• admissions,  applying for U of T,  psychology

    don’t psych yourself out, you’re okay

    Hi! I’m currently a grade 12 student who is about to apply to university. I was looking at the St. George campus for psychology requirements and it says that Grade 12 Biology is one of them. The thing is…my current biology mark is in the 60s. So I was wondering whether the requirement means that it’ll be included in my top 6? Or whether they are just looking or it? Or how does it really work…


    hey there,

    ah, a senior doing college admissions. i hope you’re taking care of yourself, that can be a stressful time. but i come delivering good news! your biology mark does not necessarily have to be included in the top 6 grades that are used to calculate your admission average.

    SpongeBob gif. SpongeBob and Patrick simultaneously raising their arms and smiling with extreme glee.

    here is why:

    when applying to uoft, you’re really just applying to admission streams rather than a specific program. basically all the programs are categorized into these six admission streams, and that will be what you select on OUAC when you fill out your application. these streams are: computer science, humanities, life sciences, mathematical & physical sciences, rotman commerce, and social sciences.

    here is a chart that breaks down the required high school courses by stream. you’ll see that psychology falls into the life science stream, which only requires english and calculus. i know that it’s a bit confusing because this site says psychology requires english, calculus, and bio. but in this case, bio is not required for entry to the stream. therefore, it does not need to be one of the six marks used in your grade calculation.

    so if you have a seventh course that has a better mark, then that would be used to calculate your admission average instead of your biology mark. i hope this helps and that everything goes well for you!

    over and out,

    See Ya Goodbye GIF

    aska

  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  you don't even go here

    how hard is it to get into uoft?

    hi!!

    let’s just pretend like i’m not a high school student (i have no idea if you take questions from us lol) BUT uoft is one of my dream schools and i would DIE if i got in! soooo, as a senior who has the everpresent threat of college applications looming over her head… how hard is it *actually* to get into uoft?? i know it is dependent on a whoooole bunch of factors, but i was hoping to get an opinion from actual students rather than some random website!! i’d be so grateful if you could help a girl out! <3

    Thanks and Regards


    hey there,

    “how hard is it actually to get into uoft”, you ask? let’s start this with two truths and a lie. have you ever played? it’s fun, i promise. i’ll give you three statements, and you decide for yourself which one is a lie.

    1. getting into uoft was easy for me, because 2. i’m extremely talented. but luckily, 3. i know everything about uoft, so i can tell you how hard it actually is.

    90 Day Fiance Agree GIF by TLC

    ok, jokes aside, let’s answer your question. i’ll keep in mind the fact that you want my actual opinion and not info from a random website.

    if you want to get into a specific program:

    uoft’s current acceptance rate is apparently 43%, but i would say it differs across programs and faculties. for example, admissions would look very different for a person applying to the faculty of music than it would for a person applying to the faculty of architecture and so on. overall though, getting into general arts and sciences isn’t hard.

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    something to note is that uoft has this thing called “POSt”, which is a program of study that you apply to after your first year. so right now, in grade 12, you’re not really applying to a program  — you’re just applying to the admission category of it. later on, most programs of study require an application to really get into, so i would suggest you look into that while you consider uoft in general. (this system is really great, it lets you be flexible and makes program switches happen more smoothly than other uni’s systems do!)

    if you’re a domestic student (from canada):

    it also differs among domestic and international students. apparently 25% of the student population is international? personally, i was a domestic applicant, so i can’t tell you much about the international experience, but i found getting in to be doable. about 15 people from my high school were accepted that i know of, but i also knew a few that weren’t accepted. from my experience, uoft only looks at your grades and academic average. if you’re a good student and have good grades, you should be fine. i’d certainly say that getting into uoft is loads easier than getting into american schools of the same ranking. but if you’re from the US, you can look here for information on US applications.

