• psychology,  Transferring

    join us

    November 3, 2017

    Hey. I’m currently in my third year in Medical Sciences at Dal. Second year was really hard on me and I even got to a point that I deferred my MCATs for next summer and didn’t do them this summer… I feel stuck here, I feel like this is not the place for me. I’ve been thinking about transferring to U of T and doing a degree in psychology. I have a bunch of courses that are eligible for transfer (or so the u or t website says). Is there a chance that I would be able to transfer there and not have to start from first year

    ——————————————

    hi!

    just to make sure that you have the appropriate courses for your intended subject POSt (program of study, what we at u of t call our programs. it’s usually comprised of either a specialist, two majors, or a major and two minors), make sure you’ve used the transfer explorer. though it sounds like you’ve already checked out the status of your transfer credits, it’s always a good idea to check what the equivalent courses at u of t are.

    after you’ve checked out the transfer explorer, see which of the required psychology courses you’ve already fulfilled at dal. according to the psych department’s website, you need to have PSY100 regardless of whether you want to do a major, minor, or specialist. i’d make sure that you have that credit from dal as it will allow you to enroll in the program once you get here.

    next, you want to check out how many credits u of t will accept. if you have more than 5.0 FCEs (full credit equivalents), then you’re considered a second year student. if you have 10.0FCE, you’re considered a third year student. however, it may take more than four years in order to complete your degree in psych if you don’t have many psychology transfer credits.

    i also suggest talking to one of the academic advisers that the psychology department has. check out this link for their contact info.

    i hope this helps! i can’t really do much or give you a ton of personalized information since i don’t know how many general credits you have and how many PSY credits you have, but i hope this at least provided some guidance.

    good luck!

    very good hao bang bang GIF

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • admissions,  grad school,  psychology

    psych! don’t really have an answer

    July 24, 2017

    Hi there aska! I’m a psych major interested in eventually doing my masters in psych. Say for example I chose to do a thesis on women’s mental health, would I need to take courses related to my future area of specialization or is any psych course fine?

    ——————————————

    hi!

    you would have to check out the specific program’s prereqs. if you were thinking about pursuing your masters at u of t, you can check out this link. 

    otherwise, i can’t really help you. i don’t know what program you want to get into, so i can’t give you anything but very general advice. i would get in touch with the school or program that you’re interested in, ask them if there are any courses that they require you to have completed before, and see what the steps are from there.

    sorry i can’t be of more help.

    kiss flirting beso besos blow kiss GIF

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • criminology,  psychology,  sociology

    still bragging about my new soc degree

    May 31, 2017

    Hi,

    Previously I was a part-time student at the St. George Campus. I completed 4.5 credits and then left. Now it’s 5 years later and I’d like to come back to complete my degree. I did not chose a subject post before I left. Now, my preferred program (sociology) went from a Type 2 to a 2L. I  got 65% in my 100 level SOC credit. That’s the bare minimum so I’m not super competitive.

    1.  How do I get permission to retake 100 level courses to become more competitive to get into the sociology program?
    2.  In case I don’t get into the sociology program, what are other programs that I should consider?
    3.  What services are available on campus to help transition back to student life?

    ———————————————

    hello there!

    yay, a sociology question! no biggie, i just completed my soc major last month so you’ve come to the right place (yes, i know, i bragged about this in a past post, but #sorrynotsorry)

    1. if you want permission to retake 100 level courses, you would need to contact the department of sociology. i’m not sure if they’ll let you you retake the course since 1) you’ve already passed the course, 2) you do TECHNICALLY meet the requirement. in this situation, it would be best to talk to the undergraduate advisor to look at what your options are for entering the program. a nice chat with her will probably be beneficial, especially if there have been any changes to the program since you’ve been gone. dammit, kelly clarkson is stuck in my head now. i have a feeling that the fact that the program switched from a type 2 to a 2L isn’t thaaat bad, it just sucks because we don’t know exactly how limited the program is.

    2. if you don’t get into the sociology program, you could consider programs that are similar. instead of the studying groups of people/ society, you could learn to study individuals (psychology)? humans (anthropology)? criminals (criminology)? there’s always women and gender studies, equity studies, or sexual diversity studies as well! of course, all of these programs will have prerequisites that you will need to look up yourself. since you’ve already completed 4.5 FCE’s, you’ve probably already completed a first year prerequisite course for a program. you could consider going into one of those programs!

