applying for U of T - askastudent

admissions, applying for U of T, bad times, engineering, hard

rejection is just redirection

January 31, 2025

I don’t know if I’ll make it into uoft engineering, because my average is mid-80s for end of first sem, but I’ve asked this page a lot of questions last year, and I’m very grateful, so I wanna know how I should prepare for the rejection. I don’t know if this sounds depressing, but I’ll be fine later on but I saw my exam grades today and I wanna cry and I just don’t want to feel sad about being rejected because I really wanted to go to uoft.

hey there,

man, i’m sorry that’s happening! that sounds really upsetting.

first off, thanks for your question, it means a lot that you came to me with this.

i know that it can feel like the world is ending when you don’t get the grades you wanted, especially when you put so much effort in and there’s so much at stake. i also remember your questions from last year, so i know that you’ve really been committed to getting good grades over the past year! you were asking all the right questions and were focused on all the right things.

i mean, it’s totally normal to feel distressed over this! anyone who’s worked as hard as you and has this much dedication to their goals would be.

when i’m feeling this way, i think it helps to know that you genuinely did the best you could. you did all you could with the resources and knowledge you had at the time, so there’s nothing to beat yourself up over. sure, it didn’t turn out the way you wanted, but a rejection is not a reflection of your work ethic, intelligence, or competence. sometimes the circumstances are just built in a difficult way.

and like, are we kidding? trying to get into U of T engineering is one heck of a difficult circumstance. the grades they require are insanely high, and it’s a notoriously difficult program at the notoriously most difficult school in the whole country.

just because this program isn’t right for you doesn’t mean you can’t reach academic excellence (whatever that is) or be on the path to a highly successful career — tbh, all the most successful and outstanding U of T students i know who are making big moves and getting recognized for their work aren’t in engineering. and i’m not sure if you applied to other schools, but getting any engineering degree is impressive and will make you employable. there are plenty of other top-notch engineering programs in canada and other top-notch programs at U of T.

but even then, nothing’s set in stone yet! you just got your interim grades back, not the rejection. your marks are in the mid-eighties, which is like what, two percentages away from the high-eighties? remember that the engineering admissions considers your extracurricular work along with your academic work, so that could pull your application up. at this point in time, you could still get in, or even get waitlisted. let’s not snowball towards the worst-case scenario, you still don’t know what will happen.

if you wanted advice on how to prepare for rejection, here’s what helps me. when i’m really set on an opportunity (which i am right now), i try to not get attached to the end outcome, and only focus on what’s controllable. you can only control your effort, consistency, and drive — after that, you’ve done your job and there’s nothing else you have to do.

also, you might think something is the perfect golden opportunity, but remember that it hasn’t actually happened yet. we’re only human, so we can’t look into the future, and you don’t actually know if it would be disastrous! like, have you heard of burnt toast theory?

maybe this opportunity just isn’t right for you — or, it isn’t right for you at this point in time.

what i’m trying to say is, when something doesn’t work out, there’s often something better waiting for you that you just don’t know about yet! i am a firm believer that rejection is just redirection, and what’s meant for you will find you.

maybe i sound a little delulu LOL but that’s what helps me.

anyway. if you’re really set on engineering and didn’t apply to other schools, maybe you can try again next year — you are still able to apply to universities a year after you graduate. don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something! if you really have a dream, don’t let one “no” end it all. i know someone who’s applied to med school four years in a row, getting rejected each time. but she keeps trying again and again, because she’s committed to her goal.

ultimately, all you can do at this point is keep working hard in school. maybe if you keep your grades up, you might get waitlisted, and then accepted!

i’ll leave you with this: if you have effort and you have consistency, there is nothing you cannot do. it is truly only a matter of time.

you are so capable. take a deep breath, you’ve got this.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, human biology

to retake or not to retake

January 28, 2025

Hi ,Thanks again for your help with my previous question! I have a quick follow-up about my course selection. Since my Advanced Functions (MHF4U) mark isn’t very competitive, I’m wondering if I should retake it, or if taking Data Management (MDM4U) instead would be a better option. Do you think taking both would strengthen my application, or is one more important than the other? (Also advanced functions is not a prerequisite course for most of the programs I am looking at) and to specify I would like to apply to both campuses

I really appreciate your advice on this!