    what uoft says they look at:

    there are three areas that uoft say they consider when looking at your application. the first is the ‘general requirements‘ area, which consist of english proficiency and stuff. the second are your ‘program-specific requirements’ — for example, you need calculus 12 for math programs. then third is the area that students worry about the most: your grades for the last two years. specifically, they would look at the grade 11 and 12 courses that are relevant to the admission category you’re applying to, and tend to ignore elective classes. they mostly look at your top 6 grade 12 courses, and if you’re in the high 80s, you should be good.

    overall, getting into uoft is very possible! it takes hard work to get the good grades, but people have done it, and you can too! just make sure to meet all the application deadlines. i’d honestly say it’s more stressful than it is hard, if that makes sense! meeting the deadlines and keeping track of everything is important. i really hope you get in, and that this was somewhat helpful! as always, feel free to ask again if anything’s unclear or you need help with something else.

    over and out,

    Family Guy gif. Peter Griffin frowns as he tries to type with long press-on nails.

    aska

  • academic standing,  admissions,  international students

    a(AHHHHHH)dmissions

    Hey, what are the chances of my offer being rescinded? I got my IAL results and i got 3Bs overall. I had gotten admission into St George Life Sciences with 3 As in my AS. I honestly wasnt expecting the grades to be so bad but the grade boundaries fucked me over. Im worried because some of my units are quite bad, so what are the chances of my offer being rescinded? I reallly dont know what i will tell my parents who already dropped so much money on international flights and the dorms.


    hey there,

    as a fellow student, i know it can hit like a brick when you don’t do as well as you’ve anticipated. it’s honestly so scary and stressful, i don’t blame you for feeling this way. especially as you’re going into first year, i know this is a hectic time of transition when it feels like everything in your life is changing and like everything you do has so much weight to it.

    Cartoon gif. A weary Garfield the cat falls flat on his face into his bed box.

    while i can’t tell you much about the chances of your offer being rescinded, here is what i can tell you:

    you don’t have to do this alone. there are avenues of support available to help you and there may be pathways to explain extenuating circumstances that have impacted your academic performance. your best bet is to connect with your college registrar and talk to somebody about your situation. there are special considerations that can be made, and your registrar will genuinely do their best to help you out. a huge plus with them is that your conversation will be in real time, and you won’t have to deal with me and my little asynchronous answers (online school has ruined the word asynchronous for me).

    overall, there is a lot of support available to help you navigate this stressful time. on top of your college registrar’s academic support, if you need mental wellbeing support, you can check out the services my ssp (student support program) and good2talk.

    anyways, so sorry for the delay in this answer (it’s part of my personality at this point, unfortunately). thanks for your patience, i am sending you love and luck and hoping everything works out!!

    Long Distance Love GIF by Chibird

    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  internal transfer,  Transferring

    this or that: transfer or transfer

    Hi, my goal is to study architecture at UofT and unfortunately I didn’t get accepted. The only program open at UofT when I got my rejection was the visual and performance arts program at UofT Scarborough. My question is do you think it’s smart to go into that program in my first year and then do an internal transfer ? Or should I go to TMU for an undeclared program and so an external transfer? How can I make sure I will get accepted if I transfer?

    Have you ever heard about a similar situation? What was the outcome?


    hey there,

    this sounds like a tough decision. well… good thing i’m here, right?

    Excited Game Of Thrones GIF by Saturday Night Live

    1. internal vs. external transfer

    i haven’t heard of situations too similar to yours, but i have heard of many people doing internal transfers between campuses at uoft. and, take this with a grain of salt, but i’m assuming it would be easier to transfer internally since you will already have been accepted to uoft. especially since they have your transcript already and all your records. and in terms of anecdotal advice, people have said that transferring in from another university is very difficult and strict (harder than admission straight out of high school).

    2. how can i make sure i will get accepted if i transfer?

    while there’s no way to make sure you get accepted in a transfer, you can make your application stronger and more competitive. for an internal transfer: you can read about admissions from UTSC to the st. george campus hereadmission decisions are based on your CGPA, and will depend on whether or not program prerequisites, grade requirements and any other admission requirements have been met. people have said that this application process is not difficult, as long as your grades are fine. though uoft doesn’t give out an exact number, i think if your GPA is above a 3.0, you should be good. in the worst case, people who didn’t get in wrote a letter to appeal the decision, and it worked.

