• environment,  ethics,  subject POST,  switching

    the amount of garbage i produce is probably not good for the environment

    March 2, 2017

    Hi there
    I am in third year currently, and one of my two maajors  is environmental studies major (ASMAJ1254) I am attempting to plan out my academic future as practically as I can. I have been looking at the environmental ethics major (ASMAJ1107). I am more academically pulled towards the humanities and the philosophy courses offered with the env. ethics major. However, I want only to switch posts if this is a ‘smart move’ – which would mean the courses I have allocated thus far for my environmental studies major to transfer easily to a environmental ethics major.
    Being in third year, I am fine with staying put in my env. studies major. However, seeing the requirements, for both, I wanted to know, if I can apply for a type 1subject  post at any time. Is there any way I can (myself and not my registrar) map out, if I were to switch majors that are so similar,  if Id be further along to my degree (meaning my env major courses thus far would have transferred) or if this would this set me back, with me needing to take extra courses, and thus be behind in post requirements?
    Ive already written my registrar first for academic advice regarding subject posts, but until I go in to see them I thought Id ask here.
    Thank you for your time!

    ———————————————

    hey,

    thanks for writing in!

    switch if you are more interested in environmental ethics! do it! if you’ve figured out what you like, just go with it.

    whether or not it’s a smart move really depends on the courses you’ve already taken. you can definitely map out whether or not it’s logical with the picture below:

    while i’m sure you’ve looked at the calendar already, having visuals is nice so i compared the requirements of the two majors for you. the highlighted courses are courses that are overlapped in both programs. as you can see, there is quite a bit of overlap, but again, you would have had to have taken only highlighted courses for there not to be any setbacks.

    as for when you can switch: you can do this without the help of your registrar, however, i highly recommend that you schedule a meeting anyways, just in case you’ve missed something. it would suck majorly if you switched to a new major (lol) only to realize that you missed a requirement and need to take some extra classes. if that is the case, sometimes departments can make exceptions for you.

    the subject post change period for a type 1 subject POst (environmental ethics major) will be between april 1st and september 30th, which means you can log onto rosi or acorn, drop your environmental studies major and then type in the appropriate code: ASMAJ1107 to apply.

    since i don’t know what courses you’ve taken, i can’t map everything out for you, but i hope i’ve provided you with enough information as a stepping stone to figuring it all out.

    if you have any further questions, do contact your registrar’s office for support!

    peace and love,

    aska

     

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  • ethics

    life is competitive

    May 21, 2015

    Hello,

    I’m going in my second year of university and I recently applied for the Ethics, Society and Law major. They choose about 60-70 people out of 300-400 applicants and the cut off average is a 73% in three FCE’s that fulfill breadths 2&3. Getting the threshold mark doesn’t guaranted admittance in the program. My average ranges in the high 80s for my three courses but I’m extremely worried that I won’t get accepted. Do you think I stand a chance against 400 or more smart UofT applicants or should I start looking into other programs? It seems like everyone in UofT has a 4.0 …. It’s so competetive.

    I’d appreciate your help.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i really wish i had the numbers for this kind of stuff. honestly, i do. i wish i could tell you, “don’t worry, people with ___ GPA will definitely get in!”

    unfortunately, i just don’t know what the average mark will be of people accepted. sending candy bars to enrolment services hasn’t done much in the way of getting me onto any admissions committees. go figure.

    for example, i didn’t even know that 70/400 acceptance rate that you quoted, so i can’t give you much insight. however, i have two general pieces of advice that i HOPE can be at least SOMEWHAT HELPFUL.

    helpful blog post

    a visual representation of aska’s level of helpfulness

    1. high 80s = a 4.0 GPA, and that’s about as competitive as you can get. yes, a 17.5% acceptance rate is pretty low. however, a 4.0 admission average is very good, and i’d say you stand a good chance with those kind of marks. as always, i can’t guarantee anything, and i don’t have any actual insight on admissions, but that GPA is PRETTY GOOD.

    2. you should always have a backup. unless you’re 100% positive you’ll get into a program, it’s ALWAYS a good idea to have a backup. so yeah, start looking into other programs, but don’t do it because you’re not confident in yourself or your chances – just do it because it’s good practice.

    interesting alternatives to ethics, society & law include: international relations, political science, philosophy, and criminology and sociolegal studies.

    finally, try not to let this dominate your whole life. i know it’ll be hard, but you won’t hear back about the POSt until at least july 2nd, and until then, it’s not worth pulling your hair out over. go outside, read a book, see a movie…enjoy your life until we’re all back to the grind in september.

    cheers,

    aska

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