• admissions,  life science

    life science and taking care of your ticker

    February 24, 2015

    Hello there!
    I am currently a grade 12 high school student who applied to the Life Sciences at uoft. Howeverrrrr, my average is (accumulation of 5 courses so far) 83.2% AND I did not take the recommended grade 11 or grade 12 physics. I’m planning on taking grade 11 physics in summer school since you recommended to another individual that grade 11 physics would at least give me some foundation. Do you think I have the possibility of getting accepted into this program or should I worry?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    ***DISCLAIMER*** aska is only a lowly student and has no knowledge of the INNER WORKINGS of admissions at uoft. anything i say is just my opinion, and doesn’t actually mean anything. so you’re not allowed to sue me if you don’t get in and i said i thought you might.

    alright, now that THAT’S out of the way – an 83.2% is not a terrible GPA. you’ve got a solid chance with that. the anticipated admissions average of life science students for fall 2015 is in the low to mid 80s – and you fall right in that range. assuming you took all the required courses, i’d say there’s a fair chance you can get in.

    if physics was only recommended, then i wouldn’t worry too much about not having taken it. i mean, definitely still make sure to take it in summer school, because that can only help you, but there were lots of people in my first-year physics class who had never taken physics before in their life.

    finally: now that your application has been sent off, it’s out of your hands. try not to worry about it now. the only thing worrying is going to accomplish is to raise your blood pressure, and you need to make sure you’re TAKING CARE OF YOUR TICKER. take it from an old fogey like myself.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  life science

    why won’t life sci. be my wife, sigh?

    February 23, 2015

    Hey!

    Lemme cut to the chase, cause I know you’re busy. I got a 63 in Advanced Functions, and I want to get into UTM’s Life Sciences program. My question is, if I bust my chops and do really well on my 5 other courses and manage an 85 average, do you think I’ll be able to make it into the program? They don’t look at individual marks, do they?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i mean, i don’t REALLY know what they do at admissions. maybe they just toss all your names in a cup, and then whatever names the cup spits up are the ones they accept.

    however. given that utm’s life science program requires certain specific courses, i would say that it’s not entirely based on admission averages. that works for you and against you.

    it works against you in that they will notice that your math mark is somewhat weaker than your other ones, because they will be looking at individual courses. however, if you can manage to pull off very strong marks in all the rest of your classes (and especially in calculus) they might be inclined to treat advanced functions as an anomaly.

    tl;dr: the 63% is in the past, and having an 85% average wouldn’t hurt. so do keep trying. you can do it.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    mail??? do i get that through my google+ account???

    February 10, 2015

    Hey Aska, I got accepted through OUAC a while ago, getting into UTM’s For Psy program as well as U of T St George for criminology. I was wondering if there were any supplementary forms that they require me to send in after using the JOIN U of T website and if they send you a package in the mail regarding your acceptance and any forms of such (I got one from another uni I applied to, that’s why I’m curious!) Thanks (:

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    no, there shouldn’t be anything else you have to submit.

    yes, you do get a package in the mail. it’s very beautiful. probably the most beautiful thing uoft will ever give you, not counting the beautiful haze of simultaneous gratitude and panic that hits you like a sack of bricks when you graduate.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    an admissions question throws aska for a loop (for once)

    February 10, 2015

    What does U of t mean by a minimum 70 course average? DOES THIS MEAN ALL 8 OF MY COURSES NEED TO BE 70 EVEN IF ITS NOT IN MY TOP 6!?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m sorry it’s taken so long to answer this question. to tell you the truth, i’ve been looking at it every week, just wondering what on earth you’re talking about, and whether i have enough context to even give you an answer.

    despite the fact that i don’t actually think i do have enough information to answer the question, i’m gonna give it my best guess. because we answer every single question we get here on askastudent, dammit, even if they make no sense.

    any admissions average will be determined based on your best six 4U/M courses, BUT i can’t figure out which program – at any of three campuses – would have this kind of cut-off. all the ones i can think of are at least mid-80s.

    the only thing i can think of is that you found your way onto the course calendar and started looking at subject POSt requirements. if that’s the case, you should know that those apply to first-year courses, NOT high school courses. so stop panicking about it.

