• summer abroad

    To Infinity and Abroad

    December 16, 2011

    Hey! I’m in first year at U of T, and really interested in the international exchange program that’s offered. After browsing the website, I have a good idea of what kinds of options are out there and what the requirements are. My question: how do I know what language the courses at each institution are taught in? Are there english language options in Spain or Germany? Thanks so much for your help aska!

    ———————————————

    Hey there world wanderer,

    The summer abroad website has this little disclaimer yelling out in bold: “All classes, with the exception of language courses, are taught in English”

    For 2012, the Germany trip is offering the following classes:

    • GGR300Y0 Special Topics in Geography: The City as Problem and Promise – Berlin as a Case Study
    • POL300Y Contested Boundaries: Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism in Germany and Europe at the Beginning of the 21st Century

    And there is no Spain program, so either all or none of the courses are taught in english. It really depends if you’re a glass half full or empty kind of person.

    go far and wander,

    aska

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  • engineering

    Super Hero Squad – Core 8

    December 9, 2011

    Hey there!
    I’m a high school student in an Mississauga high school, and I’m hoping to get into the Engineering Science program…which as we all
    know means 4 years of weight loss and no sleep. Its a really tough program, and I am going to try my hardest but what I want to know is,
    supposing I don’t get good grades in that program, can I tranfer to one of the core 8 eng programs after 1semester/year or will I just get
    booted out? On a side note, just wanted to know, does the student profile form really make a difference on the application?
    Thanks a lot!
    Avi

    ???????????????

    Hi yah Avi,

    I actually had to send my owl over to the TrackOne office to get some clarification. Our owls must have gotten a little lost or had a fling together, but an answer has come through. Here is what they had to say:

    TrackOne (all 1 word) students only need to maintain a 60 average in *both* semesters to be guaranteed transfer into the Core 8 program of
    their choice. We don’t average out the whole year, we need 60’s in both semesters. That’s because if they drop below 60 in a semester, they end
    up on probation, and specifically it’s students on probation who aren’t guaranteed their top choice.

    We also always remind them that they cannot transfer into Engineering Science, only Core 8.

    A whole slew of super smart people will most likely be applying to engineering and the application is probably a way?of seperating the super smart. If everyone has the same marks, the application will be important, but if you are turbo smart then it won’t matter as much.

    If you want to check out all the sections of the applications theres a link for that bad boy?(no longer available).

    merry exams,
    aska

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  • colleges

    Re: Tis The Season To Be In Innis

    December 2, 2011

    Hello 🙂
    so does this mean that I have to put all of them as number one on the OUAC, or just choose the one that appeals to me the most.
    So lets say for eg. Choiices are.ranked like the following:
    1.) Trinity college
    1.) Innis college
    1.)victoria college
    Or
    1.) Trinity
    2.) New college
    3.) Innis college
    4.) Victoria college

    ———————————————

    Hi!

    Scenerio number 2 is correct … only one can be number ranked one. The only colleges that are concerned about being ranked number 1 are Innis, Trinity and Victoria. The others will consider your application no matter what you rank them.

    Meaning that because Trinity is your number one, Innis and Victoria will not consider your application. So, if one of those three really appeal to you, make sure they are your only number one choice.

    I hope this actually clarified things for you and not made them into a glass of mud.

    forever faithful (most of the time),

    aska

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  • biology

    B.I.A – Biology Intelligence Agency

    December 2, 2011

    I’m in my second year now in lifesci, I never completed my ochem credit and need it this year for bio230. I told the bio dept I’d take chm151 at the same time as bio230 and I really feel like dropping it right now. I would prefer to take chm138 later on.
    Would the bio dept find out and take back the credit?

    ———————————————

    yo yo,

    I can’t imagine that they would keep tabs on something like that. Once they’ve checked the prerequisite and then waved it, I’m sure they don’t round back and check again … but who knows.

