UTSC - askastudent

admissions, Transferring, UTSC

who plants flowers in a sandbox

May 16, 2025

First year uni transfer student here. I was curious what UTSC actually cares about when looking at transfer students? Is it the cgpa (x/4) or my last years average (xx%)? Also I was just curious what the status update from “application under review” to “application under review by faculty/division” meant… is there even a difference or have my hopes been squandered like a flower in a child’s sandbox?.

P.s. thank you aska!!!

hey there,

thank you for the thank you!

so no, i don’t think your hopes have been squandered like a flower in a child’s sandbox, though i rock with the way you put that. i think your hopes still have a chance at life! don’t you dare let anyone kill them.

in fact, let me pull out my nonexistent CPR skills and revive them, right here, right now.

because there is still hope for your application. the status update from “application under review” to “application under review by faculty/division” basically means that your application is moving through the system. so now, it’s under review by the faculty you applied for — and that is good news! yippee.

but what does UTSC look for when reviewing your application?

officially, they say here that they look at your complete academic record, with more emphasis on your most recent year of full-time study. they also say they look at both your academic and non-academic credentials, depending on your program.

but honestly i’m not sure if they look at your cgpa or your percent average. i’d say it’s safer to assume that they’ll look at both? all they actually tell us is that they look at your complete academic record — there’s nothing i can find that gets more specific than that.

beyond that, they will likely look closest at relevant subjects for the program you’re applying for. this might mean they even look at some of your high school marks, if you didn’t take anything on the subject in uni. for example, if you applied to statistics, they would probably pay the most attention to any calculus and functions courses that you’ve taken, whether that be in high school or first year university.

finally if you’re worried because you’re still waiting to hear a response right now, just know that the people reviewing your application might still be waiting to receive your final marks from this past uni semester. the semester did just end, and not everyone’s marks are out yet.

so not all hope is lost! according to this page, decision letters go out from january to may, and the month of may is not over yet.

anyways, good luck with everything, my friend. hope you enjoyed my live demonstration of CPR.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, english, UTSC

soooo special <3

December 18, 2024

Hiii! I’ve just applied to UTSC for the English Major, and I was wondering if my grade 11 marks are going to be considered as well? I’m a little worried because due to unexpected circumstances I was only able to complete one semester and I’m taking the other semester courses this year along with my grade 12 courses. I dont know if this will affect my acceptance since the grade 11 courses I took were in the range of 85%-60%. I hope someone can help me out with this! Have a good day!

hey there,

yeah, it makes sense that you’re worried about this, this is a really common question! not that you’re basic. you’re special in my heart.

so all applicants to U of T are considered based on their top six academic grade 12 courses. since you’re applying to the english program, english 12 will have to be included in your roster of top six grades — it’s a pre-requisite and it would be crazy if they didn’t look at your english marks when you’re applying to english.

anyways, these six grades are then used to calculate your admission average. according to this website, the admission requirements for english at UTSC say that you would need an average approximately in the mid-70s to high-70s to be competitive.

however, your grade 11 marks that you took last year will still matter, since your marks from this year won’t be fully out when you send in your application. and how much they matter kinda depends on a bunch of uncontrollable factors. like, when your high school releases interim marks, how intense the competition is in the applicant pool, etc.

basically, U of T will look at your grade 11 marks if you applied during the early application period. but, to my understanding, if those marks don’t quite make the cut, you will be considered again when your grade 12 marks start coming out.

overall, it honestly seems to me like you might be fine??? since your marks land right in the mid-70s range that’s required. but like, remember that i’m not a U of T admissions officer or recruiter!

so this is not official advice. if you wanted that, i would recommend attending one of these ask a recruiter sessions. U of T does a bunch of web casts and chat sessions where you can talk to recruiters and get answers in real time. i’ve never attended one, but i’ve heard they’re helpful.

and yeah, that’s it. hope this made sense, and good luck with the rest of your grade 12 year! and sorry i made you wait so long for this answer, final exams the past 2 weeks obliterated me.

over and out,

aska

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internal transfer, rotman, UTSC

make those moves!

October 2, 2024

Hello there,

I hope you are doing well.

I currently am a first year student in UTSC for social science and my goal is to switch to it’s for rotman commerce. I know it is a big shot but rotman commerce is my dream school and I really want to switch. I am taking microeconomic, calculus for management and macroeconomics to help me switch to rotman. Do you have any recommendations of what I should do or if there are any other courses that I need to take?

