new kids - askastudent

ccit, new kids

ccit for newbies

April 10, 2024

hi! im an international student and i just got accepted at uoft in ccit! is there any specialization we can take in the degree? thanks!

hey there,

first of all, congrats on your acceptance.

second of all, woah, this is a cool department. i am getting absolutely sold by its description on the artsci website.

i’m guessing you’re asking about specialization within the CCIT department, and not within the CCIT major? if it’s the former, then yes, there are several programs you can choose from the communication, culture, and information technology department. as you can see on the arts & sciences calendar, they offer a specialist, a minor, and several majors. (if you’re unfamiliar with what those are, refer here for the difference between program types).

they offer five different programs that you would apply to after your first year:

1. specialist in digital enterprise management (DEM). this is basically a management program that specializes in the tech industry. and it sounds so cool? an important thing to note, though, is that you cannot take this at the same time as a major in CCIT, a major in management, a major in commerce, or a major in TCS.

2. major in CCIT.

3. major OR minor in professional writing and communication (PWT).

4. major in technology, coding, and society (TCS).

5. professional experience certificate in digital media, communication, and technology. this is an add-on certificate to the other four programs, since it requires that you’re enrolled in one of them. it’s like an internship sort of thing that lets you get some out-of-classroom experience in a 12-16 week work placement.

but if you were asking about specialization within the CCIT major, there is always room for personal choice and exploration within each major. the CCIT major requires 8.0 credits to complete. of those eight credits, four will be taken up with required courses. but with the other four credits, you have freedom to choose between any third year or fourth year CCT or VCC courses. so you can build-your-own-degree based on what you’re interested in!

anyways, i hope this was helpful! good luck with everything.

over and out,

aska

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life science, lost, new kids, programs

crash course for incoming students

March 25, 2024

Hey! I got accepted into Life Sci but I’m having some serious second thoughts… I’m not sure if I wanted to major in something science related but I really want to go to UofT, so now I’m stressing over courses. I feel like everywhere I look, I get vague answers, so I was hoping I could recieve a clearer one here :/ are there required courses in first year that are related to the area you’re admitted into, or can you just take whatever prereqs a major has (within arts and sci)?

hey there,

well, you have come to the right place!! before you read all this, the tldr is that you’ll be fine.

when i was accepted into life sci, i was in your exact situation. i wasn’t really sure if i wanted to follow through with science and wanted to try out the arts. the rules around switching around and taking prerequisites are so confusing for incoming students, and for what? it really does not need to be that complicated, so i’ll try to lay it out as clear as i can.

1. admission categories

so when you’re admitted to u of t, you are in an “admission category“. there are six of these in arts & sciences, and they are just a way to group the 340+ program choices into general categories for incoming students. the great thing about admission categories is that they actually give you a lot more freedom to explore during your first year than if you were admitted into a specific program. (here is a list of all the programs included in the life sciences category).

essentially, what i was told for ease of understanding, was that your admission category does not really matter. a common assumption many incoming students make is that your admission category is your program and you’re already tied down and committed. but at this stage, you are not in a program yet—therefore, you can really take any courses you want and shoot for programs that aren’t in your admission category. the only thing your admission category actually has material impact on is getting first-pick during course enrolment.

2. programs of study (POSt)

during the spring of your first year, you will apply to your programs of study (abbreviated as “POSt”). there are three levels of programs: a specialist, a major, and a minor. the difference between these is the number of courses required. most often, people take 2 majors, or 1 specialist, or 1 major and 2 minors. but the maximum number of programs you can enrol in is 3. if this is confusing, sid smith commons has a page with a really great visualizer for what these combinations can look like.

some programs are “open” and some are “limited”. open programs have no prerequisites, while limited programs do. again, sid smith has a page about how to apply to programs.