    Movie gif. Colin Farrell wears an oversized jacket on a busy street. He shrugs his shoulders and has an exaggerated frown on his face like he has no clue what's going on.

    for an external transfer: admission consideration is based on your overall academic record and your most recent annual average. competitive students normally have a solid ‘B’ average in their university studies (though this really depends on the program).

    in the end though, for something like this, advice from a fellow student probably won’t cut it. i can’t make a call on what is smart to do just based on your question, as i don’t know the full picture or what would work for you. if you wanted to push for program-specific answers, get in touch with the admissions office in the faculty of architecture. their email is: undergraduate (at) daniels (.) utoronto (.) ca . someone on the inside there might actually be really helpful, don’t hesitate to just ask!

    and overall, talk to the people in your life about what makes most sense for you. i’m sure it will all work out, keep your head up! wishing you all the best. (also, thanks for the patience with this answer).

    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  scholarships/bursaries

    don’t worry, that (scholar)ship hasn’t sailed yet

    If i have currently gotten no scholarship offers, does this mean i get no scholarships for my first year?

    do we only get scholarship offers at the time of our admission?


    hey there,

    in general, admission scholarships would have already been offered in your admission letter, especially the larger ones. if you actively applied for scholarships, some may have been offered after admissions, but are most likely done by now.

    however, you still have options going forward! there are three types of scholarships – scholarships for admissions, scholarships for “in-course”, and scholarships for graduation. even if you didn’t receive an admission scholarship, you can apply for in-course scholarships throughout your degree.

    Stay Calm Its Okay GIF by CBS

    you can check out award explorer to search for scholarships. but be sure to filter according to what you’re eligible to, since there are thousands of awards on there. i’d recommend putting in key words such as “first year” or the name of your intended major(s). and, if you’re ever confused about a scholarship, just send off an email to the department offering it – for example, to ask when applications open. they’re normally very responsive!

    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  prospective student,  science,  St. George

    hope in the face of gr 12 calculus

    Hi! So, my top 6 average before I took calculus was a 91, then I got a 60 on my midterm and now my average is an 86. Overall, I took 8 courses this year and most were low 90s with the exception of an 85 and an 88. I’ve completely given up on being accepted into material sci because I doubt they’ll accept me because of my calculus mark, but do I still have a chance for LifeSci? This is about stg campus btw. Please help!!


    hello there!

    a stem kiddo — we love to see it. i gather that your top six average is 86 now including calculus, which was a 60. it’s a tricky situation because your average is technically still in the running for both programs, but they both require calculus.

    just so you know, you won’t actually be admitted for specific programs like material sci in first year, btw. you would have to enter the physical and mathematical sciences stream in the first year, and then apply for the material sciences POSt (specific majors, minors, stuff like that) afterwards. complicated, i know.

    physical and mathematical sciences requires a top 6 average of mid to high 80s, including grade 12 english and calculus, and so does lifesci. they do both recommend mid to high 80s in english and calc though, and it’s kind of hard to say how strict the admissions office is with that requirement.

    i know a few friends who’ve gotten into lifesci with a few marks in the 70s, so i’d say you’ve still have a shot, especially since you did well overall and in your other courses. lifesci is also known to be a huge first year stream, which does improve your chances.

    if you do end up getting into lifesci, a cool thing about utsg arts and sciences is that you can apply to pretty much any program in the faculty for second year. there are some exceptions that are much more competitive, like computer science or rotman commerce, but as long as you take the high school prereqs and do well in the required first year courses, you can still get into materials science or any other program that you might find interesting!

    good luck! hope that helps!

    aska

  • admissions,  prospective student,  repeating course

    second chances: technically possible, probably hard

    So I failes my advanced functions class and I am retaking it. Am I still gonna get accepted if I have a repeat? I know that Rotman does not count MHF4U but how about Scarborough and Mississauga. Will they accept?


