• robarts

    elevate me to a higher plane of knowledge

    January 14, 2016

    possibly the dumbest question you will ever get on here. I’m laughing at myself for typing this…. how the heck do I get beyond the 5th floor of Robarts… I can’t find the elevators that go further

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i cannot tell you how much this question cheered me up. writing about academic probation all day can really get you down – sometimes you need to just tell people how to get through robarts.

    ok, so you have to go to the first floor of robarts – the floor underneath the floor with the starbucks and the little food court. once you get down there, there’s someone immediately by the escalators who is sitting at a desk outside a bank of elevators. show that person your tcard, and then take any of the elevators, excluding the one all the way to the right.

    they will take you all the way up to the thirteenth floor. think of all those books you haven’t yet read. wow.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • failing,  math

    math again, wrath again

    January 13, 2016

    Hey,Without an announcement on blackboard for MATA30, I checked Rosi to see a failing mark of 45%, which is down 15% from what I had going into the exam. I am in Physical and Environmental Sciences program which also requires MATA36 semester two. I immediately re-enrolled in MATA30 and kept MATA36 for my second semester at UTSC without knowing if it will actually allow me to do this. I am wondering if that is the easiest way for me to make up the shockingly failed course. Or what other possible suggestions allow for me to continue without tuition change/summer classes.
    (I know exams and holidays means business but id appreciate the closest available help since I don’t know of any possible deadlines)Thank you

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    first thing’s first: i’m glad you signed up for MATA30 again and secured a spot in that class. THAT WAS SMART; DON’T DROP IT. however, since MATA30 is a requirement for MATA36, they’re probably not going to let you take MATA36 until you’ve finished the former course. you can always ask the department (nothing’s stopping you), but i doubt they’ll make an exception.

    so: what you have to do now is drop MATA36. you can consider taking it next year, if you don’t want to take anything in the summer. you still have a while until the drop deadline, but the math department has the authority to pull you from the course at any point, so it’s best for you to do it before they do.

    i know it’s frustrating to have to contemplate altering your plans, and i’m sure you just want to get first-year math out of the way. but taking MATA36 in fall 2016 instead of winter 2016 (or even in the summertime) doesn’t have to completely disrupt your schedule. feel free to talk to the registrar’s office if you need further help with planning.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • criminology,  stats

    which stats should i stan?

    January 13, 2016

    Hi,

    I have to take a statistics course to fulfill a Criminology major requirement. Im not a math person, so im really dreading it and wondering which course would be the easiest for non-math ppl: soc200, soc202, psy201 or cri350? Any advise?

    Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately i haven’t taken any of these courses and so i can’t be too helpful in recommending one of these courses over the rest. CRI350H1 seems to be the obvious choice, since it’s for crim students, but since all of them are acceptable, you probably won’t be completely lost in any of them. since they are all exclusions of each other, the course material is probably pretty similar.

    at this point, your best bet is to get into whichever one is still available, to be honest.

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. i apologize for how woefully late this answer was. i didn’t have a satisfactory answer so i kept putting it off until i did…i don’t think a better answer is coming, to be honest. but let us know what you ended up picking.

    Read More
  • grad school

    “third year” or THIRD YEAR

    January 6, 2016

    Hi! I know that a lot of grad schools look at your third and fourth years only. This may be a dumb question, but third year literally means taken during your third academic year (or I guess maybe after you get 9 or whatever credits), right? I’m asking because I’m a second year and I did badly in PSL300, which is a 300-level course, so I was wondering if that counts as third year. Also, if I take MAT135, a 100-level course, during third year, that counts as third year too or no? Thanks! 🙂

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    that is actually not a dumb question. i know – shocking, right? it’s been known to happen.

    the frustrating and unhelpful answer is that it kind of depends on the graduate program. sometimes it means that they will only look at the courses you took in your third and fourth year (some programs say this very explicitly by saying that they will only look at your last 5.0 or 10.0 credits).

    on the other hand, some programs will focus just on your third and fourth year, regardless of whether you threw in a 100-level course in there or not. i would say that research-based science master’s programs – generally speaking – tend to do it this latter way, but that is VERY GENERAL, so you have to do your research.

    read the website of the schools you’re interested in carefully, and if they don’t specify which one they do, you can always call them to ask. also, check to see whether PSL300 is a requirement for any of the programs you’re interested in, because that may also be a factor.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • failing,  grad school,  law

    1 1.0 course or 2 0.5 courses is…the same…

    January 6, 2016

    So I just finished the first semester of my third year, and I think I’ve failed my first course at UofT. How badly do you think this will effect my chances of getting into law school? I know I have to retake the course cause I need it for my POST minor, but because it’s in 3rd year I’m worried about the impression it’ll create for grad school.