3. first year pre-requisite courses

to answer your question, yes, pretty much. you can just take whatever pre-reqs a major has within arts & sciences. because remember, at this point, you are not tied down to anything.

for example, if you were admitted into life sciences because you wanted to get into biology (life sci), but now are changing your mind and wanting to major in urban studies (humanities), you could absolutely do that! all you would have to do to get in to the program after first year is take the pre-req courses listed on the artsci website under “enrolment requirements” for that program. that is, if there even are pre-requisites. if there are no pre-reqs, take whatever you want in first year and then select that program on acorn in march!

4. if you’re still confused, here is what i did

in my first year, i was admitted into life sciences, but decided going into it that i didn’t want to do sciences. so i only enrolled in arts courses for my first year. and the spring of my first year, i applied to my open enrolment arts majors. then, i decided to 180 backwards and go back into life sci. so in my second year, i took the first year pre-req courses for the science major i wanted. then in spring of my second year, i applied to my life sci major, keeping my other arts major.

a lot of people’s paths look like a bit zig-zaggy like this. some people know exactly what they want to do, but most people don’t really know! it takes some exploring to figure it out and that’s okay. it’s normal to have second thoughts!

anyways, i hope this clears things up! please drop any more questions that come up. good luck going into first year, you will be amazinggg!

over and out,

aska

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new kids, programs

when oh when does first year end?

August 10, 2023
hi, i was wondering: it says you have to apply to POSt after your first year. say i’m going into first year in september 2023. does that mean my first year is over after winter 2024 or after summer 2024?

hey there,

*in good witch glinda voice* when oh when does first year end? well, oh well, that just depends…

assuming you’re enrolled full-time and complete 4.0 FCEs (credits) this year, your first year will be over after the winter 2024 semester. so, in april. (your first year basically just ends when you complete 4 credits.)

when they say to apply to your POSt after first year, they’re referring to the two POSt application periods. if you’re applying for an open program, you can enrol anytime between march and september. for example, this year, open program enrolment is happening between march 1, 2023 and september 20, 2023.

if you’re applying for a limited program, there is a “first request period” between march and july, and a “second request period” between july and september. specifically, this year, limited program enrolment dates look like this:
- first request period:
  - apply from march 1, 2023 – april 28, 2023
  - check results between april 29, 2023 – june 9, 2023
  - enrol by july 7, 2023
- second request period:
  - apply from july 8, 2023 – august 22, 2023
  - check results between august 23, 2023 – september 6, 2023
  - enrol by september 20, 2023
generally, you would apply during the first period if you expect to complete prerequisite courses during the fall/winter session, and you would apply during the second period if you expect to complete prerequisite courses during the summer session. if you wanted to look into it, sidney smith commons has a great description of program enrolment need-to-knows!

best of luck this year. *hands you an ice cream sandwich*

over and out,

aska
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choosing, courses, new kids

a user manual on courses that you should, probably, read

June 5, 2023
This may be a really stupid question, but could you explain courses (their typing(?) clusters(???)) as well as the course selection process and what needs to be considered? Every time i think i got everything i need to know im hit with new terminology i do not understand ? for context im an incoming (hopefully) part-time student at utm, class of ‘27, planning to transfer out by first year but will pursue an english maj philosoy min creative writing min courseload if transferring doesnt work out

hi bestie,

no worries, this is not a stupid question. i see you’re encountering first-year’s overwhelming task of deciphering the online labyrinth of “important-uni-things-you’re-just-expected-to-know”.

the good thing is, courses aren’t as complicated as they seem at first! tbh, i think the problem is that a lot of first years just don’t know where to find the right resources. or, they’re like me and gaslighted themselves into thinking it’s all common sense — what my high school chemistry class used to do before a test. as fun as that is, please don’t do that.

