• chem,  prereqs,  UTM

    check yourself before you (pre)req yourself

    June 29, 2020

    Hi, I am a first year going into the chemical and physical sciences program at UTM. I am looking to take a specialist in Biological Chemistry after the first year so I looked at the classes I should take. The problem is that many of the math courses require a minimum of 70% in Advanced functions and this past year I had an awful teacher and received my worse high school mark of 66% in her class. I also took Calculus and got an 83%. Will I be able to take the math courses?

    ——————————————

    hey there!

    congrats on committing to u of t and starting the lil adventure that is university!

    for a question like this, i’d recommend reaching out to the UTM chemistry department (probably the undergrad program administrator, specifically) and asking about your case. i’m not sure how they deal with situations like this, and it would be best to go directly to the source. there’s a chance you might need to take an online high-school level advanced functions course and get a higher grade in order to meet the prerequisite? but they’d be the ones to confirm that.

    i wouldn’t recommend registering in the course without the prerequisite, because departments will usually go into your records to check that you’ve met the requirements. if they find out that you don’t, you’ll be removed from the course with no warning, which will cause you a lot of unnecessary stress. 10/10 would not recommend.

    i hope the chem department is able to shed some light on what you should do! good luck with this.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  timetable

    i also want to know when the timetable will be out :(

    June 29, 2020

    do you know when the timetable will be updated?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately i do not! i wish i had access to that kind of information, lol. i’m not high up enough in the bureaucracy for that.

    if you want to be alerted when it is updated, i’d recommend following the arts and science student union on twitter. they tend to be pretty on top of these things, and i get a lot of my faculty-related news from them before i hear it from anyplace else.

    otherwise, i anticipate the update will be released soon! course enrollment is coming up next month, and they’ve already released the preliminary timetable with info about course offerings/delivery/synchronicity. if you haven’t checked the preliminary timetable yet, it may at least be able to give you a sense of which courses will be offered!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  keeners

    5 courses is already a lot for me lol

    June 26, 2020

    Hi! Am I allowed to have only 4 FCE in my fourth and final year? I will have 21 FCE total if all goes well by the end of the fourth year. Basically, 5 FCE in my first year, 6 FCE in my second, 6 FCE in third, then 4 FCE in fourth, thus totaling 21. Stay safe and healthy bros. Sincerely, a stressed out freshie.

    ——————————————

    hey there, stressed out freshie,

    even if you didn’t tell me, i would definitely know that you were at least a little bit stressed out with a plan like that.

    the short answer for you is that yes, you are allowed to only have 4.0 FCE in your fourth year! this is super common, and i am totally planning to do something like that for my final year at u of t.

    the one thing you should note is that taking 4.0 FCE will probably not save you anything in terms of tuition– this goshdarned school charges the same tuition if you’re taking anything between 4.0 or 6.0 FCE. or at least, i think that’s pretty standard. if you’re not in artsci, i would check that over with your registrar.

    here’s the longer answer i really want to give, though. apparently i consider myself an advice columnist without any of the glory.

    is there a specific reason you’re doing this to yourself? taking six courses can be really rough, and i fully respect your decision to do what’s best for you, but i want to make sure that you know what you’re getting into as you make these plans. i do have friends that have managed six courses all right, but none of them have taken that many consecutive semesters of six courses, and most of them don’t have any extracurriculars or responsibilities. u of t is an amazing, vibrant school, but it does demand a lot of you, especially if you want to do well in your classes and be involved outside the classroom. is there a specific reason you want to be taking 4.0 FCEs in your final year/21.0 FCEs total? is taking summer school going to be an option? can you play around on degree explorer and see if there’s a better way to plan out your courses?

    if you’re dead set on this four-year plan, i would really recommend that you book an appointment with an academic advisor at your registrar, just to make sure it’s really your best option and that you’re well-equipped to make it through.

    anyway, hope u stay safe and healthy too, bro. don’t stress too hard </3

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • subject POST

    didn’t make post? you’re not (m)alone.

    June 25, 2020

    Hello! I was wondering if it is okay if I don’t make it into post in my 2nd year as well? In fall 2020, it would be my third year attending the university, but I would still be a 2nd year student because i don’t have 9 credits. Do people usually judge? I’m not on academic probation or anything but I feel like I won’t be able to make the cutoff this year as well for a different post.

