when is enrolment for summer courses? how do we go about doing that? is it different from normal semester enrolment?
——————————————
hi there,
thank you for waiting for this answer! i hope it’s still of use to you.
assuming you’re in artsci, by february 24, you should know your summer enrolment start time. you’ll be able to find that on ACORN, just like normal!
summer enrolment is pretty much the same as the fall, only you can’t enrol in as many courses. you should also be aware that there’s a different timetable for the summer — last year’s was https://timetable.iit.artsci.utoronto.ca/summer2020, so i’d assume this summer’s will be the same but with the year changed. that’ll be up when it’s ready.
i hope this helped! good luck with your midterms.
be Boundless,
aska
i added a new category named ‘late regstration’ just for u and now i can’t delete it
i’m financially cancelled for the summer session, because i thought i didn’t want to enrol. but now i don’t have anything to do, so i might be changing my mind. is there a way to un-cancel myself so i can enrol in summer courses, or is it too late?
hey there,
technically, yes, it is past the deadline to enrol in summer courses.
however, if you get in touch with your friendly local registrar, they should be able to process you as a late registration. i’m not super familiar with what the process looks like for the summer semester (especially with the registrar’s office having gone virtual), but i can’t imagine it would be that different from normal? basically a doing a late reg means is that you’ll get un-cancelled (lol, twitter would never) and be able to enrol in courses. it’ll cost you a sweet little sum (i can’t remember how much? i think around $45???? ask your registrar). but yeah, like most things in our capitalist economy, many disallowed things are possible if you’re willing to pay the price.
too bad i’m too poor to get away with stunt driving. too bad i’m too poor to even know how to drive. the bus be my horse,
be Boundless,
aska
a tomorrow problem
im in a stressful place right now – im on academic probation, but im already enrolled in summer school with osap already given. the 2 0.5 courses im taking interest me a lot and im sure i can do well in them, but there’s still a voice in the back of my head that gets me really nervous about my academic standing come the end of my term. do u think its possible to pass and secure at least a 1.7 gpa in the 1st summer term, given my terrible academic standing last year? ????
——————————————
hey friend,
it’s hard to know too much about your situation. but from what i can guess from the numbers, you’re trying to dodge suspension, yeah? or at least that’s usually what it is when someone on probation is concerned with making a summer GPA of 1.7.
if the courses interest you and you’re optimistic about doing well, then by all means i think a 1.7 is possible. it’s hard to really tell because i don’t know what your academic record’s been like, nor do i know if there are non-academic factors you think will heap extra struggle on your studies. but at least it’s just the one summer term you’ve got to worry about for now. since the school’s not requiring you to pull your entire CGPA up to stay registered at the school (which would be much harder), it may be healthier to shelve your past grades for the moment.
i don’t blame you for being nervous. it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed when you’re contending with a whole academic record looming over you. but ultimately, all you have control over right now is how well you do in these two classes. i’d encourage you to focus on just that, then. you don’t have control over your gpa so much as you have control over how smart/hard you study, and how well you keep up. you feel? remember that it’s also okay to ask for help– in fact, you should. clarification from profs/TAs on assignments can actually make quite a big difference with how well you do.
i know the summer term’s been on for a few weeks now, but if you think it might help, i’d recommend that you contact your registrar or student life and see if you can get an appointment with a learning strategist. especially if you’ve been struggling for academic and not personal reasons, this might help you out. they’ll be able to walk you through smarter study strategies, give you exam prep tips, and sling you pointers on writing and presenting. they also help you address issues like procrastination, which tbh we all need at least bit of help with.
as much as i’d love to (and totally could, if you want) write up a post chock-full of study tips, i always feel better knowing yall are talking to someone in person, who’s better able to familiarize themselves with your specific situation. i love the anonymous aska format, but it can make it a bit difficult to give super personalized advice, which you certainly deserve.
