• grades,  hard

    hard as nails

    May 5, 2015

    Is it really hard to get a 3.7 gpa at UOFT…

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    honestly, i should start a tag for all the posts where i lament how complicated the words hard and difficult? are. who determines difficulty? who can say what’s hard or not? are we supposed to SIT HERE and be QUIET while bureaucratic overlords determine HOW MUCH OUR BEING, OUR THOUGHTS, ARE WORTH??EVERYONE LEARNS AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS AND THIS STANDARDIZATION OF LEARNING WILL BE THE DOWNFALL OF OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM.

    anyway.

    unfortunately, the university doesn’t publish any kind of GPA distribution stats, so i don’t know, like, what percentage of people graduate with a certain GPA, or what programs tend to have higher GPAs than others. i could GUESS, but they don’t pay me to guess, and i need to keep that dough coming in.

    HOWEVER, across the board, an A (that is, a grade above a 3.7) does indicate that you’ve gone above and beyond in a course. you really have exceeded expectations, rather than just met them.

    in general – and i don’t have any numbers on this, so keep in mind that your experience might be different – i have found that A students tend to put at least 20 hours per week into their schoolwork outside of class.

    for science/math students, that might involve completing assignments, doing practise questions, and clarifying questions from lecture with TAs or profs. for humanities students, that might involve writing essays, completing readings, and making notes on readings outside of lecture.

    A students take the initiative to seek out answers to their questions, ask whether they’re understanding things correctly, and see if there’s any way to improve what they’ve been working on.

    A students might do extra-curricular activities on the side, but they always make sure to schedule enough time into their week to keep up with their school work.

    A students are NOT geniuses. (not most of them, anyway.) they just keep up with their work and consistently put in their best effort, from september to april. A students exist AND SO CAN YOU!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • grades

    just tell me how bad it was. i want to know.

    January 22, 2015

    Hi aska

    I still can’t see my statistics final grade on rosi. Is there a problem with my rosi account or something? Should I go somewhere to ask about that or send an email to a specific department?

    I’m so anxious for my grade and have been waiting for half a month:(

    Hope you can give me some idea what I can do right now..

    Thank you

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well, it’s been nearly a month now. if you still haven’t gotten the mark, you should definitely talk to the statistics department. e-mail your prof, too.

    (p.s. this is one of the VERY RARE TIMES that your local superhero – your college registrar’s office – will not be useful. marks get submitted to departments, and then the faculty of arts & science registrar. so save yourself some time and a phone call and go straight to the department).

    cheers,

    aska

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  • first year,  grades

    reality is no fun

    January 13, 2015

    Hey,

    Just got my mark back for a half year class… It doesn’t count towards my program or anything but I finished with a mark I am not too happy with (65, C). Did I just ruin my academic career or like… (I am in first year by the way, just having a hard time wrapping my head around this mark).

    Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    no, you didn’t ruin your academic career. i know this kind of thing can send first years crashing into a months-long spiritual and existential crisis, but trust me – this isn’t the end of the world.

    i’m not gonna go so far as to say that first year doesn’t matter, but i think it’s important to understand that everybody, from your overzealous chem prof to the admissions board at whatever professional/grad school you think you want to attend, understands that you don’t have everything figured out in first year.

    first year is there precisely to figure stuff out. if you don’t fall on your face in first year, you’re gonna do it later on when it really matters (i.e. in third and fourth year), and that’s a whole lot worse (though, even that is still not something you can’t recover from).

    so don’t freak out about this. try and internalize this feeling of getting a mark that you’re not happy with. understand that you’re not infallible. i know it doesn’t feel great, but it’s good for you, i promise. it’s gonna help you in the long run.

    once you’re nice and comfy with the idea that you’re not immune to mistakes, start thinking about how you can improve in the future. maybe that means taking different kinds of courses, or altering how and how much you study. or maybe this course was just a one-off and nothing to worry about. take time to do some good ol’ REFLECTION – but don’t beat yourself up about it.

