• ROSI

    ROSI is CHANGING

    June 17, 2015

    alright fools, listen up: something is HAPPENING on june 22nd. something BIG. something BESIDES you skipping work “because it’s a monday and what is even the point of it all?”

    our beloved ROSI is being phased out and replaced by a newer, better system! *blows party blower*

    how does it feel, huh, ROSI? to be the old, abandoned gal? how does it feel that you’re leaving and half of us still don’t know how to pronounce your name properly? how does it feel knowing that your limited capabilities won’t be missed?

    sorry, ROSI. i didn’t mean to make you cry. tuck your head into my lapel. there, there.

    so who’s ROSI going to be replaced by? well, it’s the new, the shiny, the everyone-is-going-crazy-about-her ACORN! ACORN is more functional (and easier to pronounce). she’s the hottest babe?in town.

    you’ll be able to login to ACORN on june 22nd – and we urge you to take her for a spin – but it’ll still be a little while since ROSI is phased out completely, so not to worry. you’ll still have time to say your goodbyes.

    and try not to be too torn up about it – at its core, the system will remain the same SWS (student web service) that it was before. ACORN will be like the new casing for the same old stuff. in other words, it’ll still?do all the same things – show you your fees, let you enrol in courses, etc. – but it’ll just let you do it better.

    if you’d like to know MORE about ACORN, you can take a look here, and keep an eye on FAStanswers for more information.

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • distribution,  easy,  UTM

    *bill nye voice* inertia is a property of matter

    June 16, 2015

    I’m sure you’ve been asked this before, but for those of us who were maybe a bit naive and short-sighted in high school and didn’t take any Grade 12 U-level math or science courses: what are our options to fulfill the one science credit requirement? Preferably @ UTM. There’s a super-incredible course in CCIT (my intended major) that’s a science, but requires a first year intro to psych course, which of course requires 12U math and biology.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well, if you’re keen on that super-incredible course, you can always take 4U math and biology in summer school/night school. (math is also available through a uoft program called PUMP, though we don’t have any equivalent for biology, unfortunately).

    buuuut going to school in the summer sucks, so let’s consider some other options, shall we?

    there are lots of introductory science courses which favour the strengths of a humanities or social science student (i.e. no scary math or graphs to be seen). most of these courses don’t require any high school science courses, or ask that you have any previous familiarity with the course material.

    a few of these courses include:

    ERS103H5: Geology and Public Issues (gain the skill to confidently sprinkle the term “anthropocene” into regular conversation)

    ENV100Y5: The Environment (learn how 2 have opinions about climate change)

    BIO201H5: The Biology Behind the News (learn to read and understand parts of the newspaper other than the comics and crossword sections. next – a course on understanding the Financial Times)

    PHY100H5: What’s Physics Got to do with It? (for those who “want to gain insight into this interesting and important field in a non-intimidating way.” no five kinematic equations for you.)

    and there’s plenty more. note that you don’t have to take a first-year course, but upper-year courses generally have prereqs, so do keep that in mind.

    when you get a chance, spend some quality time with the course calendar and see if you find any other courses that spark your interest – and don’t have any pesky prerequisites attached.

    to make sure a course fills your science distribution requirement, check whether it’s labelled ‘SCI’ – only these courses will count towards your distribution requirement.

    happy hunting!

    aska

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  • engineering,  new college,  residence,  trinity college

    i’m an alien, i’m a legal alien. i’m an engineer in trinity

    June 15, 2015

    Hi, so I’m going to be starting at U of T as an engsci in September. As such, I have to rank my residence options. I had also received an offer from Trinity for artsci, but I declined this in favour of engsci. However, I’d still quite like to live at Trinity. My concern is that if I do manage to still get residence at Trin, would I be kind of isolated from the rest of the engineering faculty? Would it be a better idea to put somewhere like New College as my first choice, and be in residence with more engineering students? Thank yooouuu

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    living in engineering’s living learning community at new college is a great idea. engineering is pretty gruelling, and living with a whole bunch of people – including your don – who understand what you’re going through is probably a very comforting and supportive residence experience.

