rotman - askastudent

admissions, applying for U of T, grades, rotman

live laugh spiral

February 18, 2025

Hi there! I am a Grade 12 student applying for Rotman Commerce at St. George campus. I just finished semester 1, and my top 6 average is currently a 95.3, which includes Grade 12 English and Calculus completed. However, I didn’t do well back in Grade 11 and have 3 very bad marks, including Chemistry, Physics, and G11 English, but I got 90s in all other G11 courses except for Function with an 87. As I know, Rotman would look at all G11 and G12 grades when reviewing my application, therefore, I am scared these 3 grades could significantly lower my chances, especially for the G11 English mark. I had high 50s in Chem, mid-70s in Phy, and 66 in Grade 11 English, which resulted in an 83 Grade 11 avg. Moreover, despite having a fabulous Grade 12 average, I took so many Grade 12 courses outside of day school. For example, I took English in summer school and got a 93; calculus in e-learning and got a 94, and at last, MHF4U in night school and got a 96. I am also scared it could lower my chances as well since, apparently, U of T cares about night school, summer school, etc. It also shows grade inconsistency in English since it jumped from a 66 in Grade 11 to a 93 in Grade 12. I got a 95 on both the only two Grade 12 courses that I took in day school fyi. Last but not least, I completed my supp app last week, and I believe I did decently well. I would give myself an 8/10. Nonetheless, I apologize for how long it is since I just wanted to provide some context. But here are a few questions I would like to get an answer to: 1. Will my low Grade 11 avg and Grade 11 English mark significantly lower my chances? 2. Does U of T care about whether I took any courses outside of day school? 3. Overall, what are my chances of getting into Rotman? I am really sorry for bothering you! I hope you have a good rest of the day!

hey there,

first off, congrats on finishing your application, and on getting such good marks in your first semester of grade 12! those numbers are really impressive.

but i get the anxiety despite it all (you’re just like me fr).

jk. these are super valid questions, and also really common questions! so maybe i can help clarify things. just a disclaimer though, i won’t be able to give a perfectly clear answer because publicly released U of T admission rules are pretty confusing. they really gotta stop tryna act so dark and mysterious, man.

grade 11 marks

ok i can see why you’re worried if you got a 66 in grade 11 english and english is one of the pre-requisite courses for admisson into rotman.

but you may be fine. because in general, grade 11 marks are looked at mainly for early consideration and conditional admissions.

it’s true that U of T does look at your grade 11 marks, but these will matter more when your marks from grade 12 aren’t out yet. keep in mind that everyone’s term system works differently, and some schools won’t release interim grade 12 marks yet at this point in the year. so for students who get their first term grade 12 marks back late, grade 11 marks will count more. but your interim grade 12 marks are already out, so your grade 11 marks will likely not hold as much weight. does that make sense?

i’ve heard U of T admissions likes to see improvement, too! so the fact that you showed massive growth from grade 11 to grade 12 should help you out. plus, an 83 average for grade 11 is not bad at all.

courses outside of day school

i’ve been told that U of T doesn’t care whether you take courses during the summer semester. i’ve also heard that they don’t care if you take courses online. however, i have not heard anything about night school.

while i did find a statement made about day school on this rotman page, it doesn’t really provide us with anything of substance. officially, they say this:

“while there may be valid reasons for taking courses outside of your day school, we encourage students to take courses in their day school where possible. all aspects of the application may be considered in the admissions process”.

very vague, i know. but the general vibe i’m getting is that taking courses outside of day school will not be a make-or-break factor in your application, considering you already have a very high average. i think it’s usually only cause for concern for applicants who are close to the minimum admission average. but that’s not you, because you’ve got really high marks!

your chances

so yeah, as i said above, if you have a top 6 average of 95.3, you’re way above the minimum average of mid-high 80’s, shown on this rotman page. the fact that you’ve got high marks and did well on your supplemental means that your chances are pretty good.

