programs - askastudent

biology, prereqs, programs, science, switching

so we all just have the same problems huh

November 8, 2024

Hello!! I was wondering how hard it is to transition from Physics to Biological Physics/ Mathematical and Physical Sciences to Life Sciences, assuming I get accepted into the Physics program. I see that I have to take BIO130 to get into the Biological Physics specialist program, but I don’t have Biology Gr12 (Needed for BIO130). Is there any way to waiver that prerequisite for BIO130, or do I have to let go of the biological physics program 🙁

hey there,

i’m assuming you’re currently in first year? these are some great questions, and it’s actually really common to be confused about all this. i literally went to my registrar confused about this exact same stuff (different program switches though) during my first year.

let’s go through it together, and hopefully i can help clear things up.

how hard it is to transition between science departments

switching programs is actually SO much easier than it seems, especially within the sciences. i’d be a little more worried for you if you wanted to switch, say, between physics and architecture, but going from physics to bio is definitely on the simpler side. people do that all the time, and you’re gonna be ok!

pretty much, to switch programs, all you have to do is get into the program you want to switch to. you are not locked in to anything!

the first thing to note is that there are two types of programs in the faculty of arts & science: open and limited. i’d recommend you check out this sid smith website, which gives a great overview of how open/limited programs work.

for open programs, there are no required courses, you just need to have an expected completion of 4.0 credits to get in. basically, if you’ll have 4.0 credits done by the end of your first year, you apply during the spring of your first year. no application is required – for open programs, you literally just click the enrol button in acorn.

for limited programs, you’ll have to complete 4.0 credits, but also might have to complete required courses with certain minimum grades. these requirements are different according to the program.

so what this all means is that you can switch pretty easily between physics and bio programs. i took a look, and almost all the bio programs are open enrolment! you can check it out yourself here. click on the programs to see their drop down descriptions, where it’ll say whether the program is open or limited.

getting into the biological physics specialist program

the biological physics specialist program is actually also an open enrolment program, all four streams of it. you’ll see this on that page i just linked, if you click the drop down of each stream of this program, each of them says “open enrolment”.

this means that there are no required courses to get into the program! you can automatically enrol at the end of your first year if you’ve completed 4.0 credits.

i see that you think you’ll have to take bio130 to get in to the biological physics program. but what you might have gotten confused about is enrolment requirements vs. completion requirements. don’t worry, i also got these confused during my first year.

just because a first-year course is listed on the program page, doesn’t mean you have to take it to get in. you actually don’t need to take all your first-year courses in first year, you can absolutely take them in second year too. it’s more like a suggestion of how to organize your years, but not a rule whatsoever.

if you look at one of the biophysics specialist stream pages, like the physiology stream, you’ll see that there are no courses listed under “enrolment requirements”, so there are no required courses to get in.

bio130 is instead listed as a first-year course under “completion requirements”. so you just need to take this course sometime during undergrad to graduate from the program, not to enrol in the program.

getting into bio130

i’ve got good news for ya: there’s actually a way that you can take bio130 even without having taken grade 12 biology! according to the artsci calendar’s page on bio130, it does say you need to have gr. 12 biology and chemistry. but it also says if you don’t have these, you can just get the permission of the department, by emailing bio130(@)utoronto(.)ca .

i had this problem in my first year with bio120! i thought i couldn’t take it because you needed gr. 12 bio, which i didn’t have. but all i needed to do was send them an email, and they said something along the lines of “yes, you’re allowed to take it but just be warned that people who haven’t taken gr. 12 bio tend to get worse marks in the course or drop it. so take it at your own risk”.

if they tell you something similar, do not be scared off! this intimidated me and i entered the course with so much fear but i think it’s funny that it ended up being one of my easiest courses LOL.

so yeah, i hope i explained this clear enough and that it helped somewhat. the tldr is: check if a program is open or limited enrolment. it’s super easy to switch if it’s open, which most bio programs are. the one you want is open, so yay. and also, you can get the pre-requisite for bio130 waived if you email the department.

best of luck!

over and out,

aska

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programs, wait list

try, try again

May 24, 2024

I am in year one, and I am waiting to be accepted into a certain program. They sent me an email saying that I am on the waitlist, and the last accepting date is supposed to be June 7th. After this, I can expect that I have been rejected, and I should apply to the program again in the second round, right?

hey there,

hmmm a certain program. so vague of you. testing my psychic powers, i see. ~~but hasn’t anyone ever told you, don’t test god.~~

anyways yes, that’s correct. according to this page on important program dates, the last day to be accepted in the first request period is june 7.