    you’ll always have people to study with and people to vent with. people will be by and large on the same schedule as you are – so when you’re buckling down, everyone else will be too. when you have some time to wind down, you’ll have people to enjoy it with.

    so yeah, living with engineers could be great. but it could also be not so great.

    think about it this way: you love your mom, right? of course you do. you and your ma are the tightest. you would do anything for her. but do you want to live with her? see her day in, day out?

    of course you don’t – that’s why you’re moving out.

    a living learning society has the potential to be kind of like that. engineering is pretty intense, and you might find yourself?wanting a break from it when you come home from class.

    living at trinity could provide you with that break. no matter where you live, you’re not going to be isolated from your engineering peers – so don’t worry about that. firstly, you’ll be spending too much time in class together for that to ever be possible, and secondly, most people commute anyway, so living on res won’t exclude you.

    but what trinity can give you that engineering can’t is a community outside your studies – friends from other programs, with other perspectives.

    there are only 425 people living at trinity, and trinity, more perhaps than some other, newer colleges at uoft, has a very strong sense of self (dressing up in black robes every wednesday evening can do that to a group of people).

    being a part of the trinity community as well as the engineering community might give you a nice balance between engineering and, well, something else.

    ultimately, there’s no right answer. residence is very largely a non-academic experience, and different people will prefer different kinds of communities. just try to go with whichever option you feel more excited about. if you can, book a residence tour at each college. then just feel it out.

    best of luck, and see you in september!

    aska

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  • frosh,  st. mike's

    st. mike’s, st. mike’s, ra ra ra

    June 11, 2015

    When can smc student register for frosh?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    SMC hasn’t updated their orientation website yet, so unfortunately, i have no idea. last year, however, the earliest deadline was July 15th, so we’ve still got some time left. you can keep an eye on @SMCCampusLife if you have twitter for updates, or check SMC’s frosh website closer to July.

    have fun at frosh. hoikity choik or whatever.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • St. George,  UTM

    Mississauga deer vs. the St. George…pigeons

    June 11, 2015

    Hello, I was wondering what you think about UTSG and UTM campuses, in your opinion which one do you think is better both academically and socially, or are they pretty much the same?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    full disclosure: i’m a UTSG student, so i have more experience with the downtown campus. however, i don’t have like, any special allegiance to St. George, so don’t expect this post to have any prejudices.

    my only true allegiance is to the original Oreo. don’t talk to me about that faux-marhsmallow double-stuffed crap. i’m definitely prejudiced against those.

    UTSG (academic): the downtown campus is an all-arounder when it comes to academics, mostly because it’s so big. no matter what your interests are, you can probably find a good program to satisfy them. UTSG is neither a liberal arts or a STEM university – both mix and mingle within the Faculty of Arts & Science, which is pretty unique.

    especially notable undergrad programs include engineering, rotman commerce, and international relations.

    UTM (academic): UTSG has a lot of programs, but it’s not flawless. a common complaint from downtown campus students is that their degree has no real-world applications. which is a pretty reasonable complaint considering we’ll all be DROWNING IN DEBT after we leave this place.

    in addition to having a solid (albeit smaller) selection of programs to match UTSG’s, UTM has a few programs unique to its own campus, which bridge academic study with real world experience nicely.

    the most notable of these, i would say, are the Institute of Culture, Communication of Technology programs, management programs, and forensic science program. to be honest, the fact that UTSG doesn’t have its own communications program is kind of baffling to me (though our closest equivalent, Book & Media Studies, is gr8).

    UTSG (social): if you want to have a social life on the downtown campus, you have to make it happen. the Faculty of Arts & Science offers a lot of flexibility in terms of mixing and matching programs, but that means that being in a certain program doesn’t guarantee you’ll see the same people all the time.

    making friends means putting yourself out there, here more than anywhere. and there are opportunities to get involved in the community, be that your college community, the community around your academic department, or a certain extra-curricular organization.

    however, it won’t come to you. you have to actually join stuff – which can be annoying and hard. if you’re commuting (which a lot of downtown campus students do), that makes things even more difficult.

    also, UTSG can feel a bit old-boys-y, especially if you’re part of one of the older colleges. that can sometimes put people off.

    so there is community here, but it’s hard to find, and a bit all over the place. there is almost definitely a community of people here that’s perfect for you. the trick is to find it.

