• financial aid,  international students,  new kids,  scholarships/bursaries

    money, money, money

    hello!!! international applicant to uoft here, hoping to get into econ^^ i’ve heard about the top 6 rule, and was hoping it applies to us too, since my grade 12 math grade suffered a bit (our school has a strange grading system where it assigns “equivalents” to certain numerical ranges… my midterm math grade was the equivalent of a high 60 to low 70) and since econ falls under social sciences they won’t be looking for math. the rest of my grades (all of grade 11, as well as grade 12 minus math) are high (low to high 90s) and even my grade 12 average is the equivalent of a 92+ with that math grade (again, weird grading system) so i was wondering what you think about my chances? thank you!

    hey, i was the international student who sent in the ask about applying to social sciences even with a very low midterm math grade. kindly disregard my previous ask since we now have an update: not only did i get in, i also got the international merit award (somehow!) it’s still a lot of money, though, and my parents are kinda reluctant to send me though i really want to go ? for my question: is it in any way possible that i will get additional/different scholarships that could maybe offset the tuition a little more? thanks a lot!


    hey there,

    wow. congratulations omg?!! that is a really great scholarship.

    but yeah, international student tuition is insanely high, so every bit of financial aid you can get will help. the good thing is, it is absolutely possible for you to get additional scholarships on top of the international merit award. you are able to apply to many more awards throughout your time in university! (i’m going to place this handbook on navigating that here, in case it’s helpful.)

    Presenting Right Here GIF by NETFLIX

    1. scholarships/awards

    the main thing you should check out is the award explorer, which is a searchable database of thousands of awards offered at u of t.

    basically, there are several different types of awards you can get during your time here: admissions, in-course, and graduating awards. the one you just got is an admissions award, which is given out to newly admitted students. although there are some that require a separate application, all you new kids are automatically considered for these when you apply to u of t, based on your grades.

    once you’re a current student, you can also receive awards called “in-course” awards. again, some require applications, but for others, you are automatically considered based on your grades once you get into your program of study. u of t offers over 5,800 in-course awards every year, and all you have to do is keep track of when they are being offered, as application deadlines happen at different times of the semester.

    finally, during your last year, you are also eligible for graduating awards.

    within the broad categories of admissions, in-course, and graduating awards, there are more specific awards given by your faculty or college every year. to find out more about faculty/college awards, follow this link to look at their individual websites. (my little nugget of advice for faculty and college awards is to get involved as a student leader! there are several student leadership awards that are much easier to apply for than the competitive ones you’ll be looking at for economics student awards.)

    just make sure that you apply filters when using the award explorer in order to see what you are actually eligible for. otherwise, you’ll just find yourself scrolling through an overwhelming number of awards. for example, if i apply the filter “open to international” and search up “economics”, i can see 44 awards that you are eligible for simply as an international student in economics! spend some time looking through there, and you’ll find there is a lot to apply for during your upper years.

    Ben Schwartz Friendship GIF by Apple TV+

    2. other avenues of financial aid

    if you want to earn money while completing your degree, i would recommend the work-study program. they offer part-time, paid, on-campus jobs that are available on all three campuses, and are often flexible due to the fact that you’re a student.

    there are also emergency grants available to domestic and international u of t undergrads in case of unforeseen financial emergencies.

    however, it’s true that there are much less financial aid opportunities for international students compared to domestic students. while domestic students have access to OSAP and UTAPS, u of t says they are not able to offer direct financial aid to international students because they are a publicly funded institution. which, yeah, okay that makes sense. in this case, they say you should look into you home country’s financial aid programs.

    but if you’re an american—as a canadian, i say that as aMERcan (with a bit of a gag reflex)—you’ll have access to several USA student aid programs. these include the william d. ford federal direct loan program, alternate/private loans, the 529 college savings plan, and others.

    and as always, i recommend that you reach out to a recruitment officer at your college registrar! they can give you more specific info and meetings with them are super helpful.

    over and out,

    Flying Music Video GIF

    aska

  • academic standing,  admissions,  international students

    a(AHHHHHH)dmissions

    Hey, what are the chances of my offer being rescinded? I got my IAL results and i got 3Bs overall. I had gotten admission into St George Life Sciences with 3 As in my AS. I honestly wasnt expecting the grades to be so bad but the grade boundaries fucked me over. Im worried because some of my units are quite bad, so what are the chances of my offer being rescinded? I reallly dont know what i will tell my parents who already dropped so much money on international flights and the dorms.


    hey there,

    as a fellow student, i know it can hit like a brick when you don’t do as well as you’ve anticipated. it’s honestly so scary and stressful, i don’t blame you for feeling this way. especially as you’re going into first year, i know this is a hectic time of transition when it feels like everything in your life is changing and like everything you do has so much weight to it.

