grades - askastudent

admissions, applying for U of T, grades

me when my permanent record is permanent

June 28, 2024

Hello,

If My grade 11 average is not good and I do extremely well in Grade 12 is it possible to submit my Grade 12 grades to UofT without them looking at my Grade 11 grades.

hey there,

unfortunately, no, this is not possible. that really sucks though.

when you apply to U of T, you pretty much just submit the grades on your transcript, and there’s no way to erase your grade 11 marks from your transcript. U of T considers you based on both your grade 11 and 12 marks, especially since your final grade 12 marks won’t be out yet when you apply.

for more details on how your high school marks are considered in your application, i recommend you check out what i wrote in my previous answer here.

the short answer is, your grade 11 marks do need to be looked at, but they aren’t the make-or-break factor. if you aren’t shooting for an early acceptance, your grade 12 marks are more important. the best thing you can do for now is just do your best in grade 12! in the case that you do apply early and your grade 11 marks are too low, you have a chance to be reconsidered when you grade 12 marks are released — as long as there is still space in your program.

sorry for the bummer. wishing you the best! you’ve got this.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, grades, repeating course

am i helpful or am i delusional

June 28, 2024
Hello, I am planning on going into life science (or biochemistry, health sciences) and I am currently stressing about my grade 11 grades, I am going to end up with a low 80 in chemistry and advance functions. I have decided to redo these courses over the summer (aiming to get 90s). Will universities care about me redoing 2 grade 11 courses? Will my chances of getting into the program be better vs me not redoing it at all?

hey there,

that sounds like a stressful situation! when i was in high school, i remember being confused about how much my grade 11 marks mattered for university admissions too.

but now, i know all the secrets about admissions. jk not really, but in the process of answering questions, i’ve spent hours perusing U of T websites and have cross-referenced everything they officially release. weird flex sure, but it means i can help you.

so tune in while i take some really confusing information and present it to you in a slightly less confusing way. (i hope? y’all would tell me if i wasn’t making sense right)
1. how your high school marks matter in admissions
at U of T, all applicants are considered based on their top six academic grade 12 courses. the marks of these courses are used to calculate your admission average.

meanwhile, when you apply to U of T, you’ll apply to one of six admission categories. these are basically just a way that the university sorts all applicants, because, well, when you’ve got 340 something programs, it can get complicated. instead, there are just general admission requirements in six different categories. to get into the life science admission category, you have to take two pre-requisite courses: english 12 and calculus 12. as pre-requisite courses, those are going to have to be included in the six grade 12 courses that determine your average.

so what does that mean for you? well, that means your grade 11 marks shouldn’t be the make-or-break factor, and they’re generally considered alongside your grade 12 marks. eg. if your grade 11 courses are low, you can have your application re-considered using your grade 12 marks when they come out. according to the general admission requirements website, grade 11 marks are mostly considered in pre-requisite courses for early or conditional offers of admission. (note that chemistry is not included in your pre-req list!)

the way i understand it is that the balance of your grade 11 and grade 12 marks really just depends on the space the program has, and how soon your grade 12 marks in pre-requisite courses come out.

i hope that all makes sense, it’s a bit of a complicated process to understand and nothing is clear-cut. but it really helps to know all this when making your decision.

2. repeated courses

meanwhile, does UofT care about repeated courses? officially, the site on admission decisions says that “while we recognize that there may be valid reasons for repeating a course, we urge you to do as well as possible on your first attempt. in some instances, repeated courses will not be accepted for competitive admission categories”.

wow, that was sO clarifying of them.

but yeah, this doesn’t really tell you that much. i believe life sciences lands kind of in the middle of the spectrum for competitiveness — it’s harder to get into than social sciences and humanities, though it’s not as bad as computer science or rotman. personally, i think it might be fine to repeat courses if they’re grade 11 courses, since grade 12 courses seem to matter more. but if you do repeat them, just make sure that you disclose the repeated courses in your application.

anyway. that’s it from me. i hope this helped, convoluted as it was. good luck with everything, i’m rooting for you!