so if you haven’t received an acceptance by june 7, it means you haven’t been accepted during the first round. after this, you are able to re-apply in the second round, assuming your program offers a second round. (some programs don’t offer a second round, so you should look here to make sure yours does.)

some advice, though: if you want to improve your chances of getting in the second time around, you might want to consider taking courses in the summer to increase your CGPA. because re-applying with the same qualifications as last time may likely give you the same outcome. the second round’s application period is between july 6 and august 20, and results will be sent out between august 21 and september 4 — meaning that whatever summer courses you take will be counted in time.

but, that’s a really general advice, and i don’t know your mystery program. so i highly recommend that you go connect with your registrar for more specific advice around that.

so good luck, i hope it all works out for you!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, programs, psychology

confusing uoft websites, couldn’t be me

May 22, 2024
Hi! I’m currently in year 12, I study IB and my Higher Levels are Psychology, Sports Exercise and Health Science, and Art. I’m planning to apply to uoft to study clinical psychology in the future but then found out BIO is required after some research. Now I’m confused about this because the websites gave me different answers, one telling me that the only requirements are Calculus and English, and another saying that biology is required too. (if that’s the case would SEHS still be acceptable?)

hey there,

yeah, several people have asked this question before. those admission websites can be so confusing, they’ve got to fix that!

the tldr is that you don’t need bio 12 for admissions, but you’ll need it to go into second year.

admissions

let me explain. when you apply to u of t, you don’t actually apply to a specific program, like biochemistry or immunology, or psychology. instead, you apply to a general “admission category“. basically, all 300ish undergrad programs at the UTSG campus are categorized into 6 admission categories:
you can follow these links to see a list of programs under each admission category. your admission category is what you’ll actually put into your OUAC application, so admission category requirements are the only requirements you’ll need to worry about for now.

if you want to get in to the u of t psychology program, you’ll be applying under the “admission category” of life science. although the psychology requirements website says that you need biology, calculus, and english, the life science requirements website says you only need calculus and english. so for admissions, you only need calculus and english.

program enrolment

HOWEVER, you will need to complete biology 12 to enrol in your psychology program after first year. this is because everyone at u of t actually enrols in their POSt (program of study) when they go into second year. for some POSts, you automatically get in, but many others require pre-requisites or grade minimums. psychology is unfortunately the latter.

assuming you’re hoping to take the psychology major, this means you’ll need to first take PSY100 (the first year psych class at u of t) and get above 75%. you’ll also need to have passed grade 12 calculus and grade 12 biology.

biology equivalents

i recommend you read through the bottom of this page, where it covers biology equivalents and other options. here, it says that they accept IB biology courses, including standard and higher level classes. since i didn’t take IB myself, i’m not sure if SEHS would be counted. you said it’s a higher level IB course, but my question is — is it specifically a biology course?

you can figure that out. but if not, you are able to directly check by sending an email to psy.ug-assistant@utoronto.ca .

anyways, i hope this cleared things up, good luck with everything!

over and out,

aska
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bba, newly admitted, programs, switching, UTSC

faq page pulling through

May 15, 2024

I applied for undergrad in BBA but i got offer for co-op social sciences & humanities. Any possibility of switching after a year or sem?

hey there,

i’m sorry that you didn’t get your first choice! that can be really disappointing. but congrats on getting in, and welcome!!

so the good news is, yes — there is a possibility that you will be able to switch your program. especially since you’re switching at this early stage, i think you might have a good chance.

check out the utsc admissions website‘s FAQ page under “amending your application”. as you can see here, it’s pretty common to ask whether you can change the program that you applied to. so you’re not alone!

this FAQ page says that for those who haven’t yet received an offer of admission, all that student needs to do is change the program on OUAC.

however, since you’ve already received an offer of admission (woop woop!) for co-op social sciences & humanities, do not change your program on OUAC! this will cancel your offer of admission and you’ll lose your place at u of t. instead, you need to directly email utsc.offer@utoronto.ca to request a program change. with this, it’s best that you reach out as soon as possible.

keep in mind though, i’m not sure if this will work since i think what you received is an alternate offer of admission (also explained on that FAQ page), having not received your preferred program choice. if emailing for a program change doesn’t work at this point, you might need to switch after first year.

if that’s the case, you should directly contact the academic advising team for BBA students or management department to find out what this process would look like, concerning application procedures and deadlines. i would recommend that you specifically contact admissions inquiries at (416) 287-7529, or the first year academic advisor at mgmtyr1.utsc@utoronto.ca .

i hope the people at the end of these contacts i’ve provided are helpful and kind to you! this doesn’t need to be a stressful process, you’ve got this. reach out if any more questions come up.

over and out,

aska

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biology, GPA, programs, UTM

no need to panic (i did it already)

May 8, 2024
hey aska, i really need your help. i’m panicking.

