• first year,  mental health,  studying

    first years have it rough

    December 18, 2020

    Are we allowed to redo a semester? Bc/ this term has been an absolute shit show. This was my first year and let’s just say I was not prepared. My study habits were terrible, and so was my anxiety. By the time I figured out how to manage these things, it was too late. All I can really do now is study for my exams, but if you have any idea as to what my options are I’d really appreciate them. Also, thx for taking the time to answer questions and gl on ur exams =)!

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    thank you for the well wishes on my exams! that’s thoughtful of you :’)

    i’m hearing from a lot of first year students who have had a terrible semester, so if it’s any consolation to you, you’re absolutely not the only one experiencing this. the odds have absolutely been stacked against you guys this fall. first year is normally such an an adjustment, even without a global pandemic. my first year felt a little like this:

    to answer your most direct question, no, i don’t believe you’re allowed to redo a semester. the only way i can think of to do this would be via the petitions system, but i’m not sure that redoing a semester is an existing type of petition. i could be wrong, though! you’d have to ask an academic advisor at your registrar’s office. 

    in fact, i’d really recommend that you get in touch with your registrar early in the new year—even before classes start, if possible. they’re your best bet in terms of finding out what all your different options are.

    here are some of the options i think it would be good to discuss with them:

    you can always always use the credit/no credit option after your grades come out, particularly for courses you won’t need for your program prerequisites. that may help you salvage your GPA. if you do consider applying the credit/no credit designation to a course, keep in mind that the deadline for fall courses is january 15, 2021.

    you can also apply a late withdrawal designation to your courses until january 15, which might actually be a solid option for you. basically, an LWD just means that a course will show up on your transcript, but without a grade. it’s good for courses you’re failing. however, there are rules for applying LWDs. you can find those rules here. if i recall correctly, you do need to request LWDs through your registrar’s office, so you’ll have to discuss this with them anyway.

    “it” being your registrar, lol.

    apart from getting in touch with your registrar, there are two other supports i’d strongly recommend that you check out.

    first, you should book an appointment with your learning strategist. you can do this through your registrar’s office as well. meeting with a learning strategist will help you figure out how to build better study habits and schedules, you can also talk to them about other things related to academic success, like efficient note-taking, staying motivated, and managing your time.

    second, if you’re struggling with anxiety, you should look into either mySSP or health and wellness counselling. mySSP is available to you 24/7 wherever you are in the world—it’s essentially a way for you to get in touch with a counsellor either by appointment or immediately. this service is provided in a variety of different languages, and can be done by chat or phone. meanwhile, health and wellness is a good bet for you if you’re currently in ontario. you’ll be able to book appointments with a counsellor to help you manage your anxiety.

    i struggle a lot with anxiety too, but seeing a counsellor through health and wellness during my second year  helped me develop less harmful thought patterns, which in turn made my anxiety easier to deal with. think of accessing these mental health supports as an investment in your own wellbeing, and in your ability to withstand the various stresses of university. it’s definitely worth the time that it takes, trust me.

    apart from that, here’s a quick list of other things i think might help you:

    • if you’re struggling with assignments, you might benefit from visiting the writing centre or a math learning centre.
    • if you’re seeking a sense of community, look into the student unions of your prospective programs, clubs at your college, or mentorship programs affiliated with either your program or college. university is so much easier when you’re doing it with people who are struggling, too.
    • meet to complete sessions and study hubs are great for getting things done during the semester

    i hope this helped! i’m really sorry this semester has been so rough for you. wishing you all the best in the winter, and you know where to find me if there’s anything else i can help with. wishing you a restful holiday break!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • admissions,  colleges,  scholarships/bursaries

    i want to take a long nap

    December 18, 2020

    Hi! Could you explain how your college choice matters if you’re not in residence? Also, I keep hearing that scholarships can be divided by colleges. Which college is the best for scholarships? Thanks!

