what should i do to get a better chance of getting into u of t? is there anything particular they want to see in a student? and do i have to be good at leadership or its not that important?
hey there,
well, this is sorta hard to answer because it depends on which admission category, which campus, and which faculty you’re applying to.
soooo i guess i’ll just cover the main options and hope one of them is relevant to you?
humanities, life sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, and social science categories
within the faculty of arts and sciences, there are six admission categories, which are basically just general categories that help sort all the programs. if you’re applying to the humanities, life sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, and social science categories, you won’t have to hand in anything other than your grades. since these are the most common areas of study at U of T, this will be the case for most people.
if this is you, U of T will base your admission based on the average grades of your top six academic grade 12 courses, including pre-requisite courses. no leadership skills required, and no extracurriculars. which is a little cray-cray considering how much effort i put into that stuff in high school just to apply to a uni that didn’t look at any of it :DDDD.
anyways, admission for these fields of study is literally just based on grades and all you can do is try to keep your grades above the competitive average for your category.
so if you’ve got good marks, YAY. U of T made it super simple for you!
and if not. ugh, U of T sucks for that who gave them the right.
rotman commerce and computer science categories
meanwhile, if you were applying to rotman commerce or computer science, they will look at both your grades and your extracurriculars/experiences in a supplemental application. so yes, things like leadership and extracurricular activities are important.
for rotman commerce, it seems like this supplemental application will include written and video responses to assess your leadership skills and community involvement, as well as your passion for business. i’m sure for rotman, leadership skills are a big factor, since that’s kinda essential for business school.
and for comp sci, this application will look at similar things. it’ll be a 250 word response about your leadership skills and experiences. but questions won’t be centred around computer science.
for engineering applicants, they will be looking at your grades alongside an “online student profile” that you’ll fill out. this will focus on your extracurriculars and interests, and they are especially “interested in your activities and achievements that demonstrate leadership, dedication and overall excellence”.
if you wanted more details about what this looks like: it seems you’ll have to discuss your non-academic activities like clubs, sports, and arts. AND, you’ll have to complete timed video responses that will help them to “get to know you as a person”.
daniel’s faculty of architecture, landscape, and design
and finally, i want to include architecture, just in case this applies to you. telepathically, i am sensing you’re most likely in arts and sciences but we’re gonna roll with this.
if you wanted to apply to the daniel’s faculty, you’ll need to submit your grades alongside a supplementary application that will include a written response as well as a creative submission. so, leadership/extracurriculars don’t matter for this program, but personality and creativity do!
overall advice
so the tldr is: in artsci, the humanities, life sci, physical and mathematical sciences, and social science categories only look at grades. it’s only rotman, comp sci, and engineering that will look at leadership, extracurriculars, and interests. and architecture will look at your personal response and creative ability.
but regardless of which field of study you’re interested in, having good grades will really help you have a good chance of admission (duh!). make sure you’ve taken the pre-requisite courses for your admission category, thoroughly understand the admission requirements, and meet all the deadlines.
i’d also highly recommend that you submit during the early application period, for the best chances. start your application early so that you don’t rush it during the few days before and just decide “eh, i’ll just submit for the later deadline” because you’re too rushed (like a lot of people in my high school did). start early and submit early!
anyways, i hope some part of this was helpful. best of luck with your application!!
over and out,
aska