• admissions,  applying for U of T,  averages,  polisci,  social sciences,  St. George,  subject POST,  UTM,  UTSC

    a polisci question on election day

    November 8, 2016

    Hi, what are the approximate averages needed for ontario students to get into BA political science at St George, Mississauga and Scarborough? Thanks

    ———————————————

    hello there,

    first, let’s break this down. at U of T, political science falls under the category of social sciences. if you want to pursue political science, you might consider applying to the social sciences stream after high school.

    once you are accepted, you’ll first have to complete a total of 4.0 FCE’s (full course equivalents, or credits) until you can be accepted into a political science program, be it a major or a minor. 4.o FCE’s just means that you’ll only be able to apply after first year. keep in mind, you don’t necessarily need to get into your program after first year, you can enter in second year and on!

    in terms of admission into the social sciences stream at each campus, you’ll see here that they recommend the following averages: low to mid 80’s for U of T St. George, mid 70’s for UTSC, and mid to high 70’s for UTM.

    before you choose your first year courses, definitely refer to the calendar and look at what courses you’ll have to take and what grades you’ll need to get to be accepted into the polisci program. since i am the nicest stranger you’ll never meet, i’ve linked you to the political science calendar of each campus: UTSG, UTM, and UTSC so you can see what you’ll need. you’re very welcome.

    giphy-5

    i hope you get into polisci and do some good in the world. don’t forget to thank aska when you receive a nobel prize. happy (or unhappy) election day!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  keeners,  lost

    vague and subjective question

    October 29, 2016

    Hello Aska!! I know you hate vague and subjective questions, so I’ll apologize in advice for what I’m about to ask. Sorry! I’m the definition of indecisive, so I have come to you. I’m a senior in high school and there are only two goals I have: 1. Go to UofT 2. Get a high paying job. Now this may be a fool’s dream, but what can I say? Anyway, I have only taken data as my one uni math course, but my English marks are always spectacular. What should I do in UofT?-

    ———————————————

    hello there,

    just to clarify, i only despise questions that demand answers to things that i couldn’t possibly know, like “am i going to get in if i have this grade in this class?” or “i submitted this thing a while ago, why haven’t i heard back? this is my student number. pls help.”

    if you just want a second opinion (or the opinion of a relatively jaded undergrad student) i’m your person!

    see, you say you’re indecisive, but you clearly know what you want. you know that you want to go to U of T and that you want dem dolla dolla billz. ’tis not a fool’s dream. ’tis everyone’s dream.

    i’m not going to outright tell you what you should study. (astrophysics. that is what you should do. it’s super easy.) i know nothing about you, but i can tell by your question that you think you’ll get paid more if you study a program that requires math. it’s great that your english marks are spectacular, but what do you really want to do? you may be good at english, but do you enjoy it? do you have a passion for literature?

    on the other hand, are you going to be happy in a program that requires math? do you even like math? (ew who likes math)

    once you get your undergrad degree, are you thinking of pursuing grad school?

    you might feel like i’m not helping since i’m throwing more questions at you, but these are questions that you should really consider.

    you’re a young’un. at this point in your life, as a senior in high school, the possibilities are truly endless. there are so many different paths you could take. don’t be afraid to choose a path different than the one you imagined yourself taking. heck, for the longest time, i hadn’t even considered coming to U of T for university.

    *aska storytime*

    when i started 12th grade, i actually had my heart set on a university in my hometown. i went on a campus tour, located the nearest mcdonalds, and found pretty much every starbucks on campus. i was so ready.

    everything changed when all my friends were applying to schools in the east. i felt some hardcore fomo and decided to apply to U of T, just for the heck of it. i didn’t think i would get in, but i did!

    the moral of this story is, i didn’t end up walking down the path that i thought i would, and things still worked out amazingly well in the end.

    *end of aska storytime*

    dolla dolla billz are definitely important to take into account, but you need to remember that lots of employment opportunities come from knowing the right people. the most valuable piece of advice i could give you right now is to get as much work/ volunteer experience as you can. maintain professionalism and consistency in everything you do. as a result, you’ll have great references and people will be more likely to recommend you for other jobs.

    in conclusion: don’t think about your program of study with your potential future income in mind! there are so many things that can happen along the way which can shape what your future turns out to be. your eventual failure or success won’t have had anything to do with this one choice you made in university. but if you don’t like what you’re studying, you’ll dread every class you sit through, and you won’t want to go to class. trust me, i know what it’s like.

    anyways, i’ll end my rant here, but i just want you to know:

    i hope you choose something you love. best of luck to you!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  askastudent love/hate,  getting into U of T,  OUAC,  undergrad

    asap yo

    September 27, 2016

    hi! first, thank you for all the work that you do! it has deterred many mental breakdowns and instinctive stress eating for me. second, i’d like to ask you a question about when i should start applying for uoft’s faculty of arts and science at st. george. see, i’m a little paranoid about applying too early (like, october to early november) because i heard that means they’ll look into your grade eleven marks and those really aren’t my best (i think i had, like, ib precalculus and ib art at a 79%?). but i’m also afraid of applying a little too late. when do you think would be a good time to start the application process??
    thanks!