thanks for waiting on this answer, and sorry for the delay in getting it up. wishing you loads and loads of good luck and strong work ethic to get you through the summer sem. i believe in you and your ability to push through and pass those courses, even if it doesn’t end up being easy. i’m here cheering for you and hoping for your success!
over n out,
aska
is it illegal
Hey got a weirdo question for future references. I know that a typical full course load for summer school is 2.0 credits spread evenly through the summer but, lets say 3 courses I want to take are being offered in the same summer session. Is it illegal to do a summer session with 1.5 credits in one (and potentially 0.5 credits in the other)? I mean, it’s kinda crazy but it’s still 2.0 credits so it’s not an overload… Right?
——————————————
hello,
not that weird of a question at all! as far as i can tell, unfortunately it would actually count as an overload. the artsci calendar indicates that the maximum course load for any given summer term is 2 courses, the same way the max you can take in fall/winter at one time is six. so if you did want to take all 3 courses at once, you’d have to request registration in an overload through your registrar.
not much you can do about it. the system’s pretty inflexible, i guess.
either way, i know this is just a hypothetical, but i’d encourage you to take that third course at another time if you’re able. sometimes the rules are there to protect us from ourselves. summer courses are accelerated and it gets pretty tough to juggle three of them in one sem. midterm season hits second week of summer school, i swear. i’m not a fan.
over n out,
aska
another day, another POSt
Hi! I took the min amount of courses a full time student can take so I should have 3.0 FCE at the end of the year right? So I can’t apply to a POST? What happens then? I have to wait until next summer or will I have to apply in the coming fall semester as soon as I complete 1 more FCE to make 4 total? Also I want to major in sociology but I didn’t take perquisite course (took a different soc course) & I can’t take it in the summer so do I have to apply to random programs then just switch later?
——————————————
hey there,
if you took the minimum amount of courses to still qualify as full-time, you should indeed have 3.0 FCE by the end of the year. you’re correct that this bars you from applying to a POSt right now, and unfortunately there’s no POSt application period in the fall. it only happens in two periods once a year, generally beginning near the end of winter semester and in the middle of the summer semester.
this puts you in kind of a weird place.
my recommendation to you depends on your plan going forward. there are two possibilities:
1.you’re taking summer classes and will have another 1.0 credit once the first summer semester is up
there’s a rule that prevents students from enrolling in courses once they reach 4.0 credits and aren’t registered in a program. if you are taking enough summer classes to have 4.0 by july, i’m worried that this will kick in for you before course reg, and you’ll find yourself unable to come back for fall/winter next year. what you’ll want to do with this case is request programs during the second request period. this request period depends on what program type you’re going for, and you can find those dates here. i dunno if you’re well-versed on program types, so if you’re not you can read up on them there as well. to check what kind of type your programs are, ctrl+f them on this page.
yikes, i feel like one of those automated phone lines you call and have to press 5 buttons before you can speak to a real human being. press 8 for more information. press 9 to repeat this message. press 0 to revive aska-with-a-personality from the hellhole that is exam szn :(( my apologies for being as dry as a piece of two-week-old bread.
… i don’t know what i’m throwing this gif in for. it serves no purpose other than making me a lil uncomfortable.
since you won’t be able to get your soc prereqs by then, what you should probably do is pick placeholder programs. this’ll ensure you’ll be able to register in courses, and they’re easy enough to drop at the end of next year if you still want to switch to soc. i’d go for random type 1 programs, as they don’t ask anything extra of you. it’s basically just so your acorn continues to function and treat you as a student following the rules. loopholes!
2.you’re not taking summer courses/enough summer courses to have 4.0 by july
with this, i’m relatively confident the no-course-enrollment rule will not affect you. what you’ll have to do in this case is just wait til next year’s program enrollment period. this, thankfully, gives you time to complete your soc prerequisites without having to throw placeholders into your ACORN.
hope this helped! best of luck with what exams you have left, and feel free to shoot me another question if you run into any trouble with this.
over n out,
aska
more everything
Hey aska,
I just finished first year in life sciences with exactly 3.5 credits, so I’m gonna be in first year again I guess.