    If it’s something that you have to take anyways, and there is the chance that there could be repercussions for your bio class, I would try to finish it now if you can.
    If you are looking to definitely drop the course you are going to have to make an appointment with an academic advisor because you are looking to do a Late Withdrawal now. I would actually call your registrar’s office, well, now! The last day to do a late withdrawal is Wednesday, Decemeber 7, the last day of classes. From what I understand, the offices are in quite the frenzy trying to fit all the appointments in.
    holiday cheers,
    aska
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  • syllabus

    Syllabi? … Syllabuses?

    December 2, 2011

    Hey aska!

    I’m trying to have a course I took as a freshman credited as a course substitute for my program requirements. But for me to get approval, I have
    to provide the department with the course syllabus. Now, I can’t find mine because, well, who keeps those things after the course has ended? Soanyway, I decided to check past timetable and have discovered that our batch was the last class it has been taught to. Is there any way to get a syllabus from the academic year 2008-2009?

    ———————————————

    hey,

    It depends on the course on how you would go about getting the syllabus … but you know what … challange accepted!

    Pleeeease let it be a Commerce program. If it’s Rotmans than we might whistle a different tune for you. They actually have their syllabi … syllabuses … hold on a second, I need to look that up:

    …

    what do you know, both are grammatically correct.

    Anywho, click here for Rotman syllabi.

    For some of the courses, you can have access to the course content on Blackboard, here. I personally feel like this resource is a pain in the donkey.
    My final suggestion is to shoot an email to the professor or the department. You’ve got a pretty good shot that one of those have a copy for you.

    Hope one of these actually works for you.

    truly yours,

    aska
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  • Transferring

    To Infinity And St George

    December 2, 2011
    Hi,
    I was wondering if transfer within UofT (not hard to guess from where to UTSG) also possible during the winter session. I know the dates are already over for this year, but supposing a student wanted to transfer downtown, but missed it during Fall 2012, would he be able to do it in the next semester? Would the rules be any different for a student in second year? For a student who, like many, is considering transferring to the “other” campus location, what would be a possible source of difficulty in enrollment and beyond?
    Thank you much.
    ???????????????
    ?
    They only do the whole transfer process one time a year. Changing campus’ is fairly common occurence, so the process is actually quite simple.
    ?
    Use this resource. Fill out the info and it will take you to another screen outlining the transferring process for you.

    If you are transfering at U of T? and are in arts/humanities/social sciences this is what the page will look like for you

    ?
    The

    How and when should I apply for Full-time or Part-time studies?
    is probably the area what will help you out the month.
    ?
    there’s a snake in my boot,
    aska

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  • environment,  geography

    When Politics and Speaking German Are Not Your Thing Try Saving The Planet

    December 2, 2011

    Hi Aska,

    So I have a couple of questions for you…

    I’m currently a first year student at UTSG. Originally, I came into U of T with the intention of majoring in political science and/or German, so all
    of my courses now are in the humanities/arts field. However after a few months, I realize that I’m more interested in Geography/Environmental
    Studies, which was something I considered seriously in high school. So I am concerned because I’m not sure if I would need to transfer into the Life Sciences Department. What’s the deal with this?

    I also just realized that in order for me to major in this, I would need to have taken Chemistry 12 in high school in order to take the first year
    Biology and Chemistry courses, and I failed my Chem 12 AP course….Does this mean I can’t take the Chemistry and Biology first year courses? Who can I talk to about this?

    I have one last question regarding degree requirements. I read somewhere that only 6.0 FCES from 1st year courses are counted towards your degree. Considering how I will probably have 5.5 FCES already from 1st year courses in the HUMANITIES/ARTS field, how will this fare for me since I will be taking biology/chemistry/math first year courses next year for my new intended major?

    Sorry for the rant….

    MajorChange

    ———————————————

    Hey Major Change,

    Political Science … phew who needs that when we have people like Rob Ford in control. He seems to have things under control <insert obvious eye roll here>

    This switch shouldn’t be all that horrifying. Life Science is apart of the Arts and Science department so switching around is mainly just having the requirements and applying to the subject POSt.

    Saying that, I don’t actually think Life Sci is the best place to share your enviro/geography love.

