• prospective student,  studying,  UTM

    you all want impossible answers

    January 12, 2021

    hello! i am a grade 12 student at an ontario highschool. my average at the moment is around 93-95%. i’ve applied for social sciences at utm/ustg. i’m hoping to major in political science or criminology, and then apply to uoft law.

    from your experience in social sciences, 1) do you think i will be able to achieve a 3.5-3.8 gpa in my undergrad? 2) do you have any tips/advice on how to do so? 3) what are the pros/cons between utm/ustg…will i have more difficulty achieving a high gpa at ustg? ty!!

    ——————————————
    hey there,

    that’s a pretty dang good high school average!

    i’ll answer your questions in order.

    do i think you’ll be able to achieve a 3.5-3.8 gpa in your undergrad? that’s hard to say. different high schools have different levels of grade inflation, and i know literally nothing about your study habits, so i don’t really feel like i can make a prediction. however, what i can tell you is that there are certainly people with high school averages like that that manage to maintain your target GPA at u of t.

    i know u of t has a reputation for being really tough, and it is challenging. there are certainly high achieving students who have a very difficult time adjusting to first-year university, but i wouldn’t say everyone needs to be super scared of failure. there are student supports at u of t to help you achieve your goals.

    do i have any tips on getting a good GPA? sure. here are a few:

    • use your resources.

    achieving and maintaining a high GPA is a lot easier when you’ve got help.

    here are some things that have helped my friends and i with our studies: going to office hours, making use of the writing centres and math learning centres, participating in club or college mentorship programs, visiting a learning strategist, and checking out the academic help workshops on the clnx calendar. visits to your registrar’s office will prove invaluable whenever you need advice, and tapping into u of t’s mental health resources can help you deal with the stress of academics.

    • build a support network

    studying is a lot easier if you’re not also dealing with isolation and loneliness. a lot of uni students i know have struggled more with their studies when they haven’t been surrounded by supportive peers. pulling a long-haul study session is less painful if you’ve got someone with you keeping you accountable (even if just over Zoom).

    plus, it’s important to remember that academics won’t be all you’re dealing with in university—you also need people to help you endure your personal lows and celebrate your highs.

    i really do think that the better you’re doing as a person and the more you’re plugged in to some kind of likeminded community or friend group, the better equipped you are to achieve your academic goals.

    • get organized

    i’ve spent a solid amount of time at u of t now, and something that seems to happen every semester for me is that a few balls get dropped. unless you’re gifted with impeccable organizational and time management skills, the endeavour of managing classes, clubs, a job, your health, and your personal life does get tough.

    find a system that works for you to keep track of all your responsibilities and deadlines. it always feels really bad when you find out about an assignment last-minute or after the deadline—you lose marks unnecessarily, and your grades don’t reflect your abilities.

    i currently use a monthly planner that i got from muji, which allows me to see all my deadlines several weeks ahead of time. i colour-code it (green for assignment deadlines, pink for tests, purple for shifts at work etc) so that, at a glance, i have a good grasp of what i’ll be busy with in any given week. and then at the beginning of each week, i dump everything into a google spreadsheet schedule broken down into half-hour increments, so i have a sort of weekly timetable. that’s what works for me. virtual calendars are also a good option if you prefer!

    to touch on your last question, i’ve only ever been a student at st. george, so i don’t feel like i can say whether it’s harder than utm. i don’t really feel that qualified making a pro-con list either, since i’m probably quite biased towards st. george. this might surprise you, but i’ve never even been to utm in person!

    i’d recommend that you do some research yourself and make a pros-cons list that reflects your own priorities. you can consider things like what extracurriculars each campus offers, living costs (if those are applicable), program offerings, campus aesthetics (if that even matters to you), and location.

    if you’re extensive in your considerations, you’ll probably find that you end up with one option that’s clearly better than the other. i chose my campus because i was interested in specific st. george extracurriculars, as well as programs that were only offered at st. george. it just seemed like the right call.

    hope this helped! wishing you all the best of luck with your application.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • readings,  studying

    lit tips

    January 10, 2021

    Hi there! Happy new year 🙂 So, this might be a bit of a dumb question, but… I’m a first year right now and for one of my classes (which focuses on literature/poetry, it’s a Vic One class), I’m really having trouble reading and understanding a book. It just really bores me and I end up reading 50 pages without actually retaining anything, and this just makes my social anxiety kick in because I’m worried that I’ll seem incompetent. Do you have any tips on how to read/understand/annotate better, especially when the reading is boring you? Thanks, I appreciate it. <3

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    happy new year to you, too!

