• readings

    why enjoy the summer sun when there’s reading to be done :D

    July 11, 2013

    Hey, I was wondering if there is a list of good reading to do if I was going into ECO105, TRN150 and 151 and HIS 103.What could help me get prepared and maybe put give me my best foot forward?I’ve got nothing to do. If you magically know that would be great… Cheers.

    ———————————————

    Howdy~

    I’m gonna let you in on a secret: I reply to questions based on how easy replying will be, the extent of my knowledge on the topic in question, and by the length of the question (for example, if the question is a block paragraph, jfc I’m handling that one later).

    But one thing that neeeeever speeds up my answering is sending the same question practically ten times.

    Please please please do not email me the same question ten times.

    Fact: changing the subject line those ten times doesn’t make me any less aware of the fact that said message came ten times.

    Now moving on–

    In mid-August, the bookstore usually posts the textbooks that will be needed for almost every course, so you can check those out then, but for now…

    Well, luckily for you, however, the History Department was nice enough to post the textbooks for next year’s courses! Now take this with a grain of salt, naturally, because if you deign to buy the given text and the prof decides to change it two weeks before the course, that’s on you. Just consider these “tentative but basically fer sure.”

    As for your ECO105 and Trin One courses… I dunno.

    If you reaaaaally need to know what will be read, only the profs would know, so contact them. 🙂

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • FLC,  international relations,  polisci,  trinity college

    trin trin…you got IN?

    July 11, 2013

    Is taking Trin one classes like really good for your efforts to get in IR or is it just a waste… PS, if I’m taking a FLC IR and a First year class, is trin one still a good thing to have even if it’s not going towards a major? FInally, I know it’s a bit late to ask, but is there a huge difference if I major International Relations or Political Science?

    Thanks.

    ———————————————

    Yo.

    Entry into the International Relations major is based on two things: (1) your grades in your first year economics course and your first-year history OR Trinity One course, and (2) a statement of interest.

    So basically, taking your Trin One course is a “good thing” depending on how dedicated you are to it. 🙂 But I suppose being able to tell the world you got into a 25-students ONLY sort of club will be nice. Also, it’ll probably look pretty on your statement!

    And is there a huge difference between IR and Poli Sci?

    Ummm well I’m going to go with yes since the former seems to deal with international relations and the latter seems to deal with politics.

    But I don’t see why this has to be an either/or situation.

    Here, you have to complete either (1) one specialist, (2) two majors, or (3) one major and two minors.

    So you can definitely complete a specialist in IR if that’s what you’d like, but keep in mind that there’s an additional requirement for entry in that case: either a language course or calculus.

    But you can easily double major in IR and Poli Sci, which would be great considering IR does include some Poli Sci courses, which will mean overlapping credits, which will also mean more time for electives you can play around with.

    xoxo,
    aska

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  • graduation

    this one’s for you grimace!

    July 11, 2013

    Hi
    If I am doing a major in sociology and psychology. Will my degree show a B.A and a B.SC?
    How does that really work?

    Thank you!

    ?????????

    Hey hey

    I have a friend who did that exact degree!?She opted for a H.B.Sc.

    Now when you do a double major where one thing is an art and the other is a science, you actually get a choice.

    Or well, it’s typically defaulted to science, but if for whatever odd reason you want art, you just tell your registrar.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • admissions,  residence,  trinity college,  university-college

    uoft is not for the weak-hearted

    July 10, 2013

    Just finished 10th grade. Already excited about University. Anyways, I’ve?read the differences between the College’s there and residence. So far I’m?stuck between College University and Trinity College. I’ve read the differences between them but still can’t decide. Any recommendations? What would you say is better and why? And also what residency is also pretty good? I’ve heard good things about Woodsworth? Any recommendations? And is UoT as hard as people say it is? People say they spend all day – all week studying, is that really that difficult?

    ———————————————

    Hey hey you eager beaver!

    So I’m going to divide these questions up because I’m too lazy to write in paragraphs. Enjoy:

    Q. University College or Trinity?
    A. UC all the way.

    Q. For why?
    A. Well to begin, Trinity needs me to complete a profile… a.k.a. more than any other college (aside from Vic). But for you, UC and Trin can be easy to choose between. UC is big where Trin is small. UC isn’t that hard to get into, whereas Trin is more… picky. Yada yada yada.

    Q. Best res?
    A. CHESTNUT! Granted, that one is for the people who aren’t afraid of a little walking and who have a lot more money than others.