anyways. there are several U of T pages that describe everything you need to know about courses. to begin, i would say your best bet is to read through how to use the artsci calendar. this page explains pretty much all the basics about courses and programs, such as how courses are abbreviated on the website, and what things to keep in mind when choosing courses. among what is outlined on that page, understanding course codes is the foundational thing that i would highlight. for example, ENG110Y1 can be broken down into:
1. ENG – indicates department, ENG = english.
2. 110 – indicates level of difficulty. the “100” means a first-year level course, and 200-level courses are recommended to take in second year as they are more difficult. and so forth with 3rd year 300-levels and 4th year 400-levels. while an upper year can take easier courses, it would be hard for a first year to take a 3rd year course.
3. Y – the “Y” or “H” indicates the credit value. Y = full course, 1.0 credits, and H = half course, 0.5 credits.
4. 1 – indicates which campus offers this course. 1 = St.George, 3 = UTSC, 5 = UTM
when choosing your courses, you should take note of prerequisites (courses you need to take before another course), exclusions (courses that are so similar you probably shouldn’t take both), and co-requisites (courses you should take at the same time). if a course has any of these, it will say so on the timetable, degree explorer, and acorn. you should also know that there are four types of classes: lectures, tutorials, practicals, and seminars, explained, again, in “how to use the artsci calendar“. and a side note of personal advice — although you’re a part time student, i would highly recommend making space in your schedule to take first year foundation courses, those were my favourite classes in first year. but the best thing to consider in course selection is to make note of important dates so you don’t miss them (wouldn’t that be silly): such as priority course enrolment for first years, which starts on July 20th.

now in terms of your question about typing and clusters, i’m not sure what you mean by typing, as “type” is mainly used for program types. meanwhile, clusters are just categories of courses within a program. typically each program will break down its large list of courses into similar-subject categories. for example, your english major seems to have three clusters that you need credits in: 1. “indigenous, post colonial, transnational literatures”, 2. “pre-1800 english literature” and 3. “theory, language, critical methods”.

see? not so bad.

finally, i will leave you with even more resource avenues you can look into if you want to know more. there’s an awesome new student guide to planning and enrolling in your courses, with important dates and how to pay your fees. sid smith also has a simple page on how to enrol in courses. UTM’s 2023 course enrolment workbook is “to be posted soon“, and course enrolment workshops could be helpful for you. then, if you really want to know everything, as you say, you can go down a rabbit hole reading through the artsci’s course planning and course enrolment pages (but i really don’t think you need to).

best of luck in your plan, i hope it all goes smoothly.

over and out,

aska
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new kids

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

July 27, 2019

hi im definitely not smart enough for this school but ill be there this september aaaaaaa

——————————————

hello friend,

welcome in advance to u of t! super happy for ya as you enter this ~new chapter of life~ and hey, i’ll let you in on something– plenty of students here feel the same, and continue to feel the same even after first, second, third, and even fourth year.

impostor syndrome can be a weird thing. i mean, i dunno if that’s exactly what you’re feeling– maybe you’re just nervous. but i remember reading this pretty good article in the varsity about it that resonated with me and at least a few others. it says the thing better than i know how to say the thing, if you wanna check it out. tl:dr impostor syndrome is not an uncommon feeling at u of t, but there are ways to refocus and start to move away from it. one of those is to compare yourself to your own achievements and look at your own growth, rather than holding yourself up against others.

and hey– you got into the school, right? that’s gotta count for something. what matters now is what you make of that admission. go to your classes. keep up with your readings. u of t does ask for a lot from its students, but if you’re up to tackling that workload i wouldn’t say you’re any less deserving of your place than anyone else.

wishing you the best of luck, and if you find yourself dazed or confused at any point in time, don’t be afraid to ask. i’m super excited for you and all that you’re going to experience/achieve/learn in the coming years. don’t let your self-doubt get you down.

be Boundless,

aska

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new kids, work-study

will work-study for food

May 25, 2017

Are you allowed to apply for work study when you’re still a high school student? Or can you only do that after you begin in September? Thank you!

———————————————

hi!

unfortunately, you can’t apply for work study if you’re still a high school student. you need to be enrolled as a student (full-time, part-time, undergraduate, or graduate) to qualify for work-study positions.

good luck, young one. looking forward to seeing you around campus come fall.

xoxo,

aska

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new kids, subject POST

science student by day, commerce student by night

April 29, 2011

Hi I am a newly admitted student for Fall 2011 and was wondering if we can do a BSc and BCom double major in St george? I want to study Chemistry (which I have applied for ) as well as Finance and Economics.

