• commerce,  gap year,  GPA,  international students,  rotman

    i want a 9 CGPA

    May 29, 2017

    Hey there,
    I have currently completed my 12th from India. I would like to join
    university of toronto,Mcgill university, York university or university of
    British Columbia for undergraduation in business or finance. But due to
    certain circumstances I have missed this year’s application deadline. So,
    if I take a gap of a year and apply again next year, will the colleges
    consider me or not due to the year off. I am an student with
    With around 86% in 12th and 9 CGPA In 10th.

    Regards from India

    ———————————————

    hello,

    taking a gap year after your last year of high school will not affect your chances of getting into U of T. most of my friends that i’ve met at U of T took gap years before first year!

    with regards to your GPA, i’m not familiar with the GPA scale in India since it is very different than the 4.0 scale we use here, but i would recommend that you look at this link which tells you the minimum requirements for students applying from India. GPA calculations are already quite tricky and since we are only familiar with the U of T scale, i think it’s best that we don’t try to convert/ translate your CGPA and let the pros at admissions do it.

    the link says you will need: “All India Senior School Certificate (awarded by CBSE) or Indian School Certificate (awarded by CISCE).  Year 12 State Board Exams with excellent results will also be considered on an individual basis.”

    … none of that made any sense to me but i hope it made sense to you!

    “excellent results”, of course, is super vague, and since you’re trying to get into rotman commerce, the admission requirements may be slightly different. here’s a link to rotman commerce’s admission requirements- make sure you scroll to the part about apply from high schools outside of canada! hope this helps!

    have a wonderful gap year and make the most out of your time!

    good luck with your application and we hope to see you here soon!

    peace and love,

    aska

     

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  • GPA

    give up your social life now

    May 24, 2017

    Is it possible to graduate with a 3.5 in fourth year if I have only a 2.0 in first?

    ———————————————

    hello,

    let me just preface this by saying that i don’t know how to do math. i also hate math. a lot.

    my unofficial, unverified calculations tell me that: (assuming you took 5.0 FCE’s in first year and achieved a 2.0 CGPA) you would need to have a 4.0 average for your next 15.0 FCE’s in order to graduate with a 3.5.

    be prepared to work your butt off. it’s gon’ be hard but i believe in you!

    i think it would be a good idea to track your progress with this handy “unofficial” GPA calculator brought to you by UTSC. at the registrar’s office, we generally direct students to this link if they have questions about their GPA. you can try plunking in your grades to see what you have to get to achieve a 3.5 GPA.

    best of luck!

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • GPA,  grad school,  grades,  graduation,  undergrad

    don’t go

    March 27, 2017

    Hello! I’ve tried looking for this answer but I can’t seem to find it. Is there a limit to how many years you can do to complete your undergrad? I’m on my 5th contemplating doing a 6th. I’m also hoping to change 1 of my majors as well. My GPA is terrible and am very slowly reaching the minimum requirement to graduate but I’m really starting to wonder if I should take another year instead. I feel like I would really regret leaving the school with the bare minimum GPA required since it’s so final

    ———————————————

    hello there!

    there is no limit! you can take as long as you want to finish your undergrad. if you want to stay behind and boost your GPA, that’s perfectly fine. unless you’re an international student, then you’ll have to make sure you have the right visa allowances.

    you can definitely change one of your majors if you meet the requirements, you just have to do in within the appropriate program switching period.

    if you leave school with the bare minimum GPA, it might be hard for you to apply to grad schools (if that’s what you’re interested in). if you see more school in your future, it would be a good idea to stay behind to get a better GPA.

    it’s very common to take longer than 4 years to do your undergrad, so don’t worry about it!

    you got this!

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • career choice,  GPA,  grad school,  jobs,  research

    should i stay or should i go

    March 10, 2017
    For the past 4-5ish years at uoft,lets just say I didnt work as hard.I thought a BA would get me pretty far in life,but sadly,I was told I needed a masters to get a decent job in my field. The issue is that most master programs in canada have the standard 3.0+cGPA requirement.I dont mind staying back to boost my cGPA but will it affect my application?do schools look at the #of years uve been in school?Not exactly sure what to do…
    ———————————————
    hey,

    while working hard is usually a good statement to live by, sometimes it just doesn’t happen for some of us (lol me) and that’s okay. there is always room for change!

    because every school is different, i can’t say for sure that they won’t look at how many  years you’ve taken to get your degree. i do know that they will be looking at your most recent academic performance and because of that, it wouldn’t be a terrible to thing to boost your cGPA. however, if you are really far away from a 3.0 cGPA, you might want to reconsider staying behind. you may end up spending too much time (and a lot of dough) trying to get that 3.0 cGPA.

    my feeling is that if you have experience with research in your field, it can definitely improve your chances of being accepted because it shows that you took the initiative to look for these opportunities. even if it isn’t a formal job, experience is always beneficial to your application.