    3. transitioning back into student life after an absence is an interesting thing that not many people ask about. honestly, i don’t think there are many resources for transitioning back, but there are definitely tons of resources for transitioning into university life, if you want to relive that again! it’s always good to check in with the registrar’s office if you need help with transitioning back to academics or if you have more questions about returning!

    hope this helped! welcome back!

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • grad school,  jobs,  lab experience,  psychology,  work-study

    no experience with labrador retrievers necessary

    November 20, 2016

    Hello!

    On the psych grad school page it states that applicant have to have lab experience. Could you please clarify what this means?

    Thanks!

    Another psych student

    ———————————————

    hi,

    when you say another psych student, are you implying that i am also a psych student, or are you implying that you are yet another psych student that is asking me a question about lab experience?

    lab experience pretty much means you have to find placements in labs to help conduct research. having experience in these labs will definitely come in handy when you’re in grad school.

    i did a quick google of “lab experience u of t psychology” and it showed me this link, which i found very informative.

    you are responsible for finding lab placements yourself, but the link i’ve attached has plenty of resources which you can seek out, whether it’s the career centre, the career learning network, or even the psychology students association! they will be able to provide you with all the available opportunities as well as how to go about applying for them. they’ll probably even know more about how many hours you need / what kind of positions qualify!

    hope you find a good placement! good luck!

    sincerely,

    not a psych student

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  • arts & sciences,  psychology,  science,  subject POST

    gold or painful, agonizing failure

    September 20, 2016

    Hi! Can you take a psych major if you’re in humanities? Like, if I take a double major in linguistics and psychology, will I graduate with a BA or a BSc? Or is it even possible for me to major in psychology if I didn’t apply for life sciences?
    I’m at St. George by the way, and I’ll have completed PUMP by the time I apply for the psych POSt.
    Sorry if you already answered this, I did my best to look through all the relevant tags!

    ———————————————

    hi there,

    if you are double majoring in linguistics and psychology, you can pick whether you want a BA or a BSc.

    in the arts and science calendar under program requirements, it states :

    • “A student completing one Major in a science area and one Major in an arts area have a choice of either the Honours Bachelor of Science or the Honours Bachelor of Arts.”

    you’re good to go! choose wisely!

    YOU DECIDE WHICH IS WHICH^

    thanks for making an effort to check the tags! we appreciate it!

    cheers,

    aska

     

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  • life science,  psychology,  science,  UTM

    sorry they don’t care about you

    June 3, 2016

    Hello, with regards to priority enrolment at UTM I was wondering if a psychology major gets priority with classes such as Biology, Chemistry and Math. I know that Life Sci students are the main priority but do psychology majors also fall into that group since it is a Science?

    ———————————————

    hey!

    you are definitely right, students in life sciences will get priority if they are in majors such as chem, bio, or math. as a psych major, you’ll only be getting priority in psychology courses.

    the only kind of exception ish (cue paramore) to this rule i could find is that that there is one bio course listed in the psych major (pg. 325) that you could put towards your degree:

    BIO304H5: Integrative Animal Physiology (located in the Biological Bases of Behaviour Section)- but even this course has prerequisites that you have to take to which leads you to a seemingly endless loop of other courses with prerequisites. i’m assuming the biology department peeps will know that psych students can use this for their major and while still giving priority to actual bio students, they might take your major into consideration.

    if you are determined to take these courses, you can probably consider doing one of those subjects as subject posts.

    basically, psychology is in a completely different department than all of the other subjects that you mentioned and there would have to have a better excuse than “it’s also a science” to give you secondary priority.

    i hope this helped!

    cheers,

    aska

     

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  • grad school,  psychology

    the final countdown

    June 2, 2016

    Hello Aska,

    I am a student going into my fifth year of undergraduate studies in Honours Life Sciences that is hoping to apply to the UofT Psychology Graduate Program.

    I had a question pertaining to the details of one of the admission requirements. It states A- in the last two years and I was wondering if that meant my fifth and fourth year marks, or my last 20 courses up to the deadline (December)? So, that would mean my last semester of third year, fourth year, and my first semester of fifty year.

    Basically, how much can my fifth year effect what the school may take into account? My fourth year was pretty great GPA-wise and I’m confident for fifth, but my third year was a mixed bag, so I’m hoping that my fifth year will be considered.

    I am working on making the rest of my application stellar, I’ve done a research practicum, I will be doing a thesis in the fall, and I’m going to work hard for the GRE. If the last part of third year is taken into account my average will be B+ instead of an A-, even if I get the highest marks possible in my fifth year first semester courses, but I can get it to an A- if my whole fifth year will be considered, so the distinction is important to me.

    Thank you for any insight you can provide!

