Hiiii,

I’m going to Seneca for opticianry (with co-op), and it’s a 2 year program. I really REALLY wanted to get into UofT for Life Sciences, but my marks weren’t that good so I wasn’t able to. 🙁 Anyways, I was wondering if I have a possibility of being accepted into UofT for Life Sciences after finishing my college diploma? If yes, do they only look at the GPA or the specific courses I took at Seneca? Please helpp I really really really really want to get into UofT. :'( Any advice you can give me??

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hey there,

you can definitely apply from college. your admission information is here, but i’ll summarize it for you because i’m a NICE INTERNET PERSON. they are going to be considering:

1. your annual college GPA

2. your overall college GPA

3. whether you meet the prereqs of the program at the high school level (though “?[t]wo full college level semesters of an academic subject may be considered to satisfy a prerequisite.”)

so the courses do matter and the marks matter, during both years. if there are any prerequisites that you know you didn’t fulfil at the high school level, you may want to try and meet it at the college level, though of course course equivalency is always a tricky issue. if you want to verify the likelihood of you getting an equivalent credit for any course, i’d recommend contacting the transfer credit office.

i hope to see you around campus sometime soon, chum.

cheers,

aska

Hi aska,im a student going to gr.12 and i want to audition for the BMus program for piano. I have already been preparing for my audition and i looked at the requirements but i was wondering if you know what the audition process is like. What should i expect going into the audition, what will my schedule look like, and how many people on average get accepted? Are there any tips for a successful audition? UofT is my ideal school.Thanks!sincerely,i’m scared out of my mind

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hey there scared out of my mind*,

don’t be scared! as with any other program or stream at uoft, i can’t tell you how many people will or have gotten in during?previous years. however, i’ll refer you to this document, which tells you the total number of students enrolled in each program in 2010.

unfortunately i can’t give you insider details about the audition process. aska’s words are music to (most) people’s ears, but other than that, i’m pretty melodically limited.

fortunately, the Faculty of Music’s charmingly 90s-looking website has?this page, which?explains everything you’ll be expected to do before and at the audition. also, i called the undergraduate administrator at the faculty of music and she is more than willing to take any more specific questions at?undegrad ( . ) music ( at ) utoronto ( . ) ca.

she also recommended that you attend their information sessions on fall campus day, which is a good idea no matter what program you’re interested in. fall campus day is super helpful, AND lots of colleges/faculties/programs offer free food, so it’s a good trip out no matter what.

cheers,

aska

*sorry, sorry. this is how i picture all high school students. but a large part of that is probably because that’s how i looked?in high school, so i may be biased.

I just finished gr 12 english in the summer with a 96 is this good enough for humanities???

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hey there,

okay, disclaimer that aska is not a member of admissions, everything is dependent on how good your peers do?AND, most importantly, admissions depends not just on one mark, but on your average in your top 6 4U/M courses (including prerequisites), but…

yes. yes, that mark is a good mark.

cheers,

aska

Is the deadline to apply to university still January if you’re not a high school student?

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hey there,

if you’re not a high school student, you apply using the OUAC 105 form. the deadlines may change a little every year, but you can go here to take a look at the general timeline. as you see, it’s pretty similar to the 101 (i.e. high school) application.

cheers,

aska

I absolutely bombed high school and never made it to university. Say I go back, and take the required 6 U/M courses and let’s say I get a 99% average to my name, and I’m applying to the Life Sciences program. Is there any reason why UofT still wouldn’t accept me?

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hey dude,

from the horse’s mouth: “[t]he Faculty of Arts & Science does not recommend that students repeat courses and reserves the right to give preference for admission and scholarship consideration to students whose marks are the result of a single attempt at each course.”

that’s uoft’s way of saying that they definitely take note of the fact that a course is repeated, and it does harm your chances, but it doesn’t rule you out completely.

plus, there is an opportunity to explain any less-than-stellar grades on your application, if there are any specific circumstances that may have?affected them.

obviously aska can’t guarantee anything, but, as with everything in life, sometimes you just have to dive head-first into the pool of crocodiles and pray you can swim fast enough. unless it is actually a pool of crocodiles. then you just need to get the heck out of florida already.

if you really want to do it, then go ahead and apply, is what i’m trying to say.

cheers,

aska

EDIT: if you have been away from school for some time, academic bridging could also be an alternative to going back to high school. just make sure you meet all the admission req’s before applying.

I’m getting like 83 in english Is that good enough for humanities IM STRESSING BRUH

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hey there,

dudes, i can’t tell you that.?i’m not some clairvoyant who can make admissions decisions based on very small bits of information about your academic history.

lemme tell you all the things that make this question hard to answer:

1. is this grade 11 english or grade 12 english?

2. how are your other courses??if english is your lowest mark, that’s a very different situation to if it’s your highest. one mark?doesn’t dictate the admission decision.

3. even if i knew all your marks in every course, i have NO IDEA if it’s good enough. it all boils down to how good your competition is. maybe your marks will easily soar above everyone else’s, and maybe they’ll plummet far below. it all depends on how everyone else is doing and how you’re doing in all your other courses.

here’s the anticipated grade average of incoming students in Fall 2014 – you can compare your own average to that to see how you’re shaping up, and hopefully that can alleviate some of your stress (aska hates it when y’all stress). but remember, like my opinion, it’s only a guideline. ultimately, the people who know for sure are admissions, and they keep screening my phone calls.*

cheers,

aska

*for some reason, they?don’t?appreciate me calling their office and leaving voice-mail messages in the early hours of the morning demanding to be admitted into their secret, cool club of elite uoft staff. admissions won’t admit me; irony of the century, amirite?**

**this is a joke. admissions and i are on great terms. learn about sarcasm, jeez.

Will I know which marks are submitted for first year!??? Also do they tell you if grade 11 marks are submitted!? AHHHH

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hey there,

i really hope that there’s just one person who’s asking me this question, and you get progressively more and more panicked and impatient each time you ask it. sorry to make you wait, frantic one, but aska’s got important things to do, y’know? i’ve got my paragliding to keep up with, gotta spend some quality time with my proboscis monkeys (maria’s getting particularly antsy) …lots of stuff.

come to think of it, you’re probably impatient just reading that preamble, so why don’t we get right to the question?

OUAC will send your high school transcripts. your?grade 11 marks may be considered?for an?early offer of admission or a conditional offer, along with any in-progress grade 12 marks you may have at the time.

if you get a conditional offer,?that’s the university offering you a spot based on your grade 11/in-progress grade-12 marks, on the condition that?you?do well?in in your top six 4U/M classes including prerequisites.

cheers,

aska

In response to the other anon I have a question about the top 6 too. Can they use some marks from grade 11 in your top 6?

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hey there,

as always, the answer to your question isn’t really yes or no, but is floating around somewhere in the middle, in the land of bureaucratic details, where big institutions like universities are built (gotta love ’em for that).

the top six specifically are your top six 4U/M marks including prerequisites, not your grade 11 marks. however, when you apply, you probably won’t have finished all your grade 12?classes yet. so the university may look at individual grade 11 marks and your grade 11 average in order to make a conditional offer.

the conditional offer?(as the name implies) will be finalized?if?you do well enough in your top 6 4U/M courses.

SO they DO?look at your grade 11 courses, but they’re?NOT part of your top six. geddit?

cheers,

aska