what can you tell me about the U of T engineers?

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hey there,

i like how you worded this question. it makes me feel like you whispered it from underneath your cowboy hat, after coming up to me in a smoky bar. “what can ya tell me ’bout these engineers?”

“nothin’ i ain’t said before,” i mumble back, taking a puff.

“nah listen,” you say, grabbing me by the lapel, “you tell me what i need to know, or i’ll kick ya so hard you’ll land back in ya mother’s womb.”

maybe that’s how it went down in an alternate universe. i hope so, though in our reality it’s probably closer to this. either way, i’m gonna answer your question, because i’m a pansy who can’t deal with being beaten up – in any dimension.

uoft engineering’s academics are something you can and should definitely read about to get a feel for what engineering is like for students. however, i think what you’re asking is what the students themselves are like.

well, engineering students- i’m assuming you’re talking about the students, even though you just said “engineers” in your question – are pretty isolated at most schools, and uoft is no exception. engineering is in its own faculty separate from artsci (the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering), which means you take different courses from most uoft undergrads. engineering also has its own clubs and student society separate from artsci.

this, plus the general first year in which all engineering students take the same courses, and the fact that you’re in these classes together for 30 hours a week, means that most engineering students* develop a really strong relationship with their program/faculty.

in the best cases, this relationship results in camaraderie and a sense of solidarity among students. in the worst, you come off like a self-absorbed cactus to everyone else not a part of your little nucleus of supersaturated engineering culture.

but you, i can tell, are not a self-absorbed cactus. you’re here at the Askastudent Saloon, after all, and only the classiest of the class come round these parts! so if you don’t want to get lost in engineering’s (only sometimes) elitist atmosphere, then the solution is very simple – just don’t. if you can, try to participate in communities outside the faculty, and always make sure that you’re actually enjoying everything engineering has to offer, and not just following the herd of hard hats ahead of you.

engineering is so intensive because it should be – in my opinion, it’s the way all programs should be. you learn a lot, you prepare for the working world, and along the way the school provides a supportive community for students. if you actually want to be an engineer – if physics and math make you feel that special tingly sensation in your chest – then uoft is a great place to be. if you cling to the school’s/faculty’s reputations just to make yourself feel better about a life choice you didn’t really want to make, then you will turn very prickly very quickly. but you don’t have to be that way, my friend. as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons, you’ll have a blast.

cheers,

aska

* #NotAllEngineeringStudents

Hey Aska!

First, I enjoy the Dan Howell gifs on the prospective students page and Jon Snow as well…I like you already. Anyways, I’m one of the many anxious high school students coming to you for advice! I’m currently in Gr. 11 and have been looking at universities for years (because I’m a massive nerd yup). I’m planning to go into Chemical Engineering and know that tons of schools offer great co-op programs so how does the PEY program do next to integrated co-op like other universities have? Also is the ChemEng course load as tough as everybody tells me? Sorry for dumb questions from a dumb nerd. Time to go back to being emotional over fictional characters.

Thanks!

– #1 Nerd

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hey there,

well first, congrats on your a+ taste! dan and jon also happen to be two of my favourites, and they’re especially convenient because i get to watch them without having to waste time interacting with them as humans! that brings me on to chemical engineering.

i’m gonna answer your second question first because i think it kind of precedes the question about PEY. first, you have to be sure engineering is what you want to do. then, you can start working out the details. so. is it as hard as everyone says? well, yes and no.

i’d say that, out of any discipline in at uoft that’s a first-year entry program, engineering has the most intense workload. the general rule of thumb i learned is that arts programs are 10-15 hours of class time a week, science programs are 20-25, and engineering are 30-35. which is why i say that in an engineering program, you can often feel like you have no time to interact with other humans. also, engineering deals with higher level mathematics and physics than any life science program, so it’s just tougher academically. it’s a big step up from whatever it is you did in grade 12, i don’t care if that was ap or ib or whatever. it’s a different environment, and that at least is bound to throw you off.

however, it’s definitely not impossible. i think (and this is just my humble opinion yadda yadda) that you need two things to do well in engineering: 1) you need to be good at math. obviously.

2) (spoiler: this one’s more important than the first one) you actually need to LIKE math (and chemistry and physics) – not just what you think you’re going to get out of the degree. if you’re not super great at math but you REALLY LIKE doing it, then you can gain a lot of ground that other people who hate every second of it lose in first year.

ok, next up: the PEY Internship Program. alright, so the main difference between uoft and other universities is that – big shocker, clue’s in the name – uoft offers an internship program, while other universities offer co-op. that means that instead of doing certain semesters at a co-op job and then coming back to school for a couple of semesters on and off throughout your degree, you do one 12-16 month chunk of work after 2nd or 3rd year. this is good because you get to see what, essentially, working full-time as an engineer as like. it also means that you get paid a lot of money in one go.

however, you do have to wait longer in the uoft programs than in some co-op programs to actually get a job, and often, your marks etc. will get in the way of you actually qualifying for the internship (no one thinks it’ll happen to them until it does). i don’t say this to SCARE you, just to INFORM you. ultimately, you need to make a choice between an academic program that offers a year-long internship, and a program that incorporates multiple work terms into your studies. capice?

ok great, well, that’s your crash course on engineering. hope it gave you summat to think about.

xoxo,

aska

Not sure if this is the right place to be asking a question but…

My U of T admission says that I must maintain “consistent” grades. In my last semester of senior year my grades dropped by around 0.1 GPA (stupid senioritis). Should I be worried or is U of T (engineering) really strict in this matter?

