• admissions,  international students

    who was even awake during grade 7?

    June 16, 2014

    Hello!So I am a high school student from Central America who desperately wants to study at UofT.I have some questions that I hope you may have the answers to:
    Does UofT consider your GPA or average? So… when they look at your transcripts do they look for your GPA or do they look at your percentage?
    From what grade does the university consider your grades? From 7-12 or 9-12 or 10-12… etc.
    As an international student, can I work to earn money while at the university? Do I get a work permit too?
    I came across this?http://www.adm.utoronto.ca/pdf_applications/int_student_app.pdf?and I was wondering do you know how many applicants applied? How many got selected? Any statistics on what their averages were… anything of the sort??
    I hope you have a lovely day, and thank you for your time!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    at your tender age the only things you should desperately want are naps and that nice, central american sun that all us torontonians would give multiple fingers for. alas, the heart wants what the heart wants. who am i to disagree?

    1. uoft considers whatever form your grades happen to come in; if that’s a GPA, they consider your GPA. if it’s percentage, they consider percentage. if it’s IB points or fairground tokens or whatever system your school has dreamt up – they’ll consider it. just go here, put in which country you’re from, and they’ll tell you exactly what the requirements are for the program you’re applying to.

    2. hahahahahAHAHAHAHA. imagine if they considered all your grades from grade 7-12. the vast majority of people from my high school wouldn’t have made it to university. that would have made me so happy…

    no. they only look at your grade 12 marks, and occasionally your grade 11 marks, if you’re applying for early admission. again, just look at this page and it’ll tell you exactly which courses are considered for your program.

    3. there is a work experience program, but it looks like it’s being tinkered with at the moment. you can also work on-campus, off-campus, and even on co-op. you don’t even need a work permit.

    4. not only do i not know how many applicants there were, but i can’t even find any other information about that scholarship. which is a bit baffling; my Googling skills are usually impeccable (i look on the second page for stuff. yeah. i’m dedicated to my art).

    not to fear, there are still lots of opportunities for you to fund your education.

    keep in mind that uoft also automatically considers you for $2000 entrance scholarships based solely on your marks – no application needed. same goes for your college (though the value of the scholarship depends on the college).

    you can look here for all the admission scholarships offered by the university. and there are even more scholarships offered through the centre for international experience.

    hope you have a rad year, and hope to see you at uoft sometime soon!

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions

    ok but really like are you definitely 100% sure

    June 13, 2014

    So when it is required that you need an average in the low 80’s they mean that your top 6 must average out low 80’s right?

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    i’m assuming you’re the person who asked this question. you’re pretty worried about this, huh? did you get 85% in everything except for one course where you got, like, 14% or something?

    yes. that is what that means. official, 100%, aska-proof answer. swear on my heart and hope to die stick-a-needle-in-my-eye.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions

    didn’t your school tell you this

    June 12, 2014

    Question about admissions: does u of to look at your entire overall average or the average of your top 6 marks?

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    they take the?average of your top six 4U marks, INCLUDING?prerequisites – regardless of if your prereqs are in your top six or not (that one’s important. don’t think you can wiggle out of doing badly in calculus and still get into computer science. the university wasn’t born yesterday, you know).

    ttfn friend,

    aska

    P.S i linked to the admissions page for humanities/social science but it’s true for all areas.

    P.P.S. that all took a lot of time to link i hope you click on a few.

    Read More
  • admissions

    you best take that mark and feel blessed

    June 6, 2014

    Hello,
    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.

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    whoa there, son. an 87% is a good mark. most kids would cry for joy if they finished with an 87% in a first year math course, you know. i guess it’s like they say: you don’t?know what you’ve got ’til it’s?gone.

    anyway, i’m assuming by the fact that it’s June and you’re talking about retaking a high school course that you’re going to be taking a victory lap? if you do,?you should know that calculus is a requirement for uoft comp. sci.?now?that is the course you should be focusing on. it’s required and it’ll definitely be included in calculating your admissions average. advanced functions is less important: it won’t be included?unless it’s?in your top 6 4U marks.

    also, the school’s not so hot about repeated courses. so there’s really no good reason to repeat it.

    plus, you’ve still got exams to bring your mark up! so SMASH?that?functions exam, and finish with the mark you’re hankering after – not just for the school, but also for you. because you’re a perfectionist.*

    cheers,

    aska

    *to be fair, so am i. i reworded that punchline like twenty seven?times before settling on leaving it the way it was to start with, so.

