• colleges,  st. mike's,  university-college

    gimme one chance, gimme one night, to be your college

    May 30, 2014

    Hi there, I m a student frm malaysia admitted for faculty of life sciences in sept2014 intake at U of T. FYI, I had applied UC as my first choice for the college ranking in St George campus, yet I was given st mikes….is there any possible way for me to switch my college now? Or I had to wait till the 2nd yr? Thx.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    from malaysia?? that’s cool! well, i hope you like toronto. it’s probably a lot more frigid than you’re used to, so hopefully the academics will be worth the frostnip.

    i spoke with UC and – lucky you – they are currently accepting applications to transfer. i say ‘applications,’ but really, you just have to send an e-mail to the registrar’s office explaining why you want to transfer, and they’ll let you know their decision. keep in mind that all colleges provide the same basic services (scholarships, academic advising, etc.), so make sure to explain what specifically at UC you don’t want to miss out on.

    that said, if there’s nothing unique to UC that you were really hoping to take advantage of, i think it’s best to give st. mike’s a try. i’m willing to bet that when you’re here, choosing a program, keeping up with your studies, and trying to obtain all the f#%&! cards you need to use the horrendous public transit in the city will be much bigger concerns. you may find your college will magically transfigure from a nagging worry to a welcome helping hand.

    if you give it a year and still find that your student life is gravitating towards UC activities, then you can consider transferring again, but for now, if it were me, i would just hold on and see what happens. st. mike’s may surprise you.

    a warm and sunny (finally) welcome to toronto,

    aska

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  • colleges,  innis

    why can’t we just all be together??? :(

    May 30, 2014

    hi aska! is there a cutoff score for people applying to innis?

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    hey there,

    the thing about cutoff marks is that schools don’t put them in place just for kicks. they exist because they just don’t have the space to take everybody, and schools need to use something to make a decision about who to admit. most places (like innis) use marks because, well, that’s just simpler, isn’t it?

    what i’m saying is that because the cutoff exists to distinguish students, it is also dependent on the students. if the average mark of applicants one year is higher, then the cutoff will be higher. same thing if it’s lower. there’s no fixed number; it’s fluid, like a pool noodle soaked in water, or my marks depending on how much coffee i’ve had that week.

    one trend that’s been pretty consistent over the years is that the cutoff is at least 1%-2% higher than the cutoff for entry into the Faculty of Arts & Science, which is usually somewhere in the low-mid 80s. but i can’t give you an exact number, ’cause students aren’t the same every year. hate to say it, but some of y’all are dumber than some of the rest of y’all. don’t worry though, i still love you all the same.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • subject POST

    WATCHing out for the COGS in cog. sci.

    May 30, 2014

    What is the Cognitive science program like? What’s the difference between a BA and BSc in Cognitive Science?

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

    hey there,

    good question. why are there two programs at all, one might ask. to be honest, i like how many strange and wonderful programs there are at this school. it feels like the whole world of knowledge is nestled right into downtown toronto.

    alright, enough wistful musing and down to the nitty-gritty.

    it turns out that they’re actually very similar. both programs have unlimited enrolment, and both have 8.0 required?credits over the four years of your degree. the cog. sci. B.Sc. is just a little bit more math-heavy than the B.A: in first year, the Science stream will take MAT135H1 and MAT136H1, while the Arts stream will take LIN100Y1. in second year, the Science stream is required to take two stats courses and one psych course, while the Arts stream is required to take two psych courses and one stats course. you can take a look at each individual requirement on your own time, but you get the idea.

    normally, i try to drill it into people to focus only on the courses and programs that they want to take. don’t worry about the ‘prestige’ of the program or school or degree. you bring the prestige, because you’re a boss.

    in this case though, since both programs are so similar, i’d recommend you give some thought to whether you’d like to graduate with a B.A. or a B.Sc. d’you want to pursue graduate studies in science? if so, the B.Sc. may be a better fit for you. give it a think.

    if you’re really indecisive, maybe cover the first year requirements for both programs, and then at the end of first year, make a decision based on which courses you liked best (assuming you are actually a first-year)!

    also, you can read about the program more generally here?or on cognitive science’s website.

    good look friend,

    aska

    P.S. LOOK AT MY TITLE!! LOOK AT THE PUN I MADE!!! askastudent, more like ask-and-AMAZE-a-student.