over and out,

aska
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admissions, engineering, grades

wait for me

May 16, 2024

I’m currently in grade 11 and have a 85 average and in HOSA (and going to be president in my club soon), I want to get into uoft for mechanical engineering, I want to try to get higher grades for grade 12, but will my grade 11 marks be considered a lot for my admission or will they wait for my grade 12 marks?

hey there,

ok, right now, i think all you can do is just stick to your plan and try to get higher grades for grade 12. because, the weight that your grade 11 marks hold against your grade 12 marks just depends on a whole bunch of factors.

first, i’d recommend reading through this faq page, which details a lot of important need-to-knows about admissions! i’ll be drawing some info from there.

as you can see on this important deadlines page, there are two rounds of admissions decisions: students who submit their OUAC application by nov 7 and their engineering application by dec 1 are considered under round one (aka. early consideration). meanwhile, those who submit everything by jan 15 are considered under round two.

the answer to your question depends on which round of admissions you’re considered under, and how soon your school releases your grade 12 marks. in my experience, it makes a difference whether you go by the quarter semester system or the three term system. if you’re considered during round one, there’s a chance you won’t have many grade 12 marks released yet, so they’ll mostly look at your grade 11 marks and whatever grade 12 marks are available. so basically, from the way i understand it, it all really depends on your school’s term system.

however, it is all going to be okay if you’re not admitted under round one due to unavailable grades. you will just be considered again in round two as more of your grades come out.

nothing is really set in stone, but ultimately, you don’t have to worry about applying early if your grade 11 marks aren’t as high as you’d like them to be. after all, the admission committee say they “may hold applications to wait for more information” if you applied early. so overall, yes. they should wait for your grade 12 marks to be released ~~from depths of the underworld~~.

(if you don’t get this reference, you are simply uncultured)

also, i found on this same page that canadian students’ admission averages for mechanical engineering is within the high 80s to low 90s. i think you have a good chance if you succeed in getting those good grades in grade 12! they also say that extracurriculars are considered, so good on you for being extracurricular-ly involved! that will help you out.

sooo good luck with everything, reach out if you have more questions!! you’ve got this.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, grades, prospective student

grade 11? i don’t know her

September 16, 2022

hi, i just finished grade 11, and i ended with mid 70 to high 60 for my courses. i recently moved here from alberta and in albertian uni’s, they check both gr11 and 12 marks, but here, i’ve been told that they dont look at gr11 marks as much. i was wondering if that was true, like if they dont really care about gr11 marks unless you pre-enroll(which i am not). also, is there like a certain average i should have in gr12 to sort of ‘cancel’ my gr11 marks? the course i wanna get into is bio-med, ty

hey there,

welcome welcome! yes, it’s true. most ontario unis only care about your grade 12 marks, not grade 11. each uni posts their own admissions requirements (the uoft one is here) but they usually only judge you on six of your grade 12 courses, which include any required courses for the program you’re applying for, and other electives where you got the highest marks. pretty sweet, i know.

Bless You GIFfrom Bless GIFs

grade 11 marks only really matter for early consideration, if the marks for your required grade 12 courses aren’t available yet, and scholarships. even for really competitive programs, i’ve rarely seen ones that use grade 11 marks for admissions (at least for regular acceptance).

the admissions averages can vary for different programs and unis but if you’re interested in something like uoft life sciences (biology etc), you should be aiming for at least mid to high 80s, which is pretty similar to biomed type programs at other unis from what i remember. so don’t sweat it, just focus on working your ass off this year because the past is (mostly) in the past.

Were Past It Lets Move On Danni King GIFfrom Were Past It Lets Move On GIFs

good luck,

aska

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grades, writing centre

how 2 write good

February 18, 2021

Hi! So I’m a first year who’s taking a lot of English/literature/writing courses. I knew that my marks would drop a lot coming to uni, and I’m proud of myself for the marks I’m getting. However, I was wondering if you have any tips for improving our writing. I always get somewhere in the low 80s for my marks on my essays, and the highest I’ve gotten is an 85. Again, I’m super happy with myself, but I’m just genuinely getting confused on how to improve. I’ve gone to my profs/TAs office hours for feedback, and also go to the writing centre for each assignment. But it seems like regardless of whether I take in their feedback or not, I’m always stuck in this little range of grades. So, I was wondering if you have any tips or advice. Thanks 🙂