Thank you,

Vi

???????????????

Hi Vi! Congrats on getting into U of T. Askastudent is big-upping you today. Way to go!

In your first year, keep in mind that you haven’t been admitted into a subject PoSt yet, so it shouldn’t affect your course selection or future plans if you later realize that Commerce and Chemistry aren’t for you. Usually though, students find the Commerce program at U of T kind of grueling (in a good way!) and like to concentrate on that stream instead of another, you know? However, I did have a friend who graduated with a double major in Commerce and Cinema Studies so you can definitely do it!

Basically you could graduate with a BCOM or a BSC as long as you fulfill 7 credits (and the program requirements) in both. But you would have to choose if you ultimately would like to have your degree show that you graduated with commerce or a science degree on your transcript. Up to you, and obviously since you are a newly admitted student, this is a long, long time away. So for now, enjoy your summer and we’ll see you for frosh week.

I obviously am picturing you as an enigmatic scientist by day, Wall Street trader by night.

xoxo, Askastudent

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new kids

take me to belgium!

July 28, 2010

Greetings from la Belgique

First of all: Got a great website running there mate!

And now down to business:
I haven’t been able to attend any of the academic orientation sessions, because
I’m still in Belgium at the moment.
I was wondering if there’s any kind of special orientation or something for the
International students end of august or september. Is there anything like that
available?

Also, I saw that there is this Academic Mini Course from the 25th till the 27th
of August. Apparently you have to register to be able to attend the course; do
you know where I could register for this?

Fanks and Cheers!

???????????????

Whoa, Aska has readers in Belgium??? Coolness. This whole thing is making me way hungry for mayonnaise and fries.

In response to your question, I’m not aware of extra special Academic Orientation sessions just for International Students, since those things are usually done via your college. However, feel free to scope all info for the Innis Academic Orientation on stuff like what’s ROSI and how to select your classes, all online, here. Specifically designed for International Students!

RE: Mini courses, it looks like you can sign up for one offered through UC.

To register, please contact the Academic Success Centre:
email: mail.asc@utoronto.ca or phone (416) 978-7970.

Does that help? Are you eating a waffle right now and watching a movie by the Dardenne Brothers?

Wishing I was in Belgium telling you about course administration, Askastudent

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first year, new kids, tcard

get the party started!

July 16, 2010

Hey Aska,
I signed up for an event called, ‘ Get Started ‘.
I know that its an even for first years who require help picking courses
but, what else do we soon-to-be-first-years learn about? And how long is the
event? Andd, I heard that we get our UofT ID pictures taken as well, is it
true?

Thanks a bunch !? 🙂

———————————————

Boy those smiley emoticons get me right in the chest.

Is this the Innis academic orientation? Or another, obviously bargain basement imitation? (Just kidding.) Basically these events are all about teaching first year students how to read the timetable, explaining what courses are suggested for Commerce, Science, and Humanities Streams, explaining the breadth requirements and stuff like financial planning for school and OSAP…all culminating in a wicked barbecue with other students and a chance to tour the college and the residence.

Sound like a blast? Well, somewhat. What’s good about these events is that it does give you a chance to meet other students going into your year and older, wiser, current ones. You can meet some of the faculty of your college and hear war stories about course selection and get all psyched for frosh week – if you want. So it’s an incredibly handy session to prepare you for choosing classes and meeting some people who can ease your addled minds.

If you have proof of enrollment (i.e. the letter U of T sent you when they accepted you into the institution), then you can visit the T Card office and get your T Card! You can also get your T Card during the first week of classes.

xoxo, Askastudent

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awkwardness, first year, friends, new kids, residence

All the ladies who truly feel me (throw your hands up at me).

