• extracurricular,  fraternities & sororities,  languages

    i’m French i speak Spanish i wannabe Greek

    January 8, 2010

    Hi aska,

    I’ve got a few questions, so I’ll keep them short and simple.

    1. I’ve just applied for a BA(Humanities) majoring in Spanish at U of T St George. My current average is an 87%. Should I be panicking about being accepted?

    2. I’ve been told that none of the Spanish profs are native speakers. I’d like to know if this is true or not. I’d prefer to learn from a native speaker because I am already a bilingual speaker.

    3. Is there a club for French Canadian students? Im French Canadian. I’ve been told various times that people in Toronto really, really don’t like us. At all. Is this something that could hold me back socially or is it just some sort of friendly rivalry caused by hockey? Is there a French Canadian student association?

    4. I’ve been looking into sororities. Judging from their websites, they seem like a good idea. However, my boyfriend is in a fraternity and says that most of them are bad and cult-like. Could anyone help me out with this?

    Cheers

    M

    ——————————-

    Hi M, sorry about the extremely late response. I totally missed your post for some reason. Anyway, hope the reply makes up for it.

    1) I wouldn’t panic if I were you. Just try and keep your marks up, but make sure to enjoy your last year of high school too!

    2) Check out this webpage. In the FAQ session, it says ‘Our instructors come from different regional origins, and our curriculum is inclusive, so you will hear different accents and be exposed to a variety of texts. Our basic courses emphasize the common structure of the language and no particular accent or dialectal usage is preferred over another. As you progress, you will become exposed to the richness of Spanish across the world.’

    Glancing over the staff listed in the departments webpage, at least two of the professors did their degree in Argentina. Another was born in Dominican Republic and grew up in Puerto Rico. Another was born in Brazil – at least that’s a neighbour of a Spanish-speaking country. If that’s not good enough for you, then you’re just being picky. Instead of being hell-bent on being taught by a native-speaker, why not embrace the diversity of the professors at UofT? After all, not all English professors have English listed as their first language, and physics professors certainly dont start out doing quantum mechanics as babies. Even though some of your professors may not be native speakers of Spanish, it doesnt mean you won’t learn anything from them. In fact, it might, as the FAQ says, ‘expose [you] to the richness of Spanish across the world.’

    If you check out the anti-calendar, youll see that all the Spanish classes are very small compared to many of the other classes at UofT – ITA251 had 23 students and ITA355 had 21 and so on. If anything, youll enjoy the personal attention that the professors will be able to offer you.

    For more information, you may want to check out the courses offered and/or email the department. For opportunities to actually practise speaking in a Spanish setting, you may want to look into an exchange program to Spain or Mexico or another Spanish-speaking country.

    3) I’ve browsed through ULife and I cant find one, though I did find a French Club that seems pretty active. You can also try asking the French club if they have events specifically for French Canadian students. I haven’t really had a problem with prejudice against French Canadians, but then again, I’m not French Canadian. At the end, though, I think Toronto really is an extremely diverse city. I suppose it’s possible that you might meet a bigot, but the chance is probably less than that of most other cities… most people are pretty open here.

    The French Club probably has some French Canadian members. How about emailing the club and asking to speak to one of their French Canadian members? They might be able to give you a better perspective about life in Toronto as a French Canadian than I am able to.

    4) The past responses in the fraternities and sororities category have been very negative, but being objective isn’t really a requirement of aska’s job. But anyway, the sororities page has some information that pertains to UofTs sororities directly that you might want to read up on. Apparently, they have no hazing rituals, so thats good for you. They don’t seem to be on the radar of most UofT students, from my experience, but perhaps the average UofT student avoids them because they are ignorant of them and the only thing they know about frats/sororities are the stereotypes they have. Stereotypes shouldnt dissuade you from joining one, though. One of my friends supports them whole-heartedly… while another one says that there hasnt been any bad press about them for years. Still, you should note that the sororities at UofT are not recognized as official clubs, unlike they are in the US.

