• admissions,  getting into U of T,  life science,  UTM,  UTSC

    the gutter called, your grades aren’t there

    April 28, 2026

    Hello, currently a grade 12 student in my final semester and I’ve already been accepted to the other 2 campuses, life sciences for scarborough and Forensic. Currently panicking my mind with admission to the St George Campus for Life Sciences as with my first semester finals (83.3%) and 2nd semester mid-terms combined (86.7%), my average looks to be in the gutter with an 85% average currently. Since there will be 2 final rounds of admission in may, I felt like my chances are on the bleak side. 

    heyyo, 

    well I’ve heard about a lot of things being “in the gutter” but for some reason, i haven’t heard someone say that about having an 85% average in grade 12. weird, huh? 

    maaaaybe that’s ’cause an 85 is absolutely not in the gutter! that’s already solid enough for many many programs and is even within the range for utsg life sci, which is mid-high 80s. i also wanna point out that your marks have even improved in second semester, which may help you out too. 

    another thing i gotta wonder is if the averages you gave me are only for your top six classes, or if they’re you’re overall averages? for utsg life sci, and assuming you’re in ontario, admission average is determined by looking at your marks for eng4u, mcv4u, and your top four 4u/m courses that aren’t english or calculus. if you gave me your overall average, you may be in an even better position than you think.  

    and even if you don’t get in to utsg life sci… there’s so many other awesome paths forward. for one, it’s great that you got into utm and utsc! forensics sounds pretty cool to me, and if that’s something you want to pursue specifically, utm might be the better choice anyways because utsg doesn’t have a forensics program. if you end up at utm or utsc but think that being downtown is more your thing, you could always take courses at utsg as well. you’d just have to take a shuttle (utm) or a bus and subway (utsc), which kinda sucks, but it’s worth it if you want your big-city moment. 

    there’s also the possibility of getting an alternate offer, which means you might get an admission to another utsg category (like humanities) instead of life sci. while you may think that being subjected to studying philosophy or international relations for 4+ years sounds like actual hell (i’m allowed to say this because one of my programs is in the humanities), fear not: you can take programs outside your admission category as long as you meet the prereqs.  

    i’m not sure when the april admissions round happened so you might’ve been accepted in the time between when you submitted this question and the time i’m writing this, in which case, congrats! but also, man, i guess you didn’t need me after all… 

    but if that didn’t happen, just know that plenty of people get admitted in may. you still definitely have a shot at utsg and even if that doesn’t work out, you have some great options in utm or utsc. stay strong and believe. 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  getting into U of T

    we’ve got a clever one on our hands

    April 27, 2026

    Hey, so I have some questions as a grade 11 student in Ontario. So I want to apply to life sciences (Chemistry) and Mathematics and physical sciences. I had a 80% in functions last sem, should I take advance functions in the Summer so Uoft looks at it as my course to refer to my math grade and is Uoft okay with taking summer classes? And how to perform well in advance functions in the summer and will I have a big gap going into Calc after. Thanks.

    heyyo, 

    my my you are clever. doing a summer course so that it can take priority over your grade 11 mark? tricky.

    now i hate to break it to you, but while you are right in some parts, your plan may not be quite as effective as you hope. it’s true that universities tend to focus most on your most recent grade in a subject since, well, it’s the most accurate show of your skills/growth at the time. so in that sense, if you do better in your summer advanced functions than in grade 11 functions, the summer course will be more relevant. and yes, summer courses are totally ok.  

    however, i have two disclaimers for you.  

    one: as you might know, unis will still look at your grade 11 marks, even if you have more recent grade 12 results for those subjects. yes, the newer one will take precedence, but it’s not like your grade 11 mark will disappear.  

    two: i don’t know how things work for you, but from my experience in high school (and what i assume is the default), you can’t exactly decide which semester you take your courses. so this means that it’s possible you could take calculus in first sem. as well, if your application is considered in the april/may admission rounds, your second semester midterm marks will be in play too. so either way you could have calc become your most recent math grade anyways. 

