• admissions,  concurrent ed

    VIC CTEP a.k.a. an acronym i never knew existed

    January 8, 2014

    hey aska,

    Allow me to start off by saying thanks to the aska team for the time and effort they put into answering all of these questions, and adding some great humour and jokes to the responses!

    So, I’m a first-year student in University College and I was interested in applying for Vic’s Concurrent Education program for 2nd year entry. I’m already enrolled in PSY100, SOC103, and I’ll finish first-year w/ a 5FCE, so I have all the course requirements. What I really wanna know is how can I increase my chances of getting into the program? I know that a cumulative GPA of at least 2.7 is required, but what is considered a good/competitive GPA for the program? I also know I have to complete an applicant profile. I’m worried b/c in grade 12, I applied for York’s first year Con-Ed program and I got rejected, and I don’t know if it was b/c of my profile or b/c my average was 82%. I have experience from working on school committees, tutoring elementary students, and I volunteer a lot. But all that experience is either from grade 12 or earlier. If I got rejected from York, does that mean I’m most likely to be rejected from UofT’s program? I also read somewhere that they only admit 15 students to the VIC program!!! If I DO get accepted (praying), will my college change from UC to VIC? OH and if I complete a minor from the education program, can I still do 2 majors for my degree?

    Thanks so so so much for the help!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you guys are just messing with me now, right calling me a ‘team’ and stuff’ pretending like there’s a WHOLE INSTITUTION behind this blog? hehe, oh, you guys…(no but seriously thanks for the props man, that’s super cool of you).

    onto your question. you’ve got a lot of them, so i’m just gonna go in order:

    1. what is a good/competitive GPA?

    i’ve looked around, and there don’t seem to be any official/unofficial opinions about this, but if you’re well above 2.7 (like at least a 3.3), i’d say you’re competitive.

    2. how far back does your volunteer/extra-curricular experience go?

    CTEP doesn’t require a specific resume, so you don’t have to date everything you’ve done. according to this (no longer available) guide to fulfilling the applicant profile, the questions are pretty general, so i think you could definitely use high school experiences as part of those answers. also, you’ve only had one year of university – the school can’t expect you to have enough experiences from just that to fill a whole application, so don’t worry about it.

    3. what are your chances of getting in?

    according to this (which, admittedly, is from 2007, but these stats don’t tend to change by more than a few percentages every year), the admission rate for concurrent ed was 16%. that’s almost 1/5th of people! so don’t panic too much. it’s definitely not easy, but it’s not impossible if you work hard. there’s no way to tell whether you’ll get in based on being rejected from york, and honestly, i wouldn’t focus on that. just make your first year as awesome as possible to increase your chances, and that’s all you can do! just keep trying your best, man, that’s my motto.

    4. will your college change?

    nope!

    5. can you do two majors along with the Education & Society minor?

    maybe. consider it carefully before you go ahead with it, though. first year is a great litmus test for figuring out how much you can handle, and you should use it to make sure you don’t go overboard in your subsequent years. i’d say it’s doable if you really want to, but if you’re making a compromise between programs you feel like you have to do and ones you feel you want to do, then don’t do it. also, consider the fact that your other program(s) will be complementing your B.Ed. so the things you study should, ideally, be the things you also want to teach.

    best of luck! your bud,

    aska

    P.S. some of these questions are subjective so if you’re a current CTEP student and have something to add, please leave a comment!

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  • admissions,  concurrent ed,  drama,  math

    twenty questions: aska edition

    October 17, 2012

    Hi!

    I’m a student going into grade 12 and have two very different fields which I want to pursue, so I have some questions. Is it possible to take a major in drama and a major in math? And if so, which one would I apply with or do I apply with both, in reference to the form, essay and auditions, etc.? Does this work for the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus? And is it possible to make my math major part of a teaching degree? I also don’t really understand how choosing courses works and if you can have electives, and how many. Also, would I be limited in teaching possibilities or employment possibilities if I took math as a minor?

    Thank you,

    Ioana

    ———————————————

    Hey Ioana,

    Your message is a deceptively short paragraph, but it actually consists of many specific questions. Well played, Ioana. Well played indeed.

    Anyhow, basically as long as the two programs you’d like to study are within the same faculty, you’re good. So since Drama and Mathematics are both part of the Faculty and Arts and Science, you can definitely major in them both. However, you don’t really determine those specific Programs of Study until the end of your first year. But since you’re still in high school, when you apply through OUAC, I suppose you might as well specify your program choice as Mathematics (assuming you can only choose one).

    When you apply, you essentially put yourself into some sort of stream like Humanities or Social Sciences or Life Sciences and would then be given precedence for spots in that stream’s courses. Now if you chose Drama, you would probably be placed in the Humanities stream. But DRM200Y1 Introduction to Performance has a number of entry requirements, which makes being given that priority rather irrelevant, so you may want to specify Math so that you’ll have precedence when trying to pick up those courses. At U of T, any sort of priority is useful since spots are always limited.