    ———————————————

    hello!

    thank YOU for thanking us! sometimes, it can get a little overwhelming when trying to answer everyone’s questions, especially since there is only one aska at the moment. people can even get mad at us if we don’t respond in time, when really, all urgent matters should be taken elsewhere. we would not be here if it weren’t for people like you having mental breakdowns*. thank you for your kind words and patience. it means a lot.

    applying to schools is a lengthy and arduous process and i would recommend you get started as soon as the application comes out. the U of T website states that applications will be available in october, so i recommend that you log into the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) as soon as it’s available and start making your application as appealing as possible. think long and hard about your personal statements and make them genuine.

    starting early will give you tons of time to ask your guidance counsellor/ askastudent/ upper-years questions and it’ll give you one less thing to worry about when you’re making the most of your last year of high school!

    the application deadline is february 1st, so make sure you have your application in by then.

    you’ll also need to rank your colleges at some point and for that, i would recommend you check out our other posts about colleges!

    if you want more guidance in this process, this link will give you a good idea of what the application process is like.

    best of luck to you and I hope we’ll see you around!

    cheers,

    aska

     

    *don’t even get me started on the stress eating. i wolfed down an ice cream sandwich, a twinkie, and half a box of chocolate covered triscuits while writing this post.*

     

     

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  • admissions,  english,  first year,  homeschooling

    lost in admission wonderland

    September 27, 2016

    Greetings, I have question that may be a little confusing. I’m a homeschooler that applied earlier this year in hopes that could get into the English program. Unfortunately I got rejected :/ I took ENG4U earlier last month because English is required in my program but I’m wondering, is it worth trying to apply again? ;;

    ———————————————

    hey,

    as someone who was not homeschooled, i’m not sure how the whole process works but i’ll try my best to answer your question regardless.

    if i’m not mistaken, your question is basically asking my opinion on whether or not you should apply.

    my answer is: why not?

    if you want to come to U of T badly enough, the best plan of action would definitely be to apply! i don’t think i need to go into detail about what makes U of T the best school in canada. if you can handle harsh winters, competitive classmates, and an overall feeling of desperation, you should definitely come to U of T. you’ll receive an amazing education and although school will be hard, you’ll come out bulletproof.

    i definitely think it’s worth a shot if you really want to come here, but you should also apply to other schools as fallback options.

    if your question is whether or not you will get in, i cannot say for sure because it’s up to admissions!

    you can contact them here, depending on which campus you’re applying to.

    in general, even if you meet all the requirements for admission, we still can’t say whether or not you’ll get in, mostly because there are so many things that admissions will consider on your application. your best bet is to contact them directly.

    good luck with your application (if you apply)!

    see you around! maybe. hopefully.

    cheers,

    aska

     

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  • admissions,  international students,  UTM

    math is hard

    September 14, 2016

    Im an international student going to UTM for commerce. I did my AS levels and got As in Accounts and Economics but somehow my math grade slipped from a 100% in school to a C in final grade. Will UTM take back my offer of admission or not allow me in the commerce program?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    to be honest, that seems like quite a significant drop in your grade so it may be possible that they will rescind your offer. however, we really have no idea and it would benefit you to check with admissions at UTM to ask about your own unique situation.

    i know we say “ask us anything” but this is one of those situations where we really have no idea of knowing, simply because we don’t work for admissions. however, if you do have any other questions regarding student life or other academics throughout your time at U of T, feel free to send them to us and we’d be happy to answer them for you!

    regardless, i wish you all the best in your upcoming semester! i hope it all worked out for you!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  first year

    killed, or worse, NOT ACCEPTED TO UOFT

    July 25, 2016

    Hello,

    Sorry to bother you, but I have few questions about the IB Diploma. I was accepted into University of Toronto Mississauga on December 11, 2015. I completed my IB tests around May and got the results earlier this month in July.
    I was very sad to see that I had not been awarded the IB Diploma. I was only one point off.
    I am in somewhat of a panic mode and very stressed about what will happen. The letter said that they reserved the right to pull my acceptance.
    Does that mean they will definitely pull my acceptance? Or is there a little hope for me?
    Is there anything I can do to decrease the chance of my acceptance being pulled at this point?

