• prospective student,  rotman,  St. George

    chill out rotman you’re scaring the first years

    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…

     

    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

  • life science,  prospective student,  rotman

    the elusive rotman transfer

    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.

    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.

    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

  • admissions,  business,  economics,  prospective student,  rotman

    let’s get down to business

    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!

    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!

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

    aska

  • admissions,  colleges,  rotman

    picking a college is like choosing a cult to join

    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

     

     

  • admissions,  rotman

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

    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

  • commerce,  rotman

    but your first year just started :(

    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

     

  • psychology,  rotman

    bcom whatever you want to be

    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.

    ——————————————

    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

  • rotman

    not so all-knowing now, are we?

    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.

    ——————————————

    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.

    crazy eyes GIF

    (live footage of me looking for answers)

    hope this helped (somewhat).

    xoxo,

    aska

  • career choice,  extracurricular,  rotman

    idk, join a club or something?

    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??

    ——————————————

    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””””.

    sassy point GIF by BBC

    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

     

  • campus,  commerce,  rotman,  UTM

    the ultimate showdown

    Is Utm commerce inferior to Rotman commerce? What are the significant differences?

    ———————————————

    hey,

    i’m going to present you with all the relevant information so that you can make your own informed opinion about the two programs. since i’m not in commerce, i don’t actually have my own opinion, and even if i did think one was better, i can’t actually tell you because i’d have some very angry people dressed in suits knocking on my door.

    Suits hell tv reaction usa

    that being said, i’m going to lowkey paraphrase an aska post from 2 years ago because they gave great info. don’t worry, this is not me throwing subtle shade at you for not looking through old posts. it took some digging to find!

    the main difference between UTM commerce and Rotman commerce are in the requirements needed. Rotman’s requirements can be found here and UTM requirements can be found here. if you are thinking of applying after first year, you’ll see a difference in the minimum grade requirements. you can take a look at both of them and see which one seems better suited for you.

    do keep in mind that if you are accepted to Rotman, you will not be able to take any RSM classes at UTM or at UTSC.

    the main takeaway of this post is: Rotman has a reputation that can’t be ignored; it is no doubt one of the best undergraduate business programs in canada. that being said, UTM is definitely part of this reputation, considering the fact that it is a branch of one of the best universities in canada. at any rate, whichever one you choose, you’ll get an excellent education, just because it’s still at U of T.

    i would highly recommend that you try to reach out to both schools for more information. a cool thing about Rotman is that they have student ambassadors who would be happy to connect with you and tell you more! for UTM, i would recommend that you direct your general inquiries to the department of management, which you can find here. you might also find it worthwhile to check out both campuses to see which one you like more! U of T campus tours are a great place to start.

    i wish you all the best in your commercial endeavours!

    cheers,

    aska

  • masters,  rotman

    MB, eh?

    I’m working towards a bachelor degree in psychology and communications, could I apply for mba?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m going to answer this question using the uoft MBA program as a guide, because your undergrad degree is probably not from uoft (seeing as we don’t have a communications program), and you didn’t say where you want to get your MBA, but i have to assume something about this question is related to uoft. it’s in our URL, after all.

    MBAs, like JDs and MDs, are surprisingly lax in their undergraduate requirements. you don’t need to have a specific degree or a background in a certain area in order to apply. your bachelor in psych and communications would not disqualify you.

    what you should take a look at is all of their other requirements for admission, of which there are quite a few: GRE/GMAT scores, a competitive GPA, (typically) at least 2 years of work experience, an admissions essay and an interview, and possibly a few more things besides. if you’re wondering what you’re up against in terms of competition for admission, take a look at the current class profile. you can find out the average admissions GPA, average GMAT score, and other helpful information to give you an idea of what the school is looking for.

    in short: the world is your oyster, future expensive tie-wearer! go forth and apply. i hope all your dreams come true.

    cheers,

    aska

  • admissions,  rotman

    sweatin’ through high school english

    Hi, I am just wondering if Rotman frowns upon doing ENG4U online during the summer. Will they admit someone over me who has done it in day school?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i can’t find anything online indicating that there would be a difference, and to be honest, my intuition would say that a good mark is a good mark, regardless of how you took it. lots of people fast track courses (especially English, the English specialist grumbles bitterly under her breath), so i doubt that would be a deciding factor for them.

    however, you can always feel free to contact the Rotman program office and ask this question.

    cheers,

    aska