    overall you don’t have a bad plan but i think if you wanna go ahead with it, it should be because you want to work at your own pace/give the course more attention, not just so it can be your most recent grade.  

    as for how to prep for calc if you do it in second semester? weeeeelll i have to be totally honest with you… aska is not a math expert. i maaaaay have never taken advanced functions or calculus. maybe. 

    so i can’t give you super specific tips here. however, i have done online courses in the summer, so the best advice i can give you is to set aside specific time in your day to work. it may be hard at first, but trust, it’ll make things so much more efficient and keep you focused. 

    you may have a bit of a gap for calc if you take it in second sem, but most classes will be understanding of this and provide some review at the start of the semester. i also heard some good things about this youtube channel and this website from friends who took the course. and if you feel like you need a bit more of a refresher, you could always get extra help from your teacher or guidance counselor. or the obvious… review your notes over the winter break. even though that might really suck. 

    good luck with your math adventures and your applications this fall! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  getting into U of T

    crazy times we live in, huh?

    April 26, 2026

    Hi aska!!  

    This is my first time stumbling onto askastudent, and I’ve been able to gather a lot more info on uni, which thanks sm!! 😛  

    And for my question(s), I was wondering if it matters that I fail a course? I’m in grade 11, and I actually have 5 credits right now (that is if I don’t fail one of those courses ?). The subject itself isn’t important to me since it’s a yearbook course, and I’m planning on going into the social sciences or politics, preferably in St. George (or other campuses I’m still debating ?). But I also know UofT (and I’m gonna guess other unis as well) looks at grade 11 courses, which is kinda freaking me out 🙁 I do have a 86% average right now (without the course I’m failing since there hasn’t been a grade out for it yet…. ?), I’m doing decent-ish in my courses, esp w my current mental health and constant missing school for counselling or other issues ?.  

    I also wanted to know if universities would care that there’s a sudden boost in my grades for gr12 (hypothetically, if I could even manage that ?). I’m only doing pretty poorly now because of my current family situation and from missing a bunch of school, I obviously plan on doing much better in gr12 and I was planning on taking Virtual school for the maths because I work better at my own pace, but I’m worried UofT would think I’m cheating and not that I’m actually able to lock in or something like that because my 85% in math is suddenly 90% or more (My mom keeps telling me this so I’m kinda scared ?) and a lot of people keep telling me a lot of different things like grade 11 doesn’t matter only gr12 does, or that gr11 really matters. And then I get told if I fail a course, or get my average under 85% I can’t get into any “good” programs, so I really just don’t know what to believe, and I can’t exactly trust everything Reddit says all the time ? What should I do aska I’m really scared ? 

    heyyo, 

    yowza, this is a lotta words. hey, no shame in that, yappers are great because they give me lots of info to work with! 

    oh, and i’m super glad to hear that aska’s been helpful for you! i was in the same boat as you once so it’s always nice to hear i’m helping others who were in my shoes.

    nooooow first things first: failing a course, especially in grade 11, does not spell doom for your admission chances. for social sciences, uoft will be looking closest at your top six grade 12 u/m courses (assuming ontario?), including english. yes, they will look at your grade 11 marks, but failing a non-required course when you have an otherwise good record won’t be the end of the world.  

    also, side note…. yearbook course? maybe i’m just dumb, but i’ve never heard of yearbook-making as an actual, for-credit class. crazy times we live in, huh… 

    as for virtual school, that’s totally fine as long as it’s accredited (i’m assuming you’re referring to ovs here) or through your school board. and a jump from 85ish to 90ish is absolutely not a problem, in fact the admissions people often really like to see improvement! a jump of that much wouldn’t be suspicious. breathe easy, you will not end up on uoft’s most wanted list just for showing improvement. uoft doesn’t even HAVE a most wanted list… well, as far as i know. 

    you seem to be doing quite well regardless, but if you have any concerns about how missing school or a tough mental health stretch will affect you, you could also always fill out a request for special consideration after you apply.  

    finally, i hate to admit it but i am kind of a redditor too. yeah yeah, throw the tomatoes. 

