• clubs

    u go, girl

    November 8, 2020

    Hi! A society I applied for has asked me for an interview.. do u have any tips on what to prepare and what kind of questions they may ask? thank u!

    ——————————————

    hey,

    congrats on the interview! that’s very cool.

    the way you said “society” reminds me of my exchange student friend from edinburgh, back in the good old days of … airplanes and exchange students and seeing people outside your immediate household. you’re only the second person i’ve ever heard use that word in this context.

    as someone who’s conducted interviews for student organizations, the first thing i think you should know is that there’s no need to let your nerves get the best of you! think of it as just chatting with another student to see if a position is a good fit for you. if it helps, you can remember that the student on the other end could also be nervous as well. i know that i’m usually nervous when i interview people.

    anyway, here are my top eight club interview tips. i tried to make it to 10, but alas. no thoughts head empty.

    1. research the organization and get a sense of who they are, what they do, and what makes them special. this information will give you an edge when predicting what kind of questions they may ask. it’s also useful to know what you’re getting into!
    2. be prepared to answer super vague questions like “tell me about yourself” or “tell us why you’re interested in this position.” basically, just know who you are, why you’re going into this, what you bring to the table, and what you hope to get out of the experience.
    3. act like a more professional version of your regular self. showing that you have a personality will give the interviewers a better sense of what it would be like to work with you and have you on their team.
    4. build rapport with the interviewer! ask them how they are and make a little small talk at the beginning if you’re able.
    5. give an honest, but not too honest, answer if they ask you about a weakness or failure. most people who have conducted interviews can spot bs and non-answers instantly. don’t say that your weakness is that you’re a perfectionist, or that you work too hard. i mainly add the “not too honest” qualifier because sometimes people say things that get a lil awkward or too personal.
    6. if you talk about a weakness or failure, give the interviewer a sense of what you learned from the bad experience or how you’re working to improve yourself!
    7. if the position is something that requires creativity (writing blog posts, managing social media, planning events, etc.) come up with some innovative ideas for how you’d want to go about doing your job. something that’ll make you stand out if other candidates are being interviewed.
    8. prepare some good questions for the interviewer, in case you’re given an opportunity to ask questions at the end of your time. obviously you’ll want to tailor those questions to your position as well as the group you’ll be working with. here’s a list that might prompt some ideas. i usually like to ask about workload, since i like to know what i’m committing to.

    linking you to a few additional resources as well:

    UTM’s “preparing for interviews” page 

    studentlife’s interview techniques info package 

    u of t’s career community interview videos 

    and for future resources, if you ever want to practice your interview skills with a real person, you can check out this mock interviewers with employers program. 

    i hope this helped and that you saw the post in time for the interview! i did try to get to it sooner but as we all know, the week before reading week is absolutely brutal.

    best of luck! i hope you get the position.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • mental health,  midterms

    midterm blues

    November 3, 2020

    Hi there! So… I’ve been struggling a bit lately. I’m not sure why I feel so overwhelmed and unmotivated all the time. Every moment I spend doing schoolwork is just painful. In high school, I used to be able to snap out papers in 2 hours. Now, it takes me the whole day to just start writing. Is there any way to stop this feeling of hopelessness? 🙁

    ——————————————

    hey there friend,

    it’s perfectly okay and normal to be struggling in uni, especially at this point in the semester. please don’t be hard on yourself for that.

    it’s truly impressive that you used to be able to finish papers in two hours (i could never), but as i’m sure you’re aware, high school and university are not the same! university demands a lot more of you in terms of robust argument and rigorous research/analysis, plus you’re adjusting to new expectations. it took me until the end of second year to feel more at ease with writing uni papers. what i’m trying to say is that it’s valid that you’re having a harder time with papers than you’re used to. papers are hard!

    with that said, is there a way to deal with those feelings of hopelessness and overwhelm? yeah, i do think there is. i’m glad you reached out and asked.

    first, i want to remind you that you don’t deserve to deal with these difficulties without support.

    i talk a lot about resources on this blog, and a lot of that is because seeking out campus resources has made such a difference in my ability to withstand the pressures at u of t. here are some supports that i’d recommend you reach out to:

    if you’re dealing with feelings of hopelessness, this is the main campus support that i’d recommend. when you paid your fees for u of t, you paid for access to u of t’s embedded counsellors, who will offer you five free appointments to help you reach a mental health goal. the counsellor i visited walked me through cognitive behavioural therapy, which i found really helpful.

    i should note, though, that embedded counselling is only available to students who are in ontario. if you want to see an off-campus counsellor, you should be covered for that under the utsu’s insurance plan, or greenshield if you’re a part-time student.

    if booking an appointment doesn’t sound right for you at this time, you can also reach out to the MySSP program, where there are counsellors who will talk you through what you’re experiencing at any time of the day, 7 days a week.

