• ccr

    is anything really mandatory in uni though

    August 4, 2020

    is CCR mandatory? like volunteer hours were in high school? i’m a commuter and i’ve been having a hard time figuring out how to participate around campus.

    ——————————————

    heyo,

    as far as i’m aware, CCR is not mandatory! if it is, that’s gonna be a nasty surprise for me because i haven’t really invested a ton in my CCR, lol.

    the CCR is just meant to capture all of your outside-the-classroom learning on an official u of t document, but there’s no obligation, really, to fill it up with things. with that said, i really would recommend getting involved with on-campus opportunities. below are a few opportunities i’m aware of that can count towards your CCR— and some of them will even help you out with your grades!

    if you’re in artsci, you may also have CCR opportunities lurking around at your college. my college runs several councils/organizations that you can get CCR recognition for, as well as a mentorship program. if you’re not in artsci, check out what opportunities your faculty offers!

    apart from that, you can always try checking CLNx for CCR-accredited opportunities. i’ve found a couple decent things on there, and am happy to answer questions about the application process as much as i’m able.

    my best advice, in general, is to go for activities that excite you or seem relevant to the career you want to pursue. you’re going to be super, super busy while you pursue your degree. i do believe you should be doing things outside your classes if you have the capacity to, but you shouldn’t overcommit or you risk burning yourself out. that’s why it’s best to find a few things that you think will be particularly constructive or fun, so that you use your time and energy well and come out with sharper skills. that’s my take on this whole ~getting involved~ thing.

    anyway, it was only just now, at the end of writing this post that i found confirmation that CCR is in fact not mandatory. do with that as you will.

    episode 14 GIF

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

     

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  • FLC

    tag yourself, i’m the eyeball taking the damage

    July 30, 2020

    Hi,

    I am confused. On the FLC website it says groups meet every tuesday or thursday. Could I essentially do tuesdays one sem and then thursdays the next? I’m asking here bc I already sent the m an email but its currently giving out automatic replies. So, I’m really pulling at strings here. If you can’t answer this question its all good

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    sorry it took me a few days to get back to you on this! maybe you’ve heard from the person you emailed already. i was never in an FLC, so i couldn’t initially answer this question, but a friend was kind enough to reach out to someone with FLC experience so i could get something back to you.

    they weren’t 100% sure, but their understanding was that when you join a FLC, you enrol in a group that takes place biweekly. if you see options for tuesday and thursday, there are probably two separate groups that each meet on a different day— one on tuesdays every two weeks, and one on thursdays every two week. usually, you remain in your FLC group for the whole year. if you wanted to switch midway through the year, you’d be needing to switch groups.

    from what i understand, that doesn’t happen very often, but whoever’s in charge of coordinating your FLC will be the best person to tell you whether or not it’s actually possible. in other words, you do need to wait for that response if it hasn’t come yet.

    anyway, shoutout to that friend of a friend for sponsoring this question. many thanks, my dude. here’s a visual representation of me running this blog without the help of other people:

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  enrolment,  wait list

    i have tons of uoft related headaches :(

    July 28, 2020

    Hello! i absolutely love what you do here, it’s so helpful and has stopped more than a few of my uoft related headaches haha. I’m a first year and I got into all of my courses except for CLA160H (in person). There’s 33 people in the class and thankfully I’m the 1st on the waitlist. The online-synchronous CLA160H still has a lot of room so should I wait it out on the waitlist? Are my chances good? Or would it be wise to just enroll in the online class? thanks so much, have a great day!!

    ——————————————

    hey there!

    if you’re first on the waitlist, i’d say that your chances are probably good. the rule of thumb is generally that if you’re in the top 10 percent of a waitlist (in this case, if you are number 1, 2, or 3) the waitlist will move quickly enough for you to make it into the class. if you’re really set on the in-person section, i would say that it’s probably worth staying on the waitlist.

    now, a bit of a disclaimer: i have no clue how the hybrid model is gonna be affecting this rule of thumb, given that one of either online or in-person classes may be more in demand. plus, people’s plans are likely a little more unstable this year than they have been other years, which may affect waitlist movement as well. all this uncertainty is not my vibe.

    but the rule of thumb is what we know, and what we go by. i’m sure people will still be dropping classes/switching courses around. just keep an eye on the waitlist. you might even get off the waitlist soon, if you’re lucky— i’m already off one of mine, and i was in the top 10 percent.

