• psychology,  UTSC

    dear psyched out psych student,

    April 6, 2010

    Hi I’m a last year High school student and I recently got accepted into UTSC’s psych program. I’ve heard that this program is insanely hard and I was wondering if this was true. Also, I’ve heard that psy100 is the most difficult course for first year. Could you shed some light on that? How is the campus life at U of T? is there a lot to do? because I’m one of those guys that like to get involved in clubs and extra curricular stuff.

    That’s all thank you!

    ————————————————

    I myself took PSY100 downtown, so I can indeed shed some light on the course. PSY100 is a knowledge-based course, as opposed to an application-based course. So in order to do well, you have to know the material, and know it well. And let me warn you that there’s a LOT of material. We covered around 13 chapters of the textbook, and each chapter was around 40-50 pages long. As you might imagine, a great deal of memorizing was involved – so if you’re a naturally forgetful creature, heads up. Because the lectures were three hours long, I sometimes found it hard to absorb all the material, so I read the chapter and made study notes before each lecture – this definitely helped me to learn more effectively. Other than that, it was a pretty standard course. It wasn’t easy, but it definitely wasn’t the most difficult course I took in first year.

    PSY100 has a score of around 4.5 for “difficulty” and “workload” on the anticalendar (in case you didn’t know, it’s a collection of students’ evaluations of courses). So it seems that most people find PSY100 a little harder than the average University course, but not TOO difficult.

    I’d definitely advise you to try it out though. You seem like you have a genuine interest in psychology, so I think the course will be really rewarding for you, despite the difficulty. Heck, I’m not even a psychology major, and I found the course really interesting. Another thing – first year psychology professors are known to be very fluent and humorous lecturers. Besides, if you find after first year that psychology is not for you, you can always switch majors.

    I don’t know much about the student life at UTSC, but from what I’ve gathered, it has a smaller and more tight-knit community than the downtown campus. However, I’m almost certain that UTSC will at least have more extra-curricular activities than your high school, so I don’t think you’ll have any problem finding clubs to join! There’s definitely a lot to do at UofT. To give you some perspective, I hold a job, volunteer, and sing in a choir on campus – so don’t worry! I’m sure there’re some unique opportunities for you too.

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  • summer,  UTM,  UTSC

    we can get physical later

    March 11, 2010

    Long time reader, first time askaing. I am a St. George Campus student (geography major) and wanted to know if I can take summer classes at Mississauga or Scarborough. They offer different classes from St. George, and a change of scenery would be nice. Is there a place on the St. George campus where a physical copy of the summer programs offered at the other campuses can be picked up.

    Thank you

    —————————————-

    You sure can. However, you definitely want to do your research first. Talk it out with both your college registrar AND your departmental advisor (so geography in this case). You will want to make sure that the credits you take will actually count towards your program. Be wary of prerequisites and exclusions. The UTSC and UTM course lists will not specify what St. George courses count as prerequisites and exclusions. It is up to YOU to find out whether or not the courses you have will let you take the course you want to take at UTSC/UTM.

    Like I said, talk it out with your college registrar. Nothing?s worse than wasting a $500 bucks, and a summer on top of that.

    The St. George summer course list is not actually finalized yet, but when it DOES come out, you can pick up a copy at your local convenience sto?uh, college registrar. If you?re impatient like me, you can always just print out a copy of the online preliminary list.

    Kudos to you for being a faithful fan.

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  • UTSC

    yeah. but don’t expect a call from me anytime soon

    January 4, 2010

    Hey aska,

    I’m in grade 12 and I’ve been looking through the site to answer my questions. I just have one slightly more specific question that I would like to ask. I want to go into U of T Co-op Management and I’m not too worried about the admission average (which is mid 80’s). However, I heard that for the prerequisite courses (English, Advanced Functions, Calculus), I would have to have a minimum mark in order to be even considered. Is that true? I heard the minimum mark is like 85 for those three courses. I’m currently getting slightly below 85 for AF, so I’m a bit worried. Even though there’s time to bring it up, the tests have been killer. Any advice/help/answers will be appreciated!!!

    Thank you!

    —————————————–

    I?m 95% sure that UTSC doesn?t have a minimum mark for those three courses. There’s nothing in the viewbook that says anything about a minimum grade in Calculus or English at all, nor does it say that “particular attention” will be paid towards that courses. That?s not to say that someone with C?s in Calc and English will get in, but I?m quite sure that they won?t reject someone just for getting, say, an 84 in English and Calculus, as long as the other marks included in their Top 6 courses are quite high.

