• 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

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  • 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

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  • 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.

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  • 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

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  • admissions,  grad school,  grades

    automatically rejected?

    February 5, 2016

    Hey,

    So im a 3rd year physics specialist, and i took a course That was not required for my degree( Just for the fun of it) and i got the mark back and its 50. This Is the first time i have gotten a mark like This. I am usually a high 70-low 80 Student. I had prospects for physics graduate school at uoft and some other school in Ontario. M’y question Is: How Bad Is going to look on applications or am i automatically rejected? Also, Is it possible to ask my college to base This course on a cr/ncr basis? I only took the course for fun. It has nothing to do with my study. The test of my marks for This semester have been 3.7-4.0, So Can i make a case That This Is not a representation of my academic ability? I am worried because Most Schools look at last two years and This Is going to be a cold sore of sorts in my transcript. Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you can always ask, but it’s unlikely that your college will make the course credit/non-credit after the course is over. like, very unlikely.

    however, the fact that your mark is so unusual, and that it has nothing to do with physics, can only help your application to graduate school. that means that when a graduate admissions committee looks at your transcript, they are more likely to see this particular mark as a fluke. yes, it might cause your GPA to dip a little, but it’s not going to ruin your chances.

    the M.Sc. requires at least a B+ average or better, so if you’ve been sitting at a 3.7+ GPA, this mark probably will not be the tipping point from accepted to not. in other words, your GPA leaves wiggle room for a mark like this.

    now i want to be clear that i’m not guaranteeing your admission to any program: competition varies widely from year to year and i can’t make very accurate predictions because i haven’t seen your transcript. all i’m saying is that all hope is not lost.

    something that might help your application, if you feel comfortable doing so, is sending an explanatory letter along with your application. most admissions committees will allow you to send along a letter explaining any unique circumstances or unusual results. you can use this opportunity to explain the outlying mark – just make sure to ask whether they’ll accept such a letter first.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  international relations

    IRe over IR requirements

    January 27, 2016

    Hello!
    I’m in grade 12 now and really hoping to get into International Relations at U of T! I read online that math was recommended….but unfortunately I didn’t take it this year. It’s not my best subject, but I could probably switch into if I had too. I’m just wondering if I won’t get in unless I have that credit…like will I not be accepted? It would probably bring down my average a ton (93%), but getting in is super important to me. I’m not really worried about doing economics in first year without it, as I would take the lower level course. Please advise!! Thank you:)

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    before we get started, a quick primer on how programs work at uoft: to get a degree from the faculty of arts & science, you need to be in one specialist, two majors, or one major and two minors. none of these combinations are better or more prestigious than any others – it’s all about how you want to organize your degree.

    so, depending on whether you want to stick strictly (there’s a tongue twister) to IR, or add some other disciplines to your studies, you might be more interested in either the IR specialist or the major, respectively.

    if you want to do the specialist, they do recommend that you take ECO100Y1 instead of 105Y1 (which is the less intense version of 100), so you would need to take advanced functions and calculus for that course.

    since you don’t apply directly to programs in your first year, you definitely wouldn’t get rejected from uoft based on not having the math (i’m assuming you applied to the humanities or social science stream, which doesn’t require math) – however, once you get here, you wouldn’t be able to take ECO100, and therefore be eligible to apply for the IR specialist, UNLESS you had taken advanced functions and calculus in high school.

    if you’re concerned about your average, one thing i might suggest is taking those two maths in summer school. keep in mind that you’ll still likely have to send those transcripts in to the university, so you’ll need to maintain a certain average, but hopefully there won’t be as much pressure as during the school year, and you can really focus on doing well.

    if you want to do the major, things are a little different. the IR major will accept both ECO100Y1 and ECO105Y1, and doesn’t indicate any preference for one or the other. ECO105Y1 does NOT require or recommend that you take calculus beforehand.

    this is a lot to think about, but don’t worry: you have time to think about it. take it slow, reflect on your options, and if you have any questions, aska’s here.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    they Begin

