• first year,  psychology

    the freedom of first year

    July 19, 2013

    Hello, there!

    I’m going into the Life Sciences major with psychology, in which PSY100H1 is the only prerequisite for first year. It seems odd that the entire course would be compressed into one half course. Are both the fall and winter PSY100H1 half courses meant to be taken to receive the full credit? Or, are they exactly the same course, and I only need one of them? This question is quite silly, but I’ve been over thinking it!

    Also, I know it is based upon ones major (prerequisites), and personal interests, but I have to add more courses to my timetable in order to be a full time student. There’s so many choices! Do you have any suggestions of first year courses that are generally good to take?

    Thank you very much!

    ———————————————

    Hey hey

    For psych, you just have to take PSY100H1 once. So you can take it in the fall or you want take it in the winter. Your choice!

    As for what else to take… well everyone’s going to have an opinion on that one, so I fully expect an array of comments telling me my rather generalized picks are flawed.

    But what do I think you should take?

    Well…

    1) INI103H Writing Essays or INI104H Writing Reports

    In university, being able to write is an essential skill. University is for research, but your research is pretty damn unbearable if you can’t convey it coherently. This course might not contribute to any future POSt, but it’ll benefit your general skill set, that much is for sure!

    2) A first-year seminar!

    Seminars are great and the 199 ones can only be taken by incoming students.

    They can be such a relief against the massive lectures you’re going to eventually attend. Likewise, they have the coolest topics, making them a super fun way to get that unwanted breadth requirement out of the way. 😉

    So for example, as someone who dreads science, I took a first-year seminar on Biology in Film to get my science credit out of the way — granted this was back in the day of distribution requirements. Don’t worry about those. Totes irrelevant to you.

    Anyhow, if you know one of those five breadth requirement groups is going to come back to haunt you in fourth year because you avoided it like the plague, take care of it now in a less than agonizing way.

    3) Some language course.

    Because you can. There’s Spanish, Korean, Arabic, Polish, Japanese, French, German, etc. Soooo many. Try one for fun if you’re up to it@ Naturally, they WILL require a lot of dedication from you, but they’ll definitely benefit you in the long run.

    But take a gander at the calendar and pick and choose.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • psychology,  subject POST,  UTM

    psyched out over psych

    July 17, 2013

    Hey aska!!

    I asked a question not too long ago, titled “how to get through summer without going full douchebag”, and i agree, i was a douchebag 🙁 but i require your assistance once more!! I have the prerequisites to switch into the Psychology program of study, but i am on academic probation! Can i still switch into psych/ how would i do that if i could?? And if i could, when would it be done?? Bless your soul aska, i love you, thanks for answering!! 🙂

    ———————————————

    Hey hey

    Lol I’m sorry I indirectly called you a douchebag.

    To be clear, I was referring to your ACTIONS, but…Ahem.

    Anyhow, the second round of POSt requesting at UTM last June 17 to August 30, so get on that now!

    All you do is go on ROSI, request the psych major or specialist or whatever, and then await a response which probably won’t come until September 9. If you met the required grade or whatever and were invited, just accept the offer and become active. 🙂

    And yes, you can still go into psych even if you’re on probation.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • psychology

    but doesn’t psych have like… numbers and stuff?

    March 21, 2013

    Okay so im in grade 12 and have changed my courses around in order to get into psychology, but U of T is the only school that wants calc and i cannot describe to you the hatred i have for math! Plus it will definitely lower my average. Im really interested in psychology though and don’t want to compromise, is there any way i can get accepted into life science without calc but just take a calc course first year? If so please let me know if this is possible and how to do it!

    xo

    ———————————————

    Heyo

    So technically you can still take PSY100 and actually see if you like psychology without calculus. There are like 38837478340 high schoolers who think psych sounds soooooo~ interesting and actually see all the work behind it and change their mind, so you can definitely just take it for fun.

    However, if you fully intend to make it your program of study, then stay in calculus dude. Why do you need calculus? Well, psychology is a science. Science involves numbers and statistics and all those horrifying things.

    As for taking calculus or some equivalent at UofT, sadly all the 100-level math courses also require calculus. Naturally. So again, I’d say your best bet is to stay in calculus. I mean cheating in high school for your calculus credit will be a lot easier. 😉

    …to be clear, that was a joke. Cheating is bad. Baaaad.