August 21, 2009

hard to admit, but being a mama’s girl my mom is coming with me to toronto for few weeks during frosh week to settle me into my residence etc (teaching me how to use the laundry machine to avoid ‘everything is pink because of one red sock’ situation, etc etc)
but through sept 3rd and 18th there seems to be no hotel rooms available for booking
would it be possible for her to stay with me in my residence during her stay? I have a single room so maybe?

Listen, I am a proud Mama’s boy who couldn’t even recognize a washer/dryer upon entrance to residence – so I can understand where you are coming from. It is BECAUSE I can relate to you that I’m about to serve up some tough love.

Are you honestly considering having your Mom stay with you for the first 15 days of university?! Really? I think this is a bad idea for reasons three.

One. These are two of the most socially decisive weeks of your uni experience. You will seriously limit your ability to make friends and engage in (planned or impromptu) activities. Unless you have one of those vicarious mothers who’ll wear tubes tops while serving up strawberry daiquiris to your girlfriends – you cannot argue that you will be undermining your?social life before it has the chance to develop.

You’ve signed up for Frosh week right? If not go sign up now! Seriously. Go.

Okay, you’re back. Now, that you’re doing Frosh, what is your poor mother going to do with herself while you are pre-occupied with all of these exciting events? Water fights and face paint? No.

Two. You have a single room? Is it part of a suite? Do you share common spaces like a living room or bathroom? Think about the situation that you will be putting your neighbours in? The presence of a parental figure would certainly be a damper on the local scene. In fact it would just be awkward for everyone involved. ????

Does your residence have a limit on the number of consecutive nights a guest can stay? Find out.

Three. I GET that your Mom loves you, and wants to ease your transition. I really do.

I GET that you want your Mom around to teach you the in and outs of domesticity, and to be a familiar face when you are entering a new environment. BUT you should know that there is something to be said for learning independence… independently from your parents.

University is so much more than memorizing crap in class. It is about stepping out from under the protective parental umbrella, and tackling the challenges and nuances of daily living – face on. And you won’t be alone. Everyone shares these uncertainties.

I had a friend who poured bowls of cookies for breakfast, and put liquid detergent in the dryer. Did we judge her? No, we helped her and became better friends because of it.

Why don’t you be proactive and help your Mom with laundry and cooking now, before you leave? She’ll love it for more than one reason, and you’ll have a head start when you get to school.

Perhaps your Mom could visit for a couple days in the second or third week of class (when you’ve actually accumulated enough laundry to do a load). I would plan it tentatively, as you may very well find that you aren’t as incompetent as you once thought.

Sound reasonable? I really hope so, because I am not kidding around.

Hmmm… this one felt a little heavy for a Friday afternoon. How about we lighten the mood with a little spice a la 1997?

Oooh, that actually just made things even heavier, didn’t it? My bad.

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courses, new kids, TAs, tutorials

Two Toe Rye Al.

August 12, 2009

With each course that I want to take comes a tutorial. Now I’m reading about them but it’s just not clicking. Are they classes (after the lecture) that further the students understanding of the lecture?

———————————————

Every time I send a new question, I think of a new one! So this one is:

I understand that beside courses it says [_L] and [_T]
But under Vic college, I’m looking at a bunch of humanities courses and instead of L and T it says [_S] [_P]

So whats S and P?

Two questions. Same student. Same day. Normally I wouldn’t indulge such a desperate plea for aska’s attention. BUT, your first question is irresistibly basic – yet important, and I actually didn’t know the answer to the second. So, here goes…

“With each course… comes a tutorial.” In my head I read that like a cheesy, white, male voice actor excitedly announcing on an infomercial. Like a tutorial is some sort of bonus if you “enroll within the next 30 minutes!!” I’ve never heard a tutorial sound more exciting! With that attitude, I suspect you will do quite well in school, my dear.

So, what IS a tutorial?? To an upper-year student this question is almost amusingly obvious – but then I realized… I had NO IDEA what they were when I came to U of T. In fact, I think I was scared of them ( “Will I have to speak…. out loud?!”). A great question, asker.

