• art,  career choice,  suspension

    a stable job? oh boy

    May 13, 2020

    Hi, I currently graduated with a 2.53 gpa. I was suspended for one year and managed to graduate! I realized school is not a thing for me in long term. My major was in art history, but jobs like museum curating require you to have a masters degree. I aspire to become a writer one day, but want a stable job to support that. What career would you recommend that is close to my major and requires no grad school and no social media?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    buddy, i know next to nothing about art history. but i wear many hats around here, apparently, so lemme put on my career advising cap and see if anything changes.

    all right, all right, let’s see. stable jobs, hmm.

    oh, what’s that? no such thing as a stable job in this economy? cool cool cool cool cool, okay.

    in all seriousness, i can’t tell you much more than a simple google search will be able to. i would recommend that you contact career advising for one of their lovely advising appointments, which you should still be able to take advantage of as a recent grad. they even seem to have revamped their website and offerings to continue to support students virtually, which is cool. kudos to them. last time i linked to them, they didn’t even have a phone number listed and it felt like a dead end. you’re in luck, i guess. go for it! go talk to them! pursue your writer dreams while bagging that stable income! but good luck dodging social media lol, i’ve had no luck so far (exhibit one: i run this website and all its attached accounts).

    good luck!!

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

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  • enrollment,  enrolment,  keeners,  timetable

    keener alert

    May 13, 2020

    hi! do you know when the timetable for courses is going to update? i’ve been wanting to plan out my classes for next year but i know the timetable isn’t going to be 100% accurate until it updates.

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    to my understanding, there’s not really one comprehensive update for the timetable. u of t has too many departments and divisions that like to change things around at the last minute. they’ve probably already begun revamping the timetable for next year, but until it reads ‘2020-2021 fall & winter session timetable” instead of 2019-2020, i’d assume it’s fully unusable. especially with covid, we don’t necessarily know if classes are going to look the same next year. even in regular years, class times and offerings tend to change year to year.

    my guess is that by june-ish (late june??) that heading will update. perhaps it will update later this year if covid changes the way u of t will operate. regardless, it’s important to note that the heading update only indicates that the timetable is mostly accurate, not 100% solid. like i said, there might still be smaller updates after that. i wanna say that around…. mid july (?) is typically the best time to do course planning, because it’s when the timetable starts to settle down.

    right before my first year, i think i got on top of course planning several weeks before enrollment began. i also remember having to revise my course schedule several times, because a couple of things shifted and messed with the whole thing i had going on.

    happy season 7 GIF by MasterChef Junior

    i understand the desire to plan your courses out (it’s exciting!!) but i would advise against doing it too early, unless you’re willing to spend extra time revising your timetable should your course info change.

    i’d say the safest time to plan out your courses is just several days before your enrollment date, even though that might seem a bit tight. and then check over your course details one more time the morning of your enrollment day, to be super super sure nothing has changed.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • late registration,  summer

    i added a new category named ‘late regstration’ just for u and now i can’t delete it

    May 13, 2020

    i’m financially cancelled for the summer session, because i thought i didn’t want to enrol. but now i don’t have anything to do, so i might be changing my mind. is there a way to un-cancel myself so i can enrol in summer courses, or is it too late?

    ——————————————
    hey there,

    technically, yes, it is past the deadline to enrol in summer courses.

    correct futurama GIF

    however, if you get in touch with your friendly local registrar, they should be able to process you as a late registration. i’m not super familiar with what the process looks like for the summer semester (especially with the registrar’s office having gone virtual), but i can’t imagine it would be that different from normal? basically a doing a late reg means is that you’ll get un-cancelled (lol, twitter would never) and be able to enrol in courses. it’ll cost you a sweet little sum (i can’t remember how much? i think around $45???? ask your registrar). but yeah, like most things in our capitalist economy, many disallowed things are possible if you’re willing to pay the price.

    capitalism GIF

    too bad i’m too poor to get away with stunt driving. too bad i’m too poor to even know how to drive. the bus be my horse,

    horse GIF

    be Boundless,

    aska

    Read More
  • covid-19,  grad school,  profs

    going the distance to bag those references

    May 6, 2020

    hello! i am looking for reference letters for graduate school and i was thinking of asking a professor during summer courses. any advice on getting to know my profs this summer when courses are online?

