• GPA

    gpa jitters

    October 9, 2012

    Hi,

    I am a accounting student at UTM and I was wondering whether graduating with a 3.0 GPA is a good or bad thing? and what are the consequences – like when getting jobs right after I graduate?

    Thanks in advance,
    Elle

    ———————————————

    Hi Elle,

    A 3.0 GPA, which is around 74% or so, is a great thing – granted, that’s just my opinion. Some grad schools might scoff at it, while others might praise it.

    The only people who will know this GPA are the ones that look at your transcript, so getting a job right after graduation shouldn’t be hindered by your 3.0 since they probably won’t be seeing it.

    Best,

    aska

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  • admissions,  GPA,  grad school,  grades

    for fear of a fifth year

    October 1, 2012

    Hello,

    I’m a life science student going to 4th year in September and I’m debating whether I should graduate in April of 2013. I wish to go to Dentistry school, preferably at UofT, but my CGPA is only 3.0, the minimum requirement for dentistry. I went to guidance to ask for advice, but they told me to give up on dentistry altogether; however, I am not willing to give up without a fight, my gpa was terrible in first year which is why my gpa is so low, but through hard work there has been a dramatic increase in my grades each year that follows. Financially, I’m in a tight spot, so I’m not sure if I should take a 5th year and continue to try or to listen to my guidance councilor to switch fields. Switching fields is another problem because I have no idea what I could do with a BSc diploma. Please give me some advice on what I should do, to graduate or not, and if not what options are left for me? =(

    – Very old and worried 4th year.

    ———————————————

    Dearest Old and Worried,

    My apologies for such a delayed answer, but there’s really no need to be so frantic. 🙂

    Firstly, there is no graduation in April 2013, so if you do choose to deem this your fourth and final year of undergrad, starting today, October 1, 2012, you can declare your intention to graduate on ROSI for June 2013 since I highly doubt a fifth year will be necessary, much less a change in fields.

    Now there’s no need for you to give up your dream. Your 3.0 CGPA is the equivalent to a mid-B, which, according to the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry, is the minimum final year average needed. Right now, you’re in a fairly good place and will at least be considered. The only thing you can do right now is make sure you stay on top of your game this year so that your grades will be enough to beat out the competition.

    But to avoid any crushing of dreams, keep your options open. Don’t apply solely to U of T. That’s probably the best way to get your heart torn to pieces, really. The Faculty of Dentistry even provides you with links to other possible universities to do your post-grad work at. For example, you can go over to Western and study and/or party hard or you can go over to McGill and practice your French while practicing your periodontology. Or maybe you can go to UBC or University of Alberta or University of Manitoba. My point is that the best way to go anywhere in life, whether that be for dinner or for dentistry, is to keep your options open. Naturally, these different universities will obviously come with different requirements, so you may have a harder time getting in (which I doubt because U of T is, well, U of T), or you may find your CGPA is ideal.

    You have plenty of options and plenty of time to raise your CGPA if you feel your 3.0 isn’t enough, so don’t worry so much. But if this response isn’t enough to placate you, here’s a lovely cat gif.

    also a very old but not as worried fourth year,

    aska

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  • GPA

    match the grading systems

    September 25, 2012
    I know you probably get this a lot but I have been pulling my hair trying to figure it out.I currently go to york university which is on a 9 point scale. See? I know how to convert my marks to a 4.0 scale, but how do I go about it when some are weighed at 6 credits, and some are weighed at 3 credits? I’m trying to see how much more upgrading I need to do and its difficult when everyone’s suggestions give me a different answer. I need to know the correct way that I bellieve OMSAS uses? to find the gpa.Thanks
    ———————————————
    Hey there Yorkshire,
    It still blows my mind that universities haven’t created an academic fellowship and gotten onto the same grading system. But the steam out of my ears doesn’t really matter, so lets see what we can do in the conversion department … mmmmkay??I think I would suggest converting your system into percentages and then comparing that to the U of T scale.?I am going to make the assumption that your 3 credit will equal our 0.5 FCE (so a course that only runs for half of the academic year) and the 6 credit is equal to the 1.0 FCE (a course that runs throughout the entire academic year). So when calculating CGPA enter 0.5 grades in once and 1.0 in twice to get the weighing accurate.
    Then take your CGPA and compare the percentage with the grade point value in the chart below and you should be fairly close.