    Q. Good things about Woodsworth?
    A. They have a Second Cup and a lovely hall thingie to study in.

    Q. Is UofT as hard as people say it is?
    A. No. UofT isn’t hard, but it does require hard work. The people who say UofT is difficult are the ones that expect university to be a lovely walk in the park.

    Q. All week studying?
    A. Well… the idea of spending all week engrossed in academics when you’re a full-time student shouldn’t be too unbelievable. If you consider that your full-time job at the moment is to get through university, it just… makes sense. Don’t be lazy!

    Q. But all week studying?!
    A. I know. That’s how we weed out the weak.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • enrollment

    time to wait til august 8

    July 10, 2013

    Hi! You probably get asked a similar question a lot, but I’m going into 2nd?year this Sept, and I’m thinking about switching my major from Sociology to?Economics or International Relations, and for that I’ll need?ECO100Y1/ECO105Y1. But on ROSI when I looked up the courses I got the whole?”You do not fit in any enrolment category” thing, but the courses don’t?have any prereqs that I HAVE to take to enrol anyway.

    Will I eventually be able to enrol??

    Thanks!
    Chara

    ?????????

    Chara the Second Year therefore not a First Year,

    Did you check the Enrolment Controls for those courses?

    Cuz I sure did. 😉

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • UTM

    freedom is a funny thing

    July 10, 2013

    Hey,

    I am currently enrolled in Chemical & Physical sciences at University of Toronto-Mississauga and I chose all the courses I need for a major in Chemistry. But I am having trouble in choosing the “Practical” or “elective” courses because I don’t know if I can take whatever I want or if there are requirements. I can’t seem to find any help on the UTM website or any other source. I need your help.

    Thanks a lot,
    Peter

    ———————————————

    Peter,

    The lovely thing about university is that no one holds your hand and no one really tells what you have to take. Or well, for the most part they don’t.

    What I recommend you do is pick your other major/two minors. To fulfil your degree requirements, you need more than just that Chem major to graduate, so let’s work on the idea that you want to complete a second major in Physics.

    If that were the case, you’d have to take Introductory Physics I and II (1.0 FCE) and Calculus (1.0 FCE) or their equivalents alongside Chemical Principles 1 and 2 (1.0 FCE) and, once again, Calculus.

    So what does this hypothetical situation mean?

    That you have the prereqs of your majors down and 2.0 FCE to fill up!

    So now what does THAT mean?

    That you’ve covered your bases and it’s time to move on to ~*~electives~*~! Now you can feel free to learn Spanish or take some random arts course or whatever else suits your fancy.

    Anyway, what you need to do is take a look at the calendar and pick the other programs you want to eventually enrol in come the end of your first year. After you make sure you’re taking their first year requirements, you can move on to your for-fun courses. Don’t worry. It’s not hard at all.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • subject POST

    aska assurances

    July 9, 2013

    Hi aska,

    Thank you for your last reply. It was very informative, and entertaining to say the least. However, I have another question in relation to subject posts.

    I?m interested in enrolling in a major. It?s a Type 2L. One of the requirements for it is a minimum score of 75% in a particular course. I have completed this course with 80%, and I have fulfilled the rest of the requirements.

    I know that you can?t give a definite answer or put an exact number on it, but based on your years of experience, what do you think are my chances? Hypothetically speaking of course. Thank you very much for your help.

    – K.K.

    ?????????

    Kay kay,

    I feel like you just come to me so that I can validate your already correct ideas. 😉

    Anyhow, I’d say you’re quite likely to get into whatever 2L program you’re talking about — but, of course, I can’t guarantee anything.

    But from my years of experience, as long as you’re not applying to some super competitive Rotman or Type 3 sort of program, you’re pretty likely to get into what you want — especially when your average is well above the asked one.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • admissions,  IB,  scholarships/bursaries

    once upon a time i called you guys “international bachelorettes”

    July 9, 2013

    Hi Askastudent,

    I just graduated this year from the IB program. It was a great experience (even though it was quite tough) and I learned a lot about myself regardless. Unfortunately, I didn’t do as well as I thought I would have in the finals, even though I had done better during school. The results just came out this weekend (June 6th).

    If you are wondering why I’m asking you about Uni. at this time of year, well it’s because I decided in Nov. of my senior year that I will be taking a one year sabbatical post-high school. Hence, I will be applying next academic year (this Dec/Jan). U of T was one of the universities I was hoping to aim for, but now I’m not so sure D:

    *Here are my final grades:*

    Bio HL – 6
    Chem HL – 4
    Math HL – 3

    English SL – 6
    Psych SL – 6
    Spanish B SL – 5

    E.E. in MUSIC – C
    TOK – A
    (bonus 2 points)

    That gives me a total of 32 points. Which I feel is a bit below the usual threshold at UofT, but I believe that there’s still a small chance for me. As you can probably tell, I wish to apply for a seat in the Life Sciences/Biology major.