    i hope this helped and that the rest of your course enrolment went well!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  enrolment

    inconsistencies! great

    July 20, 2020

    why can i find some courses on the calendar but not on acorn?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    i’m not really sure. i’ve seen this happen in calendar entries for programs, ie. a program will list a course but when you click on the hyperlink, you get an error. that usually just means a course used to exist but isn’t being offered anymore. but if you’re seeing full course entries in the calendar (you click on the hyperlink and the course description, prereqs etc show up in a different page) that aren’t showing up on ACORN, i have no idea why that might be.

    you could try testing the course codes in the timetable as well? if something doesn’t show up on both ACORN and the timetable, i think it’s safe to say that course isn’t being offered for the upcoming year.

    if a course you’d like to take shows up on both the timetable and calendar but won’t pop up on ACORN, i’d recommend that you get in touch with the offering division and see what’s up. maybe it’s an internal error. i dunno.

    i hope this helped, and good luck with course enrolment!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • economics,  enrollment,  enrolment,  international relations,  math

    wrote this post up so fast my keyboard caught fire

    July 20, 2020

    hi! i’m planning on doing a double major in international relations and public policy in second year. but for first year courses i have to take eco101 and 102 as eco105 conflicts with my vic one course and i want to stay in that program. do i need to take a first year math course with eco 101 and 102? i know that not taking a math will limit choices in eco courses in upper years, but if i don’t plan on focusing in economics is taking a first year math course helpful? thank you!

    ——————————————

    hi!

    i hope this answer is getting to you in time for your course enrolment. i’m pretty sure it is. mannnn every year i forget to budget time for the deluge of questions that surround important dates like first year course enrolment. now i gotta be speedy.

    as far as i know, you’re not required to take a first year math course with eco101 or eco102. i think you may have gotten that idea from the ‘recommended preparation’ line, which states that you should take calculus or advanced functions in order to be prepared for this course. as far as i know, though, ‘recommended preparation’ courses are never a strict requirement. you can definitely get away with ignoring recommended preparation. that’s a choice you’ll have to make for yourself, but anyway, i’m not sure that taking a first year math course alongside eco101/102 would help given that math is recommended preparation? 

    in terms of worrying about future prerequisites, it’s true that math courses are required for many upper-year econ courses. but as far as i can tell, you can definitely complete your IR major without a first-year math course. a lot of the upper-year econ courses that require math are only elective options for you, and you’ll be able to choose other courses from the IR list that don’t require a first year math credit. you can check this over with an academic advisor at your registrar’s office if you want (remember to include your student number if you send an email). but an in-depth perusal of the international relations calendar entry should confirm this. if you don’t plan on taking any of the econ electives, i wouldn’t recommend taking a first year math course, especially if you don’t have a burning desire to learn math.

    i hope this helped! good luck with your course enrolment. also, eco101 and eco102 have kicked the butts of many dear friends of mine, so best of luck. if you pay attention and stay caught up with your work, i have full faith in your ability to succeed in those courses.

    closing this post off with a stupid, vaguely math-related gif i found and wanted to share:

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • economics,  stats,  subject POST,  UTM

    this whole enrolment/POSt thing does get confusing,,, sigh

    July 16, 2020

    Hi! I got into UTM last year for commerce, but didn’t make post. Instead of redoing courses and reapplying, I wanted to do a double major in Economics and Stats. I don’t have all the required courses for that though, so I need to take them next year. However you need to declare a major in order to be able to enrol. How do I go about that? Do I declare my major as Econ and Stats? Or do I just continue with commerce until I have the credits? I’m not sure what to do.