    Grading Scale

    Percentage Letter Grade Grade Point Value* Grade Definition
    90-100 A+ 4.0 Excellent: Strong evidence of original thinking; good organization; capacity to analyze and synthesize; superior grasp of subject matter with sound critical evaluations; evidence of extensive knowledge base.
    85-89 A 4.0 Excellent
    80-84 A- 3.7 Excellent
    77-79 B+ 3.3 Good:? Evidence of grasp of subject matter; some evidence of critical capacity and analytic ability; reasonable understanding of relevant issues; evidence of familiarity with literature.
    73-76 B 3.0 Good
    70-72 B- 2.7 Good
    67-69 C+ 2.3 Adequate:? Student who if profiting from his/her university experience; understanding of the subject matter; ability to develop solutions to simple problems in the material.
    63-66 C 2.0 Adequate
    60-62 C- 1.7 Adequate
    57-59 D+ 1.3 Marginal:? Some evidence of familiarity with subject matter and some evidence that critical and analytic skills have been developed.
    53-56 D 1.0 Marginal
    50-52 D- 0.7 Marginal
    0-49 F 0.0 Inadequate:? Little evidence of even superficial understanding of subject matter; weakness in critical and analytic skills; with limited or irrelevant use of literature.

    * The grade point values above apply to marks earned in individual courses; grade point averages are weighted sums of the grade points earned and thus do not necessarily correspond exactly to the scale above.? For example, a B+ average would include grade point averages from 3.20 to 3.49, while the lowest B- average would be 2.50

    love bugs and?sweet thoughts,

    aska

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  • courses,  failing,  GPA

    a second-year first year

    April 29, 2011

    Hi,

    I am currently a University of Toronto Mississauga first year students, I am a full time students.

    Right now I finished all the exams, but I failed 2 courses and now I only have 1.5 credits.

    Will I get into second years? what is the minum credit requirment ?

    I will be very appriciated if you can solve my problem.

    Thank you very much

    ———————————————

    Hi there. Sorry to hear that you had a rough year. Year of study is determined by the number of courses you have taken. Because you have only passed 1.5 credits this year, you will still be considered a “first year student.” You will be considered a first year until you have passed five full year credits. The only thing this affects is your start time for course enrollment and when you can apply for a subject PoST. It might also affect some classes that you can register for next term.

    I’d recommend booking an appointment with your UTM registrar to figure out what classes you would like to register in for your second year of school. Are you also on Academic Probation? That will affect the minimum GPA you’ll need to continue to enroll in classes at UTM.

    Book that appointment.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • GPA,  graduation

    askastudent is distinguished in that, they are askastudent

    April 29, 2011

    Hi,

    I was just wondering whether someone is graduating with high distinction/distinction will be listed on something (pamphlet) for public viewing during the graduation or rather just listed on the degree? Thank you!

    ———————————————

    Dear Mr. Vain,

    It’s not enough for you just to know that you’re highly distinguished? You need proof on some kind of mega plaque or giant LCD screen for everyone to know?

    I’m really sorry but I don’t think that anything particularly cool happens for those who graduate with high distinction during the ceremony. Maybe you are listed in the program? Maybe when your name is announced they’ll say you are super cool? Maybe it will be listed on the degree?

    You can definitely brag about it on your resume, and harness the power to get you through your bleak post-graduate life where distinction comes from being the person who can work the photocopier the best.

    Congrats though.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • failing,  GPA,  probation

    had a bad year

    September 3, 2010

    Dear Aska,

    I’m currently a third year student at UofT, but had a pretty rough year: I literally failed all four of the courses I took. So far my GPA has been calculated on ROSI, but my academic standing doesn’t seem to be listed (I heard from someone that they don’t assess your standing if you didn’t get at least one credit that session, but I digress). My question is, is there any way to get the past year off of my cGPA or is my best bet to just retake all of those courses?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    Sorry to hear about your rough year. It definitely happens to the best of us (and more often than you think). Your past year will totally count towards your CGPA since it’s a cumulative calculation of your entire academic history. Since you didn’t do a late withdrawal on the courses before the end of the term, they will count towards your degree. If you need the credits to graduate, you will have to retake the courses and pass them, however, I imagine that you are probably on academic probation.

    Here’s what the calendar says about academic probation. Remember that if this happens more than three times, you will be refused from the faculty.

    Probation; Suspension; Refused Further Registration

    The following regulations apply to students who have attempted at least four courses* in the Faculty.

    1. A student shall be on academic probation who

    a) has a cumulative GPA of less than 1.50 or

    b) returns from suspension.

    The best thing to do is talk to your registrar as immediately as possible to find out how to proceed. On academic probation, you won’t be able to register in any courses for this fall semester. Soon enough, your GPA will show up on ROSI but for now, talk to your registrar about how to go forward.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • GPA,  ROSI

    ROSI, WTF?