    ——————————————

    hey there!

    i understand your anxieties, and want to say that it’s perfectly all right not to make POSt after your second year. what i’ve learned lately is that everyone operates on their own time– everyone’s doing school under unique circumstances, so it doesn’t really make sense to compare yourself with others. some of the coolest people i know aren’t doing their degrees according to the “average” timeline, but instead pacing themselves the way they know is best for them!

    will people judge you? hopefully not, but they may. either way, it’s not worth your time or attention, buddy. i get that it can be hard to feel good about yourself if people are giving you a hard time about these types of things, but remember that you’re not getting your degree for them. you’re getting it for yourself. they should all just go… deal with their own problems.

    for practical reasons, though, you’ll need to register in the minimum POSt combination (specialist, two majors, or a major + two minors) in order to enrol in courses for the upcoming academic year, given that you’ll be entering it as a second year. i’ve been told that your enrolment will be blocked otherwise. you can pick anything– i’d recommend type 1 programs vaguely similar to what you’re interested in– and just replace those placeholder programs later when you make POSt. if you’d like to talk to someone for advice with this, or if you have any other questions about POSt, you can reach out to your friendly local registrar who will do their best to help you!

    i hope this helped, and i wish you all the best!

    also, my sincerest apologies for the title of this post, it was the best i could come up with after half an hour of trying. this job do be hard sometimes.

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

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  • computer science,  UTSC

    here’s some unsolicited advice for you instead of an actual answer to your question

    June 14, 2020

    Hello. I wanted to know about pros and cons of CS program in UTSC. I’m deciding b/w CS program in UTSC and Engineering I in McMaster. I want to know about professors, and some other pros and cons. Also I want to know if someone who’s getting 94-97 in math gr12 courses can get into actual CS program after 1st year. I haven’t taken any cs course. I used to compare myself with other students with high grades so I put in a lot of effort to become first or achieve higher and higher grades.

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    as someone who’s not really super familiar with compsci or utsc, i’m not sure that i’m a good person to be advising you on this. i’ve never met any of the compsci profs at utsc, and have heard next to nothing about the compsci program there. i hate recommending reddit as a resource because it can often be super unreliable, but for something like this, it’s probably your best bet. it’s likely that there, you’ll be able to find someone in the UTSC compsci program who will be able to shed a little light on what it’s like for you. apart from pointing you in that direction, i feel kind of (read: absolutely) useless when it comes to your question.

    as well, i can’t really tell you what your grade 12 math marks mean in terms of your likelihood of getting into the CS POSt, since grading can vary super widely between high schools.

    here’s a word of advice i do want to leave you with, though: from what i’ve seen, heard, and experienced as a u of t student, i worry that your mindset of comparing yourself to other students is going to hurt you at university. regardless of what institution you end up choosing (and maybe you’ve made your choice already, by the time you see this), you’re only going to burn yourself out and discourage yourself by comparing yourself with the other people in your class.

    don’t get me wrong– it’s certainly possible for you to achieve quite a lot and succeed in your coursework, but it’s more sustainable for you to measure that achievement in other things– like how familiar you are with your course material, or how well your learning can propel you towards your goals.

    i would just hate for you to be one of those bright-eyed, ambitious students used to doing super well in high school, only to have their self-esteem crushed by first year or develop GPA-related anxiety. i’ve seen it happen way too many times. however, you did say “used to,” so maybe that means you’ve put that mindset in the past?

    anyway. if you’d like to talk your decision through with someone at the university, you could reach out to your registrar! wishing you the most wisdom and the best of luck as you make your decision and tackle first year wherever you decide to go!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • internal transfer

    oh boY

    June 14, 2020

    Hi! I am in serious need of some advice. I am officially a UTM student, but I only took 4.0 credits there in my first year. I took 5.0 credits at St. George during my second year. I applied to transfer this past year, but was declined because I did not make GPA. Should I try to transfer again in my third year once I boost my GPA? I have taken many classes that would contribute to a major that is only available at St. George. Is it worth it to keep trying to transfer? Thanks so much!

    ——————————————

    hello there,

    this is a bit of a situation you’ve gotten yourself in, huh?

    i’m a little bit stuck on this one as well because i’ve never encountered your circumstances before, and have no clue how i would proceed if i were in your shoes.

    i suppose if you’re super set on st. george, you can definitely try to transfer again for your third year. you’re familiar with the transfer process now, which will hopefully make it a bit easier for you. like you mentioned, your classes would contribute to a major that’s only available at st. george, so it may be worth another transfer attempt just to make those credits useful.

    however, if you’re not confident in your ability to transfer to st. george, you can also look into having those credits transfer to UTM as electives, so that they don’t totally go to waste and can still count towards your degree. i’m not sure how many of them will transfer over, but this may be worth looking into just so you can weigh your options with better information available. as you’re probably already aware, you can check their transferrability using transfer explorer, or perhaps by reaching out to the relevant UTM departments.

    that’s about all i can think of. i would really, really recommend that you reach out to your registrar and book an appointment. i feel like it would be much more helpful for you to talk this through with a real!live!person! who’ll be able to walk you through all your potential options.

    good luck :/

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • economics,  internal transfer

    what’s 90 dollars in the face of tuition, anyway?

