• jobs,  work-study,  work-study

    employmee

    October 30, 2019

    what kinds of jobs on campus are there? does u of t hire students over the summer?

    ——————————————

    hello hello,

    jobs! employment! what wild concepts. after i graduate, i fully intend to languish my days away in my parents’ nonexistent basement, eating only doritos and drinking only orange juice from concentrate. that’s it. that’s my vision for the future. obviously i’m in school for the pure joy of learning, not so that i can secure meaningful employment during my studies or later on. because what fun would that be, am i right?

    just kidding. i hate doritos and like my job, and you weren’t even asking about post-graduation employment. but i take every opportunity to tangent away, because god knows i can’t do that in my papers without some kinda consequence. we don’t love consequences here.

    primarily, u of t offers work-study and casual employment positions for students, as far as on-campus employment goes. i’m a work-study student myself, so i’m happy to answer any specific questions and would definitely recommend giving the program a try. i believe it used to only be open to students receiving OSAP, but now it’s open to everyone!

    how it works is that you’re usually given a set number of hours– i know people with everything from 4 to 15– and you’re allowed to work however much (or as little) as you want within those parameters. officially, i think it’s 15 hours max, at $15 an hour. once again, i have heard of some variance– for example, my friend in a slightly more demanding work-study makes a higher wage, and there are opportunities for promotion at her job. not too sure how common these situations are, but they are out there.

    work-studies are primarily advantageous in that they prioritize your learning in two ways:

    first, they offer flexible schedules, allowing you to focus on your classes. with my work-study, i pretty much set my own hours, so if i have a really overwhelming week at school i don’t even have to come in. once again, i’m not exactly sure how common that is across the program.

    second, they’re fundamentally designed for you to further your own learning! as a work-study student, your job is meant to bestow upon you some kinda meaningful experience. in keeping with this, you set learning goals, complete self-assessments, and (at least in my case) get some paid training. you’re also eligible for CCR credit upon completion of your work-study.

    work-study programs run both fall-winter and summer, but to be eligible for work-study during the summer as well, you unfortunately need to be studying. otherwise it’s just work and you might as well… become a line cook at de dutch or something. i dunno.

    you can find more info on work-study positions on the career and co-curricular learning network. in terms of eligibility for the program, these are the hurdles you’ll need to jump:

    • be a u of t degree student that’s not in theology (sorry… theologists)
    • not be in co-op/placement
    • be a domestic student in at least a 40% courseload for fall/winter (total 2.0 credits) or 0.5 credits in either of the summer sessions
    • be an international full-time student for fall/winter and meet federal government requirements, or check in with the cie for summer session requirements

    casual on-campus employment may be available on the clnx portal as well, but i don’t have as much info on that as i do on work-study. sometimes, there are postings on departmental or faculty websites– here are the job postings for kpe, for example. if you were hoping to secure employment for the summer session without being in classes, this would be the way to go.

    hope this helped and that you manage to secure a job! if ever you need advice or help with the job search, feel free to check out the peer career advising program— you should be able to get additional assistance, like resume feedback, there.

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

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  • probation,  suspension

    your academic record is not word online, what’s on it will not disappear if you refresh

    October 28, 2019
    I was on academic probation first year due to my failing marks I had a gpa of 0.5 I ended doing better second year but not well enough to get my gpa over 2 and got suspended for third year I was planning to come again and start all over do u think it’s a good idea given the courses I did pass with barely passing makes?
    ——————————————

    hey there,

    as far as i’m aware, i don’t think you can… start all over? at least in utsg’s artsci faculty (though i’m nearly certain most other places will be the same) your academic record is your academic record. there is no tabula rasa. you can certainly decide to return to your studies after your year of suspension and give things another go, but whether i’d recommend you actually do that depends on the reasons behind your probation and suspension.

    were there unforeseen circumstances that were out of your control, but that you’ve since had the time, resources and support to cope with? did you have trouble adjusting to the pace of uni life but feel better equipped to do so now?

    is school just not your thing? were you having trouble with the workload, or focusing, or the general structure of things? did you not ever want to be here in the first place?

    i dunno, man, you’ve given me very little to work with (which is often the case with these questions, so that’s okay). it’s hard for me to really say whether i think coming back to school is a good idea just based off of your GPA and suspension record.

    there are so many other factors that play a part in any given person’s ability to do well in school. my instinct is to refer you to your registrar, as they’d be better equipped to help you weigh your options given your academic history and personal aptitudes.

    the only option for you i can think of, if you really want to start over, is to try to transfer to another school. if you manage to do that, any credits carried over from u of t won’t have marks attached to them. this doesn’t mean your u of t record disappears– if you choose to apply to grad school down the road it’ll still be relevant– but yeah, that’s the only “start over” option i’m aware of. it might be difficult to complete a transfer if you’ve been suspended, though.

    i dunno, m’dude. brain is fried from midterms and i feel bleh and unhelpful right now :(( not even caffeine is managing to fuel the snark today. so yeah, hit up your registrar. or speak to someone who’s familiar with your circumstances. or! send more detail in and i can continue trying to help you. all the best as you try to find your path.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • grad school

    is this a… york advisor?

