February, 2024 - askastudent

admissions, scholarships/bursaries

you’ve got good things going for you

February 29, 2024

Hi! I’m a Grade 12 who got accepted into UTSC. For the automatic entrance scholarship, I received $1500 (which is for an overall 90% average), which I figured out must be based off of my first semester midterms since my first semester finals gave me an average of 94.3%. My question is, am I stuck with the scholarship amount based from my first semester midterm? Is there no possibility that UTSC will increase my scholarship amount since they admitted me after first semester ended, when I had actually a 94.3% average?

hey there,

first of all, congrats on getting accepted AND on receiving a scholarship! geez those are some high grades, your future is blinding me. based on this question, i’m diagnosing you as an overachiever. source? me. credibility? i’m an anonymous blogger on the world wide web.

so i checked directly with a recruitment person at UTSC, and i can tell you that your entrance scholarship will not be reassessed (meaning it will not increase but also should not decrease).

but the good news is, there are more paths towards funding sources than just your automatic entrance scholarships. for one, if you really wanna be up and at ’em about it, you can connect directly with the UTSC recruitment team.

i also highly recommend that you submit your awards profile by the deadline, may 31. with the awards profile, you can be considered for multiple scholarships with just one application, and you can find a list of all these awards in the previous link. i definitely wish that i had filled this out when i was going into first year, so please don’t be like me and put it off until it’s too last minute to complete—you’ll need to get a reference letter!

and finally, if you’re still looking for more, check out the awards explorer to find other potential sources of funding—there are a lot though, so filter by key words to see the ones relevant to you.

anyways, i hope this was helpful! good luck with everything. they say don’t count your chickens before they hatch, but i’d say you’ve got some good chickens (grades) going for you.

over and out,

aska

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choosing, fun & places, study abroad

to abroad or not to abroad

February 24, 2024
Hey Aska,

I have a bit of a dilemma.

I want to go on exchange for a semester or even a year, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford it – or if I want to extend my degree by a year.

I’m double majoring in Political Science and European Affairs, and for an exchange I can see myself studying in Britain, France, Spain, or Belgium. The thing is, I’m a transfer student to UofT- I’m in second year of uni, but it’s my first year here. I started my degree at Dalhousie, didn’t like it, took a gap year, and now my friends from high school are in third year while I’m in second. I kind of feel behind, a little bit. Which I know I’m not. But, I also don’t want to be spending six years getting my Bachelor’s when it’s already going to be at least 5 total. It’s also not ideal financially, especially as I plan on getting a master’s.

This brings up another consideration: I plan on doing my master’s degree in Europe, so it’s not as though I won’t have the opportunity to study there in the future. However, I really want to experience the undergraduate experience abroad. Summer courses are, of course, an option, but I try to work in the summer to supplement my income.

I’ve applied to a summer abroad course, knock on wood that I get in, but I still wonder whether I should put aside a semester or a year to study abroad – or maybe to do an internship or work term placement.

Time and money are precious, but I also value education, and want to make the most of this time of my life.

Let me know what your thoughts are.

I’m just kind of rambling and wanted some guidance and someone to bounce ideas off of.

Thanks

hey there,
1. my take on exchange
hm. this is indeed a dilemma if i ever did see one. so you’re double majoring in poli sci and european studies. it absolutely makes sense for you to go abroad to europe for your studies—it would be super beneficial for you to have that exposure and world experience. and to be so real, i absolutely support you for really wanting to have that undergrad abroad experience, especially in europe! it just sounds fun and cool lol.

but i feel you, bro. i’m kind of in a similar boat, weighing the decision to take a longer time to complete my degree to enjoy it more, while trying to stay grounded with the financial practicality of it. not to mention the nagging feeling of being behind all my friends, and also maybe wanting to take a masters, which would add more years to this situation.

but the good news is, a LOT of people go through this same thing, and i’m learning that it is so normal to take 5 or 6 years for undergrad. like, so normal. in my opinion, it’s better to get the most you can out of your degree and flush it out for what it’s worth rather than just rush to complete it faster—assuming it’s financially viable for you. because being in undergrad gives you so many opportunities and chances to gain experience, and try new things, in every way you could think of!

i’ve never done it myself, but my best friend went on exchange for a semester last summer. my take away from that was that going on exchange during undergrad is a fun, (chaotic), life-changing experience that really broadens your perspective on the world. so, like, these websites aren’t lying to you. it truly is a valuable use of your time and money.

but if you’re weighing it against getting an internship or work term placement, i mean, you can always get those a couple years down the road, right? there’s really only one period in life for you to go on exchange for undergrad. and it doesn’t have to be for a whole year, if you’re worried about that. one semester would provide you with the same experience and something is better than nothing.

2. transfer credits

my question is, will going on exchange really extend your degree by a year? maybe i’m not totally understanding your situation right, but you can transfer your credits earned so that your time spend abroad counts directly towards your degree. however, it’s true that it would depend on your program requirements and what is offered at the host institution you’re applying to. so i would highly recommend checking out transfer explorer to find out what courses you’ll be able to get transfer credits for.

(according to my holy grail, the artsci website, you can transfer a max of 2.5 credits per term for fall and winter, and a max of 2.0 for the full summer session. that’s the same amount of credits you would take in your normal year at u of t.)

