• courses,  french,  UTM

    i wish we had a parseltongue class

    September 18, 2014

    Hey there aska! Could you possibly tell me anything about French languages courses, particularly at UTM? I am taking one as an elective (Y course) and am afraid of signing myself up for something that will take up too much time and become a GPA killer. Are languages courses particularly well known as time suckers? Thanks so much, I-want-to-be-bilingual-without-becoming-insane.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    language courses aren’t well-known to me as time suckers, but 1) i don’t go to UTM and 2) i haven’t studied any secondary languages at the post-secondary level. i’m not an expert in the topic.

    BUUT it seems like indications of ease/proficiency in french are pretty clearly indicated in course descriptions.

    this class, for example, is very clearly called ‘advanced beginner,’ specifies a prerequisite, and says that it is not open to native speakers of french.

    if you still feel unsure of the difficulty level to expect, you can always chat with someone at the department of language studies about it.

    also, we’re into the semester now, so hopefully if you decided to take it, you now have a decent idea of how intensive it’ll be. just keep in mind that september 21st is the last day to add or change F or Y section courses, so you’ve only got a few more days to make up your mind!

    cheers, my bilingual bud,

    aska

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  • courses,  enrollment,  UTM

    it is now open season on uoft courses

    August 15, 2014

    if i am on the missigua campus can i take all my classes at the st. george one or at least some?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you can definitely take courses at either UTSC or st. george if you’re a utm student.

    i’m doubtful that you can take all your courses on another campus. there are no rules specifically stopping you from doing so (that i can find), but if you’re a utm student, you do need to meet the requirements for a utm subject POSt, and that’s pretty much impossible to do without taking at least some classes at utm. there are three different campuses for a reason, after all.

    just a note: today happens to be the first day uoft students can enrol in courses at uoft campuses other than their own (thank you for the beautifully timed question, btw), and as you may have noticed, quite a bit of time has passed since course enrolment opened for students on their own campuses.

    so if you ever want to take a course at a different uoft campus, you will always run the risk of not being able to get into the course because it’s already full.

    but you have the schools’ blessing to try.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  UTM

    waiting in agony

    August 5, 2014

    Hiya. I applied to UTM as a non-degree student, and in a previous ask of mine you said the enrollement date for n-ds starts August 16, which is in like..25 days. I haven’t heard anything back yet though and my application still says pending, so are acceptance or rejection letters sent before enrollment dates? Or is there a final date to be notified by? or do I just wait in agony 🙁

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    there isn’t a final notification date (because that would just be downright COMFORTING to students), BUT the general rule of thumb is that they should get back to you in six weeks on the outside.

    firstly, i’d check your status on your join uoft account, just to make sure that all the appropriate documents have been sent in. if you have sent in all your documents and it still says ‘pending,’ and it’s been four weeks or more since you sent in your application, contact enrolment services at st. george to see what’s going on (yes, contact them even though you’re a utm student).

    sorry i can’t be of more help, and i hope this gets sorted out quickly!

    best of luck,

    aska

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  • computer science,  UTM

    a cross-campus migration

    July 28, 2014

    Hey aska!

    I have a small question for you, well not really small. So I’m an incoming first year going into comp sci at utm. I want to transfer to st George after this year but when I looked at program requirement I saw that some courses were different. At utm I need cs 108 and 148 and mat135 and 102. As st George I need Mat 136 and csc108 and 148 and be more cs course not offered at utm. I’m going to take 148 and 108 but what about the math course that has no direct equivalent? Should I wait until the summer and take it at utsg then transfer or take the utm requirement just in case ? And how does the transfer process work? Will you get admitted into a program or just into the university like a first year? I’m so confused and I can’t find much info on how the process work. Anything will help really!

