Aska, I heard you like questions so I got a few fo’ you:
1) Alternative offers. If I get an alternative offer, does that mean that my original offer is rejected, or will UofT outright tell me that I’ve been rejected?
2) Campus differences. Lets say a friend of a friend of a close relative of a friend got an alternative offer to UTM when they applied to UTSG and is feeling kinda bummed out. Would there be a big difference in programs? To be specific, Computer Science??
3) Not that I really care about this at all, but would your degree specify what campus you got it from?
Thanks
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hey there,
you got that right. i love me some questions. questions for breakfast, lunch and dinner. i’m not a physical being, so i don’t eat real food. i feed off of people’s questions, like that oracle from aladdin 2. so let’s begin the meal, shall we?
1) if you’ve received an alternate offer, that means that they are not making the original offer, and are instead making another one. so yes, whichever program you originally applied to, you weren’t accepted – instead you’ve been given an offer for an alternate program.
2) to your “friend of a close relative of a friend,” i would say that the differences are very minute. you can compare the mechanical differences relating to the required courses at each school by comparing the two calendars, but they’re not astronomical. for example, at the end of your first year at UTM, you need to have completed a math (with at least a 60%) and computer science (with at least a 65%) course, and 4 credits total. an equivalent student at UTSG would need to complete two comp. sci courses with at least a 60% in each and an average of 67% in both, and 4 credits total. there are some minor differences, but they’re not huge, right?
your degree is what you make of it. if you do really well at UTM, and supplement your academic career with relevant extra- and co-curricular activities, you will be successful. there are successful people from every school, and unsuccessful people. the “reputation” of the place can only take you so far. and i hope the people who brag about their school left right and centre feel VERY SILLY about that.
3) kind of. from the UTM convocation website: “[t]he diploma parchment will say ‘University of Toronto’ and NOT ‘University of Toronto Mississauga.’ The only place on the parchment where ‘University of Toronto Mississauga’ appears is below the Principal’s signature.” so it will say “University of Toronto Mississauga” in small letters under the principal’s signature, but it won’t be very visible on the page.
but it’s smart of you not to care too much about this. like i said, if you are accomplished in your school career, if you make connections while you’re at school, that’ll help more than a piece of paper from the downtown campus ever could.
good luck in first year, dude,
aska