I’m a utm student and i just finished my first year in life science. i’m trying to go into one of the bio programs but i’m scared about my gpa. it currently does not reach the minimum as stated in the academic calendar and i’m really worried about not entering into my dream program (bio for health sci). i’m taking a couple of courses this summer to hopefully boost my gpa but when i checked the gpa calculator, i don’t think it would help :(. i do have 4.0 credits and the necessary courses, it’s just my gpa i’m worried about.

someone told me that if i don’t have a POSt by the end of this summer, I wouldn’t be able to enter into second year of uni and will need to redo first year all over again (which i cannot do). they said that, worst case scenario, i can just apply to type 1 programs and i’ll be automatically going into second year. not sure if this is true, but i want to avoid the worst-case scenario and get into the programs i want.

the POSt i’m applying to: major in bio for health science or just biology,

my ideal future POSt is: major in bio for health science, major computer science.

my backup POSt is: bio for health science, minor in computer science, minor in psychology. however, i didn’t get the minimum grade for psy100. i also haven’t taken computer science courses yet because i’m in life science. idk what to do.

should i take a third course this summer to boost my gpa, like a psych course? or is that a bad idea? do they round the gpa? and when will the university accept POSt requests?

please tell me someone was in the same position and ended up being a great student. i need to be inspired.

sorry, this is very long but thank you so much!

hey there,

ok ok you’re gonna be fine! you’re going to be OKAY.

first of all, i know program selection and admission can be so overwhelming and stressful! when i was at that stage, i definitely did a lot of panicking too. but let’s not worst-case-scenario this situation. let’s look at where we are and see what options are available from where you are, alright?

so just to recap: the biology for health sciences program is a type 2 program. in order to get admitted into it, you need a minimum cgpa of 2.5. you also need to complete 4.0 credits, including the courses BIO152H5 and BIO153H5. you say your gpa does not reach that minimum, but you’ve completed 4.0 credits including BIO152 and BIO153. you’re taking courses this summer to raise your gpa, but you don’t think you’ll reach the minimum regardless.

ok.

let’s answer some of your questions.
1. when is POSt admission?
i’m assuming you’ve already requested enrolment to your program during round 1 of program application, which runs between march 5 and april 30. the deadline to accept your offer for round 1 is may 30, so i’m assuming offers will go out sometime during may. however, if you haven’t done this yet, round 2 runs between june 3 and august 23, and the deadline to accept offers is september 15. so offers for round two will probably go out late august or early september.

2. should you take summer courses to boost your gpa?

i think you could definitely take more courses during the summer and absolutely lock tf in in order to raise your cgpa. and when you ask whether you should take a third course, i think that would be fine! as long as you’re staying under the maximum of 2.0 credits for the whole summer and maximum of 1.0 credits per sub-session.

i would say though, that taking less courses at a time increases your chances of doing better/getting better grades. if you spread yourself too thin, you might not do as well as you hoped. so just make sure you can handle the course load you give yourself!

if you do want to take multiple summer courses in order to boost your gpa, i would also recommend taking elective bird courses. this would give you a much higher chance of skyrocketing that gpa rather than if you were to take your required courses. taking courses in summer is also known to be “easier”, since the course moves faster and grading is “nicer”. in my experience, i’ve found this to be quite true.

3. should you take a psych course for the summer?

it depends which psych course you’re talking about. according to the timetable builder, there’s only one first-year psych course offered during the summer at utm: PSY100. but you said you’ve already taken it.

if you are taking a course purely just to raise your gpa, i wouldn’t take some of the second year courses i see, like PSY201 since that is required courses in the psych program. (red flag to watch out for are large, required courses. these tend to be harder!)

4. do they round your gpa?

i don’t think they round your cgpa for program admissions. but if you mean “round” as in scale your grade in courses, that really depends on the course. some do, and those tend to be hard courses that have low averages.

my thoughts on the situation.

in the case that you don’t get into your program this year, it is most certainly not the end of the world nor is it the end of your bio dreams. you have several options here.

