askastudent - your student life specialists

fraternities & sororities, greek life, partying

please sir can i party at your house

August 14, 2025

i’m trynna host a party can i rent out a frat for the night and like which ones and how do i contact themm

hey there,

sooo i’m not even gonna try to pretend like that’s my scene.

but i will try to answer this as best i can.

usually, i can be such an effective internet sleuth when it comes to student life stuff. the problem with this is that there’s very little online or easy to find info about the frats. like, i dug and dug and couldn’t find much about renting out frats :/

the closest piece of info i could find is from 2015, and it says sigma chi rents their house out because they are “desperate for money”. lol who knows if that’s still true.

my personal thoughts are… do frats even rent their houses out at all? i would be surprised if this happens, because they are used as actual houses where people live. they don’t just exist during a party and vanish on other days. however, according to this ancient aska post, rumor has it that it is possible… so who knows… i’m sure any house will do it for a certain amount of money.

ok. here is a list of toronto frats. some are exclusive to U of T students and some are a mix of different universities. my top recommendation is to search each one up on google and go to their websites, where you should be able to find a “contact” page. on another day, i would do that for you personally, but right now my eyes are aching from looking at my computer all day!

tbh, you could also probably search them all up on instagram/tiktok and DM the accounts, or if you’re feeling really persistent, even DM the people tagged in their posts.

otherwise, if social media fails you, and the contact pages also fail you, there is something else you could do. remember when you were searching each frat up on google? on google you will also find their addresses :D. if you were a brave soul, you could, in a very casual and chill manner, show up to the houses and chat up the first guy you see. maybe he’ll hand you a beer and y’all will become bros, idk?! how are your social skills.

and if not, there will also be lots of parties during orientation week and the first few weeks of school — maybe show up then and ask. that is, if your party isn’t on a deadline.

but yeah, jokes aside, literally just go through that list i gave you and find their contact info on their official websites.

i hope it works out and i hope you get to party!

over and out,

aska

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u of tears, UTM

into the deep end

August 13, 2025

hey i’m an incoming freshman for utm social sciences and i had way too many people say uoftears in front of me recently so I was curious as to how difficult the social sciences program actually is, in terms of time spent studying and difficulty of assignments? I’m aiming for criminology law and society as a major plus maybe philosopy and polisci so I want to know what I’m getting into 🙂

hey there,

fair question! it’s super valid to want to know what you’re getting into at U of T after hearing about its reputation.

just a quick disclaimer that i go to the UTSG campus, so i can’t directly speak to what it’s like at UTM. also, not everyone will agree with what i say here, because uoftears can be a touchy topic. remember that all this is just my personal opinion after spending a good three years here. 😀

to answer your question, let’s look at what exactly feeds into the uoftears reputation and whether each thing applies to you or not.

to my understanding, the discourse around uoftears is mostly tied to the student experience at UTSG. this is because the entire concept of uoftears is used to complain about two main things, one of which mainly applies to UTSG:

1. a lack of social life (a UTSG issue)

2. academic stress (a UTSG and UTM issue)

social life

let’s explain!

U of T’s reputation for being depressing is largely fed by students’ feelings of isolation at the UTSG campus. i feel like UTM, if we’re looking at general trends, is not as plagued by this issue.

due to its smaller size, UTM is known to be more interconnected. it’s easier to build relationships with your professors, TA’s, and classmates, with a much lower population compared to UTSG. for context, there are almost 70, 000 undergrad students at UTSG and around 16, 000 undergrads at UTM.

meanwhile at UTSG, courses are so large (in the thousands sometimes) that professors and TA’s can only “know” a tiny fraction of their students. even when i try to build a relationship with my professors, i often just feel swallowed into the hoard of nameless faces and idk, it doesn’t exactly feel good to be perceived as a rando in class.

it’s also notoriously hard to make friends at UTSG. i fear the loneliness epidemic here is real.

so yeah, the uoftears experience of U of T as a depressing school is largely fed by these things. if you’re at UTM, i don’t think you’ll need to worry as much about this side of uoftears.