    If you are interested in sororities, then you should go to the ‘rush’, their recruitment period. There you’ll be able to meet with other people from each sorority and see how you get along with them and see how you feel in that certain sorority. It might give you an idea of whether or not you’d like to join, just like touring a University would give you an idea of whether or not you’d like to attend it. At the end, joining a sorority is not signing a contract. If you join a sorority and then find that they are actually obsessed-with partying or they offend your morals (or whatever), you can always ‘depledge’ and withdraw from one. Also, if/when you get into UofT, your local college registrar is just a call away and may be able to give you more information.

    No one can tell you whether or not to join a sorority but yourself. Personally, I would never join one but hey, I’m more of a person who likes to talk with people on a one-to-one basis. If the panhellenic lifestyle (yeah, sorry, I just had to post something stereotypical … like I said, being objective is not part of aska’s job. Oh, and don’t watch that movie. It’s terrible.) appeals to you, then by all means, go for it.

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  • languages

    peut-etre, je devais ecrire en Francais pour un jour

    January 7, 2010

    I’m (hopefully) going to UofT next year and I’m not really sure whether or not to continue French. I also want to take Mandarin and I thought you couldn’t take two first year language courses. Since I will have grade twelve french do I get to skip right to FSL 221Y? Thanks.

    ———————————————

    As a matter of fact, you can take two first year language courses. The only restriction that you have on first year courses is that no more than 6 first year credits will count towards your GPA. If you do get into FSL221Y, though, it wouldn’t actually count as a first-year course.

    If you’re passionate about languages, I would suggest that you give a French course a try. You don’t have to continue on with a French program if you find that you don’t like it. You’ll find that many people in University will change majors so you don’t have to decide what subjects to continue in right away.

    As for which French course you will be placed in, I actually just called the French department and they told me that the course you take depends on the your results on the placement test only, and that there is no general “trend” as to which course Grade 12 students are placed into. And the test is mandatory, so you might as well wait until you get into University before trying to figure out which course you’ll be placed in! Slow down there, eager beaver.

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  • residence

    your tummy will thank me

    January 6, 2010

    Hello,

    I am working on my application to Toronto and have a question concerning
    Innis College. I notice that it is not mandatory to have a meal plan at any
    one of the Innis residences. Can I still get a meal plan if I go to Innis?

    ——————————————————

    As a matter of fact, you can, but not through Innis College or Innis Residence itself. As a matter of fact, I lived at Innis residence last year and I got a meal plan from CampusDish. Check out the meal plan brochure. There are two kinds of meal plans available: declining balance meal plans and all-you-can-eat meal plans.

    You know what though? I didn?t actually use up all my money from last year?s meal plan (I bought a $500 meal plan.) In fact there?s not a lot of places at which you can use the declining meal plan?the only major ones that come to my mind are MegaBytes at the Bahen Centre, Sid?s Caf?, and the Subway up at Robarts. The variety isn?t great, to say the least, and you’ll getting Subway two days. Personally, I don’t think their meal plans are worth buying. If I were you I’d buy food on the campus caf??s with cash. That way, you’d have the option of going to Chinatown during your 4-hour breaks for Sushi or Thai food or Vietnamese food, instead of dry sandwiches/pizza. The restaurants on Bloor Street are also good choices.

    Also, since you’re going to be living at Innis, it would be a perfect time for you to start to learn how to cook.

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  • campus

    music: not the universal language after all

    January 6, 2010

    Hi
    I’m a first year student here, that lives at Woodsworth. I’ve been trying to find out (through my good friend, Google) if there’s a recording studio of some sort on campus at U of T. I’m not expecting a decked out, huge state of the art studio. But does U of T have a place where people can go and record? My brother went to U of R (Regina) and they had a room with a very basic recording booth where you could record out stuff out of. Does U of T have something like this?
    I read somewhere that the Music Faculty has a recording studio (makes sense lol). Would I (a non-music student) be able to use it if it indeed does have one? And if not, are there any other places you know of?

    Thank you!

    ———————————————

    Unfortunately, I don’t have good news for you. I just emailed the Faculty of Music, and they’ve told me that their recording studio is only open to Faculty of Music students. Sorry!

