askastudent - your student life specialists

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

rubrics? rubrics for the poor?

March 11, 2026

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

heyyo,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

cheers,

aska

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askastudent announcement, no one asked

a herald of good news

March 4, 2026

reddit is not the only new frontier aska has ventured into lately — i have officially escaped the internet!

and where have i fled to, exactly? why, to innis college’s very own newspaper, the innis herald.

if you’ve ever been curious about the history of the askastudent project, why and when it got started (hint: a while ago), or why i still even exist in the age of r/uoft, go read my article (right here)!!

if you’re personally more a fan of physical media, or if you’re just an aska superfan, you can also go pick up a print copy of the paper at the innis college building (at the st george entrance or on the second floor library) or at the innis residence building across the street.

happy reading!

cheers,

aska

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academic success, courses, first year, keeners, studying, time management

degree explorer nerds unite

March 1, 2026
Hi Aska,

I GOT MY ACCEPTANCE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO!!! I’ll be attending UTSG and studying psych (probs as a specialist)

So anyway, I was perusing the course catalogue and planning potential schedules for my myself because I’m a huge nerd, and it’s like a fun little puzzle to fit in all the pre-reqs and breadth requirements.

While I was playing around with this, I noticed that even after I fit everything in (yes, all four years of classes) I have an empty slot in my Fall 2026 term. So because it’ll be my first ever semester at uni, I want to fill that spot with a class that’ll set me up for success at uni.

Do you have any recs for intro-level classes I could take that help with learning how to study more efficiently/be better with time management?

heyyo,

first of all, CONGRATS ON YOUR ADMISSION!!

i was and am also a total nerd about course planning. i remember sitting in my high school library and messing around in timetable builder and degree explorer. yes, i was procrastinating on my assignments, but shut up, i was dealing with senioritis…

you prob already know but the one thing i will caution is that your plan will 100% change in some way. you may want to take a different elective here or there, there may be conflicts, your interests could change, or you might find out that the prof for a course you wanted to take has a 1.3/5 on ratemyprofessor.

ok, with that warning aside, as for your actual question: i did find some courses you might like, but they’re all about writing. don’t get me wrong, writing is probably one of the most skills for uni, but it does suck that there aren’t more options. the ones i found are:
- ENG100: Effective Writing
- WRR103: Introduction to Academic Writing
- WRR104: Writing Reports
i think any of those would be a great pick for you! you could also choose to do an elective in an area you might wanna minor in, better to test the waters in first year than realize you’re into classics in your last semester.

another option i’d recommend is a first year foundations seminar, since you can only take them in first year. because they’re designed for first years, they’ll focus on developing those critical skills. and they cover some super cool and niche topics: if you’ve ever wanted to do a course on the hamilton musical or the psychology of magic, this is your chance. and hey, would you look at that, there’s even one called the psychology of student success! maybe we should all be required to take that one…

i also wouldn’t worry too too much about learning things like time management from a curriculum. the best way to get a grasp on those skills is with experience, which you’ll get no matter what classes you take. and if you still feel like you need help, you can check out the many resources and workshops that uoft offers.

keep havin fun with that degree explorer of yours!

cheers,

aska
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admissions,  failing,  getting into U of T

religion class who?

February 28, 2026

Hey! I read a post about a failing mark you have answered but I still wanted to ask you myself because my situation is slightly different. I applied to Life Sci at St. George, Life Sci (Health Sci Stream) at Scarborough, and Psych and Brain Studies at Mississauga. So far, I have been admitted to Mississauga. The average of grade 11 marks was 88.2, of all grade 12 marks sent in November was 82.0, but the average for top 6 was 89.8. The issue is that I failed religion, it is neither a pre-requisite nor my top 6. 35 was written as my midterm mark on OUAC but now it will show 35 as a final mark and that I failed the course. My question is will all three programs send me an automatic rejection letter, even though it is not a pre-requisite and my other marks are all in the 90s? I mean, Mississauga accepted me even with the 35 as my midterm, so I want to assume they won’t care too, too much? If I retake it and I pass with mid 80s, will they consider my second attempt? Thank you!

heyyo,

ooo i love that you did your research! i always love an aska archivist.

you’re right that uoft will only consider your top six in your average, with that including any required prereqs for your program. as you said, religion would be… neither of those for you.