    so, being an unfortunately chronic reddit user, i too was on r/ontariograde12s at your age and saw all the people absolutely losing it when they got, like, an 83% in a course. don’t let them convince you that an 86% average is somehow bad. that’s still within consideration for most utsg programs, is safe for a lot of utm/utsc programs, and is absolutely enough to get into “good” programs all over ontario. you just gotta remember that most of the people you see on those forums are equally clueless to how unis actually work, OR, if they’re in uni, they may only be aware of their specific circumstances. plus, i hate to say it, but there’s a lot of keeners on there. don’t feel bad comparing yourself to the worrywarts with 98% averages. 

    anyways, i don’t wanna yap for any longer than i have, but i hope i hit all your questions! best of luck with everything! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  life science,  programs

    admission categories: the scandalous truth??

    April 15, 2026

    Hii, I’m currently in grade 12 and I got accepted for an alternate offer at UTM, social sciences, when I originally applied for Life Sciences. I also applied for life sci at UTSG (but now have no hope of getting in🙁 ). So I’m wondering how hard is it to switch from social sci to life sci. Would I be able to get the pre reqs in my first year so I can apply for life sci for my second year. I’m really confused on weather I should to take the risk of accepting my social sciences admission and try to switch but also risk being in a program I don’t wanna to graduate with or not. Plsss help!! 

    heyyo, 

    my friend my friend my friend, you are far from the first person to be in this conundrum. luckily, there is a very simple answer for you and all those who have tread in your path. there’s a little secret: your admission category really doesn’t matter. 

    i know what you’re thinking: aska what do you MEAN the thing that defines whether or not I get into this school doesn’t even matter? has this all been a LIE??? 

    and i guess i should clarify that your category does matter for admission purposes (ie. checking for prereqs, controlling numbers). but once you’re in, the only reason it still exists is to get you slight priority enrollment in the courses relevant to your category. aaaaand that’s about it.  

    you typically enroll in your program(s) at the end of first year. as long as you have the necessary prerequisites for it (either first-year courses or high school courses), there’ll be no difference between you and another applicant who has a more “relevant” admission category. so the only thing you have to do is make sure you have those prereqs for the program you want (you can check here!). while you won’t have priority enrollment for these courses, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. personally, i was able to get into all the courses i wanted in first year, including a few outside of my admission category!

    alternatively, if the program you want is an “open” program, literally all you have to worry about is getting 4.0 credits in your first year. and boom, you’re in. 

    my advice would be to wait to see if you get a utsg offer (for life sci or another alternate) and if you weigh your options and want to come to uoft (duh), take one of the offers! but when you make your decision just know that you aren’t restricted to taking programs from within your admission category.  

    so don’t worry about graduating with a degree you never actually wanted. trust me, there are many opportunities to change your program. if you wake up on graduation day and realize “oopsies, i forgot to change my program”… well, don’t blame that one on aska. 

    here’s to you gallivanting around the medsci building this time next year! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • enrollment,  enrolment,  programs,  UTM

    believe it or not, NOT straight to jail

    April 13, 2026

    Hi aska 🙂 i had a few questions about placeholder programs for POSt. I’m pretty sure I won’t be getting into the T2 or T3 programs I want this round so I’ve enrolled in a T1 just to have something there for now until next year. However, i was wondering if it was allowed to be enrolled in it for the sake of having a program while not taking the courses required, instead just taking the ones for the T2 and T3 i want? I won’t get kicked out or barred or anything, will I? :c 

    heyyo, 

    ah yes program enrollment, definitely always a joyous time for many!

    i’m gonna assume you’re at utm, since that’s the only campus that refers to programs as t1, t2, t3 from what i can see? unless i’m really starting to lose my marbles, which i guess wouldn’t be too much of a surprise. 

    so first of all, i wouldn’t say FOR SURE that you won’t get into your t2 or t3 programs, since the first round doesn’t even end until april 30. and after that, you still have round 2, which reviews applications on an ongoing basis. also, from what i can see, type 2 programs have unlimited enrollment, so whether you get in or not will just come down to if you fulfill the entry requirements for that program. so before you freak out, check out the requirements for the program you’re interested in and you’ll know with (almost) certainty what your chances are.

    in the meantime, it is absolutely okay to take course requirements for the programs you wanna get into! you absolutely won’t get kicked out or barred or anything. believe it or not, NOT straight to jail. 

