Hey!
So, I’m a first year life-sci student at UTSG, and I initially took seven 0.5 credit courses for this year, giving me 3.5 total credits. This is because I got a 1.0 transfer credit from IB for English (which means I’m done BRs!!), and I thought doing a half-credit course in the summer would be ok. Then I called the registrar’s office and they said that it is recommended that I take 5.0 FCE’s. So I added another course, but I really wasn’t interested enough in it. So I asked an upper year friend and he said it was perfectly ok to take less than 5.0 FCE’s. So I dropped that course. Later, while I was browsing through your website, I saw that anyone who takes less than 4.0 FCE’s is still considered a first-year and it could affect my OSAP funding. And now I’m freaking out. So is it ok to take 3.5 FCE’s? I was really looking forward to the smaller course load to ease into my first year (if you can’t already tell, I suck at dealing with stress). Please help a super anxious and stressed naive first year! :'(
———————————————
hey there,
you are absolutely allowed to take 3.5 FCEs. 5.0 is only “recommended” because it will allow you to complete your degree in four years, without having to take courses in the summer.
for some people, that is ideal. certainly, it is considered the standard course load by the university, and some professional schools prefer (or even require, in the case of medical school) that you complete what’s called a full-course load, i.e. 5.0 FCEs per year.
another important thing that may have been motivating the recommendation from your registrar’s office is the fact that 3.5 FCEs is the lowest number of credits you can be taking while still being under fixed program fees.
if you were to have dropped to 3.0, you could’ve been under part-time per course fees. if you’re going to be full-time, 5.0 FCEs is the best bang for your buck, because it’s exactly the same price at 3.5 FCEs, but you get more credits out of it.
finally, you can always take 5.0 credits, see how it goes, and then, if you feel overwhelmed, drop some before the deadline to drop a course without academic penalty.
so yes, there are pros to taking 5.0 – at least to begin with – financially, and academically.
HOWEVER. that absolutely does not mean that you should feel pressured to take on five courses per term if you feel unprepared to do that. if you think you will do better by taking 4.0 credits, 3.5 credits, or going part-time (3.0 FCEs or fewer), then that’s what you should do.
obviously, keep in mind that you may have to take courses in the summer, or take an extra year to complete your degree, if you choose to do this. every choice you make will have certain consequences. that does not mean, though, that certain choices are bad.
regarding OSAP: as long as your course load is at least 60% of what OSAP calls a full course load (which is 5.0 FCEs in the fall/winter at uoft), then you’re still eligible for full-term. 60% at uoft would be – get your math caps on – 3.0 FCEs in the fall/winter.
you may want to follow up with your registrar’s office to have a more in-depth chat about your situation. keep in mind that you can no longer add F and Y courses, but you can add S courses until January, if you want to up your course load at the end of the fall term.
these are your choices. it’s important to research and consider all your options, but at the end of the day, the best choice is the one that will make you the happiest and most successful.
cheers,
aska