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    hopefully i’m getting to this question in time… the first time i read this i thought you were a second year, but now i’m not 100% sure. hopefully you’re a second year and today isn’t your enrolment date. anyway.

    these are my thoughts: you may need to continue with commerce or select other placeholder programs. from what i can tell, UTM’s econ major has a few required courses for admission, which i won’t go into here as they provide several options and i don’t want to confuse you. the statistics major also has required courses. in other words, enrolment in both your desired POSts is limited to people who’ve exceeded a certain grade threshold in the relevant intro courses. since you’ve said you don’t have the requirements yet, you wouldn’t be able to declare a double major in econ and stats at the moment.

    if i were you (which i am not, thankfully, econ is not my strong suit) this is what i would do: stay in commerce, register in the prereqs for econ and stats, get those done, and request the POSts next spring. wait to get into them before you drop your commerce program, and there you go. if you run into trouble anywhere along the way, i’d recommend that you get in touch with the utm registrar, who will be able to advise you!

    hope this helped,,, good luck.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • new college,  residence

    you’re in luck either way, new college has good food

    July 16, 2020

    Hi! I’ve been accepted to New College, and I don’t know which residence (Willcocks 45, Wilson, or Wetmore) to choose. If you were in New or know from friends, could you give me some advice? Also- are LLC’s actually helpful/worth applying for?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    congrats on your acceptance! unfortunately, i’m not in new or close with anyone who’s lived in a new college res. i do sorta know a few people who were in wilson, though, and had a very positive experience in terms of making friends!

    sorry i can’t be more helpful. you can try reddit, if you haven’t already? reddit’s not always reliable, but for things like these (subjective experiences) it’s often the only place to get information.

    as for LLCs: this is such a cliche answer, but like many similar programs, they’re really what you choose to make out of them. some people join them and then don’t engage, but if you put some effort and commitment in, you’ll get more out. LLCs are great because they set you up with relevant connections— it means you’re a lot less on your own than you might otherwise be. you’ll have access to mentorship and a support system, which i definitely think are important ways to help yourself stay grounded in the mess that first year can be (oh, if i knew what i know now…).

    so if you’re interested in an LLC i would recommend giving it a try! my guess is that the programming will look a little different this year under COVID restraints, but i’m sure the teams behind new college’s LLCs are doing their best work right now to make sure you get the best experience possible.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  enrolment,  first year,  one programs

    baby’s first uni course selection

    July 6, 2020

    I’m going into first year Life Sciences this year at U of T in the fall. I know three courses I want to take because of certain admission requirements: BIO120, BIO130, CHM135, CHM136, MAT135, & MAT136. I am not sure to take PHY131 and PHY132 for first year. I want to keep my options open for other programs, but I’m not sure. I have an interest in taking PSY100, but I’m not sure if I could take it. I want to do 5 FCEs but I am not still sure. Course selection is very overwhelming. Any advice?

    ——————————————

    hi there!

    course selection. my favourite time of year. it’s like christmas.

    do i have any advice? hmm. let’s see. if you’re certain about your bio, chem, and math courses, those should occupy 3.0 FCEs. which means you have a few course slots to play around with, even if you choose not to take 5.0 FCEs. i found the adjustment from high school to university a little challenging, so i didn’t take 5.0 FCEs and found it helpful. whether or not that’s the right decision for you is something only you know. i will note, though, that uni can be quite different, and taking a lighter courseload will give you more space to figure things out, like how to prepare for exams and how to use the libraries.

    if you’re undecided, you can always register for 5.0 FCEs and then drop courses later on. u of t has pretty generous course-drop periods, so you’ll have a good amount of time to decide whether or not you want to stay in your classes. plus, that’ll give you a chance to sus your courses out to see if they’re actually worth taking — if you decide to drop down from 5 to 4 courses a few weeks into the semester, you can just drop the elective you like the least.

    regardless of courseload, i always recommend that first years take either a first year foundations seminar or something in the ‘ones’ program, just because i personally had really good experiences in both. the idea of these courses is that they’re meant to help you transition from high school to university. the classes tend to be smaller, the program material is specially selected to be super interesting, and the assignments are more fun/less difficult. you can only take these courses in your first year, so they’re definitely something to take advantage of now. something to note, though, is that you won’t be able to apply the credit/no credit designation to these courses — i assume because they tend to be easier to do well in.

    here’s something else for you to consider: first year is a great time to get your breadth requirements out of the way. if you’re a life sciences kid, chances are you’ll have breadth 4 and 5 knocked out, but you’ll need to take a few classes that are breadth 1, 2, or 3. you can use the calendar to filter through different breadth requirements, in order to find the relevant courses for each category.

    here are my personal recommendations, either drawn from experience or conversations i’ve had with other students. none of these have prerequisites, so you should be able to take them in first year:

    you can also check the u of t reddit or the first year foundations seminar listings for other ideas!