    October 23, 2019

    Hi, so I started my degree in 2016 and I really struggled the first two years and ended up on academic probation, and then an academic suspension. I’m back now, and I’m predicting I’ll finish in 2022 or 2023. So that’s 6-7 years I’m putting down on my resume I’ve been in school and it’s making me beyond depressed and embarrassed.

    I want to purse a career in teaching. Possibly go to York for their consecutive education program, but I don’t know how they’ll look at my last 2 years. Especially if I decide to take an additional year, and take more than 20 credits. I can’t find the info on how York will look at my extra credits or even OISE/ grad schools in general?

    I emailed York but they didn’t say much 🙁

    I just want to know how extra credits and lower course loads (still full time, 3.0, but not 5.0) look to them.

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    there’s no shame at all in being in school for that long. i know there’s a certain pressure to get your degree done in the standard four years, but it’s becoming more and more common for students to take their time and stay in school longer. university is tough, man. and everyone’s life has different timing. i actually think your drive to bounce back from those obstacles you hit and return to school is pretty dang admirable, for what it’s worth.

    i can understand, though, your concern over how your academic record will affect your future educational prospects. unfortunately, this is about as substantial as answer as i’m able to give you:

    as in, it would be really really difficult for me to give you reliable info on how york would assess your academic record. only the people at york would know that. you can try the lovely people over at the york u life tumblr, which functions relatively similarly to aska, or you might just need to continue pestering the admissions office. it frustrates me that they didn’t provide you with much, because i refer people to grad schools admissions so often hoping the info those offices have will be better than what i have to offer.

    tl:dr unfortunately, i have to stick to my standard grad school admissions answer and tell you to contact the grad schools themselves. this feels like too risky of a thing for me to guess at. even with OISE running out of u of t, i don’t have much info to work with. i’m really sorry i can’t be more helpful 🙁

    best of luck and be Boundless,

    aska

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  • admissions,  computer science

    u of t anagrammed is tofu just thought u should know

    October 22, 2019

    Hi aska! I hope you’re doing well. I am currently a grade 12 student hoping to get admission into UoFT for either the engineering or comsci programs. I read online the supplementary application for the engineering program was 2 video’s and one written but it did not specify anything about the comsci supplelementary. I was wondering if you knew what that application process entailed and if there were any ways we could prepare for the supplementary (like some typical questions). Thank you!

    ——————————————

    welcome welcome to my small but spicy (lol i wish) internet domain!

    hope you’re doing well too, and that uni application season is being kind to you. or as kind as it really can be.

    unfortunately, nothing’s been officially released yet regarding the compsci supplementary. this website promises more info will be released in winter 2020, which sounds kinda late to me, but hey.

    sorry i can’t be of more help, but until the department itself releases details it’s kinda hard to get wind of those.i’ve heard that this compsci supplementary is a new thing, so info from past years isn’t all that available for me to reach back for and hand to you.

    i have heard some very ambiguous things about it, though. as in, i really know! nothing! but have reason to believe there should be information released soon. so sit tight.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • academic offense,  grad school

    this week on ‘how many unrelated gifs can i throw into a post?’ we have…

    October 22, 2019

    I am applying to graduate school this year, and one of the questions that is asked on ouac is if I have ever had an academic sanction. I had an academic offense in my first year for my class, however, I just got a 0 on the assignment (it was a 1% assignment), and it only stayed on my record for 2 years. It is now no longer on my record, and the grad school I am applying to only requires my final 2 years (which this class is not a part of). Is it fine if I check the box off as no?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    checked this over and it seems like it is fine if you don’t report your sanction!

    if it’s no longer on your record, my understanding is that it was not deemed significant enough that it should affect your educational prospects moving forward.

    you don’t try to show sanctions if you only have tiny sanctions, i guess. we really be out here tryina make absurd political gifs relevant. here are some of my other recent faves, with absolutely no context, because sanctions make me think of politics and politics right now is this:

    and the purest energy of all is this boi:

    best of luck with the graduate school applications– aska is rooting for ya!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • grad school,  law school

    you must not have trouble meeting word counts for your papers

    October 21, 2019

    Hello!
    I started as a student at UTM a long time ago (in 2009 to be exact). I was on suspension a couple of times (2012 and 2014). I was going through a rough time in my life psychologically (mainly because of family and friend deaths that affected me emotionally) when I was younger and was also a somewhat lazy and unmotivated student that skipped a lot of classes. Originally I was in the sciences (Bio and Chem) and I didn’t like these subjects which is why I think it never really took off for me when I started at university. I battled through a lot of depression and worked for some time when I was suspended.

    In 2017 I returned to UTM after my suspension and completed a Philosophy Specialist degree in two years (4 regular semesters and 2 summer semesters). I finished in August and am going to graduate in November. When I returned to school in 2017 I already had 6.5 credits completed (mostly low marks, but a couple of good ones) with some 4 credits failed.