    ——————————————

    hello hello,

    good afternoon to everyone except profs who are still assigning textbooks that cost over a hundred dollars, even during an economic downturn.

    grad school! an exciting endeavour.

    excited despicable me GIF

    online summer courses! a mediocre endeavour at best.

    seth meyers ok GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers< so i took a solid chunk of time and thought this out, because initially it seemed highly unlikely to me that you'd be able to successfully get to know a prof who's teaching remotely. even before this pandemic, i'd taken a few online courses and found that each time without fail, the instructor remained a nameless faceless entity. do online instructors even exist? confused demarcus cousins GIF by Bleacher Report

    i hate feeling useless, though, so here are the suggestions i scraped together for ya:< number one: online office hours

    as far as i’m aware, most instructors are still holding office hours using platforms like zoom or whatnot. these office hours are gonna be your best bet to get to know your profs. show up, have good questions, make it clear you’ve engaged with their material so that you make a good impression.

    brag chris redd GIF by Saturday Night Live

    bonus points for knowing what their area of research is and being able to talk to them about it– but only after you’ve spoken to them at least a few times.

    number two: engage with your prof via email

    it’s a second-rate strat, but if you’re unable for any reason to talk to your prof face to face over some kind of video call, sending them emails will at least let them know you exist. make sure these emails are polite, professional, and make you sound smart without trying too hard lol. respond quickly (which i suck at, rip me) and once again, ask good questions and express an interest in the class material! some form of communication is better than none.

    number three: make yourself stand out if you have class discussions

    now, i know this isn’t the case for many classes this summer, but some smaller upper-year seminars will still be holding live lectures with a participation or discussion component. if you’re planning to apply to grad school soon, my hope is that you’re an upper year able to take a small advanced class like this. participating is a good way to get noticed by your profs. the ones i’ve had have always appreciated quality participation, and if you do really well they’ll notice you and you won’t even need to try. it’ll then be easier on you when you reach out and want to talk about grad school later down the road.

    diana ross ease on down GIF

    number four: do well in the class, or make yourself stand out through assignments

    it goes without saying that sometimes these things are out of your control.

    Help Me Omg GIF

    if we all could do well in our classes we would. but in my experience talking to profs about grad school, they’ve been pretty transparent about how, if you want a solid letter, you should get an A in their course or have something academically noteworthy about you that they can discuss. if you can manage to do really, really well, or turn in a creative or surprising assignment, this will definitely get your profs to notice you as well as hand them material for whatever letters they may write you later on.

    hope this was helpful! good luck with your summer courses and grad school applications.

    be Boundless,

    aska

    Read More
  • enrollment,  enrolment

    you just got FINCA’d

    May 4, 2020

    hi! my status on acorn for summer says financially cancelled, but i never enrolled for summer classes in the first place. is this normal?

    ——————————————

    hello hello,

    yes, this is normal! how the ACORN system operates is this:

    1. you’re invited to register in a session (ie. fall/winter or summer, in your case summer 2020)
    2. you enroll in courses
    3. you pay the minimum payment to register by the stated deadline, which has now passed
    4. you’re registered!

    or, like a choose-your-own-adventure, you can branch off at the first step and not enroll in courses. since you obviously don’t pay if you don’t enroll, you don’t get to make it to step 4. what happens at this point is you get FINCA’d. financially cancelled.

    this is not the same thing as getting cancelled on twitter. it does not mean that you are in trouble. all it means is that ACORN has acknowledged that you have not paid on time for a given session, and so you do not show up in the system as a current student. which is what you want if you didn’t intend to enroll for a session in the first place.

    for future references, two things to note about getting FINCA’d:

    • when this status shows up on your ACORN, it also means you’ve been booted from any classes you might have been enrolled in
    • if you didn’t intend to get FINCA’d, ie. you meant to register but didn’t pay by the deadline, what you need to do is get in contact with your registrar. they’ll be able to process a late registration for you, which is usually accompanied by a small fee.

    hope this helps!

    be Boundless,

    aska

    Read More
  • Uncategorized

    is a gpa really forever?