1. option one: apply to the biology major instead. the minimum cgpa for this is 2.0, and it has the exact same two required courses, BIO152 and BIO153.

2. option two: apply to an open POSt for now.

it is not a worst-case scenario if you apply to an open POSt to automatically go into second year, then reapply to your POSt next year. many people i know applied for a POSt in first year AND second year! drawing from my own experiences, the main consequence of not getting into your first-choice POSt would simply be later course enrolment times going into your second year.

for some context, in my first year, i applied to two type 1 arts POSts. but like literally two months after, i changed my mind and decided i wanted to switch one of them to a type 2 life sci POSt. so it wasn’t exactly that i didn’t get my first choice POSt. i’m just an Indecisive Person. 😀

anyways, what i did that summer—after deciding i was going to switch programs—was enrol in the required first-year courses for my new program. however, because i was not in my life sci program OR a first year, i had to wait until the general course enrolment period just for certain courses, which was maybe 2 weeks later. this was the main inconvenience i faced for not being in my desired second-year program right off the bat.

my main message is that enrolling in a type 1 program is absolutely fine. you just might have to deal with a few early morning classes or second choice tutorial times, as a result of your course enrolment time! then, you’ll lock in AGAIN and get those grades up to apply again after second year! yeah, you will!

and look at me! i’m fine. i applied to my desired program after second year, and got in. now, it’s all smooth sailing from here (aside from the weekly what-am-doing-with-my-life crises i have haha…). while i wasn’t in your exact same situation, i did go through some similar steps! and am i a great student? well, if i do say so myself, yEs.

i hope i provided sufficient inspiration.

but anyways, it is SO normal to apply to a program after second year, you’re all good!

and finally, there’s a whole powerpoint presentation that u of t made on navigating your exact situation, so again—you are most definitely not alone! i highly recommend taking a look at it, it gives different scenarios with specific academic plans and next steps. ~~i also am on my knees begging you to~~ please connect with an academic counsellor at your registrar. they’ll be able to direct you much more specifically, with access to your transcript. that’s the best thing you can do for yourself right now.

wishing you so much luck rn. shoot me any more of your concerns/questions/qualms/quibbles if they come up!

over and out,

aska
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admissions, physiology, programs

today, your gpa doesn’t matter!! (rare sighting)

April 15, 2024
does u of t look at my first year gpa when I apply to programs for second year? i am looking at majoring in physiology and was wondering if my gpa affects my chances? i have satisfied the individual course requirements

hey there,

this is a good question. well, i can tell you that your cgpa will not affect your chances of getting into the physiology major. (however, it may be different for other programs).

according to the artsci calendar on the physiology major, they only look at your grades in these required courses:
- bio120 and bio130
- (chm135 and chm136) or chm151
- 1.0 credit from mat135, mat136, mat137, mat157, phy131, phy132, phy151, phy152
you just need to be above a certain minimum average in these courses to get into the program. this minimum apparently changes each year, which is common for program requirements. isn’t that just, like, so convenient for us?

sorry i can’t give an exact number, since i’m not in physiology. the academic calendar does say that if you have a grade lower than a 60% in each course or a grade average lower than 70% in these required courses, you won’t be considered for admission. but just because you have higher marks than this doesn’t guarantee admission.

if you wanted my personal (and very possibly straight up wrong!) opinion, you’re only really “guaranteed” to be fine if your course averages are above an 85. so i’d assume the minimum average is somewhere in the bounds of 70 and 80?? idk don’t hold me to that.

since you’re a first year, all the above applies to you. but if you were a second year and above applying for physiology, your whole record may be considered in your admission. this is specified on the same artsci page linked above, which says “applications from students lacking numerical grades in one or more of the specified prerequisites, or students applying in their second or later years, may be considered on the basis of their entire academic record and the availability of space in the program”.

i hope this clarified things, wishing you the best luck (and grades) in your application to physiology!

over and out,

aska

p.s. anyways guys, there have been a lot of questions coming in lately so thanks for everyone’s patience. ~~is it finals week or is it my final week? stay tuned to find out.~~ either way, answering your questions is a top tier way to procrastinate and i hope i am being useful. 😀 love y’all
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anthropology, major, minor, programs

if they don’t say no, it’s a yes

April 9, 2024

I’m from an Ontario high school, can I double major in Anthropology and Archeology and minor in Indigenous studies? Like is that a thing?

hey there,

well, have i got good news for you. *fishes in my pocket* here it is: to my understanding, yes, you can absolutely do a double major in anthropology and archaeology while also doing a minor in indigenous studies. i think that’s a really great combination, those programs compliment each other so well!

below is my explanation. there are a couple reasons why i think you might have asked this question, and i think i’ve got them covered.

