• failing

    FAILURE (but not really)

    January 27, 2015

    Hello,

    I’m a first year here at UofT. This first semester I failed a course that is required for my POSt. I’m really worried; I’ve never failed a course before.

    If I retake the course this semester and pass all my other courses with good marks, it shouldn’t have a huge effect, right? I won’t be expelled for one F, will I?

    Thank-you

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    no, you won’t be expelled for one F. you wouldn’t even be expelled for two, or three F’s. it’s very hard to get expelled at this university, actually. you get quite a few tries before you’re denied further registration.

    assuming you’re on the downtown campus and in the faculty of arts & science, your academic standing is going to be assessed for the first time in april. if your GPA is above a 1.50, you’ll be in good standing. if it’s below 1.50, you’ll be ‘on probation,’ which means you’ll have the next term (summer or fall/winter) to try and get your CGPA above a 1.50.

    a failing grade is definitely going to impact your GPA – there’s just no way around that. but if you pass and do well in all your other courses, it’s TOTALLY feasible to stay above a 1.50 (that’s about a 61%, if you need a reference).

    i’d recommend looking into some academic resources available on campus to make sure you stay on the right track for the rest of the year.

    and just so you know, if you retake the course you failed, both attempts will be listed on your transcript and weighted equally (so, for example, if you got a 40% the first time and an 80% the second time, it would be like having two marks of 60% on your transcript).

    all the best,

    aska

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  • psychology,  UTM

    why oh why oh do i need to take bio?

    January 27, 2015

    Soooo stressed so I last year summer 2014 I applied for the psychology major at utm and I was told that inorder for my request to be granted I had to complete only highschool 4u functions before I could be granted acceptance into the program…fast forward now I am enrolling for a highschool grade 12 functions class at night school and i just found out I need grade 12 biology too..but I was only told I needed math what do I do now since I didn’t take science in grades 11-12 🙁 🙁

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    at this point, i think one of the most practical things to do would be to take grade 12 bio at summer school. tdsb offers summer school courses to both tdsb students and non-tdsb students – keep an eye on this page for more information.

    utm also lists the peel school board, independent learning centre and virtualhighschool.com as acceptable alternatives.

    best of luck,

    aska

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  • Portal

    as dr. phil would say, communication is key

    January 27, 2015

    Are profs required to use blackboard? One of my courses haven’t been uploaded yet and I’m concerned

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    they are not required to use blackboard, though most undergrad profs do.

    if you’re concerned, the best thing to do would be to ask your prof about it. it could be not showing up because you’re not enrolled in the course, and if that’s the case, you want to nip that in the bud.

    yours,

    aska

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  • graduation

    uoft doesn’t make sense but that’s why we love it

    January 27, 2015

    Hello,

    What is the difference between graduating with honors and without?

    What is the minimum GPA required for graduating with honours and what exactly is a second class standing?

    Thank you!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i know this terminology is confusing, but unfortunately, having an outdated and nonsensical vernacular is one of the charms that come with going to an old, prestigious institution. don’t worry -aska will make it all better.

    an ‘honours’ degree is an undergraduate degree that takes four years to complete. “but aska, don’t ALL undergraduate degree in the faculty of arts & science take four years to complete???” yes, but they didn’t USED to.

    back in Ye Olden Days (i.e. before 1992), an undergrad degree at uoft took only three years to complete. if you were FANCY and really had a knack for what you were studying, you would take an extra year and graduate with honours.

    nowadays, honours is the only option (unless you started your degree before 1992, and then you come back and want to finish your three-year degree. or unless you’re a rotman student, in which case you’ll graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce, rather than an Honours Bachelor of Commerce. it still takes four years, though. sorry rotman).

    tl;dr: GPA has nothing at all to do with the term ‘honours.’

    also, we don’t use first- and second-class standing. we have high distinction (which is graduating with a CGPA of 3.50+) and distinction (graduating with a CGPA from 3.20 to 3.49).

    hope that helps to dispel the confusion!

    aska

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  • admissions,  architecture,  Transferring

    SMARTchitecture

    January 27, 2015

    Hi Aska

    I am in first year Architectural Technology at George Brown College. I decided to apply to U of T’s Architectural Studies to pursue a degree and hopefully continue on for my masters. My question involves how far back into my education U of T will look to make a decision. I am 21 now and have a 3.9 GPA at George Brown BUT two years ago I had a really bad first year at UOttawa and my marks were terrible. I took the next year off and then applied to George Brown. Out of high school I had a low 80’s average. I feel that my One Idea application will be pretty strong and demonstrate my creative ability but I am worried that the school will not look past my Ottawa marks. I understand if you don’t know but I wondered if maybe they just took my most recent GPA or all my past GPA’s into account?