    But good luck!

    xoxo,
    aska

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  • admissions,  psychology

    swinging your way into psychology

    March 4, 2013

    Hi there,

    I am on my last 100 metres deadline wise and I still don’t know what to do, I would really appreciate any advice, opinions or thoughts.
    So here is my story, facts and worries:

    I am a college student at Humber. I am in my last semester now, out of four. My GPA is a little over 80%. I do not have 6 grades U and my grade 12 U ENG mark is 67%. 🙁

    I want to apply to U of T for Psychology Program and I was wondering how much weight my 67% grade is going to receive when considering my admission. Is my 2 yrs college compensate or help in any way? My college diploma will be nothing related to Psychology.

    Thank you,
    Violeta

    ———————————————

    Hey Violeta,

    If you head over to the Admissions website and fill the questions out, you’ll find that what the university will be considering for your entry. For the most part, they’ll be looking at your past two years over at Humber, so your 67 won’t be a big deal.

    You’ll have to take PSY100H like any other person hoping to get into the Psych program, but after admission, you can definitely apply for transfer credits. If they’re granted to you, they’ll most likely just be in some generals arts courses or whatnot.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • grades,  psychology,  tests

    fall time freak outs

    October 17, 2012

    Hi,

    I’m a first year student at UofT. Like most other students in Toronto I am in the middle of going through my first batch of tests. My first test in university was the Psych100. I thought I did really great, I knew the material and left the test room feeling pretty confident that I left with a 80 at least. I check today and I barely pass!! I am feeling very down about this and more than worried about pulling up my grade, there is one more test and then the exam, weighing near the same amount, do you think I can pull up my grade to at least decent? And if I do horribly, can I retake Psych100 in the winter term because I know there is a class?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    Hey there first-year!

    Reading your little message has left me at a loss with all my feelings. Funnily enough, I felt the exact same way as you did after my first exam at U of T. I was so certain that I aced the test but got it back and was heartbroken to find I got a 60. But you know what I did? I studied my butt off for the rest of the term and did well enough.

    So yes, I truly do think you can pull your grade up. With two more tests, you definitely have the opportunity to first assess what exactly went wrong for you, and then to show that you’ve studied harder and that you’re willing to go the extra mile.

    However, the problem for you is that if you do horribly but still technically pass and thus get the credit for PSY100, then no, you cannot retake it unless that’s to meet some sort of program requirement. So if you’re in the course so that you can get into the Psychology program and don’t meet the required grade the first time around, then you will be allowed to retake it, but the mark that will be on your transcript and that will count toward your CGPA will be the first *horrible* one.

    So depending on whether or not you yourself think you’ll be able to improve, you can either work harder and try to salvage things, or you can drop the course and restart from full in the winter.

    Good luck with the rest of the course!

    aska

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  • psychology,  subject POST

    three times the fun!

    October 10, 2012

    I’m just in the process of finishing my bachelor of arts with a major in anthro and history at u of t (will hopefully graduate in december) and have been considering going back to school to do a third major in psychology. Do you know how this process works? Would i have to go back for another four year bachelor or is it possible to go back focussing only on psychology and finish that up in a few (or more) semesters?Any info would help cuz i got no clue! thanks!

    ———————————————

    Hey there!

    So I take it you love school, huh? Or maybe just U of T? It’s okay. I totally understand.

    Anyhow, I talked to a very reliable source and the answer is no, you won’t have to complete another degree, because yes, you can come back after graduating with your two majors to do a third major in psychology. (My source also recommends you go talk to your college registrar about this question.)

    Now this process might be a bit troublesome. Assuming you haven’t taken PSY100H1, you’ll definitely need to do that right away. If this is your last year, try fitting it in next semester. Or try taking it in the summer so that you can use it to apply to the POSt next April. You don’t necessarily need to be part of the program to take any courses that are 200-level and up, but you do need that course to take any other PSY courses.

    I’d say that the quickest way to go about this major of 7.0 FCE would be to take PSY100H1 in the winter term, then maybe one or two more in the summer, then a full course load of 5.0 FCE during the 2013-2014 year, and then one final summer semester in early 2014. But do check out the requirements and see if you miraculously have any of them completed already.