overall, my personal take (as an arts and science student and not an admissions person or a rotman student) is that you will be fine. several other people have asked similar questions to these, and you have higher grade 12 marks than the rest of the crowd. grade 12 marks and the supplemental will matter the most, and you’ve absolutely got those in the bag.

finally, no one can give you a guaranteed answer except the admission letter itself. but if you wanted to hear directly from a rotman student, here’s a link to register for a one-on-one meeting with a current rotman student. you can ask them about things non-admissions related too, like student life and general rotman advice they might have. finance, finance, case comp, add me on linked in, insert business lingo here.

anyways, that’s all from me. i know it can be pretty stressful while waiting to hear back about your application, so just know that you’ve done all you can — and you’ve done it well!

i encourage you to make the most of the rest of your senior year, and try to enjoy it while you’re still there. i’m rooting for you, and think good things are coming your way!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, rotman

preparing to absolutely slay

January 25, 2025

hi there again! i hope you’re doing good! i apologize for the bother, but i wanted to ask what you might recommend or what advice you might have for the rotman commerce supplementary application or any incoming applicants, since i’m super keen on completing the supplementary soon and have been trying to prep with old questions/practice but it still seems super intimidating!

i just wanted to ask what strategies you might recommend or studying tips when preparing for the supplementary as i really want to do my best!

also thank you for taking the time to read this! and i hope you have a good one!

hey there again,

OMG a returning customer!

great question. so just to preface things: i am not a rotman student myself, but i do know a couple rotman students and here’s what i’ve gotten from them.

i’m sure you already know this, but definitely make use of rotman online resources to prep. they post the supplemental application questions in the portal, and you’ll be able to practice lots beforehand. you can also check out this recent webinar recording giving more details on how it’ll work.

the best thing you can do is prepare with the practice questions, which you’re already doing, so yay! besides that, my friend says to make sure that you can answer the questions in a clear manner, and that your thoughts are organized. like, don’t ramble, but stay direct and specific to the point you’re making. and also, practice standard interview questions. rotman students have to come across those quite often during their undergrad.

besides that, from my experience as a U of T undergrad, i would say it’s always good to be prepared to talk about your past relevant extracurricular/academic activities and what you learned from those, or what you achieved in those areas. a question i am sooo tired of seeing is to “describe a time you encountered a conflict/hardship and had to overcome it”. and from my experience doing interviews, please make sure you start your the supplementary during a time when you’re in a good, calm, and well-rested head space. i once did an interview right after something stressful happened and let’s just say i was shaking while answering questions.

yeehaw. anways, i also think it would be good to have a prepare response of why you want to go into business, or why you’re interested in this field, since they’re probably gonna ask that, right? according to their website, they want “outstanding students that have demonstrated academic excellence, have an understanding of leadership and community, and a passion for the world of business”. so definitely keep that in mind and try to highlight those characteristics!

ie. make sure you seem genuinely interested, and have evidence of community/leadership involvement.

and it’ll be really helpful to practice interview questions with someone else/different people! that’s something that will be super beneficial for the quality of your responses, since other people can give you feedback from another perspective. i definitely recommend it.

again, remember, i’ve never done this application, that’s just some general advice from being an undergrad at U of T.

overall, don’t stress too much. there won’t be anything crazy/surprising in the questions that’s meant to trick you or catch you off your guard. i know it can feel really scary and intimidating to do all this pre-U of T stuff, but according to people who have done it, the supplemental application is not as scary as it seems, and you’re gonna be so okay.

best of luck with your application! you can do it!!! wishing you lots of gentleness, sweet treats, and warm hugs this month. and omg would it be crazy if i asked you to update me if you get in maybe?