    YARN | Believe it or not, jail. Right away | Parks and Recreation (2009) - S02E05 Sister City | Video gifs by quotes | c9b0e159 | ?

    there’s just a few things you have to be careful about if you go that route. uno: some classes require you to be in a program to take them. from what i’ve seen this isn’t super common though. dos: IF you don’t get into your t2 or t3 programs at some point and you decide to do something else, you may have to take an extra semester or two to fulfill those program requirements. 

    with all that said, you’ll be ok! there is absolutely still hope for getting into the programs you want and even if that doesn’t happen this year, you can keep working towards them. 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • internal transfer,  tcard

    there can only be one (utorid)

    April 9, 2026

    Dear Sir or Madam, 

    I am currently a first year student at utm. I received and accepted offer from utsg last month. Now I am a bit nervous because I want to apply my program for second year Therefore, I want to ask: will I get a new utorid of utsg (since my utorid is of utm currently). If so, where can I get it?  Thank you. 

    heyyo, 

    ooo it’s not everyday that you guys address me as sir or madam. i’m kinda feeling like royalty??? 

    seriously though, you don’t have to address me like that. as fancy as i feel. 

    as for your actual question… first of all, congrats on getting your offer! my common sense tells me that you wouldn’t get a new one, cause that seems a bit redundant?

    i couldn’t find any info on your exact case (ie, campus transfer) but i did find this page for med student applications that says you should only have one utorid (for med students, this means that they’d use the same utorid that they had if they did their undergrad at uoft).

    so i think it’s pretty safe to say that you won’t need to worry about getting a new id after your transfer. 

    welcome to utsg and i hope you get into the program of your dreams!  

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • grad school,  law school,  non degree

    i am no elle woods jr.

    April 9, 2026

    Hi, I’m looking to apply as a non-degree student at U of T to strengthen my GPA for law school. I got my undergraduate degree in business in the UK, I graduated with high honours but WES converts my grades back to a 3.5, so needing to strengthen my GPA for law school. What is non-degree studying actually like, do you have to take a full course load or just a few courses. Also, does it matter what courses and level you take if just trying to strengthen gpa for law school or grad school? 

    heyyo, 

    this is a great question, it’s super interesting to hear from askers not in the more “common” fields of undergrad artsci, eng, rotman, etc. (ofc i love you all too. i mean, I’m one of you)! 

    you’ve probably already checked it out, but in case you haven’t, there’s a page about non-degree studies on the artsci website. tbh i didn’t know all too much about how the program works myself but reading the page was pretty helpful. turns out you don’t need to do a full course load. phew.

    i also have to admit that i’m not at all knowledgeable about law school, i can’t say i know much more about it than the average undergrad. which is to say, almost nothing. i am no elle woods jr.

    however, i tried to do a little but of research for you, and from what i gathered the consensus was that they care more about your GPA than individual courses. so i don’t think what courses and levels you take matter all that much. from my limited knowledge, it’s more your gpa and lsat scores that count. get studyin.

    as for grad school, i think it may be a bit different. i actually attended an event about how grad school admissions work and the relevance of classes does matter. i’m not 100% clear on how much the difficulty aspect matters though. i do know that they go absolutely crazy for “improvement” though, so if you can show that the grades you get in non-degree courses are a step up from your last year (and you had a general upward trajectory during your undergrad) that might help you out.  

    the only thing i’d warn you about if you wanna tackle “harder” courses (ie 300+ level) you may need some prereqs. you should check out the academic calendar to see if that’ll be a problem for the classes you want to take.  

    anyways, best of luck with your postgrad applications and if you do decide to take some courses at uoft, i wish you extra luck with that! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • academic success,  architecture,  course work,  daniels,  writing centre

    rubrics? rubrics for the poor?

