admissions - askastudent

admissions, applying for U of T, UTSC

info from a not-so-secret resource

May 10, 2026

What is the competitive avg to get into life sci (health sci stream) at utsc? Do they care if I take courses in summer school and night school? Will I acc get in?? ???

Hi aska!

I was wondering if uoft can reject you based on grade 11 grades? Or if you don’t get in through early admissions can you reapply w/ grade 12 grades? And do they only care about grade 12 grades?

heyyo,

soooo I’ve decided to do a dual post with this one because 1) i think it’d be useful for each of you to see the other answer, and 2) GUYS SO MANY ADMISSIONS QUESTIONS! Which isn’t a bad thing, btw. you give me purpose (because, as you all know, aska only activates when a question comes in. you admissions folks are keeping me from hibernating).

to my hopeful future scarborough dweller: nope, uoft doesn’t care about summer school. and utsc health sci stream is looking for a mid-70s average, or high 70s for co-op. i found this information from a very secret source. oh wait, it was actually just ontario universities’ info, which you can check yourself anytime to search for the admissions average/requirements of literally every program at, you guessed it, every ontario university. actually insane.

as for whether you’ll actually get in, well, i’m just your (not) humble aska, not an admissions officer. so while i can tell you that taking all the required prereq courses (english, chem, bio, any uni math course) and having your top six average in the admissions range would give you a great shot, i can’t tell you for sure. forgive me.

now for my early admissions-concerned future applicant: i think there’s a few things i gotta clear up.

i have a feeling that reddit may have you in a tizzy over “early admissions.” because the truth is there really aren’t any early admissions at uoft. the way things work is that EVERYONE applies in the fall of the year before you wanna start uni (in grade 12, for ontario). while yes, there is an “early application date” on the website, that date only exists if you want to be admitted in the first round of admissions, in february.

however there isn’t any reapplication that happens. you submit one application, in the fall. i’m no expert in how things work internationally, but i know that in ontario, your grades are automatically uploaded as they come out. so when the decisions are made, uoft will have access to all of your grade 11 grades and every midterm/final grade you’ve gotten so far in grade 12. so thankfully, you only gotta worry about applying once. and then you can relax! well, when you’re not dealing with the calamity of twelfth grade.

you’re also far from the first one to ask about grade 11 grades mattering. the short answer: yes, but maybe not as much as you think. unis will have access to grade 11 marks and will consider them, but since grade 12 is more recent and shows your overall trajectory, the latter will be more important.

anyways that was my long-winded answer to you guys. i do have a final piece of good news for you though: you two (along with the MANY recent future/current applicants who’ve reached out in the last several months) have inspired me to make an applicant/new student guide. so stay tuned for that soon!

cheers,

aska

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admissions, getting into U of T, life science, UTM, UTSC

the gutter called, your grades aren’t there

April 28, 2026

Hello, currently a grade 12 student in my final semester and I’ve already been accepted to the other 2 campuses, life sciences for scarborough and Forensic. Currently panicking my mind with admission to the St George Campus for Life Sciences as with my first semester finals (83.3%) and 2nd semester mid-terms combined (86.7%), my average looks to be in the gutter with an 85% average currently. Since there will be 2 final rounds of admission in may, I felt like my chances are on the bleak side.

heyyo,

well I’ve heard about a lot of things being “in the gutter” but for some reason, i haven’t heard someone say that about having an 85% average in grade 12. weird, huh?

maaaaybe that’s ’cause an 85 is absolutely not in the gutter! that’s already solid enough for many many programs and is even within the range for utsg life sci, which is mid-high 80s. i also wanna point out that your marks have even improved in second semester, which may help you out too.

another thing i gotta wonder is if the averages you gave me are only for your top six classes, or if they’re you’re overall averages? for utsg life sci, and assuming you’re in ontario, admission average is determined by looking at your marks for eng4u, mcv4u, and your top four 4u/m courses that aren’t english or calculus. if you gave me your overall average, you may be in an even better position than you think.

and even if you don’t get in to utsg life sci… there’s so many other awesome paths forward. for one, it’s great that you got into utm and utsc! forensics sounds pretty cool to me, and if that’s something you want to pursue specifically, utm might be the better choice anyways because utsg doesn’t have a forensics program. if you end up at utm or utsc but think that being downtown is more your thing, you could always take courses at utsg as well. you’d just have to take a shuttle (utm) or a bus and subway (utsc), which kinda sucks, but it’s worth it if you want your big-city moment.

there’s also the possibility of getting an alternate offer, which means you might get an admission to another utsg category (like humanities) instead of life sci. while you may think that being subjected to studying philosophy or international relations for 4+ years sounds like actual hell (i’m allowed to say this because one of my programs is in the humanities), fear not: you can take programs outside your admission category as long as you meet the prereqs.

i’m not sure when the april admissions round happened so you might’ve been accepted in the time between when you submitted this question and the time i’m writing this, in which case, congrats! but also, man, i guess you didn’t need me after all…

but if that didn’t happen, just know that plenty of people get admitted in may. you still definitely have a shot at utsg and even if that doesn’t work out, you have some great options in utm or utsc. stay strong and believe.