3. finances

if your issue is financial constraints, there are scholarship opportunities for going on exchange. you can apply for learning abroad scholarships from the centre for international experience, as well as ones through your faculty/program. they also have a list of country cost estimates to help you vibe out how expensive this will be. and if you’re currently receiving OSAP, you can continue receiving it while learning abroad.

i also see that you try to work in the summer for income. this does put a little block in our road. one option you could consider is taking up a small work-study job at u of t during the fall/winter semesters that has flexible/fewer hours. i know that this isn’t an option for some people depending on where their workload is on the dying-surviving-thriving spectrum.

but work-study jobs at uni know that you are also a student and take that into account in what they demand of your time—it’s called a work-study for a reason! this is a much safer option with healthier boundaries for students, rather than getting a part time job somewhere else, and would give you a little stream of income to help. you would just have to make sure you find one that’s more chill.

anyways, that was lot of thinking for me. time to take a nap.

i hope this helped, and that the ideas bounced off me to your satisfaction. good luck with everything, sending the best vibes your way!!

over and out,

aska
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life science, neuroscience, research

the vibes are good, methinks

February 23, 2024

Hello! Got accepted into life sciences ’24. What are the research opportunities like, how hard are the courses if I’m planning on neuroscience and how’s the general atmosphere (competition, friendliness etc)?

Thank you 🙂

hey there,

welcome and congrats!!

research opportunities

so, asking what the research opportunities are like is like asking where the uoft library is. there are so many in so many different directions, and it really depends on what you’re looking for.

personally, i would say that the research opportunities for neuroscience are very good—from what i’ve heard and general vibes. disclaimer, i am not a neuroscience student. however, i am in another life sci program and there’s a lot of overlap/similarity between life sci programs.

once you get here, there are always events and panels going on (if you know where to look) where you can learn about research opportunities and future pathways for your program. i would recommend checking out the u of t undergrad research students’ association, @uoftursa on instagram, since they post about great opportunities and events on there. also check out this site about research opportunities program courses to take in your upper years. it’s never too early for you to be looking into this stuff, but do keep in mind that research is something people start getting into after their second year.

i would say the best way to hear about opportunities in my experience is from being on the mailing list for your program—you’ll get on this when you get into your program after first year. i currently receive an email every few days about research/experience/scholarship opportunities to do with my program.

also, one of my friends is a neuroscience major, and she has said you can also get into research just by getting to know your profs and asking them if they have any opportunities for students. for example, they might be working on a research project and could use an assistant. however, this is a bit iffy and less common, and i honestly don’t know how she managed to do this.

courses

you can see all the courses you’ll have to take for the neuroscience major listed on this handy dandy arts & sciences website. (i open these pages too often but i do appreciate how convenient it is all laid out like this!!!! big fan.)

though i’m not a neuroscience student, i have taken some of the same general first year courses required for the neuroscience major. specifically, out of the courses listed for neurosci, i took mat135, chm135, and bio120. i’d say in comparison to high school, these courses go through material very fast, condensing a lot of content into each lecture. though some of first year is kind of review, they assume you remember everything you learned in high school and pile new concepts on with the same sort of speed.

my main message to you though is to not be overwhelmed or scared going into your first year life sci courses. everyone around me was literally scaring me so much, telling me it was super rough and difficult, but i don’t think it’s as bad as its reputation makes it seem? the hardest part is just staying on top of the amount of content each week, and not falling behind. like, it’s less about stuff not making sense but more about the amount of stuff and being able to balance all your courses.

general atmosphere

i would say that the competition isn’t too bad in life sci. people are just trying to get through the courses, and nobody’s out to get you or trying to step on you to get ahead (like in rotman). however, in terms of friendliness, it really depends how hard you try to make friends. people mostly keep to themselves, but if you are friendly, you’ll find friendly people! hit ’em with an “it’s so cold today” or a “it’s too early for this” and you’ll be fine.

good luck with everything!

over and out,

aska

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GPA, non degree

so you wanna increase your GPA

February 14, 2024

Hi, I have graduated from Syria and moved to Canada, I would like to so an MBA and I match all the criteria but my GPA is low due to the war situation in Syria, I’m wondering if you know how can I increase my GPA with some programs at UFT so I can get an acceptance for MPA?

hey there,

so you wanna increase your gpa! ok, so the main way that people increase their gpa for grad school is to take courses as a non-degree student.

to do this, you can apply to u of t as a non-degree student through ouac. in terms of admissions, they consider you based on your entire post-secondary academic record and your most recent annual gpa. and once you get in, you would be able to take arts, science, or commerce/management degree credit courses, either in-person or online!

in terms of getting an MBA (master of business administration), i’m not sure if you want to apply to u of t or another school? but i can give you a link for a page about the requirements at u of t.

here, it outlines several requirements about grades, work experience, english proficiency, and the like. for example, you need a final year average of at least mid-B from a recognized university, and a minimum gpa of 3.0 in the final year of your bachelor’s degree.

it also might be useful for you to look into this page about international degree equivalencies, as well as this transcript guide for the MBA at u of t.

that might be a lot of stuff, but it is also stuff for later!

so i would first focus on getting your gpa up. idk why i’m looking so far ahead, someone stop me.

but anyways, if you had more specific questions about getting in as a non-degree student, you can get in touch with enrolment services. and if you want more resources, here is a page about applying in general, and here is woodsworth college’s really great guide to being a non-degree student.

i hope this helps, good luck with everything. and happy valentine’s day! i might have no plans, but i do have a sweet date with a midterm pretty soon! life is so fun.

over and out,

aska

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