    peace,

    aska

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  • admissions

    only utsg is blessed with a college system that confuses everyone

    February 10, 2015

    Dear Sir/Ma’am,I am an international student. I have submitted the application for U of T Mississauga and Scarborough. I have a few questions regarding my application to U of T 1) I would like to know whether I could make additions to my program choices selected during the application Now I would like to add International Relations as an additional program to my application. What should be the process for the this amendment? 2) I would like to clarify on ranking the colleges. Since, International Relations is only offered by the Trinity College, how am I suppose to rank the other colleges? 3) Kindly let me know what is the admission process for Early Admission Decision. 4) On the Join U of T website, it says required documents : Secondary/High School Mid-term Results. At my High School I have been given a official predicted score sheet based on my academic performance throughout the year. Can I submit the official predicted report instead of the Mid-Term Results, because the predicted mark is the latest academic information in my case ? Also, am I suppose to submit Year 9,10 and 11 results under this space? Thank you for your cooperation and support.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    1) don’t bother. despite the program choice you put on your application, you’re not actually going to be placed in that program in first year. you’ll be placed in a general stream (life science, humanities, etc.) and then you’ll have to apply to a specific program (subject POSt) after first year.

    2) well, you SHOULDN’T rank colleges based on your program of interest. firstly, the program you’re interested in may change during the course of your first year. secondly, college affiliation isn’t really an academic thing. here are some things you might want to consider instead, when picking a college:

    – residence (if you’re planning on living in residence)

    – the kinds of activities offered by the college

    – the location of the college

    – the look of the college

    – scholarships offered by the college

    – college one programs

    – the FEEL of the COMMUNITY in the college

    if you want to know more about this, you can start by reading through aska’s colleges tag.

    3) early admission has already happened (it happens in december), so don’t worry about that.

    4) definitely talk to a teacher/guidance counsellor about that. the process of sending documents varies a bit depending on which country you’re from, so your school, not the university, would know best about what needs to be sent and when.

    finally, i just need to point this out in case i haven’t misunderstood. if you only applied to UTM and UTSC, and not to the St. George campus, then you won’t be able to apply to the international relations program (since that’s a St. George program), and you won’t be a member of a college, because the colleges are only for downtown students. so…if you didn’t apply to UTSG and you meant to, i would call enrolment services to try and sort that out.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    clicked the wrong button whoops lol

    February 3, 2015

    Hi there. I applied for U of T under OUAC app for biotechnology and the only option I have for this course was Molecular Biology/Biotechnology. But I was not given any choice to choose either UTSG UTSC or UTM. I received an email saying that I applied for UTSC and Im so disappointed. Is there any possible way for me to change to UTSG under Gene/Biotech that is only open for 2nd year? I really wanna go to UTSG rather than UTSC. I’ve even had the thought of going to York Uni instead of UTSC 🙁 thx

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i like how you say ‘i’ve even had the thought of going to york’ like it’s this sinful, desperate, last-resort thought. if there’s one thing uoft students could learn, it’s a bit of humility, honestly.

    anyway, ignore my sermonizing. the university has extended the application deadlines, which is good news for you.

    what i would do is call enrolment services ASAP asking them what to do – whether you should reapply or whether you can alter your ouac or whether they can make the change for you. then do exactly as they say – promptly.

    best of luck,

    aska

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  • admissions,  architecture,  Transferring

    SMARTchitecture

    January 27, 2015

    Hi Aska

    I am in first year Architectural Technology at George Brown College. I decided to apply to U of T’s Architectural Studies to pursue a degree and hopefully continue on for my masters. My question involves how far back into my education U of T will look to make a decision. I am 21 now and have a 3.9 GPA at George Brown BUT two years ago I had a really bad first year at UOttawa and my marks were terrible. I took the next year off and then applied to George Brown. Out of high school I had a low 80’s average. I feel that my One Idea application will be pretty strong and demonstrate my creative ability but I am worried that the school will not look past my Ottawa marks. I understand if you don’t know but I wondered if maybe they just took my most recent GPA or all my past GPA’s into account?