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  • enrollment,  subject POST

    getting around those pesky enrolment controls

    May 30, 2014

    Hi,
    Unfortunately, I missed the deadline for enrolling in a subject post and am a little worried that this will hurt my course selection come August. I am aware of the second enrollment window, but it seems that you wouldn’t be informed of your acceptance until September. Any ideas on what I can do to ensure I can enroll in my preferred classes for the first semester next year?
    Thanks for the help! It’s greatly appreciated.

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

    hey there,

    i’m assuming by the fact that you’re referring to the first and second windows that you’re talking about a type 2 or 3 POSt. look at me, inferring stuff. what a lil genius. *pats self on back*

    unfortunately, there’s not much you can do at this point. if some of the courses that are relevant to that POSt?don’t have a priority or restricted enrolment control, then you can definitely enrol in them while your subject POSt is still requested. as for P-controlled courses, you can wait until the priority period ends and then try your best to get in. with restricted courses, you just gotta for when/if you make it into the POSt.

    you can swing by the department that administers the POSt and see if there’s anything else they might be able to do for you, but that’s about it for aska’s arsenal of tips & tricks.

    best of luck,

    aska

     

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  • admissions

    meditations on difficulty

    May 29, 2014

    i got accepted into the social sciences program as an alternate offer. I originally applied to the business management program. Is it really competitive and hard to maintain you grade to switch in the BBA program? are there very limited amount of spots?

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

    hey there,

    “is it hard” is one of the hardest questions to try and answer.* you may be an incredibly hard worker (and a better person than i), in which case it would be very easy for you. or maybe it turns out that you’ll really, really hate university, in which case it will be nearly impossible. i’m a big fan of avoiding problems, so in this case, i’m just gonna sidestep the “is it hard” question altogether, and focus instead on “is it competitive”.

    according to utsc, depending on the specific program, the number of accepted students can be as low as 9%. i’m not gonna sugar-coat it – that’s a low number. but hey, i’m planning on getting a kick-ass job with a liberal arts degree, so obviously uninspiring stats don’t scare me.

    also, another heartening fact: with a lot of these elite programs, transferring isn’t even possible after first year. however, utsc’s management programs allow transfer students. you apply to transfer to utsc just like any other transfers.

    not great news, i know. but like i said: difficulty is relative. just because it’s competitive, doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

    best of luck!

    aska

    * but who’s to say?it’s hard to answer? maybe it wouldn’t be hard for someone else to answer? what is difficulty? WHAT IS MEANING? i need to lie down.

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  • jobs,  transcripts

    what do marks really mean, anyway?

    May 29, 2014

    If my friend has a very BAD GPA (like very very bad) and wants to apply for a work-study position (which requires giving his transcript). Will they be looking at that? Does he have a worst chance at getting the job even if he has tons of work experience? What’s the need for giving the transcript anyways?

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

    hey there,

    well, the good news is that there’s no mandatory minimum GPA, at least as far as i can tell. in order to be eligible to do work-study for this coming school year, you just need to be registered in a minimum of 2.0 credits in the fall/winter terms. however, if the job posting requires a transcript, then there’s?probably for a reason for that.

    as for how relevant work experience will be, without knowing the employers, the job, or what your friend’s work experience is, it’s nearly impossible to tell. like, what if he’s applying for an office?job and he has 10 years’ experience as a hand model? that’s a ton of experience, but it probably won’t help him here. unless the employer has a hand fetish.

    yeah, work experience does matter. but i’m not the one employing people, so who am i to say what?exactly is important to them? i’ve been rejected from more positions than you can possibly imagine, so i’m really not an authority on the subject.

    regarding the transcript,?allow me to?get just a tad preachy about this. it won’t be too bad, i promise. you’ll live. get over it.

    as someone who worked a work-study job (this one) for the past fall and winter terms, i can see the benefit in providing a transcript. it may not seem like it, but working 12 hours every week?is tough. (i know that everyone who works part-time at a tim’s somewhere for 20 hrs/week is probably rolling their eyes at me – i don’t know what to say. i’m sorry. get a work-study job instead?)

    depending on your program, 12 hrs/week can nearly double the time you’re at school. it saps your time and energy, and if you don’t have good time management and study skills, you may not be able to handle?that very well.

    so, your transcript is a good way for the employer to judge whether you can handle the additional workload without sacrificing quality of work at your job or at school. i know it’s not perfect, but until we figure out a better method of measuring intelligence and work ethic, we’ll just have to roll with it. sorry, dude.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • prereqs,  subject POST

    Quick question about minors (In terms of majors/minors, not little children haha!)