    ——————————————

    hi!

    so sorry it took me a while to get to this, my ask box is filled with students in distress right now and i’m the very slightest bit worried and overwhelmed lol.

    college choice does still matter, to a certain extent, if you’re not in residence. your college will determine things like which registrar’s office you go to, which clubs you’re most likely to join (since colleges have clubs), and what your most immediate community is at u of t. think of a college like your university home base.

    your college will also run your orientation, if that’s something that matters to you. innis is a dry orientation, whereas there’s plenty of drinking that happens after-hours during trin’s O-week. different colleges just have different character, y’know?

    of course, if you’re not on res, you don’t technically have to interact with your college very much at all. you could totally carve out your own path and make, i don’t know, the biology student union your home base. if you’re a victoria college student, you don’t need to join vusac. and you don’t need to be a victoria college student to write for the strand. in other words, you can join a college club without being part of the college.

    what i’m trying to say is that yes, colleges do kinda matter, but overall you’ll get to shape your own experience with how a college affects your university experience.

    aight, let’s talk money now.

    many scholarships are indeed divided by colleges. from what i’ve heard, trinity and victoria are the best for scholarships, since they tend to be more “prestigious” colleges with more donors, i guess? i’ve heard that st. mikes isn’t particularly great, scholarship-wise. but most colleges do have some kind of college-affiliated scholarships, whether those are in-course academic scholarships or leadership scholarships.

    if scholarships are a major area of concern for you, i’d recommend that you look up the two or three colleges you’re most interested in and compare their info on scholarships. for example, here’s the vic page. you should be able to find the others by googling “[college name] u of t scholarships” or something along those lines. you’ll quickly be able to get a sense of how much money is offered at different places, and what you have to do in order to qualify for those funds.

    i hope this answer finds you in time for your applications! wishing you all the best with uni apps, and i hope you have a wonderful (or at least tolerable) holiday break.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • failing,  first year

    you must be so tired

    December 18, 2020

    I’m a first year life science student at UTSG and to be honest I feel like a piece of trash. In the beginning of the term, I attended lecture, did my assignments, studied, and did the readings. But by mid October, I just broke down and couldn’t do anything. I felt stressed, overwhelmed, and motivated. All at once I just stopped studying and couldn’t do it anymore. I know I’m going to fail most of my courses. I just want to start next term on the right path. Any advice?

    ——————————————

    hey friend,

    i’m glad you reached out! things are so hard this year with online classes and all, and i can imagine first year is even harder because it’s normally already such a rough adjustment. it sounds like you started your first year on a really solid note, and hit a wall later on.

    you’re absolutely not a piece of trash for hitting that wall. if you check out the recent posts on this blog (and the ones that are sure to come), you’ll see that lots of first years are in similar situations.

    wise of you to come to the elders (lmao) for help. since i’ve been at this school a lil longer than you, i do have some advice for you that i hope will be of use.

    something i had to learn the hard way in my first year is that you can’t get through uni alone. it helps so, so much to reach out to peers, make time for socials, and know where to find more professional help when you need it. here are some resources i regularly use (or have used in the past) that i think you might find helpful:

    the registrar’s office

    it’s common to deal with all sorts of academic challenges at u of t, and your registrar should be your first stop when you’re seeking help with those. an academic advisor there will be able to tell you what your options are moving forward, point you to useful resources, and just generally talk you through your situation. whenever i’ve had to make a hard degree-related decision, i’ve always found the support from the people at my registrar incredibly useful.

    if you’ve never so much as interacted with your registrar before, here’s a lil guide i wrote up that might be useful.

    learning strategists

    you can book an appointment with a learning strategist by calling your registrar’s office. learning strategists are great for identifying any pitfalls in the way you currently approach your studies, and helping you strategize how to do better in the future. they can also help you improve your motivation to study, help you put together a study schedule, and advise you on efficient reading and note-taking.

    i think that visiting a learning strategist early on next term will help you get off to a strong start! you can tell them about your situation and then the two of you will be able to devise a strategy for completing your winter semester.

    health and wellness counselling, mySSP, and other mental health resources 

    the level of stress and overwhelm you’re describing indicates to me that academic resources aren’t going to be enough to really help you get back on your feet. it’s important to be attentive to your emotional and mental health needs as well, and that’s where supports like counselling and mySSP come in.

    if you’ve never seen a counsellor, the first step (for me) was the hardest one: admitting i needed to go and figuring out how to do it. but i think it’s something everyone can benefit from, especially stressed-out students.

    it’s really worrying to me that you broke down in october. i think you’d benefit from understanding how/why it happened, and how you can maybe prevent that in the future.

    i dunno if that gif is the best fit here but i love how dorky and adorable it looks so it’s staying.