A tutorial can takes many different forms, but is more or less “a class.”

A tutorial intends to supplement the lecture material. It may be a re-iteration of the Prof’s discussion. It may be an in-depth debriefing of required readings. It is always a chance to seek clarification.

A tutorial is facilitated by a T.A. (teaching assistant), who is more often than not a grad student. If you have an undergrad as a T.A. you know that they are either a) a big deal, or b) so far up the Prof’s @#% that you don’t know where one ends and the other begins. In upper years, it’s not uncommon for the Profs themselves to conduct the tutorial.

A tutorial may require passive or active participation. The T.A. might give a mini-lecture while you sit, write, and ask questions. The T.A. might facilitate a dialogue between the students. The T.A. may also administer quizzes. It is really common for students to have to prepare a five-minute presentation or lead a group discussion as well.

A tutorial is smaller than the general class. 15-30 students is the usual range.

A tutorial is almost always 1-hour long.

A tutorial may be enrolled in on ROSI, or be signed up for in the first week of class. Once the Prof announces, “Okay, come to the front and sign up for your tutorial” – your bland, sterile, Sid Smith classroom will transform into a warm summer’s morning on the cobbled streets of Pamplona. Except the bull horn that trails inches from your thoracic vertebra is actually the ballpoint pen of a Polish girl who commutes daily from Mississauga.

A tutorial is usually mandatory. That is to say, they take attendance for 5% of your grade. If no grade is assigned you should still go. That’s right… should. But I’ll leave the guilt trip up to your own superego. Besides the obvious, one benefit of going is that your T.A. will begin to recognize you, and dare I say like you. Don’t tell me that won’t help when they come across your essay at the bottom of a pile of 200. A second plus is that you can meet friends in tutorials. It happens all the time, I swear. A tutorial is just small, conversational and informal enough to lay the foundation for some lasting bondage.

A tutorial is almost never held in the first week of class, especially if the timeslot precedes the lecture (don’t go, no one will be there).

A tutorial may occur weekly, or less frequently. The total tutorial hours are indicated in the Calendar Listing.

E.g. HIS104Y1 -Ten Days That Shook The World [48L, 24T] (pg. 262). The “24T” means that there are 24 tutorial hours across both Fall and Winter terms. This is approximately once per week.

That was THE perfect segue, to answering your next question.

[__S] = Seminar: essentially a hybrid of lecture and tutorial. It will be a smaller class with the expectation that you speak now and then. Like high school. With less melodrama. Probably.

[__P] = Practical, aka laboratory, aka lab. In first year, these are usually held every other week.

P.s. Speaking of Salt and Pepper. Did you hear that all of a sudden salt is healthy for us now?! What’s next, poutine and cigarettes?!?

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fees, first year, money, new kids, textbooks

Read it and weep.

August 11, 2009

Hi,

I’m doing a budget for the coming school year (aka figuring out how much money I can spend on Thai takeout/going to shows/clothes/other fun stuff whilst still having enough to feed myself) and have general figures for all my expenses except books. Could you give me a ball-park estimate of what a first-year Humanities student should expect to spend on books? I’m taking an economics course, a german course, and three social sciences courses, if that helps.

Thanks!

———————————————

Before I answer your question, I want to say that… in the first week of class you will receive a course syllabus from your Prof. This will list the exact required readings for the course, and where you can pick them up – officially. Generally, it is not a good idea to buy your books before attending your first class. It’s common for students to switch up courses in the first week. You don’t want to have spent a billion dollars on books for courses that you ain’t takin’. Then again, you could avoid bookstore lineups by going early for courses that you know you MUST take.

But for now, for you… an estimate of book costs… yes. Let’s get down to business.