cheers,

aska

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admissions,  getting into U of T

we’ve got a clever one on our hands

April 27, 2026

Hey, so I have some questions as a grade 11 student in Ontario. So I want to apply to life sciences (Chemistry) and Mathematics and physical sciences. I had a 80% in functions last sem, should I take advance functions in the Summer so Uoft looks at it as my course to refer to my math grade and is Uoft okay with taking summer classes? And how to perform well in advance functions in the summer and will I have a big gap going into Calc after. Thanks.

heyyo,

my my you are clever. doing a summer course so that it can take priority over your grade 11 mark? tricky.

now i hate to break it to you, but while you are right in some parts, your plan may not be quite as effective as you hope. it’s true that universities tend to focus most on your most recent grade in a subject since, well, it’s the most accurate show of your skills/growth at the time. so in that sense, if you do better in your summer advanced functions than in grade 11 functions, the summer course will be more relevant. and yes, summer courses are totally ok.

however, i have two disclaimers for you.

one: as you might know, unis will still look at your grade 11 marks, even if you have more recent grade 12 results for those subjects. yes, the newer one will take precedence, but it’s not like your grade 11 mark will disappear.

two: i don’t know how things work for you, but from my experience in high school (and what i assume is the default), you can’t exactly decide which semester you take your courses. so this means that it’s possible you could take calculus in first sem. as well, if your application is considered in the april/may admission rounds, your second semester midterm marks will be in play too. so either way you could have calc become your most recent math grade anyways.

overall you don’t have a bad plan but i think if you wanna go ahead with it, it should be because you want to work at your own pace/give the course more attention, not just so it can be your most recent grade.

as for how to prep for calc if you do it in second semester? weeeeelll i have to be totally honest with you… aska is not a math expert. i maaaaay have never taken advanced functions or calculus. maybe.

so i can’t give you super specific tips here. however, i have done online courses in the summer, so the best advice i can give you is to set aside specific time in your day to work. it may be hard at first, but trust, it’ll make things so much more efficient and keep you focused.

you may have a bit of a gap for calc if you take it in second sem, but most classes will be understanding of this and provide some review at the start of the semester. i also heard some good things about this youtube channel and this website from friends who took the course. and if you feel like you need a bit more of a refresher, you could always get extra help from your teacher or guidance counselor. or the obvious… review your notes over the winter break. even though that might really suck.

good luck with your math adventures and your applications this fall!

cheers,

aska

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admissions,  getting into U of T

crazy times we live in, huh?

April 26, 2026

Hi aska!!

This is my first time stumbling onto askastudent, and I’ve been able to gather a lot more info on uni, which thanks sm!! 😛

And for my question(s), I was wondering if it matters that I fail a course? I’m in grade 11, and I actually have 5 credits right now (that is if I don’t fail one of those courses ?). The subject itself isn’t important to me since it’s a yearbook course, and I’m planning on going into the social sciences or politics, preferably in St. George (or other campuses I’m still debating ?). But I also know UofT (and I’m gonna guess other unis as well) looks at grade 11 courses, which is kinda freaking me out 🙁 I do have a 86% average right now (without the course I’m failing since there hasn’t been a grade out for it yet…. ?), I’m doing decent-ish in my courses, esp w my current mental health and constant missing school for counselling or other issues ?.

I also wanted to know if universities would care that there’s a sudden boost in my grades for gr12 (hypothetically, if I could even manage that ?). I’m only doing pretty poorly now because of my current family situation and from missing a bunch of school, I obviously plan on doing much better in gr12 and I was planning on taking Virtual school for the maths because I work better at my own pace, but I’m worried UofT would think I’m cheating and not that I’m actually able to lock in or something like that because my 85% in math is suddenly 90% or more (My mom keeps telling me this so I’m kinda scared ?) and a lot of people keep telling me a lot of different things like grade 11 doesn’t matter only gr12 does, or that gr11 really matters. And then I get told if I fail a course, or get my average under 85% I can’t get into any “good” programs, so I really just don’t know what to believe, and I can’t exactly trust everything Reddit says all the time ? What should I do aska I’m really scared ?

heyyo,

yowza, this is a lotta words. hey, no shame in that, yappers are great because they give me lots of info to work with!

oh, and i’m super glad to hear that aska’s been helpful for you! i was in the same boat as you once so it’s always nice to hear i’m helping others who were in my shoes.

nooooow first things first: failing a course, especially in grade 11, does not spell doom for your admission chances. for social sciences, uoft will be looking closest at your top six grade 12 u/m courses (assuming ontario?), including english. yes, they will look at your grade 11 marks, but failing a non-required course when you have an otherwise good record won’t be the end of the world.