    I tried to look for a recording studio at UofT though, but all of them seem mighty expensive. So unless you?re crazy rich, you could considering just recording with a camcorder or something Or you could, you know, just jam out your frustrations with your friends on Rock Band. Or go make parodies of Katy Perry songs and share them with your other best internet buddy, YouTube.

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  • UTSC

    yeah. but don’t expect a call from me anytime soon

    January 4, 2010

    Hey aska,

    I’m in grade 12 and I’ve been looking through the site to answer my questions. I just have one slightly more specific question that I would like to ask. I want to go into U of T Co-op Management and I’m not too worried about the admission average (which is mid 80’s). However, I heard that for the prerequisite courses (English, Advanced Functions, Calculus), I would have to have a minimum mark in order to be even considered. Is that true? I heard the minimum mark is like 85 for those three courses. I’m currently getting slightly below 85 for AF, so I’m a bit worried. Even though there’s time to bring it up, the tests have been killer. Any advice/help/answers will be appreciated!!!

    Thank you!

    —————————————–

    I?m 95% sure that UTSC doesn?t have a minimum mark for those three courses. There’s nothing in the viewbook that says anything about a minimum grade in Calculus or English at all, nor does it say that “particular attention” will be paid towards that courses. That?s not to say that someone with C?s in Calc and English will get in, but I?m quite sure that they won?t reject someone just for getting, say, an 84 in English and Calculus, as long as the other marks included in their Top 6 courses are quite high.

    By the way, I heard that cows are blue. Okay, I’m just kidding. But my advice to you is to not believe instantly what you hear from other people – if there?s something you need to know, go ahead, take initiative, and contact the department. I’m going to contact UTSC too and if they say that there is a minimum mark, I’ll let you know.

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  • courses

    wouldn’t bank my luck on “miracles” if I were you (otherwise, I’d be getting straight A’s)

    January 4, 2010

    Hi 🙂

    i was enrolled for two biology courses (one in fall and one in spring). the one in the fall is the prerequisite for the one in the spring. even though i dropped out of the fall course, i am still enrolled in the spring course on ROSI. i have to take both courses eventually so can i still take the tests and exams for the spring course even though i don’t have the prerequisite. i’ll probably be taking the fall course during the summer. i have a feeling that i will have to drop out of the spring one but by some miracle if i do well, will i get penalized for taking a course without the prerequisite?

    Thanks

    —————————————–

    This is a question best answered by someone other than the acclaimed askastudent. You should go and email/call the undergraduate administrator of the department that hosts your biology course ? whether it?s cell and systems biology, ecology and evolutionary biology, biochemistry, or whatever it is (or even better, VISIT and go talk to the undergraduate advisor!) ? and ask for permission to take the course. Otherwise, you?re essentially gambling, and the stakes are high. The department has the right to remove you from the course at any time during the semester, and without warning. You would not want to come home one day and find a nasty surprise waiting for you on ROSI.

    Considering that you dropped the fall course, though, I would generally advise you not to take the spring course. Since the fall course was a prerequisite of the spring one, it probably builds on the material that you would?ve learned during the fall course. But I would like to emphasize that you should contact the department. If they DO let you take the course, then there would not be any academic penalty imposed upon you. In the event that they don?t end up letting you take the course though, remember that they may have a good reason.

    In my (not-as-important-as-the-department?s) opinion, you ?have a feeling that you?re going to drop out of the spring one?, so I would advise you to just enroll in another course that you?re interested in, for the sake your time and money. I know you’re afraid of falling behind, but if you’re removed from the spring course without notice, you could fall even more behind. But go and get your fingers warmed up and your tongue wet, cause you have some typin’ n’ talkin’ to be doin’.

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  • admissions,  Toronto

    the CN tower. It’s… uh… tall… and… definitely not boring, nope.