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, rotman

whatever, chemistry is for nerds anyway

November 15, 2024
Hi there! I hope you’re doing good. I’m a grade 12 student who’s really interested in applying to the Rotman Commerce program at St. George campus and I planned ahead for grade 12 by taking advanced functions and calculus in the summer, which I ended off in low 90s with (yay!). Unfortunately though, from grade 11 I have 3 bad marks (in chemistry, physics and functions) but got 90s in all 6 other classes. Even though I’m applying for business, I’m scared that those 3 bad grades are going to show. I had low-mid 60s in functions and physics and then I failed chemistry, but I’m not pursuing science and so now I’m scared it’ll ruin my chances if UofT looks at my grade 11 grades since I have one failed class. I took Advanced Functions in the summer to fully focus on getting a high grade and to make up for the bad functions grade. ^ I apologize for how long it is since I just wanted to provide some context but:
1. Does UofT mind that I took Advanced Functions and Calculus in the summer online?
2. Will the science classes I did bad in but won’t be taking again impact my chances? Will the failed chemistry class?
3. Since I finished Advanced Functions will they look at my grade 11 functions grade for reference?
I’m really sorry for the bother again!! Thank you so much and I hope you have a good one!!

hey there,

thanks for this question! i really appreciate the way you formatted it — i love having context, and i love organized, specific, and direct questions. biggest gold star for you. most of the time, i am staring at questions like this:

anyways bro, let me put you on this year’s rotman commerce viewbook. on page 12, it goes over the admissions process for ontario high school applicants. and based on the fact that you said you took advanced functions, i’m going to assume you’re from ontario.

here, under “ontario high school admission requirements”, it says that special attention will be given to calculus & vectors (MCV4U), since it’s a pre-requisite to get into rotman. to be a competitive applicant, you need to have marks in/above the high 80s in both english and calculus. (you can also cross reference this with the rotman commerce admission category page, which says that the two pre-requisite courses for rotman are english and calculus. so these are the courses that admission will care the most about.)

this page says that “all grade 11 and 12 courses may be considered“, and the average from all your grade 11 and 12 courses should be in the mid-high 80s and above. also, it doesn’t say it here, but U of T will look at your complete academic record when considering you for admission. it’s just that they look most closely at your pre-req courses.

so will the science classes you did badly in have an impact on your chances? will they look at your grade 11 functions mark? honestly, maybe, but probably not that much. these marks won’t be the main thing your admission is based on. most of the emphasis will be on your grade 12 marks. however, they will see those bad marks, as part of looking at your whole record. and those marks will impact your overall total average, so.

another reason why your grade 11 marks will matter is that your grade 12 marks won’t be fully out yet when you apply. this means that conditional admission offers are made through the year based on your grade 11 finals and grade 12 interim marks.

however, there is some good news! the thing with rotman is that admission is not purely based on grades, which makes it different from applying to general arts & science categories. there is something called a supplemental application that you will submit, which has a sort of interview-like function, to showcase your skills and experiences. so like, if you’re worried about your marks, you might wanna cook on the supplemental application.

overall, it’s just a matter of how all these moving parts balance out in the end. your marks in grade 11 science are not the make-or-break factor in your application, and there are a lot of things the university will look at. all you can do now is lock in and get the best marks you can in grade 12, and make yourself shine in that supplemental application. you’ve got experiences! you’ve got skills! you can do it.

finally, does U of T mind that you took functions in the summer online?

good news, they will not mind! they don’t really care when you complete your courses, and summer classes are not seen any differently than fall/winter classes.

and yeah, i hope this somewhat cleared things up?? best of luck to you, please send another ask if you’ve got more questions or are still confused. you’ve got thisss!!!!

over and out,

aska
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internal transfer, rotman, UTSC

make those moves!

October 2, 2024

Hello there,

I hope you are doing well.

I currently am a first year student in UTSC for social science and my goal is to switch to it’s for rotman commerce. I know it is a big shot but rotman commerce is my dream school and I really want to switch. I am taking microeconomic, calculus for management and macroeconomics to help me switch to rotman. Do you have any recommendations of what I should do or if there are any other courses that I need to take?

