• admissions,  humanities

    admissions averages changing like a boggart at a concert

    September 30, 2014

    Hey aska I heard that the humanities average for St George went up from its usual 80-84 average. I can’t get ahold of admissions and I’m applying in November Could you please tell me if it changed?

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    hey there,

    i can’t believe people are already applying for another year of school. soon, aska’s time will be over and a new generation of students will be here…all of them smarter, quicker, and more energetic than aska…sigh…

    anyway. existential blip over.

    the average you need to get in every year is kind of impossible to tell. it changes every single year, depending on how ruthless?your competition is.

    what you can do is take a look at the anticipated averages of people who entered uoft in this year. that number can give you a rough idea of what you may need to be a competitive applicant. however, it’s a guide more than it is a rule.

    crazy stuff happens in the uni admissions arena. nothing is for certain. that said, if you know the average averages of the previous entering class, you’ve got a pretty good handle on what you’ll likely need to get in, too.

    good luck,

    aska

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  • admissions,  engineering,  grad school,  international students

    a very exhaustive examination of admissions to grad school (whoo!)

    September 29, 2014

    Hey aska! I’m very keen on getting into either Mengg or MS in CS at UofT. I’ve done my Btech in electrical and electronics with 66.76% from a tier 1 college of India. I have a 1.3 year work ex with a big data analytics firm. What are my chances of getting into the program. Gre 312. Toefl 104+ expecting.

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    Hey there,

    so. you’ve got a Bachelor of Technology and now you want to continue the roller-coaster ride that is engineering at UofT. great!

    admissions says that you need a four-year Bachelor’s degree, which you have. You also need to have attended a 1st. div. college, which you did. finally, your TOEFL score is comfortably above the minimum requirements for admission.

    the only thing i’m not sure about is your average. to get into engineering, you need to have completed your degree with at least a B or B+ average in the final two years of your degree.

    i’m not sure whether that 66.67% you mentioned is a) reflective of your four years, instead of just the last two, and b) works on a different GPA system than ours.

    the uoft website doesn’t allude to any different GPA scale in Indian universities, so i would contact the faculty of applied science & engineering to ask them whether your GPA scale matches theirs. also, make sure that the average you’re using to calculate your likelihood of admission is the average of your last two years of school.

    if that average is at least a B+, then you’re an eligible and competitive applicant.

    finally, make sure that you check the admissions requirements for the specific department you’re interested in within the faculty, because some of them have extra requirements like letters of reference (that’s where your work experience could come in handy).

    the M.Sc. in comp. sci. also requires a B+, but only in your LAST year of study.

    the TOEFL requirements are the same as those for engineering, and they don’t specify a preferred GRE score.

    the GRE actually seems like an asset rather than a requirement, because they say that “[a]pplicants from outside Canada are encouraged to submit scores from the GRE General Test, and are encouraged to also submit scores from the GRE Subject Test in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related discipline.”

    the one thing that might complicate your admission to the M.Sc. is that “[p]reference will be given to applicants who have studied computer science or a closely related discipline.”

    i don’t know how closely electrical and electronic engineering is related to computer science, but it may be something you can ask the department of computer science.

    and that’s it! sorry for the information dump – i hope it all makes some sense. best of luck on your application!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    two birds with one stone

    September 18, 2014

    I’m doing bad in grade 12 math but I’m applying for humanities and it won’t be in my top 6. Will they still look at it?

    Hey aska I’m applying this year (!!!!!) to u of t st mikes at st george for humanities. I have above 95 in english but my grade 12 math is really bad. The math won’t be included in my top 6 but I’m still worried… Will they look at it

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    hey there,

    i got these as two separate questions, but in the interest of avoiding redundancy, i’m going to answer them both together. besides, i’m pretty sure they were asked by the same person.

    even if they weren’t, i’m lazy, so this is how we’re gonna do it.

    if the math is NOT a required course for the stream you’re applying to (and it’s not, for humanities), and it is NOT in your top 6 4U/M marks, then it will not be a factor in the final admission decision from uoft.

    i hope you have a rad year at uoft/st.mike’s (still not sure if you’re the same person),

    aska

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  • admissions,  computer science,  scholarships/bursaries

    give me an extra 5% for being charming

    September 16, 2014

    I’m currently a grade 12 student in Vaughan Ontario. I am taking Grade 12 University Advanced Functions. I’m currently at an 87, and am not pleased with my mark. If I were to retake this course, what would be the consequences?