    health and wellness counselling is available to you if you’re in ontario. you can book an appointment with an “on-location” counsellor (which basically means one affiliated with your division, ie. victoria college, the faculty of music, etc.). i think they’re doing appointments virtually or by phone right now. to my understanding, these counsellors usually offer short-term support (5 appointments) to help you meet a mental wellness goal.

    mySSP is a virtual student support program that’s available wherever you are, 24/7, in a wide variety of languages. basically, a counsellor will support you (via phone or text) with the difficulties you’re experiencing, either by appointment or immediately.

    if you think you might be interested in voice-call or video-call counselling but aren’t in ontario, you can always look into what your health insurance covers and seek out an non-u of t therapist.

    apart from all that that, here are a few study tips from me! i found the adjustment to online schooling difficult too, but i was in school both summer semesters and i’m more used to things now. these are some of the things i wish i’d known earlier:

    1. use a productivity app if your devices are distracting. i downloaded forest a little while ago, and i’ve really been enjoying the app. one of my main problems is scrolling through twitter and instagram when i should be studying, and forest blocks those apps out while letting me plant lil trees to represent my focused time! there are other good apps out there, too, if you do a google search.

    2. study with friends (but the right ones). i’ve learned that hopping on a zoom call with a similarly stressed and overwhelmed friend can motivate me to study. this is my system for those virtual study sessions: we get on the call, chat for around 10-15 minutes, then set a timer for an hour and a half and mute ourselves. when the timer goes off, we check in with each other to make sure we were both productive. turning your camera on and screensharing helps, too— it’s the closest thing i’ve found to a library peer-pressure environment this year.

    3. use a planner. this is a big one that really helps prevent me from getting overwhelmed. i use a monthly planner, so i can see all my deadlines well ahead of time and plan my study schedule out to prevent a crunch. it doesn’t solve all my problems with stress and overwhelm during the semester, but good planning and deadline management does help a little and maybe you’ll find that’s true for you too.

    4. make time for rest. 

    if you’re overwhelmed, pushing yourself harder may actually be detrimental to your ability to do work. find out what refreshes you and block out space for it—you’re allowed to do things that make you feel like a human and not a homework machine. for me, playing among us with my friends and making sure i got enough sleep this semester made me feel like less of a pent-up ball of stress.

    i know it seems like there’s not enough time in the day to finish your schoolwork, but i always find that the more tired i get, the less efficient i am. maybe it could be the same for you?

    i hope this helped! i know the post was long, but i feel a little helpless when i get questions like these and want to make sure i give you the best, most in-depth advice i can. i’m really rooting for your success next semester—i hope you have a good, relaxing christmas break, because you deserve it.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • failing,  first year,  math

    yerrrrrr!

    December 15, 2020

    Hi! I’m a first year looking to double major in IR/Econ. I am doing okay in my IR reqs, all things considered, but I am failing mat137, like, big time. I’ve spoken with a registrar, and I just want to know, in your experience, is it possible to recover in a full year course from failing in the first term? Or should I drop and retake in the summer? Also, do you know of any reputable tutors that could help, outside of the math learning centre?

    ——————————————

    hello friend,

    IR and econ! a classic combination. very aoc of you.

    i’m glad you’ve spoken to your registrar— that’s always a smart move when you’re in a less-than-ideal academic situation. if you’re open to it, you might also consider booking an appointment with a learning strategist, who might be able to help you identify any challenges in the way that you currently study for math. you can then develop a plan with them to tackle those challenges.

    i’m assuming that a recovery looks like a mark of 60+ in the course, since that’s what’s required for entry into the econ major? i can’t predict how easy it’s going to be to recover in a full year course if you’ve been failing the first term, since a lot of that will depend on how badly you’re failing and what the structure of the course looks like. if there’s more weight in the second half of the course than the first, there’s more hope for a recovery. what i can tell you with some certainty is that it’ll take a lot of hard work to recover, should you choose that path.

    if i were you, assuming you don’t desperately need to devote your time and energy to other courses, i might stick it through for a few more months and see if things get better. you have until february 22 to decide whether you want to drop the course, and that’s some time from now.

    you could also technically request a late withdrawal as late as may, which basically means that the course will appear on your transcript with a LWD notation instead of a failing grade. both of those are good options if you don’t think it’s possible for you to pass the course, although i think dropping is probably better than an LWD since the course won’t show up on your transcript at all.