    They do have a couple of programs but the Centre for Environment or Geography department might be suiting.

    Unfortunately most of the science streams in both Environment and Geography do require Grade 12 Chem and Bio. Meaning that you would have to look into doing some highschool nightschool or an equivalent to take even the first year courses. I have heard that sooooome math courses don’t check the highschool requirment, but I haven’t heard anything about chem or bio. You can call the departments and see if they will make an exception but I wouldn’t rely on that.

    But in the spirit of Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa and any others that I have forgotten, I have an alternate solution for you. Well actually a couple of possible solutions (I know, I can feel your excitment radiating through the screen).

    1) Take a stream of Env or Geo that’s an Arts program over a science. These bad boys do not have highschool science requirements.
    2) There is a specialist and major program called “Environmental Geography” which just might combine all your interests.
    Any first year coures that exceed the 6.0 credits are considered “extra credits”. Meaning that the marks are not calculated into your CGPA and do not count towards your graduation requirement of 20 credits. BUT they can count towards your programs requirements.
    Rants are always more intersting then calm speaking.
    snuggles and warm apple cider,
    aska
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  • innis

    Tis The Season To Be In Innis

    December 1, 2011
    hello 🙂
    my name is abena and i want to know what the admission requirements for innis college is
    thank you 🙂

    ———————————————

    Hey Abena,

    Innis College’s admissions are usually a couple percentages over the program requirements. So it depends on the program you are applying to. Just keep in mind that Innis College (along with Trin and Vic) require that they are chosen as number one in order to be considered.

    beers and cheers,

    aska

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  • Transferring

    Bop it, Twist it, Switch it

    December 1, 2011
    Ask,
    How would i switch from UTSG to UTSC? I’m in my third year and i’m okay with taking more years of University
    -A

    ???????????????

    A,

    Click here and your life will be fulfilled … oh wait …?I meant here.

    Fill out the shiz that applies to you and it will give you the steps you need in order to transfer.

    tis the season,

    aska

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  • architecture

    The Dapper Architect

    December 1, 2011

    Hey Ask,

    I’ve been browsing these forums for a few months now and I’d first like to say that I like the layout of the site. Here’s my question: If you get accepted into U of T St. George for Architecture and then want to switch Faculties into Arts & Science, Computer Science most likely, is it easy/hard or possible/impossible to switch faculties after acceptance?

    Thanks a lot,
    Thomas

    ???????????????

    Hey Thomas,

    The whole Architecture deal is all up in the air at the moment. Currently Architecture is a part of the Faculty of Arts and Science. Meaning that it’s just a matter of switching subject POSts in order to be in Computer Science … for now.

    Architecture wants to feel all fancy and dapper so they are becoming their own faculty next year. Buuut they haven’t worked all the kinks out just yet.

    From what I hear, you will still graduate with a Bachelor of Arts, meaning that logically you should be able to take arts and science courses and even double major with?another program like the rest of the artsci kids.

    In any situation you will still be able to switch faculties. Just ask the engineers turned artsci folk.

    tenderly yours,
    aska

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  • fees,  OSAP,  tuition

    I’m Going To Save Lives, So You Make My Tuition Higher?

    December 1, 2011
    I’m a student currently attending Fleming College. A few days ago I got early acceptance into the practical nursing program; which means I’ll be starting Jan 2012. I’m currently already enrolled in a program (GHS). I have already started the process of changing my OSAP application to say I’ll be taking nursing in Jan and not finishing the GHS program. My question was since my tuition for nursing is a LOT more than my tuition for GHS will the amount of OSAP I get in Jan change?

    ———————————————

    … at U of T? Actually its probably the same for Fleming college.

    What will most likely happen is a reassement.
    OSAP will look at your finances again and if your entitlement is more they will release that to you.

    Depending how fast things are assessed, you may receive all of your new OSAP in Jan. If it takes a long time, they will issue what you were already entitled and you will receive the difference later on in the semester.

    Happy nursing!

    yours,
    aska

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