    Cartoon gif. A weary Garfield the cat falls flat on his face into his bed box.

    while i can’t tell you much about the chances of your offer being rescinded, here is what i can tell you:

    you don’t have to do this alone. there are avenues of support available to help you and there may be pathways to explain extenuating circumstances that have impacted your academic performance. your best bet is to connect with your college registrar and talk to somebody about your situation. there are special considerations that can be made, and your registrar will genuinely do their best to help you out. a huge plus with them is that your conversation will be in real time, and you won’t have to deal with me and my little asynchronous answers (online school has ruined the word asynchronous for me).

    overall, there is a lot of support available to help you navigate this stressful time. on top of your college registrar’s academic support, if you need mental wellbeing support, you can check out the services my ssp (student support program) and good2talk.

    anyways, so sorry for the delay in this answer (it’s part of my personality at this point, unfortunately). thanks for your patience, i am sending you love and luck and hoping everything works out!!

    Long Distance Love GIF by Chibird

    over and out,

    aska

  • admissions,  computer science,  international students,  scholarships/bursaries

    it is i, u of t student, a president of 80 whole clubs

    Hey! I am a international student who is in her 11th year in hell- ahem I mean school of course. I dont want to sound like STucK-uP student but I have pretty good grades and I am above the average. I want to attend Major in Computer Science in University of Toronto. Yes I have some good EC’s. But I do not have any national awards nor not a president of 80 clubs. I know acceptance rate is pretty low on computer science especially for international students. Is there any chance for me to get in U of T with a good amount of scholarships? Thank you in advance! ( I know it is stupid to ask you something like that. Since you are not a admissioner or something like that. But I am just desperate:(. So is there anyone you know in U of T who was in the same situation like me? )

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    hahahaha bold of you to assume i know people at this school.

    just kidding, i have really mixed feelings about having made that joke because it perpetuates the stereotype that u of t is hella lonely and antisocial. it can be for some, but i don’t think that’s true across the board.

    anyway. not what you were asking. no, i don’t know anyone at u of t who was in your exact situation — i’m guessing in part because no one really talks about how they got in? nor do people regularly talk about how many admissions scholarships they got– if they do, that’s a lil red flaggy and they’re probably the kind of person i steer clear of anyway.

    your instincts were right that i can’t give you any definitive answers, seeing as i don’t work in admissions and don’t have any concrete info about you anyway. if you’re an international student, the school doesn’t seem to post any minimum grade range requirements, which actually really sucks why are things like this we don’t know??? @ u of t what’s up guys :/

    i don’t know what extracurriculars would make you competitive, either– i would say quality over quantity is usually the way to go, and i don’t think you need that much quantity at all. your extracurriculars are only relevant insofar as they apply to the computer science supplemental application, which (since it’s new) i know next to nothing about. my guess is that they’ll ask you to answer a few very focused questions, so try to play up your strengths and highlight the advantages of the extracurriculars you mentioned that you have. if you have questions about the supplemental, you can contact the department (maybe their academic advisors, since they don’t provide an admissions contact) and ask.

    in terms of scholarships, you will be automatically considered for some (mostly on the basis of academic merit/financial need, i believe) and can apply to others. i’ve filtered through the scholarship website to show the international undergraduate admissions scholarships you might be eligible for– linked here.  while i can’t say what your chances are, as that’ll depend on the pool of applicants (look at me, picking up that bureaucratic u of t lingo like a true cog in the machine), i’d encourage you to go for whatever you think you’re eligible for. sure, you might not ever hear back (like me and every scholarship i’ve applied for (haha cry pls fund my education) but if you do, it could take thousands of dollars off your back. kinda worth, tbh.

    best of luck with the applications process! aska is cheering for you. also, if you haven’t heard, the computer science program is kinda changing the way they do admissions this year. this varsity article will give you the low-down, and might be worth the read. 

    be Boundless,

    aska

  • admissions,  international students

    usa! usa! usa!

    Do u have any posts for international applicants, specifically from the US?

