• failing,  summer

    *sweeps previous mark hastily under rug*

    May 5, 2014

    So I did horrible in MAT136, and I failed the course. Does that mean I have to retake it in summer school to enrol in my subject post? (This is for Life Sciences Students by the way). I’m honestly also worried about my CGPA. After I retake it, will it cover up my failing mark?
    – Please post this as anonymously

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if MAT136 is a prerequisite for your desired subject POST, then yeah, definitely take it in the summer. just make sure that if the POSt is a type 2 or 3, wait until after you’ve completed the summer course to request the POSt on ROSI – otherwise you’ll be refused because you don’t have the requirement yet.

    unfortunately, the mark you get in summer school won’t cover up the failing mark from the first time. both marks will appear on your transcript and be weighted equally. sorry about that; however, if you do really well the second time around, you’ll at least boost your GPA.

    also, whaddaya mean “please post this anonymously”? do i ever NOT post people’s questions anonymously? sheesh! what do you take me for, some random stranger on the internet?

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. in all seriousness, i never publish people’s names?or any other personal information, either on this blog or on any of aska’s other social media outlets. if you go far enough back in the archives, you’ll see that some previous askas elected to include?people’s first names when they signed their questions with a name, but no aska has or ever will publish any of your private information, anywhere, or use it for any other reason than to communicate with you.?aska is straight up confidential business, yo, so don’t worry.

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  • GPA,  UTM

    does anyone NOT stress about marks?

    May 5, 2014

    Hi,

    I know you got tons of messages out there asking about more important problems but I just kind of freak out with my GPA right now. I registered for Management program in UTM and (I think) the program’s requirement is high. I don’t know? I just push myself over the edge a bit and now I am in a constant-panic state. Is 3.15 a bad GPA? So bad that I will be kicked out of school and never get the chance to be anywhere anymore and that means I simply have to dig my own grave (literally) and die there? I’m sorry, I just kind of? anyways, thank you for reading my question.

    Kind Regards.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    oh, man. never make assumptions about the kinds of questions i get, because you’ll almost definitely be wrong. about a third of the questions i get are about GPA, so don’t worry – i take them all very seriously. and hey, i’m a student too. i understand that GPA is like a legitimate concern and takes up a lot of any student’s headspace. my head is probably 40% worrying about marks, 20% thinking about Game of Thrones, 10% worrying about not tripping over anything, and 30% worrying about my eye liner.*

    anyway, on to your question. whether or not 3.15 is a bad GPA is almost entirely subjective based on your goals for yourself. is it bad enough to be put on probation? no. if your CGPA is above a 1.50, you will be in good standing.

    is it good enough to get into management? (by which i assume you mean the management specialist, though i could be very wrong, because there are multiple “management” programs at UTM). i don’t know, and UTM doesn’t provide a specific cut-off GPA, so i’m not going to speculate. however, you’ve done the best you could, and now you just wait and see. if you get in, great. if not, that’s your opportunity to find something else that gets you excited and makes you happy and that you can be awesome at.

    capice? no digging of graves. that is just silliness. school programs are just not important enough to feel that distressed about. you are great and you are doing fine, and you’re going to pull through one way or another. and if you are feeling/continue feeling disproportionately down or anxious about school, then i’d suggest thinking about visiting the UTM Health & Counselling Centre, who may be helpful to you.

    i hope that helps.

    best,

    aska

    * though i really shouldn’t worry about it – my eye liner game is always strong. ALWAYS.

    **i say “put on probation” because they don’t kick people?out of school right off the bat for bad marks, at either UTM, UTSG, or UTSC.

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  • failing,  probation

    a probation consideration

    May 5, 2014

    Hey so basically i screwed up my first year, failed a couple of courses for my laziness and lack of work but now that it is time to apply for SubjectPost i don’t have the marks of the 4 require credits and i am pretty sure i will go on academic probation. My question is what will be my next step should i redo first year and get my 4 credits?? is that even allowed?? i really have no clue what to do, since i am not enrolled in a SubjectPost when am i eligible to choose my courses for next year. Sadly i probably be looking into 5th year but i guess i just really want to know what my options are. Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you are put on probation (and i don’t know whether or not you will be – you’ll have to wait for the school to tell you that), the first thing to do is something that’s maybe not so obvious because it’s not a super formal thing, but it is incredibly helpful. “what is it????” i hear you ask on the edge of your seat. well…

    take stock of your school situation. probation kind of gives you an opportunity to take a breather and ask yourself, 1) why you think you’re in this position, 2) what you wanted to get out of university, 3) whether you’re getting it and 4) what your next steps should be. probation isn’t a punishment; it’s an opportunity to make a decision about your future. so that’s what i’d do if i were in your shoes.