i already think it wouldn’t really be a problem, but the fact that you’ve already gotten into utm is a really really good sign! (congrats, btw!)

you won’t get a rejection from a program you’ve already been accepted to, unless that admission was conditional, which I’m assuming it wasn’t. if the program would’ve autorejected you for failing a course, they wouldn’t have sent out an admission knowing your midterm was a 35.

soooo from here on out, let’s just pretend nothing happened with that course. religion who?

atp retaking the course would mean doing it this summer (unless your school has a weird semester system). no point in doing that since you’ll already have gotten your admission decision by then (it’ll be may by the latest).

best of luck with your last sem of high school and i hope you get all the admissions your heart desires!

cheers,

aska

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admissions,  applying for U of T,  averages,  life science,  social sciences

admissions and averages and prereqs oh my

February 24, 2026

Hi! I am a grade 12 student who has applied for lifescience at all 3 campuses. I am scared that my final chemistry grade will end up low 70s. I will be able to get my admission average to mid to high 80s but should i be worried like I am scared that they will reject me for having a low grade in a science.

Hi! I’m currently a grade 11 student in an Ontario high school, and I just recieved my final marks for semester 1. They range around 70-89, which I was really bumbed about. There were many ups and downs this semester. I’ve heard that grade 11 marks matter for university, and will look at my grades. I’ve always been curious to appy to uoft, espcially social sciences. Do I still have a chance of getting in, to uoft or any other social science program, if I do well next semester or in gr12? Thanks!

heyyo,

i’ve decided to answer both of your questions in the same post because, guys, have you seen how many admissions questions i’ve gotten lately? i even added a new section to the faq page for you guys. now of course i love getting your questions but it might save YOU some time to check out that faq.

ok with that out of the way, i’m gonna do a bit of an infodump.

low chem grade?

at utsc and utm life sci admissions are generally high 70s and low to mid 80s, respectively, but as you mentioned, yes, the admission average for life sci at utsg is mid-high 80s. however chem is NOT a required course for the admission stream. this means that if it’s your lowest mark (or second-lowest, if you’re taking 8 grade 12 courses), it won’t be included in your top 6 average that uoft looks at.

now you may ask, aska, how is chem not required for life sci? and the answer is… well, it depends. some upper-year programs of study do require you to have taken high school chem to enroll, but they don’t require you to have gotten a specific grade in the class, just that you passed it.

wait wait wait, so does grade 11 reallllly matter?

worry not my friend, while uoft DOES look at grade 11 marks, what you get in grade 12 will matter more. 70-89 is a pretty wide range and since the admission average for soc sci at uoft’s main campus is mid-high 80s, you’re probably already in a good spot! i also have to mention that uoft has two other campuses: utsc (located in scarborough) recommends around mid 70s for soc sci programs, and utm (in mississauga) asks for an overall average of 75 and min 70 in english. totally apply to all three! and yes, I’m a bit traitorous for this, but… you should definitely have a shot at soc sci programs at other unis too.

(i know, i know…)

hope this helped both of you! for any other future uoft hopefuls reading this please go check out the faq section, you may have your question answered without having to wait for your dear old aska to respond.

cheers,

aska

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failing,  repeating course,  sociology

a fail, too, shall pass

February 16, 2026

I have failed SOC101 and am wondering if what do I do now. I failed it in my first semester in my first year of university and am absolutely horrified. The prof teaching the course just made the content and course in general not enjoyable. I don’t know how to tell my parents. I worked so hard and messed up two big assignments which led to the failure. Im so scared on what to do next. It feels like the end of the world. I wan to major in psychology and want to be a psychiatrist and am genuinely worried that this will effect my future plans.

heyyo,

aw im sorry to hear about your situation :/

first of all, i want you to know it’s totally normal to fail a course, especially in first year. you’re just getting used to what uni is all about, there’s a lot going on, it can be overwhelming. a lot of other people are in your boat, and it absolutely isn’t the end of the world. hell, one of my professors once told me that they failed a first-year course in the same discipline that they’re now teaching. as for your parents… i’m no expert but if you have a good relationship with them it might help to talk to them to get that burden off your shoulders; it may be hard but it’ll feel better in the end. if not, don’t panic, because i promise you this doesn’t derail your whole uni career.

i’m assuming you’re referring to soc100 at utm or utsg, since there doesn’t seem to be a soc101 on any campus? either way, both soc100 courses aren’t requirements for the psych major.