Thanks so much

hey there,

y’all, two returning askers in one WEEK! i feel so loved.

ok so should you retake advanced functions to raise your mark or just take data management instead?

well, if advanced functions isn’t a pre-req for most of the programs you’re looking at, you probably don’t have to retake it. here’s why.

as you can see here, the great thing about applying to U of T is that they will only use your top 6 marks in academic courses to calculate your admission average. among these 6 marks must be the pre-requisites for the admission category you’re applying to. so if advanced functions isn’t a pre-req, it won’t actually have to be included in the calculation of your admission average, assuming you have other academic courses that you got better marks in.

remember that if you’re hoping to apply to human biology, what you’ll actually be inputting into your OUAC application is the life sciences admission category. the pre-requisites for this category are english and calculus. so for example, your admission average could be calculated based on your marks in english, calculus, chem, bio, history, and data management. (classes like drama, art, band, or physical education wouldn’t count).

honestly, taking data management instead could strengthen your application just because you won’t have a repeated course on your transcript. and it’ll have the same function as advanced functions — you’ll be able to use data management as the alternate pre-requisite for UTSC human biology, as mentioned in my previous answer.

i honestly don’t think either data management or advanced functions would be more important than the other transcript-wise, but i will say that data management skills will be very applicable for any STEM program you want to go into. sure, advanced functions skills are important, but data management skills will be directly needed in a large number of your upper year courses in life sciences. i think it’ll be useful to get comfortable with these skills early on (i wish i did!).

basically, both the UTSG and UTSC campuses say that repeated courses aren’t super great on your application. so it could be a good idea for you to just take data management to meet the pre-req requirement for UTSC human bio instead of retaking advanced functions.

but it’s really hard to say what decision is better to make, because all this stuff is intentionally made to be a little murky. it’s totally up to you, you could retake advanced functions and try to get a higher mark and have that work out for you! you could take data management and have that work out for you! anything could happen.

my personal take is that taking data management might be the best idea, BUT remember that this is just my opinion as a student who is not involved in the admissions process at all. please think it through a lot, since there’s no easy answer here.

i hope this helped! sending lots of encouragement.

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, human biology, prereqs

i am once again asking… which campus?

January 20, 2025

I am a grade 11 student who is currently taking advanced functions but my mark is not very competitive, I was thinking about retaking the course in summer school. Will Uoft not consider me if I retake and if it’s in summer school. I want to apply to the human biology program and the prerequisites include advanced functions.

hey there,

thanks for your question! just to set things straight, i’m going to assume that you’re talking about the human biology program at the st. george campus?

if you want to apply to the human biology program at the st. george campus, you’ll be applying to U of T under the life sciences admission category. basically, all programs here are grouped into six admission categories when you’re first applying, and all you have to worry about is the requirements to get into that broad category.

to get into the life sciences admission category, you definitely need to take english and calculus. but interestingly enough, on this page, the pre-requisites list doesn’t include advanced functions (MHF4U), just calculus and vectors (MCV4U).

so, if you’re applying to the st. george campus, i can tell you that you don’t actually need advanced functions and can stop reading here!

however, if you’re applying to the scarborough campus, you can ignore everything i just said and keep reading.

sorry for the emotional whiplash.

but ok, now i’m gonna assume you’re applying to human biology at UTSC!

to answer your question, does U of T care if you retake a course or take it during the summer? well U of T says they do accept repeated courses, but “priority will be given to students who took the course in a single attempt”. you can find the full quote on this FAQ page under the admission decision drop-down button.

basically, what i think this means is that retaking a course doesn’t take you out of the game completely, but it might negatively impact your chances of getting in. according to my predecessor (previous aska), if it’s a close call between you and and another applicant (ie you’re right at the cutoff) and they have to choose between y’all, they’ll choose the student who didn’t retake the course. butttt, i have zero idea if this is true.

