• 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

    Read More
  • 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

    Read More
  • 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

    Read More
  • 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

    Read More
  • admissions

    $20 for palm reading

    April 13, 2016

    I’m in my first year, and looking to transfer from UTSC to UTSG. However, I failed one of my courses :'( and right now my GPA is probably around 3.36 ish. Is there a possibility I can still get in? Do they look individually at each course or collectively?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i would say there is still a possibility. a 3.36 is a B+, which is above the minimum mark you need to be competitive if you’re transferring from another university. there is no explicit minimum CGPA for an internal transfer, but given the standard applied to external transfers, i’d say that’s a competitive CGPA.

    as for how they assess your marks, the main considerations are CGPA and program prerequisites. if the course you failed is a prerequisite for the program you applied to, that may present a problem. if it’s a course that will be largely irrelevant to the program you’ve applied to and the rest of your transcript looks pretty good, then i’d say your chances are much better. like, if you failed first-year econ and got 80s in your French courses and you’re transferring to French, admissions is more likely to downplay the importance of the econ course.

    as always, i’m not involved in the admissions process, so all of this is based on careful reading of uoft websites and what i’ve picked up over the years. there are many factors that go into deciding whether or not to admit someone, and you may receive a decision that contravenes what i’ve said in this post. except it won’t be contravening it, because of this disclaimer: i am not a 100% accurate predictor of admissions decisions. i’m more like a fortune teller with a neon sign who works on yonge street: lots of practice means i will sometimes get things right, but not always.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions

    look down

    April 13, 2016

    Hi, I recently got a conditional offer to st George u of t social sciences. The condition was have a 75% overall average at the end of June, and a 75 in English. We have a report card coming out in mid April and I was wondering if my marks dropped by then, will I lose my offer? Or do they wait to see my final June report card so I can increase my marks??

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i don’t usually do this, but my answer to this question would be literally identical to the one i just answered, so: see my previous post. thanks!

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions

    even the potential for rejection is too much

    April 12, 2016

    So i received a conditional offer from utsc YASSS but they explicitly stated they want 4.0, so an A in the letter. Am i going to get my offer revoked if I got B or B+? (somewhere at 3.5) :”(

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    your use of GPAs instead of percentages is really throwing me off. do you go to a really fancy high school that uses GPAs instead of percentages? is uoft just using its own GPA system in its admission letter? are YOU trying to be clear by translating letter grades to a uoft GPA? are you transferring from UTM or UTSG, or another university? who knows. i’ll just have to cover all my bases.

    if the university’s admission offer?requires you stay at an A and you get a B/B+ as your final average, there is, of course, the chance that your offer will be revoked. i don’t want to deny that, especially (though not only) because i don’t need angry high schoolers chasing me down because they didn’t get into uoft when i said they would.

    however, a B/B+ is not THAT much lower than an A, in high school terms at least. the difference between a 3.5 and a 4.0 is actually pretty significant in uoft terms, but since i’m not sure whether that’s your high school GPA system or ours, i’m just going to ignore it and talk about the letter grade.

    ultimately, grade drops usually have to be pretty severe for an offer of admission to be revoked. i would strongly advise you to do your very best to try to meet the conditions of your offer of admission, because if you don’t, the offer?could be?revoked. that being said, there’s no need necessarily to FREAK OUT over a B+ when they’re asking for an A.

    if you’re transferring, i would say the same applies. usually, you need a ‘B’ average (including prerequisites) to be competitive when transferring from another university, so if you dip down below a 4.0 it’s likely not the end of the world. though, again, if you’re not meeting your conditions, it is a possibility.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions

    second chances

    March 16, 2016

    hi aska,
    today i received a refused admission to my first choice and got an alternate offer. i was wondering if i can still send in my midterm transcript to still be considered or is this a straight up rejection for my?first choice. keep in mind that i only sent in my interim marks before the deadline because i’m from BC. im sad but not really..thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m assuming you mean you were rejected from your first choice of program and received an offer to another program. since i don’t know what your first choice was, what the alternative is, and what campus you’ve applied to, i really can’t help you out that much.

    generally speaking, offers of admission are final. however, there’s no law against calling an office and asking a question, so if you really want to, you can ask whether there would be any value in sending in your midterm transcript marks. if you’ve applied to the downtown campus, a great place to pose this question would be enrolment services.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  first year

    sharing life advice (or, giving old people a sense of purpose)

    March 4, 2016

    Hi aska, first off you are hilarious and I have spent the past hour just reading your answers to various questions.

    I have a few questions today to ask. I am a grade 11 student and i want to apply to the UTSC International Development Arts Co-Op program. However I have not taken any advanced levels of math apart from workplace to get my final required math credit. In grade 12 I will be taking 6 different social sciences courses. How do you think the lack of math will affect my application because from what i’ve heard it is quite a competitive program? Also, how does the year at U of T work, when do semesters start and end?

    Mostly, I am just worried that I won’t get accepted to this program and then if I do that the workload will quite literally kill me. Any advice for preparing myself for university and U of T would be nice.

