Hi Aska!
So last year, I came to you with a huge conundrum about life, about quitting school, and other sad stuff like that. But now I am back from my well needed year off and am ready to take on the new school year! Except for the fact that I feel like I have completely lost all my smarticle-particle brain cells and am starting on a blank slate. Not so good.
I left all my school related issues behind on my year off because I’d get these really bad anxiety and panic attacks from overthinking about my problems. Bad idea though. Because now I’m starting to feel a little panicky again because I pushed everything to the side and am completely lost.
I have to write a letter for my OSAP Academic Probation since I dropped so many courses last year that OSAP started wondering where the heck their money went. They were mostly LWDs and so I couldn’t get a refund for the class. My registrar told me that it would be fine and nothing would happen BUT YA I GOT PLACED ON OSAP PROBATION SO SOMETHING DID HAPPEN BUT NOW I GOTTA FIX IT AND I NEED HELP. HELP.
sorry, just freaked out there. i was in a really tough spot last year and was too stupid to not figure it out. so yeah.
I also can’t find the notice they sent me through the mail so this is mostly based on my horrible memory. i swear, im like a grandparent.
anyway, my first question(s) is/are: who do i send this ding-dang letter to? financial aid office or something? what’s their address? do i send one to some osap office as well? also, will it be ok for me to apply for osap during this time?
ok second set of questions are related to a course i really wanna take this upcoming school year. funny story though, i put it on my enrollment cart and was super excited to figure out how to get to my classes and the time of travel it takes to get there. i looked it up on my handy-dandy physical map, and the BUILDING CODE DOES NOT EXIST AT ST. GEORGE. searched it up. found out its at UTM. great.
will I still be allowed to take the course even though im registered at st. george? also, if i am allowed, how will i manage to get back and forth from each campus? apparently there’s a shuttle but where is it located? how much is the fare?
Anyway Aska, thanks for listening and helping. i don’t know what it is–maybe it’s your casual way of answering questions or replying to each student, but i always feel a little better hearing back from you. and you make us all laugh. thanks again and sorry for the freak outs.
hope to hear from you soon!
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hi friend!
so, i just went back and reread the answer that the past aska give you (there’s been an aska turnover since then!). i’m sorry that you’re going through a bit of a rough time right now, especially since the year off was much needed. hopefully my response helps.
since you’ve asked two sorta separate questions, i’ll answer in two sorta separate parts.
- osap probation
so i’m assuming that the “letter” that you need to write for osap is this one? on it, it says to return it to enrollment services. you should also direct any questions you have about osap or financial aid to enrollment services. you can find their contact info here. unfortunately, i don’t know too much about osap (they’re notoriously confusing) so i think your best bet is getting in contact with enrollment services who have all the osap knowledge.
2. taking courses at utm as a st. george student
yes, this is allowed! these courses will count towards your 20 FCE needed to graduate and can count towards your program requirements.
just keep in mind that, even though the course is being held at a different campus and faculty, you are still subject to st. george’s faculty of arts and sciences’ deadlines. so, for example, if you wanted to drop the course without academic offence, you’d have to do it before the st. george deadline, not the utm deadline. check out this link for the faculty of arts and sciences’ deadlines and this link for utm’s.
also, if you want to use the utm course towards your program(s), you’ll want to make sure that the utm course actually has a relevant equivalent course at st. george (as in, the credit will transfer over and you can actually use it towards your program). you can do this through the transfer explorer.
as for the utm shuttle, it departs from hart house everyday in 20 minute intervals according to the past winter semester’s schedule. i can’t imagine the schedule changing too drastically in the fall, but look up the new schedule come fall to make sure. also note that it costs $6 each way for non-utm students (like yourself). i know tons of people who have taken the utm shuttle (either for classes or because their families live in mississauga and it’s lowkey cheaper than the ttc + whatever transit system they have in the ‘saug) and they’ve said that it’s a pretty great system, but can be slow during rush hour. the shuttle bus is probably your best bet for getting to and from utm.
i’m really glad that taking a year off was productive and healthy for you, and i hope that the rough patch you’re going through right now passes. just know that if you ever need help, all you need to do is ask for it, which is the hardest part. and you’ve already done that!
i highly suggest getting in contact with someone from your registrar’s office to discuss anything related to your academics, especially since you took a year off and are on osap probation. they’re super duper helpful and understanding. i would also suggest looking into the academic success centre, they’re a criminally underused service at u of t. you can book an appointment with a learning strategist (who does exactly what it sounds like, strategize how you can learn better) or attend workshops on academic success. getting some help and learning how you learn and can be more successful academically should (i hope) give you confidence when you come back to school. they’re awesome, check them out.
good luck! you’re gonna kill it.
xoxo,
aska