    March 11, 2026

    Hi aska! I’m a first year student at the Daniel’s faculty (about to be a second year and have also studied a year prior at the university of Waterloo ) and I am having difficulties with the courses assignment outlines. Throughout high-school I was given very detailed assignment outlines and would average high 80s to mid 90s. When I first entered post secondary schooling at Waterloo I was able to perform to my best capabilities and average mid 80s to low 90s due to their detailed assignment outlines. However the switch to UofT has been difficult since the assignment outlines I get are either very vague and around 2-4 sentences in length, some without rubrics to accompany them. My marks are not at the level that I know I can achieve (around high 60s to high 70s). I was wondering how I would be able to get a more concrete understanding of the assignment and perform well on them. I do constantly ask professors, TA’s, and instructors for help but I find most of their responses to be completely useless or they don’t answer the question I was asking. What should I do? 

    heyyo, 

    i love your question so so much! because I’ve asked myself the same thing.  

    look, i know uoft talks about independent learning and self-discovery and all that great stuff. but sometimes when, y’know, important things depend on that independent learning, you’d really appreciate some clear guidelines. can anyone spare a rubric, anyone?! rubrics, please! 

    Alms For The Poor Robinhood GIF - Alms for the poor robinhood - Discover & Share GIFs

    obviously the first step here would be asking your ta or prof, but you already did that. so my first suggestion would be to try refining those questions. instead of asking generally “what should i do for the assignment?” or “how can i improve?” try asking about something more specific. like: “the assignment says i have to draw on x concept from the reading, could you clarify how that reading relates to the assignment material?” or “i noticed in my last assignment feedback that i could improve my sentence structure, could you give some concrete examples of sentences you felt could have used some work?” 

    oh, and if you haven’t been already, go to office hours to ask your questions. it’ll be way easier to get your points across and push for clarification one-on-one and in person. 

    if that doesn’t work… it might be time to do a little sleuthing. 

    sometimes the best advice you can get for assignments can come from indirect places. listen carefully in lecture to see if your prof says anything that could be applicable (did they spend five minutes ranting about run-on sentences? did they offhandedly mention that they appreciate brief introductions?) also, take a close look at past assignment feedback.  

    if all else fails (or even if everything does magically works out), you can take your work to a writing centre. i actually found out from your question that daniels has its own writing centre. voila! they can help with all stages of assignments and could help puzzle together what an assignment is asking for more specifically. 

    i really hope these tips help you and everyone else who is kinda fed up with vague assignments. i know that thinking through this for you for sure helped me a ton! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • askastudent announcement,  no one asked

    a herald of good news

    March 4, 2026

    reddit is not the only new frontier aska has ventured into lately — i have officially escaped the internet! 

    and where have i fled to, exactly? why, to innis college’s very own newspaper, the innis herald. 

    if you’ve ever been curious about the history of the askastudent project, why and when it got started (hint: a while ago), or why i still even exist in the age of r/uoft, go read my article (right here)!! 

    if you’re personally more a fan of physical media, or if you’re just an aska superfan, you can also go pick up a print copy of the paper at the innis college building (at the st george entrance or on the second floor library) or at the innis residence building across the street.

     

    happy reading! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • academic success,  courses,  first year,  keeners,  studying,  time management

    degree explorer nerds unite

    March 1, 2026

    Hi Aska, 

    I GOT MY ACCEPTANCE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO!!! I’ll be attending UTSG and studying psych (probs as a specialist)  

    So anyway, I was perusing the course catalogue and planning potential schedules for my myself because I’m a huge nerd, and it’s like a fun little puzzle to fit in all the pre-reqs and breadth requirements.  

    While I was playing around with this, I noticed that even after I fit everything in (yes, all four years of classes) I have an empty slot in my Fall 2026 term. So because it’ll be my first ever semester at uni, I want to fill that spot with a class that’ll set me up for success at uni.  