also, side note…. yearbook course? maybe i’m just dumb, but i’ve never heard of yearbook-making as an actual, for-credit class. crazy times we live in, huh…

as for virtual school, that’s totally fine as long as it’s accredited (i’m assuming you’re referring to ovs here) or through your school board. and a jump from 85ish to 90ish is absolutely not a problem, in fact the admissions people often really like to see improvement! a jump of that much wouldn’t be suspicious. breathe easy, you will not end up on uoft’s most wanted list just for showing improvement. uoft doesn’t even HAVE a most wanted list… well, as far as i know.

you seem to be doing quite well regardless, but if you have any concerns about how missing school or a tough mental health stretch will affect you, you could also always fill out a request for special consideration after you apply.

finally, i hate to admit it but i am kind of a redditor too. yeah yeah, throw the tomatoes.

so, being an unfortunately chronic reddit user, i too was on r/ontariograde12s at your age and saw all the people absolutely losing it when they got, like, an 83% in a course. don’t let them convince you that an 86% average is somehow bad. that’s still within consideration for most utsg programs, is safe for a lot of utm/utsc programs, and is absolutely enough to get into “good” programs all over ontario. you just gotta remember that most of the people you see on those forums are equally clueless to how unis actually work, OR, if they’re in uni, they may only be aware of their specific circumstances. plus, i hate to say it, but there’s a lot of keeners on there. don’t feel bad comparing yourself to the worrywarts with 98% averages.

anyways, i don’t wanna yap for any longer than i have, but i hope i hit all your questions! best of luck with everything!

cheers,

aska

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admissions, life science, programs

admission categories: the scandalous truth??

April 15, 2026

Hii, I’m currently in grade 12 and I got accepted for an alternate offer at UTM, social sciences, when I originally applied for Life Sciences. I also applied for life sci at UTSG (but now have no hope of getting in🙁 ). So I’m wondering how hard is it to switch from social sci to life sci. Would I be able to get the pre reqs in my first year so I can apply for life sci for my second year. I’m really confused on weather I should to take the risk of accepting my social sciences admission and try to switch but also risk being in a program I don’t wanna to graduate with or not. Plsss help!!

heyyo,

my friend my friend my friend, you are far from the first person to be in this conundrum. luckily, there is a very simple answer for you and all those who have tread in your path. there’s a little secret: your admission category really doesn’t matter.

i know what you’re thinking: aska what do you MEAN the thing that defines whether or not I get into this school doesn’t even matter? has this all been a LIE???

and i guess i should clarify that your category does matter for admission purposes (ie. checking for prereqs, controlling numbers). but once you’re in, the only reason it still exists is to get you slight priority enrollment in the courses relevant to your category. aaaaand that’s about it.

you typically enroll in your program(s) at the end of first year. as long as you have the necessary prerequisites for it (either first-year courses or high school courses), there’ll be no difference between you and another applicant who has a more “relevant” admission category. so the only thing you have to do is make sure you have those prereqs for the program you want (you can check here!). while you won’t have priority enrollment for these courses, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. personally, i was able to get into all the courses i wanted in first year, including a few outside of my admission category!

alternatively, if the program you want is an “open” program, literally all you have to worry about is getting 4.0 credits in your first year. and boom, you’re in.

my advice would be to wait to see if you get a utsg offer (for life sci or another alternate) and if you weigh your options and want to come to uoft (duh), take one of the offers! but when you make your decision just know that you aren’t restricted to taking programs from within your admission category.

so don’t worry about graduating with a degree you never actually wanted. trust me, there are many opportunities to change your program. if you wake up on graduation day and realize “oopsies, i forgot to change my program”… well, don’t blame that one on aska.

here’s to you gallivanting around the medsci building this time next year!

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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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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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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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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admissions, applying for U of T, summer

this news is good news

December 14, 2025

Hi!! i’m a gr 11 right now and i’ve never been good at english and it brings down my top 6 (i wanna get into life sci). if i take english in summer school, would uoft view my english mark as an inflated one? (St. George Campus!)

heyyo,

yippee it’s awesome you’re already considering coming to uoft!

you’re totally not alone with english bringing your average down, so many people in my high school who were aiming for some super competitive stem programs also had the same conundrum.

the good news is that uoft doesn’t care where you take your classes, as long as they’re through a ministry approved school. if the summer school course you wanna take is through your regular school/board OR an online accredited platform, you have nothing to worry about!

the sky is falling, hold onto your socks because the good news doesn’t end there: uoft also doesn’t consider grade inflation. well, i guess that’s not good news to everyone… but in your case, it means that even if your summer course is perhaps a little bit easier than it would be during the normal school year, it won’t affect your chances.

so…. yay! good news on all fronts i think. just make sure that if you decide to take english during the summer, do it during this upcoming year (NOT the summer after grade 12). uoft requires you to have completed or be registered in all your prereqs by admission.

good luck and try not to let hamlet ruin your summer vacation.

cheers,

aska

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

running to labs vs running drills

October 28, 2025

hi aska,

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

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

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

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

should i just apply to rmc at this point ?

Thanks!

heyyo,

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

to answer your actual questions though:

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

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

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

thank me later.

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

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

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

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

cheers,

aska

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