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hey there,

i hope your first year has been going all right given the circumstances, and i’m glad you reached out about this! you should be proud of yourself, you are doing great during a particularly difficult time to be adjusting to the academic demands of university.

it’s great that you’re going to office hours for feedback and visiting the writing centre — those are really the two best things you can do. you can also find some really great resources for papers at writing.utoronto.ca, or book an appointment with a learning strategist if you’re interested in improving your paper-writing process.

i do wonder if there’s a more effective way you could be asking for feedback.

if you’re able to consistently book time with the same writing centre instructor, for example, they’ll get to know your writing style better and might make stronger recommendations. i’ve been working with the same instructor for over a year now, and during my appointments, i feel like i’m actually receiving really valuable lessons. she now takes the time to explain sentence structure and grammar to me, where she mostly would’ve just made corrections when we didn’t know each other quite as well. if you’re able to try something similar, that might improve the quality of the feedback you receive.

alternatively, you can try bringing old papers to office hours during the first few weeks of a new class, and ask your instructor to look over your writing style and make early recommendations for things you can work on. if you let them know that you’re really keen on succeeding in their class and improving your skills, i can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to help you.

you may also want to look into the english students’ union, and see if they run any mentorship or peer help programs. in my experience, most upper years at u of t are really kind and happy to help you succeed, so if you can find someone who’s been studying english for a while, you might be able to get some good pointers that way.

apart from that, i truly think the best way to become a better writer is to become a more critical reader. if you can learn to deconstruct an essay that you think is particularly well written, figure out why it works, and apply that to your own writing, you’ll be in a much better position. i don’t know if you know this, but i believe the writing centre can actually help you with learning to read more critically. you can bring a reading from class in and go through it with an instructor.

i’ve actually never taken an english course at u of t, so i don’t feel like the most qualified person to give you tips on this.

plus, it’s really hard to tell someone how to improve their writing without reading a paper that they’ve written! but i hope something in here has at least given you an idea of how to move forward.

good luck with the rest of your semester! i hope you’re able to achieve your grade goals soon.

be Boundless,

aska

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grades

what even is a bell curve

January 13, 2021

hi there! I was wondering if you could maybe explain bell curves. I don’t really understand what these are but they sound daunting haha. one of my profs mentioned it and it made me confused so :’)

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hey!

it’s totally fair to be confused by bell curves. honestly, i don’t really understand them that much either, and from what i understand, the effects of bell curving can vary depending on what average is selected for the bell. this western gazette piece explains bell curving and its complications better than i can, so check it out.

anyway, according to this varsity article, bell curves aren’t even allowed in the faculty of arts and science.

so if you’re taking an artsci course and your prof is bell curving you, try getting in touch with the ASSU and see if there’s any advocacy they can do for you and your classmates. i’m not super sure what the rules are outside artsci, so if you’re part of a different faculty i’d suggest emailing your registrar’s office (or faculty) to find out.

be Boundless,

aska

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grades

schrodinger’s grades

January 3, 2021

Where do we check our grades. I swear i never hear back after finals for weeks

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hey there,

happy new year and thank you for your patience with this answer! i took a few days off at the end of the year because exhaustion lol.

you should be able to check your grades on ACORN when they’re up. after you log into the platform using your UTORID, you should see a bar on the side divided into different categories.

the fourth option under ‘ACADEMICS’ should be ‘academic history,’ and all your final marks will be posted there after they’ve been submitted by your instructors and approved by the department. you should also be able to see the course averages for those classes, and the number of credits you earned for the semester.

sometimes it can take a while for those grades to be posted. most of my classes are still “IPR” right now, or in progress. are my final grades good? are they bad? in my head, they’ll be both until i see them and find out for sure. i expect all grades will be out before january 15, given that that’s the CR/NCR deadline for artsci.

i hope this helped!

be Boundless,

aska

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GPA, grades, non degree

back to school you go?