ok sorry i need to move on and answer what you actually asked about: academics!

academics

in regards to academics, the truth is that U of T is an academically rigorous experience across all three campuses. you will spend a lot of time studying and working on assignments, and getting top marks will be very difficult.

the study culture here is a lot more intense than other schools, especially during the long midterm season and exam month. like, i do not see any of my friends at other schools studying as hard as U of T students do.

however, it’s really hard to say exactly how long you’ll spend studying or how hard you’ll find assignments. if you wanted to check it out, i can offer you a flushed out answer of how long i personally spend studying in this other answer i posted.

all i can really say is, social science programs at UTM are probably not the worst of uoftears and you will likely be fine. these programs aren’t exactly known for grade deflation, like say, life sci programs at UTSG — grade deflation is a big contributor to academic stress at U of T.

you say you want to go into criminology and polisci. what i’ve heard is that they’re quite competitive programs, at least in comparison to other social science programs. i’ve also taken a few polisci/public policy courses, and man! you really gotta work hard in those. everyone was so smart, innovative, and quick on their feet — i had to really push myself to keep up in class discussions. (it was SO worth it though. being in this environment high-key forced made me to get smarter and better in record time.)

overall, the jump from high school to university is quite hard, and at U of T, it’ll be harder than other canadian universities.

but here’s the thing.

sure, it felt like i was thrown into the icy cold deep end of a pool in my first year. but genuinely, it’s a high risk high reward situation. yes, you’ll study for so long your eyes start twitching, but also, you’ll have access to priceless career opportunities and connections at U of T.

professors here are all, like, celebrities in their fields. they do crazy cool work and there is so much to learn from them. not all, but most, of the students here are super smart, dedicated, and ambitious people. you have a lot to gain from learning alongside them. U of T is also a very powerful institution with strong partnerships to other institutions, and we get a lot of funding for research, experiential learning, etc.

basically, there are numerous reasons why people choose to go here. it’s hard work, but there is a lot to reap. there are also ways to avoid falling into the dark side of uoftears — like finding a good community on campus, choosing a program you actually care about, and knowing what resources are available to you (there is very good student support available at U of T).

so yeah.

and that’s all i have for you. please don’t let anything i’ve said here scare you away. like, don’t you dare let me change the course of your future like that?? but i hope this helped. i hope i’ve adequately addressed the good and bad sides of U of T, however briefly.

bestest of luck and welcome!!

over and out,

aska

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arts & sciences, fees, registration, tuition

pay us! uoft screams

August 5, 2025

hi! i’m in the faculty of arts and science and i’m confused about what the “minimum payment to register” is. i got an email that the deadline for that is august 12 which is super soon. i don’t want to get kicked out, how do i find out how much it is and when do i have to pay the left over fees?

hey there,

amazing question, i also just got that email! don’t you just love receiving slightly threatening emails from U of T.

for folks who don’t know, this email from the faculty of arts and science says to either pay or defer the “minimum instalment to register” by august 12. if not, you might be removed from your courses.

i know that it’s kind of a scary email if you don’t know what it’s saying. so hopefully i can clear things up in time for you to send that minimum payment in!

basically, to find the minimum payment to register, go to your acorn account. then, go to the “financial account – invoice & net cost” tab. here, you’ll find your invoice for the school year, detailing all the charges that make up your fall and winter tuition. scroll to the very bottom, where you’ll find the title “CURRENT SESSION TUITION CHARGES total”, which will indicate your total tuition for the entire school year. seeing this, you’ll clutch your pearls at this devastatingly high amount of money that keeps increasing each year. you might even squint suspiciously, wondering why the school needs that much money from you. -_-

and thennnn…. right below that, you’ll see “MINIMUM PAYMENT TO REGISTER”, which will show you the exact amount you need to pay U of T by august 12 in order to register for the school year.

so yeah, you have to pay that amount by august 12. but besides that, there are other deadlines for the remaining part of your school tuition.

for fall fees, the deadline for most students is september 30. meanwhile, winter fees are due by november 30.