tbh, all you can do at this point is to do as well as you can in all your other courses, to make up for the repeated course. if you’re stellar at your other subjects, you can make it so that they won’t ever have to choose between you and another applicant, right?

but i also happened to notice that the human biology admission requirements give you the option between advanced functions OR calculus & vectors OR mathematics of data management for your math pre-requisite. if you were really worried about how retaking a course might impact your application, you could just take one of the other pre-req options.

meanwhile, they couldn’t care less if you complete a course during summer. that will have no impact on your admission decision whatsoever.

and yeah, i hope this helped, whether you were applying to UTSG or UTSC! best of luck to you, you’re gonna smash that course through the roof! everyone’s gonna be so sockless because you’re gonna knock their socks off. the classroom is gonna explOde from how much you’re gonna destroy that course.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T

the gate is keeping

November 21, 2024

Hello, I am a 16 year old student and I had a quick question related to a reel I saw. In this reel, it says that colleges and universities release something called a common data set, which shows the acceptance percentage based on marks. I was wondering if uoft has a common data set or something similar to it that poses the same information.

hey there,

common data set? we don’t know her. unfortunately, U of T does not release this.

honestly, it might be because there are so many admission categories, all of which require different grades and courses. and that’s just in arts & sciences — there are also different faculties, like rotman, architecture, music, etc. plus, things change a lot every year.

the closest thing that i can point you towards is the U of T admission bulletin. this is like, the number one resource for finding out everything you need to know when applying to U of T. if you scroll to the bottom, you’ll see a huge chart of all the areas of study at U of T, their pre-requisites, and what programs types are offered. there are also approximate grade ranges listed for some programs.

on top of that, i spent some time looking through U of T’s data website and found a U of T data figure about how many students apply, how many are admitted, and how many register each year. you can also see in this one how many students are enrolled per each field of study at U of T.

i know these don’t provide exactly what you were looking for, but i hope these provided some sort of useful information for you.

anyway. if you’re 16, you’re doing a great job in thinking ahead. i’d say at this point of high school, the best thing you can do is just look at the admission category you’re considering (if you know that yet), and make sure you’re planning to take the grade 12 course pre-requisites you need.

you might also wanna peruse my past posts in the “applying for U of T” category. and “admissions” category. there are a lot of common questions you might useful there.

and yea, that’s it from me. happy to help if you’ve got more questions! <3

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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applying for U of T, extracurricular

hmmm very suspicious ha ha of you

September 20, 2024

Hi, I was wondering how universities ensure that people’s extracurriculars are credible. Like do they call the schools/ check Instagram posts of the club or make you upload certificates or something? Also, would they suspect someone if they have “too many” extra-curriculars.

hey there,

might you be asking because you’re one of those people with a suspicious number of extra-curriculars?

nah, jk. there’s no such thing as too many extracurriculars, in my opinion. if you can handle it, you can handle it. and if so, wear that proudly and put it on your resumes/applications! i think the likelihood of them thinking you’re lying is pretty low, and the best plan is to just be honest (and show off that resume!!).

that’s to say, biggest side-eye to anyone who lies about their extracurriculars. lying about your extracurriculars to get into university would be crAzy when you’re applying to a university that (for most programs) only looks at your grades.

because at least in U of T’s faculty of arts & science, you pretty much just input your grades to the system, upload your transcript, and call it a day – at least that’s how it worked for me when i applied.

outside of the faculty of arts and sciences however, they do ask for some sort of supplemental application. this is the case for the rotman business school, the engineering faculty, architecture faculty, and the faculty of music. (not an exhaustive list, just the main ones i can think of out there).

and that brings me to your question. how do universities ensure the credibility of your extracurriculars? do they ask for paper proof? do they call your school? do they show up at your front door step? is that why you had to put your address in your application?

well, considering U of T – like most large universities – receives tens of thousands of applications each year, they aren’t able to lean into that level of helicopter parenting. most of the time, if they do ask you to write about your extracurriculars, applications will explicitly say whether or not they will be verifying those extracurriculars.

often, there will just be a box where you write the name, email, and phone number of a couple people who can be your reference for that extracurricular. they could say something like, for example, “we may reach out if further verification is required”. in other words, they might not actually contact the references you put down. other times, they will definitely reach out to that reference and say something like “we will reach out for an informal assessment via email or phone”.