    Thank you for listening.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you would be required to submit transcripts from all of those places. in addition, the daniels faculty does say that “[s]tudents will be considered based upon their overall CGPA, [and] their most recent AGPA.”* so it’s likely that all these things will be considered in some capacity.

    however, the specifics are for enrolment services to know, and you to find out, so to speak. your most recent AGPA is important enough to be listed as a factor on the daniels’ undergraduate admissions page, but whether your uOttawa marks will be a significant factor, or how the different transcripts will be weighted, i’m not sure.

    so: your past GPAs will play a factor. so will your current GPA. so will your One Idea app.

    unfortunately i don’t know anything more specific than that, but know that they will look carefully at everything before making a decision, and consider your situation and context. i know you may be feeling a bit like this while waiting for a response, but we’ve got a pretty fair admissions team here.

    cheers,

    aska

    * AGPA is uoft talk for ‘annual GPA.’ CGPA is ‘cumulative GPA.’

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  • courses

    the foetal position, or: Should I Drop This Course?

    January 27, 2015

    Hi. I don’t know whether I should drop calculus and then retake it next year. Should I select it as no credit? Is 3 courses too few? I don’t think I have a hope of passing the course (I failed both the first two midterms). I can’t afford another F on my transcript, (I already got one from first-year physics which I should have dropped when I had the chance). How does not taking the required courses for your program affect the future? What should I do about this besides cry in fetal position?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    firstly: don’t cry in the foetal position. not only will it not make you feel any better (if anything, it will put even more stress on your body that is trying to cry and breathe while having its lungs all crumpled), but there is absolutely no practical place at uoft to go into the foetal position. we don’t even have spots to nap in (not officially), let alone spots to settle down on the ground.

    just so you know, the deadline to make a Y course credit/no-credit is february 16th. that is also the deadline to drop a Y course from your academic record and GPA. SO don’t panic – you’ve still got some time to sort all this out.

    if you do drop it, make sure to do it before the deadline. and it’s better to drop it and take it again than to fail and take it again.

    HOWEVER, it is important to keep in mind that if you don’t get the credit and it’s a requirement for a program you’re interested in, you will not get into the program. you just won’t. it’s called a requirement for a reason.

    so if you DON’T get the credit, you can do one of two things: take the course again in the summer, and hopefully not get too behind on getting into your program of choice, OR:

    look into a different program. if you had your heart dead-set on a specialist in mathematics and it turns out that you hate calculus – maybe math isn’t right for you. (BUT make sure you don’t let your grades make this decision for you. disliking something and struggling with it are two different things. if you are still really passionate about whatever it was you need calculus for, there are ways to get there).

    if you need some help figuring out your next step, i would recommend making an appointment with the registrar’s office. as AMAZING and HELPFUL as askastudent undoubtedly is, your registrar has a bit more context about who you are and your specific situation.

    to me, you’re just a couple of paragraphs on a screen. some cute, paragraphs, for sure. very charming. but a bit limiting in terms of information.

    good luck with your journey, my friend,

    aska

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  • 12 distinct credits

    gotta make those credits DISTINCT

    January 26, 2015

    Hi Aska,

    I am currently enrolled in a double major in? immunology and human biology: health and disease, and a minor in psychology. Does the 12 distinct credit rule still apply to a combination of a 2 majors and 1 minor? If so, is it calculated in the same way (make sure only 8 credits are able to count for?more than subject post)? Would a course be able to overlap for all 3 of the subject post? For example, BIO130 satisfies a requirement in both?majors and the minor. Would BIO130 count as 0.5 out of the 8 possible?overlapping courses?