    By the way, I heard that cows are blue. Okay, I’m just kidding. But my advice to you is to not believe instantly what you hear from other people – if there?s something you need to know, go ahead, take initiative, and contact the department. I’m going to contact UTSC too and if they say that there is a minimum mark, I’ll let you know.

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  • commerce,  languages,  UTSC

    managing management with french fun

    November 16, 2009

    Hey Aska! Glad you’re back! 🙂

    Anyway I’d like to ask if it was possible to get a minor in French in the Management program at UTSC! I know it’d be hard to fit in a major, so that’s why I was thinking of a minor. I asked the representatives and they didn’t answer my question, they just told me how they were going to build a pool…I don’t even swim!

    Oh and how does the Management program at UTSC compare to Schulich or Rotman or Western…etc? I’m planning to do the co-op management program there if I get in.

    Thanks 🙂

    ———————————————

    Wait, which co-op management are you talking about? I just checked out the UTSC calendar and there seems to be many management programs: specialist in management, specialist in management and economics, specialist in management and accounting. well, I’m gonna go ahead and assume that you’re going into the specialist in management program, since you’ve never mentioned anything about economics or accounting or management and what not. I guess they are pretty similar anyway. Unfortunately, it seems that there previously existed a specialist in management and humanities at UTSC, but that program’s been phased out as of this year.

    Okay, I’m trying to count the number of FCE credits required for the specialist in management program but it’s like next to impossible. Let’s see.

    First try: 14 credits.

    Second try: 14.5 credits.

    Third try: 13 credits.

    Fourth try: 14.5 credits.

    Okay. I’m going to go ahead and say that it is 14.5 credits (What do you mean it’s a good thing that aska’s not in management himself/herself!). Friend of aska just counted it, and he also counted 14.5 credits. You can try to count it yourself if you want to be more confident with my answer (or if you’re interested in a program other than specialist in management). Each half-course (the ones that end with an ‘H’) counts as 0.5 credit and each year-course (the ones that end with a ‘Y’) counts as 1.0 credit.

    Oh, but what’s this? Apparently 2.5 credits required for the Management specialist are just ‘non-management/economics’ courses. Your French courses can certainly count towards those. In fact, the French minor requires only 4 credits in total, and you’ll be taking around 20 credits in your entire degree. With the overlap taken into account, you only need 16 credits in total, so taking a French minor is totally doable!!

    I totally don’t blame you for not figuring this out yourself though. The UTSC website sucks. *shakes fist at computer*

    If you’re passionate about doing a French minor, do it. It’ll broaden your frontiers and give you a lot of valuable skills that you wouldn’t get from just a management specialist alone, as well as improves your marketability (if that’s what floats your boat). Don’t let those old dreams die.

    As for how the management programs at each campus are different, I don’t really know. The types of your courses seem pretty similar. Anyway, there are other issues to consider – have you visited each campus? Doing that might give you an idea of which campus’s environment you like more. There might be other considerations, such as how far you live from each campus, whether you plan to live on residence, and so on. Oh, and of course, UTSC has co-op, if that’s important to you. The closest thing UTM and Rotman have is the PEY (Professional Experience Year), which is open to all undergraduate students. You may also want to check the fees for each institute, since cost may also be a factor in your decision. For instance, commerce students pay elevated fees in Years 2-4 at Rotman, and I believe the fees at UTSC/UTM are handled similarly. You can find more information on fees here (warning: prepare yourself for yet another confusing webpage).

    As for Western and Schulich, they probably have different fees — you might want to check them up. Another thing to note is that you only enter Western’s Ivey program after 2nd year. The first two years are taken with another faculty, so it might give you the chance to explore another subject (like French!). On the other hand, if you want a more business-intensive program, you might feel like you are wasting your first two years away, so it might not be for you.

    …I hope that post was long enough for you, because I’m exhausted from thinking too hard. Jeez, the things I do for you people.

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  • commerce,  psychology,  subject POST,  UTSC

    To market, to market, to buy a fat irritation.

    May 28, 2009

    Just wondering, can i double major in commerce (marketing) and? psychology in 4 years? Or would it take longer? If it works, would I be attending UofT or UofT Scarborough ? Because it says nothing about double majors on the UofT website, but it does on the UofTS one. Last but not least, if I do double major, am I getting 2 degrees or just one?