    unfortunately, i don’t actually know of any reputable tutors for u of t math. tutors will usually post their numbers on bulletin boards across campus, but alas, i’m not sure these are the times for that right now. you might try asking r/UofT on reddit, maybe? although i always warn people to take what they see there with a grain of salt, since r/UofT is a lil chaotic and sometimes unreliable.

    best of luck! i really hope that you manage to turn things around. if you continue to struggle with this decision, you can always head back to the registrar, talk to upper years (if you know any), or seek out trusted friends/family for advice.

    thank you for waiting for this answer—a ton of first years are struggling right now and i have a lot of stuff in my inbox to sift through. you’re certainly not alone in this.

    if you’re not yet done your exams, i hope the rest of your semester goes well. otherwise, have a good and well-deserved holiday break! if you need me, i’ll be watching the heck out of dash and lily on netflix, because hey, if there was ever a year for a sappy unrealistic christmas series it’s this one. don’t roast me. haven’t we all reverted back to our twelve-year-old selves, anyway?

    #dash and lily from we're on pause. future? unsure.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • academic standing,  failing,  first year

    … so evermore is living rent-free in my head

    December 15, 2020

    Hi! I’m a first year life science student and pretty much I failed this term. My average for sure would be a 0 this fall term. I’m not sure what to do next? Will I be able to take courses next term or would I have to withdraw and re-enrol for 2021-2022 year and re-do first year? Would I be put on academic probation?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    i know this term has been rough for a lot of first years, so i want you to know it’s all right to have had a ! not great ! time this sem. it’s bad enough being a first year, let alone being a first year during a global pandemic.

    it’s good to look ahead, and you came to the right place with your question about what to do next. what i can tell you is that academic standing isn’t assessed until the end of fall/winter, meaning that you won’t be placed on academic probation just because of this semester. you won’t be forced to withdraw unless you get suspended.

    so, as far as i know, you should be able to continue taking the courses you’re registered for next term (winter 2021). however, if you’re not able to pull your GPA up to at least a 1.50 by the end of fall/winter, you will unfortunately be looking at probation.

    that sounds like a threat or a warning, which really isn’t the message i’m trying to send! it feels like my responsibility to explain how the system works, but i believe you can recover from this and i’m rooting for you all the way. do as taylor does and come back stronger than a ’90s trend.

    in order to make sure you have the best shot at getting back on your feet, though, i’d really recommend that you reach out for some support. first year is hard, but it’s harder without help.

    here are some things that have helped me in the past:

    1. your registrar’s office should be your first stop. they’ll be able to help you understand your options, let you know about anything you should be aware of as you move forward, and perhaps refer you to more resources (or more appropriate resources) than i’m able to. please give them a call and book an appointment with an academic advisor! if you move forward with ONE of my recommendations from this post, i hope it’s this one.
    2. book an appointment with a learning strategist, who will help you identify better study, productivity, and organization methods for your next semester. you can usually book one of these appointments by calling your registrar.
    3. if you’re having trouble with papers, seek out your writing centre. the math help centres are great if your problems are more numerical (the page i linked you to gives you in-person addresses, but if you click the names of the offering divisions you’ll see virtual options).
    4. seek out mental health help if you need it. i know a lot of students are struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns right now, which are making it SUPER difficult to get through the semester. i’m certainly one of those students. if you’re interested in what mental health resources are available to you, you can check out previous posts i’ve done on this subject, this u of t mental health site, or beacon (which is free if you’re in ontario).
    5. reach out to your friends (or even chill acquaintances!!), and schedule virtual study sessions where y’all keep each other accountable. i started doing that at the beginning of december, and you wouldn’t believe how much it’s helped me.
    6. look into mentorship programs within your program, college, or faculty. in my first year, it was really helpful for me to have an upper-year that i could ask about academics and university life. so much of success at u of t just comes from knowing how to navigate the school!

    anyway, i’m not sure which of these resources you’ll find a good fit, and whether there’s something i didn’t mention that might help you more, which is why i really think you should call your registrar. try not to procrastinate too long on that, since the university does close on the 23rd!

    other than that, i hope you have a good and restful holiday break, and that things get better next semester. let me know if there’s anything else i can help with.

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

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  • graduation

    master is almost going to give dobby a diploma! dobby is almost free!