Ragards

hey there,

what you’re wanting to do here is an internal transfer, which is a switch between two separate faculties. in your case, these faculties would be UTSC and rotman commerce.

so here’s the thing: not all departments actually accept transfer students.

rotman is sorta-kinda-maybe one of these departments, with exceptions. officially, they say that they “don’t generally” accept external transfers, which would be students from other universities (according to this website). as for internal transfers within U of T, they say “successful transfers into rotman commerce are very rare”, but students in the faculty of arts and science can apply.

however, there is nothing officially said about whether students from UTSC can apply for an internal transfer into rotman, so the first thing you need to do is determine if an internal transfer is even possible for you. i’d advise that you get in direct touch with the department for that — you can contact them by email or even show up in person to their academic services/admission office on 125 st. george street if you are so inclined.

i would ask them whether an internal transfer from UTSC to rotman is possible. and if it’s not generally done, whether there any special circumstances or any possibility at all of allowing it.

and yeah, i know that’s all kind of a bummer BUT please don’t let it get you down. the good news is, you are able to still study business at the scarborough campus’s department of management. this department is really good and offers great programs.

and with this, you would still be able to get a U of T business degree in a high-quality program — that stands for itself. getting a U of T business degree holds prestige/value for hiring no matter the campus you get it at. (i could have used the word aura here but i will not be caught using gen alpha lingo today).

that’s all to say, i’d encourage you to reach out to the utsc academic advising and career centre, because they can really help you figure all of this out, 1. in the case that there are exceptions that will allow you to apply for an internal transfer OR 2. in the case that you’re applying for the department of management at UTSC. book an appointment with an academic advisor! it will make things a lot clearer, since they know a lot more than students do.

and that’s it from me. personally, i think it’s really great that you want to study business, definitely go for it! a lot of people are too scared to pursue the program that they really want, so kudos to you for taking action on this. best of luck with everything, you’ve got this! i’m cheering you on.

over and out,

aska

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prospective student, rotman, St. George

chill out rotman you’re scaring the first years

April 5, 2023

likely will be starting at rotman commerce in the fall. my question is, could I transfer from rotman to programs like utm commerce or utsc management? it’s been my dream program for a long time, but it wasn’t until the moment I got accepted that I started panicking about actually surviving rotman. realllllyyy want to make sure there’s a way out if I end up getting mauled in my first year lol

hey hey hey,

congrats on getting in! i don’t know what rotman horror stories they’re telling to make you all so anxious before uni even starts, but i guess it doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan…

Ready Perfectly Overly Cautious GIFfrom Ready Perfectly GIFs

anyway, in case you get mauled and rotman doesn’t work out for whatever reason, there are definitely decent ways to get out. utm commerce and utsc management both accept “internal transfers”, which are just transfers from other uoft campuses. i don’t know how difficult it is to actually get in, but at least the rotman math, commerce, and econ courses set you up pretty well for the prereqs to transfer.

there might be a few restrictions, for example, the utsc management programs with co-op (oooo fancy) only accept transfers straight out of first year, so if that’s something you’re interested in, you’d have to start planning early on. i don’t see any requirement of that sort for utm management/commerce but you could contact the program advisor directly to make sure, because i know some other competitive programs also only accept students straight out of high school or first year.

another backup could be transferring into other utsg arts and sciences programs, like economics, which is usually a bit easier/more straightforward than trasferring campuses.

hope that helps!

aska

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life science, prospective student, rotman

the elusive rotman transfer

September 14, 2022

I am a prospective UTSG social science year 1 student. I am interested in Rotman commerce(accounting) and life science(biology). Is taking both programs’ required courses too overwhelming? If I only take RC’s required courses in year 1, I have 2-2.5 credits left. Any recommend courses that is helpful for me to enter for RC? If i failed to enter RC, can I still take ls’s required courses in year 2? If so, then I will be enroll in year 3 in ls? Any drawbacks except delay graduate?

hi there,

i’m assuming that you’re in year 1 of the social science stream and planning to transfer into rotman. if you’ve got your sights set on rotman, i’d recommend really focusing on the 2.5 credits of 1st year rotman prerequisites that they list here and making sure to get good marks in those courses and a high gpa overall.