    Do you have any recs for intro-level classes I could take that help with learning how to study more efficiently/be better with time management? 

    heyyo, 

    first of all, CONGRATS ON YOUR ADMISSION!! 

    i was and am also a total nerd about course planning. i remember sitting in my high school library and messing around in timetable builder and degree explorer. yes, i was procrastinating on my assignments, but shut up, i was dealing with senioritis… 

    you prob already know but the one thing i will caution is that your plan will 100% change in some way. you may want to take a different elective here or there, there may be conflicts, your interests could change, or you might find out that the prof for a course you wanted to take has a 1.3/5 on ratemyprofessor.  

    ok, with that warning aside, as for your actual question: i did find some courses you might like, but they’re all about writing. don’t get me wrong, writing is probably one of the most skills for uni, but it does suck that there aren’t more options. the ones i found are: 

    i think any of those would be a great pick for you! you could also choose to do an elective in an area you might wanna minor in, better to test the waters in first year than realize you’re into classics in your last semester. 

    another option i’d recommend is a first year foundations seminar, since you can only take them in first year. because they’re designed for first years, they’ll focus on developing those critical skills. and they cover some super cool and niche topics: if you’ve ever wanted to do a course on the hamilton musical or the psychology of magic, this is your chance. and hey, would you look at that, there’s even one called the psychology of student success! maybe we should all be required to take that one… 

    i also wouldn’t worry too too much about learning things like time management from a curriculum. the best way to get a grasp on those skills is with experience, which you’ll get no matter what classes you take. and if you still feel like you need help, you can check out the many resources and workshops that uoft offers. 

    keep havin fun with that degree explorer of yours! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  failing,  getting into U of T

    religion class who?

    February 28, 2026

    Hey! I read a post about a failing mark you have answered but I still wanted to ask you myself because my situation is slightly different. I applied to Life Sci at St. George, Life Sci (Health Sci Stream) at Scarborough, and Psych and Brain Studies at Mississauga. So far, I have been admitted to Mississauga. The average of grade 11 marks was 88.2, of all grade 12 marks sent in November was 82.0, but the average for top 6 was 89.8. The issue is that I failed religion, it is neither a pre-requisite nor my top 6. 35 was written as my midterm mark on OUAC but now it will show 35 as a final mark and that I failed the course. My question is will all three programs send me an automatic rejection letter, even though it is not a pre-requisite and my other marks are all in the 90s? I mean, Mississauga accepted me even with the 35 as my midterm, so I want to assume they won’t care too, too much? If I retake it and I pass with mid 80s, will they consider my second attempt? Thank you!

    heyyo, 

    ooo i love that you did your research! i always love an aska archivist.  

     

    you’re right that uoft will only consider your top six in your average, with that including any required prereqs for your program. as you said, religion would be… neither of those for you.  

    i already think it wouldn’t really be a problem, but the fact that you’ve already gotten into utm is a really really good sign! (congrats, btw!) 

    you won’t get a rejection from a program you’ve already been accepted to, unless that admission was conditional, which I’m assuming it wasn’t. if the program would’ve autorejected you for failing a course, they wouldn’t have sent out an admission knowing your midterm was a 35. 

    soooo from here on out, let’s just pretend nothing happened with that course. religion who? 

    atp retaking the course would mean doing it this summer (unless your school has a weird semester system). no point in doing that since you’ll already have gotten your admission decision by then (it’ll be may by the latest).  

    best of luck with your last sem of high school and i hope you get all the admissions your heart desires! 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  averages,  life science,  social sciences

    admissions and averages and prereqs oh my

    February 24, 2026

    Hi! I am a grade 12 student who has applied for lifescience at all 3 campuses. I am scared that my final chemistry grade will end up low 70s. I will be able to get my admission average to mid to high 80s but should i be worried like I am scared that they will reject me for having a low grade in a science.

    Hi! I’m currently a grade 11 student in an Ontario high school, and I just recieved my final marks for semester 1. They range around 70-89, which I was really bumbed about. There were many ups and downs this semester. I’ve heard that grade 11 marks matter for university, and will look at my grades. I’ve always been curious to appy to uoft, espcially social sciences. Do I still have a chance of getting in, to uoft or any other social science program, if I do well next semester or in gr12? Thanks!

    heyyo, 

    i’ve decided to answer both of your questions in the same post because, guys, have you seen how many admissions questions i’ve gotten lately? i even added a new section to the faq page for you guys. now of course i love getting your questions but it might save YOU some time to check out that faq.  

    ok with that out of the way, i’m gonna do a bit of an infodump.  

    low chem grade?