    Happy Birthday Reaction GIF

    i don’t consider that a dumb question at all. learning to read for university classes is a bit of a tough skill to learn, so i’m glad you reached out! the kind of reading you’re doing is demanding and designed to stretch your capacity to think, so of course it won’t come naturally if you’re not used to it.

    while i’m not a literature student, here are some personal tips i can share on reading better and understanding your course material:

    – if you’re reading a ton of pages but not retaining anything, you might try converting your readings to another format (that is, if you’re able to, and if you think mixing things up might help). i’m willing to bet you can find audiobooks for any classic literature you’re reading—try a local library. you can try listening to the audio version first and then do another quick pass over the printed one for annotations, maybe?

    – read in chunks, instead of trying to tackle a whole book at once. sometimes when i don’t retain things, it’s because my eyes are moving over the page but i’m zoned out.

    Unimpressed Sea GIF by SpongeBob SquarePants

    – in terms of understanding, keep track of any questions you have as you go through a passage. any words you don’t know, any references that fly over your head, anything that seems confusing or ambiguous… note those down and investigate them after you read. maybe even ask an instructor or fellow student about them. doing so will give you a better grasp of what you’re reading.

    – think about how the particular reading you’re tackling may benefit you and add to your understanding of the world around you! see if you can find a little beauty in it. this seems like kind of a dumb tip, but finding purpose in my readings is always something that helps me engage with them more. you’re lucky enough to be working with literature—maybe seek out some exciting analyses or nerdy fandom blog posts about the stories you’re reading. it might spark some inspiration and motivation.

    – spend some time developing an annotation or note-taking system that works for you. some people use special symbols or colour coding—and some make brain maps, spreadsheets, or summary sheets instead of annotating. a quick google search on how to annotate literature might be helpful to you, and i found some tumblr posts that might be worth a glance: here, and here.

    – go to office hours and chat with your instructor about the subject material. the lovely thing about u of t is that we’ve got some of the best, most passionate professors in the country—and professors have dedicated their lives to studying what they’re teaching you, right? so if anyone can inspire a little more interest in your readings, it’s probably them. let them know that you’re struggling and ask them for tips.

    apart from those tips, you can also check out these u of t resources on reading effectively, if you haven’t already seen them. booking an appointment with a learning strategist to talk this over might also be helpful! they might have tips for enhancing your focus and building a strategy for tackling your readings.

    Season 1 Thinking GIF by The Big Bang Theory

    since you mentioned that this issue triggers your social anxiety, i feel like you may also benefit from chatting with an on-location counsellor about how you’ve been feeling. you didn’t really ask for my take on this, but as someone who’s struggled with anxiety and impostor syndrome at u of t, i think learning to work with your social anxiety is worth your time. however, on-location counselling is only available to you if you’re in toronto. you can check out mySSP if you’re not.

    Television Reality Tv GIF by The Jerry Springer Show

    i hope this helped, and good luck with your winter semester.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • internal transfer

    this school is really confusing!!!!

    January 8, 2021

    Hi, I’m wondering how the internal transfer student apply for the POSt. Do they have to wait until the POSt request period even if they get admitted? OR do they just get admitted to the POSt directly when they get assessed the transfer credits? There is no such info on the page and I’m quite confused whether I should take the required courses or not.