Exams Exam Memes GIFfrom Exams GIFs

i’m not personally in rotman, but usually gpa is king when applying to programs, and even students who are already in the rotman stream need to maintain certain marks in the prerequisites to stay in the program. not to stress you out or anything! gpa isn’t everything — but it can definitely help your chances.

in terms of courses, i’d recommend trying to play to your strengths. ‘bird courses’ can be different for everyone depending on what you’re interested in or good at, so while it’s nice to get some reviews from people about different courses, i would take it with a pinch of salt and also consider what you’re most interested in/confident with. if you’re good at bio, you could try bio120 or bio130, which can be used for lifesci programs. 1st year seminars are also another way to take some more interactive, fun courses (which are often mark boosters). picking ‘easier’ courses can also hopefully take off some of the stress from school and leave you with some time to do extracurriculars that might add to your rotman supplementary application (yes, you need that too…).

if do you get into rotman, i’m not really sure how manageable it’d be to do a biology program too because, well, again, i’m not in rotman. technically it’s doable, but you might have to opt for a bio minor to fit all the required credits. you could also take more than 20 credits (possibly taking longer to graduate), or just take some bio courses as electives.

luckily, the bio programs are all open enrolment, meaning that anyone with 4.0 credits completed can enrol in the program — you just have to apply at the end of first year. apparently rotman transfers are really rare though (again, don’t let that scare you! still give it a shot) so if you don’t get into rotman it’s good to have a backup, and there are a ton of other programs to choose from in artsci. you can apply to any other combination of programs in artsci in your upper years, including lifesci, social sciences, or economics if you’re still interested in something that’s kind of commerce-related.

So Many Possibilities Lily Collins GIFfrom So Many Possibilities GIFs

btw, if you’re worried about upper year courses and being able to fit all your program requirements, i’d recommend using degree explorer to plan things out!

best of luck,

aska

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admissions, business, economics, prospective student, rotman

let’s get down to business

August 30, 2022

hi! i was wondering what the business course is like? stuff like what subjects are required in high school to be able to take business as a major, how big the classes are and what other courses i should take alongside business

hi there,

so uoft doesn’t actually have a ‘business major’ — if you’re interested in business you’re gonna have to be more specific than that, because there are a bunch of different business-related programs.

for example, utsg has the rotman commerce program, and the application requirements are listed here. you’ll need to take grade 12 english and calculus, and also submit an supplemental application.

utsc offers business administration (bba) programs under their department of management. if you’re wondering about the difference between “commerce” and “business administration”, this is a pretty good breakdown.

but get this, utm has a bba program (under their department of management) and a commerce program (under the department of commerce). to make things more convoluted, utsg, utsc, and utm all have their own economics programs, which are offered as part of bachelors of arts or bachelors of science degrees.

i honestly couldn’t tell you the difference between all these business-esque paths, so you’re probably better off just searching for key words of programs you might be interested in on uoft’s website.

the admissions requirements do vary depending on the program so definitely check for the specific ones that you end up applying for, but they seem to all require grade 12 english, and in some cases, one or two grade 12 math courses.

class sizes can also vary depending on the specific program you go into, but classes are generally larger in first year where there may be several hundred students in a class, and tend to get smaller in upper years. if you’re looking for some cold hard numbers, this 2012 report from uoft actually breaks things down and shows how over 50% of first year classes had 200+ students, while over 80% of fourth year classes had less than 50 students.

the exact class sizes for business programs might differ, but there’s not a lot of info out there on the specifics — utsc management is the only program that actually gives an estimate of their class sizes in their faqs, rotman mentions that their upper year courses are capped at 55 students, and utm’s info on this is dissapointingly nonexistent. just don’t be surprised if you end up in first year classes with hundreds of students, especially in courses like calculus which are prereqs for a lot of different programs.

alright, now to wrap up this very long post, let’s talk about other courses/electives. honestly, it’s really up to you to choose!