    Hopefully this helped you!

    aska

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  • psychology

    why UTM … why?

    March 7, 2012

    Hello! I was just wondering what the UTM requirements are to apply to do a psychology major after not initially meeting the initial requirements. On the UTM calendar it says to go to the psychology homepage but I can’t seem to find anything lol.Thank you for your help!

    ———————————————

    I feel like crying or throwing a plate against the wall … why UTM psychology … why?

    It pains me to say this … but … I … can’t…. ugh … find it.

    I’m going with it’s not published anywhere just to see if your psycho abilities can read minds or something. I found the St.George Second-year requirements, but that’s not really applicable unless you transfer to save some troubles.

    Give one of these folks a shout:

    FOR MORE INFORMATION

    Jodie Stewart
    Academic Counsellor
    905-828-5414
    jodie.stewart@utoronto.ca

    Dr. Stuart Kamenetsky, Associate Chair,
    Undergraduate Director and Faculty Advisor
    905-828-3958
    stuart.kamenetsky@utoronto.ca

    sigh,

    aska

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  • psychology

    Cheating UofT’s Psychostupidity

    November 3, 2011

    Hi Aska!

    So I’m going to UofT (St. George) next September for Arts and I have a (possibly quite stupid) question about psych. I’ve always been fascinated by psychology and had wanted to study it, but well, I never gave much effort towards the whole science/math thing. I know that you need calculus in order to take any higher year psych course, but do you think, that there is any, possible, tiny little loop hole that would let me say, take a year abroad, where I would take a bunch of psych courses and UofT might let me have a minor? Please aska, your my only hope!!!
    -e.s.

    ———————————————

    Hey e.s

    There are no stupid questions, just ones desperately looking for the answer they want to hear. Unfortunatley U of T isn’t very loop-holey when it comes to program requirements.

    This is what the course calendar currently says the requirments for a Psych minor are:

    Required courses:

    • PSY100 with a final mark of a least 73% (AP Psychology not suitable)
    • Students applying to this program after first year must also have a) a senior-level high school Calculus course, or equivalent; and b) completed 4-full university courses.

    First Year: PSY100H1
    After PSY 100:
    1. Statistics: PSY201H1/ECO220Y1/ECO227Y1/GGR270H1/HMB325H1/SOC202H1/STA220H1/STA250H1
    2. Two of PSY210H1/PSY220H1/PSY230H1/PSY240H1/PSY260H1/PSY270H1/PSY280H1/PSY290H1
    3. Two half-courses (1 FCE) at the 300+-level taken from Group 1 below, in any of Clusters A and B
    4. 1 FCE from Goups 1 and/or 2 below

    Those are the courses that you must take. While there is a possibility for you to take courses at another school, you would have to transfer them and it would be difficult to get them to meet all the requirements above. An even further blow is that you can’t even enrol in the minor without the highschool calculus.

    Unfortunately things don’t look too bright and shiny unless you take the Calc course, in which case you can take the psych minor at U of T.

    You can always take a Psych course or two as an elective for your breadth or distribution requirements … just to end on a happy note.

    til death do us part (or graduation),

    aska

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  • psychology,  Transferring

    Insert Witty Title About Psychology and Transferring

    October 7, 2011

    Hello,

    I am in my fourth year at U of T-SG, within the past year or so I have taken a bunch of psych courses, approximately three credits, and have grown to genuinely enjoy the subject. I am looking to apply to the major at the next round of applications in the year 2012 however was wondering what kind of expectations I should have in regards to admission criteria. The arts and science calendar website says the following:

    To enrol after second year, students must have a) a senior-level high school Calculus course, or equivalent; b) a 73% in PSY 100H1; c) a 70% in PSY 201H (or equivalent); d) one additional 200-level PSY course with at least a 70%.

    Out of these I have a 78% in psych100 and a 76% in a 200 level PSY course. I have yet to complete the rest. The website says this is a limited enrollment program. I was wondering just how competitive this program is and what my chances of being accepted would be so far, keeping in mind that I have not yet completed all the pre-requisites.