    remember that getting a 3.0 GPA doesn’t guarantee entry into a masters program! there are other factors that will be considered during the admissions process, so don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

    if you haven’t already, check out the career learning network to see if there are any jobs open now that you are interested in!

    hope all of the above makes sense, i’m sorry i couldn’t give you an absolute answer since they do handle each application on a case by case basis. your best bet is calling the schools directly. (or emailing their askastudent) 🙂

    Distractify the clash

    (click on the .gif for the song. its a classic)

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • admissions,  GPA,  med school,  medicine

    gurl bye (revised)

    March 8, 2017

    Hi Aska! So I’m in my fifth year and hoping to go to med school. I’ve heard about the u of t weighing formula, and how they eliminate your lowest FCE for every year of full time study. I did a full course load for 4 of my 5 years (one year I did even did 6 FCEs), but for one of the years I did only 4.5 FCEs. Does this mean they won’t apply the weighing formula to me at all 🙁 Thanks so much in advance!

    ———————————————

    the original march 8th published version of this post contained incorrect information. please disregard the original post. it has since then been revised. please see below for the post. my sincerest apologies for the mistake!

    hey,

    this is a great question.

    what you’re referring to is the weighted GPA formula that we have at u of t for the MD program.

    you should be able to have your lowest 5 FCE’s removed from the calculation of your GPA since you completed 5 full years of undergraduate study. 4.5 FCE’s from fall to winter is still considered full time, so it looks like you’re good! if you want to triple check to make sure, you can always contact them directly!

    (fyi: full-time status= a student enrolled in 3.0 full course equivalents or more for the fall-winter sessions is considered to be full-time.)

    also, the frequently asked questions section of the MD program does state that if you have five years of undergraduate study, you are allowed to eliminate 5 of your lowest FCE’s from your GPA calculation. so there you go!

    since you are applying to med school, check out the OMSAS page on U of T if you haven’t already!

    say bye to those crappy breadth courses you almost failed

    peace and love,

    aska

    aska edit: shortly after posting this, i was notified of a mistake that i had made when looking at what counts as full time. i used the arts and sciences definition of full time when answering your question, and it ended up being drastically different than what medicine considers full time.

    so, as i’m sure you know, from the standpoint of medicine at u of t, in order to be considered full time, you need to be in 5 FCE’s. since you didn’t have 5 FCE’s in your last year, it may throw off your weighted GPA calculation and you may not be eligible to eliminate any of your lowest FCE’s. however, this is up to the discretion of admissions, so contacting them directly is the only way you’ll get a solid answer.

    i sincerely apologize for the mistake and any inconveniences (false hope) it may have caused! this is a student run website and sometimes we make mistakes but we always encourage you to contact the source directly. since your case is a unique case, please please please give them a call or shoot them an email: here is the link to their contact information: http://www.md.utoronto.ca/contact

     

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  • applying for U of T,  computer science,  GPA,  innis,  internal transfer,  Transferring,  urban studies,  UTSC

    top secret internal transfer gpa’s

    February 6, 2017

    Dear ask a student,

    I am in second year at UTSC and I am looking to transfer downtown for urban
    studies. In first year I took computer science and finish the year with a
    low GPA. Now in city studies after the first semester my sessional GPA was
    2.93 but my cumulative GPA is still below 2.5. Will they look over my first
    year since I am now doing better in City Studies and is there a chance I
    can still get in with just my recent GPA improvement?

    Thanks.

    ———————————————

    hello!

    soooooo when UTSG is looking at internal transfer students, (students who are transferring from one U of T campus to another U of T campus) they will consider your CGPA and your most recent annual GPA. however, they will also have access to your whole transcript if they notice some inconsistencies in your GPA.

    in terms of GPA cut-off, i would check with the urban studies department directly to make sure you’re within the range. for some reason admission GPA’s for internal transfers are kind of top secret. they used to post them online, but i haven’t been able to find it ever since they revamped the future.utoronto.ca website. right now, the admission GPA’s are mostly circulated by word of mouth, but for entry into a specific program like urban studies, it would be in your best interest to just ask them!

    hope this helped!

    wishing you all the best in your transfer! hope we’ll be seeing you downtown!

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • GPA,  grad school,  grades,  jobs,  lab experience,  life science,  lost

    don’t lose hope, youngling

    January 11, 2017

    Hello,

    I am a life science student in the second year. After completing the fall term studying, I feel that it is very difficult to get a high GPA. I wonder if I get 3.0 cumulative GPA after graduation, what can I do? what school accept me? what work opportunities do I have? Thanks.