    Thanks,
    Extremely Lost

    ———————————————

    hey there extremely lost,

    i know it’s hard to believe, but a lot could change between this year and next year. you may decide you don’t want to transfer, or your transfer app. could be refused. either way, it’s important that you make sure you’re taking the first-year comp. sci. requirements for utm, just in case you stick around there longer than you plan to.

    but let’s say you do apply to transfer. not all the courses at each campus are going to match up. otherwise it’d be…you know…the same program. your MAT134Y5/135Y5/137Y5 may (though i can’t say this with any certainty because i don’t work at transfer credit) count as equivalent to our MAT135H1/136H1, so i wouldn’t worry too much about that.

    as long as you take your req’d utm courses and your marks are competitive, you’ll be eligible to apply to st. george. i doubt it’ll be necessary to take any courses downtown.

    if you do apply to transfer, there are two possibilities. the first is that you’re accepted into the computer science specialist or major. the second is that you’re not accepted to the programs, but you are accepted to UTSG as a general, program-less student, in which case you could retake CSC148H1 and CSC165H1 to try and get a higher mark and apply again. the process to transfer follows roughly the same timeline as the timeline to apply straight from high school. you can learn more specifics here and here.

    that’s a pretty quick and dirty explanation. if you do some more research and you run into any more confusion, don’t hesitate to e-mail back! best of luck with it.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • subject POST,  UTM

    lmgtfy

    July 25, 2014

    Ok. So im currently enrolled in the forensics program at utm. My question is for forensic science specialties subject post prerequisites. Do I have to take physics before applying for forensic subject post or it can be done after first year. Plus if I change my mind and apply for other biology and chemistry related subject posts do- which classes are required in the first year for applying into the post. For example in comparative physiology program- what are the mandatory prereqs before applying in subject post. Besides bio, chem and math.
    Thanks – I hope u understand my question.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i understood your question; you’re basically asking me to read the course calendar for you and spoon-feed you the information. well. you can probably guess how i feel about that.

    i’m not sure exactly which POSt you’re talking about. the Forensic Science (Science) POSt is only offered as a major, but it is also the only Forensic Science program which requires physics. you don’t have to do it in first year, but you do have to do it at some point, so you may as well.

    the rest of the specialists require a certain number of ‘science credits’ which are either unspecified or don’t include physics. you can see all that on the course calendar.

    for comparative physiology, “[s]tudents wishing to enrol at the end of the first year (4.0 credits) must obtain a grade of at least 65% in both CHM110H5 and CHM120H5 and a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 to qualify.” you should probably also complete BIO152, 153, MAT134/5/7, and 1.0 FCEs from either CLA201H5, ENV100Y5, ERS120H5, PHY136H5, PHY137H5, PSY100Y5, WRI203H5, or WRI307H5 in order to keep up with the pace of the program, though you don’t have to do it all in first year.

    i hope that helps. i’ll give you a pass this time because you’re a first year who maybe doesn’t know about the calendar and the world is bigger and scarier than ever and life is rough for you right now – but please don’t ask me to do that again.

    ttfn,

    aska

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  • art,  courses,  UTM

    how much learning is enough learning

    July 22, 2014

    hey I’m entering the program for UTM’s art and art history program and I was just wondering what would be the recommended number of courses I should take? Should I take the full work of 5 in one semester or should I take a few because of the studio workloads?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    this is kind of something you have to figure out for yourself, so keep that in mind before you take anything i’m about to say as gospel. also, first year is the time to figure these things?out, so if you don’t get it right this year, don’t worry: you’ve got three more?tries left.

    if you decide to enrol in fewer than 5.0 courses for Fall/Winter, you will probably end up taking summer courses. for someone?like me who’s?allergic to working on nice, summer days, that’s not the best idea. on the other hand, if you want to spread?out your course load over a full year, taking a couple credits every summer, then maybe it is.

    that said, UTM didn’t design the program to be impossible with a full course-load. according to this PDF, the studio courses are restricted to tuesdays and thursdays, leaving mondays, wednesdays and fridays for art history and other UTM courses. also, keep in mind that it costs more to take 4.0 courses during the year and 1.0 in the summer than it does to take 5.0 all in one go.