    other than that… first year is a good time to explore different interests and take a few risks! i wish i’d done that more when i was in first year. it’s easy to be drawn to the big, generic classes like PSY100, and miss all the quirkier offerings like “introducing religion: blood, sex, and drugs” or “how to study video games.”

    you mentioned keeping your options open for other programs, and that’s a smart consideration to make as well. if you know what backup programs you might want to take, it’s a good idea to squeeze some of their prerequisites into your schedule, especially if they overlap with some of the courses you’re already taking.

    i know course selection can be overwhelming, but if you use the tools at your disposal— the timetable, the calendar, degree explorer, etc. — hopefully it will be a little easier! that’s about all the advice i can think of right now. i hope this helped, and feel free to send another question in if you’re confused about anything specific regarding course selection!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • admissions,  scholarships/bursaries

    everyone has that one course, tbh

    July 6, 2020

    Hi there!! I was wondering if University of Toronto looks at all Grade 11 grades, even those which are just electives. See, I plan on taking up Life Sciences in U of T, and all of my required courses are high up in the 90s, while I have this one elective course (one I didn’t even want to do) that’s a 52. Will that render my acceptance or chances on getting any scholarships?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    when i was in high school i had the answer to this but boyyyyy i am getting old and had to look it up. lucky for you my memory sucks, because it was only once i looked it up that i realized things changed.

    back in my day, i think (????) they used to only consider your top 5 or 6 grades, and there were a whole ton of courses they explicitly said they wouldn’t look at. it’s kind of whack that the policies are so different now.

    get to the point, aska. if you’re not a domestic student, you should look up the admissions info for your specific country.  but if you’re a canadian high school student, according to the future utoronto website, u of t will consider all your grade 11 final grades as well as any available grade 12 final grades/midterm grades. they’ll emphasize grades in classes that are relevant to your program (ie. bio and chem courses if you apply to lifesci) but i guess this means they’ll incorporate your 52% into their considerations.

    if it helps, i don’t think that 52% will wreck your chances at getting admission if you have high 90s in the rest of your classes, but it could… potentially… affect your admission scholarship chances? which is really just speculation on my end, i feel like scholarship considerations vary so much between awards, and there aren’t really any blanket statements to be made there.

    anyway, maybe it’ll help to remember that not all scholarships will consider your full academic record. from the time you begin your applications process, u of t has this cool new award explorer that should help you find scholarships you’re eligible to apply for, often with other criteria that may take weight off of your high school grades. after you become a u of t student, u of t also has these snazzy automatic-consideration in-course scholarships that won’t consider your high school grades at all — basically, they’re awarded to students who do well in their u of t classes, or have particularly high CGPAs. on top of all that, if you find yourself part of a generous program or college (as i am), you may find yourself eligible for program-specific awards or leadership awards. my point is that it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get an admissions scholarship.

    my point being: there will be plenty of other opportunities to get that cash money!

    don’t get too down about your 52%. it happens to the best of us. sucky teachers suck, what can ya do about it?

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • chem,  prereqs,  UTM

    check yourself before you (pre)req yourself

    June 29, 2020

    Hi, I am a first year going into the chemical and physical sciences program at UTM. I am looking to take a specialist in Biological Chemistry after the first year so I looked at the classes I should take. The problem is that many of the math courses require a minimum of 70% in Advanced functions and this past year I had an awful teacher and received my worse high school mark of 66% in her class. I also took Calculus and got an 83%. Will I be able to take the math courses?

    ——————————————

    hey there!

    congrats on committing to u of t and starting the lil adventure that is university!

    for a question like this, i’d recommend reaching out to the UTM chemistry department (probably the undergrad program administrator, specifically) and asking about your case. i’m not sure how they deal with situations like this, and it would be best to go directly to the source. there’s a chance you might need to take an online high-school level advanced functions course and get a higher grade in order to meet the prerequisite? but they’d be the ones to confirm that.

    i wouldn’t recommend registering in the course without the prerequisite, because departments will usually go into your records to check that you’ve met the requirements. if they find out that you don’t, you’ll be removed from the course with no warning, which will cause you a lot of unnecessary stress. 10/10 would not recommend.

    i hope the chem department is able to shed some light on what you should do! good luck with this.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  timetable

    i also want to know when the timetable will be out :(

    June 29, 2020

    do you know when the timetable will be updated?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    unfortunately i do not! i wish i had access to that kind of information, lol. i’m not high up enough in the bureaucracy for that.