    So, what do you think of my situation? Any important factors that you think will play a big part in my decision? Advice on what you think I should do that might up my chances (SAT’s, online programs, etc)? Also, if you could give me some idea as to whether I am viable for some kind of scholarship?

    I’d appreciate the honest feedback.

    Thanks,
    A prospective student.

    ———————————————

    Prospective student,

    I think many things.

    I think “I don’t know what the heck those numbers are supposed to mean… I should probably look that up.” I think “I can’t believe I got home at 11 PM last night because of that crazy ass weather.” I think “I need a coffee.”

    But I also think you shouldn’t have much of problem getting into UofT. 🙂

    Looking at the requirements, they call for a score of at least 28 or more, but for more competitive programs (like Life Sci), you should have at least 30 to be competitive — which, yippie, you have!

    There’s no need to take SATs or online courses because fact: UofT doesn’t give a crap about em.

    But one thing I want to let you in on is the possibility of getting a transfer credit or two!

    Basically, if an IBer scores a final grade of at least 5 on their HL exam, a transfer credit may be awarded. So for you, since you got 6 points in your Bio HL, as long as you submit your results to Enrolment Services by a set date, you can get two little things that’ll appear on your transcript as “BIO1**H,” which are supposed to be the equivalents of BIO120H and BIO130H.

    (Granted, depending on what programs you’re interested in, opting out of those transfer credits might be beneficial. I’ve been told that for say a Neuroscience specialist, you’re better off actually taking BIO120H.)

    Now for scholarships, there are some of the few offered to incoming students. For the most part, they’re based on your grades. Past those ones, you’ll have the college-based scholarships and then when you’re actually a student, there are usually a bunch of department-based scholarships too.

    Just note that because of the huge student population, scholarships tend to be veeeery competitive.

    Annnnd I think that’s that!

    Have fun applying. 🙂

    xoxo,
    aska

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  • biology,  transfer credits

    ap stands for already passed (so please just give me the credit please)

    July 8, 2013

    So, I got into Rotman Commerce and I want to use my AP credits that I took?in high school to count as college credits. Does this automatically happen if they get the scores? Also I want to use these credits so I could skip?some of the prerequisites and skip into something like second year biology.?Is this possible? The thing is, I took AP Bio in grade 11, and I’m not sure?if they have the scores for that or not? I don’t know. But I told the?admissions my scores when I applied. PLEASE HELP ME. thankyou.

    ———————————————

    Howdy ho!

    You can get a credit for your AP course if you went through with the necessary steps to make sure that your test scores made it to the university.

    So when you wrote your exam, you would’ve been asked if you needed the scores sent somewhere and you would’ve given the little code meant for UofT. Once the university gets the scores, they automatically assess you and will contact you to tell you what course equivalent you’ve gotten, but for the most part, if you know you have the grade, you can check the chart in that link to see what you’d get.

    But since you did it in Grade 11 and I assume you didn’t notify anyone of having those results sent to UofT way back when, you might want to contact Enrolment Services to see if you had the foresight to send the bio score when you applied.

    If they say nay, you need to speedily contact your high school or whoever and make sure the bio score makes it to the university by July 16, 2013.

    Now if you do get the transfer credits for “BIO120H” and “BIO130H,” feel free to move forward!

    Just… be careful.

    Don’t load up on science courses when you’re in first-year Rotman, because let me tell you what: getting into Rotman (like the real Rotman which happens at the end of first-year) is pretty damn hard.

    Yeah.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • one programs

    engaging toronto for 66 hours

    July 8, 2013

    I thought I’d ask another question, since you guys were so helpful last time. 🙂

    I applied for and was accepted into a University College ONE program. I’m just having trouble understanding how to enrol in the course and what the codes mean. The course code is UNI103Y1<http://www.artsandscience.utoronto.ca/ofr/calendar/crs_uni.htm#UNI103Y1>

    I understand it is a full course that will last the entire year. But it says [12P/54S] after the title. Is this 12 hours of practicals and 54 hours of seminars? How is this possible if the time for the course says F10-1? Shouldn’t the practicals and seminars be separate? Also, if I’m doing 3 hours a week for this course and it will last 24 weeks, that adds up to 72 hours. Does that mean sometimes I will not do 3 hours a week, because the 12 hours of practicals and 54 hours of seminars add up to 66 hours?

