• easy,  first year,  GPA,  seminars

    aska tells you how to live a bomb-diggity life

    October 10, 2013

    Hi Aska!
    So the start of the new school year is upon us and Universities have started coming to my high school convincing us their school is right for us. I am really interested in UofT Life Science program and want to become a doctor when I’m older. However I’ve been hearing horror stories from friends and off the internet about UofT and its Life Science program. I’m an 80% – 85% type of student. I’m confused whether to come hear. I just want to know if it is possible to get good grades in this school and if there are actually easy courses here that can boost my GPA. And What are these “easy” 1st year seminars i’m hearing about.

    Thanks.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    Oh, man. I remember what it’s like to be in your shoes, my friend, and I’m glad you’ve come here for advice. See, the universities are all going to be telling you a variation of the same thing, because they want your sharp little brain at their school – but I don’t care one way or another (no offence xoxo) so I’m going to be straight with you.

    The UofT Life Science program is great, and if you’re getting between an 80%-85%, the rule of thumb is that your average will drop 10-15% in first year (mine dropped from a 92% to an 82% between grade 12 and first year in a Biomedical Science program). That puts you between a 70% and a 75% – and that’s great! If you get out of first year with a mark like that, you should pat yourself on the back. As for keeping up your GPA, there are no secrets: just find out how you best study, and stick to it. It’s not impossible, trust me.

    Next, and I can’t stress this enough: DO NOT pick a course because it “sounds easy” or because random people online (not counting me obviously) say it’s a bird course. That includes first-year seminars. First-year seminars are super cool because they are much smaller than your typical first-year class, which means you’ll get to engage more with the prof and your peers. You’ll all be best buds and sing kumbaya together. It’ll be beautiful.

    However, if you just pick a random seminar you have zero interest in, the wonderful opportunities of first-year seminar will be a waste. If you find it boring, you won’t do the work, and you’ll zone out in class, and paying attention is a necessary component to doing well in any course, no matter how “easy.”

    Finally, my last nugget of wisdom: high school and university courses are a good way, but not a great way, to determine if you want to be a doctor. You know how you figure that out for sure? By actually being one. There are lots of ways to do this: volunteer at a hospital, join the UofT Pre-Medical Society, and read up! If you’re finding that you’re not excited by doing any of this, then don’t do it. Just quit. There is absolutely no shame in that. Besides, no one likes a grumpy doctor.

    I hope that helped, and just remember: don’t stress, and don’t feel pressured to make certain decisions because other people are telling you to. Do your own thing, and I think you’ll find that you’ll be awesome at it because it belongs to you.

    Best o’ luck,

    aska

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  • first year,  keeners,  textbooks

    the internet can help you buy books wow amazing.

    October 7, 2013

    Hi aska~

    I was just thinking about application to different universities and I was looking at the text books needed for each course. Would you know the titles of textbooks needed for first-year business/commerce (I can’t tell them apart) course?

    Thanks! It would be a big help…

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    Basically, it’s a lot more complicated and time-consuming than you could ever imagine. But at the end of the day, it works, and it’s actually not that hard to do all on your own when you’ve figured out the system. So don’t fret, little pet.

    I don’t know what the deal is at other universities, but here at UofT, the bookstore, starting sometime in late August, can tell you exactly what books you need for all your courses by taking your course list from ROSI, which contains your student account. All you do is click on the ‘Find your textbooks’ button on the right side of the homepage, enter your UTORID and password, and it takes you to a list of all your textbooks. Internet magic!

    However, this all becomes possible only a couple of weeks before school actually starts, once you’re actually a student here. If you’re applying for September 2014, you can go to the UofT bookstore yourself and see what books are being used this year (they’re organized by course), but it’s not guaranteed that those same books will be used next year.

    Honestly, I’d say it’s too early for you to be worrying about textbooks (just enjoy the freedom of not having to drop half a grand on them yet, seriously), but if you really want to get a feel for what they’ll be using next year, just have a browse in the UofT bookstore.

    Good luck, amigo, and I hope you find some meaningful use for the ridiculous amount of money you will soon be spending.

    aska

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  • science,  subject POST

    let’s talk about brains, baby, let’s discuss it cranially

    October 7, 2013

    Hellooo Aska!