    if you’re really uncertain, plan out a hypothetical weekly schedule with 5.0 FCEs (include?professional hula-hooping or whatever other commitments you may have) and see if it looks manageable for you.?if not, start cutting things out of your schedule (ideally NOT sleep or eating).

    and remember that no matter how many courses you enrol in, if it turns out to be too much when school starts, you can always drop a few classes – just make sure to do it before september 21st.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • UTM

    taking a break

    July 22, 2014

    hey,

    I’m supposed to be entering my second year in September. But what if I decided to take a year off for personal reason/financial reasons, would I have to fill out a form or do something specific. Basically if I don’t come back this September will I be able to enrol in further semesters such as September 2015 fall/winter or will UTM just assume I’ve given up on university (doubt the latter is the case).

    Thank you in advance

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    for some reason, all three campuses are REALLY SILENT on this issue. i trawled the UTM FAQ database for like half an hour and the only link i’ve been able to come up with is this one.

    seems like you can take a break whenever you like, but if you take 12 months off, you’ll have to pay 25 bucks to reactivate your account when you come back. but, you know, you won’t have to pay full-time tuition for the year you’re off, so hopefully that counts for something.

    double-check with UTM’s registrar to make sure, but i think you should just be able to pack up and go.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • subject POST,  UTM

    I Don’t Mind waiting to get into IDM

    July 18, 2014

    Hello,
    So, I’m going into third year starting September, in CCIT. With this program (major) I am allowed to choose either another major, two minors, or a specialist (DEM or IDM). Right now I’m enrolled in the major, and two minors (SOC and VCC), but I want to take the IDM specialist. In the first and second years I did not meet the requirements to enrol in the specialist, but since then my GPA has increased and now does meet the minimum requirement.
    Is it too late to apply for the specialist now? I completed the required first year courses, and 2nd year courses were exclusive to those enrolled in the specialist. Can I still get into the specialist and catch up?
    Please let me know, thanks a lot!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    firstly, thank you for using all acronyms that i am not familiar with. i really love when students do that. (also, who knew interactive digital media was a program? i interact digitally with people all the time! i should receive an honorary degree).

    i doubt you’ll be able to get in after now. according to the calendar, “[s]tudents may apply to enrol after having completed this program’s requirements in the first year with a grade of 65% in both CCT109H5 and CCT110H5.” the fact that they specifically said “in the first year” means they probably don’t accept people after second year. but the wording is ambiguous, so i wouldn’t give up just yet.

    departments sometimes make exceptions for a few upper-year students, depending on the program. i’d give them a call and explain your situation, just in case they’re willing to consider you. all the department contacts are here.

    best,

    aska

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  • online courses,  UTM

    what is the internet?

    July 7, 2014

    Hi,
    I am currently a first year student in UTM. Unfortunately, due to my health situation, I may not be able to continue the next semester. I plan to postpone it and take online courses instead. I was wondering if you could tell me: Can the online courses be counted toward my final credits? That would be a great help! Thank you for your time and effort.
    Kind regards.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    online courses work the same way as regular courses except that they’re, well, online. so they count for credit the same way regular courses do, and you register for them on ROSI like with any other course.

    i don’t know what your plans are, but there isn’t a huge selection of online courses, so i hope you weren’t planning to do a full semester online. (so much for millenials living on the internet. sometimes i can’t even get internet connection to go on facebook while i’m in lecture?- it’s like i’m a cave person).

    there’s a full list of online courses here.

    hope your health situation clears up, mi amigo.

    best,

    aska

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  • admissions,  UTM

    i’m not waiting on a lady, i’m just waiting on a friend (UTM)

    July 3, 2014

    I applied as a transfer student late in the year to Western and the University of Toronto Mississauga. UTM is my first choice. I got an acceptance back in a few weeks from Western, but still have had no response from UTM. I applied to UTM in mid-April. They say that you will hear a response about 8 weeks after your final document is received-they received my final transcript on May 8th, but all of the other documents were in before April 24th. My application is currently “recieved-to be reviewed” I emailed an admissions manager at UTM in late May to confirm that they had received all of my documents and she told me that the enrolment office is busy at this time and it will take a while for them to review the documents, but it has been a month since then.Since I have applied, they have extended their application deadline which makes me think that they still need students.

