research - askastudent

getting involved, research, volunteer

i am the resource

May 18, 2024
hi there! im an incoming uoft for sept 2024 and i’m just curious where can i find/which websites i should go look into to find professors that can provide students with volunteer experiences/research opportunities? or specifically, as an incoming student, is it possible to apply for volunteer positions at hospitals? and if so, how may i do that? where or which resources can i go look for that opportunity? thank you in advance

hey there,

welcome! this is a great question. you want resources? i’ve got them. heck, i am the resource.

1.research opportunities on CLNX

so, there aren’t exactly websites where you can just search and find professors who have available volunteer/research experiences open to students.

HOWEVER, there is something sort of similar, and it’s called the career & co-curricular learning network (CLNX). i think you’ll only have access to this once you get your utorid closer to september, but it is a really important site to know during your time at u of t. CLNX is a launching pad for applying to on-campus jobs, exploring clubs, applying to experiential learning opportunities, seeing different career events happening, and more.

most relevant to your question, it’s where you will be able to search and apply to research opportunity programs (ROP)s. ROPs are research experiences that are supervised by a u of t faculty member, and CLNX has a searchable/filterable database of all of them. you’ll be eligible to participate in ROPs if you’ve completed between 4.0-13.0 credits by the end of the school year — so you’ll have to wait until the spring of your first year to apply. note it down, applications are open for this between mid-february to mid-march every year.

2. research/volunteer opportunities through other means

CLNX is not the only way that you can gain access to research or volunteer experiences. some advice i’ve heard is to ask your professors and TAs if they are currently in need of research assistants or if they can direct you towards opportunities. they might not always conveniently have a spot for you, but they are connected and might be able to help you out! little tip: you might improve your chances if they know who you are, so go to office hours throughout the semester and participate in class.

i’ve also answered a similar question here about getting into research, if you wanna give that a look. there, i mention @uoftursa on instagram, the uoft undergrad research students’ association, who post events geared towards getting into research. another group to look into might be the uoft research network, @uoft.rn .

3. volunteer positions at hospitals

the great thing about u of t is that it’s near and connected to many of the top hospitals in canada.
- one popular opportunity i’ve heard about is volunteering at sickkids. sickkids is affiliated with u of t and is super close to campus, offering both summer and year-round volunteer programs for post-secondary students. to be eligible, you just need to be 18 or older and enrolled in post-secondary education. posting for this year’s 2024 fall program, which starts in september, will open on june 3.
- another great one to volunteer at is UHN, the university health network affiliated with u of t. through this, students are able to volunteer at toronto general hospital, toronto western hospital, toronto rehab, and princess margaret cancer hospital. applications for this are open all year. if you want to do actual research through the UHN though, i think you’ve got to be a grad student.
- mount sinai hospital also takes volunteers, but they are currently full—their website says to check back in the fall for openings.
- st. michael’s hospital takes year-round volunteers through the unity health network
anyways. i hope this was helpful, good luck with everything! and please don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get involved with all this during your first year. students usually get involved with research and volunteer stuff after their first year, once they’ve settled down academically.

over and out,

aska

p.s. y’all are asking so many questions :D. i’ve never done so many posts in such a short span of time, this is me every waking hour:

but, pls pls keep ’em comin.
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life science, neuroscience, research

the vibes are good, methinks

February 23, 2024

Hello! Got accepted into life sciences ’24. What are the research opportunities like, how hard are the courses if I’m planning on neuroscience and how’s the general atmosphere (competition, friendliness etc)?

