• admissions,  other schools (boo!)

    hot buttered soul admissions

    May 25, 2017

    I know this sounds a bit too ambitious, but can utm grads get into HBS? If so what do you think needs to be on the checklist?

    ———————————————

    hey!

    i have no clue what you mean by HBS. do you mean the heritage building society? health and biological sciences? hardware breakdown structure? hawaii biological services? hot buttered soul? hrvatski biljarski savez? i literally have no idea.

    okay, in all seriousness. i think you meant harvard business school? idk. ask harvard.

    jk. i don’t think it’s too ambitious to go for harvard! despite the jokes and sterotypes, utm is a university too, just like utsg. you worked hard for your undergrad degree, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

    again, i don’t know much about other schools’ application and admissions process, but i can tell you what they have on their website. according to the harvard admissions website, you need an undergrad degree, GMAT or GRE test results, an essay, two recommendations, and a resume. i would suggest putting in extra effort into the essay. you’ll be able to really appeal to the admissions committee and showcase your passion and dedication.

    best of luck, get after that HBS (whatever it means).

    xoxo,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  grad school

    masters of saving the environment

    May 24, 2017

    Hi aska, I recently decided that it would be best to go to grad school. I was interested in UofT’s masters (specifically, forest conservation) program but need a min 3.0cGPA. I currently have a 2.6cGPA (hoping for 2.7-8 if all goes well), but by the time I graduate I would’ve been in school for 6/7years. With a low cGPA and years taken to graduate, is there anything I can do to strengthen my application? I’m worried I’ll never get in anywhere due to my low cGPA. Help!!

    ———————————————

    hello!

    first of all, the number of years it’s taken you to complete your degree doesn’t matter. in fact, if you want to have a more competitive GPA (and you have the resources to do so) you could even stay longer. if you’re hesitant to do another full year, you could do summer courses. of course, this comes with risks- you have to do well in the classes- but if you think you’re up for it and you’ve committed to going to grad school, i say go for it!

    there are also a ton of non- GPA requirements outlined on u of t’s masters of forest conservation website. they say that you need a CV, letter of intent, and three reference reports. i would suggest putting a lot of effort into those parts of the application to strengthen your shot. i would also suggest working extra hard on the letter of intent to really outline your passion, dedication, and appeal to the admissions committee.

    good luck, my dude. go and save the environment. i’m rooting for you.

    xoxo,

    aska

     

    Read More
  • admissions,  CR/NCR,  grad school,  late withdrawal,  OISE

    make your biggies small

    May 24, 2017

    Hi, How bad is getting a 1.0 LWD and 0.5 NCR (both courses not related to the program I’ll be applying to and future career) in first year? I’m seriously considering applying to uoft’s grad school (masters of teaching). And what can I do to improve my chances in getting accepted into grad school during the three years I have left of undergrad? Thank you so much.

    ———————————————

    hello!

    i would say that it’s not really a big deal! you are allowed to withdraw from up to 3.0 FCE’s and CR/NCR up to 2.0 FCE’s throughout your undergrad as safety nets. especially since you’re only in first year and neither courses are related to your future program, it really is no biggie.

    as for getting into grad school, you need more than just good grades. i would suggest doing extra-curriculars that are related to teaching, like volunteering at elementary schools or working with children. i’d also suggest doing stuff with the profs in the programs that relate to what you wanna do- they can write you reference letters and really help you out when it’s time to apply for grad school.

    good luck!!

    xoxo,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  degree requirements,  international relations,  one programs,  trinity college

    you could be pitbull

    May 23, 2017

    Hi Aska!

    I was wondering if you know how many students are accepted into the international relations program each year. I’m worried that if I don’t make it into a One program during first year I won’t have a good shot of being accepted into IR for second year.

    Thanks very much!!!

