• architecture

    what kinds of things do you guys think i know…

    February 24, 2015

    Hello askas,

    I am an urban planning graduate applying to MA and MLA at Daniels and UBC.?Since high school, I have always wanted to study architecture, but wasn’t
    in the right environment (language barrier as an immigrant born in a?non-design family in Asia) to interpret creative stimulations until myundergraduate study. My portfolio was mostly projects from planning, with a?few handcrafts, drawing, and photography works. This is my second time?applying, I am hoping for the best, although quite intimidated by the works?from senior students in the master programs at Daniels judging from their?critique photos online.

    Through design studios I began to pick up many trends, ideas, and?principles that drive the creative process, and I am in constant amusement?of how unpredictable the methodologies to design projects are. Considering?the breadth of application through design in solving current issues, the?social, environmental, and creative responsibilities each proposal holds,?and the complex impact each physical addition would impose, I struggle to?understand the “whole” picture, let alone propose and justify my projects?with confidence. This is especially evident in the work field when almost?every decision was driven by cost, structural feasibility, and external?factors outside of our control as designers.

    I would imagine each individual have different learning style, and the?triggers to our imaginative tendencies vary, but as someone who truly had?to begin the pursuit of this profession from a blank slate, I would love?for you to share your experience on the types of activities, interests,?knowledge, and habits that contribute to the types of thinking possessed by?architects to draw inspirations from in their design. What are some?qualities of architecture and even large scale projects that win your?admiration, and also, qualities of architects (students or professionals,?even starchitects) as characters that contribute to the quality of their?designs and recognition of their excellence.

    These are some incredibly vague questions, I’m sure you might be thinking.?Although I am trying to stir a discussion towards your idea on the thinking?process of architects, your answer on any single aspect of these questions?will be appreciated!

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    i appreciate all the thought you put into your question, i really do. it was a nice read, like a little article, on this monday evening. however, i don’t think i can be of much use to you.

    the kernel of your question, from what i can see, is, “what are some qualities of architecture and even large-scale projects that win your?admiration, and also, qualities of architects (students or professionals,?even starchitects) as characters that contribute to the quality of their?designs and recognition of their excellence”?

    that’s a pretty good question. i just think you asked the wrong person.

    listen, i’m impressed when people can just get buildings to stand straight up without falling down. i can’t even make a house of cards.

    what i can help a bit with is your anxiety about applying to uoft. i can see you’re stressed about being an international student, and i’m sure the fact that this is your second time around, so to speak, is discouraging as well.

    all i can say is that uoft is an incredibly international school. we have people from all over, and not only do we have them, we have a?lot of them. so you can rest easy if you’re concerned about that affecting your application.

    if you want to see how you might fit into the world of architects, i’d recommend reading stuff by actual architects in the city – ’cause honestly, i could try to give you my opinion, but i’d just be embarrassing myself. all i know is CORINTHIAN COLUMNS! that’s a thing in architecture, right? maybe?

    one of our most famous architecture-writers (though he’s not originally trained as an architect…i think) is shawn micallef. he edits spacing magazine (which i highly recommend) and he has a column in?The Star. if you want opinions about architects and architecture, i’d start there. (he also wrote an excellent book about architecture in toronto).

    here are some publications about architecture and architects that may interest you. you might also want to browse aska’s architecture tag to get more of a feel for the daniels faculty and uoft architecture students in particular.

    good luck with your applications!

    aska

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  • summer

    when can i go on vacation???

    February 23, 2015

    Hi aska, you beautiful, beautiful soul. *you can sing the old Jesse McCartney song because I sure am* I just have a quick question about summer course dates at UTM – when the hell are they going to show up? I can’t find out when they’ll be released anywhere ;-; I need to find out what half of summer a course is offered during so I can start planning my holidays, you know? ty kindly

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    jesse mcartney? there’s a reference from an old fogey, to an old fogey. hey – right back atcha.

    unfortunately i don’t know when the summer dates will come out – just make sure to keep checking this page for updates.

    what you can do is make tentative plans based on the summer 2014 dates.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  life science

    why won’t life sci. be my wife, sigh?