    Thank You

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    ME? hilarious? in this economy??? as a taxpayer, i find that irresponsible and unacceptable.

    if your top 6 4U/M courses (including English) are strong, then i don’t think that the lack of math will affect your application, since IDS does not require calculus. as with this person, that only is my best guess, but i don’t know for sure because UNFORTUNATELY, i am not responsible for admitting students. if i was, punny stream-of-consciousness personal essays would probably determine whether or not people got into their programs. and i know rotman and computer science would have a problem with that.

    the one thing i will caution you, though, is that MGEA01H3 and MGEA05H3 are required for the IDS specialist. neither of these courses require calculus, but “algebra and graphs are used extensively,” and that kind of thing is not covered in workplace math. if i were you, i would consider taking grade 11 mixed math, or perhaps even functions, so you can have a basic understanding of this kind of mathematics before you’re thrown into it in first year.

    UTSC is a strictly semesterly campus. the fall semester goes from September-December (with exams in December), the winter semester goes from January-April (with exams in April), and the summer semester goes from May-August (with exams in June and August for half-credit courses, and August for courses worth 1.0 credit).

    my advice for preparation is that you 1) really do consider doing as much math as you can stomach. it will help you in the long run. 2) some people have good experiences at university and some people have not-so-good experiences, but i think that the following advice is helpful for pretty much anybody:

    • do not feel like you have to only do school while you’re in school. lots of first-years drop extra-curriculars, jobs, and hobbies in first year because they feel like they need more time to adjust to school and can’t do as much as they did in grade 12. it is true that you’ll need to use first year to adjust to university, but i’ve found that getting involved makes it easier to adjust, not more difficult. you can always drop things if you’ve taken on too much, but don’t hesitate to even try. getting involved helps you feel like you’re part of a community, which can make you feel more invested in your school work – and that’s good, not bad, for your academics.
    • sometimes you will fall asleep on your commute. don’t beat yourself up about it. you can’t always be doing readings on the train/bus.
    • ask questions!!!!! no one else knows what the heck they’re doing, either. you will not look stupid if you ask a question. this applies for classes but also just generally: if you have a question about university policy/procedure, ask it. do not just listen to what your friends are saying, because they are probably wrong. ask your registrar’s office. Google things. double check stuff.
    • take pride in your work. university is hard. you are doing a great job – even if sometimes it doesn’t feel like it.
    • plan ahead. listen, if you got through high school without an agenda or a calendar and you think you can pull the same thing in university, you are wrong. you will 100% for certain be more successful if you have some method by which to schedule your time, so find one that works for you, pronto.
    • let your plans change. medical school and law school are not the only options for your future. there are lots of challenging, fulfilling, well-paying, well-respected jobs that you’ve never heard of and that YOU CAN LOVE. and no one will think you are a failure for doing them. they will think you are an adult.
    • don’t give up. you will get a mark that you never got in high school. maybe you will get a lot of marks that you didn’t get in high school. firstly, that does not signal the end of your university career – first year does not have to foreshadow your second, third and fourth years. secondly: even if you do decide to leave, or transfer, or take a break from school, you are not giving up. as long as you are doing what’s right for you, you’re doing alright.
    • con hall classes suck, but they’re not forever.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions

    U or M

    March 2, 2016

    Hi aska! So I know that UofT accepts both U and M level courses as a part of your top six (I’ve applied to Humanities, so my only prerequisite is U level English), but I was wondering if they would prioritize accepting students with more U level courses since they’re technically supposed to be “””harder”””.

    Because of various course-scheduling conflicts and certain courses no longer being offered at my school, I am only taking two grade 12 U courses (English and Philosophy) and the rest of them are M (all drama and music courses). I got 95% in English (ENG4U1) first semester, and knowing my teachers and how I’ve been doing so far I’m guessing my final top 6 average at the end of the year will be above 90, but I’m just worried that I’d be at a disadvantage because I’m not taking many U level courses….

    Thanks for any help you can offer!!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    this is one of those admissions questions that i won’t be able to give you an exact answer to, not because i don’t want to, but because i don’t have the answer. unfortunately, you’ll just have to make your peace with that.

    i am inclined to say that because you are entering into the humanities and Grade 12 English is typically the only required course for the humanities, it shouldn’t impact your application too much. at a lot of high schools, drama and music are only offered at the M level, and so if you want to take those courses, you don’t really have the opportunity to take them at the U level.

    your M courses shouldn’t put you at a disadvantage when entering first year, since many first-year humanities courses are in areas that simply aren’t taught in high school. that means everyone is encountering it for the first time. and if it shouldn’t impact your studies, then it stands to reason that it also shouldn’t impact your application.