    ———————————————

    hey,

    bad news, kid.

    so, unfortunately, departments don’t allow us access to information on how many students get accepted into the program each year. it’s just not something undergraduate departments tend to release to the public. you can always try contacting the department directly if the question is really bugging you!

    because international relations is a type 3 program, we can assume that the program enrolment is quite limited and “finite”. in addition to submitting a separate application, remember that you’ll need to take the courses listed here and meet the minimum grade requirements in order to even be considered.

    if you don’t get into a One program, it’s not a huge deal. they indicate that you have the option of taking HIS103Y1Y or HIS102Y1Y instead of VicOne or TrinOne. don’t worry about getting screwed over by limited enrolment/ application deadlines!

    this could be you in a year!:

    don’t sweat it too much. just work hard and make sure your grades meet or exceed the minimum requirement. if you don’t get into the IR program in second year, you can always try again in third year!

    good luck, my friend!

    international peace and love,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  grades

    relax young’un

    April 3, 2017

    hi aska! i’m a grade 12 student from toronto, and today i was accepted to Victoria college for humanities. however, the OUAC just uploaded my midterm marks today, and my average is lower than my first-semester average that UofT already saw (it’s at an 89% right now). is there a possibility that my offer of admission could be taken back by Vic? thank you so much!

    ———————————————

    hello!

    i’m not sure what kind of offer you received, but normally, as long as you remain in good academic standing, you don’t need to worry.

    89 is still quite high!

    if you don’t believe me, it’s even stated on the website in the FAQ section at the very bottom:

    “Unless clearly requested in your offer letter, the University of Toronto expects that your final grades will be consistent with the mid-term/predicted grades submitted. Small changes are nothing to worry about. If you’ve maintained your work effort through the year, you will be absolutely fine.”

    see? toldya!

    peace and love,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  GPA,  med school,  medicine

    gurl bye (revised)

    March 8, 2017

    Hi Aska! So I’m in my fifth year and hoping to go to med school. I’ve heard about the u of t weighing formula, and how they eliminate your lowest FCE for every year of full time study. I did a full course load for 4 of my 5 years (one year I did even did 6 FCEs), but for one of the years I did only 4.5 FCEs. Does this mean they won’t apply the weighing formula to me at all 🙁 Thanks so much in advance!

    ———————————————

    the original march 8th published version of this post contained incorrect information. please disregard the original post. it has since then been revised. please see below for the post. my sincerest apologies for the mistake!

    hey,

    this is a great question.

    what you’re referring to is the weighted GPA formula that we have at u of t for the MD program.

    you should be able to have your lowest 5 FCE’s removed from the calculation of your GPA since you completed 5 full years of undergraduate study. 4.5 FCE’s from fall to winter is still considered full time, so it looks like you’re good! if you want to triple check to make sure, you can always contact them directly!

    (fyi: full-time status= a student enrolled in 3.0 full course equivalents or more for the fall-winter sessions is considered to be full-time.)

    also, the frequently asked questions section of the MD program does state that if you have five years of undergraduate study, you are allowed to eliminate 5 of your lowest FCE’s from your GPA calculation. so there you go!

    since you are applying to med school, check out the OMSAS page on U of T if you haven’t already!

    say bye to those crappy breadth courses you almost failed

    peace and love,

    aska

    aska edit: shortly after posting this, i was notified of a mistake that i had made when looking at what counts as full time. i used the arts and sciences definition of full time when answering your question, and it ended up being drastically different than what medicine considers full time.

    so, as i’m sure you know, from the standpoint of medicine at u of t, in order to be considered full time, you need to be in 5 FCE’s. since you didn’t have 5 FCE’s in your last year, it may throw off your weighted GPA calculation and you may not be eligible to eliminate any of your lowest FCE’s. however, this is up to the discretion of admissions, so contacting them directly is the only way you’ll get a solid answer.

    i sincerely apologize for the mistake and any inconveniences (false hope) it may have caused! this is a student run website and sometimes we make mistakes but we always encourage you to contact the source directly. since your case is a unique case, please please please give them a call or shoot them an email: here is the link to their contact information: http://www.md.utoronto.ca/contact

     

    Read More
  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  life science,  math

    much mystery, such confusion

    January 24, 2017

    I’ve applied to life science and have a 70 in advanced functions. I see the the prerequisites are only English and calculus. How much would you look at that mark if my overall average is around a 86

    ———————————————

    hey,

    *as a student blogger, i won’t be the one looking at your mark at all, so don’t hold me to this answer*

    they will definitely consider your overall average, but they “reserve the right” to look at specific courses depending on what you’re applying for.

    since you’re applying to lifesci, your science grades should be on the higher side. i wouldn’t be toooo concerned about your advanced functions grade if your science grades and overall average are high. keep in mind though, admissions will consider tons of things when they look at your application, not just your grades, so you’ll never really know why you got in or why you didn’t get in. so mysterious.

    hope this was somewhat helpful,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  arts & sciences,  St. George,  stats,  UTM,  UTSC

    i will find you

    January 18, 2017

    Hello! I can’t seem to find the statistics on those that were accepted into the faculty of arts and science. Help would be appreciated!

