achievements that demonstrate leadership, dedication and overall excellence”.

if you wanted more details about what this looks like: it seems you’ll have to discuss your non-academic activities like clubs, sports, and arts. AND, you’ll have to complete timed video responses that will help them to “get to know you as a person”.

daniel’s faculty of architecture, landscape, and design

and finally, i want to include architecture, just in case this applies to you. telepathically, i am sensing you’re most likely in arts and sciences but we’re gonna roll with this.

if you wanted to apply to the daniel’s faculty, you’ll need to submit your grades alongside a supplementary application that will include a written response as well as a creative submission. so, leadership/extracurriculars don’t matter for this program, but personality and creativity do!

overall advice

so the tldr is: in artsci, the humanities, life sci, physical and mathematical sciences, and social science categories only look at grades. it’s only rotman, comp sci, and engineering that will look at leadership, extracurriculars, and interests. and architecture will look at your personal response and creative ability.

but regardless of which field of study you’re interested in, having good grades will really help you have a good chance of admission (duh!). make sure you’ve taken the pre-requisite courses for your admission category, thoroughly understand the admission requirements, and meet all the deadlines.

i’d also highly recommend that you submit during the early application period, for the best chances. start your application early so that you don’t rush it during the few days before and just decide “eh, i’ll just submit for the later deadline” because you’re too rushed (like a lot of people in my high school did). start early and submit early!

anyways, i hope some part of this was helpful. best of luck with your application!!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, grades, rotman

live laugh spiral

February 18, 2025

Hi there! I am a Grade 12 student applying for Rotman Commerce at St. George campus. I just finished semester 1, and my top 6 average is currently a 95.3, which includes Grade 12 English and Calculus completed. However, I didn’t do well back in Grade 11 and have 3 very bad marks, including Chemistry, Physics, and G11 English, but I got 90s in all other G11 courses except for Function with an 87. As I know, Rotman would look at all G11 and G12 grades when reviewing my application, therefore, I am scared these 3 grades could significantly lower my chances, especially for the G11 English mark. I had high 50s in Chem, mid-70s in Phy, and 66 in Grade 11 English, which resulted in an 83 Grade 11 avg. Moreover, despite having a fabulous Grade 12 average, I took so many Grade 12 courses outside of day school. For example, I took English in summer school and got a 93; calculus in e-learning and got a 94, and at last, MHF4U in night school and got a 96. I am also scared it could lower my chances as well since, apparently, U of T cares about night school, summer school, etc. It also shows grade inconsistency in English since it jumped from a 66 in Grade 11 to a 93 in Grade 12. I got a 95 on both the only two Grade 12 courses that I took in day school fyi. Last but not least, I completed my supp app last week, and I believe I did decently well. I would give myself an 8/10. Nonetheless, I apologize for how long it is since I just wanted to provide some context. But here are a few questions I would like to get an answer to: 1. Will my low Grade 11 avg and Grade 11 English mark significantly lower my chances? 2. Does U of T care about whether I took any courses outside of day school? 3. Overall, what are my chances of getting into Rotman? I am really sorry for bothering you! I hope you have a good rest of the day!

hey there,

first off, congrats on finishing your application, and on getting such good marks in your first semester of grade 12! those numbers are really impressive.

but i get the anxiety despite it all (you’re just like me fr).

jk. these are super valid questions, and also really common questions! so maybe i can help clarify things. just a disclaimer though, i won’t be able to give a perfectly clear answer because publicly released U of T admission rules are pretty confusing. they really gotta stop tryna act so dark and mysterious, man.

grade 11 marks

ok i can see why you’re worried if you got a 66 in grade 11 english and english is one of the pre-requisite courses for admisson into rotman.

but you may be fine. because in general, grade 11 marks are looked at mainly for early consideration and conditional admissions.

it’s true that U of T does look at your grade 11 marks, but these will matter more when your marks from grade 12 aren’t out yet. keep in mind that everyone’s term system works differently, and some schools won’t release interim grade 12 marks yet at this point in the year. so for students who get their first term grade 12 marks back late, grade 11 marks will count more. but your interim grade 12 marks are already out, so your grade 11 marks will likely not hold as much weight. does that make sense?