    UTM (social): UTM is a lot quieter than UTSG. it is also a lot smaller. the lack of a college system means that there is no intra-faculty bickering, which will save you a headache and a half. also, if you’re planning on living on rez, you will a part of the UTM residence community, rather than just the rez community at one college, which is very insular and can feel a little bit like being back at high school.

    UTM tends to be a bit more peaceful than the downtown community, and students will often see deer on campus.

    that said, you likely can’t sustain yourself for four years based on a friendship with a deer.

    UTM also shares the rather unfortunate status of commuter school with UTSG, making community harder to build and maintain. relatedly, Mississauga is quieter in terms of things t0 do than Toronto, so if you’re someone who loves the nightlife, then you may want to think about that.

    hope that helps! see ya around in September maybe,

    aska

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  • admissions,  engineering

    “graduate school in engineeri – ” nope. nopity nope.

    June 10, 2015

    Hey!

    I recently decided to attend UofT for computer engineering and I was?wondering if the 3.6 GPA requirement is as strict with engineering students as it is with other (because you know, it just aint easy being an engineer)

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    why tell aska whether you’re applying to undergrad or grad studies? she doesn’t need to know! that would’ve just been just TOO EASY for her, huh?

    my HUNCH is that you’re applying to grad school, both because of the GPA requirement and because of your cynical, embittered use of the word “ain’t.” that cold, hard cynicism is usually underdeveloped in 17-year-olds. though not always.

    engineering tends to be one of the more no-nonsense disciplines at uoft – and at most universities, acutally. i guess spending a life around gears and wiring requires being absolutely wrung out at school.

    point is, if they say a B+, then they mean it.

    in addition, ECE specifically states that you need at least an A- to be competitive. i doubt they’re joking around about that, either. also, “[s]tudents with academic records equal to or below the minimum eligibility requirement are strongly discouraged from applying.”

    if they wrote that in bold on their admissions page, it’s probably there for a reason.

    however, if you’re uncertain about how your qualifications match up, you can always use their international degree equivalencies tool. you can also just call them up, because sometimes departments are willing to chat with people about where they stand, admissions-wise.

    good luck with grad studies in engineering. like, seriously. i hope you enjoy the gears and wiring and stuff.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • first year,  UTM

    go to your own campus, stay a while

    June 9, 2015

    Hi, I was wondering if you can clarify something for me, I’m going to be attending UTM this September (first year) and I was wondering if I could take a history/political science course at UTSG? When I checked it said “You are eligible to take courses at other U of T campuses only after you have successfully completed 4.0 U of T Mississauga credits.” Does this mean I can’t take courses at another campus until after first year?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    yes, that is correct. honestly, it’s probably a blessing in disguise. you don’t want to be hauling your exhausted flesh bag of a body to and from Mississauga on a bus twice a week. enjoy UTM, and then you can bugger off to Toronto, with its reckless pedestrians and confusing campus, after first year.

    by the way, it’s kind of irritating to me that i didn’t know that rule off the top of my head. hmph. i think this calls for another day of unnecessary pouting and too much takeout food.

    see you on the flip side,

    aska

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  • grad school,  late withdrawal,  law

    blah school

    June 9, 2015

    Hello,
    I desperately want to get into grad school/law school but I have a cGPA of 3.42 and two LWD on my transcript. The LWDs were probably a bit stupid, they were in my 2nd and 3rd years and due to getting 60s in two mandatory classes. I retook one and didn’t do much better – got a B. I’m redoing the other LWD class again as I go into my 4th year. I also had medical reasons for the LWDs (because I got them after the deadline had passed) but obviously it does not say that on my transcript. I’ll be graduating this year and I don’t plan on getting anymore LWDs. My question to you is: how badly do these LWDs affect my chances of getting into grad school/law school? Is it too late for me? With these grades and the two LWDs, how likely/unlikely will I get accepted into grad school? (The programs I’ve been looking at has a B- cut off and A- admission average).
    Thanks,Desperate Student

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    asking me whether you’ll get into graduate school without specifying which program or university you’re interested in is like asking whether you can afford a meal without specifying the meal or how much money you have.