so overall, i hate to say it, but the way universities ensure the credibility of your extracurriculars just depends on the university and program you’re applying to. they all do it differently! but if they do plan to verify anything, you will know ahead of time and it will be you choosing who they might contact as verification. as in, they won’t randomly call up your school out of the blue.

as for certificates, i also don’t think they’ll ask you for these as paper proof of extracurriculars. the only instance in which i’ve seen these required is if you’re asking to use something for university credit, which wouldn’t be part of your application anyways.

anyhoo. i hope this was helpful and answered your question! best of luck.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, UTM

chronically confused

August 14, 2024
Hi I want to apply to study Communication, Culture, Information & Technology at University of Toronto Missisigua And I am quite confused on their website I am seeing the deadline for early admission is June 27th but sometimes I see January 15th I am pretty confused when does early admission and regular admission open and what day do they end?

hey there,

ok yeah, i took a look at the CCIT and UTM websites and it is a bit confusing as to what the dates and deadlines are.

well, here is my summary of the admissions deadlines according to this UTM dates and deadlines page:
- november 7 is the “recommended application deadine for early consideration”
  - december 15 is the “recommended document deadline for early consideration”
- january 15 is the “application deadline for all applicants on OUAC”
  - february 1 is the “document deadline for all applicants”
as you can see, it might be confusing because there are different deadlines for your application and getting all your documents in. the gist of it is that november 7 is the early admission deadline and january 15 is the general admission deadline. apply for the early deadline if you want to be considered in the first round of offers, but apply before the general deadline if you want more time to get everything together. but keep in mind, some spots may already be filled by early applicants by then.

meanwhile, later on in the spring, you’ll have acceptance deadlines (for you to accept U of T’s offer):
- may 1 is the acceptance deadline for canadian and international applicants
- june 3 is the acceptance deadline for ontario applicants
however, the website says that with these acceptance deadlines, you might have a different, specific date as stated in your offer letter.

it seems to me like there is no deadline on june 27. i searched that date up on google with the “must include” function and nothing relevant came up for CCIT admissions. but, i do see a july 12th date on the same dates and deadlines page i’ve been talking about. it says that the “application deadline dates for september 2024 entry” was closed on july 12, 2024.

soooo yeah. that is super confusing. personally, i think the july 12 date seems way too late to be an application deadline. when i applied to U of T st. george campus, the deadlines for me were also november 7 and january 15. so my honest student-to-student advice is to just stick to that and ignore the july 12 date.

HOWEVER, i am not involved in the admissions process and before following what i say, you might want to confirm it. the easiest thing to do in this situation is to just send in a quick question through this page.

anyhoo, good luck with your application!

over and out,

aska
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admissions, applying for U of T, engineering

young engineer will not go crazy today, no siree

August 6, 2024

Hey, I want to get into mechanical engineering in uofstg and I’m grade 11 (well going into grade 12 since it’s summer) and in ontario with a 87 average. I’m in HOSA but didn’t make president (I thought I would). My school doesn’t have many clubs but I want to be more involved with stem club next year. I just wanted to know how competitive my program is and my chances of getting in regardless of grade 12 (I am hoping to do better next year). I’m shaking in my boots because I really really want to get in. I keep pretending like I won’t go crazy if I don’t get in but I just might.

hey there,

i get how stressful it can be during this stage of high school, right before university application season starts! “shaking in your boots” is such an accurate description of that time.

but,

i’m not an engineering student so i can’t speak from experience as to how competitive admissions is. to be honest with you, all you can really do to figure out your chances of getting in is to do some casual internet sleuthing (aka research) on U of T websites.

so you want to get into mechanical engineering. well, engineering programs are definitely among the more competitive programs at U of T. but, your 87 average does fit within the range listed on the FAQ page of the engineering website — here, they say the grade range that you need to be competitive for mechanical engineering is high 80’s to low 90’s. keep in mind though, being within this range “doesn’t guarantee admission”, as they’ll always say.