1. are anthropology and archaeology too similar?

there is nothing i can find on the department of anthropology website or on the arts & science calendar that says you can’t take both anthropology and archaeology together. i get how it might be confusing because they’re both in the same department, and require several of the same courses. but if they don’t say otherwise, i’m pretty sure you can take them at the same time. because usually, if you can’t take two programs together, they’ll clearly say it on the program pages that i linked above.

and, it’s actually a good thing that archaeology and anthropology are similar. if you do choose to do a double major and a minor, you may be worried about fitting in all the courses into four years, since that minor adds on extra credits to fulfill. but you should know that you’re able to take courses that count towards both of these programs.

for example, if you took ANT100Y1, it would be counted towards both your archaeology and anthropology majors. hitting two credits with one class! that’s not the only one, too. there are many other courses i can see that overlap between these programs. work smarter, not harder.

2. can i take 2 majors and a minor?

another reason you might have asked the question is because it initially seems like you only have 3 program combinations to build your own degree with: one specialist, or two majors, or one major and two minors.

but these options are just the minimum that you need to graduate. some students choose to do more than this, and it’s great! the maximum number of programs you can take is 3, as long as one of them is a minor.

3. 12 distinct credit rule

keep in mind that there is a rule about having 12 distinct credits. this means you need at least 12 different credits that aren’t overlapped, and it kind of just makes sure that people don’t overlap their entire degree. like, there is a limit.

finally, i’d recommend checking out one of my recent answers to a similar question. and if you’re ever unsure about anything programs-wise, or need an Official Answer TM, literally just send an email to the department you’re looking at. they’re so helpful and will have answers, too. (it’s literally their job! take advantage of that!)

good luck with everything, hope this clears things up!

over and out,

aska

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major, programs, specialist

doin the most

March 26, 2024

hiiii!! I’m a high school student looking at uoft programs, do you know if it’s possible to do a specialist and a major at the same time as part of the build your degree? thank you!!

hey there,

great question! yes, it is possible to do a specialist and a major at the same time. you wouldn’t catch me trying that, considering i took too many electives in first year, but all the power to anyone who wants to!

as you can see on the “build your own degree” page, it’s true that the common program combinations are one specialist, or two majors, or one major and two minors. but those are just options that are the minimum needed to graduate. you can absolutely do more, up to a maximum of three programs. but if you do three, one of them has to be a minor.

if you’re doing a specialist, you won’t have to worry about the 12 distinct credit rule, according to the arts & sciences page on program requirements. the 12 distinct credit rule basically says you need 12 credits that don’t overlap and count towards multiple degrees. this rule only applies to majors and minors. so while taking a specialist and a major, it might seem overwhelming to complete all your credits, but you are able to take courses that will count towards both your specialist and major! assuming they’re somewhat related.

for example, if you were doing a specialist in psychology and a major in books & media studies, you could take PSY427 “media psychology” and it would count towards both programs! isn’t that super convenient? i was excited when i found out about that.

just make sure that your programs can be done together, since there are some exceptions where two programs can’t be done together. to my knowledge, this is the case with collaborative life science programs. you can check that out with this short list of program exclusions for the collaborative life science programs under the tab “acceptable combinations”.

and just to be safe, you should also check the specific pages on the arts & sciences calendar website for your programs to see if there are any other exceptions. these pages should be easy to find, but if not, just google “program name uoft” and click on the arts & sciences link.

finally, i’d encourage you to reach out to a recruitment officer if anything else is still confusing! it likely will be, because everything about uni is so confusing at this stage, and we’re just expected to know it all and have it all together? actually, scratch that. everything about life is confusing right now and we’re just expected to know it all.

lol sorry for that pessimistic ending. it’s finals season. but i hope this was helpful, good luck!!

over and out,

aska

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life science, lost, new kids, programs

crash course for incoming students

March 25, 2024

Hey! I got accepted into Life Sci but I’m having some serious second thoughts… I’m not sure if I wanted to major in something science related but I really want to go to UofT, so now I’m stressing over courses. I feel like everywhere I look, I get vague answers, so I was hoping I could recieve a clearer one here :/ are there required courses in first year that are related to the area you’re admitted into, or can you just take whatever prereqs a major has (within arts and sci)?

hey there,

well, you have come to the right place!! before you read all this, the tldr is that you’ll be fine.

when i was accepted into life sci, i was in your exact situation. i wasn’t really sure if i wanted to follow through with science and wanted to try out the arts. the rules around switching around and taking prerequisites are so confusing for incoming students, and for what? it really does not need to be that complicated, so i’ll try to lay it out as clear as i can.

