• courses,  rotman,  summer

    doing RSM100Y1 again oh man oh man

    January 10, 2014

    If I retake management 100 in the summer time, can I still apply for a commerce major in September? Or do I have to wait until the Winter session to apply or next year?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    so, the summer course schedule hasn’t come out yet, but if you’re talking about RSM100, it seems to be available in the summer (this is a preliminary timetable and so they could change it around a bit, but RSM100 is a fairly essential course AND it was offered in 2013 and 2012 over the summer, so i’d say it’s probably gonna stick around). You can enrol for that starting April 7th.

    as for applying for a commerce major, it depends on whether you’re already a commerce student. if you are, you can still complete the RSM100 requirement in the summer. if you’re not already in commerce (i.e. you didn’t apply for and get accepted to rotman in grade 12), it may not work out. applications for second-year applicants are due in april/may, so you need to have met the requirements by that time, which you couldn’t do if you took it in the summer. you could contact rotman about it in case they’re willing to make a special exception, but it’ll probably be an uphill battle if i’m being real.

    i hope that helps! have a bomb-diggity* day,

    aska

    *the hyperlink for this is the first image that shows up on google images when you search ‘bomb-diggity gif.’ so. there’s your social commentary for the day.

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  • admissions,  commerce,  repeating course,  UTM

    who ever knows what university documents are talking about

    January 10, 2014

    Hello, I am a grade 12 student currently in high school and I plan on applying to UTM commerce, but this year my mother was terminally ill and diagnosed with breast cancer which has a impact on my school most importantly Grade 12 Advanced Function and I was wondering if UTM will accept me repeating the course again in night school to get a better mark. Please let me know! I plan on applying during the winter holidays starting December 19th!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    my condolences about your mother. as far as night school goes, UTM will be able to see both of your marks. they definitely won’t refuse to accept the repeated mark, but they “reserve the right to give preference to students whose grades represent their first attempt.” which i know sounds just like…what talk straight, dammit – will you accept me or not?

    that’s where i come in (w00). i have some experience in decoding red-tape talk, and if you translate that sentence from bureaucratic university jargon, it basically means that it might affect the admission decision a little bit, but it definitely won’t decide it. additionally, a repeated course is much better than just leaving a really poor mark on your transcript. so i’d go right ahead and repeat it!

    ALSO, IMPORTANTLY, since you have a legitimate reason for this having occurred, you have the opportunity (which i 100% recommend you go for) to write the university a letter explaining why your mark(s) is/are that way. it’ll make them a lot more disposed to give you special consideration. you can do that by getting in touch with enrolment services: they’ll tell you where and how to send this kind of letter.

    best,

    aska

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  • admissions,  extracurricular

    high school peeps working themselves up a storm

    January 9, 2014

    hey!
    i have a couple of questions. i am a grade 11 student right now. i am very interested in applying to the life sciencesprogram in u of t. with that said, so far my grade 11 marks are [information redacted for personal privacy]. does u of t look at your grade 11 marks? if so, what holds more importance,your grade 11 marks or your grade 12 marks? i am unhappy with my grade 11 marks and i definitely will do much better next year, looking at an avg of 94+ hopefully. do i have a chance? ALSO what else does u of t look at besides grades? i mean as in extracurricular activities and volunteer hours. what are the minimums for those things, and how important are they?
    thanks for answering!!!!!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    oh, to be young and be unhappy with marks like yours. i’ma let you in on a little secret, friend: you’ll get in. in fact, i’m willing to bet you get in everywhere you apply. if not, i’ll owe you an apology for getting your hopes up, because i am certain you’ll get in. in fact if you don’t get in, you can write back to me and i’ll post a public apology to you on THIS VERY BLOG.

    ’cause hey, i’m not the institution – i don’t have any power over student admission – but i do have perspective that you don’t, and that’s a perspective that includes all the INCREDIBLY DUMB students who also get into university every year. i know it’s hard to see right now because uni looks huge and scary, but trust me, getting in is a piece of cake.

    as for extracurriculars, it’s really helpful that you’ve done them – both for your own personal experience and for any scholarships you may want to apply to – but the university application doesn’t take them into consideration. they’ll only be looking at your marks.

    that said, some programs, like mcmaster’s health science program for example, require additional applications that might allow you to talk about extracurriculars, but those are the exception, not the rule. the first general application that you’ll make on OUAC will just submit your transcript, and nothing else. most programs won’t ask for anything beyond that first application. i’m pretty sure most (if not all) of the life sci programs at uoft don’t require any additional applications.

    so don’t worry about it! i mean i’d still recommend continuing extracurriculars/volunteering through high school and even in university because they make you a better person and you get to have cool experiences and stuff (also *cough* scholarships *cough*), but they probably won’t be part of your undergrad applications.

    finally, universities reserve the right to look at your grade 11 marks, but i’d say almost all of the attention is focused on grade 12. so if you’re not meeting your (already very high and admirable) goals for yourself this year, don’t worry – you’ve still got all of next year.

    best of luck friend, and try not to worry yourself. you’re well on your way 🙂

    aska

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  • admissions,  med school

    what’s up, doc? (should i go to med school, that’s what)

    January 8, 2014

    I’m a gr.10 student in Toronto struggling to pick a career. I am good at English and language courses. I am not very good at math, and around average in science.

