• no one asked

    covid-19

    March 16, 2020

    hey friendos,

    surreal times, huh? started this year with the SCI, ended with the coronavirus. i don’t even really remember everything that happened in between. is university always like this? i hope not.

    anyway, came back to campus to release a quick lil thing for anyone still on this site during these trying times. i guess some people are in self isolation, and have nothing better to do??? i can see that there are still a few of you on here. get some better entertainment, we have no useful content for pandemics in our archives.

    i don’t currently have access to the site from home, so if you need to reach out to aska for any reason, please use my tumblr ask box. i’ll be monitoring it, and posting to tumblr to support anyone who needs support until i get access on the wordpress again.

    with that said, i may not answer regular questions as quickly as i usually do. it’s unfortunate that i still had a backlog when this thing started– i will be doing my best to get back to you guys, but those answers may not come quick. please be patient!

    in terms of resources:

    • the varsity’s twitter and website for all breaking u of t announcements. their articles will break down the academic consequences of the covid shutdown for you. i’m not able to cover it all right now, though i’d like to.
    • the president’s website for institution-wide announcements
    • your registrars (please call/email rather than visiting in person! note: best for clarifying policies that are already out, rather than inquiring about policies that have yet to be released. i’m betting all your registrars are stressed at the moment, and in many cases won’t have info ahead of release. check in with your faculties, if anything. HOWEVER– registrar’s offices are still operating, and there to support you. don’t hesitate to reach out.
    • MySSP for mental health support. take care of yourselves emotionally and mentally as well as physically. i know it’s hard to be navigating this in the first place, let alone as an individual dealing with mental health concerns.
    • i’m happy to link you to any other situation-specific resources if you reach out to me. i’m aware of quite a few, but am working under time constraints right now and can’t be as thorough as i’d like to be.

    a few well-being/safety tips from me:

    • remember that by social distancing, you’re protecting society’s most vulnerable– the elderly, immunocompromised, et cetera. i know it’s hard for us to disrupt our lives, but we shouldn’t wait until more people die to start taking this seriously. stopping the spread of covid will only work if we all pitch in. data from south korea indicates people our age (20s) can test positive with mild / no symptoms, so it’s no longer enough to just stay home if you’re sick.
    • don’t panic! take a deep breath. we’re all gonna be okay. here’s a trick my therapist taught me for centering my attention, if you’re anxious like me. it’s called 5-4-3-2-1:  take a seat. identify 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste.
    • go outside to a non-crowded place if this all starts to get to you. when it gets warmer, sit on the grass. watch the clouds. go for a walk. this might be one of those rare times in our lives that we can slow down enough to do things like this– as the world seems to grind to a halt, there’s never been a better time to be still and quiet.
    • take space from the news, even if you’re intrigued by the developments. at some point, it’s gonna get overwhelming. i hit that burnout point today.
    • fact-check your sources. heckin’ misinformation flying around right now, bois.

    my thoughts are with all of you– those who are leaving the country to be with their families; who are worried about rent and meals; who are uncertain about graduating, research, jobs, and internships. also with those who are anxious or feeling alone, who have sick relatives, and who wish they’d gotten to say goodbye to their friends before the school year ended. this isn’t how anyone wanted things to go. stay safe, wash your hands, we’re gonna get thru this.

    all my best, and please take care of yourselves,

    aska

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  • Uncategorized

    does anyone know any corequisite puns?

    March 12, 2020

    hey. i’m currently taking mat137, but due to my grades early on, I won’t be able to finish with a good mark in the end. that’s why I want to lwd. however, the problem is that phy152 requires mat137 as a corequisite. I’ve emailed the professor to ask if I can continue taking phy152 and finish mat137 in the summer (I didn’t want to take a risk) but i’m really unsure of whether this will be accepted. do I have a good chance of receiving this exemption, or not? 🙁

    ——————————————

    hey friendo,

    i don’t really know what your chances are of receiving an exemption, but this is what i do know about the situation you’re in:

    the department is usually responsible for enforcing prerequisite/corequisite requirements. at this point in the semester, though, the risk is low that the department will be actively checking for corequisite fulfillment. in other words, if you just drop MAT137 without notifying the department, you probably won’t get kicked out because they probably won’t find out. key word here being probably– i can’t make any guarantees. you’ve mentioned you don’t want to take risks on it, so i don’t even really know how relevant this information is to you.