i’ve heard U of T admissions likes to see improvement, too! so the fact that you showed massive growth from grade 11 to grade 12 should help you out. plus, an 83 average for grade 11 is not bad at all.

courses outside of day school

i’ve been told that U of T doesn’t care whether you take courses during the summer semester. i’ve also heard that they don’t care if you take courses online. however, i have not heard anything about night school.

while i did find a statement made about day school on this rotman page, it doesn’t really provide us with anything of substance. officially, they say this:

“while there may be valid reasons for taking courses outside of your day school, we encourage students to take courses in their day school where possible. all aspects of the application may be considered in the admissions process”.

very vague, i know. but the general vibe i’m getting is that taking courses outside of day school will not be a make-or-break factor in your application, considering you already have a very high average. i think it’s usually only cause for concern for applicants who are close to the minimum admission average. but that’s not you, because you’ve got really high marks!

your chances

so yeah, as i said above, if you have a top 6 average of 95.3, you’re way above the minimum average of mid-high 80’s, shown on this rotman page. the fact that you’ve got high marks and did well on your supplemental means that your chances are pretty good.

overall, my personal take (as an arts and science student and not an admissions person or a rotman student) is that you will be fine. several other people have asked similar questions to these, and you have higher grade 12 marks than the rest of the crowd. grade 12 marks and the supplemental will matter the most, and you’ve absolutely got those in the bag.

finally, no one can give you a guaranteed answer except the admission letter itself. but if you wanted to hear directly from a rotman student, here’s a link to register for a one-on-one meeting with a current rotman student. you can ask them about things non-admissions related too, like student life and general rotman advice they might have. finance, finance, case comp, add me on linked in, insert business lingo here.

anyways, that’s all from me. i know it can be pretty stressful while waiting to hear back about your application, so just know that you’ve done all you can — and you’ve done it well!

i encourage you to make the most of the rest of your senior year, and try to enjoy it while you’re still there. i’m rooting for you, and think good things are coming your way!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, bad times, engineering, hard

rejection is just redirection

January 31, 2025

I don’t know if I’ll make it into uoft engineering, because my average is mid-80s for end of first sem, but I’ve asked this page a lot of questions last year, and I’m very grateful, so I wanna know how I should prepare for the rejection. I don’t know if this sounds depressing, but I’ll be fine later on but I saw my exam grades today and I wanna cry and I just don’t want to feel sad about being rejected because I really wanted to go to uoft.

hey there,

man, i’m sorry that’s happening! that sounds really upsetting.

first off, thanks for your question, it means a lot that you came to me with this.

i know that it can feel like the world is ending when you don’t get the grades you wanted, especially when you put so much effort in and there’s so much at stake. i also remember your questions from last year, so i know that you’ve really been committed to getting good grades over the past year! you were asking all the right questions and were focused on all the right things.

i mean, it’s totally normal to feel distressed over this! anyone who’s worked as hard as you and has this much dedication to their goals would be.

when i’m feeling this way, i think it helps to know that you genuinely did the best you could. you did all you could with the resources and knowledge you had at the time, so there’s nothing to beat yourself up over. sure, it didn’t turn out the way you wanted, but a rejection is not a reflection of your work ethic, intelligence, or competence. sometimes the circumstances are just built in a difficult way.

and like, are we kidding? trying to get into U of T engineering is one heck of a difficult circumstance. the grades they require are insanely high, and it’s a notoriously difficult program at the notoriously most difficult school in the whole country.

just because this program isn’t right for you doesn’t mean you can’t reach academic excellence (whatever that is) or be on the path to a highly successful career — tbh, all the most successful and outstanding U of T students i know who are making big moves and getting recognized for their work aren’t in engineering. and i’m not sure if you applied to other schools, but getting any engineering degree is impressive and will make you employable. there are plenty of other top-notch engineering programs in canada and other top-notch programs at U of T.

but even then, nothing’s set in stone yet! you just got your interim grades back, not the rejection. your marks are in the mid-eighties, which is like what, two percentages away from the high-eighties? remember that the engineering admissions considers your extracurricular work along with your academic work, so that could pull your application up. at this point in time, you could still get in, or even get waitlisted. let’s not snowball towards the worst-case scenario, you still don’t know what will happen.