    December 15, 2020

    Hi! I’m a fourth year student that’s a bit confused… Can we request to graduate while we are still completing courses? For example, my last semester (as a full time student/taking 3 courses) will be Fall 2021. I finish the courses in December while Fall convocation is usually in November…Would I need to wait until all my courses are completed and request for June 2022 or is it okay to request for Fall 2021 while grades are still pending?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    congrats on being so close! you’re almost to the end of your degree. very impressive.

    to my understanding, you can request to graduate while you’re still completing courses. this is basically just based off personal experience: i know a lot of people who graduate in june of their fourth year, even if the deadline to request a june graduation is usually in january.

    however, you can’t graduate while you’re still completing courses. so if your last semester at the school is fall 2021, your courses will be completed in december, which will block you from graduating in november of 2021. so you’ll likely need to request for a june 2022 graduation—which might not be so bad, right, because hopefully you’ll get an in-person convocation!

    that’s all based on what i know. if you’d like to confirm this or talk it over with someone, give your registrar’s office a call! they should be able to answer this question pretty easily.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • admissions

    could you be a little more vague?

    December 9, 2020

    When it says provide all academic history, for every school you attended. I was previous at a post-secondary institution for health sciences, fresh out of highschool, unfortunately due to mental health problems and a Concussion, I was left with a first year of a GPA between 2.8 and 3.1, Now 3 years later, I am at a different Institute studying Science and Engineering with a GPA of 4.175 and almost all high 90’s in each course. Will I have to apply for special consideration due to my bad 1st year?

    ——————————————

    hello!

    since i’m not really sure what you’re applying to, it’s really hard for me to answer this question, unfortunately!

    Season 2 Netflix GIF by Gilmore Girls - Find & Share on GIPHY

     

    my advice would be to get in touch with the admissions office of whatever program or institution you’re interested in, and see what they say. after all, some programs (if you’re talking about graduate school) will only really look at your last two years of studies.

    sorry i can’t be more helpful! what i’ve heard is that (again, if you’re talking about graduate school) most applications will allow you to explain any anomalies in your academic record. for example, you could throw a sentence in about your rough first year in a personal statement. there’s no way to know for sure about this, though, unless you speak to someone in admissions.

    anyway, i’m rooting for you and really proud of you for doing so well in your current program. your GPA is wildly high, and it looks like you’ve really bounced back from your challenges in first year.

    if you’re not done your fall semester yet, best of luck with the rest of it!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • admissions

    i used to be this ambitious too but now i’m a lil tired

    November 27, 2020
    Hi, I had a question would 2 specializations in IR and Commerce be possible in a cross campus UTM UTSG scenario? How long would this program take?

    Would I recieve two degrees an HBA and a Bcomm or choose between one of them?

    Since I’m still in High school I’m not sure how applying to both works, would i apply to the social science stream and the Rotman commerce stream with the supplemental application.

    Would there be situations where I have to go to both campuses in the same day? Also im terrible at math, I heard there is a waiver form at UofT that if you dont have a high school pre req than you could sign that and still take the course, I do not want to take Calculus, would I be eligible through that waiver or would I have to take Calculus to gain admission into Rotman, if not how hard would it be to gain admission if I didn’t?

    Can I take courses from IR and Commerce and graduate within 4 years if so what would be the course combinations?

    Thanks in advance!

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    to be totally honest, it sounds incredibly difficult to me to do two specializations at two different campuses. i’m actually not sure if it’s possible, because i’ve never heard of anyone having done it. my gut says that it’s probably not possible. but i would encourage you to call the admissions office and see what they say.

    < maybe there are ways to get an exception, or alternate ways to study what you want without going to so much trouble? with that said, you can certainly still apply to both UTM and UTSG, according to this webpage. i’m not sure if the rules are different if you’re out of province, so you can check that over with admissions as well. and just so you know, rotman commerce is a UTSG thing, not a UTM one.

    in the event that it is possible to take programs at both campuses simultaneously, i certainly do think that you may need to attend class at both campuses in one day. of course, that depends on how many courses you’re taking at once, and when they’re being offered.

    i’m not 100% sure about the waiver that you mentioned. i’ve never heard of it myself, and wouldn’t feel comfortable confirming it to you with hearsay anyway. for that, i would get in touch with the appropriate departments— here’s the rotman contact info, and here’s the utm management department’s contact info. regardless of whether it’s true that you can sign a waiver to bypass calculus, i don’t think you’ll be able to gain admission to rotman without it. this webpage states that calculus is an important admission requirement, which indicates to me that they won’t consider you as an applicant if you don’t take it.