now ok, it’s a bit weird i’m so enthusiastic about this, but that is actually awesome news. because this means you have a lot more choice! it’s up to you if you want to take the course again or not. imo, since it’s not necessary for your program, you may not want to redo a course you’ve already struggled with. though, if you ever want to minor in soc or take upper year courses in it, you may have to take the course again.

if you do decide to take the course again (and even if you don’t, tbh), it might help to figure out how you could improve your assignments in the future. guessing it was prolly a paper of some kind (?) in which case you could always bring it to your college/campus writing centre to get some feedback!!

also, if you’re worried about med/grad school admissions since you mentioned wanting to be a psychiatrist, i have more good news for you: the grades you get in your first semester of first year are the LEAST important thing about your academic career.

despite being a bit late in response to this i reallllly hope this helped and that you feel a bit better about everything!! have courage my friend, and know aska is cheering you on from the shadows.

cheers,

aska

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askastudent announcement, no one asked

aska on reddit? it’s more likely than you’d think…

February 4, 2026

my subjects, i have some excellent news for you today.

i have decided to get down in the dirt with you guys on the venerable website known as reddit.com.

that’s right, i, aska, am now answering your weirdest, most oddly specific, spur-of-the-moment questions when you post em on r/uoft, r/utsc, and r/utm. of course, you don’t have to ask for me to show up, i will just be gracing you with my presence.

if you’re a superfan, you might’ve noticed that i became active back in around november (good for you) BUT aska is simply a very busy person and has only gotten around to telling all you non-aficionados now.

so if you’re on uoft reddit and ever see a super knowledgeable and insightful answer, check who posted it, and i’d bet you a hundred bucks it was u/askastudent_.

(that bet is not legally binding, by the way).

cheers,

aska

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admissions,  applying for U of T,  competition,  GPA,  life science,  u of tears

the early bird catches the… admission?

January 21, 2026

hi! I’m referring to U of T St. George and planning to apply to Life Sciences for Fall 2027 through early admission. In general terms, what would be considered a super safe bet academically for early admission, without discussing personal grades or chances? I’m trying to understand overall competitiveness. Also, I’ve heard a rumour that Life Sciences at U of T tends to result in lower GPAs than other universities due to program difficulty and grading. Is that accurate or a misconception? Thanks!

heyyo,

what is with all the life sci kids asking questions these days? i guess you guys just really love aska. don’t worry, i love you too.

the thing is that early admission doesn’t really exist at uoft, at least in the sense it does at other unis — for one, you only apply once, not separately for “early” and regular admissions. in fact uoft sends its first round of acceptances in february, later than most ontario unis (it was the last one i got!). february is the earliest i recall seeing for first round of admissions, though the website says they can come out as early as late january.

soooo “early admission” at uoft basically just means you might get your acceptance about a month before most people, who get admissions in march-may. now if getting in january/february is what you want, you’ll have to apply earlier too. this year the deadline to be considered for that first round was november 7th. if you miss it, welp, no “early admission,” but as long as you apply by the final deadline, you’ll be considered for all the other rounds!

for life sci mid-high 80s is the admission range, so you’d probably wanna be on the higher end of that (or even higher) if you want in on the first round.

and yes, trust me, i am very much aware of the rumours. i’m not in life sci so tragically i can’t give you my personal experience, but i’ve heard varying things from different people. some are able to get really high gpas and others don’t. maybe the ratio is a bit different than other unis? i’m not sure. some stats prof should assign their students a project to figure that one out for us.

but what i can say is that lots and lots and lots of people have gone from uoft life sci undergrads to phds and med schools (either at uoft or other unis)! it’s absolutely not impossible to do well.

i’m sorry i couldn’t fully confirm or deny your question about the rumours, but i hope this still helped! best of luck applying next year!

cheers,

aska

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admissions, arts & sciences, getting into U of T, life science, UTSC

there’s two of them?!