We go by a 4.0 unweighted GPA scale. (4.0 = A = 92.5-100, 3.67 = A- = 89.5-92.4, 3.33 = B+ = 87.5-89.4, etc). Basically in the last semester of my senior year, my physics? grade dropped from an A to a B- while my other grades stayed the same.

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Hey hey

If it’s only one grade that fell, I don’t think you should be in tooooo much trouble.

Granted, if you have time left to boost your grade with, say, exams, don’t screw around! Engineering is super competitive, even if you’re just applying to ones like Chemical or Civil that seem to require lower grades than Engineering Science.

Screw around when you’re 100% in. 😉

But to be completely honest, I do find that UofT is quite strict with their conditional offers. It’s okay to drop a percentage or two, but if you do anything substantial… yeah. Don’t do that. Just don’t.

Cheers!

aska

Dear Aska,

I am a fans of Askastudent. However, I am in UT Engineering and I have many questions about how …engineering. May I ask you to send me a link of Askastudent-engineering??

Thanks:)

-Angel

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Angel,

The best I can do in terms of giving you a link to some sort of “askastudent: engineering edition” is send you over to the engineering category.

I won’t tell you where my super secret lair is based, but I will tell you I answer questions about UofT, UTSC, and UTM alike and all their faculties and departments, so feel free to send in whatever you’re confused about.

I shall research your research for you to the best of my abilities. 😉

Cheers!

aska

Hello,

My cousin just graduated from an Ontario high school. He dreams of going into UT’s engineering program, but, sadly, he was not admitted. In fact, he didn’t receive a single acceptance from any of the universities he applied to. He’s very passionate about pursing Engineering as a career, but his school grades are well below the minimum requirements. He doesn’t like asking for help, so I’m trying to seek some guidance in his stead.

Does Engineering have any kind of wait list that he could get in? Or could he be considered for other Engineering programs?

He’s now considering taking an additional year of high school to repeat some of the prerequisite courses, hoping to get higher grades and apply again next year. But I read from UT’s website that repeated courses are not considered. Does this mean he has no way of entering the UT’s engineering program?

I didn’t go to high school in Ontario, so I’m not familiar with what options he has given his current situation. So any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

?????????

Hey there,

At this point, the best way your ?cousin? can into the U of T Engineering program is to attend any university, whether that be U of T or another, and attempt a transfer.

According to the Engineering website, he would basically have to be admitted into the Physical and Mathematical Sciences stream and take a number of math and science courses and achieve at least a mid-B average (although it wouldn?t hurt to get something higher than that). Unfortunately, the spots are limited so entry is extremely competitive so there are no guarantees. Moreover, if your cousin is admitted, he?d be back in first-year again.

He can also attend a College for a relevant program and undergo another transfer process, but again, there are no guarantees for admission.

Good luck!

aska

Hi, i am a current high school student and i was just wondering if my first semester average of 84 would get me into electrical or computer engineering? I am really nervous about this but i know i have to snap on my second semester marks in order to boost my average to be safe. My ec’s are decent like i play a lot of basketball helped out with the school food drive etc.

Thanks

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Heyo!!

At U of T and especially the engineering department they try not to post admission averages from previous years or what they expect for the coming because it really depends on who applies. They have a number of spots and they?take the best.

Or they just like secrets.

I sometimes picture them sitting in a massive chair, in front of a screen, stroking a cat.

What I have heard in the past is mid to high 80’s.

go, go gadget,

aska

Hey there!
I’m a high school student in an Mississauga high school, and I’m hoping to get into the Engineering Science program…which as we all
know means 4 years of weight loss and no sleep. Its a really tough program, and I am going to try my hardest but what I want to know is,
supposing I don’t get good grades in that program, can I tranfer to one of the core 8 eng programs after 1semester/year or will I just get
booted out? On a side note, just wanted to know, does the student profile form really make a difference on the application?
Thanks a lot!
Avi

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Hi yah Avi,

I actually had to send my owl over to the TrackOne office to get some clarification. Our owls must have gotten a little lost or had a fling together, but an answer has come through. Here is what they had to say:

TrackOne (all 1 word) students only need to maintain a 60 average in *both* semesters to be guaranteed transfer into the Core 8 program of
their choice. We don’t average out the whole year, we need 60’s in both semesters. That’s because if they drop below 60 in a semester, they end
up on probation, and specifically it’s students on probation who aren’t guaranteed their top choice.

We also always remind them that they cannot transfer into Engineering Science, only Core 8.

A whole slew of super smart people will most likely be applying to engineering and the application is probably a way?of seperating the super smart. If everyone has the same marks, the application will be important, but if you are turbo smart then it won’t matter as much.

If you want to check out all the sections of the applications theres a link for that bad boy?(no longer available).

merry exams,
aska