Earlier in the summer i asked my registrar if this means I’lll have to do 5 years instead of 4 if i didnt take summer school and she insured me that i wont have to. But the issue is that I want to major in human biology. its a type1 program and i have all i need except for chm136, but i need chm136 for the second year courses. BIO230, HMB204, BCM210 & HMB265. Im worried that these courses may not be available in the summer and I really don’t have a plan for what i could possibly do, anything is helpful.
——————————————
hi!
this is a tricky situation. i just wanna preface this response by saying that i’m but a humble student blogger. yes, i am privvy and somewhat all seeing, but people at your registrars office actually know everything. in fact, it’s their job to know everything (or refer you to someone else who knows more everything than their everything). i know that you said that you’ve already talked to them, but i think it may be a good idea to go back for a follow-up appointment to discuss your options.
that being said, i’ll answer your question to the best of my ability.
so, you’re right, you will still be considered a first year student this year (second year students are students with at least 4.0FCE). if you do still want to graduate in four years, it’s still possible! though you may need to take more than 5.0 FCE at some point or summer courses in order to graduate in four years, it’s doable. but, you should keep in mind that it’s totally okay (and normal!) to take more than four years. lots of students even take LESS than 5.0FCE every year and more than 4 years to finish their degrees. work at your own pace. if finishing in four years is super important to you, that’s also valid! just remember that you will probably need to take more than 5.0FCE and summer courses at some point to do that.
as for the courses you want to take, i suggest that you take a look at the faculty of arts and sciences’ timetable to see when those courses are offered. then, you can check to see if you could take those second year courses in the winter semester if you take chm136 in fall semester. according to the timetable, chm136 is offered in the fall, which means that you can take some of the courses that you need chm136 for in the winter semester, if they’re offered.
you can also check out the department’s previous summer offerings to get an idea of what courses will be offered next summer. there’s no guarantee that courses that were offered previously will be offered in the future, but it’s a good way to get a gist of what courses are offered in the summer sessions.
again, i think that going to see someone at your registrar’s office to discuss options and academic planning would be a good idea, but i hope this helps a little.
good luck, i’m rooting for you!
xoxo,
aska
not too cool for summer school
hello! i am currently taking 6 courses and am enrolled in 6 courses next term. however, my stress level is slowly (but surely) increasing. im thinking about taking 2 courses in summer school. how/where do i found out if my courses will be available in the summer? id like to know if they are offered in the summer before dropping out of the courses. thank u
——————————————
hello!
6 courses is an awful lot! if your stress levels are rising and you’re finding it difficult to keep up with 6 courses, it may be a good idea to drop one. i’m always an advocate for dropping things and making more time for yourself, your mental health, a hobby, and/or a job.
unfortunately, the summer timetable isn’t released until mid-march, so i’m not 100% sure what courses they’re offering in summer 2018. however, you could check the timetable from the 2017 summer session. though there’s no guarantee that the courses will be the same, usually departments offer similar courses year to year.
i’m sorry for this really slow response, i don’t know how relevant this answer will be now, but you have until november 6th to drop a F session course. so you’ve still got a little bit of time to think about it!
i hope this helps. good luck!
xoxo,
aska
feeling terrible is terrible
Hey ???????? Summer has begun and it sucks. I’m on my first year of suspension and what should I even do on suspension? I feel like I failed my parents, wasted my tuition and I just feel terrible. What are my options now that I’m on suspension and when is the earliest that can I begin enrolling in courses again? Would I be able to enroll for summer school 2018? And what gpa do I need once I get back to school to get off suspension/probation? Suggestions? Thank you for your help. ~ the distressed kid
———————————————
hey ?????????