April 29, 2020
Hey Aska, so I am thinking about the possibility of upgrading my GPA as a non-degree student. Since I didn’t think my GPA for my last two years was competitive (mid B range), I decided to take a year off to work, but now that I’ve lost that job opportunity due to Covid-19, I considered doing 2 or 3 courses at UTM. The problem is even with getting a 4.0 in those 2-3 courses, the most my GPA for the last two years will increase too is a high B+. I’ve been debating if the money & time is worth it.

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hey there,

hope you’re holding up all right and sorry about your job! i know these are tough times all around.

even under normal circumstances, it sucks to have plans upended. i hope that other, even better opportunities are in your future and that you have enough to stay on your feet right now.

anyhow, if you’re asking me whether or not i think it’s worth it for you to go back to school to raise your gpa, well… that depends, doesn’t it? if you’re not going to use your GPA for anything (ie. grad school or something else??) then i’d say the answer is probably no.

sometimes people go back to school to work on their GPA just cause it bothers them so much, or because they’re worried about how their GPA will look on a resume. which, if it’s the latter, i wouldn’t worry… i’ve been told by a peer career advisor that it doesn’t even really matter whether or not your GPA is on a resume, in terms of employment. and if it’s the former reason… i dunno. i just don’t think it’s worth the resources, yknow?

anyway, you didn’t specify what your motivation was, but my guess is that it’s neither of those (included them to cover my bases in case i’m wrong lol). i think you were intending on going to grad school, given that you mentioned you took “a year off” to work. a year off from education, i’m presuming?

if i am indeed the ultimate detective slash genius that i think i am, and you are indeed thinking of doing this for grad school purposes, here are a few things i think you should note as you weigh your decision:

grad schools will be able to see that you raised your GPA by completing courses as a non-degree student, and will take this into account

like you mentioned, doing well in two or three courses won’t work miracles for a GPA that took several years to take shape.

it would be best if you check in with the grad school programs you’re considering and see how they feel about this avenue of GPA-raising, as well as whether they think it would be a good idea / give you an edge / detract from the way they consider your GPA. it’s hard for me to speak for them, given i have literally zero experience in grad school admissions.

it might be useful to contact your registrar and see what they think, as well. if you graduated recently, they should still have your info on file and may be able to provide guidance as to whether or not taking more courses is worth it.

also, just so you know, online school (so far) has actually really sucked. that might be useful to take into account if you’re planning to complete those two or three courses this summer. it’s hard to focus on your schoolwork when you’re staring at a screen for so long, many profs have no frickin’ clue what they’re doing, some online exams are truly designed to screw you over… man. if i could dodge online school without interfering so much with these glorious (read: so terribly mundane) plans i have for my life, i would.

anyway, ball’s in your court. good luck making the decision.

be Boundless,

aska
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GPA, grad school, grades, graduation, health

this post has been brought to you by my last half brain cell

December 11, 2019

So basically I really really messed up last year I filed petition for not writing exam due to health issues.. I was diagnosed with spinal cancer and things were just really hard… and I read the petition form has to be
signed within the day of the exam or the next day but because I was unwell it ended up getting it after a couple days and I got scared and changed the date by 3 days I did this for 1.5 credits …. I was super honest about my mistake and they said from May 2019-December 2019 I’ll be suspended and the 1.5 credits will be a 0..

I don’t mind I was suspended at the time cuz I had to have emergency surgery to remove the tumor because the dr said if I don’t I’ll become paralyzed and wheelchair bound sooo in April 24 I did the surgery hoping I would be able to walk again and by May 15 I left rehab walking!!! And now this winter I’ll be doing some tests just to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned so things were crazy…

But now I realize that I’m suspended cuz u tried going into my email or acorn and it isn’t working and I’m freaking out!! Cuz before I didn’t think I could even walk to school and would rather quit if that’s what happened, but thankfully I am fully recovered and now It is hitting me that I’m suspended and when I was in high school i was never the type and I’m just really sad and disappointed in myself…

I’m worried I won’t be able to enroll for Jan-April 2020 did they kick me out of uni? How do I know I can start to log in and enroll just in time for classes in January? Should I go to uni to see in December or just wait till the start of January??

