• art,  courses,  first year,  important dates,  ROSI,  wait list

    Wait watchers.

    August 4, 2009

    Hi aska!
    i just enrolled in courses today, and i am waitlisted for art history second term. what are the chances of my actually getting in? Or, should i switch around my courses now, cuz there is a different course i would like to take in the fall term if (FAH is winter) i cant get in. thanks!!!

    ———————————————

    Tis true. FAH102H1-S: The Practice of Art History is full. Quite full. There are currently 106 students on the waitlist, beyond the 188 spaces in the class.

     

    Your chances of getting in are dependent on a few things: a) your karma, and b) where you are on that wait list. A general rule of thumb is that if your waitlist ranking is within 10% of the total enrollment capacity then your chances are okay. “Okay” is situated somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of chances; above bad, and below pretty good. Okay is close friends with “decent.” A.k.a. – you have a chance.

     

    So, if you are waitlisted, like, 100th – I hate to break it to you – but you probably ain’t getting in.

    What should you do now? There are several possible courses of action:

     

    a) Drop the course and add something else that has room; OR

     

    b) wait until 6:00am on August 7th (when your course load limit increases to 6.0) and add an additional course as a backup in case you never get in to FAH102; OR

     

    c) wait until the waitlist is removed (on January 3rd), and try to grab a spot that opens up. You have until January 10th to add courses. This will require you to be obnoxiously persistent in checking ROSI to see if a spot becomes available. Depending on how much of a life you have, I would check it at least 5 times per day (I am a ROSI junkie, mind you). This is only a 7 day window… that is not a lot of time. Do not get your hopes up about this option. Also, think about attending this class in the first week, so that you aren’t behind if you do eventually get enrolled.

     

    I did some snooping in the archives of ROSI, and it turns out that last year FAH102 offered two meeting sections with capacity of 188 – neither of which was full, but the net enrollment was 275. This year there is a single meeting section that accommodates 188 students. I also noticed that FAH102 was offered in the summer of 2007 and 2008, but not this past summer.

     

    So, Art History, why offer half of the spaces in a course that obviously has a greater demand?? Beats me. This bizarre/frustrating observation suggests one of two things. One, that Art History is sick of first-year students, and is trying to wean them off; or two, Art History is struggling to staff that course. Perhaps an issue of limited social or economic capital?

     

    In any case, I concur with what you are all thinking right now – it is super annoying.

     

    Now I did a Minor in Art History, and I have taken FAH102, so let me give you some advice, from the school of hard knocks. I can’t believe I just said that. If you are NOT enrolled in FAH102 this year, consider these two things:

     

    a) In all likelihood, you WILL be able to take this course next summer, when enrollment never meets capacity.

     

    b) You can always take this course in an upper-year, when you will have an earlier course enrollment start date, and therefore will stand a better chance of getting in. This works because you will find that none of the upper-year FAH courses actually list FAH102 as a pre-requisite. Sure the content of 102 may be useful preparation for 200-levels courses, but it is far from mandatory.

     

    c) Based on this, you could go ahead and enroll in a 200-level FAH course in your first year. They have “P” enrollment indicators, which means that you will be eligible to enroll on August 7th (at 6:00am SHARP). Let me give you a breakdown of these potentials…

     

    Although you might not ever be able to spell/fit her name on your test booklet, Prof. Katsougiannopoulou is a lovely lady who is teaching FAH207: Greek & Roman Art/Architecture. FAH246: Modernism is a little heavy for first-year, unless you have a good modern art background and/or interest. I’m totally biased, but I found FAH272: Modern Architecture to be a blast, and VERY doable in your first-year. FAH230: Renaissance Art/Arch is somewhere in between. The content is straightforward, but a little dry – depending on how much you can handle starting at triptychs of “virgin and child.” Annnd… I’ve never taken the Later Medieval Art course. Did they even create art in the Dark Ages? Watching The Sword in the Stone will probably suffice for knowledge on that time period, anyway. Ah ah ah Merlin! (If you got that reference you are a loser, and I love you).

     

    Should you (wo)man up, and take a 200-level course, I suggest limiting yourself to one per semester. They ARE 200-level so they will jump into things quicker. But, as I said, there is no reason why you can’t do well in these courses in your first-year.

    Think about what a breeze FAH102 will be when you finally take it in 4th year! Such a treat!! It’ll be like finding a curly fry in your regular fries from Arby’s.

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  • architecture,  art,  subject POST

    Tugging at Askastudent’s heartstring.

    July 8, 2009

    I’m going into first year next year and I was really looking forward to doing a double major in architecture and something else unrelated. After looking at the website I got really discouraged. (http://www.daniels.utoronto.ca/programs/ba_architectural_studies)

    91 applied for history and 8 got invited. 176 applied for design and 42 got invited. Then at the bottom it says please note: For both Design and History Theory Criticism NO double majors were accepted.