all these deadlines can be hard to keep track of, so if it makes sense for you, just know that you’re also able to pay the entire year’s tuition in one go! you don’t have to do it in parts, these separate deadlines just make it a possibility in case people need that.

finally, you can also see this all explained on the registrar’s website, here and here. you actually might want to check that out since it also explains different deadlines for special cases.

hope this helps and good luck this year!

over and out,

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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commuters, jobs, residence

in a land far far away

July 1, 2025

do students who live off campus have fewer opportunities than those who do or no?

hey there,

great question! it kinda depends on what sort of opportunities you’re looking for.

if you’re looking for work/volunteer opportunities that relate to your career, then no. i wouldn’t say students who live on campus have any sort of advantage in what opportunities are available to them.

if this is the case, i’d recommend you use CLNX to explore your options. on there, you’ll be able to sort through various on-campus and off-campus jobs available to students. you can get these regardless of where you live.

but if you’re thinking of opportunities to get involved in the university itself, i’d say that it’s probably easier to do so if you live on campus.

for example, the main opportunity that comes to mind is being a residence don. this is definitely one that requires you to live in a student residence once you’ve received the position lol. however, keep in mind that upper years are able to apply for it regardless of if they’ve ever lived in residence before!

another one might be, like a residence front-desk job? that’ll be a lot easier to do and get if you’ve lived in that residence already.

hmmmm. other than direct involvement in student residences, there aren’t any other opportunities that are, like, exclusive to people living on campus.

but i’m also gonna be completely real with you. i still thing that living on campus does help you get opportunities, just because you’re more likely to hear about things. for example, you’ll have more time to spend with other students who 1. might already be involved and can get you involved, or 2. are also trying to get involved in something similar.

just by living on campus, you’ll be surrounded by other students at all hours. the combination of talking to people and hearing what they’re doing and seeing advertisements up on the walls might point you towards opportunities you might not have heard about otherwise. you know what i mean?

i’d say this is especially helpful if you’re in first year and are still trying to find your footing in a new environment. i personally was very glad that i decided to live on campus in my first year, even if i originally planned not to.

because if you ask me (which you did), living on campus in my first year grounded me in my college community and opened doors to student leadership involvement i would not have seen otherwise. now that i’m living off-campus, i wouldn’t say i have any less opportunities than those living on campus. (i actually LOVE it!! living off-campus is great, i now get to hear the birds when i wake up.)

but, living on campus was really important to my first year because i made friends who were student leaders and i wouldn’t have been confident enough to get involved myself if i wasn’t already living in my college residence and feeling comfortable in the community.

that’s just my experience.

but, i’m sorta guessing that the kind of opportunities you were asking about were ones that would relate to your career, and not about college involvement.

so, if that’s what your question was about, the short answer is no! you will not be at a disadvantage with career opportunities if you choose to live off-campus. unless you’re commuting from a land far, far away, like richmond hill or scarb, then you might not want to take an in-person job that requires more hours, you know? but then again, the ball would be in your court. they would not reject you just for living off campus. if they do, i will show up and throw hands for your sake.

i hope this was helpful!!!

over and out,

aska

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career choice, hard

if money didn’t matter, indeed

June 19, 2025

Hey there! im about to end 10th grade yet i still havent decided what im going to major in…its a big struggle for me. I was thinking of engineering or some physics/astronomy related field but im really bad at those ;(( My friend recommended architecture cuz i like drawing and math but i dunno…. (if money didnt matter id probably choose art or design tho)

hey there,

omg i hear you. first of all, i’m sorry you’re feeling worried about this! when i was in high school, i felt the same way :(. it’s stressful to not have a concrete plan for your future, especially when it seems like other people around you have it all together.

but, now that i’m not in high school, i can tell you that it’s so, so perfectly normal to not know what you want to major in yet! honestly, when people used to tell me that this was normal, i thought they were lying to me to make me feel better… and now i know that they were right all along.

because nobody has it all together. those people who say they’ve got their heart set on something, ok whatEVER good for them i guess. but they are few and far between. (and most of the time, they’re the ones choosing law, medicine, or business for their parents.)