    ——————————————

    heyo,

    i’ve never done an internal transfer so i’m not 100% sure about this, but i think you might need to apply for POSt again during the normal program request period. the best course of action for you would probably be to get in touch with your registrar’s office and ask them about your specific case, since they’ll know best!

    sorry i can’t be more helpful, but good luck with the internal transfer if that’s what you decide to do!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • breadth requirements

    this school is so confusing

    January 8, 2021

    Hi there! i wanted to ask about breadth requirements and see if i understood it correctly. a half course = 0.5 in the breadth requirement, right? and for all except br=4 & 5, we need 1.0 fce for the BR—by that i mean for BR=4&5, we can either do 0.5 in 4 and 0.5 in 5, or just 1.0 fce in 4 or 1.0 fce in 5 (one or the other). i hope that made sense. could you confirm for me if this is correct? thank you so much!

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    this is a valid question! breadth requirements can get confusing.

    a half course (which you’d take in one semester, as opposed to one fall/winter year) does equal 0.5 full course equivalents (FCEs). you got that right.

    in fact, you do technically have a correct understanding of the whole system. to complete your breadth requirements, you need:

    a) 1.0 FCE in 3 of the 5 categories and 0.5 FCEs in the remaining 2

    b) 1.0 FCE in 4 of the 5 categories

    what i should point out, though, is that it’s not necessarily categories 4 and 5 that you don’t need to complete. you can move your courses around as you see fit! for example, you could take 1.0 FCE in categories 3, 4, and 5, and just 0.5 FCEs in 1 and 2. but if you’re a humanities/social science student who’d like to avoid categories 4 and 5 as much as you can, then it certainly makes more sense for you to take fewer credits in those categories.

    i hope this helped! if you need any further clarification, feel free to get back to me or give your registrar’s office a call.

    be Boundless,

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  • scholarships/bursaries

    i hope they give you money

    January 8, 2021

    hey there! im a first year who did terrible in their first term and now im worried i might loose my scholarship that asks to maintain a cumulative 3.70 gpa. does anyone know if they might reduce the mark due to the covid circumstances 🙁

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    i actually don’t know if they might reduce the mark threshold! personally, i think they should because it’s so hard to be a first year right now. but u of t is often unforgiving with these things. you might try contacting your registrar to see if they know anything about this—or you could get straight in touch with whichever department/office is in charge of your award. if you have any extenuating circumstances from the first semester, you should mention those as well.

    sorry, that’s all i know about this! good luck, and i hope your next semester is better.

    you should also chat with your registrar and a learning strategist about how you can do better in the future. there are academic supports out there to help you make it through your studies, and you deserve that kind of help!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • odds are that won't be asked again,  subject POST

    a pickle

    January 5, 2021

    Hello! I hope you can shed insight on my situation 🙁 I’m in my final yr and confirmed my intent to graduate. Long story short, had a bad yr and got academic susp. Got back & my last yr I got +75s in all courses. This last fall sem I got 3.7gpa in 6 courses. The scary thing is even if I get 3.7 in my last 6 winter courses, I will be at 1.96, not enough to get into the bio major. I’m currently in psych major but i spent 4 yrs finishing bio. Its too late to start a new major/minor. What do I do?:(

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    this is a rough situation to be in! you weren’t super clear about this, but i’m guessing that you probably took all the requirements for a biology POSt without having been admitted, in hopes that you could be admitted later on.

    i think the best course of action for you is honestly to get in touch with your registrar’s office if you haven’t already and book an appointment with an academic advisor. it’s really hard for me to tell you what you should do without information about your academic history—i don’t fully know what your options might be! but your registrar’s office will have access to all that necessary information, and might know about more options than i do. i’m just a fellow student, after all. plus, it’s hard for me to make a recommendation this significant without being able to chat with you and find out more about what your interests and priorities are!

    it’s really cool that you were able to bounce back from your rough year, though. much respect to you, and good luck with this. i’m rooting for you.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • prospective student,  subject POST,  switching

    it’s too early in the year for clever post titles

    January 5, 2021

    hi! i’m a prospective student and i was wondering how hard/easy it is to switch between programs (specifically in the arts and science fac)

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    just kidding, this is a good question! compared to what i’ve heard from friends at other canadian universities, it’s relatively easy to switch between programs within arts and science.