    Wow so much for my dreams, lol. Haven’t double majors been accepted before? I don’t even know if I should bother next year if that’s the case. Please shed some light on this matter askastudent. (: And have a fantastic summer.

    ?

     

    First, a point of clarification: “no double majors were accepted” refers to student who wanted to simultaneously take both a double Major in Architectural Studies (Design) AND Architectural Studies (History/Theory/Criticism). You CAN pair a Major in Architectural Studies with any other Major imaginable in the Faculty of Arts & Science. In fact, you have to (see this post).

     

    As for your discouragement about getting into an ARC Major, I graduated with a BA in Architectural Studies (Major with a concentration in Design). So, I’m really gonna try here…

     

    I could give you a pep talk about turning that defeatist attitude around, buuut that’s not really my style. Plus, I’m not sure what good it’ll really do. Instead, I will give you a play-by-play of my affair with an ARC Major, which I think should shed some anecdotal light on your prospects.

     

    1. at the end of my first year > in the first round of POSt enrollment > requested both ARC Majors > ?didn’t get invited into either > tears > anger > Hello Art Histoy!

    2. summer after first year > second round of POSt enrollment > requested both ARC Majors > got invited to History/Theory/Criticism > foot in the door!

    3. end of second year > first round of POSt enrollment > requested ARC Major in Design > didn’t get the invite > denial > rage

    4. summer after second year > second round of POSt enrollment > request ARC Major in Design > got invited > celebration > buy an entirely black wardrobe and thick-framed glasses

     

    Despite getting a (baker’s) dozen rejections by the ARC Program, I was not behind on any courses when I eventually got into Design in third year. This is because the second year ARC courses are the same for either Major. So, entering Design at the 300-level was as if I was always there. I think that they finally let me in for a couple reasons. One, that I was persistent and/or obnoxious – thus demonstrating genuine commitment to ARC. Two, that enough time had elapsed for me to resurrect my dismal CGPA from the first-year massacre. Three, that I was able to demonstrate competency in the 200-level ARC courses.

     

    As you can see, my relationship with ARC began on a tumultuous path. It teased me for a bit, played hard-to-get, then finally realized that we were meant for each other.

     

    But the honeymoon phase was short-lived. My tenure in Architecture was a cyclical abusive relationship characterized by: lack of sleep, shattered confidence, and gradually losing my fingertips in desperate attempts to cut plexiglass (all of this interspersed with the awesome realization that you get to draw and build things for credit!).

     

    I’m gonna go a step beyond your question now, and talk a bit about Art History, which – should you get into an ARC Major – you will quickly develop a deep affection for. This relationship will begin in the lusting phase, on account of FAH being pretty cool (you get to look at pictures all class). Then, the inevitable transition from courtship to a committed relationship will happen just after marks are posted on ROSI. This is when ARC studio courses are trying to demolish your GPA, while FAH courses are blissfully counterbalancing them.

     

    Let’s be clear that only in the realm of Arts & Science would I condone such infidelity. While Art History is a sexy part-time lover, when you’re going steady with Architecture, it is not the only good option. I also did Environmental Studies (the way of the future, my friend). Urban studies and visual studies are popular, but I encourage you to consolidate ANYTHING with Architecture. All good design is interdisciplinary.

     

    To all of you monogamistic purists out there, whose jaws are in perma-drop from my sexually-liberated metaphor, go take a Specialist. Of course you can’t in Architecture – they are far too corrupt.

     

    Ooo! Let’s push this metaphor too far… Taking a double ARC-ARC Major is an incestuous love triangle. And why on earth would you want that!?!

     

    …

     

    Fine… okay… I’ll say it: DON’T WORRY SO MUCH!!! You’ll be fine!!! Even if you don’t get into an ARC Major – you can still apply for a Master of Architecture… and then you can go on and make ultra-plastic buildings that are purely derived from computer software and have zero relationship to context… and then they fall apart… and then you get sued. The end.

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  • architecture,  art,  subject POST

    YES THEY CAN!

    December 12, 2008

    If I did a major in Architecture Design, can some of the FAH courses be put towards an Art History minor? The requirements for an arch major include FAH270H1, FAH272H1 then two other credits that can include FAH courses. I could get 3 FCE’s in FAH courses towards the major in arch, but I was wondering if it could overlap and go towards a minor in art history as well? Thanks!

    ?

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  • art,  humanities,  part-time,  science

    degree smorgasbord

    February 12, 2007

    this is prolly a dumb question but here goes it:
    Let’s say one has a major and two minors
    Major= science
    Minor=humanities
    Minor=soc sci
    would one graduate with a BSc, a BA or a choice?

    you, my friend, get to choose! isn’t u of t wonderful?
    cheers, askastudent

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