    Also, if I am not accepted to the major on the SG campus is it possible to switch to the Mississauga campus where the admission criteria is lower? Would it be possible to witch my two minors (Anthropology and French) as well?

    Sincerely,

    -Erika

    ———————————————

    Hey Erika,

    I feel terrible for breaking your heart because … you seem so nice. BUT your odds aren’t looking good. First off you (capital N) NEED (ok capital all letters) to have all the requirements to even be considered to be invited into the major.

    Secondly, for limited enrolment POSts …

    Side Bar Ted:

    Have you guys seen this? Needless to say aska is fearless would not have flinched a muscle at the secretly terrifying thingermabug)

    Sorry terrible moment to have a side bar …

    Secondly, for limited enrolment POSts, the marks they give are the minimum that they will even consider. Your chances of getting in are actually a lot lower than what they give. It all depends on how many people apply and how smart the applicants are. The acceptance average is usually significantly higher. BUT your grades are higher than the minimum and you might have a lucky year … if you had the other requirements that is.

    You could switch … but it might be more of a pain in the ass then its worth. Check out this resource; it might help you to understand the transferring process.

    My vote is that you pop into your registrar’s office and talk with an academic advisor. They can check out your situation and tell you what game plan is best for you!

    snuggles,
    aska

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  • keeners,  psychology

    do the right thing, brainiac

    April 14, 2011

    Hey aska,

    So I’m in my 4th year, going on 5th (because the Major-Changing-Gods smiled upon me greatly at UofT) BUT:
    I am wondering what you have to do to get an honors thesis if you are only in the Psych Major and not the Specialist?

    I know they say you have to get into a thesis class but I don’t think that’s on the regular calendar. Also why are they excluding us poor majors from all the cool Specialist stuff? Lastly, do you still graduate the major with honors if you do not do an honors thesis?

    Thanks a lot,
    Major(ly) Psych(ed)

    ———————————————

    Dear Major(ly) Psych(ed)

    Cute name! Askastudent loves it when people give themselves nicknames. It’s the little things that count.

    According the 2011/2012 calendar (ooh it’s so fresh and shiny), the Psychology Major requires the following:

    First Year: PSY100H1
    After PSY100:

    1. Statistics: PSY201H1/ECO220Y1/ECO227Y1/GGR270H1/HMB325H1/SOC202H1/STA220H1/STA250H1
    2. Two of PSY210H1, PSY220H1, PSY230H1, PSY240H1 (Cluster A) and two of PSY260H1, PSY270H1, PSY280H1, PSY290H1 (Cluster B)
    3. Four half-courses (2 FCEs) at the 300+-level from Group 1 below, with at least one half-course from each of Clusters A and B
    4. one 400-level half-course (.5 FCE) from Group 1 below, Cluster A or B
    5. 1.5 FCEs from Groups 1 and/or 2 below

    I don’t see anything about an honors thesis, which seems more streamlined for the Psychology Research Specialist, which you can get into by applying into a PSY lab course in third year.

    My advice is that you be proactive about this. If you want to do an honors thesis, contact the professor you like the best in the Psychology Program and see if you can do one. Contact the Psychology Students Association and ask for their advice. There’s no reason that your major in Psych should stop you from seeking the opportunities for research that you so crave. (And that will certainly improve your application for graduate school, if you are so inclinded.)

    I also see that the “research” tab of the Psych website lists a bunch of profs studying highly specific facets of interest. Maybe you could find a match by perusing those categories?

    My point is that if you want an opportunity to happen, sometimes you have to go about making it happen yourself. Sans honors thesis, you will still graduate with honors (because everyone in Arts and Science graduates with honors – hooray!), but do the honourable thing, and go after what you want while you can.

    Hope that helps!