    I’m currently in second year and have recently decided I want to go into a neuroscience specialist. Problem is, I can’t find the requirements to get into the specialist after second year! I know the psych specialist has different requirements for 2nd years applying than for the 1st years, is it not like that for all of them?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    Heyyyyy there enthusiastic friend!

    Ok so you’re pretty lucky, because the neuroscience specialist doesn’t have any super specific requirements for applying after 2nd year, apart from marks. As long as your average in the 3.0 first-year credits listed as prerequisites on the course calendar are in the high 70s and none of those individual courses have a grade that’s below a mid-70, you should be fine. Obviously, you should aim higher than that. It’s important to push yourself, you know. That’s what school’s all about.

    You shouldn’t assume though that everything has different requirements after 1st year, like psych. Each program is different, and the best thing to do is always go to the course calendar or department website and take a look. If the program does have specific requirements for different years, it should specify that. And if you’re really uncertain about the information you’re finding there, just give the department a quick phone call.

    Enjoy your cranial studies!

    aska

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  • commerce,  transfer credits,  UTM

    bop to the top at UTM commerce

    October 4, 2013

    Hello,
    I am a second year in the accounting and financial management program at the university of Waterloo. Due to a loss in my immediate family, my academic performance was poor during my first year. For the same reason for my second term in first year my marks were graded on a credit/ non-credit basis. This means all my marks for this term were marked as pass with no numerical grades. I am struggling in my second year in AFM as well and wanted to know my chances of getting into UTM commerce.
    My university transcript is very poor (GPA 76.5% not including credit/non-credit grades) but in high school I got accepted into UTM commerce with a 89.5% average.
    Thank you for your time.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    UTM commerce doesn’t publish the cut-off range for GPA every year, but your 76.5% is around what would be acceptable. Also, from the looks of UofT’s course equivalencies, it seems like you would have completed most of the 4.0 prerequisite courses for commerce already while in AFM.

    This is the stick, though. Even if you meet all the pre-requisites, in order to be in UTM commerce, you have to have completed 4.0 credits at UTM (either in addition to your transfer credit, or completing what you don’t get as transfer credit). Either way, you need to spend a year here before you can start commerce. They just want to see that you’re UTM material, you get me? You gotta bleed that blue and white. If you decide to do that, you could take some economics courses that are part of the commerce program so that you won’t have to take them once you get to commerce, but there’s no way to get around that extra year.

    Here’s how I look at it: if you transfer, you’ll have to do one general year at UTM, then three years of commerce, plus your one or two years in AFM. That’s six years just to get a bachelor’s degree that’s pretty similar to the one you’re in now anyway. The way I see it, staying in your program or transferring into something else at Waterloo might be easier.

    If you’re cool with spending a few extra years in undergrad, then go for it. Apply to UTM, and then you can move on to commerce if you want to. But remember to do whatever feels right to you.

    Hope it all works out, freund.

    aska

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  • prereqs,  profs

    Ah, ah, ah, ah, staying alive, staying alive (and enrolled in a course)

    October 3, 2013

    Hi aska,

    I recently enrolled in a course that was fully capped off after the professor talked to the faculty on my behalf. But now I am worried that I might be dropped from the course as I don’t have the necessary prerequisite. Who checks the prerequisite and who decides to drop students from courses? the Faculty? I asked the administrator and she said as the professor got me in it probably not a problem but that I should ask the professor. I just need information.

    ———————————————

    Hey there,

    First off, I want to congratulate you on actually doing a lot of good work to try and figure this problem out. Speaking with the professor is always a good starting point if you’re having a problem with the course.

    Unfortunately, the profs aren’t the ones who decide who stays in a course. That’s the job of the administrative overlords who pull the strings of the university. They are like a cloud that always hovers above us, demanding obedience. All hail it; all hail the glow cloud.

    Anyway.

    Basically, if you don?t have a prerequisite for a course, the department that administers the course typically drops you.

    To avoid that, I would go to your prof and get permission to stay in the course in writing. Then go back to the department that offers the course and speak to someone about your situation, with your note. That way, you have concrete proof that you can stay in the course and when the time comes to chop away all those ne?er-do-wells who are trying to sneak into it, you won?t be one of them.

    Good luck, friend.

    aska

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