    either way, there’s a lot of value in looking after your mental health when you’re struggling with school. i can’t emphasize that enough. if any of these options appeal to you but seem confusing, feel free to shoot me another question and i’m happy to help you figure things out.

    learning strategists are such a cool resource, and i think they should have them at every school. i think it would help you to book an appointment with a learning strategist to talk through your paper-writing strategies and your lack of motivation. they’ll be able to help you spot what’s not working, what improvements you can make to your schoolwork system, and just generally give you tips, encouragement, and a sense of perspective.

    if that sounds like something you’d be down for, you can give your registrar a call.

    just gonna throw in a side note here: i know sometimes these appointments feel like a waste of time when you’re overwhelmed and stressed and know you have a million things to do, but trust me. they’re worth the time. they’re an investment in your wellbeing and your ability to handle future schoolwork.

    • writing centre

    if it’s papers that are gettin’ you down, the lovely people at your writing centre will be able to help you out a ton. you can approach them at any point in the paper-writing process. i’ve found that sometimes, bouncing ideas back and forth with a writing centre instructor can be a really solid way to jumpstart a paper that really was not coming together when i was trying to tackle it alone.

    if you’ve never been to the writing centre, i wrote a post on approaching the writing centre for the first time, which you can check out here.

    sorry. i dunno why that spongebob gif is so intimidating.

    apart from those resources, here are some of the things that help me, when i’m feeling the way that you described:

    • reaching out to people

    this school year is such an isolating one, and keeping up with the stress of midterms feels so much harder because of it. if you have good people that you trust, i find that it helps to reach out to them and let them know you’re having a hard time, so that you can commiserate.

    or maybe you don’t have people, which is okay and honestly pretty normal right now. in that case, there’s value in seeking out online u of t social events, trying to reach out to people in your classes, or joining clubs. i think everyone’s feeling some degree of isolation right now, and because of that many people are open to making new friends.

    any sense of connection you have will take some of the weight off you, i think. it’s easier to struggle as students together than alone.

    • taking a break

    there’s only so far you can push your brain before it stops serving you, lol. i do my best work after i take a walk or a run, or switch my brain into a non-study mode by cleaning my room/doing chores. if you find that you’re not productive for a long chunk of time, set your work aside. it’s okay to come back to it after a break. you’re a student, not a machine. you’ll do better, more efficient work if you feel refreshed.

    there’s really no use in staring at a blank computer screen, waiting for your paper to come together when you know you won’t type a single line for another eight hours. so do something that makes you feel more like yourself for a lil while. it’ll help, i promise.

    • getting enough sleep

    sleep is a big one for me, personally. whenever it takes me too many days to put a paper together, which makes me feel absolutely useless, i know it’s because my brain and body are drained and i need to start sleeping better. as uni students we run a constant sleep deficit, so i don’t know how practical this advice really is lol. but if you’re able to block out some time for sleep, i do think that will help.

    anyway, i hope that you made it to the end of this post, and there was at least something in here that sparked a little “oh, i can do that, that might help” moment.

    i really do want you to feel capable, motivated, and supported, and wish you all the best of luck with the rest of the semester. you got this. you’ll make it through, and things will get better.

    take care of yourself,

    aska

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  • admissions,  UTSC

    i could be so powerful if i just had access

    November 2, 2020

    Hi! I’m a grade 12 student right now and I’d like to apply to UTSC’s Neuroscience program. However, I’m retaking Calculus and Vectors and Advanced Functions (2 prerequisites) because I took them both in IB in grade 11 and got poor marks (60s). Would they consider my repeated grades? And what percent of people get accepted into this program? Thank you 🙂

    ——————————————

    hey,

    unfortunately, utsc’s repeated courses policy is super vague, and doesn’t really provide a clear sense of how they treat second-time high school grades. you can read it here— i think you’ll see what i mean. i don’t have the access necessary to give you information beyond what they’re willing to release officially, so that’s the policy we have to work with. if you’re really anxious to find out more, you can try contacting the admissions office directly. 

    i also have no idea what percent of people are generally accepted to the program that you’re interested in— programs don’t tend to release this information. if you’re really curious, you can reach out to the department and ask. in general, it’s probably more important to keep in mind what the admissions requirements are, and you can find those here.

    sorry i couldn’t be more helpful! i’m just a student lol they don’t let me into all that confidential stuff.