    July 13, 2010

    Hello aska!
    I am 99.9% sure that ROSI calculated my seasonal GPA incorrectly. How do I deal with this?

    ———————————————

    (Menacing horror movie voice over) Just when you thought you were safe, the Repository of Student Information strikes where you least expect it – calculating the grade point average of young students.

    That was fun! Probably the best teamster-like office to contact in order to give ROSI the smackdown would be the Faculty of Arts and Science Registrar. They’re the ones closest to being able to recalculate your GPA (are you applying to grad school? Is this why it’s a big deal?) and resubmit it on the evil she-beast that is ROSI.

    For those calculating at home, try using this UTSC GPA calculator to see if your ROSI matches up.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • GPA,  grades,  tests

    regrade me! regard me!

    July 7, 2010

    Ive never felt the need to contest a grade for a test/paper till now. I recently got a test back and I felt like the comments on it did not correlate with how much marks were taken off (one of the questions actually had no comments).

    I havent done this before and I an anxious about to possibility of my mark being lowered (even though I truly dont see why it would be). How do I go about this?

    ———————————————

    U of T is a bureaucratic monolith specifically designed so that students do not usually contest their marks. Fight the power!

    My friend Wyndham recently contested a mark on one of her assignments. The first step is to go to The Department in which your course is affiliated. They will usually want you to work it out with the person which marked your test originally. If you can’t come to an agreement, you will have to return to The Department with a copy of your graded test (if applicable, also your ungraded paper), which will be submitted along with your request to have your assignment re-marked. An impartial third party will re-mark it.

    An important note is that you’ll have to accept whatever grade the second marker gives you, whether higher, lower, or the same. If you think it’s worth the risk, go for it. A list of departmental contacts can be found here.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • failing,  GPA

    my bad GPA

    July 5, 2010

    Hi, well I started at Uof T as part time student and now I am in entering my
    second year however I did pretty bad last year my GPA is 1.60, I want to
    improve and try to get into full time but I am conditioned because I? failed
    a course and obviously my GPA is not helping.? Do you think I will be able
    to boost up my GPA to a 3.5? or up by my 3rd 4th year and realistically how
    much work that will be?

    ———————————————

    There’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to boost your GPA after a bad year, as everybody has them. Academics are like anything – you gotta put enough time into them to make them worth your while. Here’s four tips I have for you on how to improve your marks for next year.

    1) Consider what you’re interested in and what you are good at. My GPA rose, rose, rose once I started taking classes that I was actually good at and interested in, and stopped taking philosophy classes. Consider the smaller programs offered by University College, Innis, Trinity, Victoria, New and Woodworth. Flip through your calendar and timetable and take a look at what really interests you.

    2) Use the writing centre at your college registrar to improve your essays. I can’t stress this enough. Writing a good essay is an art form that some have problems with – it’s all about constructing a seamless, articulate argument. There are amazing people who can help you, and it guarantees a boost in your assignments by at least 10 percent.

    3) Go to your class office hours. Your profs and TAs are being paid so that you can ask them questions about course material and assignments. They might even be able to look through your assignments with you after they’ve graded them and help you in the future. These people are your lifelines to an “A” and the best resources you have for learning more about your subject of study.

    4) Do all the readings, prepare for the tests and hand in the assignments on time. It’s hard to manage school, extra-curriculars and other part-time work, so make sure you’re not taking too much on.

    Work hard, give it your all and your 4.0 GPA is yours. Here’s a little theme music to keep your inspired.

    xoxo, askastudent

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  • GPA,  grad school

    “I have a higher GPA than you!” “Duh, you’re from McMaster”

    April 23, 2010

    hey Aska,

    I’ve been meaning to ask a question for a while but due to issues with open office I never could. I finally decided to use someone else’s computer and open office to ask a question. So my suggestion is maybe you could make it so that one did not need open office to ask a question. Maybe that’s already an option and I just never saw it I don’t know, just a suggestion.

    anyway I’m a 3rd year poli sci student who is considering applying to American grad schools. I’ve been told a GPA from Canada and U of T is weighted differently by American schools sometimes. Is there any truth to this? If so how can I calculate my weighted “American” gpa?

    Thanks

    ———————————

    Honey, what are you talking about? You don’t need OpenOffice to ask a question. In fact, you just need to email me at askastudent.innis@utoronto.ca. And don’t tell me you don’t have email, because if you’re a UofT student, you have to have a utoronto email.