Gordon Ramsay Choice GIFfrom Gordon Ramsay GIFs

i know it’s kind of a drag and hugely overwhelming to sift through courses in the uoft calender (the utsg artsci one is linked here) until you find the ones you like, but i mean… that’s just what you gotta do. if i’ve learned anything about courses at uoft, it’s that people’s experiences can really vary. a bird course or an interesting course for one student might be absolutely horrible for another, so don’t be afraid to try out anything that interests you. also, uoft’s course evals page and ratemyprof are some handy ways to double check the courses on your list for any red flags or really poor ratings, which can be a legitimate reason to avoid a course.

outside of your program requirements, you can choose pretty much any electives you like, or even do a major or minor in a completely different field, if that’s what you’re into. uoft’s pretty great that way because there are just so many different courses and programs out here. for example, you can use your electives to just chill and learn things for interest, or go for classes that might complement certain aspects of business you’re interested in. or maybe you just want to double down on more business courses, which works too!

Mr Krabs Rich GIFfrom Mr Krabs GIFs

hope that helps, and best of luck in your business endeavours!

aska

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admissions, colleges, rotman

picking a college is like choosing a cult to join

December 19, 2020

Hello, I’m an American student who would like to attend UofT. If I’m interested in business, which college would you recommend I rank first? Thank you

——————————————

hello,

an american!

if you’re interested in studying at rotman commerce, it doesn’t matter too much which college you rank first! i wouldn’t say any of the colleges have a particularly strong rotman community—i think rotman kids are pretty well dispersed.

if you’re worried about proximity to your classes (assuming you’re hoping to live in res and this godforsaken pandemic is a thing of the past by your first year), then victoria, innis, and woodsworth might all be good colleges to consider. i’ve heard that many of the first-year rotman courses are at victoria college. the rotman building itself is right next to innis, just down the street from woodsworth.

however, i wouldn’t make the location of your college the determining factor in your choice. if i were you, i’d look into the unique character of each college, the scholarships that different colleges offer, and what the residence conditions are (assuming, again, that you’re hoping to live in res). for example, innis and woodsworth offer apartment-style residences. most of the others do a more traditional dorm experience, but if you do a little digging you can find the differences between those experiences: you’re more likely to get a single room at trin than vic, for example.

each college is known for something different. trinity and innis tend to be tighter-knit communities, since they’re both quite small and only admit students who rank them first—but they both have very different vibes. victoria is another one that needs to be ranked first, and is known for being a little more literary/artsy, plus since vic charges higher student fees they tend to have more fun stuff (muji pen giveaways during finals, free pancake days etc). UC has some fantastic clubs, and is home to many of the most creative students i know. i’ll stop short of giving you a full rundown, since i don’t really want to inject too much of my own bias into things. i think if you do a little research, you’ll find that one or two college communities stand out to you more so than the others, based on your values and what you’d like to be surrounded by.

good luck with your application!

be Boundless,

aska

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admissions, rotman

if i pulled a hair out every time someone threw numbers at me i’d be bald

November 18, 2019

Hey! I’m currently in grade 12 and I was just wondering how Rotman looks at grade 11 marks. I would say it wasn’t my best year, my average was around 86-87%. But currently my average is around 90-92%. I have done tons of different volunteering, co-op, and been part of numerous clubs. I’m just wondering whether I should worry about my average as of now.