    best of luck with the rest of your grade 12 year and your uni applications, though! i’m rooting for you.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • first year,  midterms

    i’m not even in first year and my grades still hurt my feelings

    November 2, 2020

    Hi! do you have any advice for handling midterms and feelings of disappointment? I have two more left now and every time I finish one, I feel like I did a good job but I get sorely disappointed with the grades I receive — especially considering I’m genuinely working hard and studying for 2 weeks for one test, etc. I know university is NOT like high school, so I’m trying to keep that in mind, but floundering in first year does not feel good at all, haha! Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    i honestly really feel you on this. during my first semester of first year, i was really overwhelmed and it took me a good many months to adjust to uni. i’d been warned that grades tend to drop by at least 10 percent in the jump from high school to first year, so rest assured that you’re not the only one struggling with lower grades than you’re used to. it’s a common first year experience.

    here’s what advice i can offer to make this easier on you:

    first, it will probably be helpful for you to take inventory of what resources you have to support you through this. first year can be particularly difficult because you’re not used to navigating university yet, and don’t know about all the different ways you can receive help.

    i’ll divide the resource recommendations in this post into two sections. first, let’s start with resources that will help you handle your midterms better:

    1) learning strategists

    while i’ve never visited a learning strategist myself, i’ve heard that they’re really great for helping you reach your academic goals. a learning strategist will be able to give you tips on managing your time and stress, evaluate your study plans with you, and just generally talk you through better ways to learn and thus improve your grade. if you’re in arts and science, you should be able to call your college registrar and request an appointment with the learning strategist. otherwise, i think CLNx also allows you to make appointments.

    i do think this is one of your best bets for learning how to handle midterms well, and whatever skills you learn from your learning strategist will carry over to finals as well.

    2) writing centres

    if any of your midterms are midterm papers, the writing centre will be a godsend. my college’s writing centre has helped me improve my grades on many, many papers. a highly recommended resource. if you’re unfamiliar with the writing centre, this past weekend i did an advice post for first-timers, which you can check out here.

    3) librarians

    if any of your midterms include a research element, you can actually live chat with librarians for research help here. also, i think u of t still does the personal librarian system, which should mean that you’ve gotten an email from a campus librarian who’s offered to help you with research and show you different tools to make your life easier. my personal librarian is my college librarian.

    you’d really be surprised how much wisdom librarians have— they can be super helpful for finding books and papers you might not have come across otherwise, and can also give you tips on how to parse a whole ton of information.

    4) office hours

    if you’re studying really hard and still don’t find that you’re getting the grades you hope for, that’s usually a signal that you should reach out to your profs or TAs for an office hours appointment. clarify their expectations, ask them how they’d recommend that you prep for a midterm, and see if you can sus out what they care most about. what topics do they see as most important? should you memorize things or know how to apply them? only your course instructors will be able to tell you. they’re being paid to teach you, so you might as well ask.

    now, for resources that will help you handle the disappointment (no matter how hard you try, it will still hit you sometimes. that’s what i’m learning as an upper year).

    1) dons, mentors, and other upper years

    upper years have been through it. most of them know how you’re feeling, but have also had more practice putting their failures into perspective and moving on. if you have access to residence/commuter dons, a mentorship program, or any upper years in general, i wouldn’t be afraid to start a conversation with them about dealing with disappointing grades! as an upper year myself, i’m always happy to talk younger students through the emotional struggle of first year. i guess that’s why i run this blog lol.

    2) friends

    honestly, my current favourite way to get over a bad midterm grade is to play an hour of among us with my friends. there’s nothin like a little friendly space murder to make yourself feel better.

    but hey, even before the pandemic, i found that it helped so much to take some time off my studies with people that i like, so that i could come back to studying refreshed and ready to work.

    don’t know anyone, since you’re still in first year? check out your prospective program’s student associations, your college, mentorship programs, and clubs. there will be friendly people going through the same thing as you— don’t be afraid to approach them. some random girl from my class added me on facebook, and now we rant to each other weekly about how frustrating our assignments are. ten times better than slogging through alone.

    3) embedded counsellors and MySSP

    if your disappointments begin to make you feel anxious or depressed, please reach out to one of the mental health supports on campus. you have five free appointments with your college’s embedded counsellor, who will talk you through your negative feelings and help you identify how your patterns of thought might be holding you back. you can call health and wellness to make an appointment with your embedded counsellor. if that doesn’t sound like an option for you, you can also chat with the counsellors at MySSP in different languages, 24/7, even outside of North America. your mental health is very important!

    in case it’s not obvious yet, i really think that reaching out to other people in the university community is the best way to pull yourself through what you’re dealing with.

    other than that, i think there’s value in maintaining a sense of perspective. first year is an adjustment. there is no shame in not doing as well as you hoped to, and things will get better once you figure out what the heck is going on in university. i really had to overhaul my study habits in order to get on my feet. you’ll learn. it’s why you’re here.

    sending you tons of encouragement for the rest of the semester— i’m proud of you for working so hard. keep it up, you can do this!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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