    here’s to a good rest of your degree,

    aska

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  • grades

    failing mark =/= zero

    November 27, 2014

    Hey

    So I’ve just failed my midterm miserably for RSM 219- yes that’s intro to financial accounting. They say “intro” but more than 3/4 of the class has taken accounting in high school already and it’s super UNFAIR to people like me. So this midterm was weighted like 30% and I failed it. However the previous midterm was 15% and I passed it *Phew*. My final exam in December is 35% so I’m “hoping” to pass that as well.
    My question is, for the final grade, does uoft still weight the failed exam to determine your final grade?
    Eg. If you got like 45% on the midterm and it was worth 30%, then do they still weigh it in their calculations to determine your final grade in the course.

    *please say yes!*

    Thanks
    Freaked-out

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you’re asking whether a mark of 45% on a midterm that’s worth 30% would contribute 13.5% to your final mark, then: yes.

    i haven’t been able to find anything to indicate otherwise, anyway. i couldn’t find anything that says a failed mark would automatically drop to 0, or anything horrible like that.

    there’s nothing on the course outline for RSM219 to indicate it, and i’ve definitely never seen that in any classes i’ve taken, either.

    you can talk to your instructor about it, but i think you’re safe.

    however, if you’re worried about how well you’re doing in the class, it may be a good idea to talk to your college registrar about the possibility of late withdrawing from the course. just a thought.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • grades

    uncharted territory

    August 7, 2014

    A little moral dilemma here. I got my quiz and test returned to me in class, and after doing the math I found that the TA/prof gave me extra marks. They never announced that they curved the quiz and test, and they said that people did well on all of them. Should I tell them about my marks, or should I keep silent and enjoy my free marks?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well, you know, while aska tries to be at least somewhat morally upright on this site (i figure flipping out on a couple first year students per year isn’t morally reprehensible, it’s just good planning), the main focus here is to educate people about uoft’s rules and regulations. the aim is always to be able to link to a university page that’ll help educate you more.

    in this case though, we seem to be in uncharted territory – no link. for that reason, i’m not gonna advise you either way.

    what i will say is that there is no rule at the university that requires a student to speak with a prof/instructor/TA about incorrect marks, whether you get extra marks or not enough.

    good luck to you, my morally torn citizen,

    aska

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  • grades

    get that mark outta my sight!

    April 29, 2014

    quick question: if I took a course that I was excluded from as it was not needed for my program requirements and failed it, is it possible to remove it from my records or transcript?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you have a really good reason for withdrawing the course, you can go to your registrar’s office and file a petition. however, usually, once the mark is on your transcript, it’s on there permanently. sorry about that, dude!

    however (and here’s your silver lining), you should note that if the course was an exclusion, it should have been designated an ‘extra’ on your transcript, meaning that the mark will not count towards your GPA and it will not be counted as credit towards your degree. you can read more about that here under ‘”Extra” Courses: 100-series, Repeating and Excluded Courses,’ #3. Exclusions.

    best,

    aska

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  • grades,  UTM

    professional writing? pah. I’M a professional writer. totes.

    April 4, 2014

    Hello! I’m a first-year student from UTM and plan to minor in Professional Writing and Communication.. However, I’m not satisfied with what I’m getting right now in WRI203 (basically the intro course) (my midterm is a 77 which is defs okay, but I’m VERY sure that’s gonna plummet in the end). Is it really going to be detrimental for me to repeat a course in the future? Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well here’s the thing: if you pass the course, you actually can’t repeat it unless it’s required for the subject POSt you want to get into and you didn’t get the required mark the first time around. now, WRI203 is a prereq for the minor, so you’re good there, but unless you get under 70% in the class, you can’t retake it. that might seem like bad news, but on the other hand, you’re guaranteed to get into the subject POSt as long as you get above a 70%, since it’s a type 2 POSt!

    if you happen to get lower than 70% and decide to repeat it to get into the subject POSt, i don’t think that should be very detrimental at all. i assume you’re asking about grad school when you say “IN THE FUTURE,” but grad school isn’t the same as like, someone who wants to get into med school and has an LWD on their transcript.

    repeated courses are not an awfully big deal – the only effect will be on your GPA. but most grad schools don’t even consider first year when calculating the GPA of an applicant, so i think you’ll be alright. as for jobs and stuff, one course is not even worth thinking about for the employer, don’t you worry.

    best,

    aska

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  • failing,  grades

    praying for a pass

    January 16, 2014

    Hey aska!