    I am interested in going into computer sciences.

    Thanks.

    Sorry I to clarify I did the course in grade 11. I fast tracked math. I will be completing my grade 12 year this year.

    I also wanted to know if the additional 5% from extra-curricular activity participation counts toward the overall average when it comes to eligibility for scholarships. Furthermore; what are the automatic scholarship amounts for an average of 90% and 95%?

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    hey there,

    (note: this question is a follow-up to the one i answered here. read that if you’d like a little bit of context).

    i stand by what i said before – an 87% is a good mark. it would do you more harm to retake it now than to just leave it and focus all your energies on doing well in calc.

    as for the additional 5% from extra-curricular participation, i…have no idea what you’re talking about. is that something your high school does? do they add 5% to your average for participating in extra-curriculars? that’s amazing.

    anyway, since i’ve never heard of this being a thing, it’s hard for me to answer the question. i’m inclined to say no, just because the overall average is specifically of your top 6 marks including prereqs, and unless this extra-curricular participation counts as a class, it probably won’t be included. however, since this is the first time i’m encountering this, i could very well be wrong. i would contact enrolment services to make sure.

    the automatic entrance scholarship for someone with over a 92% is $2000, which can buy you a lot of Mr. Noodles in your first year. there are also faculty/college scholarships galore – with one of those, you could even get a bowl and some utensils and use them to eat your Mr. Noodles!

    best of luck with the application process,

    aska

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  • admissions

    aww, you took all the fun out of it!

    September 15, 2014

    Have you heard of anyone being accepted to UTSG social sciences with an 83 average? Or is it always above 85 Please god no sarcastic answer back.

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    hey there,

    well now, i resent you taking away one my greatest pleasures in life – that is, being a sarcastic morale-ruiner to young teens everywhere. what am i even doing here if it doesn’t involve some healthy admissions-related cynicism?

    alright, i won’t be sarcastic. but i still can’t really answer your question.

    when you say “have you heard of anyone being accepted,” that implies that either 1) i discuss admissions averages with many people, and so can speak anecdotally about a wide range of them, or 2) i am somehow close to or affiliated with admissions, in which case i could overhear a lot of things related to admissions averages that a university layman might not know.

    unfortunately, neither of these is true. when you got to uni (or at least, when aska got to uni), high school and everything relating to it was kinda brushed under the rug. people rarely talk about what they had or did to get in.

    and as i have said time and again, i am – tragically – in no way affiliated with the lovely folks at admissions. trust me, no amount of begging for answers can change that.

    so, i can’t answer your question. i can refer you once more to this page, which clearly states the cutoff for social sciences admissions as low 80s, not mid 80s.

    but i can’t tell you how many people get in with an average in the low 80s as compared to people who got in with an 85% or above. you can contact enrolment services for more information, or talk to your high school guidance counsellor, who has probably amassed more anecdotal information than i have.

    next answer’s gotta be super sarcastic to make up for this forced genuineness.

    best,

    aska

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  • admissions,  chem

    relative to what

    September 9, 2014

    are sciences relatively hard to get into? chem in particular

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    hey there,

    i dunno man. i guess that depends on how smart you are, doesn’t it? and how smart everyone else who applies this year is.

    unfortunately, i don’t know how smart you or anyone else is. i don’t know a lot of things. i’m not very smart, myself.

    the only thing i can do is direct you to this year’s anticipated grade ranges for people admitted to uoft in 2014. i’m tempted not to give this link out for the umpteenth time, but i’ll do it, ’cause i’m kind. you can use those numbers as a rough guide to figure out how you measure up to the pack.