1. admission categories

so when you’re admitted to u of t, you are in an “admission category“. there are six of these in arts & sciences, and they are just a way to group the 340+ program choices into general categories for incoming students. the great thing about admission categories is that they actually give you a lot more freedom to explore during your first year than if you were admitted into a specific program. (here is a list of all the programs included in the life sciences category).

essentially, what i was told for ease of understanding, was that your admission category does not really matter. a common assumption many incoming students make is that your admission category is your program and you’re already tied down and committed. but at this stage, you are not in a program yet—therefore, you can really take any courses you want and shoot for programs that aren’t in your admission category. the only thing your admission category actually has material impact on is getting first-pick during course enrolment.

2. programs of study (POSt)

during the spring of your first year, you will apply to your programs of study (abbreviated as “POSt”). there are three levels of programs: a specialist, a major, and a minor. the difference between these is the number of courses required. most often, people take 2 majors, or 1 specialist, or 1 major and 2 minors. but the maximum number of programs you can enrol in is 3. if this is confusing, sid smith commons has a page with a really great visualizer for what these combinations can look like.

some programs are “open” and some are “limited”. open programs have no prerequisites, while limited programs do. again, sid smith has a page about how to apply to programs.

3. first year pre-requisite courses

to answer your question, yes, pretty much. you can just take whatever pre-reqs a major has within arts & sciences. because remember, at this point, you are not tied down to anything.

for example, if you were admitted into life sciences because you wanted to get into biology (life sci), but now are changing your mind and wanting to major in urban studies (humanities), you could absolutely do that! all you would have to do to get in to the program after first year is take the pre-req courses listed on the artsci website under “enrolment requirements” for that program. that is, if there even are pre-requisites. if there are no pre-reqs, take whatever you want in first year and then select that program on acorn in march!

4. if you’re still confused, here is what i did

in my first year, i was admitted into life sciences, but decided going into it that i didn’t want to do sciences. so i only enrolled in arts courses for my first year. and the spring of my first year, i applied to my open enrolment arts majors. then, i decided to 180 backwards and go back into life sci. so in my second year, i took the first year pre-req courses for the science major i wanted. then in spring of my second year, i applied to my life sci major, keeping my other arts major.

a lot of people’s paths look like a bit zig-zaggy like this. some people know exactly what they want to do, but most people don’t really know! it takes some exploring to figure it out and that’s okay. it’s normal to have second thoughts!

anyways, i hope this clears things up! please drop any more questions that come up. good luck going into first year, you will be amazinggg!

over and out,

aska

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choosing, programs, switching

this person’s got some major problems

November 9, 2023
hi aska,

I already changed up my major a few times (you might remember me based on some info, i settled on Cellular and Molecular Bio) and now im in 2nd year catching up on CHM135, 136, BIO130, and MAT135, and BIO270 (and i have no room for 136 this year, so I’ll either take it in the summer or another year). I was considering dropping my other major (PoliSci) down to a minor and picking up chemistry as another minor depending on how well I do in CHM135 (the registrar said I’d just have to apply for the PoliSci minor in the second session before march) and hopefully switching to a chemistry double major. The only problems are

1) I’ve already taken 2 credits worth of PoliSci classes and I’m currently enrolled in another credits worth.

2) My parents REALLY want me to graduate in 4 years.
So should I risk it for the Chemistry major (with the potential for wasted classes — my breadth is already complete) or just do a double minor, or keep everything the way it is?

hey there,

so it seems like your main problem here is figuring out if you can fit these programs into a four year degree, if you switch into them now. let’s start off with what seems like your ideal choice: to major in cellular and molecular bio, major in chem, and minor in poli sci. to graduate, you’ll choose a program combination from the following options (i’m sure you already know this, but just in case anyone doesn’t know this):
1. a specialist
2. a major and two minors
3. two majors
but these are just the minimum requirements, and some people choose to do more! so if you were to do two majors and a minor, the two majors will satisfy your graduation requirement, and the minor will just be an extra program.