    Is this normal? When is the latest I will hear back? I am getting nervous because if I end up going to Western I have a lot I need to figure out. I am just waiting on UTM.

    Thanks so much!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    arghhh, that sounds like a very frustrating situation. however, if they’ve received all your documents and you double-checked with someone personally at utm about your application, there’s nothing more you can do. there’s nothing abnormal about the situation. you’ve just gotta sit tight and wait, as MADDENING as that is.

    might i add that the people at utm know about these things a lot more than aska, so calling them was definitely the right thing to do. go you.

    i guess the deadline you’re talking about is this one extended to july 4th. who knows why they extended it, but utm says that “[a]fter February 1, applications are considered on a first-come, first-serve basis.” so if they received your app, then it’s in line to be reviewed. how long it’ll take, though, i don’t know. there’s no maximum or minimum wait time at this point.

    i know that really doesn’t help, but i do feel your pain. do you feel my commiseration through the screen? i hope so.

    best of luck,

    aska

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  • commerce,  rotman,  UTM

    rotman’s a riot

    June 25, 2014

    Hi aska! I have a series of questions and I hope you can help me with them! As background info, I’m a UTM first-year going into second year, and I am unsure if I want to stay at UTM or if I want to transfer to UTSG. I’m planning on specializing in accounting and majoring in economics. Here it goes:

    1) Is there a significant difference between UTM Commerce and Rotman Commerce? I know we both get a BCom degree from U of T, but from reading internet posts, it seems like they’re two different worlds.

    2) I’m unsure whether UTM was the right choice for me, and seem to be inclined to want to transfer to UTSG. Don’t get me wrong, I love UTM, but there’s something that’s telling me that UTSG is where I belong. Is it easy to transfer internally??

    3) I really want to get into Commerce, but if I transfer into UTSG, I know that Rotman Commerce is very difficult to get into after first year. Since they don’t publish an official cutoff for ArtSci transfers, do you know what the unofficial cutoff could be? Like the average of the people that were able to transfer? (BTW, I completed most of the required 1st-year courses, except for MGT120 which I’m just about to complete.)

    4) I went to the Internal Transfers application website, and noticed that there are no transfers available for UTSG. Is there a specific timeframe as to when we’re allowed to complete a transfer application?

    5) If I apply for a transfer to ArtSci, and they accept me, do I instantly get kicked out of UTM? What if I change my mind and want to stay at UTM?

    6) Is there a GPA cutoff for transferring to ArtSci? If I do plan on transferring, I want to apply to University College. Does it have a minimum GPA or requirements?

    I’m sorry for making this long, and trust me, I also want to go over this with my Registrar. However, I think it would be awkward talking to them about transferring out. Thank you in advance! Take care aska!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    wow. lot of ground to cover here. why don’t we just get right to it?

    1. they’re different in some ways, but probably not as much as people at either school say. you can take a look at the program requirements for rotman’s programs and UTM’s and make a judgement call yourself. you can also read more about rotman’s programs here.

    obviously, rotman’s behemoth reputation is the elephant in the room that i can’t address, because i just don’t know how much of that is accurate, and how much is just good marketing. i do know that the programs are different enough that students in rotman can’t take the equivalent UTM or UTSC courses for their degree.

    people are always gonna try to create an us-versus-them binary, so to some extent, you just have to ignore that stuff. however, you do need to decide which one is right for you, and the best way to do that is actually visit rotman yourself. they can even connect you with a current student who can give you the inside scoop about their experience!