if you wanted advice on how to prepare for rejection, here’s what helps me. when i’m really set on an opportunity (which i am right now), i try to not get attached to the end outcome, and only focus on what’s controllable. you can only control your effort, consistency, and drive — after that, you’ve done your job and there’s nothing else you have to do.

also, you might think something is the perfect golden opportunity, but remember that it hasn’t actually happened yet. we’re only human, so we can’t look into the future, and you don’t actually know if it would be disastrous! like, have you heard of burnt toast theory?

maybe this opportunity just isn’t right for you — or, it isn’t right for you at this point in time.

what i’m trying to say is, when something doesn’t work out, there’s often something better waiting for you that you just don’t know about yet! i am a firm believer that rejection is just redirection, and what’s meant for you will find you.

maybe i sound a little delulu LOL but that’s what helps me.

anyway. if you’re really set on engineering and didn’t apply to other schools, maybe you can try again next year — you are still able to apply to universities a year after you graduate. don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something! if you really have a dream, don’t let one “no” end it all. i know someone who’s applied to med school four years in a row, getting rejected each time. but she keeps trying again and again, because she’s committed to her goal.

ultimately, all you can do at this point is keep working hard in school. maybe if you keep your grades up, you might get waitlisted, and then accepted!

i’ll leave you with this: if you have effort and you have consistency, there is nothing you cannot do. it is truly only a matter of time.

you are so capable. take a deep breath, you’ve got this.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, human biology

to retake or not to retake

January 28, 2025

Hi ,Thanks again for your help with my previous question! I have a quick follow-up about my course selection. Since my Advanced Functions (MHF4U) mark isn’t very competitive, I’m wondering if I should retake it, or if taking Data Management (MDM4U) instead would be a better option. Do you think taking both would strengthen my application, or is one more important than the other? (Also advanced functions is not a prerequisite course for most of the programs I am looking at) and to specify I would like to apply to both campuses

I really appreciate your advice on this!

Thanks so much

hey there,

y’all, two returning askers in one WEEK! i feel so loved.

ok so should you retake advanced functions to raise your mark or just take data management instead?

well, if advanced functions isn’t a pre-req for most of the programs you’re looking at, you probably don’t have to retake it. here’s why.

as you can see here, the great thing about applying to U of T is that they will only use your top 6 marks in academic courses to calculate your admission average. among these 6 marks must be the pre-requisites for the admission category you’re applying to. so if advanced functions isn’t a pre-req, it won’t actually have to be included in the calculation of your admission average, assuming you have other academic courses that you got better marks in.

remember that if you’re hoping to apply to human biology, what you’ll actually be inputting into your OUAC application is the life sciences admission category. the pre-requisites for this category are english and calculus. so for example, your admission average could be calculated based on your marks in english, calculus, chem, bio, history, and data management. (classes like drama, art, band, or physical education wouldn’t count).

honestly, taking data management instead could strengthen your application just because you won’t have a repeated course on your transcript. and it’ll have the same function as advanced functions — you’ll be able to use data management as the alternate pre-requisite for UTSC human biology, as mentioned in my previous answer.

i honestly don’t think either data management or advanced functions would be more important than the other transcript-wise, but i will say that data management skills will be very applicable for any STEM program you want to go into. sure, advanced functions skills are important, but data management skills will be directly needed in a large number of your upper year courses in life sciences. i think it’ll be useful to get comfortable with these skills early on (i wish i did!).

basically, both the UTSG and UTSC campuses say that repeated courses aren’t super great on your application. so it could be a good idea for you to just take data management to meet the pre-req requirement for UTSC human bio instead of retaking advanced functions.

but it’s really hard to say what decision is better to make, because all this stuff is intentionally made to be a little murky. it’s totally up to you, you could retake advanced functions and try to get a higher mark and have that work out for you! you could take data management and have that work out for you! anything could happen.

my personal take is that taking data management might be the best idea, BUT remember that this is just my opinion as a student who is not involved in the admissions process at all. please think it through a lot, since there’s no easy answer here.

i hope this helped! sending lots of encouragement.

over and out,

aska

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