    May 4, 2020

    Hello! I’ve been struggling with severe anxiety all my life, and it really reflects in my grades. I was wondering if there was anyway at all to get my past grades deleted from my GPA, if there is such a thing. I don’t want to ask the registrars office in the (highly likely) chance that I could be wrong. If I could get my psychologist to give proof that I’m dealing with anxiety, or if there’s anything I can do. I came off suspension and I’m doing so much better in terms of my grades but my GPA.

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    my first instinct upon reading this question was to tell you that there is no known avenue for removing past grades from your GPA. which is generally true. but then i gave your situation a good amount of thought and realized there was one way you might be able to achieve this, although i’m not ACTUALLY sure if it’s viable. wow. we love delivering news like that. i just don’t wanna get your hopes up by making it seem like cupcakes and sprinkles, yknow?

    Hell Yeah Yes GIF by Bounce

    so. if any avenue would work to remove past grades from your GPA, it would be the petitions process. if you’re unfamiliar, petitions are basically how u of t students beg the big ol’ bureaucracy for an exception to the extensive list of laws that govern our lives, also known as the rules and regulations.

    at a first glance, none of the common petitions fit your circumstances. one relatively common petition people send in is for a late withdrawal without academic penalty, which would technically have those courses removed from your GPA. the caveat is that those courses would need to be from this fall/winter term. u of t also notes that if you passed the course, late withdrawal without academic penalty is not appropriate. but if you meet the conditions, it might be an option for you. based on the information you gave me, i’m not sure that you do? but putting it out there in case my understanding of things is not accurate.

    if want to know whether it’s possible to petition for any other forms of grade removal, you will need to contact your registrar. they’d be the best people to tell you what’s possible and what’s not possible, because they have a lot of experience with petitions. they’ve probably also encountered this question before, so don’t be afraid to ask. i’m pretty sure the answer is usually a no re: removing past grades, but i’m not sure if medical documentation may change that. it’s best to just ask. even if the answer is no, your registrar’s office will be able to connect you with other resources that might help you move forward, or advise other solutions.

    for future references, the system tends to be more forgiving when you address academic issues right away. whether that’s petitioning for term work extensions or even just talking to your professor to see what they can do, there are provisions in place for supporting students who might be dealing with medical issues. the thing is that most of them are only allowed to be enacted until a certain date after a course is completed. i know it can be incredibly difficult to deal with these kinds of things when you’re working through severe bouts of mental illness, but i wanted you to know that if you’re able to act fast in the future, it may make things easier on you.

    in any case, i’m glad you’re doing better now. i hope this was at least a little bit helpful and that you’re staying safe and healthy wherever you are.

    Good Day Reaction GIF by moodman

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • GPA,  grades,  non degree

    back to school you go?

    April 29, 2020

    Hey Aska, so I am thinking about the possibility of upgrading my GPA as a non-degree student. Since I didn’t think my GPA for my last two years was competitive (mid B range), I decided to take a year off to work, but now that I’ve lost that job opportunity due to Covid-19, I considered doing 2 or 3 courses at UTM. The problem is even with getting a 4.0 in those 2-3 courses, the most my GPA for the last two years will increase too is a high B+. I’ve been debating if the money & time is worth it.

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    hope you’re holding up all right and sorry about your job! i know these are tough times all around.

    bad day i give up GIF by America's Funniest Home Videos

    even under normal circumstances, it sucks to have plans upended. i hope that other, even better opportunities are in your future and that you have enough to stay on your feet right now.

    anyhow, if you’re asking me whether or not i think it’s worth it for you to go back to school to raise your gpa, well… that depends, doesn’t it? if you’re not going to use your GPA for anything (ie. grad school or something else??) then i’d say the answer is probably no.

    sometimes people go back to school to work on their GPA just cause it bothers them so much, or because they’re worried about how their GPA will look on a resume. which, if it’s the latter, i wouldn’t worry… i’ve been told by a peer career advisor that it doesn’t even really matter whether or not your GPA is on a resume, in terms of employment. and if it’s the former reason… i dunno. i just don’t think it’s worth the resources, yknow?

    anyway, you didn’t specify what your motivation was, but my guess is that it’s neither of those (included them to cover my bases in case i’m wrong lol). i think you were intending on going to grad school, given that you mentioned you took “a year off” to work. a year off from education, i’m presuming?