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • psychology

    threats of cruelty do not effect U of T, much like Zeus

    January 19, 2011

    Dear Aska,Please please please answer this question because you are my last resort. The psychology advisor is too busy to listen to my long-winded questions and Google was not very helpful either, so I turn to you. I’m a second-year student currently taking psychology courses, yet not majoring in psychology because I did not take the dreaded calculus in high school, nor did I take advanced functions for that matter. I really want to get into the psychology major and so I have decided to devote this summer to achieving the calculus credit. Well not the whole summer: I will be away for all of August for the Summer Abroad program (thus PUMP is out of the question). That leaves community college or the Independent Learning Center.The thing that you must first understand about me is that my brain is sadly, mathematically challenged. I can achieve okay grades if I sit down with the material for hours, simply memorizing by rote without really understanding.If I take high school courses on-line (or even in night school), I will be required to do functions before calculus, since it is a prerequisite. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to complete both over the course of the summer (and I also wanted to get a job and have some sort of life, which would be impossible). I would really like to be done before August, so this option seems bleak.The option of on-line university or college courses is also daunting. For one, will the grade I receive count towards my GPA? In that case, this option is out of the question because my GPA would drop drastically. The other issue is price – I am broke as can be at the moment. And finally there is the difficulty – I’m afraid I wouldn’t even be able to pass, given my wondrous “abilities”. So basically, I guess I am asking for the fastest, hopefully cheapest, and easiest way out. If all else fails, it has to at least be the fastest. If that fails as well, I will be forced to transfer to another university and spread rumours about the inflexibility and cruelty of U of T. I wish that was a joke. Thank you in advance,Troubled Student 🙁

    ———————————————

    Okay troubled student,

    Pretty much what I got out of that – yes, very long-winded question – was that you want the easy way out. If the psychology major is something that “you really wanted to get into”, then you wouldn’t make excuses. I know, I know Aska’s being a tough little thing.
    Take this summer to stop memorizing math and start actually learning it. Grab a tutor and sit down with them and start actually understanding things. You won’t have to worry about your CGPA if you do well in the course and maybe the fear of it lowering will push towards trying hard in math.

    The reason why I’m saying this is because you will encounter Stats courses in psychology and it will be benefiticial if you already have Calc and Vectors.

    Trust me, U of T already has a strict reputation, so any number of rumors that you choose to spread will have slim to no effect on the school. They aren’t going to waver a prereq for any student that begs. They are put there to make sure students do not suffer throughout their majors and so that the pimp outside of the Eaton Centre does not attend U of T without an education or at least one of his best ladies.

    Its one course, you can handle this.

    Love,
    Aska

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  • psychology

    So if i just don’t take the science courses for my BSc, I get a BA right?

    January 16, 2011

    Hey!

    I’m a prospetive UofT social science student and was wondering if physcology was only offered as a life science or also as a social sci program. I also applied to Queens and McGill, both of which offered physcology as a social science….?

    Thanks, friend!

    ———————————————

    Unfortunately there is no way around the science aspect of a physcology degree at U of T. All three campus’ offer a bachelor of science degrees in physcology and only test-tube-boiling-over-science.

    In case you were still interested here is the information for all three campus’

    St.George (the smarty pants campus)

    UTM (uhhh the mathy campus)

    UTSC (the unknown campus)

    Go U of T … three different Bsc. programs balance out the one BA programs offered at McGill and Queens

    Stay Golden,
    Aska

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  • other schools (boo!),  psychology

    There’s other uni choices than U of T … hmm

    January 12, 2011

    whuuudup?!
    so I?m a grade 11 student and I’ve started looking into different universities. U of T, York, Ryerson and Laurentian (LU only because I?m from Sudbury … home of the big nickel, holllla) are the ones I?m leaning towards for Psychology or something similar. What’s your take on my prospective choices? Have any insight on majoring in psychology? Right now I’ve got high eighties and low nineties, and I know I’ll be able to meet the minimum admissions requirements for each school.
    – Kaydee (:

    ———————————————

    Yo Kaydee

    Are you asking my opinion because subconsciously you know that I will recommend U of T and that’s secretly what you are leaning towards? (there’s a little Psychology preview for you)

    Your grades are looking pretty good for most schools, but if you’re thinking U of T, I would definitely suggest aiming for higher than the minimal requirement. The competition could be higher for your year.
    I’m assuming you want to be in the city based on your prospective schools, so lets just bump LU. We all know the cool kids are in Toronto.
    Now, if you’re are looking into Toronto schools I would narrow it further down to Ryerson or U of T just because they are downtown and close to all the happening shiz. York would probably be a good school if you want to hide in your room and study.

    U of T has a cooler building.

    Warning: this is a heavily biased opinion.

    Cheers,
    Aska

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