    February 23, 2015

    Hey!

    Lemme cut to the chase, cause I know you’re busy. I got a 63 in Advanced Functions, and I want to get into UTM’s Life Sciences program. My question is, if I bust my chops and do really well on my 5 other courses and manage an 85 average, do you think I’ll be able to make it into the program? They don’t look at individual marks, do they?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i mean, i don’t REALLY know what they do at admissions. maybe they just toss all your names in a cup, and then whatever names the cup spits up are the ones they accept.

    however. given that utm’s life science program requires certain specific courses, i would say that it’s not entirely based on admission averages. that works for you and against you.

    it works against you in that they will notice that your math mark is somewhat weaker than your other ones, because they will be looking at individual courses. however, if you can manage to pull off very strong marks in all the rest of your classes (and especially in calculus) they might be inclined to treat advanced functions as an anomaly.

    tl;dr: the 63% is in the past, and having an 85% average wouldn’t hurt. so do keep trying. you can do it.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • UTM

    managing utm management

    February 23, 2015

    I’m worried about whether or not I will get into the upper year management program, do you know any people who got into it with moderate gpa’s? My GPA is currently 2.5 and I don’t know if that’s enough. Also, what happens if you don’t get in? Can you retry by just essentially doing your first year again?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    today on, ‘hey, what campus are you from?’ aska makes a WILD GUESS that you’re in utm management. if you’re NOT in utm management, then, well, you should’ve told me that.

    utm’s department of management website doesn’t make any specific statements about what GPA you need to be competitive – mostly because, like with most things in life, it all depends on how good everyone else is, and not so much on how good you are.

    i don’t know if a 2.5 will be enough. you can talk to a management advisor and your registrar about it – honestly, i think it would be smart of you to come up with a back-up POSt or two, in case it doesn’t work out this year. management’s pretty competitive, and while i have a firm no-admission-prediction policy, a 2.5 is not great, for such a competitive program.

    you should be able to repeat all three prerequisite courses if you didn’t get a 63% in any of them – they’ll just appear as extras on your transcript next year. however, i would definitely recommend you discuss this option with your registrar before taking it.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • grad school

    so shall work, so shall grades

    February 23, 2015

    Hi there,

    I had a question regarding UofT’s distinction policy. I’m currently in the advanced standing Master of Social Work program at UoT. It’s a one year program for me and the course load is equivalent to 8 Half-Credit Courses [H=0.5 credit; Y=1 full credit course]. So if I wanted to graduate with distinction or high distinction, what GPA would I need by the end of the year? Please let me know.

    Thank you,
    Sharon Philip

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’ve had a bit of difficulty reaching someone at the faculty of social work who can answer your question. it’s almost like university staff are super busy and important people. who knew???

    the person you need is Sharon Bewell (416-978-6364), so if you can reach her, she’ll know the answer.

    i’ll give you my most educated shot in the dark, but i can’t promise i’m right, so just keep that in mind.

    since the faculty of social work’s grading scale is the same as the faculty of arts & science’s, and since that grading scale is regulated by the university of toronto’s policies about graduate schools more broadly, my best guess is that distinction and high distinction – if that exists at factor inwentash – follows the model set up by the faculty of arts & science. the grades are the same, so, likely, the distinction is the same, too.

    again, since i wasn’t able to reach anyone at the faculty, this is just my BEST GUESS, alright? the best thing to do is try your very best to reach Sharon Bewell and confirm.

    xoxo and happy day back from reading week :'(,

    aska

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  • st. mike's

    SMC1

    February 12, 2015

    I applied to SMC one and only had to rank my programs.. It said there was a personal statement? Does that come after or something?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    did you apply following through the steps in this link  if you didn’t, do it now.

    if you did, and you weren’t given the opportunity to fill out the personal statement, i would call SMC’s registrar and ask them what’s going on, and whether you’ve made a mistake or missed something somewhere along the way.

    hope you have FUN with ONE!

    aska

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  • OSAP,  part-time

    but i FEEL like i’m here all the time

    February 12, 2015

    Hey Aska,

    I am currently taking 4 courses, one full year and three half year courses, for a total of 2.5 FCEs. I would like to drop one of the half year courses but if I have only 2 FCEs will I become a part-time student? I am on OSAP so will this affect that as well?