    Thank You!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    it is possible that your offer could still be revoked if you didn’t meet the conditions of your acceptance. before you get into a full-on TIZZY however, please note that it is very rare for this to happen. a couple of percentage points is not the kind of thing uoft will send you packing for. if there was a severe drop in your marks between December and now, then that may be something to worry about, but usually the kind of kids uoft attract tend to…how shall i put this delicately…blow things out of proportion a little bit.

    even after years of answering first year questions, i still don’t entirely understand how IB works, so i don’t really know what “not being awarded the IB Diploma” means. i would say that if that was a condition of your acceptance and you didn’t meet it, you should definitely speak with enrolment services about your concerns. if you were only one point off, however, that’s not usually something to get hugely worried about.

    i know that was a lot of waffle with not a lot of certainty, but i wanted to give you a balanced answer. the best thing to do is really to talk to enrolment services, because they can look at the details of your record and give you a much more precise answer than i can.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  international students

    i’m not sure what happened here

    July 22, 2016

    Hi i’m an international student hoping to come to uoft after graduating in december this year! i was wondering when uoft intakes are? is there only a fall intake?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately, if you’re applying for admission to uoft as an international student, you can only apply for the Fall session, i.e. the session beginning in September 2017. the application process starts in late September/early October 2016 though, so make sure to read up on how to apply so that you don’t miss any deadlines!

    assuming you get in, you’ll have like nine empty months between graduation and coming to uoft, and unless you’re diligent at keeping yourself busy, you run the risk of becoming very, very bored. in the interest of combating that, i have compiled a list of potential activities for you:

    1. make a humongous house of cards. as you build, think about how it symbolizes he precariousness of your life at this moment in time, floating between two schools, two realities, two versions of yourself. the card house crashes down. you become someone else.

    2. go on a trip. if you can’t afford to go on a trip because you’re saving all your money for university, fantasize about going on a trip.

    3. make candles with a bro – even though it’s a cliche.

    4. commune with the spirit of aska’s lost motivation. i’ll pay you $10 if you can convince it to come back to me.

    5. transcend time and space. dance with Jupiter, which is only the size of a thimble in your massive, loving, purple palm. stare at yourself in a mirror. you can see yourself at every age, simultaneously. you understand that you are infinite. time is not frozen but you exist outside of it, and you watch it melting slowly like an ice cream sundae. you open your mouth to laugh, and a flock of swallows come out of your throat. they freeze on impact with space, hanging amongst the stars like a cosmic mobile.

    6. kick back with a couple of beers. no wait. you’re probably like 17, aren’t you? apple juices.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  colleges,  extracurricular,  first year,  international relations,  peace and conflict

    Yet Another Anxious High School Kid TM

    July 20, 2016

    Hey Aska,

    Firstly, thank you so much for this site! I’ve been checking it every few days since i found out about it, and thanks to you I’m slightly less likely to have a full on panic attack when i apply to uni.

    I’m starting grade 12 in an Ontario high school in the fall, and i want to apply for social sciences at uoft, probably for either International Relations or Peace, Conflict and Justice. My grades aren’t /amazing/, but I’ll probably have an average in the mid to high eighties when I have to send them in, so…ok?

    I do a lot of extracurricular stuff- I’m the president of a social-justice-y club, the editor of the school newspaper and I will have
    been a “senior mentor” for two years, and I know I can get recommendation letters from each of these. (sorry if this sounds like the pretentious part of a resume, I can’t help it) Even if these positions would be irrelevant with regards to admissions, would they (or recommendation letters) help me with anything else, like getting into the college of my choice, school clubs or scholarships?

    Also, do you think International Relations or Peace, Conflict and Justice would be more relevant to a career in human rights?