    if i am indeed the ultimate detective slash genius that i think i am, and you are indeed thinking of doing this for grad school purposes, here are a few things i think you should note as you weigh your decision:

    • grad schools will be able to see that you raised your GPA by completing courses as a non-degree student, and will take this into account
    • like you mentioned, doing well in two or three courses won’t work miracles for a GPA that took several years to take shape.
    • it would be best if you check in with the grad school programs you’re considering and see how they feel about this avenue of GPA-raising, as well as whether they think it would be a good idea / give you an edge / detract from the way they consider your GPA. it’s hard for me to speak for them, given i have literally zero experience in grad school admissions.
    • it might be useful to contact your registrar and see what they think, as well. if you graduated recently, they should still have your info on file and may be able to provide guidance as to whether or not taking more courses is worth it.

    also, just so you know, online school (so far) has actually really sucked. that might be useful to take into account if you’re planning to complete those two or three courses this summer. it’s hard to focus on your schoolwork when you’re staring at a screen for so long, many profs have no frickin’ clue what they’re doing, some online exams are truly designed to screw you over… man. if i could dodge online school without interfering so much with these glorious (read: so terribly mundane) plans i have for my life, i would.

    cant GIF

    anyway, ball’s in your court. good luck making the decision.

    be Boundless,
    aska
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  • co-requisites

    coreq yourself before you wreck yourself

    April 27, 2020

    if i meet the prerequisites and not the corerequisite of a course i enrolled in, will i get removed from it?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    makin’ an entrance to let you know: the short answer is that if someone checks your status in the course, you will be removed from it without warning. a corequisite to a course, as you probably know, usually contains material that’s relevant to the first course in question. for that reason, departments do tend to check that you’re registered in corequisites pretty early on in the semester and will give you the boot if they find you’ve snuck in without a coreq.

    if you’re having issues getting into the coreq for any reason, i’d recommend that you contact your friendly ol’ registrar and book a phone appointment with them to get that sorted.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • breadth requirements,  courses

    did someone call for a knockout?

    April 27, 2020

    Breadth requirements advice? I’m going to be a first year student at UofT next year and I kinda wanna get all the breadth requirements out of the way in my first year. i’ve got .5 in BR 5, .5 in BR 4 and 1.0 in BR 3 worth of transfer creds so i still need to knock out 1.0 in BR 1 and 2. any suggestions on what to take or if i should even do all of them in one year? I’d like something easy/interesting. Thanks for the help!

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    congrats!! super excited that you’ve chosen u of t for university.

    Stephen Colbert GIF

    it’s great to see you’re trying to get ahead of the curve by tackling your breadth requirements early. i always recommend that people do this, so that you don’t need to worry about them later on. plus, i actually think you have some of the best breadth options as a first year.

    let’s see what we got here. so as an incoming first year, you have access to the first year foundations seminars as well as the ones programs. these are essentially both academic programs designed to ease the transition from high school to university: they tend to have lighter coursework, very small class sizes, fantastic instructors, and really interesting content. they’re also restricted to first years, so they’re a great place to make friends. i took several of these classes as a first year and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

    action bronson & friends watch ancient aliens eating GIF by #ActionAliens

    i don’t think the first year foundations listings for next year have been finalized yet– this will probably happen halfway through the summer. here are the listings for last year— you’ll see that many of the topics are really interesting. man,,,, i wish i could take some of these. but alas. i am too old. past my prime.

    Season 10 Friends GIF

    old betty white GIF

    other than that, you can start looking into the offerings from the ones program if you’d like, since they don’t tend to change too much year by year. if you’re looking to fulfill BR 1 and 2, you might be interested in these courses:

    breadth 1

    breadth 2

    two things to note: first, you may want to note is that a lot of people will use some of their 2.0 FCEs of credit/no credits to fulfill breadth requirements, since it means you only need to pass a course to get credit. if this is something that appeals to you, you should know that you can’t use CR/NCR designations for first year foundations or ones.

    second, there’s a limit on how many of these first-year exclusive courses you can take. you’re always limited to just one selection from the ones programs (ie. innis one, or a stream of trin one), and a lot of the time you won’t be able to take both ones AND first year foundations. as in, you gotta pick either or. to be certain that this is the case, you’ll need to check the exclusions on specific courses when you put together your timetable. but it’s good to know that this is the general situation ahead of time, so you don’t run into any fun surprises.