    as for the course combinations, well, you can check out the required courses for the IR specialist and major, or the commerce specialist and major. if you’re interested in doing two specialists for sure, i think it would be challenging to get your degree done in four years, since each specialist will usually take up at least two years’ worth of credits (assuming you take 5 courses each fall and winter semester). however, i wouldn’t worry a TON about getting things done in four years flat, unless you’re worried about funding. plenty of people take an extra semester or even an extra year to get the degree that they really want!

    overall, having thought about your question, i’d encourage you quite strongly to talk to a guidance counsellor at your school about this. have a conversation with a u of t admissions officer as well, if you’re able. you seem incredibly ambitious, but i would caution you that while u of t is exciting and offers a lot of possibilities, it’s important to be realistic about how demanding it is. for many students, it would be stressful to complete two specialists just at one campus, much less two specialists at two different campuses. if you’re confident that this is what you want, then by all means go for it and thrive, and i’ll be rooting for you! but i’d think it through quite extensively first and make sure that you’re certain about it.

    anyway, one last thought: if you’re set on doing commerce and IR, i would highly recommend that you look at this double degree program webpage, and give it some consideration. it might be the answer that you’re really looking for.

    good luck with your uni apps!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • subject POST

    you said POST but i read POTUS

    November 27, 2020

    hi! i’m in first year right now and i had a question about POSTs. if i didn’t take a prerequisite for it in my first year and i choose to take it in my second year, how does applying for the program work? do i just apply in my second year then? will this cause me a delay in my studies? thanks 🙂

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    this is a common situation to be in! yes, if you choose to take a POSt prereq in your second year, you’ll just apply during the application period following your second year. assuming nothing changes before then, you should be able to find the application deadlines here.

    as for whether it would cause you a delay in your studies, that really kinda depends on how your POSt is structured. if your upper-year classes don’t require too many prerequisites, then the likelihood is that you won’t see any delay in your studies. but without knowing what POSt you’re interested in, i can’t give you any definitive answers.

    if you’re interested in exploring this yourself (which you should), degree explorer is a good tool that will help you map your degree out. you can also book an appointment with your friendly ol’ registrar, who will talk you through this and give you LIVE! REAL TIME! advice that i can’t, lol.

    good luck with this!! i hope your first year is going as well as possible given *gestures at the whole world*.

    anyway, the title of this post should give you a good sense of how much doomscrolling i’ve been doing. fun times.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • academic offense

    online school, man.

    November 27, 2020

    Hi there, I’m a first year student and recently got caught for using an online website for help during a term test worth 15% of my grade. I was wondering what kind of sanctions would an offence like this typically receive if it’s a first offence.

    ——————————————

    hello hello,

    really sorry it took a while to get to this. by now maybe you’ll have spoken to someone about this issue (i really hope you have) but i’ll answer this in case you haven’t!

    this code of behaviour on academic matters is the closest thing we’ve got to a guidebook on navigating academic offences. i’d give it a read through if you have the time— it contains many of the answers you’re looking for.

    since you were kind enough to send me a specific question, though (not just “what will happen to me” but “what sanctions might i face”) i’ve taken two screenshots that you’ll find particularly helpful. you can find this info under the “divisional sanctions” section of the code of behaviour.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    i hope that gives you a sense of what you might be looking at! if you haven’t already, i’d really recommend that you get in touch with your registrar’s office. a consultation with an academic advisor will be invaluable to you right now— you deserve that kind of support.

    apart from that, here’s a post i did earlier this year that might be useful for you. the student asking this question was in a slightly different bind, but i explained the academic offence process for them, which will apply to your case as well. https://askastudent.utoronto.ca/?p=25569 

    best of luck with this!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • colleges