on this page, it also says that your admission average is computed based on a select group of pre-requisite grade 12 level courses. under the ontario school system, those are english ( ENG4U), advanced functions (MHF4U), calculus and vectors (MCV4U), chemistry (SCH4U), and physics (SPH4U). this tells you that you’ll want to especially do well in these courses, since admissions will definitely be looking at them.

meanwhile, you’re right that your extracurricular activities matter too — for both admission and scholarship consideration.

the engineering school’s admissions requires that you submit an online student profile, through which you’ll input your grades, describe your extracurriculars and send in some “get to know you as a person” video responses. you’ll have access to this though the engineering applicant portal once U of T receives your initial application on OUAC (ontario universities’ application centre).

keep in mind though, that your extracurricular activities don’t need to be engineering-related. they can also include athletics, arts, community involvement, and paid or volunteer employment. for this section, i think it’s great that you’re a part of HOSA and that you’re gonna get involved with stem clubs!

anyways. it seems like that’s it. these are just the admission areas you’ll want to make yourself as competitive as possible in. to directly answer your question, i can’t really tell you

“congrats, you’re competitive!”

or

“man i’m sorry you just won’t cut it”.

because like, i’m not an admissions officer, nor have i applied to engineering myself.

but it seems to me like you’re in a pretty okay position right now. engineering is very hard to get into, but i think you are able to craft a strong application from here on out. i think just work really hard in grade 12 to get the highest marks you can, and really sell those extracurriculars in your student profile.

all in all, i believe you’re fully capable of getting in if you set your mind to it and really commit yourself during this last home stretch. lose that fear of failure, you’ve got this!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, campus, psychology

where.

July 14, 2024
Hello, I am interested in applying to the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. I would like to know which campus offers the best program for that. Additionally, I would like to inquire if it is possible to apply for admission immediately after completing Grade 11, with the potential for a conditional offer based on an average score above 95% in Grade 11 (through Tvo ILC), without having started Grade 12. And what will be the admission steps?

hey there,
1. which campus is best
first of all, great question. it can be really hard to choose which uni and campus to attend, because that’s where you’ll live your life for the next four+ years. when i was at that stage, i felt a lot like this:

i can tell you that psychology at U of T is going to be really good no matter which campus you choose. but if you wanted to know which one was best for that program, it really depends on what you’re looking for.

st. george is the biggest campus and it’s downtown. so that will mean it has more research opportunities in more areas, because of how connected the st. george campus is. like, there are a lot of U of T affiliated companies in different sectors that will take U of T undergrads looking for experience. the psychology has a great page where you can check out research opportunities here.

as for the other two campuses, i don’t know much about UTM, but UTSC in scarborough is known for being the co-op campus. so if you’re looking for co-op opportunities, that’s the place to be. for example, at UTSC you can take the co-op program in psychology, which is a work integrated program that combines your studies with paid work. this can also be great if you want to earn some money while being a student.

i’d say both co-op opportunities and research opportunities are really important for psychology because it’s difficult to get job experience as an undergrad when you’re a psychology student. so it just depends on what you prefer.

meanwhile, you should also choose the campus based on its environment and how it would work for you, as each campus has different pros and cons. like, do you want to live in the downtown core? do you want to live in a smaller campus? do you like nature? noise? etc.

if you’re curious, you can check out this page that goes over what makes each campus unique.

2. can you apply for admission now?

so unfortunately, it is not possible to apply for admission immediately after completing grade 11. this is because you need to be at least enrolled in grade 12 courses before you can be considered for admission.

according to the admission dates page, the early application date is november 7 while the deadline is january 15. so you’ll have to wait for the fall of your senior year to apply, around late september or october. you can apply for early admissions even if your grade 12 marks are not out yet, but you do need to be in grade 12. there’s not really a way around that.

finally, if you’re still undecided on which campus to choose, i’d encourage you to reach out to a recruitment officer, as they can probably tell you more psychology-specific things about each campus and help you make your decision.

anyways, hope this was helpful, good luck!!

over and out,

aska
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admissions, applying for U of T, polisci

good plan, my man

July 2, 2024

If My grade is 50% in Grade 11 but I have to retake it and I get an 80% can I still apply for an early admission to University of Toronto to study Political Science.