    Best,

    ———————————————

    hello,

    *as askastudentuoft, i hope you understand that i am knowledgeable about all things U of T, and that’s about it, so this post will be very U of T centric*

    while a 3.0 GPA is great, many of the life science graduate programs available at U of T require averages which range from B+ to A- (with the exception of the occupational science and occupational therapy program which looks for mid B’s). but, keep in mind, these are just life science programs available at U of T. there are plenty of other schools which offer similar programs which may require different averages.

    you’re only in second year, which means you don’t ACTUALLY know if you’re going to end up with a 3.0 average. you seem to have already lost hope in yourself. don’t stress out right now about what your work opportunities will be and just try your best to get the best grades you can. i can’t really tell you what kind of work opportunities will be available when you graduate because we don’t even know what program you’ll be pursuing for grad school!

    a good place to start is the career learning network. it’s a great tool for current students and recent graduates. you can use it to find research positions (i hear the life science people like those) and postings by companies looking for recent U of T graduates. logging onto the career learning network website is definitely the first step you should take when looking for work opportunities for students like you!

    for now, focus on school and building up your resume with work and volunteer experiences. they can be relevant or irrelevant to your field, but having experience is definitely an asset when applying for any kind of job. volunteer at a hospital from time to time or make some money tutoring kids grade 10 science! whatever it is, just make sure you work hard and build up a good collection of references in case you need them for grad school.

    in all seriousness, i’m graduating later this year and i don’t even know what work opportunities will be available to me! i can’t even see into my own future, let alone yours!

    anyways, hope this was somewhat helpful!

    good luck, work hard, and try your best at everything you do.

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • astronomy and astrophysics,  campus,  GPA,  internal transfer,  St. George,  subject POST,  Transferring,  UTSC

    please be the new neil degrasse tyson

    December 2, 2016

    Hi,
    I am a first year student currently majoring in the Physics and Astrophysics program at UTSC and was wondering what GPA I should strive for in order to be admitted into UTSG. I know that competitive programs tend to require 3.7 – 4.0 GPA’s, but I’m assuming competitive means engineering rather than physics.

    Also, do you know the deadline for internal transferring? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. I’m assuming that it’s sometime after, or maybe during, the winter semester since that’s when the latter half of my physics related courses are.

    Thank you for your help

    ———————————————

    hello hello!

    so first of all, we don’t actually have a physics and astrophysics program at the st. george campus so it would mean for you to find a similar subject POSt, like astronomy and astrophysics.

    there isn’t really a GPA range posted anywhere in regards to astronomy and astrophysics specifically, but i’ve been told by admin that the grade that we were accepting last year was B+~ A- (3.3-3.7) for internal transfers, but these averages do change from year to year, so keep that in mind. if you want something more accurate/ updated, you could always contact enrolment services directly!

    in terms of evaluating your GPA, they would be looking at your CGPA as well as your most recent annual GPA.

    when it comes time to apply, go see your registrar’s office to make sure you’re on track for your transfer. once that’s all settled, you’ll have to complete an online application right here.

    the next deadline for an internal transfer to UTSG is january 13th 2017 for a september 2017 start date.

    it will ultimately be up to you to decide whether you want to major, minor, or specialize in astronomy and astrophysics, but since astronomy and astrophysics subject POSt’s are all part of type 1, you can apply following the completion of 4.0 FCE’s.

    best of luck! i hope you get in and become the new neil degrasse tyson.

    giphy

    peace and love,

    aska

     

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  • failing,  GPA,  subject POST

    if at first you fail the course, try again

    November 4, 2016

    “Students with a CGPA of 2.5 or greater across the courses”

    To get into my subject post, I need a CGPA of at least 2.5. I unfortunately failed one of my courses last term and I am retaking it in the fall. Will the better mark be used for my entry into the subject post or will both attempts be considered? I know you get these types of questions a lot but I am seriously stressing out!

    ———————————————

    hello,

    indeed, we do get questions like this all the time, but it’s okay, that’s what i’m here for.

    with regards to your question:

    *drumroll*

    your higher mark will be considered! hooray!

    your transcript will still show that you had two attempts, but your second attempt (assuming you’ll pass the course on the second attempt) will be considered by the department for the purpose of admission to your subject POst. if you have any more questions regarding this matter, you should definitely contact your specific department to see if they follow this general… way of doing things… (?)

    i hope you get into your subject POst! school is hard, but YOU’LL GET THROUGH IT.

    giphy-1

    cheers,

    aska

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  • GPA,  grad school,  grades,  law,  law school

    legally blonde is a prereq for law school

    October 17, 2016

    If i want to go to law school after ungrad, preferably osgoode or uoft; is it better off to go to york and not uoft for undergrad? because apparently uoft marks a lot harder which makes it harder to get into law school

    ———————————————

    hey,

    first, please keep in mind that i am currently doing my undergrad at U of T, not york, so my perspective may be slightly skewed. since you came to aska, i feel that you probably wanted an opinion from a U of T student anyways.