    SO my logic would be that as long as your GPA is competitive and it includes prerequisites, you should be fine.

    if you’d like some more nuanced information, i’d recommend you talk to enrolment services. they can give you the lowdown.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  rotman

    rotman hopefuls break your heart

    February 19, 2016

    Hi,

    My name is [redcated] and I am currently in Grade 11. I am wanting to get into the Rotman Commerce program but am becoming more nervous and stressed out as I get closer and closer to University applications. So, my question is: how strict are the admission requirements how steep has the competition been the last few years? For example, would I still have a chance of getting admitted if I had 75% in Calculus and what was the minimum average requirement for the past few years.

    Best

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you must be new here, my friend! as many frustrated high schoolers before you will tell you, aska has literally no information about admission statistics that isn’t already publicly available.

    that being said, here’s what i do know:

    i’ll never say never, BUT the rotman site does say that you should have received a mark in the mid- to high-80s in calculus to be considered. since they list it under “Minimum admissions requirements,” i’d say it’s pretty important.

    as for a cut-off, the closest thing i can give you to that is the anticipated admission grade average for fall 2015: for Rotman, it was in the mid- to high-80s. keep in mind, this is your top 6 4U/M courses including english and calculus.

    i am wondering, though: have you already done calculus? surely you’ve only done functions since you’re only in grade 11? you can’t have fast-tracked that much.

    if you’re freaking out about your calculus mark before you’ve even done the course: firstly, calm down. go have a hot chocolate and watch some netflix or something.

    SECONDLY: you have lots and lots of time to prevent this issue from even happening. if you’re not doing so well in functions and you’re worried about how it will impact your calculus mark, then take the time now to improve as much as you can! get a tutor for the summer. take advantage of time, wherever you can find it. you can do this.

    good luck with your application.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  international students

    international fees *sips tea*

    February 16, 2016

    Hello! I have several questions to ask you, being an international student looking to transfer to U of T. First of all, why does the application fee cost so much? It is $100 more than the cost of applying to an university in the US.
    Also, is it normal to pay the fee before turning in all the needed documents? It asked me to pay for it right after I filled out the online information portion.
    Lastly, I accidentally pressed something that said ‘thanks for submitting your application, please send pay your fee by mail’. Can I pay online instead?
    Thank you for your help!! 🙂

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    it costs so much because you’re an international student. it costs $150 to apply to up to three universities for Ontario residents. for you guys, it costs $165, plus the extra $90 fee from uoft. you’ll have to get used to paying more as an international student if you want to come here, because canada is VERY UNFAIR and the universities love to money-grab wherever they can.*

    you’re supposed to send the fee online, according to the bottom of this page on the OUAC site. i’m not sure if maybe the uoft fee can be sent separately – as per usual, the university website is of absolutely no help with that.**

    if you want to pay online and you’re not sure how to do so, what i would do is call enrolment services. they can help you out.

    cheers,

    aska

    * although, to be fair, U.S. universities do this, too. but i’m not here to judge.

    **or maybe it is and i just can’t find the right page. it wouldn’t be the first time. though i do have to say that trying to find information on the collection of disparate websites that make up uoft’s online presence is like being dropped in the middle of a foreign continent and being told, “Okay, we need you to get to Billy’s Burger Shack. It’s a favourite around here! You’ll find it in no time!” meanwhile, you’re panicking because you have no idea where this place is. who’s billy? where is his shack? what country are you in? is that an ocean or a sea in the distance? you don’t know. you may never find out.

    Read More
  • admissions,  rotman

    econ will getcha, even in high school

    February 12, 2016

    Hey there,
    Can’t tell you how much I appreciate about the existence of this site. As you can see from my subject, I’m a current grade 12 students who is struggling with my average and considering retaking a course. My average, I would say it would be around 88-90ish. I know people have a higher chance at getting offer with an average 93-97ish, but I still have my hopes up! Anyways, my school is a 2 semesters system, and I’m taking economics 12 in the first semester. However, I’m not satisfied about where I’m getting right now for economics (84% FYI). I’m thinking to retake economics in the second semester, and I’m wondering how would u of t see my marks since I’ll be having 2 marks, one original and one retake. I heard some universities will average up between the original and the retake mark, and some universities will take some marks off from the retake mark. Thank you so
    much for answering my questions.

    Best regards.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    the subject line of your e-mail says that you’re applying to Rotman commerce, which makes the answer a little bit different from usual. rotman commerce does not consider retakes, so it probably wouldn’t make much sense to retake economics for that reason. that being said, depending on the other programs you’ve applied to at other schools, you may want to retake it if those other universities do accept repeated attempts.

    also, if you’ve applied to other streams at uoft (e.g. humanities, social sciences, etc.) then the repeated course won’t be completely discredited, but it will impact your application in that preference will be shown to students whose marks were the result of a single attempt.

    finally, do keep in mind that the only required course for Rotman (in addition to English) is calculus. that means that if your economics mark is not within your top six 4U/M courses (including calculus and English), it won’t be part of your admissions average at all. so another way of approaching this pickle you’re in might be to take another course next semester in which you anticipate you’ll do really well, and boot economics out of your top 6.

    best of luck with your application, mi amigo. i wish you a fabulous businessy future, full of tapered dress pants and not-too matchy-matchy suit jackets.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More