    January 19, 2016

    Hi, there
    I am a BC grade 12 student, I am planing to go to u of t life science or psychology next year, I am taking cal 12, chem 12, physics 12, English 12 and pre cal 12. My first term avg is 80.4%(and my past years grade arnt good), and I have quite a lot extra curriculum. I want to ask if I have any chances to get into u of t life science or psychology, also,should I apply for UTM or UTSC or St. G if I want to have a larger chance to get in?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    dear highschooler: you should feel proud of the long legacy you’re entering. i bet you didn’t know that you were becoming part of a legacy by writing this question, did you? well, you are. the legacy of FRICKIN’ KEENERS asking me whether they’ll get into uoft*. take a look at this tag to learn about your proud heritage (also if you’d like to see what i’ve said to other people in similar situations).

    before i say anything, the caveat for any type of admissions questions is that your guess is as good as mine. the admissions committee has the final say, so anything and everything i say may not pan out as i’ve said it. do not sue. thanks.

    the anticipated admission grade ranges of people coming in to first year for life science in 2015 was in the low to mid 80s. you’re right on the cusp of that lower end. depending on your grade 11 marks, you might even dip below it a little. that’s not to say that you have no chance, and i would urge you to still apply, but you may want to consider applying to other campuses and universities as well.

    as for psychology: that’s a subject POSt (program of study) and not a degree POSt. when you enter into first year in the faculty of arts & science, you’re in a degree POSt – humanities, life sciences, physical sciences and mathematics, or social sciences. after first year, you decide on a subject program of study, which is a more specific are of focus.

    psychology is pretty popular on the downtown campus. typically, you need to have received a mark in the 80s in PSY100H1 to get into the program (though the minimum cut-off is 75%). unfortunately i don’t have more stats about how many people apply versus how many people get in.

    and that’s it! if you’re doing exams right now (i don’t really know how school works in BC), good luck. if not, also good luck with just…living and stuff.

    best,

    aska

    * don’t worry, i was one once too. yes, i admit it. there’s no shame in being a keener. accept yourself. aska does.

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  • admissions,  enrollment

    a B.A. in science, or what i like to call…just a regular B.Sc.

    December 14, 2015

    Hello!!!

    I would like do complete another BA. My previous BA I completed at Ryerson University and this time I would like to complete it at UFT. Reason being, career change and my grades from my previous BA are simply not high enough for the program I would like to qualify for.

    My undergraduates degree was Early Childhood Education, this time I would like to complete a degree majoring with the sciences. My questions are as follows:

    Can I complete another BA?

    In high school I only took the required sciences, do I need to go back and take the science courses I missed?

    In doing this, will UFT look negatively on my application?

    Many thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately, you cannot complete a second B.A. if you already have a B.A.

    HOWEVER, since you want to major in a science, you’re probably not looking at an arts degree anyway, but a B.Sc. so your first question is kind of irrelevant.

    you can take a look at exactly which high school science courses you need for the degree program of study you’re interested in here.

    if you have to take some high school courses now in order to be eligible to apply, no, the university will not count that against your application.

    best of luck with it,

    aska

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  • admissions

    an especially early highschool freak-out

    December 4, 2015

    Hi
    I am in grade 11, but i took my advanced functions this year. I am in the AP class, and I currently am only getting an 81 in it. Since it is AP, we have already finished all of the work for the course, all that is left is the exam. Is an 81 good enough to be accepted into u of t life science if all of my other courses are in the 90s? or will that one mark ruin my chance of being accepted, since it is a required course for the program?
    Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    first of all: this is an inherently flawed question, because there’s no way to even?guess at whether you’d be admitted based on one mark. that being said, this answer is going to be limited to GENERAL PLATITUDES that will hopefully calm your soul a little bit in this troubling time of exams and winter slush.

    FIRSTLY:?an 81?is not a bad mark,?especially in AP. it may lower your average a little bit, but?if the rest of your courses will be?in the 90s (or even the high 80s), you’re still on the right track.