    However, after visiting a relative in the hospital, I fell in love with the idea of going to work and saving people every day. Since then, it has been my dream to be a doctor. I also know that I want a prestigious job, and a doctor would fit that requirement.

    So that’s my problem. Should I work a lot harder and see if I can get into med school, or should I forget that and pick courses that I am good at?

    -Confused

    ?????????

    hey there,

    i’m gonna start with a disclaimer here. basically the two kinds of questions that are answered on this blog are 1) i’d like to find this specific information and i couldn’t find it on the #@!&* uoft website and 2) i’d like YOUR ADVICE on my PERSONAL LIFE. your question falls into category number 2, meaning i’m just going to answer with my opinion based on my experiences. ultimately though, i am not you, and it’s up to you to make the decision you think is best. so. hashtag don’t sue me.

    this is the thing. being good at math and science are really important for the many,?many years you’re going to have to go to school before becoming a doctor. and being good/bad/average at math and science in high school is very different from at university. what i would do is take your average right now in your math/science courses, subtract 10% from them, and see if that meets the requirements for proceeding in a science-centric program in university, as well as the requirements for medical school.

    at uoft, a GPA of 3.6 (that’s around an 83%) is required to be considered for admission, not to mention MCAT scores and extra-curriculars. consider if you could keep that average throughout school without making yourself completely miserable. more importantly, consider if you would ENJOY doing math and science for 7+ years. if you’re not having fun, it’s not worth it.?i’m sure you already know all this, but i just want to stress that this stuff is really only doable if you actually want to do it. otherwise, you start to resent the work, resulting in you not doing it, resulting in you ultimately not meeting the requirements for admission to med school.

    that being said, if you love the idea of working in a hospital and helping people, being a doctor is not the only option. you could become a bioethicist, a nurse, a paramedic, a psychologist?(at uoft that program has a calculus prerequisite, but at lots of other schools it’s an arts program!) and a whole bunch of other jobs which haven’t crossed my mind because i am not a good person and have never worked at a hospital. there’s no reason to sacrifice things you like for things you’re good at.

    what i’m getting at is that you have a lot of options. countless people in lots of different professions save lives. if the only reasons you want to become a doctor are to save lives and because it’s prestigious, i’d say you’re going in for the wrong reasons. there are lots of prestigious jobs out there, enough that there’s guaranteed to be one you’d love doing. it may just take a bit more time to find them.

    i hope that helps. and if it didn’t, don’t worry, because you’ve still got two years to figure it out. that’s plenty of time, so don’t feel like you have to rush a decision. just take it step by step, and you’ll figure it out.

    g’luck,

    aska

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  • subject POST

    i can’t think of a clever pun that has to do with sociology

    January 8, 2014

    Hi there,

    I’m a 2nd year student currently majoring in CCIT. I initially applied for Anthropology and Sociology minors in my subject POSts. Since I didn’t reach the grade average for Sociology, I’m temporarily enrolled in a History minor instead. Does this mean I’m required to take History courses this year? I’m enrolled in a History course for 2nd semester, but I have no interest in it at all and I’m debating on whether or not I should drop.

    For the Sociology minor, It says the grade average among all Sociology courses to get into the minor program must be at least 63% when applying in subsequent years . I took SOC100 during 1st year and SOC244 in summer school, but I ended up with a 60% in both courses. I’m taking another Sociology course next semester to hopefully get my average up.

    Do you have any advice on what I should do in the meantime? Do I have to wait until the next subject POSt enrolment date to re-apply?

    Thanks!

    ?????????

    hey there,

    so, a coupla things here. first, you do have to wait until the next POSt enrolment date to apply. for you, that’s march 18th?since sociology is a type 2 subject POSt. (that’s earlier than the downtown campus, ya lucky butt).

    as for history, they don’t require that you take certain courses in specific years, so i’d say you can get away with not taking any history courses if you don’t want to. if you have no interest in that history course you’re enrolled in, then i’d advise you drop it. drop it right away. ain’t no time to waste on lame courses you have no interest in.

    as for what you can do in the meantime, i’d say there’s not much. if you can take another sociology course this term to give you another chance to up your sociology average, go for that, but if that’s not an option, just sit tight, man. i’d say you’re doing everything you can.

    so long and good luck!

    aska

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  • admissions,  concurrent ed

    VIC CTEP a.k.a. an acronym i never knew existed

    January 8, 2014

    hey aska,

    Allow me to start off by saying thanks to the aska team for the time and effort they put into answering all of these questions, and adding some great humour and jokes to the responses!