    but aska is a trooper, and i’m gonna do the best i can.

    if the programs you’re looking at have a B- cut-off, and you’ve got a B+, then yeah, your chances are good. the LWDs aren’t great, but if the courses aren’t related to your program of interest and they were in second and third year, then they’re not the end of the world.

    not much more i can say about that. but you can always call the admissions committee at the school in question and bug them about it if their website is especially cryptic.

    generally speaking, graduate schools tend only to look at your grades in third/fourth years – though you’ll have to check the specific requirements of your program/school to make sure. so if you’re calculating admissions averages, make sure only to include the years they’ll actually look at.

    easy peasy, right? you didn’t even need me for that. look, i’ll even give you a tool that will calculate your GPA for you.

    that’s graduate school. law school is a whole ‘nother thing.

    i don’t really feel like looking up admissions averages for every single law school in the English-speaking world, so i’m just going to focus on Canadian schools in this answer. schools elsewhere might operate differently, so make sure to check that before applying willy-nilly.

    i’m gonna be straight with you – a 3.42 falls beneath the minimum CGPA for every law school in the country. putting the LWDs aside, the CGPA in itself is concerning.

    the ghost of Law School Future is dark and damning, but there is still hope at the end of this dream.

    law schools in Canada typically look at your three best years, and sometimes only your best two. that should bump your admissions GPA up a little. and hey, if your worst year has an LWD in it, all the better.

    the LWDs on their own won’t be a death sentence on your application, as long as your GPA is within the realm of interesting to the admissions committee. you can also always write a letter as part of your application explaining why those LWDs are there.

    finally: you’re going into fourth year! you still have one full year to absolutely KILL IT before you start applying. you can do a lot in your final year if you put your mind to it. competitive LSATs can also make up for small weaknesses in your GPA, so do your very best to give that your all.

    good luck with your applications, dude,

    aska

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  • first year

    5 MORE ways to get involved with small community on campus

    June 5, 2015

    i liked writing the first one so much, i decided to do it again. besides, a list of ten sounds so much better than a list of five.

    here we go:

    6. COLLEGES

    kind of obvious. if you’re a faculty of arts & science student, you’ll be placed into one of seven colleges: innis, new, st. michael’s, trinity, university, victoria or woodsworth. automatic community, right? well, it’s not that simple.

    here’s the trick about colleges: they don’t have to affect your university experience. at all. you don’t?have to spend any time in your college, meet anyone in your college, take classes offered by your college, or use any of your college’s student services.

    HOWEVER, if you?do?get involved with your college, you probably won’t be one of the people complaining to this or that magazine (i’m looking at you, maclean’s) about the lack of a small community at uoft. whether or not you choose to live in residence, every college has a?unique and vibrant community.

    7. SMALL CLASSES

    yep, class-time counts as community time, too. it only takes one torturous?lecture in con hall to make you appreciate a small class.

    first-year courses tend to be particularly horrendous in terms of class size. for that reason, faculty of arts & science students have lots of opportunities to take small classes. victoria college students are even required to take at least one small class.

    examples of small classes include the 199 first-year seminar courses, the college one program?(innis, new, st. mike’s, trinity, university, victoria, woodsworth), and the vic 100 courses.

    not only are these classes smaller in size (which is amazing in itself) but they tend to have quirky or unusual course content. they provide an interesting complement to the standard first-year course fare, which can be very similar from university to university.

    8. FLCs

    FLCs (or first-year learning communities) are a sort of add-on to first-year classes. it’s the Class+ experience. first?class, you might say.

    if you’re in an FLC, you’ll be a part of a group of 25-30 students who are enrolled in some of the same first-year courses. your small group will meet regularly outside of class for “useful and fun activities.” these include social activities, degree-planning sessions and study strategy sessions.

    FLCs are led by upper year peer mentors, and they’re a truly great resource to help orient you to university in your first year. i honestly can’t recommend them enough. plus, the extra-curricular involvement is noted on your transcript, which is nice.