There are two ways to answer your question:

The standard response is… one thousand dollars. This is a very rough estimation, based on an equally approximate average of $200 per full course, or $100 per half course. Again, this is rough math (the only kind a humanities student like you really knows). Also, Humanities course books will certainly be cheaper than Science courses, namely because there are no goggles or lab coat required to read Shakespeare. What I am basing these numbers on? The word of a financial aid advisor, costs of books at the U of T bookstore, personal experience, and the positioning of the moon in the seventh house.

If you want a more accurate estimate of your course book costs, you can try to find out the prices for each course. I did some investigative work based on what you said you’re taking.

ECO100Y: Intro to Economics: for the Summer offering of this course, the U of T bookstore sold the course pack for $145.50.

GER100Y: Intro to German I: the German Department actually publishes its 2009-10 course syllabi online (amazing). The required textbook is listed there, and costs $45 on amazon.com. If it is sold at the Bookstore it will cost more. I promise.

POL103Y: Canada in Comparative Perspective: the Bookstore sold this book for $100 for the Summer offering of the course. Amazon.com is selling it for $95. Wooo. There is also a course reader (a bound collection of journal articles) that is required and typically costs around $100.

POL108Y1: Global Networks: last year’s course had three required readings that are available at the U of T Women’s Bookstore (where all the cool books are). Online they cost $10 + $10 + $15. Weekly readings are actually posted (for free) on the course website. Double wooo.

SOC101Y: Intro to Sociology: Prof. Brym actually designated a series of his OWN books as required readings. This is a moderately irritating cash grab, but then again, if you ain’t a Rotman Prof you ain’t exactly ballin’. The costs on the publisher’s website are: $104 + $60 + $23 = $187. You also need to buy an “iClicker” from the Bookstore for $35 – which is all the rage in Con Hall these days.

Okay! I’m exhausted. The point in doing all of this research is less about giving you exact monetary sums, and more about showing you the different ways of finding out what + how much your books are. Got it Watson?

Now, that was an “official” response to the issue of buying books… but the starving student response is… considerably cheaper. Below is a list of alternative methods/tips for getting your course books without succumbing to the inflated prices of the man.

a) Check out the library system: U of T’s library collection is friggin huge (the plus side of being at a massive university). Depending on how large your course is and how frequently the readings are required, you may be able to get by signing them out. Typically, Profs will put a few copies of a course reader in the “course reserves” section of the library. This limits your sign-out period to a day or two, or maybe the books can’t leave library. You can photocopy select readings from these if you want too.

b) Differentiate between required and recommended readings: when you’re poor… the word “recommended” takes on a new meaning – if you catch my drift. Usually these books are only useful if you are totally struggling, you are an ultra-keener, or for when you are writing essays.

c) Locate second hand bookstores. There is one across from the bookstore on College St. They have new and used books, and they are cheaper. Just find out if the editions are the same (they change very minimally every other year or so… just to milk us for more money). The Prof will tell you if an older edition will suffice.

d) Buy books directly from students who have taken the course last year. You will often find advertisements in res bulletin boards. Check these out even if you don’t live there.

e) As suggested before, ordering from amazon.com, or directly from the publisher may be cheaper… depending on the shipping cost.

f) This may or may not be illegal… buuuut you can possibly photocopy a library’s copy of the entire textbook. Here’s what you do: get your hands on a copy of the textbook from the library, gather up a bunch of friends/acquaintances in your course, take the book to a local copy centre (the less mainstream, the better), and order as many copies as required. Why is this awesome? It’s waaay cheaper. Your fellow copyright infringers and you will become instant fugitives… I mean friends. And your version will come in a coiled binding that you won’t feel bad about defacing with highlighting and scribbles.

If I had even half of a moral in my body I would NOT suggest this on a University-sponsored forum, like askastudent. Lucky for you I don’t. So do it, but don’t go telling people I told you to. Do we understand each other?! I thought so.

The flipside to buying cheap books is selling old books. Post ads in residences or sell them back to the bookstore. This is actually quite a viable option. Apparently you can get back up to 50% of the original cost.

Will all the money that you save on books might I suggest spending it this way….