    ———————————————

    hello!

    i made a quick call to the psychology grad department and they let me know that they will be looking at your 10 most recent credits, which is technically good news because that means your last two years will actually count, but i would call them just to ask exactly WHEN in the year they would be looking at these grades. each grad school varies greatly; some schools look at everything before december of your last year and others do it differently.

    good luck with your applications, it seems like you’re preparing very well! you got dis.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • psychology

    this person gets a gold star forreal

    April 14, 2016

    Hey Aska,

    I know this is the umpteenth time you’re getting a psych question, but I’ve searched all the tags and haven’t found what I’m looking for so here it goes:

    I’m planning on switching to a psychology minor this summer while I’m going into my 4th year. I’ve completed one major already and 75% done of my second major, so I think I’ll be okay adding this in rn. I’m taking psy100 first sem in summer, then hoping to take two other psy courses (psy240,270) in the second summer sem *praying I get all credits* so that I can apply for the minor in the second request period of the summer. The only problem is, I don’t remember if I fulfill the calculus prereq. requirement just because I graduated nearly 3 years ago from high school and don’t remember what I took in gr.11/12. I do know for sure I took senior math in both gr.11/12, but can’t remember which ones I got the credits for: calc, advanced functions, or data management [?]   Can I ask the psych department to check if I fulfill the calc requirement, and if not I know I can go back to tdsb and get night/summer school for the calc, but the deadline for registration for that is coming up so what do you suggest? I just need to know if I meet the calc requirement cause I myself am not sure lol.

    thanksabunch.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    first of all, you’re awesome for checking the tags. and kudos for asking a psych question that’s brand new. you’re the reason i wake up and continue to go to work every day with a smile on my face, despite the fact that my bed frame is now officially broken and i no longer own any tights without holes in them.

    the easiest thing to do in this situation, of course, is to look back at your high school transcripts and see what you took. i assume, however, that you threw away those precious documents and now don’t have access to them. that’s why i keep all my documentation for an absurdly long amount of time. i still have my grade 11 chemistry notes. i have a file on my computer for every class i’ve ever taken in university. yes, i realize i’m an e-hoarder. fight me.

    i don’t know how exactly the psychology department goes about checking how people fulfil requirements, so unfortunately i can’t give you specific directions. asking them if they can take a look for you is a good start, though. they may direct you to enrolment services, which likely has your high school transcript or some kind of academic record on file. may as well start with the department itself, though.

    also, regardless of whether you have the prerequisite or not, it may not be a bad idea to review your calculus over the summer. if you can’t even remember taking the class, maybe you need a refresher on the material.

    best of luck!

    aska

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  • psychology

    missi-psych-a

    March 15, 2016

    I’m a UTM student and wondering, is it still possible for me to get into the psychology program after 3rd year? I have taken PSY100 and 2 credits worth of second year psych courses. I’m only missing the stats course (which I’m planning on taking the first term of my 3rd year).

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    yes, it is still possible. however, depending on the exact program you’re applying to and whether you’ve already applied and been rejected once, the requirements to now try and get in will be different. you can see all the different requirements for each situation here. all of them require that you’ve taken PSY201H5, so taking stats in third year (or maybe even in the summer, if you can) is a good idea.

    the fact that you’ve taken 2.0 psych credits already is good news, though they do require a certain overall average in those courses for you to be eligible for the specialist (assuming you’re interested in the specialist). as far as i can tell, stats isn’t required to get in to the program, though it may be required to complete it.

    all in all, if you’re willing to possibly stay behind for an extra year or take some summer courses, and you manage to get into the program, you could be on track to finishing with a degree in psychology!

    if you have any more questions or the page i linked to doesn’t address your particular situation, i would recommend you contact the utm psychology office with your questions.

    best,

    aska

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  • psychology

    the bar just gets HIGHER and HIGHER

    February 2, 2016
    hey aska quick question about uoft’s psych program. I was wondering just how hard it was to be admitted to the type 2L major program. I noticed on their website it’s an 80-84% average and it is limited enrolment so i was just wondering if it’s common for people to be declined?
    ———————————————
    hey there,
    i’m not gonna lie to you – psych is a very popular program. this means that it is also a very competitive program. they didn’t used to list the average grade cut-off on the website, but i think so many people were confused as to why they’d not been accepted that they decided to make that information public. which, to be honest, has been a wise move. it’s made my job a little bit easier.
    so yeah, it’s difficult to get in. HOWEVER, if you are ABOVE that 80-84% range, your chances are not terrible. i think the major reason so many people get turned away is because people will apply who are just on the cut-off of a 75% in PSY100H1 (or an 80% for the specialist). the higher you are above the cut-off, the higher your chances.
    unfortunately, i don’t have a handy statistic about how many people get in versus how many people apply, but who knows – maybe more complaining from students will cause that to show up on the course calendar, too. think positive.
    cheers,
    aska
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  • psychology,  PUMP