    ——————————————

    hello!

    while we don’t have a specific US international applicants tag, we do have a general international students tag. you could also check out our admissions tag for more info, though it is more generalized, so you’ll have to slosh through a lot of posts to get to ones that’re relevant to you.

    you can also check out this link on the u of t website that describes how to apply to u of t as a US high school student. they also have information on what to do if you have AP or IB credits.

    hope this helps! good luck!

    patriotic independence day GIF by Broad City

    xoxo,

    a very canadian aska

  • admissions,  international students

    long question from far away

    Hey aska, I’m a senior student from Turkey and I want to study mechanical engineering in UofT. There is only one problem, and it’s obviously financial (yay for being an international student!). I talked to my family about this stuff, and they said that realistically, they can pay up to 40k CAD. Sooo the first question is about scholarships. I had 85 percent average last year, but I’m confident that I can get it up to 95 percent (let’s assume ok) because I’ve been studying this whole summer. I got 102 from TOEFL, worked at a rehab facility in summer, and joined a NASA contest but didn’t win anything so I don’t know if that last one counts. So what are the chances that I can get scholarship that’ll be enough? More importantly, what can I do to have a better chance? Also I’m willing to work while studying.

    The second question is, does taking SAT help? Everytime I ask this, the answer is different so I’m trusting you on this one!

    Lastly, sorry this took way longer than I expected but if I can’t get that scholarship, are student loans a bad idea? And there are not many for international students so is there a one that you can recommend?

    Thank you soooooo much, this is my second time asking here after almost a year and you can’t believe how much your answer helped! I’m grateful that you’re doing this voluntarily, have a nice day!

    ——————————————

    hi!

    i’m not 100% sure what the requirements are for a lot of the scholarships, as i think they fluctuate every year based on the applicant pool. i’m also not sure what scholarships u of t offers for international students– most of the scholarships i’m seeing are for domestic students. check out this link that has a scholarship sorter tool that lets you filter through the various scholarships in order to find ones that you would qualify for. they have an option for international and domestic students as well as admission and in-course scholarships. i can’t really say what your “chances” are or how to have a “better chance”. sorry, but my (in)finite knowledge doesn’t go that far. get in contact with enrollment services who will have way more information about scholarships, financial aid, and grants.

    i’m not sure if taking the SAT would help. according to this link, the only thing that you need in order to be considered for u of t are “excellent results overall” in math, physics, and chemistry in the grade 12 year. there aren’t any requirements beyond that, so unfortunately, i can’t give you an easy or direct answer. just know that the SAT is not required and would therefore, not affect your application either way. if i were you, i wouldn’t take the SAT (since you don’t have to) and focus on getting great marks in your grade 12 year.

    if you can’t get a scholarship, student loans are definitely an option! unfortunately, i don’t know much about international loans. but this link is filled with emails and contacts of people who do know tons about them. hit them up and ask away! they are definitely the ones who know the most and would able to help you the most.

    i’m really sorry for this super delayed response. i hope it still helps out. good luck!

     excited luck good luck GIF

    xoxo,

    aska

  • admissions,  international students

    too many acronyms

    Hi 🙂

    So im planning to apply to U of T and want to study criminology. To do so, I need to take an English Proficiency Test, like TOEFL or ?ELTS, because i went to high school in germany and english is my second language. And my question would be if i, as an international student, would have to take the SAT? Or would it be enough to show my high school diploma from germany and the results of the english proficiency test?

    ——————————————

    hi!

    yes, you’ll need to do an english proficiency test and then have the results sent to the university. as for another standardized test (like the SAT), you don’t have to send those results in unless you took them. if you did take the SAT, you’d have to have the results sent electronically from the testing authority. you can check out the specific admissions requirements here.

    i hope this helps!

    xoxo,

    aska

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

    i want a 9 CGPA

    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

     

  • admissions,  enrollment,  getting into U of T,  international students

    which curriculum though?

    Hi, first I would really really be happy if you could answer my question
    and help me find a solution to my problem… I really appreciate the
    efforts you do to help clueless students like me.

    I am a 12 grader high school student living in Saudi Arabia and I’m
    currently studying in a Saudi

    -supervised American Diploma school section where I study both Saudi and US
    subjects. MY PROBLEM IS, I don’t know which system requirement should I
    follow. I checked the requirement for US system and they just require too
    much.. (2 SAT subject test, SAT, IELTS+)

    I can’t do all of that before the deadline of 1 Feb 2017! In my country
    people start applying in summer after graduation and not during school. ????
    However the Saudi curriculum requirements are so easy they only require
    IELTS.
    Students who study in such merged schooling systems have to ask the MOE for
    a “certificate equivalency” where their transcripts get completely adjusted
    to the Saudi system so they get into colleges (Some Saudi schools don’t
    recognize foreign certificates). My question is; will I be able to get
    admitted as a “Saudi student” if I applied with a “legally” equalized
    certificate?