    door dancing GIF by Cheezburger

    so in terms of easy breadth courses beyond what FYF and the ones can offer, here are a few options i’ve heard are solid. not all of them are breadth 1 or 2– i also included a common course taken for breadth 5, since you could technically use it to fill your breadth requirements.

    you can also just browse through the calendar’s breadth requirement filter and look for course titles that look interesting to you. there’s a trick to this: look for the ‘printer-friendly version’ button at the bottom right of the screen and click it, so you can see all the course descriptions at once.

    i always recommend taking a course that intrigues you over one that you’ve heard is easy. the learning experience will be so much more rewarding, and it’s easier to do well if you care about the material.

    one last thing that might also be useful to know (maybe you know this already???) is that your program courses can count towards breadth requirements as well. as in, you don’t need to take courses just to get breadth requirements. sometimes you can fulfill them as a side effect of fulfilling program requirements, especially if you’re in an interdisciplinary program.

    the only way you wouldn’t be able to take advantage of this is if you anticipate that every single one of your mandatory courses throughout your degree will be breadth 3. i guess it can happen. figured i’d mention this anyway, since it’s always best not to make assumptions about what incoming students know.

    Zach Galifianakis Thumbs Up GIF

    best of luck with course selection, and remember not to hammer anything down before u of t finalizes the timetable! learned that the hard way when i was an incoming student– had to start over like, three times. psh. keener.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • academic offense,  covid-19,  no one asked,  profs,  tests

    quercus test PSA

    April 23, 2020

    hey hey hey there online schoolin’ students, and a good evening to everyone except profs who give closed book exams during a pandemic,

    this is just a friendly neighbourhood announcement that when you’re taking exams on quercus, your profs can actually see a log of your activity.

    some of yall might be aware of this already, but for those of you who weren’t, figured i’d put it up on the site. i know finals season is pretty much done but this might be applicable to anyone taking summer school. share to save a life, or whatever.

    so for backstory, quercus is basically the same thing as canvas, just renamed to fit u of t’s pretentious tree theme.

    canvas’s official support webpage is pretty transparent about the fact that, when a quiz or test is taken on its platform, it retains a ‘quiz log’ for up to six months. what can your profs see on this log, you might wonder?

    Suspicious Zach Galifianakis GIF by BasketsFX

    well, funny that you ask. they can actually see a second-by-second ‘action log’ of when you view, answer, and skip questions. they can see every attempt you take at a question (previous answers don’t actually get overwritten) and every attempt you take at a quiz overall, as well as how long you spent taking the quiz.

    most importantly, they can see when you click away to a different tab or window. this shows up as “stopped viewing the canvas quiz-taking page.” you can see why a high recurrence of these alerts might look suspicious, especially if your mark jumps quite a lot after the assessment in question.

    suspicious disney GIF

    i’ve also heard (but don’t know where on the canvas support site to confirm this) that profs can see what course materials have been opened/are currently open/have been downloaded on your computer. because we don’t love making empty allegations, this article from the OTHER U of T, the university of texas, seems to serve as confirmation. the article also lets us know that once again, canvas/quercus does its job WAY too well and provides a briefing of how long those tabs have been open as well. which is a bit embarrassing for me, given that i never close those tabs even when i’m done with them. my profs probably think i’m obsessed with their material.

    obviously, canvas/quercus activity reports will generally not be an issue if your tests are open book, or if your profs have made other provisions to prevent students from cheating. but make sure you’re clear on what’s allowed and not allowed before taking an exam on quercus, just to be safe. dodging academic integrity issues is always cool. we like that.

    be Boundless,

    aska

    Read More
  • choosing,  co-op,  co-op management,  UTM,  UTSC

    i’m the goat

    April 23, 2020

    Hi there! Sorry for bothering you but I am really struggling between UTSC and UTM right now. Little bit of background info: I was accepted to the Co-op Management program at UTSC and the Management program at UTM (did not apply to UTSG). I am also an international student who has received a 65% scholarship for my studies in UToronto, and an additional 19000CAD scholarship from UTM.

