Hi there! I hope you’re doing good. I’m a grade 12 student who’s really interested in applying to the Rotman Commerce program at St. George campus and I planned ahead for grade 12 by taking advanced functions and calculus in the summer, which I ended off in low 90s with (yay!). Unfortunately though, from grade 11 I have 3 bad marks (in chemistry, physics and functions) but got 90s in all 6 other classes. Even though I’m applying for business, I’m scared that those 3 bad grades are going to show. I had low-mid 60s in functions and physics and then I failed chemistry, but I’m not pursuing science and so now I’m scared it’ll ruin my chances if UofT looks at my grade 11 grades since I have one failed class. I took Advanced Functions in the summer to fully focus on getting a high grade and to make up for the bad functions grade. ^ I apologize for how long it is since I just wanted to provide some context but:
- Does UofT mind that I took Advanced Functions and Calculus in the summer online?
- Will the science classes I did bad in but won’t be taking again impact my chances? Will the failed chemistry class?
- Since I finished Advanced Functions will they look at my grade 11 functions grade for reference?
I’m really sorry for the bother again!! Thank you so much and I hope you have a good one!!
hey there,
thanks for this question! i really appreciate the way you formatted it — i love having context, and i love organized, specific, and direct questions. biggest gold star for you. most of the time, i am staring at questions like this:
anyways bro, let me put you on this year’s rotman commerce viewbook. on page 12, it goes over the admissions process for ontario high school applicants. and based on the fact that you said you took advanced functions, i’m going to assume you’re from ontario.
here, under “ontario high school admission requirements”, it says that special attention will be given to calculus & vectors (MCV4U), since it’s a pre-requisite to get into rotman. to be a competitive applicant, you need to have marks in/above the high 80s in both english and calculus. (you can also cross reference this with the rotman commerce admission category page, which says that the two pre-requisite courses for rotman are english and calculus. so these are the courses that admission will care the most about.)
this page says that “all grade 11 and 12 courses may be considered“, and the average from all your grade 11 and 12 courses should be in the mid-high 80s and above. also, it doesn’t say it here, but U of T will look at your complete academic record when considering you for admission. it’s just that they look most closely at your pre-req courses.
so will the science classes you did badly in have an impact on your chances? will they look at your grade 11 functions mark? honestly, maybe, but probably not that much. these marks won’t be the main thing your admission is based on. most of the emphasis will be on your grade 12 marks. however, they will see those bad marks, as part of looking at your whole record. and those marks will impact your overall total average, so.
another reason why your grade 11 marks will matter is that your grade 12 marks won’t be fully out yet when you apply. this means that conditional admission offers are made through the year based on your grade 11 finals and grade 12 interim marks.
however, there is some good news! the thing with rotman is that admission is not purely based on grades, which makes it different from applying to general arts & science categories. there is something called a supplemental application that you will submit, which has a sort of interview-like function, to showcase your skills and experiences. so like, if you’re worried about your marks, you might wanna cook on the supplemental application.
overall, it’s just a matter of how all these moving parts balance out in the end. your marks in grade 11 science are not the make-or-break factor in your application, and there are a lot of things the university will look at. all you can do now is lock in and get the best marks you can in grade 12, and make yourself shine in that supplemental application. you’ve got experiences! you’ve got skills! you can do it.
finally, does U of T mind that you took functions in the summer online?
good news, they will not mind! they don’t really care when you complete your courses, and summer classes are not seen any differently than fall/winter classes.
and yeah, i hope this somewhat cleared things up?? best of luck to you, please send another ask if you’ve got more questions or are still confused. you’ve got thisss!!!!
over and out,
aska