    I hope you are able to help me

    ———————————————

    hi,

    first of all, thank you for your kind words! i wish i knew all the answers to your questions off the top of my head but sometimes these questions take time to figure out.

    in regards to your question: WOW this is so complicated. this question made no sense to me so i decided to consult a registrar! they know everything. this is what they said.

    “if you are following the saudi system and if the school is recognized by the ministry of education in saudi arabia as eligible to offer the saudi diploma, then applying as a saudi student is okay.

    the “legally” equalized certificate is not the issue, it’s whether or not you are following the saudi system (which it sounds like you are following both saudi and US) and if the school is recognized by the ministry to offer the saudi high school diploma, then applying as a saudi student is fine.

    if your school is only accredited to offer the US diploma, then you must apply as a US student.”

    hope this makes more sense to you than it does to me!

    if you have any more inquiries, enrolment services would probably be the best place to contact!

    cheers,

    aska

  • international students,  med school

    OMSAS is awesome

    Hello,
    I’m an International student from India.
    Currently I’m a final year student in the undergraduate medical course in India- MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery).
    After finishing my graduation, I’m aspiring to pursue my Post-Graduate in Medicine in the U of T.
    How can I get a detailed information about the admission procedure to the University, admission criteria, etc.?
    One additional question I wanna ask is:Are there any arrangements for International students to take a tour of the University & are any counseling services provided to International students for their admission process??Thank you

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately, there isn’t a great deal of information on how an MBBS is assessed at u of t. in fact, there’s pretty much nothing.

    assuming that “post-grad” means you want to pursue the MD program at U of T, this page outlines the requirements that you would need to fulfil as an international student, however, they state that you require a “Completion of a non-medical bachelor’s degree equivalent to a four-year bachelor’s degree in Canada with WES transcript assessment”.

    the WES transcript, fyi: is a” transcript from studies undertaken at universities outside of Canada or the USA which needs to be submitted to World Education Services (WES) for assessment.” the u of t site states that: “for admission consideration we require a course-by-course evaluation which includes an overall GPA calculation.”

    since your MBBS would be considered “medical” AND from an international institution, you might encounter an issue applying to the program. the best thing to do would be to contact the md program directly.

    if you’ve somehow already figured out that you’re eligible to apply, you can go ahead and look at the Ontario Medical Schools Application Service site; which has detailed information regarding how to apply to each medical school in ontario! it’s super informative and includes tons of information on each school. check out this link on applying to U of T’s med school. OMSAS pretty much has the answers to all your questions regarding medical school!

    in terms of advising for international students, there is always the centre for international experience (CIE) which is a great place on campus that welcomes international students and help them with international student-specific questions. contact them here: http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/cie/contact-us and you may even be able to ask them questions about how your degree transfers!

    hope this helped, best of luck to you!

    cheers,

    aska

  • admissions,  international students,  UTM

    math is hard

    Im an international student going to UTM for commerce. I did my AS levels and got As in Accounts and Economics but somehow my math grade slipped from a 100% in school to a C in final grade. Will UTM take back my offer of admission or not allow me in the commerce program?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    to be honest, that seems like quite a significant drop in your grade so it may be possible that they will rescind your offer. however, we really have no idea and it would benefit you to check with admissions at UTM to ask about your own unique situation.

    i know we say “ask us anything” but this is one of those situations where we really have no idea of knowing, simply because we don’t work for admissions. however, if you do have any other questions regarding student life or other academics throughout your time at U of T, feel free to send them to us and we’d be happy to answer them for you!

    regardless, i wish you all the best in your upcoming semester! i hope it all worked out for you!

    cheers,

    aska

  • first year,  friends,  international students

    f is for friends who do stuff together

    Hi I’m starting at uoft soon and I’m an international student so I will literally not know anyone when I start! Any tips on how to make friends?

    ———————————————

    hey,

    first of all, welcome to canada! i hope you love toronto as much as i do.