if you take one thing away from me, let it be this: you do not have to know what you want to major in yet. if you’re just finishing grade 10, you still have time. if you’re just entering grade 12, you still have time. if you’re entering your first year of university, you still have time. it’s all good and nothing is wrong.

like, i switched majors after second year. nothing bad happened to me — in fact, i actually learned so much from having experience in different majors!

if you were interested in U of T as an option at all, i’ll have you know that U of T students don’t have to choose their major until after their first year is over. other schools make you choose right off the bat, but U of T allows you to explore first before making your decision! (at least, this is the case with the faculty of arts and science. it’s slightly different for engineering and architecture because those are separate faculties).

but anyways, i think it’s really great that you’re considering engineering, physics, and/or astronomy. you say you’re bad at those, but don’t sell yourself short!! in university, success is far more based on work ethic rather than talent. you even said you like math, which is perfect — i’m pretty sure engineering, physics and astronomy are all heavily math based. so if you really do like math, i think you would do well in them.

meanwhile, your friend is right. architecture is a great option if you like drawing and design but also want the practicality of a science-y degree. i have a couple of architecture friends who were very into art in high school. like, i’m pretty sure it’s a stereotype that people who want to pursue art go for architecture.

overall, all these options are good options.

but where to go from here? here are two suggestions i have for figuring out what you want to do:

1. talk to people who are a few years older and get their perspective. do you know anyone in university? do you know anyone majoring in anything you’re interested in? ask them for advice, and find out what it’s really like to study those things.

2. get as much experience as you can in the fields you’re interested in. ie, let yourself see the room before you decide whether or not you want to be in it.

for example, there are engineering, physics, architecture, or astronomy programs offered by universities for high school students. spending time exploring these options through fun summer activities might help bring you some clarity. i know that U of T offers engineering summer programs for high school students — and i’m sure most every university near you offers something similar.

if you want a list of U of T summer programs for high school students, look here. there’s an architecture one on there, low commitment — only 2 weeks long! and there’s a bunch of engineering ones there. honestly these are so cool i wish i had known about these in high school.

but yeah, those are just some of my suggestions. the combination of advice from someone a few years older while trying things out firsthand can really help.

it’s kinda crazy because i was in a really similar situation to you when i was your age. up until grade 12, i wanted to go into astronomy or astrophysics. ultimately, i ended up choosing something different because i didn’t enjoy math. then i switched again once i got to university. but through it all and up until now, i know that if money didn’t matter i would be in music.

so i definitely feel what you’re going through.

and i don’t know, it’s hard. choosing between a creative career and an academic one is hard. ultimately, i chose science because i liked it and had a higher chance of making a living with it, among other reasons. is the decision to not pursue something artistic slowly but surely carving a hole into me every day? perhaps. have i recently been enjoying my science degree to the point of happy tears and gleeful skips around the apartment? perhaps.

but, enough about me. you’ll have a whole different experience from mine, and have got to figure out what makes the most sense for you. all i can tell you with certainty is that it’s normal to not be decided on a major and you still have time to figure it out. please don’t listen to anyone who makes you feel like you need to have everything together right now, please be gentle with yourself when you are unsure of things. it will work out!

anyways, i hope you took something useful from this. wishing you the bestest of luck. you are more capable than you think! i believe in you!

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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digital enterprise management, UTM

hit dem hard

May 27, 2025
Hello I wanted to ask few questions

I applied for Management but unfortunately couldn’t get into it but however DEM was my alternative choice and I got acceptance in that but they say that major can only be declared after first year of studies. But the problem is that DEM is type 3 degree and I don’t have any third choice so I just want to be sure that I will not be denied entry into it after completing the prerequisite courses and minimum grade requirement.

My programme is at UOFT Mississauga Campus .