    if you haven’t completed 4.0 FCEs, you won’t be eligible to enter into a subject POSt. that means that if/when you come off probation (or, alternately, if you just return normally in fall 2014), you’ll have to continue taking courses, effectively as a first-year student, until you’re eligible to enrol into a POSt. those courses may not be the same as the ones you took this year, they will just be ones that you are able to/want to enrol in (i.e. because you’ve completed the prereqs or because they don’t have prereqs).

    finally, i’d highly recommend that, whether or not you go on probation, you make an appointment with your registrar’s office. they can give you some specific advice about how to deal with this past year, and what steps you can take to improve in the future. like, i’m super helpful and all, but i don’t know you. i can only do so much to help your mysterious, anonymous situation, blurring hazily in the virtual ether of my computer screen, so close, and yet so far…

    also, the registrar’s office won’t go on random, poetic* tangents while they’re helping you, so that’s a plus.

    aska

    *i’m using “poetic” in the loosest sense of the word.

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  • admissions

    donut panic

    May 5, 2014

    AHHHHHHH. So I’m applying to St. George? Humanities next year and I just got my second semester mid term. My averages are 80-85 and up except for biology which is a 78. Will this significantly affect my entrance?

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

    hey there,

    AHHHHH. sorry, it’s a monday; just gotta do a little shouting into the void, ygm?

    my friend, there are a lot of factors that affect admission, and i can’t comment on how certain things may or may not influence your application. you are a special snowflake and everyone’s case is different from one another’s. however, you can take a look at the anticipated grade ranges of those accepted to uoft in 2014 for each program, and gauge your chances by comparing your (current and next year’s anticipated) average to those numbers.

    note that the numbers for 2014 may not be exactly the same as 2015, so don’t take them as gospel, but just as a rough guide giving you a bit of context about where you may stand next year.

    you’ll probably still end up a nervous wreck in grade 12, checking OUAC every five minutes like an old guy checking the lottery numbers, but?i hope you’ll be at least slightly less of a mess after this post.*

    and please, try not to worry so much. make sure you work as hard as you can and complete the prerequisites for your intended program, and then try to take comfort?in the fact that you’ve done everything you can. after you’ve worked hard and done your part, it’s in the university’s hands to make a decision. obsessing about it won’t help any.?go?out for an ice-cream or something instead. trust me, your hair’ll start greying much later that way.

    cheers,

    aska

    *askastudent: making people slightly less of a mess than they were before, since 17 A.D.

     

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  • ROSI

    ROSI shenanigans

    May 1, 2014

    Hi,
    I’m a full-time student who just finished my first year and I noticed that on ROSI, where it says that I am invited for the 2014 Fall/2015 Winter session, it says part-time even though I was full-time over this school year and I’m registered full-time right now for the summer. Should I be worried or is ROSI just being silly?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    there could literally be so many reasons for this that i don’t even know where to begin. i’m answering this a little late, so if it’s still showing that you’re part-time, i’d just go to…yep, you guessed it…your college registrar’s office! ask them about it and they can go onto your ROSI and see exactly what the issue is.

    *whistles quietly* if there’s something strange in your student account *whistling increases in volume* who you gonna call (your college registrar!) *begins singing at full volume* if it’s something weird and it don’t look good *yells at the TOP OF MY LUNGS* WHO YOU GONNA CALL?? (YOUR COLLEGE REGISTRAR!!!11!1!)

    pop culture references, yeah. being relevant and down with the kids. whoo. awesome. hippity-hop.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • course material

    feeling bookish

    May 1, 2014

    Hi,

    I have enrolled in PHL210 for this summer and i was wondering what texts/course materials i would need. I tried searching for an online course syllabus but could not find one. I’m not sure if you’re the proper person to be asking so i apologize if i should be raising this question somewhere else.