    how the whole system works is that usually, after first year, you’ll apply to a program of study (POSt), or two, or three, or more. there’s a program selection period during which these applications occur, and there are several program categories that determine what you’ll need to apply.

    if you think that switching programs could be in your future, you should familiarize yourself with those program categories and make sure you know what boxes your prospective programs fall into. the general rule is that the larger the number, the more intense the admissions process is. it would therefore make sense that it’s easier to switch into a type 1 program than a type 3 program, because a type 1 program will require almost nothing of you whereas some type 3s will look at your GPA, your grades in specific prerequisite courses, AND a supplemental application .

    so, to sum that all up: there’s a specific time of year during which you can apply to programs (and therefore switch into a new program), and there are specific requirements to get into some programs. it’s easy enough to switch as long as you (1) time your switch well or plan for it ahead of time, and (2) have the required prerequisites and grades to be admitted into a program. if you have a specific program in mind and want to find out what those prerequisites/required grades are, look that program up in the calendar! 

    if you’re a prospective student, though, try not to worry too extensively about POSts right now! once you’re admitted and join u of t as a student, you’ll have access to academic advisors who will be able to talk you through all things program-related. you’ll be able to get much better advice through a phone conversation with them—advice tailored to your specific interests and situation. if you’re particularly keen on getting things sorted out, you can even schedule an appointment with them the summer before you begin your studies.

    good luck with your application! happy new year.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • academic offense

    i didn’t do it!

    January 5, 2021

    hi i was accused of plagiarism and now they have accused me for similar answers in exam. I knew all the answers but my friends cheated from me and i left my 7 masks question because of them and now i am being accused for cheating even though i didnt do it

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    i’m not really sure what you mean by ‘7 masks question’ (7 marks? you lost all of them? you left the question blank?) but i get the gist of what you’re saying. this must be a stressful and frustrating situation for you.

    since you didn’t leave a question for me, i’m not really sure what i can do to help you apart from referring you to some supports—you shouldn’t have to deal with this alone! i think it would be a good idea for you to contact your registrar’s office and book an appointment with an academic advisor there. they’ll be able to advise you on what to expect moving forward, as well as what steps you can be taking to make this situation turn out as favourably as possible. trust me, they’ve seen a ton of cases like this and their experience will be invaluable. you can confirm this with them, but i don’t think anything you tell an academic advisor can be used against you by those investigating your case.

    if you’re curious about what procedures you may be facing to get this sorted out (and what consequences are possibilities for you and your friends) you can check out the code of behaviour on academic matters. that code does get pretty confusing to decipher, though, so if you’d like i can help you figure out what your specific situation might mean. just shoot me another question with more details!

    like i mentioned, this must be a stressful situation for you, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to a student support like mySSP if you need someone to chat with. if you have access to a don or mentor through your college, you can also consider reaching out to them for help.

    wishing you luck with this!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • odds are that won't be asked again

    i had to google ‘MBP’

    January 4, 2021

    hello. I just wanted to know how can I attend to MBP students seminars while I’m not a student at UofT?

    ——————————————
    hey there,
    this is the first i’m hearing of these seminars, so i’m not 100% sure if that’s possible. i managed to find a calendar of MBP student seminars here, and it looks like when you click on a specific event, a contact email is listed on the page. i’d try emailing that person, explaining your interest, and asking whether you can be admitted to the zoom call where the seminar is taking place even if you’re not a student! maybe you’ll get lucky and they’ll let you in.
    happy new year and thanks so much for your wait with this answer.
    be Boundless,
    aska
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  • dropping courses,  seminars

    the fine art of murder :O

    January 4, 2021

    Hi! i hope you had a great new year! i was hoping you could clarify how dropping a course works. i may drop a course next semester after the first week, since i’m taking on a course load of 3.0 and figuring out which one to drop after the first week haha! is it as simple as going into acorn and un-enrolling? also, i’m a part of vic one! i want to take ITA197, and it says that it’s restricted to first years, which generally means that it’s a first year seminar course. that shouldn’t be a problem though, will it? i hope you can help out! 🙂 thanks!! xx

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    happy new year to you, too!

    yes, dropping a course is as simple as going into acorn and clicking ‘drop course.’ there’s nothing more you need to do beyond that. you might want to just chat with someone at your registrar first if you’re worried about anything to do with funding or scholarships (or any other repercussions for dropping a course). but otherwise, you should be good to go!