    yes, U of T does mark very hard and you may not end up with the golden 4.0 GPA you had envisioned yourself getting, but then again, you may also find york challenging. who knows?

    i’m sure you’ve browsed the rankings for both undergrad and law school for both schools so i won’t get into that, but it really depends on what kind of education you want for yourself. both schools have very different reputations. you may feel that U of T marks harder, but maybe that’s a good thing! if you are challenged at school, maybe you’ll be more ready for law school. at a different school, you might get higher grades, but will you be ready for law school?

    going to another school may seem like the “easier” choice, but if you work hard now, it’ll pay off. if you don’t work hard now, you’ll have to work hard later on.

    another thing to consider is, lets say you do an undergrad at york. do you think it would be more convenient/ familiar if you went to osgoode for law school? maybe you’ll be more used to being at the same campus.

    it’s great that you’re thinking ahead, but i feel like this question is a little premature. your first year may change your perspective on all of this. perhaps you’ll decide that you don’t want to go to law school, and that you’ll want to become a teacher!

    anyways, definitely think long and hard about this.*

     

    *but come to U of T

    also, if you want to go to law school and haven’t seen legally blonde, you really should. it’s practically a pre-requisite.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • GPA,  grad school

    elevate that gpa

    August 26, 2016

    Hi there askastudent,

    I have a couple questions that have been bothering me for a while. I am currently a fourth year student, and I would like to take a couple more courses to elevate my cgpa, though for all intents and purposes at the end of Winter 2017 I will be eligible to graduate.

    Do all courses taken after the minimum 20 required for graduation count as extra courses?

    And is you diploma CGPA different from your over all CGPA? What I mean to say is does your diploma GPA count the cumulative GPA of 20 credits only, satisfied by subject post and breadth requirements? Or is every course taken in your time at an undergraduate institution count?

    ———————————————

    hi!

    if you take over 20 credits, these classes will still count toward your cgpa, however, there are exceptions that you need to consider. for example, if you take over 6.0 credits in 100 level courses, the extra courses you take will not count towards your GPA.

    another thing to consider is if you are trying to get a higher GPA for grad school, every grad school has a different procedure in terms of looking at your grade. some will just consider your 10 most recent credits.

    in terms of your diploma CGPA and your normal CGPA, it will be the same. i hope this answered your question!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • architecture,  GPA

    daniels secrets

    October 22, 2015

    Hey there! I have a Daniels faculty question. At the end of 1st year I decided that I’m really going to try and transfer to the Daniels faculty for a double major in architecture and visual studies. So I must wait until this January (halfway through my 2nd year as an artsci student) to apply to the programs. I’ve tried asking Daniels faculty staff what the chances are of getting in according to my CGPA, no answers. Do you have any idea what my CGPA should look like?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    firstly, i’m sorry for making you wait so long for this answer. the only reason i made you wait was because i was looking for an answer and couldn’t find it, and i kept putting it off because i thought the answer would turn up. turns out i was wrong.

    this information is not published anywhere that i can find, and if daniels won’t tell you, that’s probably because they don’t want you to know.

    moreover, the fact that you also have to complete a written application complicates things, because it means that GPA is not the only factor considered in your application. an exceptionally strong or weak one idea essay will affect your chances as well.

    all i can recommend is that you do the best you can and try to put the competition out of your mind.

    sorry about that.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • americans,  GPA

    international education is a nightmare

    October 8, 2015

    Hi aska, I’m not sure who to ask this so I’ll ask you: do American grad schools weigh uoft undergrad GPAs differently because the grading scale is different in Canada vs. the U.S.? Because my GPA would be significantly lower at a U.S. uni where an 80 is a B-, not an A-, for instance. If you don’t know, who do you recommend I ask? Registrars haven’t been able to tell me (shocking) but a number of my professors did undergrad at uoft and went to American grad schools so I’m thinking of asking them.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well, have you been asking the registrar’s office at uoft, or at the schools you’re interested in? because ~ shocker ~ uoft is only going to be an expert about the rules at uoft.

    at the end of the day, it’s going to depend on the school you’re interested in. not all american schools are the same. to be honest, the situation with higher education is a bit of a nightmare in North America in terms of consistency. then you go over the pond and it’s like a foreign freaking language. like, what the heck is a first? what’s 2:1?? don’t even get me started.

    ANYWAY. if you do a bit of calling around to?the schools you’re thinking about, you may be able to track down someone (probably in admissions) who?may have a more concrete answer.

    or you may have to do a bit of the grunt work yourself. you’ll have to figure out what kind of GPA scale the schools you’re interested in use, and then translate your GPA on a 4.0 scale (which is what we have) to that scale.

    for example, if they are on a 4.33 scale, you can use this handy chart to figure out where your percent grades would put you on that scale. here are some other ones. there are many more like it on the internet. have a look around.

    cheers,

    aska

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