I’m currently a first year art and sci at utsg and had a question about enrolling in a program. I’m interested in a minor but lack one of the prerequisites! If I take it in the first term and apply in the second enrolment period, does this affect my chances of getting into a limited program, especially the more competitive ones?
hey there,
i immediately love you for specifying your faculty and campus. we appreciate the context. plus, this is a really good question!
well, i can tell you that your situation is super common. students who don’t have all their program pre-requisites by the end of first year will complete them in the first summer term and then apply during the second enrolment period. this happens all the time!
but i can see where you’re coming from. if i was in your position, i would also be asking whether enrolling in the second period might affect my chances of getting in, especially to a competitive program.
the good thing is that you don’t have to worry about whether applying during the second period might be applying “late” — departments don’t really care which period you apply during. if they have a set grade baseline or required pre-req courses, that’s all they’ll base their decision on.
however, if you’re worried about spots filling out, hmmmmm. yeah. that’s valid.
here’s the thing. i looked into it, and it’s really unclear whether spots can fill up during the first enrolment period. this is because program enrolment is a process that’s overseen by each individual department, so there isn’t really a clear answer i can give you without knowing which minor you’re interested in. (ie, every department does this a bit differently.)
if you wanted my personal opinion, i’m sure that most departments would hold spots for students who apply during the second enrolment period. because programs that are open during the first and second period will take students in the second round if they meet the requirements. it’s just unclear exactly how many spots there would be in each period.
my take is, if there’s a list of pre-requisite courses you need to complete and you’ve completed them, i’m pretty sure they have to let you in. meanwhile, if there’s grade averages involved, it’s probably gonna be more complicated. but tbh, only the people within your department would know for certain.
all that considered, just make sure that the minor you want actually accepts students during both periods. (some programs only accept students during the first period, and you can find that info in this list).
and in the end, if you don’t end up being accepted to that minor, it’s certainly not the end of the world. worst case is, you apply to programs in your second year like half of U of T anyway. 😀 almost everyone i know (including me) was still applying to programs during the summer after their second year. if that happens to you, it is completely fine and normal.
so yeah. i hope this was somewhat somehow helpful for you? good luck with the rest of the semester, i hope you get some time to photosynthesize in the spring sun! <3
over and out,
aska