January 14, 2026

hello! I’m a grade 10 student who wants to attend either campus (UofT or UTSC) to study biochemistry. I’m a pretty average student (70s-80s) but am trying to improve and want to know if doing SHSM, Co-Op and passion projects actually make a difference in my chance of being accepted? Thank you!

heyyo,

soooo i fear you may have a doppelganger, because literally the last ask i got was ANOTHER grade 10 wanting to go to utsg or utsc for life sciencey stuff, getting grades in the 80s, and wondering about ecs.

am i in groundhog day? are you the same person?

hey, i thought i’m the one who’s supposed to answer questions, not ask them…

well i guess it doesn’t matter if you’re the last person’s doppelganger or were, like, twins in your past life, because as aska it is of course my obligation to answer your question… you may also wanna check out my answer to your doppelganger’s question, though.

the rundown of that post is that ecs basically don’t matter for admission into either utsc or utsg (downtown campus, what im assuming you mean by uoft). utsg life sci is looking for high 80s average, utsc is mid-high 70s.

as for shsm and co-op, as with ecs, neither of them matter. one thing to keep in mind though is that the co-op portion of courses are not considered for admissions (aka it won’t hurt you to take them, but those grades aren’t factored in). so make sure you have 6 other grade 12 courses besides your co-op if you take it

however if you’re interested in either of them i’d say go for it! while they may not make a difference for admissions, they could be super valuable for a) helping you figure out if you’re interested in a field and b) for securing volunteer/work positions in the future. you never know what doors that might open up!

hope that helped, my doppelganger friend!!

cheers,

aska

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mental health, no one asked

feeling the (varsity) blues?

January 3, 2026
ok ok, forgive me for that title but i couldn’t resist, it was right there.

bringing you a non-question post (!!!) for the first time in a bit because, heartbreakingly, the winter semester begins in a couple days.

(pretend it’s snow instead of rain)

i’m sure a lot of us are feeling kinda like garbage right now, between going back to classes, the holidays wrapping up, and the brutal reality of toronto winters. sooo i decided to put together a late gift for you all and make a post gathering some of the best resources at uoft if/when you’re not in a great headspace.

general info

the absolute BEST place to start, imo, is the main mental health resource site. it’s a pretty handy spot that gathers info on all the different resources available to students, including counselling, workshops, everything under the sun. there’s also some more websites for each campus that are specific to the resources available there:
- utsg
- utm
- utsc
if you’re new to ontario, navigating the health system (especially when it comes to mental health services) can be a total pain. luckily there is a spot on the mental health website where you can learn more about it!

in person, you can also visit the health and wellness centres at each campus:
- utsg
- utm
- utsc
urgent

there’s also some services you can access (for free as a uoft student!) if you’re really in need of someone to talk to asap. for instance, until recently i had no idea that you could get same or next day counselling appointments for specific issues! there’s also a 24/7 help line for students you can call anytime, staffed by professionals.

now if you or someone you know is in danger, prioritize safety and call 911 or uoft campus safety 416-978-2222 (which has trained counsellors on the line). if it’s not immediate danger, you can call 9-8-8, the suicide crisis helpline free for everyone, and there’s always the 24/7 help line for students i mentioned above.

in general, 100% check out this list of places to get urgent support for a variety of issues.

i hope you all found this little post useful! please please please check out the main mental health website when you can, even if you’re not in need of any of their services at the time, it’s great to have some ideas in your back pocket if/when you ever gotta use em.

good luck to all of you loyal subjects this sem and may you have a very not-blue year!!

cheers,

aska
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admissions, arts & sciences, getting into U of T, life science, UTSC

my passion project? passing my classes

January 3, 2026

I’m a Grade 10 student with an 80s average and I wanna get into UofT or UTSC and major in something like medical science. However, I am not in ANY clubs or anything and have done basically nothing outside of passing my classes. Do passion projects really matter for UofT acceptance? What can I even do now I’m sorry

heyyo,

no need to apologize, questions are literally what i’m here for. and i mean literally. that’s kinda the whole point of my life, actually.

and i have more good news for you: you have absolutely no reason to worry about not doing any clubs or ecs in high school. this is because at uoft, the programs most people interested in med sci apply to (life sci at utsg or life sci/health sci at utsc), only require grades. yippee!

your average is in a pretty solid place right now, too, since utsg life sci is looking for a mid-high 80s average. both life sci and health sci at utsc want you to aim for mid-high 70s. so no, passion projects do not matter for the kinda programs you’d probably be interested in. unless your passion project is, as you say, passing your classes, which is a pretty important project i guess.