    Pros for UTSC:
    -Can do Co-op which I believe is really good for a student’s future career
    -Better sports facilities (especially for my sport) which are really ideal for me

    Cons for UTSC:
    -Don’t really like the campus, looks pretty sketchy and people don’t seem to like it on Reddit
    -More expensive as I will be losing my 19000cad from UTM and Co-op costs more I believe
    -The campus just really doesn’t look as nice as UTM but I am not sure because I have really only looked at pictures online
    -No free shuttle bus to downtown:(

    Pros for UTM:
    -nicer campus, more green area which I will feel more comfortable being around
    -Lower tuition fee (which is kind of a big deal for me)
    -Free shuttle bus!!
    -The community just look nicer and suit me better, idk…

    Cons for UTM:
    -no co-op which I’m not sure if its really that big of a deal (Coz I really need job experience but can I even get any at UTM…)
    -might have to travel to downtown/UTSC 3-4 times a week to practice
    -isolated area? So hard to find jobs/internships around campus? I am really not sure because I am just so lost:(

    I guess UTSC can prepare me for a better career which is truly ideal, but UTM is what I prefer for my 4 years of college life. Would be great if I can get the same amount of work experience at UTSC by attending UTM (is there a way to secure that the school can help me find jobs if I don’t do co-op or am I really going to be on my own:( )

    I might even do UTM Commerce in my second year if I study at UTM, but I will probably stick with Co-op management if I study at UTSC. Which one do you think I should choose? Is Co-op really that big of a deal? Is it worth sacrificing part of my college experience/preference for it?

    Sorry that I am all over the place, there’s just too much going on in my head and I’m just so worried that I’m going to regret it. Thank you so much for your precious time and help!

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    congrats on making it into both programs, and with scholarships, too!

    quick psa: it would be v cool if people stop sending questions to every single ask box i advertise! this seems to be an international student thing, so you’re not alone in it, but rest assured that i will see your question even if you only send it once. 

    but you never need to apologize for bothering me, this is what i do. let’s get to it. for anyone who hasn’t been following this epic saga, this post is a part two, it seems, to this one. thank you for taking my suggestion to shorten your question! that’s cool. we love readability.

    so you did the epic pros and cons list, i can see. a few notes on that list:

    • don’t believe everything you see on u of t’s reddit! from my experience, it’s where the angry people go to congregate.
    • finances are definitely something to consider! you’ve been offered a huge scholarship to UTM, and imo that’s hard to turn down.
    • it can often be quite difficult to make a judgement about a campus based solely on pictures. here is a webpage offering virtual tours of utsc, and here are some virtual tours of utm residence buildings. you can also try looking video tours up on youtube, which is something i did when i was making my admissions decision!
    •  utsc has a lot of green space too! 
    • it’s hard to tell what a school’s community is like until you’re there. i’m curious as to why you think the utm community will suit you better. rest assured you will be able to make friends, find mentors, and study under great profs regardless of whether you choose utm or utsc!

    it’s still really hard for me to give you a definitive answer re: which school you should choose, because even if i know what factors you’re considering, i don’t know the weight of each one. for example: if you give up the utm scholarship, will you be taking on that same amount in student loans? or do you have sufficient parental support to not need those loans in the first place? i feel like depending on your situation, the importance of certain things you’re considering can change.

    keep in mind that you will (presumably) be spending four entire years of your life as a student at whatever campus you choose. so if you feel like you’d be happier at UTM, that’s not insignificant. four years is a solid chunk of your life. university isn’t just a stepping stone to a future career– it’s an experience, and one that has so far been really precious to me.

    that being said, i’m not sure that there’s a way to ensure that u of t helps you get a job without a guaranteed co-op. that isn’t to say there aren’t any student supports to help you find jobs at utm– utm has a fantastic career centre, and like i told you in the last post, the utm management program has programming that will help you get work placements and hands-on experience. ie. MGT480H5 and the certificate in effective business practices and leadership skills. if you end up choosing utm commerce, you’ll have access to the Personal Experience Year (PEY), which is a 12 to 16 month internship also done by students at utsg.

    basically, i wouldn’t say you’ll ever be fully on your own. there’s programming at both schools to help ensure that you get hands-on work experience while pursuing your degree. at the very least, your registrar’s office (both at utm and utsc) will be able to provide you with guidance and refer you to career resources.

    ultimately, you’re gonna need to take ownership for your decision. there’s no easy formula to success in life. co-ops are important, yes, but you can do great even without one. students at st. george don’t have access to the co-op program that utsc runs, but they tend to be fine. i have full faith in you to make the best decision for yourself. you got this.

    i actually think it’s pretty clear which school you want to go to, so…

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • grad school

    graduating soon!!!! love that

    April 22, 2020

    Hi,

    I will be graduating soon and technically only need 5 more courses to graduate or 2.5 credits to satisfy the 6.0 FCE at 300+. However, I was wondering if graduate schools require you to have at least 10 credits in both 300 and 400 courses.