And I’m actually a 4th year and barely completed any classes due to extreme fatigue and pain… but now I feel so much healthier and think I can graduate either as a 6th or 7th year… but if I were to apply for grad
schools like masters for microbiology or immunology would they see that I stayed at school for too long and not want me??

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I basically got enrolled!! so scratch that question… But since 1.5 credits are a zero i was wondering if i were to take a total of 29 credits.. would those extra 9 be added in the final gpa?? I feel if i were to do that many extra credits i would be happy with my gpa.. But is that allowed??

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hey there,

sorry for the wait in getting this question answered– glad you managed to get fully recovered and enrolled again! it sounds like the last few years have been a wild ride for you and it’s good that you’re doing better now. we love feeling healthy.

even though you said you resolved the issues in the first question you sent in, i do kinda wanna address them. you should have been able to access your email and ACORN while suspended– the only thing you don’t have access to while on suspension is course enrolment. that section of your ACORN would probably have been blocked, but everything else should have been available for you. i’m not too sure what happened, but from what you said i guess you managed to resolve it. if you ever run into similarly confusing circumstances, i wouldn’t advise waiting– always contact your registrar if something seems to be wrong. if it’s too inconvenient for you to go in person, feel free to email them or give them a call. that’s what they’re there for, after all!

as for your questions about grad school– yes, they would be able to see from your transcript how long you’ve been in school, but what you may not know is that grad school apps usually give you an opportunity to explain any academic anomalies you might have. you’d be able to let them know about your health issues (which are 100% valid) and they’d take that into account when considering you for admissions. hopefully that eases your mind a bit. you shouldn’t be expected to finish in four years if students not dealing with your level of health concerns have trouble finishing in four years, too.

as for your question about GPA — technically, yes, you can boost your GPA by taking an extra 9 credits after you complete your 20. according to the rules and regulations, the courses you take beyond 20 credits don’t qualify for exception from your CGPA. i found out today that actually, you can even graduate and continue to take courses and have them count towards your CGPA. hope that helps you out– keep in mind that the more credits you take, the less each one affects your CGPA. so it can be kind of hard to go beyond 20 and pull your GPA up significantly. but hey, if it’s the loophole you need it’s the loophole you have.

the more times i use this gif the funnier it gets. instead of one dude lifting the roof, you get several doing it in sync. here’s one more just because.

be Boundless,

aska

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grades, midterms

lol are midterms even over yet

December 3, 2019

Have all the midterm marks been sent out to the students at U of T yet?

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hey there,

this is an easy one to answer. no, they have not. obviously this is gonna vary by program, class, etc.– someone who’s been done their midterms for a few weeks may have those midterm marks already. i (who am only just finishing mine, what is UP with that) am not expecting those grades for a bit.

if you’re a current student concerned about your midterm marks not being out for some reason, i’d advise that you talk to either your registrar or your profs. i’m not really sure why you’re asking this (out of curiosity? for grad schools? i dunno) but i hope this answered your question!

be Boundless,

aska

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fees, GPA, grades, health and wellness, mental health, OSAP

mario kart ghost mode is the only mode that matters

March 15, 2019

Hi there,

I am currently in my third year at UTSG and sitting at a 2.61 GPA and I am feeling pretty shitty about myself, I had a pretty rough last semester, but am trying to get myself back on track for my last year and a half. Is messing up a semester going to set me back significantly? do you think that taking summer courses and trying to get good grades in my 4th year would be enough time for me to pull my GPA back up? I feel really bad because I went from a 2.9 in my first year to a 2.61 in my first semester of third year, because of personal reasons and I also changed programs. How do I stop comparing myself to the accomplishment of others? I know my GPA is not the worst, still a B, but it is so hard being surrounded by others who are doing so well, and is so toxic and damaging to my mental health.

ALSO OSAP QUESTION

I was advised by my registrar to drop the courses that I was not doing well in this year to save my GPA, which brought me to 3 courses per term, which is still a full time status, and was told that i would not get in trouble with OSAP for dropping these courses. Is this correct? I am afraid to drop the courses I want to this semester because of this and I do not want to get into any type of trouble with osap.

thanks..