    Thanks for the help.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    since you’re doing a kind of FUNKY combination of subject POSts that is out of the three standard ones required by the university (i.e. 1 specialist, 2 majors, or 1 major and 2 minors), the 12.0 distinct credits rule only kind of applies to you. and by that i mean: it applies to your two majors, but not to your minor.

    as to how it’s calculated – that’s kinda confusing and tends to make students feel very panicky and worried, so i’ll try to break it down for you nice and simple.

    if you’ve got two majors, what you need to do is make sure that you take 12.0 FCEs throughout your entire degree that only count for ONE MAJOR. all the rest can overlap. again: 12.0 of the credits you take have to count towards the requirements for one of your majors, but NOT?the other.

    for example, if BIO130 counts towards BOTH your majors, then it is not a distinct credit, but an overlapping credit.

    this is something that degree explorer tracks, by the way, so if you’re still feeling BEFUDDLED over all of this, feel free to log onto there and see how you’re doing. also, you can make an appointment with your registrar’s office to discuss this VERY THING, as part of an appointment called a ‘grad check.’

    cheers,

    aska

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  • OSAP,  UTAPS

    money on TAP

    January 26, 2015

    Hi,

    I recently stumbled upon an email from OSAP (November) reminding me to update my income on the application. I was awarded a 2014-2015 UTAPS grant ($4000+) from the school with a letter clearly stating that an OSAP report is not needed. However, the section under Income Received During Study Period on the OSAP application says, “Do not report any award, bursary, and/or needs-based scholarship received from a public Ontario college or university if the college/university informs you in writing that they will report the award to OSAP directly. If you have not received notification in writing from your school, then you must report this income”.

    From this point, I’m a bit confused as the letter about the UTAPS grant states that an OSAP report is not needed, yet the OSAP application indicates I must report the award/grant if the school has not done so. The UTAPS grant has essentially paid off the rest of my tuition for this year as my account balance is at $0.00. I am receiving the rest of my OSAP funding (also $4000+) in 2nd semester that I was supposed to use to pay off my tuition, which will now be used to excessively pay for upcoming textbooks. I do not want to be overfunded and forced to repay more than I have to after graduation. Thus, I have not updated my income yet, what should I do?

    Should I report the UTAPS grant? Any suggestions? Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if the university told you that you don’t need to report UTAPS on your OSAP, then that’s because the school has reported/will report it for you. seems to me that OSAP statement is also telling you NOT to report the award, since you were “informed in writing that [the university] will report to OSAP directly.”

    from what i can tell, it’s all up to the school now; they said they would report it, which means it’s out of your hands. sit back and relax. have a drink. enjoy the wonderful weather we’ve been having.

    however, if you want to be absolutely certain (which i would recommend), you can always call enrolment services and double-check.

    have a rad rest-of-the-afternoon!

    aska

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  • registration

    i’m off!

    January 22, 2015

    Hey,

    I’m currently a fourth year UofT student in life sciences, but want to switch schools and enter another program/field. My problem is that I am missing a few (2) courses to graduate. If I were to start at another school for fall 2015, can I return to take the courses at UofT summer (2016) and graduate?

    Thank You!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    it shouldn’t be a problem! you’re allowed to take time off and pick up where you left off, so to speak, pretty much as you like. the university isn’t too bothered about that kind of thing.

    you may have to provide a transcript or other evidence to uoft of whatever studies you decided to do during your time off (just in case there’s a possibility for transfer credit), and there’s a $25 re-registration fee in the faculty of arts & science if you take a year or more off – but that’s about it! easy-peasy, pumpkin squeezy.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • med school

    i can’t be a doctor because i hated the cow eyeball lab in AP bio.

    January 22, 2015

    Hey there,

    I’m a third year student at utm and I have a cgpa of 3.71 but an omsas gpa?of 3.56 which puts me below the 3.6 cut-off for U of T med school. My?volunteer activities aren’t that impressive either: I volunteer about 6 hrs?a week on campus as a first aid responder and I’m a research assistant in a?psych study. I also plan on volunteering at a clinic/ hospital this summer?but that’s all I have so far. In the past, I did tutor kids voluntarily in?high school and was a prefect and the chairperson of my school’s science?club.

    Realistically, what do you think are my chances of making the cut? Do you?have any advice (again, realistic advice)?

    Out of curiosity, when U of T says the average accepted applicant has a gpa?of 3.88, is that on the omsas scale or in general? Also, do you know if the?american scale (AMCAS) converts grades in a similar way as OMSAS? Because?omsas is killing me.

    Thanks!