    ———————————————

    yo,

    stats are hard to find. don’t feel bad. you have come to the right person.

    in addition to being ridiculously charming and hot (like my homeboy liam neeson), i also possess a very particular set of super ninja detective samurai skills. fear not, for i have found what you are looking for.

    there’s this super cool thing called Common University Data Ontario (CUDO) which can give you stats on:

    • Number of degrees awarded, student enrolment and entering averages – all by program;
    • Number of students living on campus and activities offered;
    • Student satisfaction;
    • First-year tuition and ancillary fees by program;
    • Number of teaching faculty;
    • Undergraduate class size, by year level;
    • Research awards granted; and
    • Graduation rates and employment rates by program.

    click on the year that you want to see and voila! you can even look at stats on UTM and UTSG.

    go crazy!

    peace and love,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  averages,  life science,  summer,  UTM

    summer, night school, same diff

    January 16, 2017

    So I am currently a grade 12 student and am planning on applying to UTM for Life science. Please give me a good grasp on this, because I’ve been hearing inconsistent feedbacks from different people, but what is an average that most life science admitted students get around? I have people telling me it is super competitive where you must have high 80s at least, but I also have family friends on their 4th year saying as long as your average is above 80 and around low to mid 80s, there is nothing to worry about? So what do you think it is?

    Also, how focused are they on individual marks instead of averages? because my other courses are in low to high 80s but my advanced functions is stuck in the 70s. So I was wondering if you could give me info on that too.

    Last question, is there any discrimination against courses taken in summer or night school?

    Thank you

    ———————————————

    hi!

    the life science average is available right here and it states that you’ll need low to mid 80’s.  when information is spread from person to person, it can become quite skewed, so it’s always a good idea to go right to the source! keep in mind that admission averages change from year to year and some years can be more competitive than others.

    my understanding is that individual marks aren’t as important as your average, but if you are applying to Life Science and happen to have a high average because of A’s in humanities classes, yet you got a C in Biology, they might see that low biology mark as a red flag. enrolment services will definitely take into account classes that you took which are relevant to the program.

     

    and finally, according to the UTM admissions FAQ: “All courses are considered equivalent, whether it is day school, night school, summer school, private school or online, as long as it is completed through a Ministry of Education recognized institution and it is your first attempt at that course.”

    sound like you’re good!

    peace and love,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  averages,  english,  polisci,  St. George

    ENG 4UofT

    January 10, 2017

    hi! regarding the political science question, is there a specific grade needed in ENG 4U that is needed? i read that for st george, you needed low 80s in ENG 4U. I meet the general admissions marks but my English grade is quite a bit lower than my other 5 subjects.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    like i said in the previous post you’re referring to, at st. george, polisci falls under the social science category, so according to the requirements for ontario high school students, you’ll need an overall average (taken from ENG 4U and your next 5 best U/M courses) that’s in the low to mid 80’s. however, it does also state that you should have at least mid to low 70’s as your ENG 4U grade.

    in terms of a specific grade needed, the best we can do is provide you with this “mid to low 70’s range”. my understanding is that it would be hard for the university to provide specific grades since not all students are admitted solely based on their academic performance.

    hope this answers your question!

    peace and love,

    aska

     

    Read More
  • admissions,  enrollment,  getting into U of T,  international students

    which curriculum though?

    December 8, 2016

    Hi, first I would really really be happy if you could answer my question
    and help me find a solution to my problem… I really appreciate the
    efforts you do to help clueless students like me.

    I am a 12 grader high school student living in Saudi Arabia and I’m
    currently studying in a Saudi

    -supervised American Diploma school section where I study both Saudi and US
    subjects. MY PROBLEM IS, I don’t know which system requirement should I
    follow. I checked the requirement for US system and they just require too
    much.. (2 SAT subject test, SAT, IELTS+)

    I can’t do all of that before the deadline of 1 Feb 2017! In my country
    people start applying in summer after graduation and not during school. ????
    However the Saudi curriculum requirements are so easy they only require
    IELTS.
    Students who study in such merged schooling systems have to ask the MOE for
    a “certificate equivalency” where their transcripts get completely adjusted
    to the Saudi system so they get into colleges (Some Saudi schools don’t
    recognize foreign certificates). My question is; will I be able to get
    admitted as a “Saudi student” if I applied with a “legally” equalized
    certificate?