    January 3, 2010

    Hello aska,

    I’ve been worrying about colleges for a while now. The University of Toronto is my first choice. I really want to go there. It’s a dream for me. But I’m worried that I might not be accepted. My GPA is a 3.3 or 88.04. After this semester, it may go up, though. I’m working hard on that. I scored a 27 on my ACT and I did two SAT Subject tests in Literature and Math Level I. I got a 580 on the Literature test and I’m waiting for my score for the Math Level I exam. I know my SAT II score for Literature is low and I’m trying to see if I can change that. I have also been in the National Honor Society for the past two years and I have been on my school’s newspaper for three years. I am now an editor for the paper. I have volunteered in a hospital during the summers of my sophomore and junior year and I volunteered at my middle school during the summer of my freshman year. I have taken a college course and received credit for it. Now, my questions are:

    1) Does the University of Toronto look at SAT II scores as much as they look at everything else?
    2) Do they look at the extracurricular activities you have done throughout your high school career?
    3) Do I have a good chance at getting in?

    If this helps, I am interested in taking psychology. So, I guess that would be the life sciences program.

    I also have questions about the University of Toronto in general. They are:’

    1) Can I take a double minor?
    2) Is the University of Toronto a fast-paced school or no? I want to go to a school that challenges me but I do not want to go to a school that teaches you a topic one day and then that is it.
    3) Are the people there generally nice? =)
    4) Is Toronto as fun as people say? I heard it’s a fun city and I want to learn but have fun at the same time.

    Thank you for your help! =)

    ———————————————

    First batch of questions:

    1) I’m sorry. I don’t know. I just know they do look at SAT II scores.

    2) No. The Faculty of Arts and Science does not look extra-curricular activities at al (unless you are applying to commerce). However, you seem to have some spectacular extra-curricular activities. One possible idea is to write a letter to admissions and awards highlighting your non-academic strengths and mail it in with your application. Who knows? It could be the deciding factor in the application.

    3) I would say so, especially if you manage to pull up your lit score and get a good score for the math one, but the last time I checked, I’m not an admissions officer. *checks wallet* yup, I’m still broke, so that means I’m still a student. Sorry, I’m not going to be of much help with your first batch of questions – hopefully I can help you more in the second part.

    Second batch:

    1) Yes, you can definitely take a double minor. You can take up to 3 programs at the UofT, with no more than 2 of them being specialists or majors. That means you could have 1 major and 2 minors, or 1 specialist program with 2 minors.

    2) That’s hard to say. I think the pace of each course depends on the material of the course itself. I’ve taken some courses where the profs actually cram as much as they can in one lecture, and I’ve taken courses that just seem to drift along at a leisurely pace. UofT isn’t a pressure-cooker like the pretentious Oxbridge, but ultimately, it will challenge you. The Faculty of Arts and Science here is so flexible that you can really choose courses to be at just the right level of difficulty. For instance, if you feel that taking 5 courses is too easy, go ahead and take a 6th. If you feel that taking 5 courses too hard, add a bird course. If you feel that your psych degree is too easy, go ahead and combine it with another major in, say, cell biology or history or economics or chemistry or equity studies. (Here’s a list of all the programs available at UofT.) Or challenge yourself by joining some extra-curricular activities that require a lot of commitment and involvement.

    3) Well, I think so. There are jerks everywhere, but people here are generally nice people. Some people say that the big campus causes people to feel isolated, but you could mitigate this by, say, joining some extra-curricular activities. (I’m getting deja vu. Didn’t I just say this?)

    4) Toronto is no Paris, but overall it’s a vibrant city with a decent amount of places to explore (though there are no must-see landmarks if you know what I mean, except for maybe Niagra Falls). Being a city that prides itself on its diversity we also have a lot of good, non-American-style restaurants. I’d advise you to visit Toronto first though, if you don’t live too far.

    Hope this helps.

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  • colleges

    wait??why DO men have nipples?

    January 3, 2010

    Hi,

    I really appreciate your site, because I’ve looked at and compared so many
    university websites in the past few months, but a student perspective is
    usually better.
    Anyways, my question is about the “college system” at utoronto. Are the
    students at each residence significantly different? Like, I read somewhere
    that “mostly mature & commerce students go to Woodsworth”. I liked the
    Woodsworth residence the best but if certain people go to certain colleges,
    I should probably think more about my choice because I’d like the most
    varied student body preferrably.