Ragards

hey there,

what you’re wanting to do here is an internal transfer, which is a switch between two separate faculties. in your case, these faculties would be UTSC and rotman commerce.

so here’s the thing: not all departments actually accept transfer students.

rotman is sorta-kinda-maybe one of these departments, with exceptions. officially, they say that they “don’t generally” accept external transfers, which would be students from other universities (according to this website). as for internal transfers within U of T, they say “successful transfers into rotman commerce are very rare”, but students in the faculty of arts and science can apply.

however, there is nothing officially said about whether students from UTSC can apply for an internal transfer into rotman, so the first thing you need to do is determine if an internal transfer is even possible for you. i’d advise that you get in direct touch with the department for that — you can contact them by email or even show up in person to their academic services/admission office on 125 st. george street if you are so inclined.

i would ask them whether an internal transfer from UTSC to rotman is possible. and if it’s not generally done, whether there any special circumstances or any possibility at all of allowing it.

and yeah, i know that’s all kind of a bummer BUT please don’t let it get you down. the good news is, you are able to still study business at the scarborough campus’s department of management. this department is really good and offers great programs.

and with this, you would still be able to get a U of T business degree in a high-quality program — that stands for itself. getting a U of T business degree holds prestige/value for hiring no matter the campus you get it at. (i could have used the word aura here but i will not be caught using gen alpha lingo today).

that’s all to say, i’d encourage you to reach out to the utsc academic advising and career centre, because they can really help you figure all of this out, 1. in the case that there are exceptions that will allow you to apply for an internal transfer OR 2. in the case that you’re applying for the department of management at UTSC. book an appointment with an academic advisor! it will make things a lot clearer, since they know a lot more than students do.

and that’s it from me. personally, i think it’s really great that you want to study business, definitely go for it! a lot of people are too scared to pursue the program that they really want, so kudos to you for taking action on this. best of luck with everything, you’ve got this! i’m cheering you on.

over and out,

aska

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bba, newly admitted, programs, switching, UTSC

faq page pulling through

May 15, 2024

I applied for undergrad in BBA but i got offer for co-op social sciences & humanities. Any possibility of switching after a year or sem?

hey there,

i’m sorry that you didn’t get your first choice! that can be really disappointing. but congrats on getting in, and welcome!!

so the good news is, yes — there is a possibility that you will be able to switch your program. especially since you’re switching at this early stage, i think you might have a good chance.

check out the utsc admissions website‘s FAQ page under “amending your application”. as you can see here, it’s pretty common to ask whether you can change the program that you applied to. so you’re not alone!

this FAQ page says that for those who haven’t yet received an offer of admission, all that student needs to do is change the program on OUAC.

however, since you’ve already received an offer of admission (woop woop!) for co-op social sciences & humanities, do not change your program on OUAC! this will cancel your offer of admission and you’ll lose your place at u of t. instead, you need to directly email utsc.offer@utoronto.ca to request a program change. with this, it’s best that you reach out as soon as possible.

keep in mind though, i’m not sure if this will work since i think what you received is an alternate offer of admission (also explained on that FAQ page), having not received your preferred program choice. if emailing for a program change doesn’t work at this point, you might need to switch after first year.

if that’s the case, you should directly contact the academic advising team for BBA students or management department to find out what this process would look like, concerning application procedures and deadlines. i would recommend that you specifically contact admissions inquiries at (416) 287-7529, or the first year academic advisor at mgmtyr1.utsc@utoronto.ca .

i hope the people at the end of these contacts i’ve provided are helpful and kind to you! this doesn’t need to be a stressful process, you’ve got this. reach out if any more questions come up.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, human resources, management, UTSC

is the human relations program in the room with us?

January 13, 2024

Hello, I hope you’re doing well!!

I am currently a 3rd year student at University of Toronto, Scarborough and wanted to start applying to uoft for my younger sister who is currently in 12th grade.

She has not taken mathematics but wanted to Human Relations or Marketing and as far as I know getting directly into the program for the same is not possible since maths is a requirement. Is there a way she can get in undeclared and finish pre requisites in first year and then apply for her selected program by 2nd year?

Also are there any programs that do not require maths as a prerequisite? If yes would you be able to guide me to the list of the same.