    I hope you are able to help me

    ———————————————

    hi,

    first of all, thank you for your kind words! i wish i knew all the answers to your questions off the top of my head but sometimes these questions take time to figure out.

    in regards to your question: WOW this is so complicated. this question made no sense to me so i decided to consult a registrar! they know everything. this is what they said.

    “if you are following the saudi system and if the school is recognized by the ministry of education in saudi arabia as eligible to offer the saudi diploma, then applying as a saudi student is okay.

    the “legally” equalized certificate is not the issue, it’s whether or not you are following the saudi system (which it sounds like you are following both saudi and US) and if the school is recognized by the ministry to offer the saudi high school diploma, then applying as a saudi student is fine.

    if your school is only accredited to offer the US diploma, then you must apply as a US student.”

    hope this makes more sense to you than it does to me!

    if you have any more inquiries, enrolment services would probably be the best place to contact!

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  arts & sciences,  colleges,  english,  film

    not another college question

    November 20, 2016

    Hi!
    I’m a student who’s applying internationally for the faculty of arts and
    sciences. And I really don’t understand the college system.
    I mean I do, but like, are there subjects that are not available in all
    colleges? Are there any colleges that are  academically lower than others?
    I’m planning to either major in film or english, is that going to matter?
    Also, how do I do my research about the colleges? I’m really lost about
    this whole situation.

    Thank you so much, your blog really helped clear up a lot of thing.

    ———————————————

    hello,

    i was going to preface this post by saying ‘ugh, not another college question’, but you’ve asked some questions that i think are important to address, so i have no sass for you today.

    let me try addressing your questions one by one.

    1. are there any subjects that are not available in all colleges?

    do you mean to ask if there are any subjects that are exclusive to certain colleges? the answer to that is no. you have access to all courses in the faculty of arts and science regardless of your college affiliation.

    2. are there colleges that are academically lower than other colleges?

    no, not that i know of. there are students who perform well and students who perform poorly at every college. even if there were, we most likely would not be able to disclose that information on aska because that would be hella shady.

    3. i’m planning on majoring in film and english, does that matter?

    not really. innis college IS known for their cinema studies program and there isn’t really ONE college affiliated with english. innis also has a writing and rhetoric program, while vic has literature and critical theory. the only thing that might matter is, for example: you might hear more about cinema studies events if you’re an innis college student. regardless, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem as long as you are subscribed to the right listservs (email subscriptrions). to see a list of every college’s specialty, click here!

    4. how do i conduct research on the colleges?

    you can go on this website and find the tag ‘colleges‘. we’ve answered tons of questions similar to yours and you’re bound to find out a lot about each of them. even browsing reddit or college websites can tell you a lot about them. maybe you’ll find that one particular college gives off a good vibe. like i’ve said in the past, what college you’re part of doesn’t REALLY matter unless you’re thinking of living in residence. there’s also college culture to consider, but you’ll have to find out about those yourself by talking to people from the respective colleges.  if you want more info on the residences offered, check out our ‘residence‘ tag!

    keep in mind that when you’re ranking colleges, some colleges (innis, vic, trin) require you to rank them first.

    choose wisely, my friend.

     

    giphy-2

     

    peace and love,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  getting into U of T,  grades

    c- in grade 9 sewing

    November 15, 2016

    Hi, when I apply to UofT, do I only need to submit my grade 12 grades? or do I need to submit my grades from grade 9, 10, 11 too? Thank you.

    ———————————————

    hi,

    your full transcript will be sent to U of T (including earlier years), meaning they will be able to see your grades all the way back from either grade 8 or 9 (depending on where you’re from). however, admissions will mostly look at your grade 12 marks to see if you have the classes that are required for your program. this is not to say that they won’t take your grade 11 marks into consideration. for ontario high school students, it does say on the website that the university will send out conditional offers based on your grade 11 marks as well as your grade 12 interim and final marks.

    i hope you’ll be as relieved to hear this as i was. if they had considered my grade 9 marks in sewing (or any other subject for that matter), i probably would not have gotten in to U of T.

    giphy

     

    work hard and show’em all you have to offer!

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More