    Thank You.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    don’t you worry, pet, i’m ALWAYS the proper person to ask. or if i’m not, i definitely enjoy chastising people a bit before sending them on their merry way. fortunately for you, that’s not the case here.

    i don’t know how you found your books for fall/winter, but the way people usually do it is through the uoft bookstore website. if you take a look to the right of their homepage, you’ll see a little box that says ‘Find Your Textbooks Now!’ click on that and a white box should come up. click the ‘Go’ button on that box, and then you should be asked to login through ROSI. login, and then pick the summer term at your campus, and it should provide you with all the books you’ll need for the courses you enrolled in.

    if the books aren’t coming up, it is probably because the prof hasn’t provided the bookstore with a list of materials. in that case, i would just sit tight until your first class, and the prof will likely tell you then all the things you need to buy. some profs use the bookstore and some don’t, but don’t pull your hair out over it if nothing is coming up.

    hope that’s helpful. enjoy your philosophizing!

    best,

    aska

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  • depression,  suspension

    academic suspension and taking care of yourself

    May 1, 2014

    hi there, I’m currently being suspended since 2013 Sep. I just want to know what can I do to re-enter the campus. I’m not that sunshine kind of people, when I missed the Orientation my first year, I didn’t get to know too much people. Not even talk too much. Then slowly getting depress and miss classes etc. Admission sent me an email about suspension and told me to book appointment with skill center. I do and I sent two email in one week between, but no reply so I even more depressed. I check the Acedamic Calender, it doesn’t talk about how to return the campus. So that’s the reason I came here. I also want to know is there any mental health center I can go and seek for some help in UTM?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you have been suspended since September 2013, then your suspension should be up after one calendar year, by September 2014, and at that point you should be able to register in courses again and return to campus. however, if you’re having trouble finding information about the terms of your suspension specifically, then i’d really encourage you to talk to your registrar’s office and ask them these questions. the registrar’s office is there to help, and especially if you’re on suspension, it’s a good idea to talk with them about next steps and transitioning back into school, as well as to answer any questions you may have.

    if you’ve sent an e-mail to book an appointment with academic skills, that’s great. give them a bit of time to reply – they may be busy and are just taking a little while to get back to you.

    also, it may be that they can’t book an appointment for you since you’re not currently registered, but either way, i’d say that phoning or visiting the skills centre in person to discuss how and if they can help you would be your next step. it’s up to you to seek out resources while you’re on suspension that’ll help you ease back into school as smoothly as possible, and the skills centre is definitely an excellent resource, so don’t hesitate to call or speak to them in person.

    finally, if you think that you’re struggling with your mental health and it’s impacting your daily life/school, then i think it’s a great idea to seek some help from UTM. i’m no ball of sunshine either, but there’s a difference between being unsociable (which i am) and missing classes occasionally (which i have done), and having a condition that affects your mental health. UTM’s Health & Counselling Centre would be the place to go for some help; just call the Counselling & Psychiatric Offices to make an appointment. if you think that your mental health is negatively affecting you in any way, then absolutely the best thing to do is go and see a doctor about it. trust me, you’re far better off talking to them than to me about these things, despite my exorbitant charm and beauty.

    all the best,

    aska

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  • failing,  math,  stats,  summer

    your status on summer stats

    May 1, 2014

    hey, so I most likely failed my MAT137 course. I was only required to take the 135/136 combo but for some reason I opted for the full year harder 137 option. Anyways, too late now. My question is, if I retake the course in summer school, what does my transcript look like? And also I was planning on doing STA247 over the summer which has MAT135Y1/MAT137Y1/MAT157Y1 listed as prereqs. (Though there must be some error as MAT135 is an H course). Can I still take STA247?? I was really hoping on taking it so I can lessen my course load for next year. STA247 is “Probability with Computer Applications” so maybe because I got a good mark in my CSC165 Mathematical Expression and Reasoning for Computer Science course that may somewhat void my MAT137 fail?? Thanks.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you’ve taken a course and you fail it, then you take the same course again, both marks will appear on your transcript and be weighted equally. the passed course wouldn’t cancel out the mark of the previous, failed course.

    as for STA247, if you were to take and pass MAT137 in the ‘F’ term of the summer, and STA247 was offered in the ‘S’ term of the summer, then you would theoretically be able to take it. however, i’m taking a look at the timetable for stats and it looks like STA247 is offered in the ‘F’ term of the summer. so no luck on that one.

    CSC165 isn’t listed as a prereq for STA247, so i don’t think that’ll affect your ability to enrol in STA247 in the summer. i mean, good for you for doing well, and all. that’s groovin‘. it just won’t affect your ability to get into stats for the summer, unfortunately. maybe you can consider taking another one of your 2014-2015 courses in the summer if you’re really set on lessening your course load for next year?

    best of luck, friendo, and try to remember not to stress too much about this, and to go outside this summer.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • grades

    get that mark outta my sight!