Thanks

hey there,

ok, i have a couple questions. first: what campus is your sister hoping to apply to? and, second… are you lonely, buddy? i think you had a freudian slip there. did you mean human resources or international relations?? ~~if you wanted human relations, uoft is not the place for you.~~ it’s fine, don’t worry about it, this is not the time to unpack all that. i’m going to assume you meant human resources since a human relations program doesn’t exist.

anyways, this isn’t about you, it’s about your sister. so here is some info on the st. george campus (UTSG) since that’s where my expertise lies.

at UTSG, you don’t apply directly into programs of study, but instead into admission categories. all arts and science programs are categorized into these groups as a way to identify your general area of study. each admission category has the same admission requirements for all the programs within it. so for example, the industrial relations and human resources program is under the admission category of social sciences, which only requires high school level english. on the other hand, the marketing program would be under rotman commerce (basically uoft’s business school) where you can take a focus in marketing by enrolling in their management specialist program. but for this, she would still need high school level calculus.

so basically, if she wanted to enrol into the human resources major at UTSG, she wouldn’t need high school level calculus! and even if she did, at UTSG, students apply directly into their specific program of study after first year. and after she’s in a program, it’s pretty simple and common to switch later on if she changes her mind!

but as for uoft scarborough (UTSC), the program application process is a bit more complicated. what i would recommend is having your sister connect with the UTSC recruitment team to see what the options are. unlike at st. george where students are admitted into very broad admission categories, students at UTSC are admitted into narrower fields and have the option to apply to co-op streams, which can complicate things if they want to make a change later into their studies. overall, while at st. george you only have to complete prerequisites or achieve a certain average to apply for a program, at UTSC there might be other restrictions on switching after being admitted.

i’ve heard that the recruitment team at UTSC is always happy to help, so you can’t lose anything by reaching out to them! they’re experts on this and will be able to tell your sister about her options.

on another note, there is a UTSC summer mathematics preparedness course that can be used as a prerequisite for MATA29, MATA30, or MATA32. this could be helpful for your sister!

and finally, let’s get to your last point. there is no existing list of all the programs that don’t require math as a prerequisite, but someone let me know if you want me to actively make one.

for now, here is a list of all the programs at UTSC, sorted by admission category. it seems like the only management program that doesn’t require a math prerequisite is global leadership. but you’ll also see that there are plenty of social science/humanities programs that don’t require math! for general arts and sciences, here is a list of admission categories, where you can click further to see lists of programs per admission category. and here is also a complete list of all the programs in arts and sciences.

good luck to your sister with her application and decision making!!

over and out,

aska

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UTSC, wait list

wait(list), is this play about me?

July 14, 2023

Hi I got waitlisted for a D-level Bio course that I really need to graduate. I’m number 14, and the class has a size of 40 should I wait until September to get in or should I just pick another course? Also, ACORN won’t let me waitlist an extra course because I have added 2.5 credits for each. So I would have to get off the waitlisted course (that I really want) to get into another. What do I do? Thanks!

hey there,

wait, is this, cour — is this about — *sniffles* course enrolment? *nose dives into nearby pillow. lets out a gutteral, earth-shattering scream* *after a few moments of silence, looks up, unbothered* i am not currently absolutely losing my mind over course enrolment waitlists.

anyways, the general guideline is that about 10% of people will drop the course. in a class of 40, you would want to be 4th in line. so being number 14 means its pretty unlikely that you’ll get in. not impossible, but the waitlist does end on september 13th. it also depends on how high the course’s drop rate is, as this differs.

what you should do depends entirely on how desperately you need this course. i don’t know what year you’re in or how close you are to graduation, so i’m running on assumptions here.

here is some advice if you’re in 4th year and really need this course because it might push back your grad. i’m assuming you’re not, because of the absence of desperation and urgency in your question, but eh, just in case. first, don’t drop the course. go to your registrar for help. i know that st. george students are able to get into mandatory courses they need to graduate, so maybe there’s something similar at utm?

if you are not in 4th year and still have time left to take the course another year, you could still wait to drop it — while you might not be able to enrol in another course right now, by august 3 you’ll be able to add 3.0 credits on acorn.

this also depends on if the other course you want is filling up fast. if it’s not filling up fast, i would say wait until august 3, and don’t drop the bio course. but if it is filling up, then decide based on how badly you actually need this bio course. i can’t tell you exactly what to do because i don’t have the full picture here, but i hope this was helpful and you can make a good decision based off this info. sending good luck and good vibes!

over and out,

aska

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current student, math, prereqs, UTSC

gr 12 math strikes back

September 2, 2022

hi aska! so im going into my first year at utsc, there are some courses that sound really interesting but the pre-reqs for most of them are grade 12 math which i completely avoided taking. is there any way (even if its not this year) that i can ever take the courses?

hi there and welcome!

don’t worry, you won’t be doomed because of that pesky prereq, at least not forever. i would recommend first emailing the instructor to ask if you can have the prerequisite waived.