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hello!

coupla questions here, so i guess i’ll break it up like i usually do.

can i pull my gpa up?

i thought about this one for a while. looked at the numbers and all, and tried to figure out if there was some mathy way i could give you reassurance. unfortunately, my brain doesn’t really work like that, but i can link you to the u of t gpa calculator that will be able to give you a more definitive answer anyway. basically, it’ll let you input your grades so far, as well as hypothetical grades for future semesters. then, it’ll calculate your SGPA and CGPA with all that considered.

the thing with summer courses is that they are accelerated, so they can sometimes be harder to do well in. so just be cautious before rushing into it, i would say.

osap!!!

ah, money issues. so for your OSAP to be secure as an undergrad, you need to have at least 1.5 credits per term– that translates to three courses. as long as you make sure you keep these three courses, your osap should be safe! keep in mind this doesn’t mean an average of three per semester– you can’t take two now and four later, and hope you’ll be okay. osap looks at each term separately. and if you do have a permanent disability of any sort, that requirement drops down to 1.0 credits or two courses.

what about my mental health?

i feel like i should start by linking you to mental health resources. i’m only really aware of the ones @uoftears_ on instagram uses: where to get free mental health help in toronto, as well as the university health and wellness centre and mental health resources. if you check these out, they’ll likely to be able to give you better support than i can, and if you’re struggling with your own mental health i want you to get the best help possible.

with that said, this is definitely something i’m sensitive to. every time i get a question along these lines i’m at once saddened that another person feels this way, but glad that we have the opportunity to talk about it a little. we go to a competitive school, and based on your program/community maybe you’ll feel it more than others might.

one way i’ve been taught to look at it– and you can decide for yourself whether this perspective makes you feel better or pisses you off– is that you never know what’s going on under the surface. it may seem like some people have it all– are doing super well, have that golden 4.0, whatever. the thing is, people with all sorts of GPAs are self-conscious about their grades, and those at the higher end of the scale often feel an insane amount of pressure that begins to impede on their mental health as well. seems like they should be happy with what they’ve got, yeah, but the happiness isn’t intrinsic to the number– it’s more about how you look at it.

basically, it can be rough no matter what your GPA is, unless you’re able to work towards the place where your grades and self-worth aren’t intertwined. obviously, this is just my take. it’s something i struggle quite a lot with myself, if that helps. i myself was raised in an environment where my self-esteem was contingent on my academic achievement, and that’s something i’d like to leave behind but haven’t yet. bad grades still feel hella personal, especially when i know people are doing a lot better than me. so i definitely sympathize there.

something i’m trying to learn is that it’s definitely healthier to focus on yourself. think about it like playing mario kart ghost mode, if you will. sure, you can try to out-race everyone else, but because i SUCK at racing games i’ve learned to be okay with beating my own record. hopefully someday that’ll transfer over to the rest of my life. but for now, it’s a start. wow, a metaphor! hope my high school english teacher would be proud.

suffice it to say that i really hope you’ll be able to pull your GPA up, but if you can’t? just work on what you can control– improving your study habits, learning the material, and reaching out when you need help. and throw some time in to take care of yourself too, man. put on a face mask. spend a lil time outside, now that it’s warming up. watch an episode of a show you like. idk, whatever works for you. best of luck, my friend.

x aska

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bad times, depression, gap year, grades, health, lost, probation, stress

solidarity sister

May 4, 2017
Hi Aska,

I’ve come to you in the past to ask an important question that you answered spectacularly, and I’m returning to ask yet another question in hopes your answer for this will exceed how great the previous one was. Whereas my last question sent nearly a year ago was excitement and anxiety meshed into one about trying to figure out my second year courses, this one is about giving up those second year courses. Or just giving up period. Idk, basically, I’m in a deep and dark hole that I can’t seem to climb out of.