    April 29, 2014

    quick question: if I took a course that I was excluded from as it was not needed for my program requirements and failed it, is it possible to remove it from my records or transcript?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you have a really good reason for withdrawing the course, you can go to your registrar’s office and file a petition. however, usually, once the mark is on your transcript, it’s on there permanently. sorry about that, dude!

    however (and here’s your silver lining), you should note that if the course was an exclusion, it should have been designated an ‘extra’ on your transcript, meaning that the mark will not count towards your GPA and it will not be counted as credit towards your degree. you can read more about that here under ‘”Extra” Courses: 100-series, Repeating and Excluded Courses,’ #3. Exclusions.

    best,

    aska

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  • extracurricular

    ex-co’s

    April 24, 2014

    hi Aska,

    I have been trying to get involved in extra-curricular activities since the start of the year, but I just don’t have time (big shocker there). I will be doing summer school this summer. do you know if extra-curricular activities run during the summer as well (clubs, teams, etc.)?

    Thanks.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    lots of extra-curricular activities run in the summer! and good on you for wanting to participate in them rather than just chasing down the ice-cream truck and taking afternoon naps, like i do every summer. i’d recommend reading through this list, picking out what interests you, and then contacting those groups to ask if they are continuing into the summer. i’m sure you’ll find something interesting.

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • OSAP,  probation

    osap probation declaration

    April 24, 2014

    hey,
    I was put on osap probation for dropping below 3.0 credits because I realized I would fail some courses. Then during the spring semester I dropped another course. These happened due to personal reasons (no medical certificates to back anything up though) and I’m pretty sure I can do a lot better than this year. So having been put on probation will I be suspended?

    Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    when you’re put on OSAP probation, you stay on probation for 12 months. during that time, you’re expected to pass all the courses you register for. if you do, you’ll be taken off probation. if you don’t, you’ll be restricted from receiving OSAP for one school year.

    take a look at Question #19 to read more about it, but note that this PDF is a 2012-2013 document, so i’d recommend you call financial aid to double-check, just in case something’s changed since then.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • failing,  UTM

    you’ve answered your own question, bud

    April 24, 2014

    i go to utm i started the year taking more classes but basically i dropped?out of all my courses except 1 i want to go back to utm in the fall, but
    this years been a lost cause and i want my cgpa to suffer as little as?possible?even if i aced the exam in my 1 course i’d still fail the class?is there anyway for me to not have the bad grade i get in this course show?up on my transcript? i’m pretty sure the answer is no i need to be taking?at least one course to sign up for courses next year so i just need to?study my ass off take the bad grade and do better next year right?

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

    hey there,

    utm says that “[o]nce a course has been completed it can only be removed under extreme extenuating circumstances presented through a petition to the Committee on Standing. Be aware that petitions for removal of a completed course are not normally granted,” so…basically, yeah, the chances are likely that the marks on your transcript will stay as they are.

    if you want to improve your GPA, it’s most likely that you’ll have to do it the good, old-fashioned way: by working hard in the terms to come.

    best of luck to ya,

    aska

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  • probation,  UTSC

    probing the rules on probation

    April 24, 2014

    Hi aska,

    So if I’ve attempted 3.0 credits and one of them is a Credit/No credit (so only 2.5 is being assessed for my CPGA), and I still eligible to get put on academic probation?

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    so, yes, UTSC says you need to have attempted 3.0 FCEs in order for your standing to be assessed, but i know how confusing the word “attempted” can be in this context to a student (“what do you mean, attempted? i did the work! i attempted to show up to class on time!” etc. etc.). however, since CR/NCR courses count as degree credit, you’ll still be assessed at the end of this term. just because you have a CR/NCR, that does not exempt you; they’re just going to use your other courses which do have final grades on them to assess your academic standing.

    however, i happen to know that the rules are going to be changing in regards to this very soon on the downtown campus, so it’s probably a good idea for you to call scarborough and see if similar changes are happening there that may impact your situation.

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. the person who asked this question said in the subject line of their e-mail that they’re at utsc. i didn’t just, like, randomly assume it, or divine the information with the magical powers i was given at birth. clarity is always helpful is in these situations, friends, so good job to the person who asked the question for helping me help them: you’re not bad, kid. not bad.

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