    May 28, 2014

    Hello aska! I just have a really quick question about the Minor in Professional Writing (sorry if that’s a bit too specific). It states that “4.0 credits are required including at least 1.0 at the 300/400 level”. Now I did the only course in second year ( Which was also a prerequisite, WRI203H5), but then the “Upper Years” section states that I need 1.5 to 3.5 credits. Wouldn’t I NEED 3.5 credits to fulfill the 4 credit criteria, or am I missing something? Sorry to bother you! and THANK YOU 🙂

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    “sorry if that’s too specific”; honey, i LIVE for specific questions. any questions where i have to do as little work as possible are questions i love. i’m pretty sure i was a male lion in a past life, sleeping for 22 hours a day.

    also, you’re not bothering me. this is my job. and answering questions is a much better use of my time than rewatching BBC sherlock with worrying frequency and falling asleep on my couch.

    what happened here is that the people writing the calendar tried to be as specific as possible, but instead of clearing things up, it just got more confusing. so let’s try to detangle it:

    let’s say you took WRI203H5 and the required 1.0 FCE 300- or 400-level WRI course (“4.0 credits are required including at least 1.0 at the 300/400 level“). then you started thinking to yourself, “i’m DONE with these WRI courses. they are silly and a WASTE OF MY TIME.” why you’d think that when you’re in the minor, i don’t know, but hey, maybe some other, non-WRI courses struck your fancy.

    well, in that case, you are allowed to use “[a]?maximum of 2.0 credits of approved writing-intensive courses or writing-related elective courses” to fulfil the requirement for the minor – that is, non-WRI courses. as you’ll notice, if you take WRI203H5, WRI3**Y5/WRI4**Y5, and 2.0 “approved writing-intensive or writing-related elective courses,” you get 4.0 FCEs, which meets the requirements for the minor! so there you have it. that’s how you can only take 1.5 upper-year WRI FCEs?and still get a minor in professional writing and communication.

    however, if you really do like your program, you can just take WRI203H5 plus 3.5 WRI FCEs, for a total of 4.0 FCEs, and also fulfil the requirements for the minor.

    and of course, you can take only 0.5 non-WRI courses, and 3.0 upper-year WRI courses, or 1.0 non-WRI and 2.0 upper-year WRI…etc. etc. etc.

    wow, that was a lot longer than i anticipated. i really hope it made sense.

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. i’m sorry, i had to use your e-mail subject line as the title of this post, because it is just too good. i hope you don’t mind. i just love it.

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  • probation

    metaphors & motor engines work their way into a probation question

    May 28, 2014

    Hi,

    I was wondering when would we find out if we are placed on academic probation?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    good question. mighty good question. that’s a good. hm.

    to be honest, i don’t have any specific dates i can offer you. academic standing is determined at the end of the fall/winter and summer sessions, but that’s as specific as the calendar is willing to get. if you’re taking courses in the summer session, you’ll be notified if you’ve been put on probation after the session is over. if you’re still waiting to hear about fall/winter, then sit tight and keep waiting, or call the faculty and DEMAND INFORMATION!*

    though, really, instead of waiting on tenterhooks like this, you can just take a look at your CGPA on ROSI. if it’s less than 1.50, you’re gonna be leaving from probation station sometime soon. if not, you can go buy a sandwich…at the station…because…you’ll be staying there.**

    cheers,

    aska

    *don’t do that. ask politely. like a uoft student do.

    **i’m doing a double-major in metaphors and train engineering.

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  • admissions

    aska: a tad bitter about admissions, trains. add two packets of sugar.

    May 28, 2014

    Hi Aska,

    I’ve got three questions. I go to UofT so my brother wanted to go too. My?brother applied to UofT Engineering and Computer Science. He was rejected.?Is there anyway he can appeal this decision or is it lights out till the?next year? Secondly, my brother was accepted into UTM Chemistry and?Physics.? Can he take courses in UofT Engineering from UTM? He plans on?trying for an internal transfer after first year. Third question, can my?brother transfer from UofT Missisauga to Scarborough, we live in?Scarborough and it will be a two hour commute unless he takes up residence?but that’s just more cash than my parents can fork out.? Thank you.