    Also, is there any difference between getting a high grade in a 1.0 credit course vs a 0.5 credit course. I just want to know if taking a full year course does anything to boost your GPA compared to a half year course?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i can’t say for sure how this would affect a law school application. all i can say is the more this grade looks like an anomaly, the better. like, if you get, let’s say, a 45% in one course in your third year, but everything else in your third and fourth years is in the 80s and/or 90s, then the admissions people for law school will likely to see that one mark as a fluke. if it becomes part of a trend however, then it might be cause for concern.

    and to answer your second question: if you have a course worth 1.0 credits, that is going to weigh exactly double a 0.5 credit course – as the math would suggest. but there’s no difference, GPA-wise, between taking two half-year courses and getting an 80% in each one and taking one full-year course and getting an 80% in that course. so…you know…just take what you wanna take…u do u bae.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • petition,  suspension

    uoft part 2: less getting lost, more getting winning

    January 6, 2016

    Hi ,

    So I was a student who got admitted to U of T (St.george) in September 2013, on academic probation , cause for one of my high school courses I performed about 2 % below what was required on my conditional offer. Anyways , after coming to U of T, I got a little overwhelmed, and I am not joking when I say that I missed alot of classes cause I would just get lost. And Some other personal issues that had been going on came up . Long story short, At the end of my first year I ended up failing 6 out the 7
    courses I took , and was put on suspension. So I freaked out didn’t tell anyone , including my parents. And basically I pretended I was going to school all year even though I wasn’t . This obviously put alot of stress on me and worsened my problems. So in the summer of 2015, I came back and took 2 courses , and failed them both. And so I was suspended for 3 years. I decided at this point that I obviously couldn’t keep this hidden from my parents. So I told them. and I started taking courses at ryerson in the Chang school . I am also now getting help for my mental illness, and I am feeling great and doing well in the courses. My question was that can I petition at the end of this school year to have my suspension lifted early, on the basis that I have solved my problems, and I am doing well in the ryerson courses, and have a part-time job. I have read some places that it wont work unless you were getting medical help during the time you were suspended. What are my chances of the petition being accepted, if I can prove I am better , and doing well in university level courses, even if they are at Ryerson.

    Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m sorry to hear you had a bumpy start to your degree at uoft, but i’m glad to hear you are doing better now!

    after consulting with my MYSTERIOUS ALL-KNOWING SOURCES, i have divined that the fact that you are a) doing well in university courses and b) getting help with your mental health (provided you have documentation to support this) are both great supports to justify your return to uoft.

    however, my source warned me that the petitions committee is unlikely to allow you to come back so early. if you last took courses one year ago and you’re on a three-year suspension, you’ll have to do some pretty hard convincing to get them to let you back two years early.

    that being said, if you really do feel ready to come back, you can still contact your college registrar to submit a petition, and hope for the best. the worst they can do is say no, and you can always try again in a year’s time.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • suspension

    should i drop or will i flop?

    January 5, 2016

    Hi! I returned after a 3 year suspension this year and am having a really tough time of it. I took 3 FCEs but have just dropped a 0.5 one; I think I’ll do well in next semester’s 0.5 course, but I’m concerned about the two Y courses I’m in. I’m really not sure that I can get good enough grades to bring my CGPA up to 1.5 (to avoid being expelled from the school), but I’m also confused about how GPA works.

    Basically, if I were to drop one of the Y courses, would that mean I have to get an even higher GPA in the remaining two to bring up my CGPA? I have an awful CGPA right now (1.22) and I’m really scared of getting terrible grades in the two Y courses that will destroy it even further, but if I drop one (or both) and suddenly have to get an impossibly high GPA in my remaining course(s), that obviously won’t help…

    Should I just drop everything and try again some other time????? Or is this not how it works?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if i’m understanding correctly, then no, that’s not how it works. it’s not like there’s a scale between the number of courses you’re taking and how well you’re doing, and if one goes down, the other has to go up.

    instead, you have to get a certain average in all your courses, regardless of how many courses you took that year. if you’re in the faculty of arts & science on the downtown campus, then the only requirement is that you make sure your AGPA is above 1.70. if that’s the case, then you can continue on academic probation until you get your CGPA above a 1.50, when you’ll get back into good standing.