    Also, I was wondering if the “Ethics, Society & Law” program is
    christian-biased because its funded by or housed at Trinity. There seem to
    be a lot of courses within it that are Christian based and less on world
    religions.

    Thanks for all your help!

    ——————————————————————-

    Thanks for your comment. It?s nice to be appreciated for a change. Usually people just send me their high school marks and ask me ?CAN I GET IN 2 UOFT W/ MY MARKZ PLZ K THX?.

    Okay. There?ve been way too many questions about the college system lately. What?s this about Woodsworth having only mature/commerce students? Where are you reading these comments? You know, people can go on and on about how Trinity students are snobs, St. Mike?s students are partiers, and Vic students are super-liberal-people-who-only-care-about-the-arts??but they are simply just stereotypes (you know, kinda like ?teenagers are rebellious?). I advise you to stop googling, because all you?ll get are more and more rumours and useless information about why men have nipples or why your poop is green. People love to make blanket statements. You?ll have to realize that most of them aren?t true. For instance, I have a few friends from Woodsworth. One is in Ethics. Another one?s in commerce and physics. I have a friend from Vic (which is commonly known as the artsy college) who?s in Life Sciences. And I?ve known people in Innis (not Woodsworth) who are in commerce.

    It?s true that Woodsworth is home to the Academic Bridging program (which is aimed at mature students) and that the Rotman facilities are based in the Woodsworth buildings?which is why many commerce students pick Woodsworth?but it?s not like the only people you?ll meet in your college are going to be commerce kids. UofT has a pretty diverse student body in general, and I?ve met some people with crazy major combinations. Also, keep in mind that many of the friends you?ll make might not even be affiliated with your college at all. You?ll probably make more friends with people in your program or who participate in the same extra-curricular activities.

    My advice to you is to go out and visit the other colleges and perhaps meet some of the upper-year students.

    As for the Ethics program, it isn?t affiliated with any religion. Trinity itself is historically an Anglican college. However, there is no rule that you have to be Anglican or even religious to get into Trinity or one of its programs. I?m looking at the course sequence for the Ethics program, but I don?t see any Christian-based courses! In fact, I see only one religion-related course, RLG309Y1 (Religion, Morality, and Law). The course doesn?t seem to be biased towards any particular religion. If you?re interested in word religions, take a look at the courseslisted under the religion department. There?s courses on Hinduism, Judaism, Islam? the list goes on!

    Hope this helps. Feel free to ask me more if I?ve been unclear (*grumble*).

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  • innis

    seeing students through ROSI-tinted spectacles

    January 3, 2010

    Hi Askastudent,

    When I go to the Innis registrar office, and they asked for my student number. I know that they can just type it in, but are my marks and GPA displayed on their monitor right there.

    I am just always so curious about it. My marks are not that great this semester, and I just wanted to know if they actually judge you on it. My GPA isn’t as high as I’d like this semester, and I get embarrassed thinking that they know my marks whenever I need to go do my OSAP or any registrar related matters.

    Thank you.

    —————————————————————————————–

    The fact that the registrar has access to your records shouldn’t come across as a surprise to you the registrar is supposed to be your first stop for any academic problems you’re encountering. If they didn’t have access to your marks, how would they ever be able to help you?

    I’m sure the people at the registrar office won’t judge you for your marks. They are nice people. On top of that, they were students themselves at one point too. I’m sure every one of them has had a semester or two during which their marks dropped a bit. They’re only human, right?

    Don’t worry about your marks. Everyone feels burnt out once in a while! In any case, I’m sure you’re not the only person with low marks this semester.

    In any case, what’s the worst that can happen to you? A little wounded pride? I don’t think you should concern yourself with whether or not they judge you based on your marks. Instead, take advantage of their knowledge and expertise. Keep an open mind; perhaps they’ll give you some advice from which you’ll benefit from in the long run. You’re paying the University for their registrarial services, so you might as well take advantage of it.

    Anyway, you can’t be as embarrassed as these guys.

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