human biology - askastudent

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, 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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human biology, summer

more everything

August 3, 2018

Hey aska,

I just finished first year in life sciences with exactly 3.5 credits, so I’m gonna be in first year again I guess.

Earlier in the summer i asked my registrar if this means I’lll have to do 5 years instead of 4 if i didnt take summer school and she insured me that i wont have to. But the issue is that I want to major in human biology. its a type1 program and i have all i need except for chm136, but i need chm136 for the second year courses. BIO230, HMB204, BCM210 & HMB265. Im worried that these courses may not be available in the summer and I really don’t have a plan for what i could possibly do, anything is helpful.

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hi!

this is a tricky situation. i just wanna preface this response by saying that i’m but a humble student blogger. yes, i am privvy and somewhat all seeing, but people at your registrars office actually know everything. in fact, it’s their job to know everything (or refer you to someone else who knows more everything than their everything). i know that you said that you’ve already talked to them, but i think it may be a good idea to go back for a follow-up appointment to discuss your options.

that being said, i’ll answer your question to the best of my ability.

so, you’re right, you will still be considered a first year student this year (second year students are students with at least 4.0FCE). if you do still want to graduate in four years, it’s still possible! though you may need to take more than 5.0 FCE at some point or summer courses in order to graduate in four years, it’s doable. but, you should keep in mind that it’s totally okay (and normal!) to take more than four years. lots of students even take LESS than 5.0FCE every year and more than 4 years to finish their degrees. work at your own pace. if finishing in four years is super important to you, that’s also valid! just remember that you will probably need to take more than 5.0FCE and summer courses at some point to do that.

as for the courses you want to take, i suggest that you take a look at the faculty of arts and sciences’ timetable to see when those courses are offered. then, you can check to see if you could take those second year courses in the winter semester if you take chm136 in fall semester. according to the timetable, chm136 is offered in the fall, which means that you can take some of the courses that you need chm136 for in the winter semester, if they’re offered.

you can also check out the department’s previous summer offerings to get an idea of what courses will be offered next summer. there’s no guarantee that courses that were offered previously will be offered in the future, but it’s a good way to get a gist of what courses are offered in the summer sessions.

again, i think that going to see someone at your registrar’s office to discuss options and academic planning would be a good idea, but i hope this helps a little.

good luck, i’m rooting for you!

xoxo,

aska

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human biology

battle of the sciences

August 30, 2017

I need to know what the neurosci major is all about. I’ve emailed so many
people but no one is replying. Is it hard? Will it kill my GPA? I’m super
interested in the topics but I ain’t gonna sacrifice my medical career for
it. Is a general human bio major easier? I mean it says that it doesn’t
need stats so I’m in shock.. I’m going into my second year so I’m praying
for the best! Thanks xx

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hi!

to look into what a program is “all about”, you can look it up on the faculty’s calendar. here, there is a short description of the program as well as all the courses that are required for it. by looking at the courses, you can gauge how much you’d enjoy being in the program as well as how well you think you would do. unfortunately, i don’t know how “hard” the major is or if it’ll kill your GPA. all i can say is that if you genuinely enjoy the program and the content of the courses, you won’t find it “hard”.

for the difference between human bio and neuroscience, i would get in contact with the department. they would have the most relevant and up-to-date information.

good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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