    Thanks in advance,
    Madeline

    ———————————————

    Hello again

    So with my crappy math I’ve come to the conclusion that you’ll have 18 seminars (three hours), leaving room for 6 practicals (two hours).

    You know why?

    Because you go on FIELD TRIPS!

    (I think.)

    Your program is called “UC One: Engaging Toronto,” so it’s no surprise that this means you get to physically engaged with the city. But checking out this page on the 2012-13 recap of UNI103Y, you’ll see that they went to the Ontario Food Terminal, had a historical tour of Toronto’s Hospital Row and the MaRS Discovery District, and more!

    I can’t seem to find any specifics on the 2013-14 plan for the course, but don’t worry — I highly doubt you’ll get stuck dedicating 66 hours to the course. 😉

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • subject POST

    is there a difference between “12.0” and “12”?

    July 8, 2013

    for your degree, if you’re doing 1 major and 2 minors, it says that they?have to consist of 12.0 courses. is this only in regards to the minors? and?does it mean 12.0FCE or 12 actual different courses and therefore a 0.5?credit course would count as 1 out of the 12?

    ?????????

    Hey hey

    The 12 distinct course rule that you’re looking at has more to do with the possibility of taking two majors that the major+two minors combo.

    But this just means among the 20.0 FCE you’re going to accumulate for your degree, you need to have at least 12.0 FCE’s worth of courses that are… well, distinct.

    It’s actually exactly what it sounds like.

    Cheers!

    aska

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  • rotman,  subject POST

    i want to be a special minor

    July 8, 2013

    Hey!

    I am currently a rotman student and im getting into my third year (I chose eco specialist). Since there are so many rsm electives for 3rd yr & 4th yr… I am considering to get a minor in accounting. Am I allow to do this? If so, what courses should I take to meet accounting minor requirements? Also, how could I let ut know that I will graduate with eco specialist AS WELL AS accounting minor?

    Thanks for your help
    Enjoy the rest of the summer!

    -B

    ———————————————

    Hey B~

    Sadly, there is no Accounting minor at UofT.

    Rotman only really offers specialist programs. There’s one hidden major in there, but it’s not exactly advertised, nor is it encouraged since it’s just something of a “drop down” program that students go for just to graduate and they don’t even end up with a B.Comm. if they take that route.

    Anyway, since you can’t minor in accounting, you can go for something somewhat close to your Rotman studies like Economics or Math I suppose.

    Take a gander at the calender though and see if anything interests you enough to make a minor out of it.

    xoxo,
    aska

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  • math,  UTM

    not another math problem!

    July 8, 2013

    Hey Aska 🙂

    I’m a student who was enrolled in the life sciences programme at UTM last year, and I’m hoping to get into the Bio Major programme as time goes on. Due to all sorts of not-too-fun stuff, I ended up only taking my three required courses in the Fall (MAT134, CHM110, and BIO153), but eventually I managed to get my sh*t together and went for the full course load in the winter term. I managed to do okay on everything, but I failed my maths course by a few percent and got my butt on probation.

    I’m in summer school at the moment taking a 2-year SSc course that I’m acing (it’s a Y course, and I’m rocking above 80 right now), and I’m retaking maths as well. I enrolled in my courses before I knew of my academic standing (I got the email two or three weeks into the start of courses), and I’m pretty close to where I need to be anyway – I’m at a 1.48, I need 1.5 to be safe.

    So, I passed my first math quiz with a 60, but I failed the first test by 8 percent. Now, I thought I fixed my problem, but obviously I haven’t. So here are my questions:

    1) As a kid intending to go on into the bio major programme, can I use my No Credit/Credit option on this stupid maths course?

    2) Would it make sense to drop the course and try taking an online thing at Athabasca and having the credit transferred?

    3) Should I push through and see how I do until the LWD date?

    I don’t know what to do :/

    ———————————————

    Hey hey

    For starters, I want to stress your working your butt off this summer to avoid the possibility of suspension.

    But your questions:

    1) No, you cannot use the CR/NCR option if this math course is a program requirement. CR/NCR courses can only fulfil degree requirements, not program ones.

    2) Honestly… no, I don’t think you should drop it and take it online. Using transfer credits for program requirements is always such a hassle. It’s doable, but clarify with the department if they’d be willing to take a transfer credit for entry.

    3) Push through until the last day to drop. Don’t bank on a LWD because those are never guaranteed.

    Cheers!

    aska

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