    Thank you for listening.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you would be required to submit transcripts from all of those places. in addition, the daniels faculty does say that “[s]tudents will be considered based upon their overall CGPA, [and] their most recent AGPA.”* so it’s likely that all these things will be considered in some capacity.

    however, the specifics are for enrolment services to know, and you to find out, so to speak. your most recent AGPA is important enough to be listed as a factor on the daniels’ undergraduate admissions page, but whether your uOttawa marks will be a significant factor, or how the different transcripts will be weighted, i’m not sure.

    so: your past GPAs will play a factor. so will your current GPA. so will your One Idea app.

    unfortunately i don’t know anything more specific than that, but know that they will look carefully at everything before making a decision, and consider your situation and context. i know you may be feeling a bit like this while waiting for a response, but we’ve got a pretty fair admissions team here.

    cheers,

    aska

    * AGPA is uoft talk for ‘annual GPA.’ CGPA is ‘cumulative GPA.’

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  • admissions,  social sciences

    admissions questions are my favourite questions. really. admissions questions are m –

    January 20, 2015

    I’m failing grade 12 math my average is a 48. However my other courses are 95+ will this affect me getting into U of t St George campus for social sciences

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    it may affect you to a certain extent, in that you need to pass a certain number of classes to, you know, graduate high school. and uoft kinda requires that you get your high school diploma before you come to university. crazy, right? i know.

    however, in terms of your admissions average – as i’ve said time and again – only your top six 4U/M courses (including prerequisites) will be counted (provided you’re an Ontario high school student).

    so the mark itself shouldn’t affect the average they’ll use to determine admission, assuming math isn’t a requirement for whatever program you’re interested in (which it’s probably not, because social science*), assuming you’re presenting more than 6 Grade 12 University/Mixed courses.

    now, let’s all try to move past this question, shall we?

    cheers,

    aska

    * i should add that, once you actually get to uoft, there are some social science programs – like economics – which require Grade 12 calculus (that’s MCV4U1), so math may be necessary for you down the line, EVEN IF it’s not calculated as part of your top six. just so you know.

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  • admissions,  architecture,  OUAC

    architecture newbies

    January 20, 2015

    If I want to major in Architecture and minor in Art History, should I apply to both programs on my OUAC application or just the program I want to major in? Also, how would I pay tuition if I’m in two programs with different tuition costs? Thanks in advance! 🙂

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    according to the ‘high school students’ section of this page, you don’t apply to your majors or minors specifically. you either apply to the H.B.A. in Architectural Studies or the H.B.A. in Visual Studies.

    you would select the Architecture option (code TLA). from there, you can participate in the architectural studies major program, and apply for any minors with the faculty of arts & science after first year.

    as for tuition – that wouldn’t happen, because there’s not a different tuition fee for every major or minor (imagine what a nightmare that would be. SHEESH). fees are a bit more general than that, and tend to be based on how many credits you’re taking in a year. this table should help you make sense of it.

    good luck with applications!

    aska

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  • admissions

    admissions a.k.a. the department of mysteries

    January 12, 2015

    So guidance at my school sucks? Can you please explain U of t’s acceptance rounds and what they look at for each month? I know the rounds are February March and April———————————————

    hey there,

    i can’t explain that in detail, unfortunately, ’cause i’m not in on the secrets of the shadowy realm that is the uoft admissions office. if you’re in a semestered school and midterm marks come in after february, that’s one major change that they might be taking a look at. other than that, there really isn’t much.

    the expectations are outlined on the admissions page, and while conditional offers may vary a bit based on what final marks or midterm marks are available from your high school, what’s required is basically just what’s up on the admissions site. so focus on getting whatever that is for your program.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    sick stop courses

    January 12, 2015

    Crisis: So let me start with saying my average is a 95 without my math mark. I have a terrible teacher she’s mean and does not pass kids on purpose. My school has a lot of problems with her and lucky me I got stuck with her. I have a 95 in english and am applying for humanities at St George. I’m currently at a 55 in math Is this woman going to ruin my chances (Math isn’t in my top 6)

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    *sighs heavily* *schleps over to adm.utoronto.ca/admissions/ for the actual four millionth time this month* *reminds everyone of this quote again*:

    “Ontario Secondary School Diploma with six Grade 12 U/M subjects including ENG4U, and for programs with the calculus prerequisite, MCV4U.”

    so: if your program requires calculus, and you have a 55 in calculus, then it will be counted. otherwise, if math is not in your top 6 4U/M courses, and it’s not required by the program you’re applying to (which it likely doesn’t, since you’re applying to humanities) it won’t affect your admission. capice?

    xoxo,

    aska

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