    9.?EXTRA-CURRICULARS

    another obvious one.?just try to avoid two COMMON TRAPS?when joining extra-curricular activities: being overwhelmed, or underwhelmed.

    there are so many clubs/teams/committees that the sheer amount can be intimidating. it can cause you to feel like you have to stick with the first club you tried, because venturing out into the rest of the impossibly large university seems scary and confusing. but don’t settle on doing something you don’t care about.

    on the other hand, if you don’t like one organization, don’t take that as a prompt to quit altogether. remember: a club is only as good as its members. just because you had one bad experience, doesn’t mean all organizations at the university will be the same. keep trying, and you’ll find the place for you.

    10. FROSH WEEK

    alright, here goes my very best pitch for frosh week:

    a lot of people don’t like frosh.?the extra cost on top of a frankly offensive?tuition invoice is enough to make a lot of students withdraw from orientation?without thinking twice about it.?which i understand. what are we, made of money? i can’t even afford soup.

    from the outside, it looks like a lot of unnecessary shouting and enthusiasm that can make a grade 12 think: “spare me the headache. i’ve been to enough pep rallies to know to steer clear of this.”

    here’s the thing: frosh is genuinely really, really fun. if you can afford it, it will be worth your while.

    it provides valuable academic orientation as well as opportunities to socialize with other members of your faculty/college. and – at least in my experience – it really does make a concerted effort to include?everyone, not just the people who are outgoing and like that kind of stuff anyway.

    plus, you’ll get, like, coupons and UofT-insignia’d Frisbees and stuff.

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  • architecture,  exchange,  study abroad

    @ Michael Lee-Chin: fight me

    June 4, 2015

    hello,

    are there study abroad opportunities for architecture, particularly for undergrads?

    thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you really want an EXCITING, URBAN experience, my personal recommendation is that you stand in front of the ROM – facing the shard side, of course – and yell really loudly about how bold and beautiful it is. scream “WHAT AN INSIGHTFUL MEDITATION ON THE CLASH BETWEEN THE ANCIENT AND THE MODERN” until someone stops on the street to pummel you.

    then fight them, illustrating in real time the historical struggles preserved in the ROM. punch yourself in the face. get an A+.

    buttttt if you’re more conventional (*cough*boring*cough*) and want something NON LIFE-THREATENING that’s organized by the university (snore), then you can always participate in the summer abroad program.

    summer abroad lets you complete a uoft course abroad during the summer. this summer, there are two architecture courses offered: FAH391Y0 in Italy, and FAH392Y0 in England.

    there is also an exchange program (different from summer abroad, this program is organized by the CIE) that allows you to complete a course at another university abroad. Yonsei University in Korea offers architecture courses.

    that’s about it as far as undergrad opportunities go, but keep an eye on the summer abroad and CIE websites, because new courses and partner institutions are always being added to the summer abroad and exchange programs.

    or you could go for my very helpful ROM suggestion. i think a bloody fight between some art enthusiasts is exactly what Bloor/Yorkville needs.

    happy travels,

    aska

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  • fees

    a Magnificent Return

    June 3, 2015

    My account was suspended a few years ago because I didn’t pay my tuition. Since then I’ve paid off all remaining charges. My question is: I’m interested in continuing my studies by my account is still suspended. How do I go about returning to school?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you want to come back here? really? but you got out and paid everything off! surely there’s nothing left for you here, now.

    mad max fury road poster

    a student surveys the wasteland that is their studies

    alright, well, if you really want to keep your nose to the grindstone, you’re going to have to re-register at your friendly neighbourhood college registrar’s office. that’ll cost you about 30 seconds and $25. it’s about the most painless process you can undergo at uoft. and i’m counting 100-level open book exams in that.

    that financial hold on your account will have to be lifted by your registrar’s office, too, before you re-register. they can take a look at why the hold is there and figure out how to lift it. think of them as the jaws of life to your squished car. except after you’re saved, instead of being grateful you’re alive, you’ll have to go back to uoft.

    wishing you a Triumphant Return,

    aska

    P.S. you know the Starbucks at Robarts is closed now, right? you still sure you want to come back?

