• current student,  OSAP,  UTAPS

    utaps got ur back

    July 25, 2022

    Hello, do you know if my grades impact the amount of UTAPS I could get? Or does UTAPS only look at my OSAP application and financial situation? How do they count the UTAPS amount? Thanks!

    hi there,

    from what i know, utaps is based on your osap application and does not depend on grades. other bursaries/awards might look at your marks, but utaps really is based on need, and typically pays out any amount of your financial need (calculated by the government) that wasn’t covered by osap.

    the one potential exception is if you’re failing a lot of courses. usually, for undergrads, osap requires you to pass 1.5 FCEs per term, or 3.0 FCEs for every two terms. dropping below that would put you on osap probation, which means that if you miss the requirements again in the next year, you’ll be restricted from getting more osap. this could also affect your utaps application, but in this case i think utaps would probably be the least of your concerns… so if this is you (or if you’d just like some more support in general) it’d be best to just get advice from your registrar.

    anyway, enough of the spiraling osap hypotheticals. if you’d still like to read more, here’s some info about osap and utaps, including a utaps estimator.

    good luck, and i hope you get that bag!

    Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes GIFfrom Bugs Bunny GIFs

    aska

    Read More
  • colleges,  prospective student,  university-college

    commuter’s guide to colleges

    July 22, 2022

    sorry if you’ve been asked this before, but I just got accepted to University College (Humanities) does the college mean anything if you’re a commuter? like how does it work? can I still use services like libraries at other colleges? does the college actually mean anything i’m kinda confused?

    hi, hello and welcome!

    ah yes, the age-old question of “i’m a commuter and does college actually mean anything”… (and also on that note, does anything even actually mean anything? but i digress.)

    as a commuter, your college doesn’t really matter as much but it does come in handy for some admin stuff, student life, and pretending you’re in a hogwarts house.

    Harry Potter Excited GIFfrom Harry Potter GIFs

    it’s not really a restrictive thing, but more like a way for uoft to somewhat organize the absolute barrage of artsci kids here, imo. you’ll get access to pretty much all the other college libraries and buildings on campus, except for some dining halls which have been restricted to their own college’s student during covid. fun fact, uc also has their own commuter student centre with a kitchenette and lounge. i’m not sure how much people actually use these student centres, but i did drop by once for an event and there were free donuts, so that’s one positive review.

    Boy Kid GIFfrom Boy GIFs

    your college registrar is also pretty imporant (the uc one is here!). they would be your go-to for admin things like academic and financial advising, getting transcripts, paperwork, stuff like that. other nice college perks include writing centres, mentorship opportunities, and some scholarships and awards (uc has a bunch of annual writing awards which are pretty cool). uc is also one of the colleges which offers independent research courses for their students, if that’s something you’re into.

    there are also lots of college-based clubs and events. most are open to all students, except for frosh, which is organized by college and also basically the loudest, most obnoxious poster child for “college things”. but honestly, if you’re not staying on res it’s really up to you how much you’d like to get involved with your college. you can parade around campus bleeding uc red and chanting to your heart’s content, and you’re also free to just… not (i mean, there’s nothing stopping you from literally just leaving). or, more likely, it’ll be something in between, and you’ll get to know your college in a way that works for you 🙂

    hope that helps,

    aska

    Read More
  • admissions,  criminology,  prospective student

    the psych/philosophy to criminology student pipeline??

    July 5, 2022

    Hi! I am considering pursuing the criminology program at this university. However, I have questions about the prerequisites. I took 2 psychology courses and a philosophy course. Do they take the marks of the 2 psych courses to make one average? Also could we, for instance, use our marks from one psych course and our marks from one SOC class to calculate an average with the other psych? course?

    hi there,

    well first of all, that’s a lot of psychology courses! at least for high school, which i assume that’s what you’re talking about, but then again that was a while ago… anyway. the first thing i do have to kind of clear up is whether those courses you’ve listed are from grade 12 or previous years.

    that’s because uoft usually calculates your average from your top grade 12 courses, including any mandatory required courses for your admission category. in ontario, for example, that would be your top six grade 12 courses. for criminology, you’d be applying for the sociology admissions category, which just lists english as a required course.

    the courses are all treated separately, so if your philosophy and two psychology courses were taken in grade 12, and were among your highest marks (other than english, which has to be included), then they would all be included as individual courses to calculate your average.

    so to be clear, your admission average is going to end up being the average of a bunch of your top grade 12 courses, which may or may not include all your philosophy and psychology courses, although english would be mandatory.

    anyway, i hope that helps and wish you all the best in your future criminological endeavours.

    Bye Wave GIFfrom Bye GIFs

    aska

    Read More
  • courses,  current student,  minor

    a minor issue

    July 5, 2022

    do i have to take every course required for a minor in my first year to be able to declare it?

    hey there,

    probably not. most minors that i know of are open enrolment and only require at least 4.0 FCEs completed by the time you apply. other than that, there are no restrictions on the year that you complete the program courses, as long as you complete them all by the time you graduate. although courses might be 100-level or listed as “first year”, in most cases those are kind of just recommended, not required.

    Its Just A Suggestion Benjamin GIFfrom Its Just A Suggestion GIFs

    some exceptions would be the computer science minor, for example, where students in the CMP1 stream would need to complete the required courses in their first year, but even for out of stream students, there isn’t really any restriction on having to complete courses in a certain year, you’d just need to have them ready by the time you apply for POSt.

    you can search up the minors you’re interested in on the artsci calendar or email the department to see if there are other restrictions.

    hope that helps!

    aska

     

    Read More