    So, I’m a first-year student in University College and I was interested in applying for Vic’s Concurrent Education program for 2nd year entry. I’m already enrolled in PSY100, SOC103, and I’ll finish first-year w/ a 5FCE, so I have all the course requirements. What I really wanna know is how can I increase my chances of getting into the program? I know that a cumulative GPA of at least 2.7 is required, but what is considered a good/competitive GPA for the program? I also know I have to complete an applicant profile. I’m worried b/c in grade 12, I applied for York’s first year Con-Ed program and I got rejected, and I don’t know if it was b/c of my profile or b/c my average was 82%. I have experience from working on school committees, tutoring elementary students, and I volunteer a lot. But all that experience is either from grade 12 or earlier. If I got rejected from York, does that mean I’m most likely to be rejected from UofT’s program? I also read somewhere that they only admit 15 students to the VIC program!!! If I DO get accepted (praying), will my college change from UC to VIC? OH and if I complete a minor from the education program, can I still do 2 majors for my degree?

    Thanks so so so much for the help!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you guys are just messing with me now, right calling me a ‘team’ and stuff’ pretending like there’s a WHOLE INSTITUTION behind this blog? hehe, oh, you guys…(no but seriously thanks for the props man, that’s super cool of you).

    onto your question. you’ve got a lot of them, so i’m just gonna go in order:

    1. what is a good/competitive GPA?

    i’ve looked around, and there don’t seem to be any official/unofficial opinions about this, but if you’re well above 2.7 (like at least a 3.3), i’d say you’re competitive.

    2. how far back does your volunteer/extra-curricular experience go?

    CTEP doesn’t require a specific resume, so you don’t have to date everything you’ve done. according to this (no longer available) guide to fulfilling the applicant profile, the questions are pretty general, so i think you could definitely use high school experiences as part of those answers. also, you’ve only had one year of university – the school can’t expect you to have enough experiences from just that to fill a whole application, so don’t worry about it.

    3. what are your chances of getting in?

    according to this (which, admittedly, is from 2007, but these stats don’t tend to change by more than a few percentages every year), the admission rate for concurrent ed was 16%. that’s almost 1/5th of people! so don’t panic too much. it’s definitely not easy, but it’s not impossible if you work hard. there’s no way to tell whether you’ll get in based on being rejected from york, and honestly, i wouldn’t focus on that. just make your first year as awesome as possible to increase your chances, and that’s all you can do! just keep trying your best, man, that’s my motto.

    4. will your college change?

    nope!

    5. can you do two majors along with the Education & Society minor?

    maybe. consider it carefully before you go ahead with it, though. first year is a great litmus test for figuring out how much you can handle, and you should use it to make sure you don’t go overboard in your subsequent years. i’d say it’s doable if you really want to, but if you’re making a compromise between programs you feel like you have to do and ones you feel you want to do, then don’t do it. also, consider the fact that your other program(s) will be complementing your B.Ed. so the things you study should, ideally, be the things you also want to teach.

    best of luck! your bud,

    aska

    P.S. some of these questions are subjective so if you’re a current CTEP student and have something to add, please leave a comment!

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  • residence

    a very topical question about the cold

    January 7, 2014

    I was just wondering,?? is it cold in residences without air conditioning D: Because I am a total wimp and get colds before the temperature even hits 0?C.

    Thank you & have a nice day \ o /

    – Stella

    ?????????

    hey there,

    i assume you mean heating, not air conditioning. and, well, it does get pretty cold here. i’m not gonna sugar-coat it, man. according to this, Toronto’s coldest weather last year felt like -26 degrees. Today, one year later, it feels about -30.

    however, there are things you can do about the cold! I’d recommend bringing a few thick blankets and a comforter with you to residence, as well as a whole bunch of sweaters. Buy some good slippers and lots of woolly socks. Also, you can bring a portable heater with you! I did that last year when i lived in residence, and it worked like a charm. It sat on my desk and could warm my whole bedroom in an hour if i closed the door.

    finally, you can always depend on the warmth and kindness of your neighbours, who will, i’m sure, always be up for a group huddle when the going gets tough. that’s what uni residences are all about, as far as i’m concerned.

    so as long you make sure to stay one step ahead of the cold, you should be fine 🙂

    your metaphorical academic blanket,

    aska

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  • courses,  enrollment

    this title about adding courses in the Winter term is going to be just as long if not longer than the actual answer itself

    January 7, 2014

    Hi,

    I know that you are allowed to drop courses before the deadlines but am I allowed to add a new course in the beginning of the winter semester? Thank you.

    ?????????

    hey there,

    the last day to add courses or otherwise make changes with your S courses is January 19th in the Faculty of Arts & Science. So go on, quick! Add!

    aska

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