    u of t needs a sorting hat

    November 25, 2020
    Hello. I’m an international first-year applicant and I was trying to rank colleges and I couldn’t find the one that fit me best. I’m looking for something with a nice clean residence and most importantly, a place where I can make a lot of friends and meet nice people. I would say it would be nice to have good food but a meal plan isn’t necessary. I’ll tell you what i found about all the colleges so you can help me pick out a fit for me.
    1. I ruled out St.Michael’s because I heard that it’s very religious
    2. I also ruled out Trinity because from what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t be able to get along with the students there
    3. I ruled out Victoria because I heard all the students there are artsy and that it’s far from the rest of the campus
    That leaves the other 4
    New College seems like a nice place, but I’m not sure how the students there are like and whether I’ll be able to get along with them or not.
    I don’t know much about University College other than the place looks nice and the people seem to be outgoing. I heard the food is bad though and I don’t know much about the residences there.
    Woodsworth seems to have a great residence, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to make friends there because I heard it’s mostly mature students and upper-year students.
    I also don’t know much about Innis and its residences.
    Please respond as soon as possible. Thank You.
    ——————————————
    hey there,
    sorry it took me a while to get to this! for future reference, it can usually take up to 14 days for questions to get answered on here— for more urgent questions, i usually recommend that you contact the appropriate u of t office, for example admissions.
    anyway, someone really ought to create a sorting test for colleges because this question comes up a TON.
    here’s what little disorganized wisdom i can offer you, if you haven’t submitted your application already:
    • if you’re interested in good food, new college has the best dining hall on campus, hands down. but if you can cook, innis and woodsworth are good choices as well because their residences are equipped with full kitchens and there’s no mandatory meal plan— meaning you can choose what you eat, when you eat it, and how much you spend.
    • it’s true that woodsworth has a great residence! their study rooms have gorgeous views and if you luck out, so will your dorm room. i wouldn’t worry too much about woodsworth being mostly mature/upper-year students, because this is the first time that i’m hearing about that as a problem. there will be plenty of first-years at woodsworth for you to mingle with!
    • if you’d like to be super close with one or two roommates (assuming COVID-19 is in the past by your first year), UC and new college offer a classic dorm experience. if you’d like to mingle with a slightly larger group of 4-5 students in a more apartment-style setting, i’d choose either innis or woodsworth. in my experience, the classic dorm experience does tend to be more social, whereas the apartment-style experience offers you more privacy and independence.
    • i don’t know much about UC’s food or residences either— which probably just means that the UC res experience isn’t particularly remarkable. if things are really bad or really good on campus, you tend to hear about them.
    • i will say that UC has some really great clubs and associations— UC is a bit of a larger community compared to colleges like trin and innis, so that means there’s more variety in the student life there. UC also has several student lounges, one of which serves free cookies on weekdays during a regular academic year. not all colleges are that lucky.
    • during a regular academic year, woodsworth has free pancakes every wednesday for all students!

    • in terms of student spirit out of your remaining four choices, i’d say that innis and UC students tend to be prouder of their college affiliation, in comparison to woodsworth and new students. i’ve heard that few woodsworth students care very much about their college, but then again i’ve never been a woodsworth student so i wouldn’t know.
    • innis is the smallest of your remaining four colleges, and i’d say it probably has the most tight-knit community of them as well. i’m a bit biased here, but innis is known for being welcoming and wholesome, if that’s something you’re into :’)
    • if you’re worried about proximity to the heart of campus, UC and new are certainly more central than innis and woodsworth are. woodsworth can actually be pretty far, too— it’s the furthest north of all the colleges on st. george.  but i wouldn’t worry about this factor too much— even in the snow, a few extra minutes of walking won’t hurt you too much, and you’ll barely notice after a while. plus, the likelihood is that you’ll have classes all over campus anyway, so you’ll usually be far from something.
    if you’ve already submitted your application, or if you’re still stuck after reading this post, try not to worry too much! at the end of the day, your college is most important for administrative purposes (it determines what registrar’s office you visit, some of the scholarships you’re eligible for, etc.).
    if you’re looking to make good friends and meet new people, i’d say that’s possible at every college, even the ones you’ve ruled out. the most important thing, i’d say, is to put yourself out there. attend events, say hi to new people, ask them if they want to study together sometime or hit up a free food event with you. add them on social media and stay in touch. plenty of students are looking for new friends in your first year, and if you’re approachable and confident enough, i can see you thriving socially no matter what community you get dropped into.

    … and honestly, if you want a clean residence, that’s going to depend more on the roommate you end up with (which is more or less out of your control). even apartment-style dorms can get messy if you live with messy people. trin, though, is a little special for one particular reason: they get a free weekly cleaning service. lol. because of course they do.

    be Boundless,
    aska
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  • admissions,  colleges

    ! prospective ! student ! alert !