Just to let you know regarding my last question I am an out of province student.

hey there,

first of all, that’s a good plan to retake it. definitely do that.

but when you say your grade is 50%, are you referring to a single course or your overall GPA? those are two very different things. if it’s just a single course, and you’re doing fine in your other ones, you might be fine. for political science, which is under the social science admission stream, the one high school course that really matters is ENG4U. other than that, you have some leeway room because they’ll look at a group of your top grades.

can you apply for early admission to U of T?

well, yes anyone can apply for that, it’s just a matter of getting admitted. if you retake a course during the summer before grade 12, then your grades will definitely come out in time. but if you retake that course during grade 12, your new mark might not be released by the time admissions looks at your transcript. so ultimately, yeah you can apply, but having the “early” part matter depends on if your marks are also released early.

all in all, just do your best! i’m sure you will get a higher mark your second time around, you’ve got this! i hope this was helpful, good luck.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T

my apologies, you’re not as slick as u think

June 29, 2024

Is there anything special I need to prepare for in the UofT application?

hey there,

well, it depends what you mean by special, and also on what program you’re applying to.

on this future U of T site, under the subsection “deadlines to submit supporting documentation”, you’ll see a list of all the programs that require a supplemental application.

these programs are: engineering, architecture, computer science, rotman commerce, kinesiology, and music. if your program isn’t listed here, then no, you won’t have to prepare anything other than just your transcript and the application fee.

however, if you are a canadian student and you want to be considered for scholarships, you should fill out your awards profile. this allows you to be considered for admission awards based on financial need and your extracurricular involvement.

and yeah, that’s pretty much it. other than that, have good grades on your transcript!

over and out,

aska

ps. i don’t have a problem with it, and i’m gonna hold your hand in the gentlest way while i say this but.

bro thinks he’s slick but i can see one email address asking multiple questions in the FAQ comments under 4 different names. like. it’s ok, you don’t have to be sneaky about it. just ask your questions

but sorry if i blew ur cover and you’re actually just socially anxious. if that’s the case, carry on. in any case, i’m happy to help you out, keep asking away.

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admissions, applying for U of T, social sciences

i know things i swear

June 29, 2024

hi! so i’m a grade 11 student and rn i’m taking college, uni and mixed courses. what i’m wondering is that would this affect my chances of getting into uoft (specifically the social science stream) since i took college level grade 11 courses? also for next year, in grade 12, all my courses that i’ll be taking are 6 u/m so would that help or?

hey there,

hmmm ok. i’m honestly not from ontario so this whole ontario high school course code system bewilders me. normalize being out of the loop because what is even.. going on.

*you remind me that i’m literally supposed to know this stuff.*

ahah but i do know the U of T system, so i’ll try my best to answer this.

for admission requirements, U of T requires that you’ve taken at least 6 grade 12 university (U) or university/college (M) courses. for the social sciences stream, one of those courses must be english (ENG4U). so yes, it’s good that you’re taking all U/M courses in grade 12!

U of T will look at your grades in ENG4U, plus five other of your top grade 12 marks in academic courses. based off this, i think would give you a better chance if you took a lot of U/M courses, because then you’ll have other marks to send in if you do badly in some, right?

meanwhile, based on the way that U of T describes how they consider applications, they don’t consider the difficulty of the courses you took in high school. i know that some other universities say they do, like UBC, who says they look at the range of your courses and how challenging they were. but i haven’t seen anything that implies U of T looks at this. the general vibe is that U of T mainly looks at your grades.

so overall, yeah. take U/M courses, that’s good. based on vibes again, i think taking college courses in grade 11 is also good, compared to taking workplace or open courses.

if you really want to know, like, specifics about admissions, something not a lot of people know is that you can literally ask a recruitment officer how to make your application really good. the name “recruitment officer” makes them sound so, institutional? but like they’re just people who have the actual inside scoop on this, so don’t be afraid to reach out!

hope this was helpful and good luck, i hope you have allllll the success!

over and out,

aska

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