    whatever you decide to do, make sure you are very careful about your decision. if you are returning from a three-year suspension and you don’t meet the criteria to return, you’ll be refused further registration at the university.

    i’d strongly suggest you visit your registrar’s office to talk about it before dropping anything. i know y’all must be sick of me saying that, but truly – you don’t understand how much you don’t understand until you talk with someone who does. so go over there. have a chat.

    best of luck,

    aska

    Read More
  • exams

    sleeping on the scantron machine

    January 4, 2016

    Hello,

    I know this is a crazy question but I did one of my exams and I went through all the questions I knew I got wrong and I calculated my mark and I was expecting an 86 the highest and like low 80s … But I get my mark on Portal and it says 68.67… is it possible at all that they put my mark in wrong or is it just one of those cases where you think you did really good but in fact did terrible (this was via scantron)

    Let me know, I’m loosing sleep over this. Thank you in advance

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    it’s definitely possible the mark is wrong. not PROBABLE, but possible. if you think the mark has been inputted/calculated wrong, you can request an exam recheck. all you have to do is fill out a form and pay a $15 fee (if the mark is changed).

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • rotman

    rotman hopeful

    January 4, 2016

    Hi there!

    Thank you so much for answering all these questions <3

    When someone is applying from arts and science into Rotman commerce, I know its really competitive but what is an example of the marks required?

    I really really want to get in. If you have any tips or tricks please let me know. Please let me know what i have to do i am desperate

    Thank you!!!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i can’t give you an example of the marks required. what i can tell you is of the many, many people who want to do this each year, only a handful are taken in from the Faculty of Arts & Science. you get me? a handful. under 10.

    as you can imagine, then, your GPA has to be pretty competitive to get accepted. i don’t know the exact marks needed because that information is not available to me, but let’s just say you need to be excelling.

    the minimum requirement is a 73% average in RSM100, MAT133 and ECO100, so the higher you can get above that, the better your shot. if you’d like to know how your marks measure up, my suggestion would be to talk to your registrar’s office about it.

    (sidenote: i’m not saying this to discourage you. for all i know, you could be an excellent candidate to transfer into rotman. i don’t even know what your transcript looks like! i’m just saying that it is competitive, and you should ask your registrar about it before going ahead with the transfer request.

    the only tip i have is: do the best you can to get your marks up. whatever you need to do to prioritize school, do it. if you need to ask for help with something, ask. this is within your reach, but only if you put a certain amount of effort in. you can do it.

    actually, i lied. i have one more tip: ask yourself seriously why you want to do this. i’m not trying to dissuade you, but if you’re going to do this, you may as well make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.

    i have had a lot of stupid dreams. thing is, i only realized they were stupid after asking myself: cut the BS, why is it you really want this? if the answer is anything other than, “because i love it and i would rather do nothing else,” you’re likely not going to be very successful in achieving your dreams.

    so ask yourself: why rotman? is it because you love it, or the shiny building? not, by the way, that i’m?judging you for loving the shiny shiny building. authority is built on shine, austerity, Gothic imitation style and wood panelling (though not, typically, all at the same time). just try and separate the idealized version of the thing from the actual thing when you’re making your decision.

    best,

    aska

    Read More
  • probation

    a little more time than you bargained for

    January 4, 2016

    Hi i had a question about academic probation at utm. The past year ive had a lot of personal problems which has been impacting me quite a lot and becuase of it my school work was being affected. I am currently on academic probation with a gpa of 1.07. Do you think it would be possible to bring it up to 1.7 by the end of the semseter? i am currently taking 1.5 courses fall courses and have an average of about 65 in all of them. Do you think i can avoid being suspended and bringing up my gpa? help!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    two things:

    1. i have no way of knowing whether you can bring up your average. even assuming that you finish the semester with a 65% average (which is not guaranteed), i don’t know how many courses you’ve taken so far, so i have no way of calculating, hypothetically, how 1.5 credits will impact your CGPA. i think that you’re doing well so far if you’re getting a 65% across the board, but you’re going to have to calculate your own hypotheticals. if you need a little bit of help with that, i would highly recommend this GPA calculator kindly provided by UTSC.
    2. however, the most important thing to remember is that your suspension will be reevalued at the end of term, not the end of the semester – that’s in April, not December. so regardless of what happens now, you have a little bit more time to get your GPA up. so keep up the good work into next semester, and remember to check in with your registrar’s office, TA’s/instructors, or the many academic resources available to you.

    good luck! may the new year bring you good vibes and great marks.

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More