    Read More
  • admissions

    meditations on difficulty

    May 29, 2014

    i got accepted into the social sciences program as an alternate offer. I originally applied to the business management program. Is it really competitive and hard to maintain you grade to switch in the BBA program? are there very limited amount of spots?

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    “is it hard” is one of the hardest questions to try and answer.* you may be an incredibly hard worker (and a better person than i), in which case it would be very easy for you. or maybe it turns out that you’ll really, really hate university, in which case it will be nearly impossible. i’m a big fan of avoiding problems, so in this case, i’m just gonna sidestep the “is it hard” question altogether, and focus instead on “is it competitive”.

    according to utsc, depending on the specific program, the number of accepted students can be as low as 9%. i’m not gonna sugar-coat it – that’s a low number. but hey, i’m planning on getting a kick-ass job with a liberal arts degree, so obviously uninspiring stats don’t scare me.

    also, another heartening fact: with a lot of these elite programs, transferring isn’t even possible after first year. however, utsc’s management programs allow transfer students. you apply to transfer to utsc just like any other transfers.

    not great news, i know. but like i said: difficulty is relative. just because it’s competitive, doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

    best of luck!

    aska

    * but who’s to say?it’s hard to answer? maybe it wouldn’t be hard for someone else to answer? what is difficulty? WHAT IS MEANING? i need to lie down.

    Read More
  • admissions

    aska: a tad bitter about admissions, trains. add two packets of sugar.

    May 28, 2014

    Hi Aska,

    I’ve got three questions. I go to UofT so my brother wanted to go too. My?brother applied to UofT Engineering and Computer Science. He was rejected.?Is there anyway he can appeal this decision or is it lights out till the?next year? Secondly, my brother was accepted into UTM Chemistry and?Physics.? Can he take courses in UofT Engineering from UTM? He plans on?trying for an internal transfer after first year. Third question, can my?brother transfer from UofT Missisauga to Scarborough, we live in?Scarborough and it will be a two hour commute unless he takes up residence?but that’s just more cash than my parents can fork out.? Thank you.

    Depressed over UofT rejecting my brother 🙁

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    i know you’re bummed about your brother and all, but take a moment to think about this. imagine if people could petition for an appeal on their admission decision! d’you think there’s?anyone out there who wouldn’t give that?a try? there would probably have to be a whole office at uoft just for sifting through admissions appeals. and since uoft is already a sprawling mess of different offices and departments, the way i see it, they couldn’t really afford to add another one. which is why, no, you can’t appeal the decision.

    the only thing i could find about taking courses if you’re not already in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering is this little note about ‘Special Students.’ it’s kinda shadowy and not very informative, so if your brother is really determined about doing this, i’d suggest he call engineering. my instinct is that they probably don’t allow very many non-engineering students to take their classes (especially not for credit), but give them a call and ask. also, here’s some info about students who want to transfer to uoft engineering.

    it is possible to transfer from UTM to UTSC: here are some links?discussing the process.

    finally, i hope your bro?gets that transfer, but commuting is a commonplace reality of GTA life. i have a 2-hour commute, and so do most of my friends. yeah, i hate myself. yeah, i’m always tired. but hey, after four years, i’ll have a degree that’s been drastically undervalued by our current job market! and so will your brother. so be comforted by that, my friend.

    best of luck mate, and try not to worry too much about your brother – he can worry enough for himself, yeah?