    chemistry is not something you can apply to out of high school at uoft. if you wanted to get into chemistry, you could apply to the life science or physical/mathematical sciences streams out of high school.

    from there, you could apply to a chemistry specialist/major/minor after first year. if you want to know how difficult it is to get into those programs, you can read about them on the course calendar.

    here’s a tip: look up whether the specialist/major/minor is/are type 1, 2 or 3. type 1 is automatic admission, type 2 has certain prerequisites for admission, and type 3 has requirements, plus the program only has a limited number of spots.

    here’s hoping uoft has a positive REACTION to your application! get it? get it?

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    i always hate doing this

    September 8, 2014

    hey aska! hope university hasn’t started to crush your soul in indescribable ways! i was wondering if there is any recommended number of volunteering hours to get into uoft? i hear a lot of horror stories where a guy has practically perfect marks, but doesn’t get in because of the absence of those hours. thanks much!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    class hasn’t started at the time of writing this, though the anticipation/anxiety of going back is probably doing me some serious psychological damage. thanks for asking, though.

    about your question: trust me, i take no pleasure in doing this. it’s no fun having to crush the rumours that run rampant through high schools across the country, spread by well-meaning do-gooders who just want more people to volunteer for stuff.

    however, the fact is that extra-curricular and volunteer experience almost never affect your admission to uoft. if you’re an ontario high school student, you’ll apply to university using ouac’s 101 form. the 101 form takes your grades and some clerical information (name, address, etc.) but does not require a resume or summary of volunteer hours or anything like that.

    your volunteering experience may be helpful if you apply to one of the colleges within uoft that needs a supplementary application (trinity, victoria), or for certain programs (rotman commerce, for example, has certain additional application requirements), but extra-curricular and volunteer experience has no bearing on whether your’re admitted into most programs at this university.

    generally speaking, the only thing every program requires is good marks in your top 6 4U/M courses including prerequisites. (though i encourage you to look up specific requirements for your area of interest on this handy-dandy admissions site).

    those people telling you horror stories? yeah, they’re probably lying. at the very least, they’re distorting and confusing the facts to freak people out unnecessarily. sorry about that. that is not a cool thing to do. aska disapproves.

    best,

    aska

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  • admissions

    high school terminologies: talk about exercising an old muscle

    September 4, 2014

    Are m(mixed courses) the same as u/c courses? (University/college)

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    hey there,

    yes! ‘university/college’ seems to be the terminology used by the ontario government in their 2013 curriculum. admissions at uoft refers to them as ‘M’ courses for ‘mixed,’ (as in MCV4M1 for mixed calculus) so that’s what i’ve been calling them, but they’re the same thing.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  humanities

    the hardness of the humanities

    September 3, 2014

    I read one of your posts a while back saying humanities wasn’t that hard to get into Why is it not that hard?

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    hey there,

    hmm. i don’t remember saying that (though it’s very possible i did – i do talk a lot).

    obviously, the humanities as a field of study have been the butt of jokes since the time of Socrates (probably. i mean, i don’t know. i wasn’t around making fun of him, or anything). there’s a stigma that they’re easy.

    and while the numbers seem to support that, generally, a slightly higher minimum average is needed to be eligible for admission to the life sciences and commerce than for other areas of study, the marks required to get into any stream at uoft are actually pretty even across the board.

    so maybe the humanities aren’t that easy to get into. or at least, not so much easier than any other area. maybe all academia and critical thinking is equally valid and important. food for thought.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  humanities

    the answer is to stop reading articles, clearly

    September 2, 2014

    I read some articles on student awards about humanities and social sciences at u of t… They said you can’t get in unless you have an 85 average. So far I have a 96 in english and am planning for an 85 average overall. DO I NEED HIGHER?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m not sure which articles you’re talking about. also, do you mean ‘student awards’ as in awards at uoft, or ‘student awards’ as in the open online forum in which anonymous people can give answers about stuff? now, don’t get me wrong, forums can be incredibly helpful, but don’t take everything some anonymous student says as gospel.

    don’t panic just yet, is what i’m saying.

    you do need certain marks to be competitive, but trying to feel out what those marks are is best done through info directly from uoft. the university has no reason to be alarmist, unlike anonymous randos online. panicking students are no fun for anyone working at a university.

    i’d recommend you read this and draw your own conclusions. while there are no guarantees, an 85% average is solidly within that ‘low 80s’ admission range for 2014 students.