    Just got my final marks back and unfortunately I failed bch210 by a few percentage. I’m a fourth year student who was SUPPOSED to graduate this summer… Yeah, ouch :/
    I just needed to ask what kind of official university regulation process I should go through with in an attempt to change my mark- the recheck or remark or whatever its called. The final was mostly MC and there was a tiny bit dedicated to SA questions.
    Also, on a slightly unofficial note, do you think I’d have a chance at getting my mark bumped to the 50 I need by falling on my knees in front of the prof? (: (:

    Thanks for your helppp

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well actually, the university all but OFFICIALLY RECOMMENDS going to your professor and begging down on your knees (that’s what you meant right?? yes of course it is i know it is), but only before the exam. in the aftermath, you need to go through some extra shenanigans for a re-read (if you think it was unfairly marked) or a grade re-check (if you think there’s been a clerical error in marking), and you don’t go to your instructor right away. instead, you go to your faculty registrar’s office, pay a fee, and then your paper can get re-read/re-checked as the case may be. then you go from there.

    keep in mind though that if it’s re-read, your mark might actually go down. also it costs money that you are statistically unlikely to have. so think about it carefully before requesting a re-read/re-check!

    best of luck with it,

    aska

     

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  • grades,  graduation,  UTM

    crash course on convocation

    August 30, 2013

    Hi,

    My first question is about my transcript. I failed a course back in… 2007 with a 35 (terrible, I know). Retook it the year after and got an 85. Is there ANYWAY for me to permanently remove that 35 from my academic transcript at UTM? I don’t have any real super elaborate reason other than, the course was just too difficult for me… The first time. I know it was so long ago, but it really makes my cGPA look worse than it needs to be.

    Secondly, how does graduation at UTM work? I “requested” for it for Nov. 2013 on ROSI. Haven’t received any info on what to do or how I’ll receive my degree or any information on it at all, really. I don’t plan on actually attending the ceremony (long list of reasons), but I just want to know the process on completing this graduation. I have already taken my photo and everything. Do I just wait for them to send me my degree? Please help. I am so lost.

    Thanks in advanced for ANY and all advice/clarification.

    ———————————————

    Yo

    Basically if you saw a course through all the way to the end, no, there is no removing it. So as crappy as that mark may be, it’s staying there. Especially since it’s from so long ago.

    And how to graduate:

    1. Request graduation.
    2. Eventually receive some sort of email from your registrar saying “thanks we got your request.”
    3. Get your photo taken.
    4. Rent your gown and RSVP for your tickets!
    5. Attend graduation.
    6. Receive diploma.
    7. Brag about it.

    And there you have it.

    Now if you’re too lazy to trek over to Con Hall for your diploma, here are the other ways of obtaining it.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • grades

    too many grades, too little time

    July 8, 2013

    Hey Aska,

    Are there set deadlines for final marks to be posted each semester? After every final I find myself frantically refreshing my ROSI every hour for the next 2-3 weeks to see how I did. I feel like if I knew a set date they had to be available by, maybe I could just relax and wait for said date (who am I kidding? Probably not).

    Thanks!!

    ~K

    ———————————————

    Hey K

    Sadly, no, there is not a set date for when final grades come out.

    I can tell you that there are internal deadlines for faculty members to submit their grades following a final exam, but even those are flexible.

    Honestly, your best bet is to wait a few weeks following your exam to save yourself some refreshing. I can tell you that for the S/Y grades of 2012-2013, the grades were set to come out “around May Two-Four weekend.”

    So by that logic, about three weeks after an academic session seems reasonable for your wait time. I know that might seem disgustingly long, but with the many, many students with their many, many grades… yeah.