    November 21, 2020

    hi! i’m applying for september 2021 for social sciences (and probably some other programs) and i was wondering what the differences between all the colleges are? do i have anything to do with them if i have to learn from home? what’s the point of them? side question, do you have any tips for (possibly) incoming students?

    ——————————————

    hello hello,

    colleges! the classic admissions question.

    so to give you the rundown, colleges are basically smaller communities within the very large faculty of arts and science. some of these colleges, like victoria and st. mike’s, used to be separate universities that were absorbed into u of t like a baby eating its twin in the womb.

    your college affiliation is mainly significant because it determines which registrar’s office you go to for administrative services and academic advising and which residence(s) you’re eligible to stay at. you’re also eligible for certain scholarships and resources at your college that other college’s students won’t be allowed to apply or qualify for. apart from that, your college can often become the student community that serves as your home base, since there are college-specific clubs, student governments, and newspapers that you can get involved at.

    if you’re planning to learn from home (to be fair, we don’t REALLY know what september 2021 will look like yet), your college will still matter for all those reasons except res. if you’d like to make an informed decision but aren’t concerned about res, i’d pay particular attention to what clubs and scholarships are available at the colleges you’re interested in, as well as the general character of the community (which you can read about on reddit* or get ~ vibes ~ about on instagram).

    you should also note what you need to do to get into the college of your choice. some colleges, like victoria, trinity, and innis, will only consider you if you place them at the top of your rankings list. victoria and trinity also require supplemental applications.

    anyway. do i have any tips for incoming students? heck yeah i do.

    depends on what you wanna hear about. i guess i’ll throw some generalized tips at you:

    • be aware of what program selection is! in short, when you’re admitted to u of t you’re not really admitted to a program yet— you’ll need to go through a second admissions process after first year. it’s a good thing to be aware of because if it hits you like a surprise… well, that’s a lot of unwanted stress.
    • start learning what it means to take care of yourself and your mental health before you enter university. that’s vague, and i’m sorry, but it really is something good to start thinking about. university (at a normal pace, anyway) will strain you like few other things and it’s good to start building habits that will enable you to endure it. for me, that would have looked like beginning to visit a counsellor while in high school.
    • enter university with an open mind and some confidence in yourself! if i could do my first year again, i would tell myself that there’s no good reason to feel like an impostor and that there was a lot i could achieve at this school. i definitely wasted a lot of time in first year held back by impostor syndrome, which seems to be relatively common at u of t.

    i hope this helped! good luck with your uni applications process— i hope you get into everything you want and that you make the right university choice for you. and let me know if you have any specific questions re: tips for incoming students.

    be Boundless and stay safe,

    aska

    *obligatory note: take things that you read on reddit with a grain of salt! r/UofT makes things sound a lot scarier than they really are sometimes, and not all the academic information on there is correct. but for things like gauging the character of different colleges, you can’t do much better than a crowdsourced opinion.

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  • clubs

    ah yes, the page with all the options

    November 15, 2020

    Hi! I’m in my first year and online and I was wondering if you knew how we could possibly join clubs? I visited the page with all the options but it doesn’t actually tell us how to join? Thank u!

    belated welcome to u of t! i definitely sympathize with how difficult it can feel to get involved with campus activities this year, and am really glad you reached out.
    my guess is that you probably visited ulife, where the most central listing of u of t’s clubs is located. ulife can serve as a good springboard to getting involved. my advice would be to go through the listings and jot down a few clubs that seem particularly appealing to you.
    then comes the slightly more difficult part: tracking those clubs down. i’d recommend using social media to do so, particularly facebook and instagram. all the clubs and student organizations that i or my friends are involved in have a presence on at least one, if not both, of those platforms. that’s where word about online events, challenges, and office hours will go out, plus you can send DMs to an instagram or facebook page to ask how you can get involved.
    for example, the vietnamese students’ association posts a cute lil instagram graphic whenever there’s something going on. the chemistry students’ association also posts updates on their instagram. i see VUSAC posting a lot of event news on facebook.
    tl:dr do a lil social media stalking and you should get a sense of what events are running! i’ve never encountered a u of t student group that’s not welcome to having people join casually, at any point in the year— you can drop in to an event and meet some new people, or you can reach out directly and ask about getting involved. sometimes there are mailing lists you can sign up for, or exec boards with empty spots— won’t know unless you ask.
    i hope this helped!
    be Boundless,
    aska
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