February, 2018 - askastudent

engineering, first year, residence

but can you engineer a home?

February 28, 2018

Hey there,

I’ve applied for engineering at U of T and it’s my first choice. I’m also really interested in living in the Innis College res but they claim they only take engineering students with averages above 96% !! Due to some personal issues my grades this semester weren’t excellent and my final admission average will probably end up being between 92 and 93. Is it worth putting Innis as my top choice to be considered for it or is the point completely moot? If not Innis, I’m also fairly interested in Vic, or failing that New, both of which claim to only have “limited spaces” for engineers. How do they choose which engineers get to live in college res, and do I only get considered for my top choice? I would like to avoid living in Chestnut if possible.

As a backup plan to all of that, I have a friend who was slotted into SMC and did some last minute emailing and got switched to UC. Is it likely that residences might have extra space if I try something like that?

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hi!

according to the innis res website, if you want to live on res at innis, you’ll have to rank them first when you apply for res via myres (the residence portal), or they won’t consider you. i’m not sure where it says that innis only takes engineering students with averages about 96, so i can’t really confirm if that’s true or not. either way, i think that if you want to live at innis, you should rank it first anyways. if you don’t get in, it won’t be the absolute end of the world, since the magical res people will place you in your second or third choice.

that being said, i’m not sure whether vic or new also requires that you rank them first. i would get in touch with their res offices specifically to ask. here is the link for vic and here is the link for new. if they don’t require that you rank them first, then it would be a good idea for you to rank them second and third after innis.

as for your friend who switched into UC, i’m not sure how that would work. this is something that you’d have to contact the specific residence offices about.

applying for res can seem kinda confusing, especially since there is a completely different website and portal that you have to go through. you will need to log onto myres, confirm your interest in residence, and rank your residences before march 31st. for more info, you can check out this link.

i hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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academic standing, academic success, failing, first year

it is not the end

February 26, 2018

Hi! I’m a first year, and due to my own personal issues I’ve completely bombed this year. I think I failed two courses first semester, and I’ve already missed two midterms this semester. God just writing that out gives me anxiety. I know I can’t excuse this behaviour, but I lost a loved one before exams first semester & it’s just been really hard but I’m ready to refocus on school, I’m just worried it might be too late. Will uoft kick me out? I don’t care if my gpa is low I just want to graduate

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hi!

i’m sorry that you’ve been having a rough first year. university can be really tough, especially when you’ve got other things going on as well.

so, u of t won’t “kick you out,” but they could put you on academic probation, depending on what your CGPA (cumulative GPA) and annual GPA at the end of this school year is. if it is lower than 1.50, you will be placed on probation. basically, this just means that you can only take up to 5.0 FCE during the fall/winter session and 2.0FCE during the summer. if, after being on probation, your CGPA is less than 1.50 and your annual/ sessional GPA is less than 1.70, you will be suspended for one calendar year. being suspended means that you can’t register as a student for the duration of your suspension. for more information about academic standing/ probation/ suspension, check out this link.

but in your case right now, you would only be put on probation at MOST. and this would only be if your CGPA dipped below 1.50. so, as long as your CGPA is above a 1.50, you’re okay.

i would also suggest making an appointment at your college/ faculty registrar’s office. they’ll be able to provide you with academic advice or refer you to other resources on campus. one of the resources they may refer you to is the academic success centre. i would also highly suggest that you check them out. you can make an appointment with learning strategists and mentors, go to a drop-in session with an academic adviser, or attend workshops. they can really teach you how to learn better, which may help out with some of the academic problems you’ve been facing. i highly suggest checking them out, they’re a criminally underused resource on campus.

i really hope this helps. please know that help is always available to those who seek it out. good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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OSAP

the limit? i guess it exists

February 16, 2018

Since OSAP is only for completing degree, if all my degree requirement s are met I.e eligible to graduate can I still get OSAP? Do I have to submit forms explaining why I need an extra year OSAP? I wish to stay one more year in university but I also need the $.