    But if you’re lucky, your prof might have posted your grade on Blackboard!

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • grades

    i’ll follow you until you love me

    June 27, 2013

    Hello,

    I used to attend the University of Toronto. I transferred to another university, mainly cause i wanted to reset my GPA. I was wondering, that if I transferred back to UofT, would they still use the GPA i had with them? Meaning that if I came back, would I have my GPA reset again, or would I be back with the GPA I left with or would it all add up from both institutions, or would they just take the GPA I have from my current university?

    Thanks in advance!

    ———————————————

    Hey hey

    Your academic history follows you everywhere.

    Everywhere.

    If you “come back” to UofT, you’ll be going through with the simple reregistration process in which you head over to your college registrar’s office with a reregistration form filled out and ready to go, $24 in cash or cheque, and a new outlook on education that’ll save your dismal CGPA. Essentially, you’re just… resuming where you left off at UofT.

    So if your CGPA was at a 1.8 when you left UofT, when you return, it’ll still be there.

    As for whatever you got from that other school you cheated on St. George with, ultimately whatever grades you got there are like… irrelevant. You can possibly get transfer credits for those courses, but the grades won’t stay attached to them.

    See there’s no actual “resetting.”

    Sadly, life doesn’t exactly come with a refresh button. 😉

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • grad school,  grades

    summer course confusion

    May 2, 2013

    Hey,

    Just a question regarding summer courses – which year does a summer school credit go towards? For example, if a student took a summer course immediately after second year, does that credit affect his/her second year GPA or third year? I am wondering because grad schools tend to focus on one’s last two years of undergrad and I was trying to calculate my GPA.

    Thanks 🙂

    ———————————————

    Hey!

    That’s a really good question actually. I’ve always wondered that… but then I killed the grad school dream and stopped wondering. Ahem.

    Essentially, your summer grade is its own session, meaning it’ll get its own GPA and won’t contribute to your second or third year’s average. So if you end up rocking that course and getting an 84, your sessional GPA would be amazing.

    Now there’s no concrete answer on if a summer course between second and third year is something grad schools might look, but here’s what I can tell you: The best way to see just what a potential grad school is looking at exactly is to go to your Academic History on ROSI and view the complete version, which lists absolutely everything and what specific session you took x class in.

    So since they look at your last two years, I would say that logically, they’re looking at the last half of your credits. Make sense? They’ll definitely see you took a summer course on its own which may explain why it’s incredibly good, but it won’t exactly “count towards year two/three.”

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • grades

    but why must we science asdfghjkl

    May 2, 2013

    Hi, I’ve just finished my last exam of my first year at UofT St. George! I know you probably get this a lot, but I’m not happy with my grades at all. I know I could’ve studied more (which is what I’ll definitely do next year), but even in the classes I was fairly confident I’d do well in I don’t feel good about anymore. So far, I’ve got 1 F (in chemistry), 2 C’s and 2 B+’s (in my medieval history courses), and I’m waiting on 2 more course marks to come through (both of which I don’t think I’ll make higher than a C+). Some of these courses are 200-level ones too.

    I’m not a life-science major (I changed my mind after my failing first semester chem grade), I’m actually a medieval studies and art history major. But I feel like with these shitty grades, I won’t be able to get into a decent grad program after I finish my undergrad. Will terrible first year marks ruin everything? Or is there a good chance that with way more effort next year (and picking a better set of classes) I’ll be able to raise my grades and do better?

    ———————————————

    Hey,

    Haha yeah, this is honestly such a classic situation.

    Student takes course. Student doesn’t like course cuz it has nothing to do with where they want to go in university. Students bombs class. Student has a breakdown.

    Now, as stated many, many times, your first year marks aren’t the end of the world.

    For the most part, grad schools look at your third and fourth year grades, although your CGPA as a whole is important. Still, once you start taking courses you actually enjoy and thus tend to do better in, you’ll notice your CGPA slowly rising and your transcript looking a lot more appealing. So just rock these rest of your years here and I’m sure you’ll be fine come grad school apps.

    Cheers!

    aska

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