    ITA197 (the fine art of murder) sounds very cool!

    i looked it up on the timetable and it seems like you’re not excluded from registration if you’re part of vic one—as in, there are no exclusions at all. the only restriction on enrolment is that you need to be a first year student, which i’m assuming you are since you’re in vic one.

    best of luck with your semester and i hope this helped!

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

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  • breadth requirements

    mathemagic!

    January 4, 2021

    hello, i was wondering if you know about MATA02H3 The Magic of Numbers ? i need to fulfill my quantitative breadth course and was wondering if this was a good option for someone who almost failed high school math lol

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately i’ve never taken that course myself, so i’m not really sure. the one comment i could find on it, here, says that it’s quite easy, but i’m always a little wary of basing a decision on one redditor’s point of view.

    if you’re able, i’d join the class anyway and wait for the syllabus to be released. you could also just attend the first class and feel things out. usually if a class is a good breadth option (ie. easy for people who aren’t good at the subject), you’ll be able to tell very early on just based on those two things.

    you can also directly email the prof and ask—i’m sure whoever’s teaching this course will be able to tell you what to expect.

    if you have any doubts about the course and aren’t sure it’s worth the trouble, dropping it or applying the credit/no credit designation is always an option.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • subject POST

    lmao imagine u of t choosing your major

    January 3, 2021

    Hi,
    If I fail the major I am currently studying, will I be able to shift to a major I prefer or will the university decide that for me and give me a different major?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    thank you for waiting for this answer!

    to my knowledge, you can’t exactly fail your major—what can happen is that you may be placed on academic probation if your CGPA is less than 1.50 at the end of either fall/winter or summer. following being placed on probation, if you don’t manage to raise your CGPA, you may face suspension or be refused further registration down the road. you can read more about that here.

    perhaps there’s a specific major that you have in mind with a grade threshold you need to maintain, but i’m not aware of what that might be.

    if you don’t do well on the prerequisites for a major you’re interested in, though, you will need to choose another program. i’m not sure how familiar you are with u of t’s system (you may be a prospective student, after all!) so i’ll just elaborate a little. to be admitted into most major, specialist, and minor programs, you’ll need to take specific prerequisite courses, and sometimes achieve a certain grade in those courses in order to be considered. you can find out more about program selection here.

    it’s always best to have a backup program or two in mind when you choose your first-year courses, so that if you don’t make it into your program of choice, you have the prerequisites necessary to study something else you’re interested in.

    even if i’ve somehow misunderstood this whole thing and you’re a current student in danger of somehow getting kicked out of your major, you’ll just need to apply to a new one of your choice during the next program application period. the university won’t make your academic choices for you!

    i hope this helped, and happy 2021. congrats on making it to the new year! may this one be better than the last one, lol. i miss leaving my house.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • grades

    schrodinger’s grades

    January 3, 2021

    Where do we check our grades. I swear i never hear back after finals for weeks

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    happy new year and thank you for your patience with this answer! i took a few days off at the end of the year because exhaustion lol.

    you should be able to check your grades on ACORN when they’re up. after you log into the platform using your UTORID, you should see a bar on the side divided into different categories.

    the fourth option under ‘ACADEMICS’ should be ‘academic history,’ and all your final marks will be posted there after they’ve been submitted by your instructors and approved by the department. you should also be able to see the course averages for those classes, and the number of credits you earned for the semester.

    sometimes it can take a while for those grades to be posted. most of my classes are still “IPR” right now, or in progress. are my final grades good? are they bad? in my head, they’ll be both until i see them and find out for sure. i expect all grades will be out before january 15, given that that’s the CR/NCR deadline for artsci. 

    i hope this helped!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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