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hi!

unfortunately, i don’t know a whole lot about OSAP and the OSAP website doesn’t seem to have any information on your particular circumstance.

i suggest that you get in touch with enrollment services, they’re the OSAP experts on campus.

sorry that i don’t have more information/ can’t answer your question. you’ve managed to reach the limit of aska’s otherwise limitless expertise.

nonetheless, i hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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courses, first year, math

O! math.

February 12, 2018

Can i study the most basic math course like MAT133Y1 without having high school calculus and only studying till O level maths, I just need to meet the min requirements for econ majoring

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hi!

according to the faculty calendar, “high school calculus” is a pre-req for MAT133. however, because there are so many different education systems that the university encounters with its newly admitted students, it would be impossible to account for every single education system and how they would be related to the canadian and/or ontario education system. what i’m getting at is that your O level maths may be enough to satisfy the “high school calculus” requirement.

get in touch with the math department. they would be able to give you a definite response to your question.

though you may technically have the requirement fulfilled with O level maths, you might find that MAT133 is a little too difficult for you. there is, of course, no shame in that whatsoever. but if you do find yourself struggling in MAT133, the math department runs drop-in math aid centres with TAs and mentors. i suggest checking them out, if you need help.

i hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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admissions, daniels, masters

you are the architect of your own future

February 7, 2018

Hi,

I go to ryerson university, and i would like to do masters architecture at UOFT i have a 3.2 GPA, and hopefully higher in the last two years. my only problem is that im in third year and i got one C+ on my transcript. Do you think this will affect my chances?

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hi!

according to the daniels faculty website, you need a completed bachelor’s degree and a “final year average of at least mid-B”. a mid-B at u of t is usually around 3.0. this means that with your 3.2 GPA, you do reach the minimum requirement.

they DO say that they will look at an applicant’s entire academic history, but i don’t think one C+ will be too much of a blemish on your overall academic record if the rest of it is okay. that being said, i’m just a student blogger, i don’t know everything. you should get in contact with the faculty and their prospective grad student contact. you can get that info here.

i hope this helps! good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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academic success, failing, health and wellness, mental health

i’m rootin’ for you!

February 5, 2018

HI!!!
Sooo ya, Im in my 3nd year of study and I already failed 2 courses back in first year. I thought I was doing fine in this course (csc236) but then the marks came and it was abysmal. During this whole year I wasn’t feeling well, a lot of anxieties and some depression – I know, I only have myself to blame. I’d like to ask what are your suggestions on the actions I should take to deal with this 0.0gpa and the advice to do better?

Thanks ;(

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hi!

that sounds like a really tough situation to be in. i’m really sorry for how long this response has taken me, but i hope that you still find it helpful.

first of all, i’m going to suggest that you make an appointment with your registrar’s office. they can help you and/or point you towards resources that can help you. they should be your first point of contact whenever you’re feeling distressed (emotionally or academically). make an appointment, talk to one of the advisers there, and they’ll be able to give you more nuanced/ detailed/ personalized advice– more than i can give you (as a lowly student blogger).

for academics, i highly suggest checking out the academic success centre. you can make appointments with learning strategists, mentors, people who work in writing centres, and a whole bunch of folks that’re there to help. they can provide a lot of personalized advice and teach you all about HOW you learn and ways of learning more effectively. that should help you learn BETTER and (hopefully) boost your marks. they also have some walk-in appointments that you can make, if you don’t wanna make an actual appointment.

you should also check out health and wellness. in your question, you said that you aren’t “feeling well” and have “a lot of anxieties and some depression.” i think that you should check out their mental health services, even if you don’t think that you need to. mental health is super important, and the university doesn’t talk about it enough. mental health can really have a negative effect on your academics and getting to a healthy state of mind can help improve your academics as well.

i hope this was helpful. i think that, most importantly, you should make an appointment with an adviser at your registrar’s office– they are literally paid to help you. school, especially this school, can be really hard, and we all need a little bit of help sometimes. there’s no shame in it 🙂

good luck.

xoxo,

aska

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