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  • graduation

    i just want to keep bees with other alumni

    June 2, 2015

    last year, i tried to give uoft’s graduating class of 2014 the most solid advice that i could, before they were dropped kicked out of con hall and into the so-called “real world.”

    i still stand by that advice (especially the one about dr. phil). this year, though, instead of dwelling on all the horrible and scary-sounding stuff that awaits us all beyond graduation – poverty, under- or unemployment, unstable/temporary jobs, etc. – i want to remind graduates of some of the NICE THINGS about being a graduate of uoft.

    (all of the things i’m about to mention are provided by the Office of Alumni and Advancement. take a poke around their website if you’d like to learn more.)

    1. career help

    so, you’ve graduated – you’re alone, you’re afraid, and you’re without a job. the familiar doom and gloom of the job market in the post-2008 recession that we’ve all heard before.

    FORTUNATELY FOR YOU, little grad, the office of a&a offers a number of career services for young professionals. for up to 2 years after graduation, alumni have full access to their faculty/campus career centre for free. which is nice, because as a jobless person, you probably don’t have a lot of money that you can spend on services to help you find a job.

    but if you DO happen to have a little money kicking around, you also have access to a large number of career coaching services at a discounted price.

    if you’d like to do a bit of shmoozing – i mean, networking – why not attend one of Alumni’s Shaker events? they’re free, and they take place at “hip urban hotspots.” no more stuffy rooms in UC for you. now you’re FANCY.

    2. the library

    you don’t want to be one of those plebs who can’t get to the stacks at robarts, do you? after all, you’re really going to need easy access to that Welsh literary anthology from 1834 when you’re working 40 hours a week.

    for just $22.60, you can buy an alumni ID card, which grants you access to the stacks until THE END OF TIME. alternatively, you can pay $70/week for an alumni reader card and you’ll be able to loan stuff from the library, too.

    3. Continuing Studies

    working can be a bit mind-numbing, especially if you’re used to the pace and rhythm of a university course. yes, i know that sounds ridiculous now, as you cheer and celebrate (read: drink copiously) the end of your time at school.

    however, formal education can be a tough habit to break. besides, learning is a lot more fun when you don’t have a $30k degree hanging on the line.

    to ease that transition from school to work, why not sign up for some courses at continuing education students graduating this year get a $750 credit to spend on one continuing education course. take a course in anything from business & professional studies to creative writing.

    4. faculty club

    ever wanted to feel like an overprivileged white man living in victorian england? well NOW YOU CAN, with your very own membership to the faculty club.

    the faculty club is a great place to meet people who were successful in a previous era, sit down in fancy chairs in fancy rooms, attend events with other fancy people, learn valuable skills through varied etiquette seminars, and – this part is my personal favourite – be part of a beekeeping club!

    if you’re a recent grad, your first six months of membership are free, and the next 2.5 years of membership are half-price. which is actually a pretty great deal.

    congratulations, grads, and good luck out there!

    aska

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  • subject POST,  UTM

    “programs”

    June 2, 2015

    Hi! I accepted my offer to utm for the psychology program, but I want to transfer to the life sciences program to major in biology. To do so would this be after first year? And I would need to have a minimum of a B average? Thank you in advance!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    honestly, i wish the university would stop admitting people into “programs” right out of high school, because it just creates unnecessary confusion for everybody. do they enjoy it? DO THEY LIKE TO WATCH US STRUGGLE?

    everything they told you has been a lie.* you’re not really in a program. you may have been admitted to the general area of psychology, but you’re still going to have to apply to your subject Program(s) Of Study (or “subject POSt(s),” i.e. your actual programs) after first year, anyway.

    lucky for you, even if you’re not in life science, you can still apply to their programs.

    as long as you complete 4.0 credits including BIO152+5 (MAT134 is recommended) and finish with a 2.0 CGPA during your first year, you can apply to the biology major program after first year.

    also, you’re going to need to accompany that biology major with either another major or two more minors (learn more about acceptable combinations of subject POSts and how/when to sign up for them here).

    so yeah. first year is all just a program-less lie. fortunately, a general first-year means that you have some room to make mistakes and reinterpret your entire life and have an existential crisis or two. so at least your inevitable confusion is all built into the framework of your degree.

    i hope you have a wonderful first year. try to enjoy getting confused.

    xoxo,

    aska

    * well. not?everything. that would be?melodramatic. and aska is?never?melodramatic.

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