hi aska,
so for next fall, i have two classes on friday that are back to back. my tutorial for cog250 ends at 11am, and my vic145 seminar starts at 11. buildings are a thirteen minute walk apart.
obviously, i cannot teleport, so im wondering if you have any advice on how to not miss too much of either class.
heyyo,
ah yes, the age-old dilemma of getting across uoft’s massive campus within the supposedly generous 10 minutes of uoft time.
actually, considering you’re almost certainly a first year (since you’re taking a first year seminar course), you may not even know what this “uoft time” is. i guess it’s my sacred duty to inform you. basically, every class, tutorial, lab, practical, etc. at uoft starts 10 minutes after the hour. so your 11am seminar will actually start at 11:10. the point is to give you more time to get across campus, but it’s not always enough, since it can sometimes take twice that time to get from one place to another. hell, in a big enough class in con hall, you’re lucky if you get out of the building in under four minutes.
so until teleportation is invented, we unfortunately just have to suck it up and deal with it. sigh.
now, forgive my stalkerness, but i just had to check timetable builder to see which buildings you’d be travelling between. i think it would be sid smith to northrop frye? which is a bit yikes. i did see that there is another cog250 tutorial, also from 10-11, but it’s at the uc building, which is a decent amount closer to northrop frye. unless you have a particular reason to be at the sid smith tutorial, i’d switch to the uc one. also, uc is a way nicer building (i’m a sid smith hater), so why wouldn’t you wanna be in a castle instead of a glorified high school?
(live footage from sid smith, btw)
if you can’t switch for whatever reason, or i’m dumb and you are already in the uc tutorial, the first step is to talk to your profs/TAs. in a bigger class, leaving early/being late isn’t a huge deal, but since both your classes are smaller, it’s good to check in with your instructor. despite what you may hear, most profs do have a soul, and they should be understanding of your plight. from there, i’d just be observant in your first week(s) of classes. if your tutorial has something important right at the end (like attendance or a quiz), or your seminar has something right at the beginning, i would prioritize being on time for the class with the important thing. similarly, if one prof/TA is understanding and the other isn’t, you’ll unfortunately have to be punctual for the less understanding one’s class.
i also wanna drop some other miscellaneous tips, coming from someone who has also had some very unfortunate back-to-back class locations. in first year, i literally took the subway two stops to get from one class to another, because the distance between them was insane if i just walked.
first tip is, if you have to leave a few minutes early from your tutorial, make sure to sit near the door. that way it’s easier for you to get up and leave, and it also isn’t as disruptive to your classmates. similarly, if you’re always late to your seminar, don’t be that person who has to bumble their way up to the front. just it in the seats closer to the door.
sometimes it can be easier said than done, but there’s also no harm in making friends in your classes. if you ever miss anything important, there’ll be someone who can fill you in. obviously it would be great if you, y’know, actually like them, but you don’t have to be besties to share notes.
aaand my last piece of advice, especially because you’re a first year, is to walk the route before the first day!! i know this part sounds silly, but when you take this walk, pay attention to the optimal doors for each building. sid smith is a really annoying square (yes, i’m hating on it again), and if you end up going out one of the doors on the west side of the building, congrats, you’ve just added an extra 3 minutes to your walk. so find and plan out those doors!!! doors are important, y’know.
best of luck navigating the high seas of utsg.
cheers,
aska