being on suspension may seem like the worst thing ever but it’s really a time for ~*personal growth*~
reflect, re-evaluate, regrow, like groot! (he’s so cute, i had to include this gif)
give yourself lots of ‘you’ time. try and think about what went wrong last semester and how to prevent it from happening again. make a game plan to follow for when you get back to school and set some good goals. you’ll be even more excited and motivated to return if you set goals because you’ll be like “hey, i can do this and i can’t wait to achieve these goals!”
and when i say set goals, i mean realistic goals. stuff like “GET A 4.0 GPA” are too vague and frankly, super daunting. stuff like: ‘sleep at least 7 hours every night’, or ‘take half an hour to review notes from the day’s classes everyday’ are examples of more realistic goals that won’t seem as intimidating as: “GET AT LEAST AN 80% ON EVERY TEST.” if you are someone who tends to skip classes both unintentionally and intentionally, (lol, me) set a hard limit for yourself. “i can only skip 4 classes this semester.” set some ground rules for your ‘next semester game plan’, but be realistic and thoughtful about them.
(*i know that admin/ faculty people are reading the part about skipping classes and shaking their heads but hey, it’s actually super difficult for some of us to be in the right mindset to get to class. sometimes it’s an anxiety thing and sometimes it’s just a general lack of energy/ motivation. showing up to class is actually a lot harder than it seems, so no judging or angry emails pls.)
if you are looking for practicality, both financially and career wise, i would suggest that you try working full time to save up some money for school! who knows, you might find a job that you love and realize that you don’t need to finish school to excel in your field!
if work sounds like too much pressure for you, i’m a big believer in volunteer work. giving back to the community is always a great way to learn a lot about yourself and your role in society. sometimes we can get really caught up with our own lives and the seemingly terrible things that happen to us, but it’s also important to think about other people and do all we can to help people who are less fortunate.
hey, if making money or giving back to the community aren’t a priority right now, you could do an eat, pray, love kind of thing and travel! you might even FIND YOURSELF! go explore the world and experience new and wonderful things!
if you ever feel a longing for academia during your suspension, you can try getting a head start on classes you plan to take in the future. feed and enrich that brain of yours and don’t let it go dormant. if you spend your whole suspension without challenging your brain, it might be hard to get back into the groove of things when you return to school. (this isn’t a proven fact, but from personal experience, i have a hard time getting back into school mode after summer vacation because i don’t use my brain all summer)
in regards to the parental units, don’t feel like you failed them. they might make it seem like they used to be golden children, but i’m sure they’ve made mistakes too in their lives. you’re still figuring things out and they should try to understand that it takes time. they were once your age too! as for the money thing, yes, some mistakes have financial consequences, but think of it as paying for a valuable life lesson! life lessons are priceless, yo.
if this is your first 1 year suspension, you will be be able to return to school after one calendar year, so yes, summer 2018, after which you will be on academic probation. once you are on academic probation, you will need to maintain a CGPA of 1.50 or more to have your status changed to “in good standing”. read more about academic standing here!
i hope i’ve given you some stuff to think about and some ideas as to what to do with your one year off! let us know if anything else is stressing you out! we’re here for you!
oh. and go see your registrar. they’re awesome.
peace, love, and an encouraging pat on the back,
aska
math fun with fees
Hi there,
I’m a 4th year computer science major student in UTM, and I plan to take more than 2 credits this summer, but the fee schedule only have the tuition amount for at most 2.0 credits(like here http://www.fees.utoronto.ca/Assets/Student+Accounts+Digital+Assets/20165+Summer/20165+UTM+Intnl.pdf), what do I pay if I want to study for, let’s say 3 credits this summer?
Thanks!