    From September 2017 to the end of August 2019 I completed 13.5 credits. All my philosophy courses were taken in that period (so none of my crappy grades from the past are in philosophy). Overall my GPA in these 13.5 credits was fairly high. Most of my marks were A’s (6.5 credits) with a couple of A+ (1.5 credits). 4 credits were A-‘s, and in 1.5 credits I got a B. I could have probably received even higher grades if my course load wasn’t always so high. In one of the semesters I took 5 philosophy courses and received a 4.0 in that semester with one A+. I also received an award from the philosophy department for outstanding performance in a 3rd year course. In general most of my courses in that period were 3rd year courses. I also did an independent research project with an excellent grade. I did take a lot of summer courses though, because I wanted to finish my degree as quickly as possible. I’m not young anymore so time for me was very crucial.

    My question is basically two part.

    1.  I was wondering if in my case I can have any hope of pursuing a Master’s degree in philosophy. I have been looking at graduate programs for philosophy and most of them look at only your last two years (or I guess the last half of your credits which in U of T’s case is 10 credits). Will my academic history affect my chance of getting in to a Master’s Program at any Ontario University?  Should I maybe include an explanatory letter about my past bad academic history or will they not even care about it? I am pretty certain that I would be able to secure really good recommendation letters and my writing samples should be pretty damn good considering that I have a numerous amount of papers that were A or A+ to choose from and improve on.
    2.  I was hoping to maybe go to Law School in the future, but I just don’t have the courage to apply with my academic history even if I do well on my LSAT. Would doing a Master’s in Philosophy help me in that respect, by prolonging a good track record of academic history (assuming I do well in grad school and focus on philosophy of law)? Should I just try to apply straight to law school if I get good LSAT scores?

    Sorry for the long email, but if you can give any advice on this or perhaps know someone else who can advise let me know.

    Thank you!

    ——————————————

    hey friendo,

    long email indeed but it’s aight, still highkey preferable to the large stack of readings i gotta power through this week.

    the best advice i can give you, really, is to connect with the specific grad school/law school programs you’re interested in, and find out what their policies are. it’s really hard to make blanket statements about what all masters of philosophy or law admissions offices will consider, given that different institutions will place varying weight on different parts of an application, or have varying requirements. even knowing your whole academic history (lol) and being sympathetic to your circumstances, i don’t know that i’d be able to accurately gauge your chances, and am by no means an authority on grad school admissions.

    when you apply, you can certainly include a letter explaining your circumstances– i doubt it would detract from your application, but can’t guarantee they’ll take it into consideration. again, that might be a good thing to ask admission offices.

    if you’re available and interested, i can point you in the direction of fall campus day, which is happening this saturday, october 26, on campus. there should be info tables set up in the Fall Campus Day Tent to answer potential grad school applicants’ questions, and i believe they’re running sessions on “Myths & Realities” of law school admissions at Bahen 1130, at 11 and 2 pm,

    you can also consider visiting your registrar, and have them talk you through your options in person.

    best of luck!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • commerce,  rotman

    but your first year just started :(

    October 4, 2019

    I am first year student of commerce. I have question regarding CGPA requirements. I would like to know if I didn’t meet CGPA requirement this year can I improve my marks next year and apply again to the second year?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    since you didn’t specify otherwise, i’m just gonna go right ahead and answer this like you’re a first year in rotman commerce, and you’re worried about the guaranteed admission requirements.

    it might be important to note that it’s not your CGPA you’d be worried about, then– you’d be looking at the grades in your required courses, like RSM101. to make it to second year at rotman, there’s a grade threshold you’ll need to jump, which is what i’m assuming you mean by “CGPA requirement.”

    according to the rotman website, you’re allowed to retake each of the courses you need once, for a higher grade– the catch is, this needs to be done before fall/winter of your second year. as in, during the summer. any of those courses you retake won’t count towards your 20 credits to graduate or your gpa, either. they’ll just be your way back on track, i guess.

    if you did want to retake your requirements during the next fall-winter semester, you’d have to request an extension. apparently these are only granted in special circumstances, like if you dealt with significant and unexpected difficulty during your first year. if that’s the reason you’re asking this question and you think you qualify, you’d have to visit your rotman commerce academic advisor to get the extension process goin’.

    hope this helped!

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

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  • graduation

    another one who wants out

    October 2, 2019
    Hi, so I’m graduating this November and all my credits and such are complete. I just had one course that is a 0.5 credit course that’s a requirement for the degree and I’m not sure if I passed the exam so I don’t think I’ll be able to pass the course. Is there anything I can do to still graduate. Thanks!

    ——————————————

    hey friend,

    as far as i’m aware, if it’s a course you need for your degree, there’s like… not that much you can do?

    if this was for a summer course and you haven’t heard back yet, i’d suggest you go to your registrar and see what they know about your exam results. we’re now well into the fall sem, so those grades should be out and available. hopefully that’ll give you a better sense of your circumstances.

    you can also ask them if they’re aware of any exceptions that’ll allow you to graduate without the course. unfortunately i don’t know too much about graduating without your requirements, so i wanna make the safe assumption that it’s likely not possible. your registrar might know something i don’t, but at the same time don’t get your hopes up.

    good luck with this– i hope things work out for ya.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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