    Depressed over UofT rejecting my brother 🙁

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

    hey there,

    i know you’re bummed about your brother and all, but take a moment to think about this. imagine if people could petition for an appeal on their admission decision! d’you think there’s?anyone out there who wouldn’t give that?a try? there would probably have to be a whole office at uoft just for sifting through admissions appeals. and since uoft is already a sprawling mess of different offices and departments, the way i see it, they couldn’t really afford to add another one. which is why, no, you can’t appeal the decision.

    the only thing i could find about taking courses if you’re not already in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering is this little note about ‘Special Students.’ it’s kinda shadowy and not very informative, so if your brother is really determined about doing this, i’d suggest he call engineering. my instinct is that they probably don’t allow very many non-engineering students to take their classes (especially not for credit), but give them a call and ask. also, here’s some info about students who want to transfer to uoft engineering.

    it is possible to transfer from UTM to UTSC: here are some links?discussing the process.

    finally, i hope your bro?gets that transfer, but commuting is a commonplace reality of GTA life. i have a 2-hour commute, and so do most of my friends. yeah, i hate myself. yeah, i’m always tired. but hey, after four years, i’ll have a degree that’s been drastically undervalued by our current job market! and so will your brother. so be comforted by that, my friend.

    best of luck mate, and try not to worry too much about your brother – he can worry enough for himself, yeah?

    aska

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  • residence,  university-college

    i’m just a broken record

    May 28, 2014

    Hello ! I was wondering whether you could tell me some information about which residence is better: Morrison, Sir Dans, or Whitney at UC, UofT?

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    hey there,

    i’m at a bit of a disadvantage here because i’ve never lived at any of these residences, so i can’t give you any SECRET, INSIDE INFORMATION about, like, which building has leaky pipes, or which one has the comfiest couches. they do look pretty from the outside, though i hope the plumbing isn’t as old as the stonework.

    what i would urge you to do is go on a residence tour if at all possible. if you have the time, tour each building you’re considering. honestly, i can’t stress enough how helpful it is to see the place for yourself. i know this sounds hokey and new-agey, but i really think that you just get a vibe from certain places. once you’ve visited a residence, you’ll be a lot more confident in making a decision about it.

    other than that, it really depends on what you want out of rez. all of the buildings are mostly single rooms, Whitney and Sir Dan have one quiet floor each, Morrison has a dining hall while Sir Dan is farthest away (200m) from that dining hall, Morrison is the only one with A/C…you can compare and contrast more here.

    in terms of logistics, the residences are pretty similar to one another: they’re single-occupant, dorm-style rooms that all use the same dining hall. they’re also all in the same area of campus. that’s why it’s kind of hard to choose between them based on just what the university tells you online or in pamphlets.

    which brings us back full circle: go on a rez tour.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  scholarships/bursaries,  victoria

    an issue of timing

    May 27, 2014

    So, I got the President’s Entrance Scholarship last week which was awesome 😀 (I’m super duper glad) and a friend of mine got it a day before me. However, we’re a bit confused because a lot of other people received their scholarship along with their admission letter. We got ours several weeks after our admission letters came in. Another puzzling point is that it says on the website that average of admissions is what they look at, yet we got our admission before our midterms and got the letter after our midterms. What is going on? We were also wondering if we got any money from our college (both of us are at Vic). How will we know and when will we be informed? My other friends who already received everything said that they got the email from Vic a week after the scholarship letter. What on earth do they do over at registrar to give out these scholarships? We’re so confuzzled, help us aska!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m in a counting kinda mood today, so i’m just gonna go ahead and number all your questions/concerns, because there’s rather a lot.

    1. why did you get your scholarship letter when you did?

    the university can’t do everything at once! it might not look it, but the people working at the university are only human.* also, admissions explains that “the decision is sent either in the offer of admission or under separate cover” – so it’s not a big deal if your scholarship didn’t come with your offer of admission. as long as you got the notification, then you’re getting the scholarship, same as all your friends.

    2. why did you get your admission offer when you did?

    do you mean that you received your admission letter before midterms, and your scholarship letter after them? again, it just takes time to do these things. if you didn’t get them all together, that’s not significant to you or your studies.

    the reason you got an offer of admission so early is because it was a conditional offer; the conditional offers are reviewed in July and made final for students whose final transcripts meet the conditions of admission.

    3. will you get any scholarships from vic/how will you know?

    that’s up to vic to decide. they say here that students “will receive notification of the award with their offer of admission from the University of Toronto,” so if you’ve received your offer of admission, but you didn’t get anything from victoria college, then you probably haven’t got a scholarship from them, unfortunately.

    all in all, everything looks like it’s going as it should be! just keep an eye on your Join UofT account and your physical mailbox, and you should be all set. if you’d like to make sure everything in the process is continuing on smoothly and correctly, read over this checklist. and i’m always here to answer any other questions you may have!

    cheers,

    aska

    *will smith trying to act in a serious way is probably one of my top 10 favourite things. if you ever want to woo aska for free uoft keychains or something, take me to a will smith action movie. oh man. what a riot.

