• dropping courses,  grad school,  jobs,  law school

    loving law

    October 22, 2012

    Hi aska,

    I have a couple questions if you don’t mind:

    1. I really screwed up my first year finishing with a horrible gpa of 2.4. I was looking into going to law school or grad school after my undergrad, but now I’m terrified that I’ve ruined my chances of getting in. Have I completely screwed up my gpa? Even if I get a 4.0 for the rest of my undergrad years (which is highly unlikely), my cgpa still won’t be very high. I heard the minimum for most law schools is 3.7 :\

    2. If I drop an F course before Nov 4th, there will be no record that I even took the course in the first place right? If so, is it possible for me to drop the course and start fresh by taking it next semester? Or will they know that I enrolled and dropped out of it first semester?

    3. Do you have any info or know where I can find more info about internships? Or volunteering? And do you have any tips on applying? If law/grad school is still an option, I’m worried that my resume is not up to par.

    Thanks so much and please reply asap if possible!

    ———————————————

    Hey there,

    So I’m just going to number off my answers if you don’t mind:

    1. You didn’t screw up your first year, so you better take back those pity party invitations hun. While most post-grad programs want at least a 3.5 GPA, you have three whole years to raise your CGPA. How? By working hard. You sound like you realize you slacked off a little last year. Are you ready to change that? If you don’t know how or if you need some tips, try consulting the Academic Success Centre. They’re always really helpful. 🙂
    2. You are correct. November 4, 2012 is the last day to drop an F course without any academic penalty. Likewise, you can definitely drop the course right now (before November 4) and take it again next semester without any problems.
    3. As for info on internships and volunteering, head over to the Career Centre website. They always have listings for part-time work or volunteer opportunities. Moreover, they have loads of pages on writing proper cover letters, prepping for interviews, and general application tidbits. They also hold a number of workshops and info sessions over the year about applications or the ins and outs of resume writing.

    Enjoy!

    aska

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  • criminology,  keeners,  law school

    okay, ally mcmajor change

    July 16, 2010

    Dear Aska:
    I’m going into my third year, and I think the time for freaking out about grad school has finally arrived, so I have a question, albeit a rather ridiculous one. I’m currently doing a double major in criminology and psychology, and intend to go to law school, much like half of UofT. However, the international relations programme has always held a lot of interest for me, to the point where I want to switch over. Initially I was going to just demote my psych to a minor. However, I want to keep it as a second option for grad school in case my plan A doesn’t work. Now, to my question. I noticed that the requirements for the Crim major are 7 courses, which when one thinks about it, is much like the requirements for a minor programme in most other disciplines which require 4 credits (meaning around 6-8 classes since most are half classes). However, one can only specialize or major in Crim, not do a minor. Would it be possible, in any way, to convince someone, somewhere with some authority at UofT, that based on this logic, I could do 3 majors, even though one is very much like a minor?
    Also, in case your answer is a no, do you think it’s worth just saying to hell with it and only doing a minor in psych? I’ve come to understand that getting into any decent grad programmes without a research specialist is nearly impossible. I talked to the undergrad advisor but got a bunch of vague, neither yes nor no answers so I don’t want to base my decision on that, but at the same time I’d rather not waste my time if I can’t do anything with a psych major if it ever came to that.
    Thanks for your help, your input is MUCH appreciated as I feel you’re the only source for some straight answers at UofT!

    ———————————————

    Dear askareader,

    You are crazy. Seriously. You want to complete three majors – and you are going into your third year? What are you, a billionaire? Doogie Hauser? Some kind of wealthy forever student with so much time to kill?

    Since I can’t exactly go through the courses you’ve already taken on ROSI without knowing your student number, my recommendation is that you book an appointment with your college registrar, like immediately.

    Doing three majors in three years equals at least 21 mandatory credits. If you’re lucky, some of these classes (like crim and psych) might overlap. But your IR major sounds incredibly difficult to finagle, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU ARE GOING INTO YOUR THIRD YEAR.

    Promise me that you will book an appointment your registrar to discuss course selection this year, tout suite. And remember my rule: there’s no need biting off more than you can chew if the steak’s fine all on its own. (Okay, that makes no sense.)

    The point is, consider ace-ing the programs you’re already in before committing to an entirely new one and trying to fit in all the additional credits you might need in there. Talk to your registrar and work it out. Your plan might not be impossible, just overly ambitious and ill-conceived.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • grad school,  law school

    to all readers, read this post for an example of what you should NOT do

    February 11, 2010

    [first email]

    Hi Aska,

    A few questions, I will do my best to make them coherent. I am closing in on my third year with a GPA so far of 3.62- and I am worried about getting into graduate school to do my master’s.

    1. What are my chances of getting into a graduate program in human resources/management/business at UofT, York, or Ryerson?
    2. When should I begin to look into applications (ie. end of third year, beginning of fourth year)?
    3. What is the average cost of a master’s program per year?
    4. Should I take a year off to work/find internships or dive right into graduate studies?
    5. What is the difference between a B.A/Bsc and an Hons B.A/Hons Bsc?