    anyway, if you’ve already emailed the prof, the department may already be aware. my guess is that, if the prof is unsure at all, they’ll reach out to the department to find out what the guidelines are for situations like these.

    because of that, i’d just advise that you wait for a response from your prof, and then continue on once you know what their decision is. it’s hard for me to predict what your prof will say– they’re likely aware of everything i’ve mentioned in this post and more, so they’ll be best able to assess your situation. feel free to reach out for help again if you get an update/the situation changes, or see your registrar if you’d like more detailed in-person advice! you’ll need to see them anyway to request an LWD.

    in general, it’s important to keep in mind that corequisites tend to exist for a reason– the two courses are meant to support each other. i don’t know what the impact on your learning will be of you dropping a coreq, even if the department’s okay with it. it’s possible that the crucial overlap occurred early on? but yeah, something to keep in mind, and something i’m sure your department/registrar will also mention to you.

    sorry i can’t be any more conclusive– but good luck! hope it all resolves okay.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • internal transfer

    it me, a blessing

    March 12, 2020

    Heyyyy! Just wanted to say this website is a blessing, so helpful! I had a quick question about internal transfer (I’m sorry, i know they are the most annoying questions :(. Im currently a first year at UTSC life sci, and um chem didnt go too well, so Im retaking it this sem, and was panning to do the other chem in the summer. I sent my internal application for UTSG in January but it it only says “application received” and nothing else :(. Does this mean something? Or are they just waiting for my second sem marks? Cuz i did say to send the transcript for winter and summer. Any advice or information is greatly appreciated ?
    ——————————————

    hey there,

    internal transfers are, indeed, one of the most obscure things at this school. how do they work? when do they work? wish i knew.

    i mean… you could try calling the undergraduate admissions office for utsg artsci, and ask them if there’s anything else you need to submit right now. it is entirely possible that they’re just waiting for your marks to be updated. but yeah, only they would be able to tell you for sure. if you haven’t sent any transcripts at all along yet, then i doubt you’re going to get any results back until you do. they can’t assess you without your marks, after all.

    if you’ve sent in everything you’ve been told to send in, then i’d just say sit tight and wait for your application status to change.

    if you haven’t spoken to your registrar’s office re: your internal transfer yet, i’d reach out to them as well. they may know more than i do / be able to advise you more in-depth.

    best of luck with the transfer! hope it goes through.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • no one asked

    yes it me i am naptime bb

    March 9, 2020

    heyo friends,

    unsolicited post, but found out about this cool event series i thought i’d point yall to! seems like most of the lurkers on this website don’t even go here, but IF YOU DO:

    calling all procrastinators, naptime bbs, and youtube addicts: want to psychologize your way into spending a couple productive hours at the library instead? want to learn some tools to avoid those dreaded robarts all-nighters and those catch-up seshes? want some free food while you’re at it? heck yea. you do. innis is holding a series of academic motivation workshops in the coming days (the first one is tomorrow, but they’re also happening on the 10th, 13th, 16th, and 18th). event page here for more details, and to find out how to register.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    maybe i’ll see you there.

    but you’ll never know, will you?

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • co-op,  co-op management,  keeners,  management,  management,  UTM

    fOLLoW yOur HeaRT, [redacted]

    March 9, 2020

    Hi this is [redacted]. I am sorry for contacting you but I am too desperate to get an answer for some of the questions that I have regarding UTM management and UTM commerce haha. Hope you would not mind:)

    I was recently accepted to study management at UTM in the upcoming Fall. I love the course and all that it has to offer but I can’t help thinking that there are better options such as Rotman Commerce, or even just UTM Commerce. I have been looking through Reddit post and people are saying that UTM Management is just not that impressive and is a low-risk low return kind of course. There are also no PEY or co-op for this course but the one thing that I really want to do at Uoft is to get a lot of internships/work experience during my college life. However I do not think UTM Management can provide me as much experience when compared with Rotman commerce/ UTM commerce. The only specializations that UTM management offered are Human Resources management and management which is very broad. On the other hand, The commerce program leads to specializations in accounting, finance, and marketing which are more employable than just pure management or pure commerce.

    I understand that I will have to do Management at UTM for my first year. But may I know is it easy to transfer to UTM commerce after first year? I also did not take any Calculus course in high school but I might consider getting tutorial on Calculus (not summer school/night school) before attending UTM. Now I was looking at your previous response and you mentioned that ‘MAT133Y5 recommends that you’ve already completed high school calculus (with at least a 70%) before taking the course.’ I do believe that I have a solid math background but I am not familiar with calculus, do you think tutor can help me get prepared for the course?