    Now for a B.Ed. from U of T, you can either go to OISE after you finish your degree, or you can apply to the super competitive Concurrent Teacher Education program in which you take five years instead of four and complete your degree alongside your B.Ed. With the CTEP, you can enter either straight from high school over at UTSC, or after your first year at St. George. Personally, I recommend you take the latter option and wait a little. You seem to want to do a lot of things. One year might do you some good in narrowing down between all of these choices or at least being sure of what you want.

    But if you do end up pursuing your B.Ed., you can definitely use your Mathematics major towards your teachable. And if you choose to bring Math down to a minor instead, according to OISE’s prerequisites for teachables, you should be fine. Just make sure to heed the program requirements needed for your degree. As for other jobs, try doing some research. Where can a degree in Math take you? Who knows! Consult the Career Centre if you’d like!

    And as for courses, students take an average of five per semester. In your first year you’re pretty much free to take what you’d like so that you can figure out what it is you’re looking for. If you’d like, take a look at the Calendar to get a vibe for how things work at U of T and what you can possibly take.

    Enjoy your last year before having to work your butt off!

    aska

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  • admissions,  concurrent ed,  victoria

    steppin’ towards CTEPpin’

    September 17, 2012

    Dear Aska,

    I’m hoping to apply for the Concurrent Teacher Education Program (CTEP), which is sponsored by Vic College. From what I?ve read, I can take the Vic One Ryerson stream and then go into CTEP for second year. So my questions are, do I have to be a Vic student to enrol in Vic One? Would I have a greater chance of being accepted to Vic because of my program choice? And if not, how does it work in terms of getting into CTEP but not completing the Vic One Ryerson stream (i.e. attending a different college for first year)?

    Look forward to your answer, and thanks!

    —————————————————————–

    Hi there! This is a complex question, and it’s giving aska a bit of an inferiority complex, because even the best answer might not be dependable. That?s admissions for ya! But here goes.

    Indeed, there are several Concurrent Teacher Education Programs at U of T, one at each of the satellite campuses and at a few faculties and colleges downtown. Students can enter ?some of these programs either straight out of high school , and all of them out of of first year. Sounds like you?re asking about doing the Victoria College CTEP?after first year (there is no straight-from-high-school option for Vic or St. Mike’s). And you’re right, the calendar recommends: ?Students in first year should consider the Ryerson Stream of Vic One as preparation.?

    That sure seems like a hint from the admissions folks at CTEP that taking Vic One: Ryerson would help your chances to get into what is a very selective program. However, their wording makes no promises, and leaves some room for exceptions. According to Vic’s FAQ page on the matter, any first year student from any U of T program can, in fact, apply for the program. So if you do super well this school year, and meet all of Victoria College CTEP?s admission requirements,?you will be considered!

    However, if you do want to take the Ryerson stream to get that extra edge (which, more likely than anything else, will come in the form of extra confidence), you can apply to Vic One when you apply for U of T. Typically, Vic One students are from Vic (and your peers may look at you funny if you admit that you’re not), but any student at U of T can apply for the Vic One program, and there are a few non-Vic students who pierce the Vic bubble to take the program.

    As to whether your interest in CTEP would make you a more appealing candidate to Vic, its also hard to say. So many factors- your marks, your student profile, other applicants- go into that decision, and nothing is for sure. Do remember that Victoria College only considers applications from students who select Vic as their first choice college!

    In any case, the short answer is- nothing can truly ensure your admission to Vic or to CTEP, short of donating a wing or two to the Northrop Frye building, or getting a posthumous recommendation from Northrop Frye himself. But seems like you already know what you need to shoot for- apply to Victoria College and the Ryerson Stream of Vic One, and whether or not you get into either, apply for CTEP your second year. There’s really not much else you can do, besides to be yourself and kick mad butt in first year.

    Good luck pal-o!

    aska

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  • concurrent ed

    So if I Survive The Zombies, I Want to be a Teacher

    October 28, 2011

    Hi I have a question about admission in 2012-2013. I want to apply for the concurrent education program in utsc for Math/Chem/Phys. What was the cut line for this program last year and is there an early offer?

    ———————————————

    Hey teacha teacha,

    This is what the UTSC concurrent website has to say on the matter:

    • If you are applying directly from secondary school (into Year 1), note that last year’s admitting range was in the low 80s.

    and yes u of t does offer early admissions if you are super de duper awesome.

    yours until eaten by zombies,

    aska

     

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  • concurrent ed,  friends,  tutoring

    The Mystery of Women

    January 23, 2008

    OK, seriously. I feel I need to ask someone, *someone* who may be able to helpexplain something to me.I’ve noticed over the last few years that university-aged women (i.e., women intheir twenties) talk like stoners. Seriously. They speak in a low grumblingtone, like they are lethargic and were just woken up from their midday nap infront of the loud TV. Don’t get me wrong, I used to smoke enough pot that theexhaust would fill the Hindenburg many times over, but I have never *never*talked like a stoner (and for the record, I don’t smoke anymore because I findit too strong now and it just puts me to sleep). Anyway, I don’t mean tosingle-out the women but I honestly don’t see the same trend/pattern with theguys. I look to the trust-worthy observers at AAS and I’d love to hear thecomments. I conclude that I don’t have a problem with how people speak, but Ithink this speaking “trend” is just that and I’d love to learn more about itsorigins (not that I’m looking to adapt the trend anytime soon).ta

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