I’m a second year student at UTSG, I am in “good academic standing”–not necessarily meaning I’m doing “good,” but the school hasn’t sent me a threatening email about putting me on academic probation, so in that case I’m golden. I have dropped 2.0 FCEs, and am currently about to fail another full year course which I sadly no longer can drop on ACORN according to the 2017 Calendar. (idk i read about talking to my registrar’s office about dropping it, idek pls confirm).

I’m just in such a rut. I had my life planned out since my first day of senior year in high school, and now I’m barely getting by because I am so unhappy that I’ve been seriously considering professional help to get me through (although I probably won’t because of embarrassment issues). I have no motivation–the path I had planned for myself was a plan I loved, but now I’m so unsure. (I’m an English and History Major btw; was planning on getting my Masters of Teaching from OISE after completing my undergrad and then becoming a teacher. But my marks are too low, let’s face it, so I was planning on getting my Consecutive BEd from YorkU after.)

What I’m saying is, I need advice. I need a break from life. Because I swear, just a few more weeks or days or hours on campus and I will crack.

If I end off this year, I’ll only have 2.0 FCE’s fulfilled for my second year. Almost like it didn’t even happen and I just wasted 7K+ on my tuition. Sigh. Can I take a year off? What will happen when I ask to come back after? Can I even ask to come back after? What should I do, Aska? I’m hopeless.

Sincerely,

A distressed and mentally drained soul that feels like giving up on everything in the world.

(aka probably a lot of students that go to UofT)

Thanks.

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hello friend,

thank you so much for reaching out. i wish i could’ve gotten back to you sooner! it has also taken me several hours to craft a response to this so i apologize!

since the topic of mental health is super super important to discuss, i’m going to try my best not to sound cliche and just be honest about my own experiences and try to give you advice based on what worked for me. (cliche’s are cliche’s for a reason though, so apologies if many are used)

to preface all of this: i’ve been through exactly what you’re going through, and dude, i feel you. the past four years have not been smooth and i continue to deal with depression and anxiety everyday. it was really awesome of you to reach out about this topic this because it encourages people to talk about it. keeping things bottled up is never a healthy option. i am a firm believer in letting it out. anyways, please know that you’re talking to a kindred spirit and that even though i might not know you personally, i’ve been there.

transitioning from university is a huge jump and you’re definitely going to be under a lot of pressure. deadlines, commitments, terrible profs, and newfound independence are pretty much a recipe for disaster if coupled with sleep deprivation and lack of general nutrition.