    SECONDLY: it is very hard to say every year what the cut-off for admission will be in every program, because so much of it depends on the competition – how good is everyone else who’s applying compared to you? however, there are trends, and they might be more comforting than you would imagine.

    the admission grade range in life science for?Fall 2015 was in the low to mid 80s?- which means that even your ‘bad’ mark is within the admission range for this past year.

    this does not mean that i am guaranteeing that you will be admitted to life science, or even to uoft. i have no way of knowing that. all i am saying is that you are doing well, and if you continue to work hard, you will likely have a good chance of being?admitted.

    finally: university is four years of non-stop stress. i don’t want to invalidate the stress you are feeling in high school – because it is very real – but i do want to give you a gentle reminder to stop and smell the roses, when you can. acknowledge your successes. try and enjoy what is left of high school. allow yourself to be at least a bit excited about university, along with being anxious about it. have a cookie. go for a walk in the crunchy fall leaves. take four deep breaths in and out after finishing this post.

    and best of luck 🙂

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  americans,  med school,  other schools (boo!)

    strap on your toque, yankee, you’re in for a wild ride

    November 25, 2015

    Hi, I am a US student thinking of applying to U of T. I’ve heard many many rumors of the soul crushing undergraduate experience at U of T. As a hopeful medical school applicant, would I be better off grades wise in a top university in the US or is Toronto not as terrible as it seems? I’d really like to go to Toronto but I’m worried….
    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    that depends on which U.S. universities you’re thinking of, my friend. are we talking state universities or Ivy League? even within state universities, there’s a lot of variety in terms of quality. the comparison you’re making is going to be very different depending on which other schools you’re thinking about.

    i can’t tell you how well you’re going to do at uoft. i wish i could, but it would be disingenuous. the best i can do is give you a couple of factors that will influence your experience here, and that you can consider before making your decision:

    1. uoft is one of, if not the, most academically intensive universities in canada. i won’t go so far as to say that it’s the “Harvard of the North” (because we gotta stay humble out here in the 6ix), but it is very academic. uoft is an institution focused on research, and that goes right down to the undergraduate level. from day 1, you will be required to treat your school like a full-time job. if you excelled in high school, if you’re willing to work hard, and if you’re interested in the material, that is by no means impossible. but it does require a serious commitment to focus on your academics.
    2. uoft is very big – and i feel like you can’t really understand the real implications of that bigness until you actually get here. it can be very isolating. there are lots of wonderful, small communities within uoft where you can feel connected and valuable (your college community, residence community, seminar courses, extracurriculars, etc.) but if you don’t search all that out, you can feel a little stranded. and, trust me, if you feel distanced from and unappreciated by your school – like you could skip class, not do the assignments, etc. and no one would notice – that can have a very real effect on your schoolwork. a lot of U.S. universities have that small, collegiate feel throughout the entire institution, but at uoft, you have to do some digging.
    3. two positive points now: keep in mind that if you are graduating from a world-class university, medical schools are going to know that your GPA will not be as high as people who graduated from less academically rigorous schools. they will factor that into the application; everyone’s GPA is not equal.
    4. second: GPA is not the only factor medical schools look at! MCAT scores and extracurricular experience are also important parts of your application. that’s where toronto is ideal. we have a lot?of hospitals here. a?lot. “hospital alley” is within walking distance of uoft, and there are lots of opportunities to volunteer and gain valuable experience at each of them.
    5. finally: i know that americans think canada is just, like…cold america, but keep in mind that culture shock can be a difficult thing to manage, especially in first year (that’s not to say that we don’t have people to help you deal with that – because we do). you’ll be moving far away from home all on your own, meeting all new people and learning to stand on your own two feet, even more so than domestic students, who might just be a car ride away from home.

    i know that’s a lot of information, but keep in mind that you have time to mull it all over. uoft is a wonderful place to be. it’s in the middle of an amazing city, it’s a nexus of?research and innovation and exciting student life, we have cool people and exciting courses and i am so glad i’m here. BUT it’s not for everyone. so do think carefully about it.

    one last piece of advice: if you can manage to get up here and tour the place a bit before deciding, i find that’s often helpful.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  physics

    up that grade

    September 18, 2015

    I’m out of high school and upgrading for a year. I do not yet know what I want to do but I am leaning towards life sciences/ medicine. I took Bio and Chem, and have OK math marks (not superb but I didn’t fail). Would you recommend taking physics as part of my upgrade?