    I wouldn’t mind being a part-time student but only for this semester- I want to take 3 courses in the summer so if I do end up going for part time, how difficult would it be to do that then change back to full time in May?

    Thank you!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if i could have one wish in all my life, it would be that people told me what campus they were on before they asked a question. alas, there seems to be no genie in sight for me.

    in any case, on all three campuses, you need to be taking at least 3.0 FCEs in the fall/winter terms to be full-time (it’s articulated slightly differently on each campus, but that’s what it boils down to).

    so if you’re in 2.5 credits, then you’re already a part-time student. that may affect your OSAP, and i would recommend talking to the financial counsellor at your local registrar’s office about it.

    applying for OSAP and registering for courses in the summer term is a completely separate process from registration and OSAP in fall/winter, so if you’re a part-time student now, that shouldn’t at all affect any future semesters. all you have to do to be full-time in the summer is sign up for at least 1.5 FCEs.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • CR/NCR

    debit or credit/no credit?

    February 12, 2015

    Hey, I’ve been wondering; I’m taking a class that isn’t a requirement for my major, but it is a prerequisite for a class I want to take next year. Am I able to credit/no credit this course if it is necessary?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    rule of thumb is this: if the course is only a prerequisite, as in, you just need to have the credit to take the next course, then you should be fine credit/no crediting it. just make sure you do actually pass the course and get the credit – otherwise you may be in a bit of a pickle.

    HOWEVER if you need to get a certain mark in this course to take the next course (e.g. you need at least a 90% in MAT139Y1 to take MAT237Y1) DO NOT credit/no credit it. if you do, the department will have no way of knowing whether you actually got a good enough mark to take the next class.

    if the course calendar confuses you in any way about this, you can always contact the department that administers the course and ask for clarification.

    truly yours,

    aska

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  • commuters

    the TTC and i are in a serious relationship

    February 12, 2015

    would it be stupid for me to commute 2 hours to school at U of T? i really want to attend the school, but my parents don’t want me to move out. not sure if it would be practical, and i’d be spending a lot of time/money on transport. i plan on studying english though, so i could just read on the train. what do you think?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    as someone who has both commuted to and lived on residence at uoft, i feel uniquely qualified to answer this question.

    firstly, a lot of people commute to uoft. according to this UofT Magzine article, about 85% of uoft students are estimated to commute to school. if you’re going to commute, uoft is a pretty good place to do it. most people know how you feel, and there are lots of resources for commuters, like commuter dons, lockers and lounges for people who don’t have their own room on campus.

    that said, commuting isn’t fun, and 2 hours is a bit on the long side.

    my travel time was 1.5 hours long when i was commuting. i put it to good use – i did my readings on the train, drafted e-mails, wrote essays that i forgot about the night before. more often than not, i slept through a large portion of my morning commute.*

    so yes, you can get stuff done on your commute, you definitely won’t be alone, AND it is much, much cheaper than living in res or renting a house (unless you violate some lease agreement and stuff like eight people into two rooms).

    in my opinion, the greatest drawback to commuting – which i never hear anyone talk about – is the drain on your energy. no one ever believes it, because “how can you get tired just by sitting still???” but it’s true. commuting will sap the energy out of you like nothing else, and it just whittles away the time that you actually feel productive enough to do stuff.

    as everything, there are pros and cons. if you have some way of avoiding a long commute, i’d always recommend that. but if commuting is the most practical, financially reasonable solution for you and your family, then you will get along just fine. you might even get some work done on the train.

    good luck on your travels,

    aska

    * once you become a Level 500 Train Queen, you receive the power of being able to sleep for the EXACT AMOUNT OF TIME that it takes for your train to get to its destination. then you wake up just as the train is pulling in. you have to train for a long time before you become that skilled, though (get it? train? like sports? but also…train?)