    hello hello,

    so from the utm, utsc, and utsg admissions websites it looks like all of them have the same somewhat vague stance against repeated courses, which is basically that generally they’ll allow it but “urge you to do as well as possible on your first attempt” (and that’s word for word on all three sites — a lot of repetition there, ironically).

    so while a repeated course won’t take you out of the running, it’ll probably be an uphill battle especially for more competitive programs, and students without repeated courses might be given greater preference. to be honest it’ll be really important to try and ace the course this time around to show that ultimately you can do well (yeah i know, no pressure or anything…)

    utm was also kind enough to specify that they’ll only take the highest grades of the repeated courses, but the others weren’t as clear, so as with many admissions-related things, it’s kind of a black box.

    you could also apply for special consideration if you have proof of any extenuating circumstances that affected the first time you took the course. no, i’m not gonna link all that for all three campuses but i promise it’s out there and it’s a thing. google is your best friend 😉

    oh also, interestingly, rotman allows repeated courses too, though i was under the impression that they didn’t for some time. like all the others, they also “urge you to do well on your first attempt” and all that, and they do prefer candidates without repeated courses. but as you mentioned they don’t require advanced functions, just calculus and vectors, so hopefully that all goes well in case you’re interested in applying.

    best of luck,

    aska

  • admissions,  cegep,  prospective student

    r score why r u so confusing

    Hello! Im currently a quebec cegep student looking to go into life sciences / animal physiology at U of T and would like some advice on admissions. I struggled quite a bit in calculus this year and my cal 1 grade is only a 72… I was wondering if this is way to low for getting accepted and if its recommended that I retake this course. I’m very worried about this right now so any advice on this or admissions in general is greaaaatly appreciated!!


    hey there,

    i’m so sorry for the long wait on this one, but hopefully this still helps.

    according to the admissions website, cegep students need an r score of mid-20s or higher – specifically, utsg arts and science has an r score cutoff of 26. it does mention that they will see your full transcript with the actual percentage marks, but i’m not sure if there’s a specific cutoff for that.

    you’re probably familiar with the cegep r score, so hopefully that magic number 26 means something to you because frankly after digging around a bit i still don’t really know what it really translates to in terms of a percentage. i mean, you got a 72, but did you really, compared to the course average and then comparing your school to all the other schools… quebec really went all out with this whole scoring thing and tbh it’s just too much stats for me.

    hopefully you already know your r score by the time you apply, which will give you a much better idea. if not, it might help to generally follow the recommended grades for the equivalent grade 12 high school subjects? it’s not a perfect comparison since cegep courses might be harder (?) but uoft life sciences recommends mid to high 80s in high school english and calculus.

    based on that, i’d say the safest plan is to retake calc if possible, and aim for a higher mark in the 80s just in case. but then again, if all of your other marks are in the 80s-90s and you are generally at or above the course average, it also doesn’t hurt to try and apply. although 70s might be on the lower side for calc, i don’t think it’s necessarily a dealbreaker, especially if you have a good average overall.

    best of luck!

    aska

  • admissions,  grades,  prospective student

    grade 11? i don’t know her

    hi, i just finished grade 11, and i ended with mid 70 to high 60 for my courses. i recently moved here from alberta and in albertian uni’s, they check both gr11 and 12 marks, but here, i’ve been told that they dont look at gr11 marks as much. i was wondering if that was true, like if they dont really care about gr11 marks unless you pre-enroll(which i am not). also, is there like a certain average i should have in gr12 to sort of ‘cancel’ my gr11 marks? the course i wanna get into is bio-med, ty


    hey there,

    welcome welcome! yes, it’s true. most ontario unis only care about your grade 12 marks, not grade 11. each uni posts their own admissions requirements (the uoft one is here) but they usually only judge you on six of your grade 12 courses, which include any required courses for the program you’re applying for, and other electives where you got the highest marks. pretty sweet, i know.

    grade 11 marks only really matter for early consideration, if the marks for your required grade 12 courses aren’t available yet, and scholarships. even for really competitive programs, i’ve rarely seen ones that use grade 11 marks for admissions (at least for regular acceptance).