Thank you

hey there,

aw i’m sorry to hear that you didn’t get into your first choice! that can really suck.

this is also such a valid concern. if you didn’t get into management and are now settling for your second choice, i totally understand why you want to be sure you’ll get in this time around!

here are some of my thoughts.

first, you’ve got it right that at U of T, program enrolment happens after your first year of studies. as you can see on this page, you need to have completed at least 4.0 credits to get into a program. (for context: one half-year course is 0.5 credits. so you can complete 4.0 credits by taking, for example, 4 courses in the fall and 4 courses in the winter.)

second, the info you have about DEM is correct. DEM is a type 3 program, which means
1. you have to apply
2. you have to meet the program requirements, and
3. there are limited spots available
that third point makes things a bit harder. the fact that there are limited spots available means that even if you meet all the program requirements, there’s a chance you won’t get in — but, don’t panic yet! this is just what i’ve heard from word of mouth, and it generally only applies if there’s a lot of interest during a certain year. if there’s too much competition, the people who are just on the edge of meeting the grade minimums may not get in. (eg. if the minimum is 70, your grade is 70 or 71.)

so if you wanna play it really safe, what i would recommend is that you try your best to exceed the minimum grades by as much as you can.

if you take a look at the digital enterprise management page on the academic calendar, you’ll be able to see exactly what the minimum grades for your program are. this page says you’ll need to have completed the following courses…
1. CCT109H5 (with a minimum grade of 70%);
2. CCT110H5 (with a minimum grade of 70%); and
3. CCT112H5 (with a minimum grade of 70%)
but on top of this, you’ll also need to meet a minimum cGPA. the thing is, they say the minimum cGPA changes every year based on competition and interest.

so if you asked for my personal opinion on how to ensure your admission into the DEM program, it’s this: really try your best to not only meet, but exceed the minimum grades in the three required courses. and, try to keep your overall GPA as high as you can.

like, don’t get me wrong. you definitely don’t have to drive yourself insane trying to get perfect marks. but, i just want you to be aware that simply meeting the mark of 70 will probably not guarantee you admission into the program. in fact, U of T loves to say that meeting the minimum grades doesn’t guarantee you a spot. so in response, i say aim for a higher mark than you think you’ll need. but also, through it all please remember to be gentle and kind with yourself!

and finally, i’d recommend that you apply during the first program request period.

as you can see on this page, there are 2 program request periods. while the current dates shown are still specific to 2025, they should update in the fall to 2026 dates. but in general, the first request period opens in early march and closes in late april. that’s when you should apply.

i recommend this because applying during the first round gives you two chances to get into your program! if you apply during march-april round, you’ll hear back with an acceptance/rejection in may. and if you’re rejected, this gives you enough time to apply again during the second request period in june-august! yay.

anyways, just keep in mind that CR/NCR courses won’t count towards the 4.0 credits required to get into a program. in simple terms, CR/NCR is basically for when you want to avoid having a low mark affect your transcript, so you can request for it to show a pass/fail instead. so if you choose to do this to a course, make sure you’ll still finish first year with at least 4.0 credits in other courses.

sooo yeah! i hope this was helpful. i hope you hit all those requirements and hit dem hard.

ha.. ha..

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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housing, money, residence

the housing market should be scared of me

May 15, 2025

Hi there!!!!!!! Is it actually cheaper to rent an apartment than to live in college? Those prices are driving me insane, honestly lol.

hey there,

this is a great question.

my immediate answer is yes, it is cheaper live off campus, just because that’s how it’s been in my experience and my friends’ experiences.

for example, some of my friends were recently paying around $1600/person/month to live on campus and then moved off campus to a place that was like $1300 per person each month.

personally, i used to live in dorm but got an apartment last fall. let’s just say that when i moved off-campus, my rent was $500 less per month than it would have been had i stayed in campus housing. but keep in mind, i got really lucky finding my place.

so if you’re exclusively looking at the renting price itself, in general it is common to find apartments within walkable distance from campus that are cheaper than the college dorms (see a list of the dorm prices here).

but for a complete answer, i have to acknowledge that whether an apartment is “cheaper” heavily depends on your lifestyle choices — ie. what conditions you’re willing to live in, how far you’re willing to commute, how much you’re ordering food in. because there are definitely ways to make living off-campus more expensive than dorm.