when taking a double major and a minor, you’ll want to try taking courses that will count towards two of your majors. a poli sci minor requires 4.0 credits to complete, a chem major requires 8.0 credits to complete, and a cmb major requires 8.0 credits to complete. this means that you need to complete 20.0 credits over all your programs. cmb and chem have some overlapping courses, which will help. for you, most of the first year chm and mat courses are the same between a chem major and cmb major. for example, you can use mat 135 and chm 135 for both your chem and cmb majors.

however, keep in mind the 12 distinct credits requirement. this would only apply to your two majors, since the minor is extra. between your two majors, there are 16.0 credits, so you can overlap a maximum of 4.0 credits.

and then there’s your other option—to major in cmb, and have 2 minors in poli sci and chem. this would include a total of 16.0 credits to complete. again here, you can overlap a maximum of 4.0 credits. i think this kinda seems simpler, but if you want to major in chem, i say try your best to make it happen! you only have one chance at an undergrad degree ~~(and it’s kinda miserable~~), so you might as well come out of it with programs that you want to have.
if you have 2 years left after this one, it’s hard to tell what option will work. it honestly could be possible to do a double major and minor, but i literally can’t tell without knowing what courses you’ve already taken, and if taking summer school is possible for you. i really think you should take some time and plan out each option for yourself. i would recommend mapping things out on degree explorer, and counting exactly how many FCE’s you need, while making sure you have 12 distinct FCE’s. (this can be confusing, which is why i am gifting you a 12 distinct credits worksheet).

finally, in terms of your first problem, you say that you’ve already taken 2 credits of poli sci courses and are enrolled in 1 credit. tbh, i’m unsure what the problem is here? if you wanted to drop the poli sci major down to a minor, i don’t think you would be wasting courses, since it still would require 4.0 credits to complete? unless the courses you took aren’t counted for the minor.

again, i will always point y’all to your college registrar for these kinds of complicated, multiple pathway questions! i am unfortunately not a psychic or fortune teller. but man, i wish i was.

but for real, i hope this was helpful either way, and literally send another ask if it wasn’t.

over and out,

aska
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new kids, programs

when oh when does first year end?

August 10, 2023
hi, i was wondering: it says you have to apply to POSt after your first year. say i’m going into first year in september 2023. does that mean my first year is over after winter 2024 or after summer 2024?

hey there,

*in good witch glinda voice* when oh when does first year end? well, oh well, that just depends…

assuming you’re enrolled full-time and complete 4.0 FCEs (credits) this year, your first year will be over after the winter 2024 semester. so, in april. (your first year basically just ends when you complete 4 credits.)

when they say to apply to your POSt after first year, they’re referring to the two POSt application periods. if you’re applying for an open program, you can enrol anytime between march and september. for example, this year, open program enrolment is happening between march 1, 2023 and september 20, 2023.

if you’re applying for a limited program, there is a “first request period” between march and july, and a “second request period” between july and september. specifically, this year, limited program enrolment dates look like this:
- first request period:
  - apply from march 1, 2023 – april 28, 2023
  - check results between april 29, 2023 – june 9, 2023
  - enrol by july 7, 2023
- second request period:
  - apply from july 8, 2023 – august 22, 2023
  - check results between august 23, 2023 – september 6, 2023
  - enrol by september 20, 2023
generally, you would apply during the first period if you expect to complete prerequisite courses during the fall/winter session, and you would apply during the second period if you expect to complete prerequisite courses during the summer session. if you wanted to look into it, sidney smith commons has a great description of program enrolment need-to-knows!

best of luck this year. *hands you an ice cream sandwich*

over and out,

aska
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choosing, programs

hear me out what if we made no decisions ever

June 23, 2023

Hello so I am a first-year student, but I started in September 2020. So for the past two years, I was not doing well at U of T and I took a break for a year. So I am coming back in September, and I do not know still what to major in. To be honest, I started at U of T almost 3 years ago. I spent my entire life until last year just focusing on my studies and wanted to take a break. I want to continue my studies and finish what I started. I booked an appointment with an advisor. Any advice?

hi there,

good job, you’ve already done the best thing you can do right now — booking an appointment with an advisor! it’s also great that you took a break. breaks are important.

here is a bit of anecdotal advice from me (an all-knowing deity, ofc). first off, don’t worry, you are not alone. in my first year, every single person around me was very confused and unsure about their major, and it was pure chaos, people changing their minds back and forth between programs the whole year.

if you’re not sure what you want to do with your major yet, you can think about jobs you can picture yourself doing, areas of interest you have, and particular courses or subjects of study you enjoyed from your first year. or, you could think about what kind of job you want, and look up what majors those job postings are looking for on websites like indeed. it would also be smart to take advantage of the fact that you’re surrounded by successful and experienced professionals at u of t: if you end up in any classes that intrigue you, it’s worth trying to get to know your instructor to learn more about the field. finally, the people closest to you, who know you well, can give really valuable advice from an outside perspective.

