hello!!! international applicant to uoft here, hoping to get into econ^^ i’ve heard about the top 6 rule, and was hoping it applies to us too, since my grade 12 math grade suffered a bit (our school has a strange grading system where it assigns “equivalents” to certain numerical ranges… my midterm math grade was the equivalent of a high 60 to low 70) and since econ falls under social sciences they won’t be looking for math. the rest of my grades (all of grade 11, as well as grade 12 minus math) are high (low to high 90s) and even my grade 12 average is the equivalent of a 92+ with that math grade (again, weird grading system) so i was wondering what you think about my chances? thank you!
hey, i was the international student who sent in the ask about applying to social sciences even with a very low midterm math grade. kindly disregard my previous ask since we now have an update: not only did i get in, i also got the international merit award (somehow!) it’s still a lot of money, though, and my parents are kinda reluctant to send me though i really want to go ? for my question: is it in any way possible that i will get additional/different scholarships that could maybe offset the tuition a little more? thanks a lot!
hey there,
wow. congratulations omg?!! that is a really great scholarship.
but yeah, international student tuition is insanely high, so every bit of financial aid you can get will help. the good thing is, it is absolutely possible for you to get additional scholarships on top of the international merit award. you are able to apply to many more awards throughout your time in university! (i’m going to place this handbook on navigating that here, in case it’s helpful.)
1. scholarships/awards
the main thing you should check out is the award explorer, which is a searchable database of thousands of awards offered at u of t.
basically, there are several different types of awards you can get during your time here: admissions, in-course, and graduating awards. the one you just got is an admissions award, which is given out to newly admitted students. although there are some that require a separate application, all you new kids are automatically considered for these when you apply to u of t, based on your grades.
once you’re a current student, you can also receive awards called “in-course” awards. again, some require applications, but for others, you are automatically considered based on your grades once you get into your program of study. u of t offers over 5,800 in-course awards every year, and all you have to do is keep track of when they are being offered, as application deadlines happen at different times of the semester.
finally, during your last year, you are also eligible for graduating awards.
within the broad categories of admissions, in-course, and graduating awards, there are more specific awards given by your faculty or college every year. to find out more about faculty/college awards, follow this link to look at their individual websites. (my little nugget of advice for faculty and college awards is to get involved as a student leader! there are several student leadership awards that are much easier to apply for than the competitive ones you’ll be looking at for economics student awards.)
just make sure that you apply filters when using the award explorer in order to see what you are actually eligible for. otherwise, you’ll just find yourself scrolling through an overwhelming number of awards. for example, if i apply the filter “open to international” and search up “economics”, i can see 44 awards that you are eligible for simply as an international student in economics! spend some time looking through there, and you’ll find there is a lot to apply for during your upper years.
2. other avenues of financial aid
if you want to earn money while completing your degree, i would recommend the work-study program. they offer part-time, paid, on-campus jobs that are available on all three campuses, and are often flexible due to the fact that you’re a student.
there are also emergency grants available to domestic and international u of t undergrads in case of unforeseen financial emergencies.
however, it’s true that there are much less financial aid opportunities for international students compared to domestic students. while domestic students have access to OSAP and UTAPS, u of t says they are not able to offer direct financial aid to international students because they are a publicly funded institution. which, yeah, okay that makes sense. in this case, they say you should look into you home country’s financial aid programs.
but if you’re an american—as a canadian, i say that as aMERcan (with a bit of a gag reflex)—you’ll have access to several USA student aid programs. these include the william d. ford federal direct loan program, alternate/private loans, the 529 college savings plan, and others.
and as always, i recommend that you reach out to a recruitment officer at your college registrar! they can give you more specific info and meetings with them are super helpful.
over and out,
aska