——————————————

hey friend,

i never wanna tell people they should worry about their average. this rotman webpage indicates that if you’re from ontario, you’ll need an average in the mid to high eighties. you can decide for yourself what that means for you. in terms of your extracurriculars, u of t generally doesn’t look at those, but if they’re asked for in your supplemental application (which rotman requires) then maybe they’ll affect your admissions decision?

what i’ve been told before is that how much weight is placed on your grade 11 marks depends on what your academic progress at that point looks like. i don’t really know how to explain this, but in some situations grade 11 marks are almost entirely irrelevant for your uni applications– say a student took a few classes in summer school, putting them a grade ahead in some of their core courses. by the time they got to the eleventh grade, they ended up taking the courses universities would normally consider for admission (english 12, chemistry 12, whatever). in this case, because the most important courses for their university admissions had final marks by the time they applied for universities midway through their senior year, those grade 12-level courses taken during the eleventh grade would be the most heavily considered. their eleventh grade marks would have almost no bearing on admissions.

this is because, apparently, eleventh grade marks are used primarily as a predictor of a student’s final grade 12 marks, which aren’t available at the time of university applications. so these 11th grade marks may be looked at if your core 12th grade courses are still in progress, as admissions officers have no concrete final 12th grade marks to go on yet. they may be overlooked if you already have things like english 12 in your pocket. i’ve also heard that large discrepancies between grade 11 and grade 12 marks may be taken into account.

it would be good to note that this is based on something i was told in conversation with an admissions officer a solid number of years ago, and for a different program. i have no way to verify if it’s actually true. but that’s the beauty of being an aska as opposed to a journalist: i can offer up these lil nuggets of hearsay, with full disclosure that i haven’t checked this over with anyone official, and you get to decide how seriously you take them. for better! more concrete! verified! and straight from the source! info you should contact rotman’s admissions office directly. in fact, please do. in this case, i’m not confident in the information i’ve given you and think you can get better tips from them.

i hope this made sense. we speakin’ from a caffeine-induced haze out here. i hate to perpetuate the stereotype that u of t is disproportionately difficult when i say that– i think most major universities have these kinds of weeks, and either way it depends on your program and the way you work. but yea. we goin’ thru a thing right now, and it won’t be over for a good couple weeks. sorry it took me a while to get to your question, that would be why.

be Boundless,

aska

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commerce, rotman

but your first year just started :(

October 4, 2019

I am first year student of commerce. I have question regarding CGPA requirements. I would like to know if I didn’t meet CGPA requirement this year can I improve my marks next year and apply again to the second year?

——————————————

hey there,

since you didn’t specify otherwise, i’m just gonna go right ahead and answer this like you’re a first year in rotman commerce, and you’re worried about the guaranteed admission requirements.

it might be important to note that it’s not your CGPA you’d be worried about, then– you’d be looking at the grades in your required courses, like RSM101. to make it to second year at rotman, there’s a grade threshold you’ll need to jump, which is what i’m assuming you mean by “CGPA requirement.”

according to the rotman website, you’re allowed to retake each of the courses you need once, for a higher grade– the catch is, this needs to be done before fall/winter of your second year. as in, during the summer. any of those courses you retake won’t count towards your 20 credits to graduate or your gpa, either. they’ll just be your way back on track, i guess.

if you did want to retake your requirements during the next fall-winter semester, you’d have to request an extension. apparently these are only granted in special circumstances, like if you dealt with significant and unexpected difficulty during your first year. if that’s the reason you’re asking this question and you think you qualify, you’d have to visit your rotman commerce academic advisor to get the extension process goin’.

hope this helped!

be Boundless,

aska

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psychology, rotman

bcom whatever you want to be

June 17, 2019

Hi! I just have a short question. I am interested in various areas in business and psychology. Is it possible to do majors in both subjects at the same time? I can’t really find a clear answer anywhere.