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  • admissions,  transfer credits,  victoria

    coming in from la belle quebec

    May 27, 2014

    1. I’m coming from Quebec, and my whole life I studied in French. So if I check the English requirements, this is what it tells me: “If your first language is French and you have four years or more of full-time study in a Canadian school system achieving satisfactory academic progress, you are not required to provide proof of English facility. Instead, you must include Grade 12 English ENG4U/EAE4U (or an equivalent course) among the courses you offer for admission.”I’m not sure I understand what that means? Does it mean I have to take an English course during my first year?
    2. Since I will be in Victoria College, do you know how far is it from other Colleges? What I mean is, what if I have a course in one College building and right after in another building, is it a long walk there? I don’t want to be late to classes and whatnot.
    3. When I applied, I applied to Social Sciences (with the intention of then majoring in either Equity Studies or International Relations), but I was made an alternate offer to Honours of Arts and Sciences. Will I still be able to have Equity Studies or IR as my POST?
    4. Last question I’m not sure you can answer and maybe I’m better off calling directly the university but I’m gonna give it a shot, this is going to be my first year of University (as in I have never attended University in my life). However, when I go on my ROSI account, in the “Year of study” category, I have the number “2”. Do you have any idea why? Shouldn’t it me written 1??
    Thank you again so much!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    1. ENG4U is a Grade 12 English course that Ontario high school students take. what they’re saying is that you need to have taken an equivalent English language course in your last year of high school (or during CEGEP) in order to prove your English facility. from here: “Twelve Academic Subjects including English/anglais (2 terms)” are required if you’re coming in from CEGEP. if you haven’t taken an English course, then you should contact admissions to see whether you need to provide some other type of proof.

    2. nah. take a look at this campus map; i’ve circled the victoria college buildings. as you can see, they’re on queen’s park circle, which has university buildings all along it. obviously some buildings will be closer to you and some farther, but most university buildings should be a maximum 10 minute walk from you.

    3. yes! social sciences is just an area within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; as long as you meet the first year requirements for equity and international relations, you should be fine (note that IR is a type 3 POSt, meaning that even if you meet the requirements, you may not get in, because enrolment is limited; equity is a type 1 POSt, meaning enrolment is unlimited).

    4. it’s probably because you’re coming from CEGEP; since Ontario doesn’t have CEGEP, those credits will likely count as transfer credits for university here.

    from here: “Transfer credits will be granted to CEGEP candidates who have completed more than the 12 academic courses. If you have completed a two year DEC, you may receive up to 5 full credits towards an arts, science, commerce/management degree.” 5 full credits is one year at uoft, so maybe that’s what happened to you!

    you can, again, call admissions to make sure of this – they have access to everything in your student account, and will be able to tell you exactly where you stand.

    have a sensational first (second??) year!

    aska

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  • admissions,  subject POST,  UTM

    UTM biz

    May 27, 2014

    So I applied to the commerce program at UTM and instead, I got the “first year studies in business” alternate program. I read on the UTM website that this is an alternate program where students take the same courses as Commerce program students in the first year. Moreover, they needed to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 minimum in order to transfer and reapply into the original commerce program after the first year. So basically what happens if I do not meet the 2.5 GPA (although I feel like if I try hard, I can easily do it.) Do you drop out and waste all the tuition money? Or what exactly happens and is it worth it? Btw I’m still in high school so a little confused about this.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    nononoOOOOnO N O NoO ON ONO you do not drop out if you don’t meet those requirements.

    basically what has happened here is that UTM has given you a very generous opportunity: you didn’t get into commerce straight from high school, so they’re giving you a second chance. after first year, if you complete those requirements you listed, you can reapply to commerce to try and get into the program for second year.

    if you DON’T get into commerce though, it’s no big deal! no need to drop out, or waste money, or any of that. you can just apply to get into a different program of study (subject POSt). take a look at all of UTM’s management programs here, and all UTM programs here.

    once you finish first year, you’ll have the opportunity to enrol into/apply to any subject POSt you want. after a year, you may realize that commerce isn’t for you, and decide to enrol in something completely different. as long as you meet the prerequisites for whichever subject POSt that is, then you can go ahead and enrol in/apply to it. the reason i say enrol or apply is because some POSts have unlimited enrolment, while some are a bit more competitive, and you can read about that here, under “Add or Change a Program.”

    that’s a really quick-and-dirty explanation of all of this, but the bottom line is this: first year is definitely worth it. it’s an opportunity to test-drive your program, so that by the time you get to second year, you know which program is really right for you.

    cheers,

    aska

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