let’s try to tackle this step by step.
1. your academic standing and dropping courses: regarding your academic standing, as long as you are still “in good standing”, you are, in your own words, golden. failing a Y course isn’t the end of the world. just make it up in a different semester! in the future, (again, i wish i had gotten back to you sooner) i would recommend that you consider this wonderful thing called LWD (otherwise known as a late withdrawal). i’ve taken advantage of this many a time when i’ve hit rock bottom, and it’s super helpful for times when you know you’re going to fail but you’ve missed the drop deadline. read more about LWD here.
2. getting help: admitting that you need help is pretty hard to do but it’s the first step to feeling better. i can tell you from personal experience that reaching out to a professional is definitely hard but once you do, you’ll feel so much better and you’ll feel super accomplished. you don’t need to be embarrassed about your mental health. there are more people out there than you think that are going through the same thing. how i got help: i reached out first to my friends who urged me to see a doctor on campus. i made an appointment (really the hardest part) to discuss my mental health with a physician at health and wellness and she referred me to a psychologist. with my doctor and psychologist, we developed a treatment plan to help me gradually feel better. at around the same time, i was missing deadlines, skipping classes, and staying in bed all day. it was really hard for me to come to terms with getting zeroes on assignments so i went to my registrar’s office to ask for help. i will never stop singing praises for my registrar’s office because they’ve helped me in so many ways. my registrar wrote letters to professors for me when i needed to ask for extensions but was too embarrassed to ask. they are also knowledgeable about the various campus resources that are available for students, whether it’s accessibility services or health and wellness. making my profs aware of my condition also yielded some very comforting responses. i had profs who said to me: “please let me know if you’re struggling, don’t hesitate to come talk to me if you ever need someone to talk to”. i even had profs who went above and beyond their role as a professor to make sure i was still caught up with my work by emailing me what i had missed. profs are humans too and chances are, they’ve probably gone through some dark times themselves, but you’ll never know until you reach out to them. if you only get one thing out of this post, i hope i’ve encouraged you to get help. you are not alone in this battle and there are tons of people and resources out there that can help you lessen the weight on your shoulders. trying to crawl out of the dark whole is hard but it’s easier when you have the support of other people.
3. a change of plans: your life is constantly shifting. every factor in your life is fluid and sometimes it’s really difficult to have a set plan for the future. just look back on your life 2 years ago: how much has changed? did you think you’d be where you are today? you learn new things, try new things, and meet new people everyday, all of which could drastically change your whole life course. while sure, it’s good to set goals for yourself to work towards, don’t sweat it too hard if your goals may need to change. there really isn’t one way to do anything. going on a completely different path doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t end up at the same destination. you could switch your majors, take a gap year, decide you don’t want to go back to school, get certified for teaching languages abroad and end up teaching english in japan! same end goal, different path. it’s not the end of the world if things don’t work out right now because the possibilities are endless. *askastudentstorytime* things have an odd way of working out. i actually wanted to go into the same teaching program at OISE but found out that my grades were too low. i went to the registrar’s office one day to talk about how my grades sucked and i ended up getting a job there a couple of months later. since i started working here, planning for my career has completely changed. i may not ever become a teacher, but i’ve found something else that i also like doing, and you will too!
4. gap year: if you feel like you’d feel better taking a year off, by all means, do it! your health is your number one priority because a degree is pretty much worthless to you if you end up destroying your soul to procure it. if you do want to take a gap year, don’t enrol in any courses in the semesters that you want off, and the school will get the hint and financially cancel you. if you are an international student, contact the CIE to double check the consequences of going on a gap year with a study permit. don’t worry, nothing bad will happen while you’re gone and you are always welcome to come back and finish your degree at any time. all you’d have to do is to re-register and pay the $25 re-registration fee at your college. see? not so scary!
you wanted some advice for what to do so here is the tldr version of it all.

dropping/ failing courses won’t sabotage your whole university career. it happens all the time. next time if you know you’re going to fail but you’ve missed the drop deadline, consider using one of your LWD’s.

talk to someone/ anyone about your struggles. someone out there will be able to help you or at least relate to your struggles! take advantage of the registrar’s office and the resources available to you on campus.

goals may change and that’s okay.

take a gap year if you think your health would benefit from it. a break from school and some time to recuperate might be exactly what you need right now!

i’m really sorry that you’re going through this and i hope that the summer is a lot less stressful and more enjoyable. bask in the warm sunlight and drink it all in before things get dark and gloomy again. feel free to write again! while i can’t guarantee that i will get back to you in timely fashion, i guarantee that aska will always respond eventually to any emails we receive. thanks for taking the first step to email us. be proud of your efforts.

i know it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point in your life but i can assure you that it’s there! it’s always easier to walk through a dark tunnel with the help of people who’ve seen the light. idk, i’m trying to come up with a good metaphor but i’m not sure if it’s working.

…k what i’m trying to say is that you’re not just walking towards nothingness.

you’re gonna be okay. hang in there.

peace and lots and lots of love,

aska
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admissions, grades

relax young’un

April 3, 2017

hi aska! i’m a grade 12 student from toronto, and today i was accepted to Victoria college for humanities. however, the OUAC just uploaded my midterm marks today, and my average is lower than my first-semester average that UofT already saw (it’s at an 89% right now). is there a possibility that my offer of admission could be taken back by Vic? thank you so much!

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hello!

i’m not sure what kind of offer you received, but normally, as long as you remain in good academic standing, you don’t need to worry.

89 is still quite high!

if you don’t believe me, it’s even stated on the website in the FAQ section at the very bottom:

“Unless clearly requested in your offer letter, the University of Toronto expects that your final grades will be consistent with the mid-term/predicted grades submitted. Small changes are nothing to worry about. If you’ve maintained your work effort through the year, you will be absolutely fine.”

see? toldya!

peace and love,

aska

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