    christmas cheer prevents me from sassing you too hard

    December 14, 2015

    hi, im looking into doing a minor in psych. only problem is, i didn’t take the grade 12 calc prerequisite (im now a first year). is there a way to go back and get that course, or take some kind of equivalent now? or am I just s.o.l.? thanks in advance!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m gonna try not to hold it against you that you didn’t check the psychology tag, where i’ve answered this question PROBABLY A THOUSAND TIMES, before sending in this question. but hey, christmas is in 11 days. i’ll employ some holiday forgiveness and make it a thousand and one, just for you.

    if you have not taken grade 12 calculus and you want to apply to a psych POSt, you are able to take the PUMP program to satisfy the POSt’s calculus requirement.

    PUMP is a non-credit course at uoft that basically covers the material in grade 12 calculus, so that you’re on parr with your calculus-knowing peers. you can take a look at their website to see when it’s offered and when registration starts, so you can start figuring out how to fit it into your schedule.

    another option is taking courses in night school/summer school. there are also some online options that the psychology department has endorsed.

    i hope you have lots of fun with it,

    aska

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  • grad school,  psychology

    the answer is yes. and no.

    September 18, 2015

    Hi Aska! I have a question regarding the psych graduate program. In order to get into the psychology graduate program at uoft do you need to major in psych or do a specialist in it?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    not necessarily. however, if you are interested in uoft’s master’s program, for example, you would have to have completed at least 6.0 credits in psychology (including statistics and lab work) – which may as well be the psychology major.

    however, you don’t actually have to have ‘psychology specialist’ or ‘psychology major’ noted on your transcript, as long as you do the courses.

    also, the department of psychology at uoft notes that “[s]tudents with a strong background in mathematics, physical or biological science, neuroscience, or computer science are especially encouraged to apply even if they have fewer than the suggested number of psychology courses.”

    so basically, you do have to have a strong background in psychology, but you don’t have to be a psych major or specialist. as always at uoft, the answer’s always more complicated than a simple yes or no.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • other schools (boo!),  psychology

    psychology here or psychology there

    August 19, 2015

    I’m a looking at universities in Toronto and I’m trying to figure out which is best. I’m looking at doing my undergraduate in psychology and my graduate in child psychology. So I’m wondering which school is the best for doing that. UFT or York? I know that UFT has both programs I’m looking at but I’ve been told that it’s on the harder side of the universities and I’m and IEP (Individual Education Plan) student. But York is higher on the list of best schools in Canada for psychology.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i can’t speak to how good york’s psychology programs are. i’ll let york’s people take care of that (not that i’m implying that i’m “uoft’s people”; i just stumbled into a back closet here and no one’s thought to ask me to leave yet. i have jam on my pants. this uoft sweater i found smells like mothballs).

    i will say that the psychology programs at uoft are very, very popular (hence the constant stream of questions i get about them), and that while uoft is a strong academic and research university, that doesn’t mean it’s not for you.

    don’t let an IEP get in the way of studying where you want to study. if you have the grades to get into uoft, then you have the ability to thrive here. also, uoft has plenty of academic support services, including accessibility services, the academic success centre, and plenty of writing and math aid centres.

    finally, here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you think about your decision: i see that york has the option to complete a B.A. or a B.Sc. in psychology. uoft, meanwhile, is one of the only schools where psychology can only be completed as a science program (cognitive science is the closest thing we have to a humanities-based psychology program).

    so, if you were looking to do a B.A. in psychology, uoft is probably not be for you.

    also, high school calculus is a mandatory requirement for all three of psychology’s programs (the specialist, the major and the minor), so if you didn’t do or really struggled in grade 12 calculus, you may want to reconsider uoft.

    not having done calculus isn’t a reason not to do psych at uoft. just be aware that if you didn’t do calculus in high school, you’ll have to do it at some point, either through night school or uoft’s not-for-credit PUMP program.

    so those are a couple of things to consider. ultimately, there’s no right or wrong answer. do some research into the actual classes you would be doing, visit both campuses, and, if you’re planning on living in residence, your student housing accommodations. these alumni profiles from the psychology department at uoft might also be helpful to you.

    best of luck; i hope you make a decision you’re happy with!

    cheers,

    aska

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