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  scholarships/bursaries,  victoria

    an issue of timing

    May 27, 2014

    So, I got the President’s Entrance Scholarship last week which was awesome 😀 (I’m super duper glad) and a friend of mine got it a day before me. However, we’re a bit confused because a lot of other people received their scholarship along with their admission letter. We got ours several weeks after our admission letters came in. Another puzzling point is that it says on the website that average of admissions is what they look at, yet we got our admission before our midterms and got the letter after our midterms. What is going on? We were also wondering if we got any money from our college (both of us are at Vic). How will we know and when will we be informed? My other friends who already received everything said that they got the email from Vic a week after the scholarship letter. What on earth do they do over at registrar to give out these scholarships? We’re so confuzzled, help us aska!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m in a counting kinda mood today, so i’m just gonna go ahead and number all your questions/concerns, because there’s rather a lot.

    1. why did you get your scholarship letter when you did?

    the university can’t do everything at once! it might not look it, but the people working at the university are only human.* also, admissions explains that “the decision is sent either in the offer of admission or under separate cover” – so it’s not a big deal if your scholarship didn’t come with your offer of admission. as long as you got the notification, then you’re getting the scholarship, same as all your friends.

    2. why did you get your admission offer when you did?

    do you mean that you received your admission letter before midterms, and your scholarship letter after them? again, it just takes time to do these things. if you didn’t get them all together, that’s not significant to you or your studies.

    the reason you got an offer of admission so early is because it was a conditional offer; the conditional offers are reviewed in July and made final for students whose final transcripts meet the conditions of admission.

    3. will you get any scholarships from vic/how will you know?

    that’s up to vic to decide. they say here that students “will receive notification of the award with their offer of admission from the University of Toronto,” so if you’ve received your offer of admission, but you didn’t get anything from victoria college, then you probably haven’t got a scholarship from them, unfortunately.

    all in all, everything looks like it’s going as it should be! just keep an eye on your Join UofT account and your physical mailbox, and you should be all set. if you’d like to make sure everything in the process is continuing on smoothly and correctly, read over this checklist. and i’m always here to answer any other questions you may have!

    cheers,

    aska

    *will smith trying to act in a serious way is probably one of my top 10 favourite things. if you ever want to woo aska for free uoft keychains or something, take me to a will smith action movie. oh man. what a riot.

    Read More
  • admissions,  transfer credits,  victoria

    coming in from la belle quebec

    May 27, 2014

    1. I’m coming from Quebec, and my whole life I studied in French. So if I check the English requirements, this is what it tells me: “If your first language is French and you have four years or more of full-time study in a Canadian school system achieving satisfactory academic progress, you are not required to provide proof of English facility. Instead, you must include Grade 12 English ENG4U/EAE4U (or an equivalent course) among the courses you offer for admission.”I’m not sure I understand what that means? Does it mean I have to take an English course during my first year?
    2. Since I will be in Victoria College, do you know how far is it from other Colleges? What I mean is, what if I have a course in one College building and right after in another building, is it a long walk there? I don’t want to be late to classes and whatnot.
    3. When I applied, I applied to Social Sciences (with the intention of then majoring in either Equity Studies or International Relations), but I was made an alternate offer to Honours of Arts and Sciences. Will I still be able to have Equity Studies or IR as my POST?
    4. Last question I’m not sure you can answer and maybe I’m better off calling directly the university but I’m gonna give it a shot, this is going to be my first year of University (as in I have never attended University in my life). However, when I go on my ROSI account, in the “Year of study” category, I have the number “2”. Do you have any idea why? Shouldn’t it me written 1??
    Thank you again so much!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    1. ENG4U is a Grade 12 English course that Ontario high school students take. what they’re saying is that you need to have taken an equivalent English language course in your last year of high school (or during CEGEP) in order to prove your English facility. from here: “Twelve Academic Subjects including English/anglais (2 terms)” are required if you’re coming in from CEGEP. if you haven’t taken an English course, then you should contact admissions to see whether you need to provide some other type of proof.

    2. nah. take a look at this campus map; i’ve circled the victoria college buildings. as you can see, they’re on queen’s park circle, which has university buildings all along it. obviously some buildings will be closer to you and some farther, but most university buildings should be a maximum 10 minute walk from you.