for right now just focus on keeping your grades consistent, around mid-high 80s for utsg. since you’re only in grade 10, you don’t have to worry about your grades this year, as uoft only looks at grade 11 and 12 marks. while it’s great to get into good study habits early, and ecs could open doors to job opportunities later on, you can mostly chillax for now and focus on the totally valid passion projects of hanging out with your friends and doomscrolling. oh, and passing your classes.

cheers,

aska

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campus life, cool things, extracurricular

putting your best foot forward

December 26, 2025

Hello, i am in grade 12 and want to go to uoft next year and I’m wondering what formal events there are at st george campus? like dances, galas, stuff like that. Thank you!

heyyo,

ooo it’s not everyday that someone asks about the more social side of uoft. unless of course it’s to ask if we’re really all lonely here.

i had to do quite a bit of digging for this one and i discovered that there are SO MANY formal events that happen on campus. like i knew of some of them but WOW there’s a lot.

to start, most of the colleges have their own events (if you don’t know what a college is at uoft, there’s more info here, but basically for arts and science students it’s your social/administrative hub on campus and where you’d usually live if you’re in res first year).

personally aska has only been to uc’s fireball, which happens in january-february and is themed (this year it’s alice in wonderland!). and yes, they do play fireball by pitbull.

but i know people in trin, vic, and st mikes who’ve mentioned college formals before. i found some info that trin apparently has two events called the conversat and saint’s ball, and i know one of them ran last year but i can’t find any more details :/ oh, and importantly, i’m pretty sure any uoft student can attend any college dances, although if you’re a student at that college you may get a discounted price or priority access to tickets. engineers also have their own thing (as per usual) with their formal dinner dances.

during orientation there’s formals too usually. uc and woodsworth did one this year I believe, and trin/vic/st mikes colleges have done joint formals the past few years. i know they did it at the rom one year. like, you can dance with dinosaurs. where else can you do that?

student associations also run formal events, there’s way too many for your humble aska to research ALL of them but i literally just saw an ad for a formal run by the tamil students’ association (and i know a lot of other cultural student groups put on formals!). your programs could also put on some events as well, which might also include more academic award nights or receptions.

so the world of dances and formals is BIG at uoft, and you just kinda gotta know where to look. my advice is to start following the social media pages of the colleges (and your college’s orientation when it’s created) during the summer, and then also the pages for programs or clubs you might be interested in joining (you can see a list here) (which you should probably do anyways).

hope this helps!!

cheers,

aska

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admissions, internal transfer, mental health

who doesn’t love filling out forms?

December 24, 2025

Hi I’m a student at UTSC looking to do an internal transfer to UTSG. My question is how does CGPA reflect based on extenuating circumstances? To put it short, I was doing well in my first semester and ended with a 3.2 GPA. But, second semester, disaster and outside influence tanked my GPA in which I had to go to counseling for. But then during summer I got a 3.3 again. But my cumulative is a 2.5, 0.2 short off the bare minimum. Can I still apply as an internal transfer and what should I do?

heyyo,

first of all, i’m sorry that you had to go through what you did last year. and you should be really proud of what you accomplished in the summer despite that!

now as you mentioned, yes, you do need at least a 2.7 cgpa to transfer from utsc to utsg. however, the good news is that, like all applicants, you can fill out a snazzy little form called a request for special consideration. so basically, in your join uoft portal, you should see a section where you can find the form. you’ll be able to explain your circumstances so that the admissions team knows what’s up! and as a little bird told me (who happens to be more than a little qualified on the matter), admissions teams do look closely at these forms and they can play a big part in admission decisions.

also, my own two cents here, but i think since you’re already quite close to the minimum gpa, you may be in a good position. especially since you’re on an upward trajectory!

another thing i have a bit of insider knowledge on is that you may get your offer a bit later than some other applicants (think may/june) because admissions wants your final grades to come in. however the good news is that, if you get a late offer, it will most likely NOT be conditional! so, one less thing to worry about.

one last thing i wanna mention is that, while i know you were going to counselling last year, if you ever do feel that you’d like to talk to someone again there’s a lot of stuff available for uoft students that a lot of people don’t know about. if you haven’t used it before there’s a huge list of resources on the main mental health site. you can also check out same- or next-day counselling if you’re downtown, or there’s a free hotline just for students. and you could take a look at the utsc-specific site! there’s a ton of places and people out there that you can turn to if you need it.

i wish you the best of luck with your application!! you got this.

cheers,

aska

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