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  • UTM

    just LEAVE

    February 12, 2015

    Hey Aska!

    I am currently a first year at utm. I have been considering to get a college diploma then come back and finish my degree. I think it works better for the field I want to get into. I am just not sure how would uoft look at the credits I have here so far. Like, do I have to let them know I left temporarily or what I did during my time off?? I don’t want the credits I have at the end of this year go to waste.. WOuld I have to reapply?

    thank you

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you don’t have to let them know you’re taking time off, and you don’t have to reapply when you came back. once you’re here, you’re here, and you can come and go as you please.

    you DO have to let them know about any courses you’ve taken at other institutions for transfer credit purposes. you can read more about transfer credit?here.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • fees

    why am i paying if i’m not even there

    February 10, 2015

    Hello! So I’ll be done all of my credits to graduate after the fall semester of 2016. My question is – how does that work? Because I will not need to continue school into the winter semester, so will I still have to pay fees for that winter semester? Or will I be done and all set and just waiting for convocation? Ideally, I’d like to not have to pay tuition for a semester during which I am enrolled in no classes. Thank you! Bless your soul.

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    if you’re a faculty of arts & science student in the downtown campus who’s?NOT taking computer science or bioinformatics, then what you have been paying the university so far have been program fees.

    that means that if you are a full-time student in the fall/winter term – that’s 3.0 credits or above – then you pay one fixed fee that applies to all full-time students, whether they’re taking 3 credits or 7.

    if you will be taking UNDER 3.0 credits in the fall – which is likely – then you will be paying per course fees. that means you will get charged a certain amount of money for every course you take. if you don’t take any in the winter, you won’t get charged for the winter.

    easy as that!

    if you want to peruse an official (but much more boring and less #cool and #relevant than aska) document where you can verify this information, look here.

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • admissions

    mail??? do i get that through my google+ account???

    February 10, 2015

    Hey Aska, I got accepted through OUAC a while ago, getting into UTM’s For Psy program as well as U of T St George for criminology. I was wondering if there were any supplementary forms that they require me to send in after using the JOIN U of T website and if they send you a package in the mail regarding your acceptance and any forms of such (I got one from another uni I applied to, that’s why I’m curious!) Thanks (:

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    no, there shouldn’t be anything else you have to submit.

    yes, you do get a package in the mail. it’s very beautiful. probably the most beautiful thing uoft will ever give you, not counting the beautiful haze of simultaneous gratitude and panic that hits you like a sack of bricks when you graduate.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    an admissions question throws aska for a loop (for once)

    February 10, 2015

    What does U of t mean by a minimum 70 course average? DOES THIS MEAN ALL 8 OF MY COURSES NEED TO BE 70 EVEN IF ITS NOT IN MY TOP 6!?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m sorry it’s taken so long to answer this question. to tell you the truth, i’ve been looking at it every week, just wondering what on earth you’re talking about, and whether i have enough context to even give you an answer.

    despite the fact that i don’t actually think i do have enough information to answer the question, i’m gonna give it my best guess. because we answer every single question we get here on askastudent, dammit, even if they make no sense.

    any admissions average will be determined based on your best six 4U/M courses, BUT i can’t figure out which program – at any of three campuses – would have this kind of cut-off. all the ones i can think of are at least mid-80s.

    the only thing i can think of is that you found your way onto the course calendar and started looking at subject POSt requirements. if that’s the case, you should know that those apply to first-year courses, NOT high school courses. so stop panicking about it.

    peace,

    aska

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