Thank you 🙂

hey there,

welcome and congrats!!

research opportunities

so, asking what the research opportunities are like is like asking where the uoft library is. there are so many in so many different directions, and it really depends on what you’re looking for.

personally, i would say that the research opportunities for neuroscience are very good—from what i’ve heard and general vibes. disclaimer, i am not a neuroscience student. however, i am in another life sci program and there’s a lot of overlap/similarity between life sci programs.

once you get here, there are always events and panels going on (if you know where to look) where you can learn about research opportunities and future pathways for your program. i would recommend checking out the u of t undergrad research students’ association, @uoftursa on instagram, since they post about great opportunities and events on there. also check out this site about research opportunities program courses to take in your upper years. it’s never too early for you to be looking into this stuff, but do keep in mind that research is something people start getting into after their second year.

i would say the best way to hear about opportunities in my experience is from being on the mailing list for your program—you’ll get on this when you get into your program after first year. i currently receive an email every few days about research/experience/scholarship opportunities to do with my program.

also, one of my friends is a neuroscience major, and she has said you can also get into research just by getting to know your profs and asking them if they have any opportunities for students. for example, they might be working on a research project and could use an assistant. however, this is a bit iffy and less common, and i honestly don’t know how she managed to do this.

courses

you can see all the courses you’ll have to take for the neuroscience major listed on this handy dandy arts & sciences website. (i open these pages too often but i do appreciate how convenient it is all laid out like this!!!! big fan.)

though i’m not a neuroscience student, i have taken some of the same general first year courses required for the neuroscience major. specifically, out of the courses listed for neurosci, i took mat135, chm135, and bio120. i’d say in comparison to high school, these courses go through material very fast, condensing a lot of content into each lecture. though some of first year is kind of review, they assume you remember everything you learned in high school and pile new concepts on with the same sort of speed.

my main message to you though is to not be overwhelmed or scared going into your first year life sci courses. everyone around me was literally scaring me so much, telling me it was super rough and difficult, but i don’t think it’s as bad as its reputation makes it seem? the hardest part is just staying on top of the amount of content each week, and not falling behind. like, it’s less about stuff not making sense but more about the amount of stuff and being able to balance all your courses.

general atmosphere

i would say that the competition isn’t too bad in life sci. people are just trying to get through the courses, and nobody’s out to get you or trying to step on you to get ahead (like in rotman). however, in terms of friendliness, it really depends how hard you try to make friends. people mostly keep to themselves, but if you are friendly, you’ll find friendly people! hit ’em with an “it’s so cold today” or a “it’s too early for this” and you’ll be fine.

good luck with everything!

over and out,

aska

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career choice, GPA, grad school, jobs, research

should i stay or should i go

March 10, 2017

For the past 4-5ish years at uoft,lets just say I didnt work as hard.I thought a BA would get me pretty far in life,but sadly,I was told I needed a masters to get a decent job in my field. The issue is that most master programs in canada have the standard 3.0+cGPA requirement.I dont mind staying back to boost my cGPA but will it affect my application?do schools look at the #of years uve been in school?Not exactly sure what to do…

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hey,

while working hard is usually a good statement to live by, sometimes it just doesn’t happen for some of us (lol me) and that’s okay. there is always room for change!

because every school is different, i can’t say for sure that they won’t look at how many years you’ve taken to get your degree. i do know that they will be looking at your most recent academic performance and because of that, it wouldn’t be a terrible to thing to boost your cGPA. however, if you are really far away from a 3.0 cGPA, you might want to reconsider staying behind. you may end up spending too much time (and a lot of dough) trying to get that 3.0 cGPA.

my feeling is that if you have experience with research in your field, it can definitely improve your chances of being accepted because it shows that you took the initiative to look for these opportunities. even if it isn’t a formal job, experience is always beneficial to your application.

remember that getting a 3.0 GPA doesn’t guarantee entry into a masters program! there are other factors that will be considered during the admissions process, so don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

if you haven’t already, check out the career learning network to see if there are any jobs open now that you are interested in!

hope all of the above makes sense, i’m sorry i couldn’t give you an absolute answer since they do handle each application on a case by case basis. your best bet is calling the schools directly. (or emailing their askastudent) 🙂

(click on the .gif for the song. its a classic)

peace and love,

aska

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