furnishings

an important thing to consider is how much it’s going to cost to furnish your apartment. some apartments come furnished, most don’t. you’ll want to think about how long you’re planning to stay in the city — is it worth buying all this furniture if you’re only here for a few years? you decide.

if you stay in dorm, you save a few hundred, maybe more, on furnishings and cleaning supplies. but if you’re here for a while, this one-time purchase might be worth it.

maybe you’ll even get lucky and manage to find a furnished place! like, my friends just found a relatively affordable place with really nice furnishings nearish to campus. it’s doable.

meanwhile, if you were wondering, it is also possible to furnish on a budget.

for example, i was able to cut costs by turning to my holy grail facebook marketplace for things like shelves or chairs. you can also ask around — a lot of students are moving in and out, and everyone has things they want to get rid of. if you’re feeling adventurous, you might take note that most of my furnishings were picked up from the sidewalks of residential neighbourhoods and then thoroughly bleached. what can i say? you see an offering from the universe, you take it.

food

this is a huge factor that can make-or-break how expensive your living is. my biggest qualm with U of T dorms is that almost all of them require you to buy a meal plan if you want to live in dorm. bully behavior if you ask me. *cough* whaat who said that?

i’ve never had to buy a meal plan, but i remember in my first year everyone was trying to use up their money before the school year ended. one kid had 2000$ he had to use up in one month — so he treated the entire class to lunch multiple weeks in a row LOL.

the short story is, you’re going to be paying an insane amount of money for the meal plan. even if you don’t use up all the money in it, you won’t get it back. and there’s pretty much no way you’re going to use up all the money by yourself.

so to save money, i would recommend living in a place with a kitchen — whether that be a dorm or an apartment. for example, woodsworth college and innis college both include kitchens in their dorms, and give you the option to avoid meal plans.

just try not to live exclusively off uber eats like some students do. then consider all that money Not Saved 😀

area

next up, what area are you looking at? an important thing you’ll want to consider how far you’re willing to walk to get to class. are you willing to pay transit fare multiple times a week? because with frequent use, transit fares can add up to a lot of money.

in general, apartments further from campus are going to be a lot cheaper. for example, places in little italy will be more affordable than, say, places in the annex. but, while you’re deciding how far you’re willing to walk, just keep in mind that toronto turns into a windy winter hellscape for most of the school year.

*not actual footage of toronto. i am just being dramatic*

ultimately there’s a lot of factors to consider here. living farther is technically cheaper but if you consider the transit cost idk…

and even if you live close to campus, the area north-east of campus has very few affordable grocery stores while the south-west side is affordable grocery heaven. definitely some things to think about.

more affordable on-campus housing options

all that considered, i just want to make sure you know that living in an expensive college dorm is not the only option if you want to live on campus.

here are some options that people i personally know have used. these are like, not necessarily U of T affiliated, but are still university student residences:

coop housing. this is the most affordable option you’re gonna get! it involves living right on the edge of campus with around 9-13 people in a house, and from what i can see, rent is around 600-800$ per month. this is the lowest rent i’ve ever seen downtown. so if coop housing peaks your interest, you might want to spend some time scrolling through the coop house options, as there are many different houses with different rent prices.

tartu residence is the second most affordable place i know of. it is also located on the edge of campus, on bloor street. the lowest monthly rent you can pay here is $785, but there are a lot of pricing options here depending on what conditions you prefer. i know different people who have rented at the lowest and highest rates at tartu, and both sides say it worked well for them.

anywayssss. the good thing is that the housing market has gone down a bit this year so it is actually a good time to be looking for an apartment (in comparison to recent years, where it’s been really bad).

so yeah, i hope this was helpful and not too confusing? remember, this is just my personal opinion gained from a few years in the city — i guess you could say other people might have different opinions. i guess.

feel free to ask more questions, like how to look for apartments or area recommendations. i have sooo much to say about this but don’t want to overload you with info lol. good luck with everything!

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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