Russell Please Let Me In GIFfrom Russell GIFs

some courses allow this, however you will still be responsible for getting caught up on the material, of course. depending on how comfortable you are with learning the math, and whether or not the instructor is allowing waivers for the course in the first place, this may or may not work for you.

you can also get credit for grade 12 math through tdsb night school (registration is still open i believe) or summer school, which both have remote and in person options. i’m sure other school boards and even private companies offer similar services to get high school credits, too, which you could look into.

as a disclaimer, i haven’t personally taken night school/summer school courses so i can’t give much of a review, but i’ve heard that they can be more relaxed than their normal school counterparts, which sounds great unless you’re hoping to take a very math-heavy course. if you end up wanting more of a math background, uoft’s math department has the pump program which is a series non-credit summer courses that reviews high school math to prep for university.

And Thats A Lot Of Math Math GIFfrom And Thats A Lot Of Math GIFs

i hope that answers your questions, and good luck with all that math!

aska

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subject POST, UTSC

i’ve been a non-degree student and it’s not a bad experience!

May 15, 2021

Hi. Is it possible to graduate utsc without enrolling in a subject POSt?

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hey there,

if you’re interested in graduating from utsc with a degree, this webpage indicates that you can’t do so without enrolling in the minimum combination of subject POSts. so to my understanding, unfortunately, the answer is no!

if you’re interested in studying at utsc without enrolling in a subject POSt, you can look into becoming a non-degree student. that means that you’ll be permitted to take courses at utsc, but you’ll commit to those courses on a case-by-case basis and won’t need to complete program requirements. in fact, you won’t be allowed to enroll in programs if you change your mind. you also won’t receive a degree, and therefore won’t graduate in the traditional sense — but for some people, this is the right course of action and exactly what they’re looking for in their education!

i hope this clarifies things for ya.

be Boundless,

aska

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UTSC

i don’t even know how to pronounce clique

March 11, 2021

Hey I’m looking to be a first yr undergrad in the fall at utsc but I’m seeing a lot of stuff onlinr abt how cliquey utsc is and how’s there’s nothing much to do with clubs or student life. What’s your opinion on this? I’m an out of province stusent so I dont have any friends from high school coming.

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hi there,

unfortunately, i’ve never been a utsc student myself, so i can’t answer this question from personal experience. what i’ve heard is that utsc tends to have more local students, so i guess that could lead to cliqueyness if students are coming from the same high schools and already know each other. however, i don’t know how true this is because i can’t really verify it with anyone.

also, to be fair, i’ve found certain clubs and spaces at utsg to be quite cliquey as well. i think cliqueyness depends on the crowd you surround yourself with — and if you don’t like a crowd, you can always find another. in general, i’ve found that most u of t students mind their own business and won’t be found chatting with random strangers — but that’s not always true, and i’ve made friends from people randomly hitting me up in class as well.

there are certainly clubs at utsc, which you can find out more about here. i’m not really sure what’s on offer in terms of other student life, but that’s probably because i’ve never even been to utsc’s campus. with that said, i do think it’s possible to carve out a niche for yourself on campus.

if you take advantage of the opportunities you can find, make a sincere effort to approach new people, i think you can build a meaningful sense of community at utsc. it is a small campus, after all, so i think you’ll have a better shot at getting to know your classmates, professors, and administrators.

sorry i can’t be more helpful! wishing you all the best of luck with making your decision.

be Boundless,

aska

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admissions, UTSC

keeping my fingers crossed for you

November 10, 2020

Hi! I’m going to grade 12 in September and I really want to get into the Psychology program at UofT in Scarborough. My grades aren’t the best but, they aren’t too bad either. My average for grade 11 was an 87 and I was wondering if an 87 average is good enough to be accepted.

——————————————

hi friendo,

sorry your message got so buried!

i’m not sure if you’ve already applied, but this is what little wisdom i can offer you.

unfortunately, i’m not aware of any publicly-available admissions averages for UTSC i remember that, at least for st. george, minimum admissions averages used to be available, but i haven’t see any updated ones in a hot minute. so it’s really hard for me to assess whether an 87 average would be able to get you in.

something you should be aware of, though, is that if you’re admitted to UTSC and decide to attend, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be admitted into the psych program. u of t does this thing called subject POSt (program of study) selection, in which most programs need to be applied to after first year. if you’ve taken a look at utsc’s psych major page, you’ll have seen that there are admissions requirements with specific percentage grades listed. that’s really the only concrete admissions info i can offer you, and i do think it is important stuff to keep in mind if you’re set on attending UTSC for psych.