Indian takeout from Banjara

Muchos nachos at the Green Room (beware of funky draught beer)

Performances by the Drama Program at the Helen Garpheghasdfhgeklfns Playhouse

Streetcar + ferry ride + bike rental + picnic on Toronto Island

Get fancy and have one drink at Panorama (a better view than the CN tower will offer… because you can actually see the CN tower)

Classic/Alternative/Delayed movies at the Bloor Cinema (get a membership)

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aska 3 Comments
new kids, ROSI, tcard

997630one4354among36the4553herd66

July 10, 2009

Dear Aska,
I just graduated high school and am headed to St. Mike’s in the fall. I was just wondering, since I’ll need to pick my courses soon, where do I get my student number and pin? Is it the same one I’ve been using to apple and send in my PSE? or do I need my Tcard to get all my info to enrol? thanks alot

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I don’t know what numbers you’ve been using to “apple” – but you can keep your fetishes to yourself. (McIntosh or Granny Smith?? No no, I don’t want to know!)

Grab your Offer of Admission letter. Look at the top right. Find your “applicant number.” As soon as you accepted your offer of admission to U of T online, this 9-digit number instantly became your “student number.” If you lost this letter or threw it out… then you’re an idiot. Kidding. Mistakes happen. You’ll have to go to your College Registrar’s office to fill out a TCard form.

I assume that you are asking about your PIN because you want to log-in to the Student Web Service (who goes by the name ROSI – pronounced “Rosey”) for the first time. By default, your PIN is your year/month/day of birth in YYMMDD fashion. Get it? The first time you’re in you’ll get to change the password to whatever you want. You will also have to create some questions as backups if you ever forget your PIN.

Third, you not need your TCard to enroll in courses. In fact, most students won’t pick up their TCards until September – when an ever-growing queue will snake across the entire second floor of Robarts Library. Try to avoid that. Go here if you can to pick it up. Bring your Offer letter and photo ID with you (or the completed TCard form). You will then be able to get your utoronto.ca webmail going. Woo!

Always keep your TCard on you, don’t ever lend it to someone, and don’t lose it or you’ll have to pay to get another. Same goes for retaking the photo if you think your hair looks like crap in it – seriously though – it won’t get any better.

Well, that was all pretty dull – let’s make this interesting.

The student number is a funny thing. In more than one way it will dominate your identity while you’re at U of T.

Considering that there are over 70 000 students at U of T – a good 90% of whom share the names Mike, Chris, Matt, Jessica, Ashley and Amanda – it just make administrative sense to assign you an individual identifier. Many U of T students complain that their student numbers totally supplant their actual names. I won’t entirely disagree, but I will argue that it’s not ALL that bad.

For one, your student number is all yours. It = you, and you alone. It’s like your fingerprint, and don’t we all get excited about our fingerprints?!? You will memorize your number by October (if you haven’t already), and will retain it throughout your prunes and your depends years.

Also, the student numbers of each annual cohort typically have a common 3^rd number (right now it’s 997…….). This is a subtle means of generating solidarity amongst you and your peers. It also becomes grounds to assert your superiority over newer students. Don’t believe me? Listen carefully around campus and you’ll hear this patronizing comment: “Oh how cuuute!! Your student number is 997! Mine’s 994.” But, can you blame us?! That is the U of T equivalent of war wounds, really.

Caution: if you see any 989’s around – tread lightly. A decade under U of T pressure can invoke permanent damage.

Seriously though, if you are ever corresponding with U of T admin, provide BOTH your names and your student number. I swear that some Registrar’s Offices do care to match a face to a name. Also, don’t advertise your student number around town. It is a pretty private identifier (e.g. used for grade postings on random Sid Smith walls).

Who wants to kill a couple hours???? Check out this site. I’m dying over here!! Make sure you read the oldies (circa 1900) – it’s great for naming pets. And what’s with all the recent names that have slight variations on standard spelling. Why put a boring old “i” when it could be a “y,” right? Annoying.

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aska No Comments