    Thank you so much!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m glad my sass and bad humour calm you down, kid. i mean, it’s kinda weird, but i’ll roll with it. what’s your deal? are you a sucker for pain? if so, uoft will be the perfect choice for you. it’s a match made in a 9am calculus class!

    while i appreciate the vagueness of your question about admissions and the probably unintentional john green reference, i still can’t give you a straight answer. i’m not about to risk going against a decision made by admissions. all i can do is point you to this chart right here; feel free to compare and contrast, and draw your own conclusions.

    as for your extracurricular experience, you’re exactly right. it will all mean diddly-squat in terms of admission to the university, but it will come in handy for scholarship applications, the experience may be valuable when it comes to joining clubs in university, and it can – potentially – be useful for college applications.

    not all colleges in the faculty of arts & science require supplemental applications. in fact, most don’t. the only colleges that actually require an application are victoria college and trinity college, because they’re kooky like that. if you’re interested in either of those colleges however, their student profile application forms will be your chance to shine.

    finally, your program question: IR and PCJ are two peas in a pod. you can’t go wrong with either of them. i wouldn’t worry so much about which one will be more relevant (especially since ‘human rights’ isn’t that specific a goal in itself). a better way to narrow them down is to look at the practical implications of each choice.

    for example, you’ll need to determine is whether you’re after the specialists or majors in IR/PCJ. the difference between a specialist and a major is that a specialist asks that you complete more credits (13.0 for IR and 12.0 for PCJ), and therefore, one specialist is enough for you to obtain your degree. majors require fewer credits (both IR and PCJ require 7.5 FCEs for their majors), and therefore if you’re in an IR or PCJ major, you’ll have to supplement it with either one other major, or two other minors.

    content-wise, all four options (the IR specialist, PCJ specialist, IR major, and PCJ major) are pretty similar, but there are subtle differences in terms of which courses you would need to take for each. study each program on the course calendar to get a feel for which would be the best fit for you.

    if you really can’t decide, consider a double major in PCJ and IR. they complement each other wonderfully.

    my final piece of advice is this: keep your options open. all of these programs are type 3 programs, which means that even if you meet all the prerequisites in first year, you still may not get into the program, since there are limited spots for enrolment. what i’m saying is: backups are non-optional, and be ready for plan B to become plan A.

    but don’t worry about ANY OF THAT right now, because you still have a year left of high school and subject POSt enrolment is at least two years away. a lot can happen in two years, so take it easy. enjoy your summer break. play pokemon go. try to be a kid again.

    you can start by closing this tab and looking at prom outfits in the next one.

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. thanks for providing the perfect title for this post in your e-mail subject line. i love the self-deprecation. keep it up and you might even be as great as aska, one day.

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  • admissions,  architecture,  internal transfer,  transcripts,  Transferring

    “JOINuoft” – but WHEN?

    June 7, 2016

    Hey aska, I’m a first year student currently in UTSC’s City Studies program (technically going to 2nd year as finals are over) however I reapplied to UofT’s St.George’s architecture program for an internal transfer. I submitted my application during January and the only update I have received on the status of my application (via joinUoT portal) was that my final transcript is needed. This was in the beginning of April. I know results won’t instantly be given right after finals happened but I received all my marks and my final gpa last 2 weeks and the final transcript box in my joinUofT portal still isn’t checked in and still has the “Finals Required” note there. When can I expect a notification on my acceptance for the architecture program? I’m still on the fence on selecting courses for summer school as I already finished my breadth requirements and I don’t want to waste money on courses I won’t need in the future as architecture is still a possibility. Thanks!! An anxious student awaiting for his UofT JD acceptance

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately, these things can take a while. according to this page, the deadline for schools to submit supplemental documents is June 15th. I can’t find anything that concretely states when you might expect to hear back by, but to be honest, that’s not surprising to me. these admissions deadlines don’t tend to be widely publicized. you can call enrolment services for that info, but i wouldn’t be surprised if you had to wait until past June 15th to hear back.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  rotman

    sweatin’ through high school english

    June 6, 2016

    Hi, I am just wondering if Rotman frowns upon doing ENG4U online during the summer. Will they admit someone over me who has done it in day school?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i can’t find anything online indicating that there would be a difference, and to be honest, my intuition would say that a good mark is a good mark, regardless of how you took it. lots of people fast track courses (especially English, the English specialist grumbles bitterly under her breath), so i doubt that would be a deciding factor for them.

    however, you can always feel free to contact the Rotman program office and ask this question.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  americans

    the American Dream (to come to uoft)

    April 26, 2016

    Hi there,

    a couple questions that I hope you could help me with. I’m an American student and have been working for a year after finishing my undergraduate degree in business administration, but now want to go back to school to study humanities, which I’d actually enjoy.

    Should I retake my SATs though? My scores back from 11th grade were pretty mediocre: reading 620, math 790, writing 670. I know I’d do significantly better if i retake. Will UofT accept new scores or even want me to submit SAT at all?