sorry i couldn’t be more helpful! wishing you all the best with your uni applications, and thanks again for your patience with my slow response.

be Boundless,

aska

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admissions, UTSC

i could be so powerful if i just had access

November 2, 2020

Hi! I’m a grade 12 student right now and I’d like to apply to UTSC’s Neuroscience program. However, I’m retaking Calculus and Vectors and Advanced Functions (2 prerequisites) because I took them both in IB in grade 11 and got poor marks (60s). Would they consider my repeated grades? And what percent of people get accepted into this program? Thank you 🙂

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hey,

unfortunately, utsc’s repeated courses policy is super vague, and doesn’t really provide a clear sense of how they treat second-time high school grades. you can read it here— i think you’ll see what i mean. i don’t have the access necessary to give you information beyond what they’re willing to release officially, so that’s the policy we have to work with. if you’re really anxious to find out more, you can try contacting the admissions office directly.

i also have no idea what percent of people are generally accepted to the program that you’re interested in— programs don’t tend to release this information. if you’re really curious, you can reach out to the department and ask. in general, it’s probably more important to keep in mind what the admissions requirements are, and you can find those here.

sorry i couldn’t be more helpful! i’m just a student lol they don’t let me into all that confidential stuff.

best of luck with the rest of your grade 12 year and your uni applications, though! i’m rooting for you.

be Boundless,

aska

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computer science, UTSC

here’s some unsolicited advice for you instead of an actual answer to your question

June 14, 2020

Hello. I wanted to know about pros and cons of CS program in UTSC. I’m deciding b/w CS program in UTSC and Engineering I in McMaster. I want to know about professors, and some other pros and cons. Also I want to know if someone who’s getting 94-97 in math gr12 courses can get into actual CS program after 1st year. I haven’t taken any cs course. I used to compare myself with other students with high grades so I put in a lot of effort to become first or achieve higher and higher grades.

——————————————

hey there,

as someone who’s not really super familiar with compsci or utsc, i’m not sure that i’m a good person to be advising you on this. i’ve never met any of the compsci profs at utsc, and have heard next to nothing about the compsci program there. i hate recommending reddit as a resource because it can often be super unreliable, but for something like this, it’s probably your best bet. it’s likely that there, you’ll be able to find someone in the UTSC compsci program who will be able to shed a little light on what it’s like for you. apart from pointing you in that direction, i feel kind of (read: absolutely) useless when it comes to your question.

as well, i can’t really tell you what your grade 12 math marks mean in terms of your likelihood of getting into the CS POSt, since grading can vary super widely between high schools.

here’s a word of advice i do want to leave you with, though: from what i’ve seen, heard, and experienced as a u of t student, i worry that your mindset of comparing yourself to other students is going to hurt you at university. regardless of what institution you end up choosing (and maybe you’ve made your choice already, by the time you see this), you’re only going to burn yourself out and discourage yourself by comparing yourself with the other people in your class.

don’t get me wrong– it’s certainly possible for you to achieve quite a lot and succeed in your coursework, but it’s more sustainable for you to measure that achievement in other things– like how familiar you are with your course material, or how well your learning can propel you towards your goals.

i would just hate for you to be one of those bright-eyed, ambitious students used to doing super well in high school, only to have their self-esteem crushed by first year or develop GPA-related anxiety. i’ve seen it happen way too many times. however, you did say “used to,” so maybe that means you’ve put that mindset in the past?

anyway. if you’d like to talk your decision through with someone at the university, you could reach out to your registrar! wishing you the most wisdom and the best of luck as you make your decision and tackle first year wherever you decide to go!

be Boundless,

aska

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computer science, internal transfer, UTM, UTSC

ThEy WiLL nOt Be AcCePtEd As EquiVALeNts

June 2, 2020

Hello there,I was wondering if I could transfer from UTSC CS to UTM. However, the POSt requirements for CS at UTM it says “Note that only CSC148H5, taken at the UTM campus, will be accepted. Please do not take CSC148H1(UTSG) or CSCA48H3(UTSC); they will not be accepted as equivalent for the purposes of program enrolment. “According to that, Can I still transfer?TNX

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hey there,

it sounds like you’d be able to transfer to the UTM campus, but possibly not directly into UTM’s compsci program. if you’re determined to be a UTM kiddo, you could probably try doing your internal transfer first, taking CSC148H5, and then applying to the compsci POSt at UTM. that’s what the situation seems like to me, anyway.

to be 100% sure, i’d check this over with your registrar, or with someone at the UTM compsci department. maybe both. i’m sure they’ve seen this situation before. good luck!

be Boundless,

aska

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