    June 6, 2020

    Hi so I’ve currently been accepted to social sciences and humanities as an alternative offer however i am more keen in BBA management or a Bachelor of Arts in Econ’s. Is it possible to accept my offer and switch later on in my course to a different faculty such as management ?

    ——————————————

    hey there!

    it is possible to switch to different faculties after admission, yes. i believe this would require you to complete an internal transfer, which costs $90 and is done through OUAC. the deadline’s usually sometime in the beginning of the calendar year, which would give you some time to test the waters in socsci/humanities during the fall semester before you ultimately make your decision.

    you can find info about doing an internal transfer from artsci to rotman here, assuming you’re a st. george kid. the rotman faculty that this particular internal transfer is quite competitive, so you should have a backup in mind, and make sure that you take the required first-year entry courses.

    meanwhile, if you decide that you’d like to take a bachelor of arts in econ, you wouldn’t need to do anything! that is, other than take the appropriate prerequisites and apply for an econ POSt.

    my advice would be, if you’re set on switching, to take the required courses for a rotman transfer as well as the prereqs for a major in econ. there’s some overlap between the two, which will make your life a little easier. that way, if your rotman transfer goes through, great! and if not, you have a backup path in a field of study that you’re also interested in.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • economics,  extra courses,  repeating course

    ECO102 is that course for you, huh?

    June 6, 2020

    Hi there, I took ECO102 in my first year and did LWD as I was unsure about University policies at the time… For my second year I was doing part-time job and did ECO102 but got a 50%. I am thinking of doing economics as a major as I am not much of a fan of others except for politics and geography. I am doing ECO102 but realize doing MAT235 with this course is a bit much for me, I dropped ECO102 before the drop date. Am I now allowed to not take ECO102 again? Do you have answers?

    ——————————————

    hey,

    to my understanding, you should be able to take ECO102 again, yes! you meet all the necessary criteria in the rules and regulations for retaking a course:

    if you do take ECO102 again, it may be important to note that you won’t receive a record on your transcript for it beyond the notation “EXT.” in other words, the course will be counted as an extra course: the course won’t be counted towards your 20 credits required to graduate, and the final grade will not make it to your permanent academic record/will not be calculated into your CGPA.

    if you’re ever unsure about uNiVeRsiTy PoLiCieS again, feel free to reach out to me or contact your friendly ol’ registrar’s office. i hope this helped and that you have a solid saturday night!

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

     

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  • internal transfer,  transfer credits

    transfer explorer are u ok

    June 4, 2020

    Hi! I applied to transfer from UTM to UTSG for my second year and I just finished up my first year. I’ve been planning to do this since around the beginning of my time at UTM and so I planned my courses in a way that I knew they would transfer to UTSG. I made sure this was the case for ALL the courses I took. The problem is, checking on transferex now, it’s not showing some of the courses as transferrable to utsg even though it did at the beginning of the year. Do you know what this means?

    ——————————————
    hello hello,
    i don’t have a ton of experience with transfer explorer, and it’s a bit tough for me to check this over without any specific course codes. it does sound like you planned well ahead though, which makes this situation pretty strange.
    have you reached out to anyone about it? i know the transfer credit departments in general usually take a heckin’ ton of time to respond, but maybe an academic advisor at your registrar might know what’s happening. transfer explorer itself recommends that you speak with an academic advisor, so that’s probably your best course of action right now.
    sorry i can’t be more specific! i hope for your sake that it’s just an error, but i do know that on occasion, course equivalencies do change without warning. not to scare you without reason, or anything. don’t panic before you find out what’s going on!!
    be Boundless,
     aska
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  • computer science,  internal transfer,  UTM,  UTSC

    ThEy WiLL nOt Be AcCePtEd As EquiVALeNts

    June 2, 2020

    Hello there,I was wondering if I could transfer from UTSC CS to UTM. However, the POSt requirements for CS at UTM it says “Note that only CSC148H5, taken at the UTM campus, will be accepted. Please do not take CSC148H1(UTSG) or CSCA48H3(UTSC); they will not be accepted as equivalent for the purposes of program enrolment. “According to that, Can I still transfer?TNX

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    it sounds like you’d be able to transfer to the UTM campus, but possibly not directly into UTM’s compsci program. if you’re determined to be a UTM kiddo, you could probably try doing your internal transfer first, taking CSC148H5, and then applying to the compsci POSt at UTM. that’s what the situation seems like to me, anyway.

    to be 100% sure, i’d check this over with your registrar, or with someone at the UTM compsci department. maybe both. i’m sure they’ve seen this situation before. good luck!

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

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