    Thank you so much for your advice! I really appreciate it!
    Sincerely,
    A confused student

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    by upgrading, do you mean that you’re taking high school courses before applying to your undergrad?

    if so, taking physics will not necessarily improve your application. if you’re not applying to a program that requires physics, then there’s no reason that having taken physics will be beneficial for you.*

    as a high school applicant to uoft, your admission is based on the average mark of your top 6 grade 12 university or mixed courses, including any prerequisites to the program you’ve applied to.

    if physics isn’t required and you don’t anticipate doing very well, then it might not be a great idea to take it. what you may want to do instead is take courses where you think you’ll do well. that way, the courses you take will increase your average and give you a better chance of being admitted.

    not to generalize, but if your math marks were only ok, then you will probably find physics difficult. now, i don’t know you, and i could be wrong about that. ultimately, it is your decision. if you think you will do extremely well in physics, then by all means: take it.

    however, you shouldn’t be taking a course as part of an upgrade that you aren’t fairly certain will be among your strengths.

    as for medical school – physics will not make or break your application, especially at the high school level. med school actually has relatively loose requirements in terms of which courses you have to take. it’s all about your marks, interview, and MCAT scores there.

    so ultimately, your primary focus should be your confidence level around physics. if you feel it’s going to be too difficult, don’t feel pressured to take it.

    best of luck with it!

    aska

    *obviously, if you’re applying to a program that DOES require physics, then you should take it.

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  • admissions,  residence,  subject POST

    application for what

    August 5, 2015

    hi aska! I want to know when is the exact date when application starts?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    application for what, my friend? there’s about a billion things you can apply for at this university. there’s so much stuff you can apply for that the institution is grinding out these obsessive, application-writing machines, people who are never satisfied and are always looking for new things to add to their resume. it’s like school creates within you this pathological dissatisfaction with your current situation, so you always want more, NEED more –

    but i digress. here are a few common application timelines:

    application for admission to the Faculty of Arts & Science: unfortunately, i can’t find a specific opening date for this one. it opens in the Fall (that’s as specific as the uoft admissions website gets, but OUAC’s 105 applications open in mid-September and you can take a look at the timeline for 101 applications on page 3 of this document), and closes January 30th (in 2015).

    application for residence: opens when you receive your JOINid (shortly after you apply) and you can log into MyRes, and closes March 31st (in 2015).

    deadline to apply for a type 2/3 subject POSt: opens April 1st, closes August 30th.

    deadline to enrol in a type 1 subject POSt: opens April 1st, closes September 27th.

    deadline to bring aska snacks: never. always feel free to bring snacks. aska accepts donations year-round.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  engineering

    “graduate school in engineeri – ” nope. nopity nope.

    June 10, 2015

    Hey!

    I recently decided to attend UofT for computer engineering and I was?wondering if the 3.6 GPA requirement is as strict with engineering students as it is with other (because you know, it just aint easy being an engineer)

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    why tell aska whether you’re applying to undergrad or grad studies? she doesn’t need to know! that would’ve just been just TOO EASY for her, huh?

    my HUNCH is that you’re applying to grad school, both because of the GPA requirement and because of your cynical, embittered use of the word “ain’t.” that cold, hard cynicism is usually underdeveloped in 17-year-olds. though not always.

    engineering tends to be one of the more no-nonsense disciplines at uoft – and at most universities, acutally. i guess spending a life around gears and wiring requires being absolutely wrung out at school.

    point is, if they say a B+, then they mean it.

    in addition, ECE specifically states that you need at least an A- to be competitive. i doubt they’re joking around about that, either. also, “[s]tudents with academic records equal to or below the minimum eligibility requirement are strongly discouraged from applying.”

    if they wrote that in bold on their admissions page, it’s probably there for a reason.

    however, if you’re uncertain about how your qualifications match up, you can always use their international degree equivalencies tool. you can also just call them up, because sometimes departments are willing to chat with people about where they stand, admissions-wise.

    good luck with grad studies in engineering. like, seriously. i hope you enjoy the gears and wiring and stuff.

    cheers,

    aska

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