    3. yes! social sciences is just an area within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; as long as you meet the first year requirements for equity and international relations, you should be fine (note that IR is a type 3 POSt, meaning that even if you meet the requirements, you may not get in, because enrolment is limited; equity is a type 1 POSt, meaning enrolment is unlimited).

    4. it’s probably because you’re coming from CEGEP; since Ontario doesn’t have CEGEP, those credits will likely count as transfer credits for university here.

    from here: “Transfer credits will be granted to CEGEP candidates who have completed more than the 12 academic courses. If you have completed a two year DEC, you may receive up to 5 full credits towards an arts, science, commerce/management degree.” 5 full credits is one year at uoft, so maybe that’s what happened to you!

    you can, again, call admissions to make sure of this – they have access to everything in your student account, and will be able to tell you exactly where you stand.

    have a sensational first (second??) year!

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  subject POST,  UTM

    UTM biz

    May 27, 2014

    So I applied to the commerce program at UTM and instead, I got the “first year studies in business” alternate program. I read on the UTM website that this is an alternate program where students take the same courses as Commerce program students in the first year. Moreover, they needed to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 minimum in order to transfer and reapply into the original commerce program after the first year. So basically what happens if I do not meet the 2.5 GPA (although I feel like if I try hard, I can easily do it.) Do you drop out and waste all the tuition money? Or what exactly happens and is it worth it? Btw I’m still in high school so a little confused about this.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    nononoOOOOnO N O NoO ON ONO you do not drop out if you don’t meet those requirements.

    basically what has happened here is that UTM has given you a very generous opportunity: you didn’t get into commerce straight from high school, so they’re giving you a second chance. after first year, if you complete those requirements you listed, you can reapply to commerce to try and get into the program for second year.

    if you DON’T get into commerce though, it’s no big deal! no need to drop out, or waste money, or any of that. you can just apply to get into a different program of study (subject POSt). take a look at all of UTM’s management programs here, and all UTM programs here.

    once you finish first year, you’ll have the opportunity to enrol into/apply to any subject POSt you want. after a year, you may realize that commerce isn’t for you, and decide to enrol in something completely different. as long as you meet the prerequisites for whichever subject POSt that is, then you can go ahead and enrol in/apply to it. the reason i say enrol or apply is because some POSts have unlimited enrolment, while some are a bit more competitive, and you can read about that here, under “Add or Change a Program.”

    that’s a really quick-and-dirty explanation of all of this, but the bottom line is this: first year is definitely worth it. it’s an opportunity to test-drive your program, so that by the time you get to second year, you know which program is really right for you.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  computer science,  UTM

    MY reputation is that i’m a fabulously wise guru

    May 21, 2014

    Aska, I heard you like questions so I got a few fo’ you:
    1) Alternative offers. If I get an alternative offer, does that mean that my original offer is rejected, or will UofT outright tell me that I’ve been rejected?
    2) Campus differences. Lets say a friend of a friend of a close relative of a friend got an alternative offer to UTM when they applied to UTSG and is feeling kinda bummed out. Would there be a big difference in programs? To be specific, Computer Science??
    3) Not that I really care about this at all, but would your degree specify what campus you got it from?
    Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you got that right. i love me some questions. questions for breakfast, lunch and dinner. i’m not a physical being, so i don’t eat real food. i feed off of people’s questions, like that oracle from aladdin 2. so let’s begin the meal, shall we?

    1) if you’ve received an alternate offer, that means that they are not making the original offer, and are instead making another one. so yes, whichever program you originally applied to, you weren’t accepted – instead you’ve been given an offer for an alternate program.

    2) to your “friend of a close relative of a friend,” i would say that the differences are very minute. you can compare the mechanical differences relating to the required courses at each school by comparing the two calendars, but they’re not astronomical. for example, at the end of your first year at UTM, you need to have completed a math (with at least a 60%) and computer science (with at least a 65%) course, and 4 credits total. an equivalent student at UTSG would need to complete two comp. sci courses with at least a 60% in each and an average of 67% in both, and 4 credits total. there are some minor differences, but they’re not huge, right?

    your degree is what you make of it. if you do really well at UTM, and supplement your academic career with relevant extra- and co-curricular activities, you will be successful. there are successful people from every school, and unsuccessful people. the “reputation” of the place can only take you so far. and i hope the people who brag about their school left right and centre feel VERY SILLY about that.