    2. just to be clear, rotman commerce does not accept internal transfers. you would have to transfer to the Faculty of Arts & Science into some other program and then apply to rotman after second year. here are the stats for registered transfer applicants versus transfer applicants at uoft – but keep in mind this data is from 2008 and has probably changed. the world’s changed a lot since then; crazy frog isn’t even popular anymore.

    3. yes, it is very diffcult (from rotman: “Entry into Rotman Commerce through this route is very competitive. Students who apply are advised to simultaneously ensure that they have appropriate prerequisites for other Arts and Science programs of interest.“) as always, i have no idea about cutoffs to programs. rotman doesn’t tell me these things. (rude, tbh. but what’re you gonna do?)

    4. the deadline to transfer internally to the faculty of arts & science was january 31st.

    5. as far as i know, you would just have to accept the offer of admission from UTSG. but double-check with your registrar.

    6. at least a B average.

    i’m all for talking to your registrar about your options (as always), but at this point, you’re looking at: transferring to UTSG, possibly having to spend an extra year in the Faculty of Arts & Science (to take RSM100Y, at least), applying to rotman and then hoping to get in despite the extremely competitive admissions process. it seems to me like it would be a lot easier to stay in UTM commerce, but as always, it is your decision. whatever feels right, is right.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  UTM

    course payments make my head spin

    June 23, 2014

    I’m trying to get into an S summer course. I’m the first person on the waitlist. This is my own fault because I didn’t enroll sooner. Today is actually the last day to pay the minimum fee to register. On important dates, it says that July 4th is when they will start to charge late registration fees. But the waitlist for S summer courses ends July 13! My question is will I have to pay late reg fees if I get into my course after July 4th?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    heads up guys, it’s REALLY HELPFUL if you tell me what school you’re at before giving me your question. since i’m a top sleuth, i’m pretty certain you’re a UTM student, but i can’t be sleuthing all the time. detectives get tired, you know.

    i can’t find any evidence that today was the last day to pay minimum registration fees, so i’m just gonna have to trust you on that. also, this is all assuming you’re not in any other courses for the summer.

    if you have already paid and are registered, i would assume that you shouldn’t be charged those late registration fees, regardless of when and if you get put into the course. however, i can’t find any concrete information from UTM about it, so it’s best to contact them.

    if you haven’t paid yet, you’ll probably be financially cancelled, in which case you wouldn’t be able to enrol in courses at all. if this is the case, then you should definitely call your registrar’s office as soon as it opens tomorrow and ask if you can still pay and what the consequences will be.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  registration,  UTM

    enrolgistered

    June 18, 2014

    Hi, I was just wondering how do you know if you’ve successfully enrolled at utm? I’m pretty sure I have but I want to double check…

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m not sure what exactly you’re asking, so i’m just gonna answer every interpretation of the question i can think of and cover all my bases.

    if you mean, “how do i know if i’m enrolled in courses?” then: course enrolment at UTM doesn’t start until july 3rd for first-years – you can see your start time for enrolment beginning on June 27th. course enrolment has already started for all other years.

    in both cases, you enrol in courses online through ROSI. ROSI will tell you if you’re successfully enrolled in each course as you enrol in it.

    if you mean, “how do i know if i’m registered at the school?” then: if you’re a first-year student, all you’ve gotta do is accept your offer on OUAC and pay or defer your fees by August 19th. if you’re a returning student, make sure to enrol in subject POSts (if applicable) by August 29th, pay minimum meal plan/rez fees by August 15th, and pay or defer your school fees by August 19th.

    regardless of your year, your status appear on ROSI as “invited” starting about the beginning of july, until you make the minimum tuition fee payment, and then it will appear as “registered.”

    cheers,

    aska

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