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hi there,

if by business you mean a bachelor’s of commerce, then yeah, taking both business and psych should technically be possible! in fact u of t is pretty great for this very reason– i find it has fewer barriers to mixing and matching totally different programs than other schools do. even though sometimes, that mixing and matching can feel a little like this:

if you do want to graduate with a bcom, you’ll be required to take a specialist at rotman, not just a major. you’ll be choosing from either accounting, finance & econ, or management for that specialist. how much room you’ll have to complete a psych program (in other words, how much elective space you have) will depend on which rotman program you select. accounting leaves you 5.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) while fin&econ will leave 2.5 and management 4.0-5.0.

a psych major will ask you for 7.0 credits. how, you ask, is it possible in such a limited universe, that you’ll be able to fit that into your 5.0 or fewer credits of elective allotment? there’s a chance some of your requirements in each program will be able to overlap– you’ll need to figure out for yourself how likely this is, as it’ll vary based on what you choose at rotman. you can also schedule an appointment with an advisor at your registrar, and have them talk you through your options.

if not enough overlap is possible, you’ll still be able to take both programs, but might not be able to finish in 20 FCEs. this’ll mean either loading up on extra classes during the school year, taking summer school, or extending your time at u of t for a semester or so.

if you’re super keen on doing both business and psych, but don’t want to take that extra load on, you can always consider doing a psych minor instead– it’ll be easier to manage, at just 4.0 FCEs. when considering this, keep in mind you’ll also need your elective space to complete your breadth requirement courses.

hope this helped! go for it if it’s what you want. aska believes in you.

over n out,

aska

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rotman

not so all-knowing now, are we?

November 2, 2018

I’m currently in my second year in Accounting Specialist, but I’ve been thinking about switching to the Finance Specialist at the end of the year instead. If I want to switch during the appropriate Subject Post Request Period, do they recalculate your GPA and see if you meet the cutoff for that specialist program? I’m scared after this year my GPA will drop and I will not be able switch and get in.

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hi!

oh god, a rotman question.

i’m not really familiar with the rotman requirements, but i’ll do my best. that being said, it might be a good idea to get in touch with your college registrar or one of the academic advisers at rotman just to get some more definitive answers.

as to whether or not they’d recalculate your gpa… i’m unsure. this link only lists specific marks that you need in specific courses, not any GPA cut-off. so, i assume that they would only be looking at those specific marks. in that case, then only the marks you got when you took those courses will be looked at. however, the part that i’m looking at only applies to people applying to rotman who aren’t already in rotman. so…. yeah, probably not the most relevant info.

that’s just my ignorant assumption, though. i really think that you should get in touch with someone more knowledgeable than me just because rotman is so confusing and insular. also, the information doesn’t seem as accessible as some of the other departments or faculties.

(live footage of me looking for answers)

hope this helped (somewhat).

xoxo,

aska

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career choice, extracurricular, rotman

idk, join a club or something?

January 15, 2018

Not sure if this is relevant: But what do employers want from UofT students who are applying for jobs (barring good academics)? Employers say they want “leadership, communication etc” but what are actual things you should do to get their attention? I’m going into the accounting stream and everyones like “get in involved!” But how??? and in what??

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hi!

so like… i’ve been holding off on this question because i really don’t know what employers want… i’m just a dumb student floating about and answering very, very niche questions about transferring, or whatever.

i think that by “get involved” people are saying that you should join clubs or extracurricular that will help boost your resume/ linkedin profile. that being said, i also think that it’s really important to pursue things that you’re passionate about. personally, while i am making moves towards a career i want post-grad, i don’t think that i would survive at u of t without participating in extracurriculars that i care about. my suggestion to you is to participate in a few extracurriculars, volunteer, and/or join a club. my personal rule is to take on no more than two extracurricular activities per semester, and i always try to pick one that interests me personally and one that may help me to further my career or look great on my resume. of course, that’s just my own personal preference and you can do as many or as little as you want.

check out Ulife. they’ve got all the official u of t recognized student groups and clubs, a list of opportunities that you can peruse, and a list of upcoming events that you can participate in.

since you are a part of rotman (at least, i’m assuming from your question), you can also check out this link for a list of rotman commerce student organizations.

hopefully between those two links, you’ll be able to find something to pique your interest. if not, poke around and ask your friends what they’re doing in their spare time. i’m sure someone you know is a part of a student group you may wanna join.

hope this helps! get out there and “””get involved””””.

xoxo,

aska

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