    Megamind "No Bitches?" meme [3264x3264] : r/MemeRestoration

    at utsc and utm life sci admissions are generally high 70s and low to mid 80s, respectively, but as you mentioned, yes, the admission average for life sci at utsg is mid-high 80s. however chem is NOT a required course for the admission stream. this means that if it’s your lowest mark (or second-lowest, if you’re taking 8 grade 12 courses), it won’t be included in your top 6 average that uoft looks at. 

    now you may ask, aska, how is chem not required for life sci? and the answer is… well, it depends. some upper-year programs of study do require you to have taken high school chem to enroll, but they don’t require you to have gotten a specific grade in the class, just that you passed it. 

    wait wait wait, so does grade 11 reallllly matter? 

    worry not my friend, while uoft DOES look at grade 11 marks, what you get in grade 12 will matter more. 70-89 is a pretty wide range and since the admission average for soc sci at uoft’s main campus is mid-high 80s, you’re probably already in a good spot! i also have to mention that uoft has two other campuses: utsc (located in scarborough) recommends around mid 70s for soc sci programs, and utm (in mississauga) asks for an overall average of 75 and min 70 in english. totally apply to all three! and yes, I’m a bit traitorous for this, but… you should definitely have a shot at soc sci programs at other unis too. 

    (i know, i know…)

    hope this helped both of you! for any other future uoft hopefuls reading this please go check out the faq section, you may have your question answered without having to wait for your dear old aska to respond. 

    cheers, 

    aska 

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  • failing,  repeating course,  sociology

    a fail, too, shall pass

    February 16, 2026

    I have failed SOC101 and am wondering if what do I do now. I failed it in my first semester in my first year of university and am absolutely horrified. The prof teaching the course just made the content and course in general not enjoyable. I don’t know how to tell my parents. I worked so hard and messed up two big assignments which led to the failure. Im so scared on what to do next. It feels like the end of the world. I wan to major in psychology and want to be a psychiatrist and am genuinely worried that this will effect my future plans.

    heyyo, 

    aw im sorry to hear about your situation :/ 

    first of all, i want you to know it’s totally normal to fail a course, especially in first year. you’re just getting used to what uni is all about, there’s a lot going on, it can be overwhelming. a lot of other people are in your boat, and it absolutely isn’t the end of the world. hell, one of my professors once told me that they failed a first-year course in the same discipline that they’re now teaching. as for your parents… i’m no expert but if you have a good relationship with them it might help to talk to them to get that burden off your shoulders; it may be hard but it’ll feel better in the end. if not, don’t panic, because i promise you this doesn’t derail your whole uni career. 

    i’m assuming you’re referring to soc100 at utm or utsg, since there doesn’t seem to be a soc101 on any campus? either way, both soc100 courses aren’t requirements for the psych major. 

    now ok, it’s a bit weird i’m so enthusiastic about this, but that is actually awesome news. because this means you have a lot more choice! it’s up to you if you want to take the course again or not. imo, since it’s not necessary for your program, you may not want to redo a course you’ve already struggled with. though, if you ever want to minor in soc or take upper year courses in it, you may have to take the course again.   

    if you do decide to take the course again (and even if you don’t, tbh), it might help to figure out how you could improve your assignments in the future. guessing it was prolly a paper of some kind (?) in which case you could always bring it to your college/campus writing centre to get some feedback!! 

    also, if you’re worried about med/grad school admissions since you mentioned wanting to be a psychiatrist, i have more good news for you: the grades you get in your first semester of first year are the LEAST important thing about your academic career.  

    despite being a bit late in response to this i reallllly hope this helped and that you feel a bit better about everything!! have courage my friend, and know aska is cheering you on from the shadows.

    cheers, 

    aska 

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