    (disclaimer that numbers change from year to year and that link is just a guideline, etc. etc. you cannot sue aska if you don’t get into uoft; i’m just a lowly student who eats far too many soda crackers for her own good, and i can’t make any serious promises).

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  humanities,  social sciences

    humanities vs. social sciences: THE SHOWDOWN

    September 1, 2014

    Two questions: 1) which area has the most admissions on the st george campus 2) which is easier humanities or social sciences?

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    hey there,

    are you asking which stream is the least competitive? because uoft is silent as a dead cat about admission stats for undergrad arts & science students.

    however, if you want to see how you may measure up to your peers, you can take a look at the anticipated grade ranges for fall 2014 in both the humanities and social sciences for incoming students. just remember that those numbers may change from now to whenever you’re planning on applying to uoft.

    as you’ll see, the anticipated grade ranges for the humanities and social sciences are the same. this leads me on nicely to your next question:

    the humanities and social sciences are, for all intents and purposes, the same. yes, they’re formally distinct in uoft’s vernacular, but once you get into first year, there’s not much of a difference between humanities and social sciences students.

    if you look at the course calendar, you’ll see that the courses are not divided by stream – they’re listed by department. occasionally, maybe there’ll be a priority for social science or humanities students for a certain course, but practically speaking, a humanities student and a social sciences student could have the exact same schedule in first year.

    the real difference is in the faculty name: arts and science. if you’re a science student or a computer/mathematical/physical science student, you will have very different courses from most humanities/social science students.

    if you’re trying decide what you want your program to be and trying to figure out levels of difficulty, the thing you want to be looking at is our subject POSTs. they vary widely in competition, popularity, and how many people they admit. you’ll be required to pick one or more subject POSts by the end of your first year, so it’s worth it to peruse them now!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    how hard is hard

    September 1, 2014

    How hard is u of t humanities to get into? Average of 84.

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    hey there,

    it’s hard as a rock grinding against a religious fanatic. it’s hard as a final exam on three hours of sleep. it’s hard as a watermelon a week before it ripens. it’s hard as carbon nanotubes. it’s hard as your mother’s rules about watching tv when she’s tired. it’s hard as holding hands with an elementary school crush. it’s hard as long division after a decade of having a calculator on your phone.

    just read this document and make a judgement call yourself, dude.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    the perforated arts

    August 14, 2014

    Hi aska I attend a performing arts school. I am applying to social sciences/humanities at st George and was wondering if our arts area (music course) is included in our top 6 marks?

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    hey there,

    hmm. you didn’t state this explicitly, but i’m going to assume you’re an ontario high school student, because i’m pretty sure you wouldn’t know about the top 6 thing if you weren’t.*

    if the course you’re taking is a 4U or 4M course (that is, a university or mixed grade 12 course), and the mark you get in that course is one of your top 6 marks out of all the 4U or 4M class you take, then yes, it would be included.

    basically what i’m saying is that if a course is in your top 6 4U/M marks then it is in your top 6 4U/M marks. so. did i misunderstand the question?

    if the school you’re at doesn’t classify courses as either O (open), C (college), M (mixed) or U (university), then you’ll need to look up what the requirements are in your own school system’s language.

    cheers,

    aska

    *i will continue to post pics of famous english men as reactions on here until you’re all convinced i’m an attractive, 40-year-old white guy. convinced, but still with the tiniest hint of self-doubt that aska just might be something much, much greater…

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