    My high school GPA was weighted 3.7 and unweighted 3.5, last year of uni was 3.1/3.2ish, uni overall 3.2; do I stand a chance being accepted into UofT?

    Thanks in advance!

    Best regards,

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    ah, a Yank! so you want to come up into the frigid north and read some Atwood (probably) in our poorly insulated refriger-classes, huh? well, good on you. i always admire someone who’s coming back to school to pursue a passion. even if it is in this icy chillscape.

    it seems like the university will want you to submit your SAT scores. all the scores you’ve cited, however, are higher than what’s “been presented by successful applicants” in the past, to paraphrase admissions. so that’s a good sign. i don’t know too much about the SATs and what constitutes a good score, but a cursory look at the requirements seems to indicate that you don’t absolutely have to retake them.

    as for your GPA, that’s harder to compare. every university has a slightly different GPA system, even if many of them use a 4.0 scale like uoft. that being said, if you finished with a 3.2 and we assume that the scales at both universities are roughly the same, then you finished with a ‘B’ average, which makes you a competitive transfer applicant.

    all in all, i can’t guarantee that you will be accepted, or that you won’t be. from the information that you’ve given me, it could go one way or the other. the thing is, if it’s something you want to do, you have to try.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    weight-list

    April 25, 2016

    Hey Student,

    So I’m under waiting list. I called them because that is what the internet told me to or even to send an email. I’m currently part of Top 5 within the list. They refresh the list every month. I know this might be a stupid question but I just want re-assurance with a stranger that maybe I’ll get in. They said I’m in Top Five and chances are good. Its only April and I have until August to know if I got in or not. I just get really anxious because I really do want to get in and its my first choice.

    Thought I’d email you about it and hear an input. I’ve never been wait-listed before.

    Sincerely yours,
    Anxious person.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    it’s not a stupid question. unfortunately, there are a lot of things you can be waitlisted for at uoft, and you haven’t specified what your situation is. have you been waitlisted for a course? a program of study? admission to an undergraduate program? a graduate program? i’m not sure.

    given the time of year, however, i’m gonna take a shot in the dark and assume that you’re talking about undergraduate admission.

    i understand that you want reassurance. hey, sometimes a stranger’s reassurance is the best kind of assurance, because you can be certain that a stranger has no ulterior motive in reassuring you. and i know that being put on a wait list can place a terrible weight on your shoulders (see what i did there?). unfortunately, because i am a stranger – and more importantly, a stranger who has no part in making admissions decisions – i have no information to go on. i don’t know what your marks look like, or what program you’re applying to, so i can’t even begin to guess how likely you are to be accepted off the waitlist.

    if you haven’t already, i’d recommend you get in touch with enrolment services (if indeed this is a question about undergraduate admissions). if you call them, you can have a specific discussion about marks and your prospects – though they may just tell you to wait until August, so be prepared for that. nonetheless, they’re a lot more equipped to handle your question than i am.

    just keep in mind: enrolment services is incredibly busy and you may be on hold for a while if you choose to call them. but they’re definitely the people you want to be talking to.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  international students

    patience, padawan

    April 21, 2016

    Hey there,
    I am a first year engineering student at university in Washington and currently hold a 3.7 GPA (9.2% grade). I did really well in high school as well. I already applied for a transfer I UofT for mechanical engineering and I really need to know when I can expect to hear a response? I really want to find a place to live and also apply for a student visa. Also do they look at international transfers differently?

    ———————————————

    hi there,

    i can’t tell you when you’ll hear back from uoft. not only do i not know when you, specifically, will hear back, i don’t even know when different rounds of offers are given, or to whom. it’s very likely that you’ll hear back in May, but again, i’m really not in a position to be able to give specifics.

    i know that it’s frustrating to be in this limbo, because you need to get a move on with visas and residence. i wish everyone heard back early, with plenty of time to figure out everything else relating to university; unfortunately, it takes time, and i have very little influence over that. (or anything else, really – like, i barely have influence over my own sleep schedule).

    competitive transfer students to the faculty of applied science & engineering generally have at least a 3.2 GPA, and you need to have completed the prerequisites at the high school level as well. if you meet (and even exceed, as you seem to) those requirements, then – congrats! you’re a competitive applicant. being international does not necessarily hinder your application; your grades will be valued holistically to determine your suitability for the program.

    of course, i can’t by any means guarantee that you will be accepted. transferring is a competitive process, especially in engineering. there are few spots and lots of hopefuls. but i will say that meeting and exceeding standards published by uoft is never a bad sign.

    cheers,

    aska

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