    3) kind of. from the UTM convocation website: “[t]he diploma parchment will say ‘University of Toronto’ and NOT ‘University of Toronto Mississauga.’ The only place on the parchment where ‘University of Toronto Mississauga’ appears is below the Principal’s signature.” so it will say “University of Toronto Mississauga” in small letters under the principal’s signature, but it won’t be very visible on the page.

    but it’s smart of you not to care too much about this. like i said, if you are accomplished in your school career, if you make connections while you’re at school, that’ll help more than a piece of paper from the downtown campus ever could.

    good luck in first year, dude,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions

    everyone look disapprovingly at this person

    May 16, 2014

    Where can I find information about the conditions on my offer of admission other then the letter they sent? (Which I lost)

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    you lost your offer of admission?? you mean you didn’t frame it and hang it on your wall to commemorate this momentous milestone? for shame. for SHAME.

    but yeah, you can just call your college registrar’s office and they should be able to get?that information for you.

    hoping you keep a better eye on your things, you absolute ingrate,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  grad school

    no cookie cutters in grad school

    May 8, 2014

    Hi aska,

    For admission into graduate school to get a Masters of science or a Ph. D, do you need to do a specialist program in your undergrad?? Would you be able to complete a Masters or Ph.D if you do a double major?

    Thanks.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well, every graduate school and program is different. i don’t know exactly which Masters/Ph.D programs you’re interested in, but generally speaking, no. not every canadian university (or international university, for that matter), is organized the way uoft is. that means that lots of universities don’t have specialists or majors or minors, so it would be pretty irrational for a Masters or Ph.D program to demand that you have any one of those.

    usually, grad schools ask that you have a degree in a certain subject, or a related area. a double major may or may not satisfy the requirements for admission to certain programs, but it doesn’t completely exclude you from getting a graduate degree at all, by any means.

    if you’d like to, you can browse through uoft’s graduate degrees and take a look at their admission requirements to learn more about your options. whoo! isn’t higher learning exciting?

    for some reason, i always find it way more fun to browse programs and courses than to actually do them. i guess the illusion of productivity and academic excellence is so much more fun than the real deal. whoops.

    anyways, happy exploring!

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions

    donut panic

    May 5, 2014

    AHHHHHHH. So I’m applying to St. George? Humanities next year and I just got my second semester mid term. My averages are 80-85 and up except for biology which is a 78. Will this significantly affect my entrance?

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    AHHHHH. sorry, it’s a monday; just gotta do a little shouting into the void, ygm?

    my friend, there are a lot of factors that affect admission, and i can’t comment on how certain things may or may not influence your application. you are a special snowflake and everyone’s case is different from one another’s. however, you can take a look at the anticipated grade ranges of those accepted to uoft in 2014 for each program, and gauge your chances by comparing your (current and next year’s anticipated) average to those numbers.

    note that the numbers for 2014 may not be exactly the same as 2015, so don’t take them as gospel, but just as a rough guide giving you a bit of context about where you may stand next year.

    you’ll probably still end up a nervous wreck in grade 12, checking OUAC every five minutes like an old guy checking the lottery numbers, but?i hope you’ll be at least slightly less of a mess after this post.*

    and please, try not to worry so much. make sure you work as hard as you can and complete the prerequisites for your intended program, and then try to take comfort?in the fact that you’ve done everything you can. after you’ve worked hard and done your part, it’s in the university’s hands to make a decision. obsessing about it won’t help any.?go?out for an ice-cream or something instead. trust me, your hair’ll start greying much later that way.

    cheers,

    aska

    *askastudent: making people slightly less of a mess than they were before, since 17 A.D.

     

    Read More