    I changed programs last year which resulted in me having extra credits for courses that do not satisfy my current program requirements. But this is also why I would not need to take more than 6.0 FCE in 300+ level courses in order to graduate.

    I do plan on continuing my education in the future and do not want to come back to finish courses if I do not meet the requirements. So would it be best for me to have 10 credits in 300 and 400 courses or would I be wasting my time taking extra courses now?

    Thank you and take care.

    ——————————————

    heyo,

    kudos to you for having the energy to plan for your future during these trying times. i can only manage to sleep way longer than i should, zone out at the kitchen table, and start new podcasts only to give up 10 minutes in.

    anyway, the best course of action for you to take is to get in touch with whatever grad school programs you might be considering for the future and ask them directly. i say this primarily because there’s no one-and-done rule for grad school admissions– different schools have different policies– and i’d hate to give you inaccurate information that screws you over. this is especially true given i don’t know what kind of grad schools you’re looking at. law? med? fine arts? … engineering?

    it’s a lot easier (on your sanity and wallet alike) to email and call a couple of your top choices than it is for you to take an extra ton of credits at the 300 and 400 level just in case.

    it may be reassuring for you to know, though, that many grad schools do encounter applicants in your shoes (fewer upper year credits) and are often willing to account for reasonable factors causing this. for example, u of t medicine’s application info page reads:

    “It is recognized that at times, students take courses in lower years for various reasons, such as a change in program or to complete subjects of interest or prerequisites that did not fit the academic schedule previously. If you have information about your academics that you feel is important for the Admissions Committee to know, please use the Academic Explanations Essay within the OMSAS application.”

    ie. they allow you to explain your situation, so that it’s accounted for when they’re looking over your file. i’ve heard that this is quite common among grad schools.

    but yeah. best course of action is always to go right to the source of the admissions policies, just to be sure. hope you’re takin care of yourself as well, and good luck with finishing your degree!! you’re almost there.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • career choice,  grad school

    i have a lot of question sand, too

    April 20, 2020
    Hello! I am looking for some advice. I am a graduate student at U of T and ma planning to make a career change after finishing my grad school. In order to do that, I may need to acquire a second bachelors degree. However, I am not entirely sure which department would be most suitable and how to proceed about it. I have a lot of question sand need to find a very good academic advisor that can meet with me in person. Would you recommend any specific person that I can get in touch with?

    ——————————————
    hello hello,
    i’m so sorry it took me so long to get to this! i wrote a post up, but it got buried in a bunch of other stuff. fully my bad.
    so you’re at u of t, which is bureaucracyland– meaning that i can’t necessarily recommend a specific person for you to speak with, because there are so many different academic advising offices serving different populations. i doubt the academic advisors i know would be able to help you out, given that as a grad student you don’t fall under their jurisdiction.

    so my first instinct was to send you to your own registrar, but upon actually looking into that… apparently this is a lot more convoluted than i thought. the registrars’ directory that i normally link people to does have a line for “school of graduate studies,” but when you click it, it sends you to a registration info page. what? did someone just paste the wrong link in? more concerningly, do grad students not have a registrar? who do you run crying to when you miss a deadline and need reassurance? ah, you’re grad students, maybe you have your lives figured out.

    i would recommend that you email graduate.information@utoronto.ca to see if the school of graduate studies has any academic advisors (i would sure hope so). you can also reach out to the career centre for a one-on-one career advising appointment. this might be more of a post-covid thing, given that they don’t have a phone number listed (???) so maybe try the school of graduate studies first.

    while most departments are no longer doing in-person appointments at this time, you can probably get the same caliber of advice over the phone or microsoft teams.

    hope you’re staying safe and sorry again for how long it took me to get back to you!

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