    “how do i make friends” is a question we get a lot on askastudent, so if it feels like i’m repeating stuff i’ve said in the past, i apologize. since you’re asking this question, i assume you haven’t read those entries. no worries!

    orientation week (or the less politically correct ‘frosh week’) is a place where you’ll be bombarded by hundreds of people from your college. even if some events seem lame, i highly recommend you attend orientation week. people will be talking about it for years and you’ll feel like you missed out on an important aspect of the university experience. this is your opportunity to take your pick. play the field, mingle, and be cool. if you aren’t cool, don’t be cool. just be yourself so the friends you make will know who you are as opposed to who you’re trying to be. after frosh week, if these friends stick, they’ll probably be the ones who will stick around for a while.

    if they don’t, that’s okay, it just wasn’t meant to be. here comes option 2 if frosh friends are a no-go.

    if you live in residence, attend res events. take advantage of floor bonding activities because they’re literally there for you to meet friends. bond with them.

    if you aren’t living in residence, that’s okay too!

    participate in an extra-curricular activity or two! u of t has clubs for everything you could possibly think of. join a choir, throw a frisbee around, or play chess! you’re bound to find a club that you’re interested in.

    lastly, don’t be afraid to talk to people in class. it’s always good to have a friend in a class in case you decide to sleep in for one of your 9am classes. But you know, aside from using these people for notes, you can actually try be friends with them!

    personally, i make friends with people when i find out we dislike the same things. ‘dislike’ is a strong word and emotion but i feel like it’s very easy to make friends if you complain about the same things. but that’s just me. maybe don’t do that. love one another and be kind, like ellen.

    not to be a debbie downer, but remember that friends are easy to make but hard to keep. it’s going to take some effort to keep some of these friendships going, just like it’ll take time for you to get used to having long distance friendships with people back home. don’t forget to make an effort to reach out or see each other some time. let them know you care! soon enough, you’ll have a squad, if that’s your kind of thing.

    peace and love,

    aska

  • admissions,  international students

    i’m not sure what happened here

    Hi i’m an international student hoping to come to uoft after graduating in december this year! i was wondering when uoft intakes are? is there only a fall intake?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately, if you’re applying for admission to uoft as an international student, you can only apply for the Fall session, i.e. the session beginning in September 2017. the application process starts in late September/early October 2016 though, so make sure to read up on how to apply so that you don’t miss any deadlines!

    assuming you get in, you’ll have like nine empty months between graduation and coming to uoft, and unless you’re diligent at keeping yourself busy, you run the risk of becoming very, very bored. in the interest of combating that, i have compiled a list of potential activities for you:

    1. make a humongous house of cards. as you build, think about how it symbolizes he precariousness of your life at this moment in time, floating between two schools, two realities, two versions of yourself. the card house crashes down. you become someone else.

    2. go on a trip. if you can’t afford to go on a trip because you’re saving all your money for university, fantasize about going on a trip.

    3. make candles with a bro – even though it’s a cliche.

    4. commune with the spirit of aska’s lost motivation. i’ll pay you $10 if you can convince it to come back to me.

    5. transcend time and space. dance with Jupiter, which is only the size of a thimble in your massive, loving, purple palm. stare at yourself in a mirror. you can see yourself at every age, simultaneously. you understand that you are infinite. time is not frozen but you exist outside of it, and you watch it melting slowly like an ice cream sundae. you open your mouth to laugh, and a flock of swallows come out of your throat. they freeze on impact with space, hanging amongst the stars like a cosmic mobile.

    6. kick back with a couple of beers. no wait. you’re probably like 17, aren’t you? apple juices.

    cheers,

    aska

  • admissions,  international students

    patience, padawan

    Hey there,
    I am a first year engineering student at university in Washington and currently hold a 3.7 GPA (9.2% grade). I did really well in high school as well. I already applied for a transfer I UofT for mechanical engineering and I really need to know when I can expect to hear a response? I really want to find a place to live and also apply for a student visa. Also do they look at international transfers differently?

    ———————————————

    hi there,

    i can’t tell you when you’ll hear back from uoft. not only do i not know when you, specifically, will hear back, i don’t even know when different rounds of offers are given, or to whom. it’s very likely that you’ll hear back in May, but again, i’m really not in a position to be able to give specifics.

    i know that it’s frustrating to be in this limbo, because you need to get a move on with visas and residence. i wish everyone heard back early, with plenty of time to figure out everything else relating to university; unfortunately, it takes time, and i have very little influence over that. (or anything else, really – like, i barely have influence over my own sleep schedule).

    competitive transfer students to the faculty of applied science & engineering generally have at least a 3.2 GPA, and you need to have completed the prerequisites at the high school level as well. if you meet (and even exceed, as you seem to) those requirements, then – congrats! you’re a competitive applicant. being international does not necessarily hinder your application; your grades will be valued holistically to determine your suitability for the program.

    of course, i can’t by any means guarantee that you will be accepted. transferring is a competitive process, especially in engineering. there are few spots and lots of hopefuls. but i will say that meeting and exceeding standards published by uoft is never a bad sign.

    cheers,

    aska