    Maybe you’ve confused OpenOffice with Microsoft Office Outlook . Microsoft Office Outlook is a personal information manager (so like an email manager). Sure, you can email me using Microsoft Outlook, but you can also just log onto webmail and email me from there.

    Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about the GPA difference too much. Universities everywhere use different grading systems, and I’m not just talking about the US and Canadian grading systems. High schools across Canada use different grading systems, and you don’t see UofT rejecting someone from Manitoba just because we didn’t understand their grades. Even within Ontario, Universities everywhere use a different grade point scale UofT has a 4-point system, York has a 9-point system, McMaster has a 12-point system, Waterloo just uses your percentages, etc. etc. US Universities will take this into account when you apply for them; it might help your chances, or it might hurt them, but either way, there’s nothing much you can do about it. So I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.

    And don’t forget, other important factors, such as extra-curricular activities, references, or personal statements, might play huge roles in admissions as well.

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  • choosing,  GPA,  philosophy

    the GPA is just a number

    January 18, 2010

    I just found an open space on the PHL217 class and I registered for it, what do you think about the general workload for this course (the amount of reading is what I need to know, I know that Continental philosophy is not easy to understand) and not having taken the PHL100 or any PHL course before (I’ve read books by Nietzsche, Sartre, Freud, Marx and others before), should I keep the course or not? I also have the option of taking a FAH course, I’m studying ARC so art history is a much easier subject for me. I do enjoy reading about continental philosophy in particular, but I’m also intending to keep my GPA at around 3.7-4. So is low to mid 80’s achievable in PHL217 with a descent effort?

    Thanks in advance,
    cheers

    ———————————————

    Have you read the anti-calendar? I know it’s an underground publication and all, but reading it won’t make you a bad student, you know. Professor Comay is teaching this year’s class and taught last year’s class as well. Here’s what the last year’s students have to say about her and the course.

    Comay was described as a beautiful speaker with a high level vocabulary, which at times, could overwhelm students. The course was hard at times since typically continental Philosophy is difficult to understand. Although, tutorials were well designed to help understand the concepts and arguments in the readings.

    The workload of the course was rated a 4.2 (which is pretty average). The difficulty of this course was listed as 5.0 (out of 7.0), which is higher than that most of the other courses I’ve skimmed across – they usually average around 4.5 or so. The retake percentage was 75% though, which means a lot of people did enjoy the course.

    I emailed the philosophy students’ union, and they’ve told me that the toughest thing you’ll face is probably learning how to write a good, proper philosophy paper. They also said that 200-level philosophy courses usually have readings ranging from 20-40 pages a week. However, as with most philosophy texts, the readings can be difficult to understand.

    I really think you should go on with the course though. Don’t be too bummed out if your first few essays don?t score too high. After all, University is about trying new things! I think that?s more important than maintaining a 3.7-4.0 GPA, but that?s just my opinion. Having read books on it before, you seem to have a genuine interest in philosophy, and I think sometimes spontaneously trying out new electives can make your semester just that much more exciting. If you’re maintaining a 3.7-4.0 GPA, you’re probably a good student anyway and have a good chance at excelling in your philosophy course. Besides, if your mark really turns out to be unbearably low, you can always just drop the course before March 7th and there will be no academic penalty.

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  • GPA,  grad school,  grades,  med school,  St. George

    or in other words, i don’t know

    May 8, 2009


    Hi there.

    I recently got admitted to UTSG for Life Science. As of now, it pretty much looks like I’m going to end up studying there. I was just wondering what your opinions are regarding the whole ~UTSG is a GPA raper thing~ and all that jazz. I’m sure that a student’s response (hopefully one who is currently in the LifeSci program) will enlighten me a little.

    The reason why I’m asking is that I want to keep my options open for medical school. I’m not entirely sure whether or not I want to go into medicine but hopefully my undergraduate studies will clarify my uncertainty. I know that medical schools across Canada require a high GPA and I’m sure that I can get decent grades if I study hard enough but is U of T really as hard as it is cut out to be? Would my chances to get into medical school be greater if I did my undergrad in another university, say York, Queen’s or McMaster?

    Thanks.

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  • GPA,  scholarships/bursaries

    thousands of newly admitted students now seek revenge…

    April 24, 2009

    Long story short, I wasted a lot of money and dropped a bunch of courses. I’ll have 3 credits by May, but I’m planning to take 1 credit in the summer. My question is, are there any automatic scholarships given to you if you have a high GPA, but few credits? I’m standing at a 3.85 GPA right now, but I don’t know if this even matters since I didn’t take a full course load.

    PLEASE HELP ME! I need to know if there’s any way I can somehow get back the money I wasted…

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