    Thank you!!!

    [second email]

    Quick!

    1. Can I do a summer exchange with an institution that UofT is not partnered with (ie.
    University of Calgary)?
    2. Do law schools ‘look down on’ those who do fifth years?
    3. What is the best method of finding internships (cold calling/emailing/just showing up
    and begging)?

    Thanks Aska.

    [third email]

    Hi Aska,

    Do you know any internal sources of funding one can apply to for funding
    student initiatives and organizations?

    Thanks

    ——————————————–

    Oh jeez. 9 questions is NOT ?a few?. Couldn?t you at least wait until I finished your first batch of questions before you sent me the second and third ones? Failing that, couldn?t you have at least made your email a little more interesting? (e.g. you could?ve complimented me, praised me, complimented me, thanked me for saving your life, or complimented me. Did I mention that you should?ve complimented me?) I had to make format your emails and separate them using colorful text because they were so long.

    1) I understand that you are concerned about grad school, but for the last time, aska is NOT an admissions officer and he has no idea what is going on at the admissions offices. I don?t know whether you have a good chance of getting into graduate school. Obviously, it would depend on the school and field you?re applying too, except ?human resources/management/business at UofT/York/Ryerson? is a pretty vague plan, don?t you think?

    Here, I?ve done some searching and I?ve found the graduate programs page for UofT, Ryerson, and York. For UofT, you?ll need at least B in your last two years of school, although admission is probably competitive ? you might have to aim for higher than that. I don?t know what the minimum grade is for Ryerson or York. I couldn?t find it. Anyway, you can come to your own conclusions about whether or not you have a good chance of making the programs. Otherwise, consult your local stats major. On second thought, don’t. You’ll just annoy them.

    2) For all I care, you can start looking at grad school applications after they?re die. I don?t live your life and I can?t make your life decisions. Obviously, if you look into them earlier, you?d have a better sense of the amount of time you?d need to spend on them and what you?d need to do to get in… but then you?d have to stop being lazy, which is always a bad thing, right?

    3) Look at the graduate program page for UofT I gave you earlier. The tuition fee for most of the masters programs are $6121 per year (more if you?re an international student). You can look up York and Ryerson yourself.

    4) What am I, your dad? Like I said earlier, I can?t make your life decisions. This is a decision you?ll have to make yourself. Ask yourself what your career goals are ? what would benefit you more, getting some practical, real-world experience, or studying/researching your chosen subject at a more advanced level?

    5) Have you heard about the Arts and Science Bible? No? Well, about time, then. As listed in the Rules and Regulations section of the calendar, the BSc/BA degrees only required 15 credits, but they have been discontinued since 2001. The Hons. BSc/BA degrees require 20 credits.

    …as for your second email? *sigh*.

    1) I don?t think so? but you can check out ISXO yourself. I couldn?t find anything, so you might want to call them.

    2) Do I look like a law school to you? Anyway, the answer is probably not ? as long as you didn?t slack and get a C average while taking only 2 courses in one of your years or something, I don?t see what?s the big problem (and people have frequently told me that grad or professional schools don?t really care whether or not you do a 5th year). More info on law school admissions: here.

    3) Best method of getting an internship? Send them a fish. Otherwise, consider asking Google, who doesn?t mind people bothering them all the time and can give you more answers than I can. Just show employers that you are self-motivated, genuine and passionate; that you can take initative (you might need to improve on this, because surely you could?ve found out half the information I?ve been giving you on your own); and that you are open to new experiences.

    And now, *drumroll* for your last email?

    Try looking around UTSU.

    Yeah. That?s all I got for ya. This response sucked the life out of me. Next time, please don?t treat me like an admissions officer/parent/law school/search engine because I?ll be tempted not to be so nice. And for the record, ?a few? means 3 or 4.

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  • grades,  law school,  St. George

    citric acid

    March 13, 2009


    I know you (usually) give witty and/or useless and acerbic responses. But bear w/ me on this one! I’d like to go to law school (not Dalhousie’s) and my grades are steady 70s. While I’ve done everything in my power to improve them (i.e. writing centres, editing, turning essays in on time etc.) they have simply not budged any higher. All the while I’m being told idiots from UTSC/UTM are going to get the same degree as I do at St. George for less effort and that UofT bell curves like it’s a fetish. So my question is this: What on earth could I possibly do (other than dropping out) to do better and stay sane? MERCI BEAUCOUP!

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  • food,  law school

    free food, free events? email aska

    January 8, 2007

    A while ago someone had asked about free food at U of T. Well, there’s a group on facebook called “Free Food, Free stuff at U of T” and it’s awesome…there’s info about a lot of events on campus where free food is provided. And it is continually updated. Hope this helps!

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