    the admissions averages can vary for different programs and unis but if you’re interested in something like uoft life sciences (biology etc), you should be aiming for at least mid to high 80s, which is pretty similar to biomed type programs at other unis from what i remember. so don’t sweat it, just focus on working your ass off this year because the past is (mostly) in the past.

    good luck,

    aska

  • admissions,  business,  economics,  prospective student,  rotman

    let’s get down to business

    hi! i was wondering what the business course is like? stuff like what subjects are required in high school to be able to take business as a major, how big the classes are and what other courses i should take alongside business


    hi there,

    so uoft doesn’t actually have a ‘business major’ — if you’re interested in business you’re gonna have to be more specific than that, because there are a bunch of different business-related programs.

    for example, utsg has the rotman commerce program, and the application requirements are listed here. you’ll need to take grade 12 english and calculus, and also submit an supplemental application.

    utsc offers business administration (bba) programs under their department of management. if you’re wondering about the difference between “commerce” and “business administration”, this is a pretty good breakdown.

    but get this, utm has a bba program (under their department of management) and a commerce program (under the department of commerce). to make things more convoluted, utsg, utsc, and utm all have their own economics programs, which are offered as part of bachelors of arts or bachelors of science degrees.

    i honestly couldn’t tell you the difference between all these business-esque paths, so you’re probably better off just searching for key words of programs you might be interested in on uoft’s website.

    the admissions requirements do vary depending on the program so definitely check for the specific ones that you end up applying for, but they seem to all require grade 12 english, and in some cases, one or two grade 12 math courses.

    class sizes can also vary depending on the specific program you go into, but classes are generally larger in first year where there may be several hundred students in a class, and tend to get smaller in upper years. if you’re looking for some cold hard numbers, this 2012 report from uoft actually breaks things down and shows how over 50% of first year classes had 200+ students, while over 80% of fourth year classes had less than 50 students.

    the exact class sizes for business programs might differ, but there’s not a lot of info out there on the specifics — utsc management is the only program that actually gives an estimate of their class sizes in their faqs, rotman mentions that their upper year courses are capped at 55 students, and utm’s info on this is dissapointingly nonexistent. just don’t be surprised if you end up in first year classes with hundreds of students, especially in courses like calculus which are prereqs for a lot of different programs.

    alright, now to wrap up this very long post, let’s talk about other courses/electives. honestly, it’s really up to you to choose!

    i know it’s kind of a drag and hugely overwhelming to sift through courses in the uoft calender (the utsg artsci one is linked here) until you find the ones you like, but i mean… that’s just what you gotta do. if i’ve learned anything about courses at uoft, it’s that people’s experiences can really vary. a bird course or an interesting course for one student might be absolutely horrible for another, so don’t be afraid to try out anything that interests you. also, uoft’s course evals page and ratemyprof are some handy ways to double check the courses on your list for any red flags or really poor ratings, which can be a legitimate reason to avoid a course.

    outside of your program requirements, you can choose pretty much any electives you like, or even do a major or minor in a completely different field, if that’s what you’re into. uoft’s pretty great that way because there are just so many different courses and programs out here. for example, you can use your electives to just chill and learn things for interest, or go for classes that might complement certain aspects of business you’re interested in. or maybe you just want to double down on more business courses, which works too!

    hope that helps, and best of luck in your business endeavours!

    aska

  • admissions,  conditional offer,  Transferring

    i am once again asking you to ask enrolment services

    [Asking for a Friend] He’s a transfer student from UK and failed a course during his spring term. Will his admission offer be revoked by UT? Is there any way to prevent this?


    hi there,

    so… i’m a bit confused. is your friend in high school and transferred from the uk to canada? is he transfering to uoft from a university in the uk? or neither? i have so many questions.

    anyway, i’ll just assume it’s one of those two… if your friend’s in a canadian high school (although similar criteria apply for international schools, like in the uk), it’s possible that his offer will be revoked, especially if the course is a prerequisite for the program he was accepted for.