———————————————
hello,
first of all, i’m assuming you’re an international student, since you linked the international student fees page in your question. if you are, in fact, a domestic student, please look at this link.
the reason why it doesn’t show any fees over 2.0 credits is because anything over 2.0 credits would be considered a course overload…
…meaning that if you wanted to do, lets say 1.5 FCE’s in one semester (3 classes per term to reach a total of 3.0 FCE’s for the whole summer), you would need special permission from your registrar’s office. if you have already been approved for this, you will just need to look at the table you provided me and do a little math.
to break down your academic fees, the PDF you attached indicates on the first page that all summer courses are charged per-course. in the table you’ll see that every 0.5 FCE costs $4,682.00, meaning that if you were to take 3.0 FCE’s, you’d have to multiply this value by 6, giving you $28,092.
since you are a full time student, you would be paying full time incidental fees ($688.96) and then UHIP fees ($204.00) in addition to your academic fees.
the math: $28,092 + $688.96 + $204.00 = $28,984.96.
meaning that your fee totals (not counting any outstanding fees you might owe) will be $28,984.96. damn that’s a whole lotta dough.
make sense?
if you are ever unsure about fees, you can contact your registrar’s office and they will be able to breakdown your fees for you!
hope this helped!
P.S. I HATE MATH, SO IF I MADE A MISTAKE PLS DON’T KILL ME
peace and love,
aska
what time is it? summer (school) time
Hi I’m a first year student at UTSG and I’m thinking of going to summer school next year cuz I only have 4 credits now. I would do a credit this summer but I desperately need to relax 😛 . I’m thinking of taking 1.0 full course credit and I was wondering how long is it? I know it’s 4 months but is class everyday? How many hours? Would I still have a summer to enjoy?
———————————————
hey!
*apologies for the lame high school musical reference in the title*
summer school is a great option! i personally like taking courses in the summer more than during the year because i feel that i have more energy and motivation.
if you are wanting to make up 1.0 FCE’s during summer 2018, you have four options since there are two summer semesters.
1) take a Y course (1.0 FCE’s) which will last from may to august
2) take two F courses (0.5 FCE’s each) from may to june
3) take two S courses (0.5 FCE’s each) from july to august
4) take one F course (0.5 FCE) from may to june and then take one S course (0.5 FCE) from july to august
obviously if you want to get your classes over with earlier and enjoy the rest of your summer, option 2 would be ideal (which is what i happen to be doing right now), but be prepared to work hard and manage your time wisely.
summer school is accelerated, so for an For S course, you’ll have 6 weeks of class as opposed your typical 12 weeks. let me tell you right now, summer school is not easy. you’ll feel like you just started getting into the material and then BAM! you’ll be writing your final. you’ll also have twice the amount of lectures per week which means twice the amount of readings.
it’s tough, man.
i actually just answered a question recently about summer school that might answer some of your questions regarding class times, which you can check out here! in terms of F and S courses, for one class, you can expect an average of about 4 hours of class per week, split between two days. (e.g. tuesdays and thursdays 12-2pm) i feel as though this is a pretty standard representation of what summer courses are like, but don’t quote me on that. you can take a look for yourself this summer’s timetable to get an idea of what class hours are like.
you would only have class everyday if you decide to take classes that fill up your whole week!
you can definitely still enjoy your summer- you’d only be in class for a couple of hours a day! you can go out and have fun for the rest of the day! (don’t forget to study, of course) relax yo. it’s gon’ be chill.
peace and love,
aska
i just want to know what i’m up against
Hi, I’m a first year student at UTSG and I’m worried that I might fail a course (even though I put it down as credit/no credit) I obviously want the credit cuz it’s a full year course but i worry I might fail. I don’t want to spend this summer in school obviously, but I’m thinking of making up for it next summer. I was wondering how does summer school work if I take one full year course? Do we meet every day? Are lecturers typically 2hrs? Are there tutorials? How many days a week would we meet?
Also I’m thinking about majoring in sociology, It says u need a combined mark of 65% for SOC102 and 103. I severely underestimated first semester and got a 64 in 102 and I’ll probably finish in 103 with around 75. Do u think I’ll be admitted into the program with a 70% overall? How competitive is sociology? I can’t find this info anywhere!
Thanks!