    if you want to be alerted when it is updated, i’d recommend following the arts and science student union on twitter. they tend to be pretty on top of these things, and i get a lot of my faculty-related news from them before i hear it from anyplace else.

    otherwise, i anticipate the update will be released soon! course enrollment is coming up next month, and they’ve already released the preliminary timetable with info about course offerings/delivery/synchronicity. if you haven’t checked the preliminary timetable yet, it may at least be able to give you a sense of which courses will be offered!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  keeners

    5 courses is already a lot for me lol

    June 26, 2020

    Hi! Am I allowed to have only 4 FCE in my fourth and final year? I will have 21 FCE total if all goes well by the end of the fourth year. Basically, 5 FCE in my first year, 6 FCE in my second, 6 FCE in third, then 4 FCE in fourth, thus totaling 21. Stay safe and healthy bros. Sincerely, a stressed out freshie.

    ——————————————

    hey there, stressed out freshie,

    even if you didn’t tell me, i would definitely know that you were at least a little bit stressed out with a plan like that.

    the short answer for you is that yes, you are allowed to only have 4.0 FCE in your fourth year! this is super common, and i am totally planning to do something like that for my final year at u of t.

    the one thing you should note is that taking 4.0 FCE will probably not save you anything in terms of tuition– this goshdarned school charges the same tuition if you’re taking anything between 4.0 or 6.0 FCE. or at least, i think that’s pretty standard. if you’re not in artsci, i would check that over with your registrar.

    here’s the longer answer i really want to give, though. apparently i consider myself an advice columnist without any of the glory.

    is there a specific reason you’re doing this to yourself? taking six courses can be really rough, and i fully respect your decision to do what’s best for you, but i want to make sure that you know what you’re getting into as you make these plans. i do have friends that have managed six courses all right, but none of them have taken that many consecutive semesters of six courses, and most of them don’t have any extracurriculars or responsibilities. u of t is an amazing, vibrant school, but it does demand a lot of you, especially if you want to do well in your classes and be involved outside the classroom. is there a specific reason you want to be taking 4.0 FCEs in your final year/21.0 FCEs total? is taking summer school going to be an option? can you play around on degree explorer and see if there’s a better way to plan out your courses?

    if you’re dead set on this four-year plan, i would really recommend that you book an appointment with an academic advisor at your registrar, just to make sure it’s really your best option and that you’re well-equipped to make it through.

    anyway, hope u stay safe and healthy too, bro. don’t stress too hard </3

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • subject POST

    didn’t make post? you’re not (m)alone.

    June 25, 2020

    Hello! I was wondering if it is okay if I don’t make it into post in my 2nd year as well? In fall 2020, it would be my third year attending the university, but I would still be a 2nd year student because i don’t have 9 credits. Do people usually judge? I’m not on academic probation or anything but I feel like I won’t be able to make the cutoff this year as well for a different post.

    ——————————————

    hey there!

    i understand your anxieties, and want to say that it’s perfectly all right not to make POSt after your second year. what i’ve learned lately is that everyone operates on their own time– everyone’s doing school under unique circumstances, so it doesn’t really make sense to compare yourself with others. some of the coolest people i know aren’t doing their degrees according to the “average” timeline, but instead pacing themselves the way they know is best for them!

    will people judge you? hopefully not, but they may. either way, it’s not worth your time or attention, buddy. i get that it can be hard to feel good about yourself if people are giving you a hard time about these types of things, but remember that you’re not getting your degree for them. you’re getting it for yourself. they should all just go… deal with their own problems.

    for practical reasons, though, you’ll need to register in the minimum POSt combination (specialist, two majors, or a major + two minors) in order to enrol in courses for the upcoming academic year, given that you’ll be entering it as a second year. i’ve been told that your enrolment will be blocked otherwise. you can pick anything– i’d recommend type 1 programs vaguely similar to what you’re interested in– and just replace those placeholder programs later when you make POSt. if you’d like to talk to someone for advice with this, or if you have any other questions about POSt, you can reach out to your friendly local registrar who will do their best to help you!

    i hope this helped, and i wish you all the best!

    also, my sincerest apologies for the title of this post, it was the best i could come up with after half an hour of trying. this job do be hard sometimes.

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

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