    conditional offers made before your final marks are out will usually have requirements to maintain your marks, but they can be super vague. unfortunately, i can’t say if uoft will rescind his offer but i’d recommend contacting enrolment services directly to ask, if you haven’t heard from them already.

    if the offer gets rescinded, your friend might be able to further explain his situation to the admissions office to see if any exceptions can be made, or if they would accept a retake of the course in summer school, private school, or any other options available to him.

    if your friend’s transferring from a university/college, the failed course could also be an issue since conditional offers for transfers do emphasize your cgpa and overall academic performance. again, prerequisites probably matter the most, but you’d also have to pass the cgpa cutoff which is generally around a B average, according to the requirements. to be safe though, i’d still recommend asking enrolment services.

    it might seem like i’m just outsourcing every other question to enrolments services at this point, which… well. just trust me, they know best.

    good luck (to your friend, that is) and hope that helps!

    aska

  • admissions,  criminology,  prospective student

    the psych/philosophy to criminology student pipeline??

    Hi! I am considering pursuing the criminology program at this university. However, I have questions about the prerequisites. I took 2 psychology courses and a philosophy course. Do they take the marks of the 2 psych courses to make one average? Also could we, for instance, use our marks from one psych course and our marks from one SOC class to calculate an average with the other psych? course?


    hi there,

    well first of all, that’s a lot of psychology courses! at least for high school, which i assume that’s what you’re talking about, but then again that was a while ago… anyway. the first thing i do have to kind of clear up is whether those courses you’ve listed are from grade 12 or previous years.

    that’s because uoft usually calculates your average from your top grade 12 courses, including any mandatory required courses for your admission category. in ontario, for example, that would be your top six grade 12 courses. for criminology, you’d be applying for the sociology admissions category, which just lists english as a required course.

    the courses are all treated separately, so if your philosophy and two psychology courses were taken in grade 12, and were among your highest marks (other than english, which has to be included), then they would all be included as individual courses to calculate your average.

    so to be clear, your admission average is going to end up being the average of a bunch of your top grade 12 courses, which may or may not include all your philosophy and psychology courses, although english would be mandatory.

    anyway, i hope that helps and wish you all the best in your future criminological endeavours.

    aska

  • admissions,  scholarships/bursaries

    mysterious money box (aka scholarships)

    Hello, I was wondering how UofT calculates their averages for qualification of their admission scholarships. I got admitted to the faculty of Life Science and did not receive a scholarship. My average when I calculated it all my courses was 97%, and my friends said their averages were similar or less.


    hello hello,

    as far as i’m aware, utm and utsc have specific ranges for admission averages (e.g. grade 12 top six marks required for the program you applied to) for their automatic entrance scholarships, in addition to some extra requirements on the eligible courses. for example, neither campus will take the second mark for a repeated course, utsc won’t count grades updated after admissions or courses taken the summer right before university, yadda yadda yadda. i’m assuming you’re interested in the automatic, grades-based scholarships, by the way — don’t even get me started on the applications-based scholarships, because there are just wayyy to many factors to account for there.

    it looks like admission averages around the high 80% or 90% range would guarantee you scholarships at these campuses, so if you applied to utm or utsc, you can certainly send a strongly worded email to their admissions departments asking about your scholarships.


    i have a feeling that you’re asking about utsg though, which, uh…


    let’s just say they like to keep things mysterious. the uoft scholars entrance scholarship at utsg doesn’t seem to have any specific range in terms of grades. they do state that scholarships are specific to your campus/faculty/college, though, which does make everything more complicated. (great.) anyhow, to answer your question, i can’t really say for utsg, but it might depend on your college and what their cutoffs are for lifesci, too. if you find that your friends going to the same college/program with similar averages got an automatic scholarship, it might be worth asking the admissions department or college registrar about it, in case you were also eligible.

    either way, congrats on getting through high school with those marks! entrance scholarships can be fickle and competitive, but it looks like you’re doing great regardless and will hopefully keep it up in uni! if tuition costs are an issue at all, you should definitely also prepare to apply for osap (if you’re an ontario kid), utaps, or other financial aid from uoft.

    good luck!

    aska