once you come back to school, it’s worth looking into peer mentorship programs. plenty of people have been stuck on what they want to do, and fellow students who’ve figured it out may be able to help you navigate the confusion. there are several listed here (along with one that is academically focused). but the truth is that lots of people don’t know, and people switch their programs in third year, fourth year, and beyond. again, (i know this does not help but) it’s normal not to know!

choosing a major can feel really overwhelming and unsteady. it made me wish i never had to make any decisions. there are so many exercises meant to help with the decision, and so many points of advice coming from everyone around you, but at the end of the day no quiz or person can tell you what to major in, and you’re going to have to listen to your gut.

with all that said, in these big decisions, don’t freeze up out of fear of making the wrong decision. there’s this quote from sylvia plath’s “the bell jar” that i think about all the time, about how choosing one thing can feel like giving up on everything else. but then if you freeze up and choose nothing because you want everything, the options might pass you by. meanwhile, i am a strong supporter of having a wide range of dreams and not having a set box of what you want to be in the future. i think there’s a bit of excitement, beautiful possibility, and relief in not knowing what you want to do! you will do fine and be amazing, i believe in you.

i hope everything goes well, best of luck!

over and out,

aska

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commerce, current student, programs, subject POST

following your passion

March 25, 2023

I’m currently a first year and I’m planning on going into a commerce program. However, I don’t like math and I literally know nothing about commerce. They say follow your passion, but I don’t have one yet. Stability seems like the next best thing. I don’t know how I’ll survive another year of math, and I def do not know what I want to do with my university life. Would it be difficult to switch from commerce to media/cinima? Or maybe I should take those as minor while commerce is my major?

hello hello,

starting off with the heavy hitting questions, are we? seriously this one is a lil too real :’)

if you’re trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your schooling/life, i guess aska’s a good a place as any to start. but idk if there’s a good and final answer to all that, and even if there is, it probably won’t be coming from some random (albeit extremely wise and knowledgeable) uoft student on the internet, although i’m flattered that you’re asking. ultimately, the answer’s gotta come from you obviously, and it might take some time, but that’s okay. we all go through it. (still going through it.)

No One Knows What They’Re Doings.Gif GIFfrom No One Knows What They’Re Doings GIFs

luckily, uoft does give some leeway to us perpetually indecisive students. most arts and sciences programs let you combine different fields and switch things up if you decide to change your path for whatever reason. if you’re interested in media/cinema or another field, you could take one of their required first year courses to see if it’s something you’d like to pursue further. i think it’d be feasible to fit in a minor alongside commerce, but you’d have to plan carefully to fit in all the courses you need (don’t forget breadth requirements, too). degree explorer is pretty great for that.

it can be hard to completely switch programs in upper years because you’d have to take required courses for programs that might be entirely new to you. it’s technically possible and you could always extend your undergrad later on if needed, but if you feel really unsure about commerce (to the point where you might hate it enough to want to drop the program), it might be better to apply for the commerce program but also take some other electives you’re interested in during second year to fully explore your options. who knows, maybe you’ll find your passion, and if that’s the case, you’ll be set to pivot into it relatively early on. or maybe you’ll still feel unsure, in which case you could still take all the required commerce courses in your upper years and finish with a “useful” degree.

if you decide to switch out of commerce, it’d probably be easiest to do a major and double minor, or even a double major, depending on what programs/courses you prefer. unlike rotman commerce, for example, which just has three specialist streams and a bunch of focuses you could tack on, other artsci students basically have a paralyzing amount of choice in terms of program combinations (no really it’s great… i love it). if you’re still willing to tolerate some math courses, commerce-related minors like economics, math, or stats, have courses which overlap with commerce requirements that could help you complete your program faster rather than starting in something completely new.

honestly, your university path is still pretty wide open, so don’t feel like you have to decide everything now. the world is your oyster – a terrifying kind of oyster. and how do you really go about figuring it all out anyway? it’ll be different for everyone, but i’d recommend looking into mentorship programs or events like career nights or program Q&As with upper years or alumni. lots of student associations organize these, and you could also attend more general ones within your college, too. it’s a pretty low commitment way to learn about what these fields/programs are actually like. you can also get more personalized advice from your registrar.

best of luck!

aska

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