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

    hey there,

    since 3.6 is the?cut-off, i doubt you would have much chance getting in if you hadn’t met that. HOWEVER, you are only in third year. you have (at least) three more semesters to get your GPA as high as you possibly can.

    now, i’m no admissions committee, but i wouldn’t call your volunteer activity unimpressive. obviously, i have no way of comparing you to everyone else who is going to be applying to uoft med school in your year, so my opinion isn’t authoritative. i find everyone impressive, honestly. i find getting to class on time impressive – but that’s another issue.

    still, i wouldn’t despair just yet. if you stay on track with your plan to volunteer this summer, i think you’ll be doing ok. (again, i can’t REALLY answer this question because i – tragically – haven’t been invited to be a part of any admissions boards, but this is just MY FEEL of the situation. if you want some more professional?advice, i’d recommend talking to uoft med admissions).

    focus on your GPA. take advantage of utm’s?academic resources (before you object: 1. you’re paying for it already, you may as well use it; 2. no it’s not an admission of defeat to ask for help).

    get a tutor, if you think it will help. if you’re taking some pretty specialized courses that don’t often get tutored, ask around the department of the courses you’re having trouble with to see whether there are any grad students willing to help you. go to your profs’/TAs’ office hours. put aside one more hour of the day for studying. there’s a lot you can do.

    you’re already doing a great job – all you need is to make one or two small changes that can push your academic career from ‘really good’ to ‘competitive.’ try and figure out where you need to make some improvements, and seek out help in those areas.

    to see how your grades would convert on the AMCAS scale, take a look at the very last table on the last page of this document.

    best of luck with it!

    aska

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  • grades

    just tell me how bad it was. i want to know.

    January 22, 2015

    Hi aska

    I still can’t see my statistics final grade on rosi. Is there a problem with my rosi account or something? Should I go somewhere to ask about that or send an email to a specific department?

    I’m so anxious for my grade and have been waiting for half a month:(

    Hope you can give me some idea what I can do right now..

    Thank you

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well, it’s been nearly a month now. if you still haven’t gotten the mark, you should definitely talk to the statistics department. e-mail your prof, too.

    (p.s. this is one of the VERY RARE TIMES that your local superhero – your college registrar’s office – will not be useful. marks get submitted to departments, and then the faculty of arts & science registrar. so save yourself some time and a phone call and go straight to the department).

    cheers,

    aska

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  • grad school

    i’ll give you one more chance, to say we change or part ways

    January 20, 2015

    Dear Aska,

    I completed my undergraduate degree at St. George in 2013. To be honest, I was a terrible student. I eventually pulled it together enough to graduate (it took 6 years) and thought I wouldn’t have to look back.

    Now, I am (a little) more grown up and after working shitty jobs for too long I have found the motivation I have been missing all this time and I want to go to graduate school. This might seem misguided but I am capable, I swear. I realise that especially for me, this will be a long process. I am interested in doing a Masters of Information at U of T and becoming a librarian in the end…so, what should I do?

    I am planning on taking some courses to boost my GPA and then eventually applying for graduate school…but how are my chances? My GPA at the moment
    renders me irrelevant. Less than irrelevant, even. But, if I take a few 300 and 400 level courses and prove that I can indeed work at the necessary level am I still screwed? Will my really shitty GPA render my admittance to a MI program at U of T totally impossible? Will I have to take a full 5.0 courses to prove my worth or will that be insufficient?

    Please help! I am desperate to do this, I must find a way.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    *puts on crotchety old man voice* listen here, sonny. in my many decades at this insti-too-shun we call askastudent, i have learned a thing or two. one of those things is that the questions people ask and the stories they tell are subjective. also, get off my lawn.

    what i’m getting at is that saying things like “i was a terrible student” and that your GPA is “irrelevant” means close to nothing, because everyone has a different idea of what that means.

    without giving me an actual number or some other kind of qualifier, i have no way of telling how reasonable a goal grad school is for you. what i CAN tell you is what uoft says.

    iSchool requires that you have a CGPA of at least 3.0 and, ideally, at least a B+ (3.3) in your last year.

    so, if you don’t have that 3.0 CGPA – that may be a problem. however, taking some 300- and 400-level courses to boost it, and get a really polished AGPA for your ‘last year’ could help you.

    like i said, it kind of depends on what shape your CGPA is in right now. if you want some more nuanced advice, i’d recommend you talk to admissions at iSchool. they can take a look at your transcript and give you the DL on your chances.

    try not to feel too desperate! it won’t help you any at bars, ygm?

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. “ohh aska, where can i find the song whose lyrics you quoted in the title?” i hear you ask plaintively. here you go.

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