———————————————
hello,
first of all, i hope you didn’t fail the course! we’ve all been there at some point in our undergrads, so don’t sweat it too much. you’re only in first year and you have plenty of time to catch up if you do end up failing. fingers crossed!
i actually prefer summer school to fall/winter school (?) because i feel that i have more energy to get up and go to class when it’s nice outside as opposed to when its dark and gloomy. it’s not the worst thing! a summer of relaxation can get boring! might as well do something productive!
*my most sincerest apologies if this information is completely irrelevant at this point in time- i’m really bad at getting to time-sensitive questions on time*
every summer Y course is different. i’ll show you different examples of what to expect. since you’re pursuing an arts degree, let’s go with something like anthropology. as you can see below, you’ll have 2 two hour long lectures and one hour long tutorial per week,
but for another Y course in arts, let’s say cinema studies, you’ll have 2 four hour long lectures and no tutorial. (the lectures are usually very long because they sometimes include screenings)
if we look at yet another example coming from east asian studies, you’ll have 1 two hour long lecture and 1 hour long tutorial per week.
so you can see that it really depends on what course you decide to take. some classes come with tutorials and others come with screenings. there’s no set amount of class time that all Y classes have per week.
a question about sociology, yay! you’re talking to someone who just completed their sociology major! (humble brag, but hey, it was a lot of work and i’m glad to be done)
there really isn’t a way to find out how competitive a program is, (trust me, i even asked the registrar) but at least you know you’re above the minimum average needed and that you’ll be considered. it does say on the calendar that getting a combined average of 65% will not guarantee entrance into the program, but really, it varies every year depending on how the averages are skewed each year. maybe you’ll have a lot of overachievers this year which will bring the entrance standard up, who knows?
anyways, i hope this helped a bit. i’m sorry that i wasn’t able to provide you with any concrete answers.
i hope you have a wonderful summer and that all your exams went well!
peace, love and hope,
aska
pros and cons of an extra semester
Hi,
So I’m in my third year and I am currently behind 1.5 FCE due to dropping out of courses I was doing really poorly in the last couple years. I know that to graduate with distinction you need a cGPA of 3.20. I’m wondering if it is still possible to graduate with distinction [assuming I have a 3.20 GPA still] if I take the summer after my fourth year to complete the remaining credits? Would I still graduate with honours? What is your opinion on the pros and cons of taking that extra summer to finish and graduating in the fall of 2018?
Thank you so much!!
———————————————
hello!
you can graduate with distinction as long as you get a GPA between 3.20 and 3.49. it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to complete your degree!
the pros of taking an extra summer:
-you’ll have more time to pursue a higher GPA if your goal is to graduate with distinction
-you can spread out your course load and have a more chill semester during the year
-courses are more sped up during the summer and will take less time
-if you got a bad haircut at the beginning of the year, it’ll have grown out by convocation
-studying outdoors with squirrels running around is a possibility!
cons of taking an extra summer:
-having to study during patio season
-if things go wrong again (god forbid), you’ll be paying more tuition for the same result
-courses are sped up so you’ll need to work really hard to keep up with the course materials
-convocating in november means it’ll be really cold when you’re trying to take photos outside of conhall/ UC with your family
regarding your question about graduating with honours: if you are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in science or arts at U of T, your degree will be called an Honours Bachelor of Arts or an Honours Bachelor of Science degree.
if you are still not sure about what to do, it’s always a good idea to go see your registrar’s office to look at how you are progressing in your degree. if you are financially capable of paying for an extra semester, it’s definitely a good option to consider!
hope this answers your question!
peace and summer lovin,
aska
summer grades matter
Is it true that grad schools don’t look at summer terms (grades)? I’ve taken a summer term every year since I started at uoft and that’s whats enabling me to graduate early in 3 years instead of 4
———————————————
hi,
not sure where you heard that…
but it’s not true. most grad schools will look at your most recent two years of schooling. if that includes summer school, you’ll be okay!
cheers,
aska