    ———————————————

    I won’t lie, it took me a while to decipher this query my friend. And I still haven’t really figured it out.

    First, what is the Major in “Commerce (Marketing)” that you are referring to?

    Scarborough offers a Specialist in Management & Marketing. St. George offers a Major in Commerce.

    I guess I’ll just answer your question for both scenarios… (sigh).

     

    Scenario 1: Specialist in Management & Marketing, UTSC

    A 13.0-credit program that leads to a B.B.A. degree.

    If you were enrolled in this program, you would strictly be a UTSC student. Sadly, you CANNOT enrol in 2 programs on 2 different campuses at the same time. The best you could do is to take all of your remaining electives (and no more than 10.0) as St. George Psychology courses – but those would never manifest as a Program on your transcript.

    Of course, you could just take the Management & Marketing Specialist at Scarborough, and pair it with a Major or Minor in Psychology from Scarborough as well. This would be much cleaner, and you would receive recognition for both Programs. Since the Major requires 7.0 credits, it would be a tight squeeze to finish those alongside the 13.0 Marketing credits in 20.0 credits over 4 years. I’m not saying it can’t be done, and you can always take more than 20.0 courses doing summer school and whatnot. The Minor is much more reasonable.

     

    Scenario 2: Major in Commerce, St. George

    A 7.5-credit program that leads to a Hon.B.A. degree. It must be paired with at least 1 more major or 2 minors. If the other Major is a science program (e.g. Psych), you will by default get an Hon.B.Sc. degree.

    In this case, you CAN complete both a Major in Rotman Commerce and a Major in Psychology, as a St. George student. Commerce requires 7.5 credits. Psych requires 6.5 credits. You need 20.0 credits to graduate. This still leaves you with 6.0 credits to blow on whatever tickles your fancy. (…did someone say “The Sun and its Neighbours??”)??

    But listen up! The Commerce Major does not have an explicit concentration in Marketing. You may elect to take a bunch of marketing courses (e.g. RSM250, 350, 452, 458), but in the end it will still be the more general Major in Commerce.

    Sound decent? Here’s the kicker. Rotman Commerce courses are hella expensive. Whether you are in the Major or one of the Specialists, beginning in your 2nd year you will pay a yearly “program fee” ($10,481 right now). This flat fee will cover all of the courses you take between 3.0-6.0 credits.

    Compare that to the brand new Arts & Science flat fee, which covers 4.0-6.0 credit courseloads, of $5300-ish. And for all of this moola you would spend for Commerce, the Major still only entitles you to a B.A. degree not the B.Com that the Specialist will yield.

     

     

    Scenario 3: Rotman Commerce Specialist (Accounting, Finance & Economics, or Management), St. George

    I’ve added an additional scenario for your consideration. It is my suggested alternative to Scenario 2. You will still pay the high Commerce flat fees, but you will get a B.Com degree (wooooo). You can pair this with a Major or Minor in Psychology downtown. Which Commerce Specialist is best for you? Well, none of them really. You’ll notice that there isn’t a Marketing option per se.

    I’m thinking that the Major or Minor programs in Semiotics offered through Victoria College, downtown, may have relevance to the field of Marketing. Maybe some Sociology courses as well?? I’m reaching now.

     

    Okay finally. In response to your last question (and it should be obvious by now), you do not get 2 degrees for having a double major. You get one degree that will say something more generic like Hon.BA., Hon.BSc, B.Com, or B.B.A. To achieve that degree you must complete a minimum combination of Programs: 1 Specialist, 2 Majors, and 1 Major + 2 Minors. ?

     

    Ps. The U of T Arts & Science website explains double Majors, and the like, in the 2009-10 Calendar, see “Program Requirements.” But I can’t blame you for not finding it. U of T websites are notoriously bloated with text and they navigate like a labyrinth, but without the prospect of discovering David Bowie’s bulge.

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  • UTSC

    an inquiry into journalistic integrity

    February 5, 2002

    Is there a media source in Canada that isn’t affected by its owners’ economic/political/social position? I just read a frightening story in the Varsity about the biases of national editorials, but it didn’t suggest any alternatives. I know that corruption of information is a problem in North America, but I can’t find people actually taking action to inhibit it.

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