    Apart from that, is there anything that I need to look into before thinking about transferring from UTM management to UTM commerce? Or are there actually any advantage of studying Management over Commerce? My ultimate goal is basically just to work at a large company with a decent salary and nothing much. Will UTM management be able to give me that opportunity or will other courses provide a better prospect for my future career? Really sorry that I have so many questions. I am just pretty excited but also kind of worried that I am missing out on better opportunities. Just want to get a clearer picture of everything and I hope you would not mind giving me some guidance and suggestions. Thank you very much for your precious time!! (Love what you are doing btw:)))

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    not gonna lie– i get kind of overwhelmed when people send me questions longer than medieval love letters. please don’t ever apologize for contacting me, though! this is what i do. just means i gotta break the question down a lil. let’s see what we got.

    is it easy to transfer to UTM commerce after first year?

    easy enough. in fact, i dunno if you’re aware of this, but you’re not actually a management student in first year. you’ve probably been admitted to a stream (management first-year admissions is my guess) with instructions to take certain courses; upon completing those courses in first year, you’ll then be eligible for admission to the actual management program. u of t runs using a POSt system, which stands for Program Of Study; all this means is that first years aren’t really in a major/minor/progam until they qualify, apply, and get accepted at the end of their first year.

    i’d check this over with the utm registrar to be safe, but as far as i’m aware, all you need to do to switch into commerce is take the commerce prerequisites and meet the grade threshold. you can find that info here. if you’re certain you want to be in commerce, you can probably take those prereqs right off the bat (instead of your management ones) to save you the trouble of switching over later on. but like i said, please confirm this with the registrar’s office! in my experience it’s been easy enough to switch around, but i don’t know if the programs you’re interested in have any quirks.

    can a tutor help you get prepped for calc?

    you are correct that calculus is important for MAT133Y5. i can’t give you a straight answer as to whether a tutor would be helpful– wouldn’t it depend on the quality of the tutor and the material you cover? i think in general, it would definitely be better than no calculus experience whatsoever. university math classes are pretty rough, and i would not advise you to enter into one without calculus. the best approach would probably be to have your tutor cover the calculus and vectors curriculum outlined in this pdf, and make sure you have all those concepts down. if you scroll down to page 101, you’ll see the curriculum i’m referring to.

    is there anything that you need to look into before transferring to UTM commerce?

    like i said, just check in with your registrar!

    are there actually any advantage of studying Management over Commerce?

    i am not an expert on this.

    i’d say someone at the department would know– maybe you could try contacting the academic advisor? the advice i, personally, can give you is simple: follow your heart, as cheesy as that sounds, and don’t trust everything you read on the internet. if i had believed every single redditor i came into contact with in high school, i would not have ended up at u of t. i’d say it’s more important to pursue your interests and excel at them than it is to drag your feet into a program that an internet stranger said was better. so that’s my take.

    you didn’t directly ask these questions, but you seemed to want guidance on it. out of the generosity and benevolence of my heart, i’ll cover them: 

    • can you get PEY and co-op opportunities in management? 

    it actually seems like the UTM management program offers a fourth-year internship course, MGT480H5, that will give you the kind of hands-on experience you seem to be hoping for. whether you’re in management or commerce, you’ll also be eligible for a new program (launching in fall! wow!). it’s called the certificate in effective business practices and leadership skills. details are here, should you be interested. if you’re admitted to the certificate, you’ll get to take part in a 4-month paid work placement, on top of other certificate requirements. fun stuff! ‘

    • will you end up at a large company with a decent salary?

    haha bold of you to assume climate change won’t getcha first

    all in all, though, i’m really glad you’re excited and looking into your options! best of luck with it all, and you know where to find me if you have any other questions. hope this was helpful.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • academic offense

    I LITERALLY HAVE NO FRIENDS IN THAT CLASS.

    March 6, 2020

    I got an email from my philosophy prof that she wanted to meet to talk about my essay. she said that it was too similar to other students except I LITERALLY HAVE NO FRIENDS IN THAT CLASS. I THINK ASSIGNMENT IS WORTH 10% EXCEPT I ALREADY HAD AN ISSUE FIRST YEAR WITH A POLITICS COURSE THAT I FAILED AND WENT ON MY TRANSCRIPT. I really didnt copy anyone else work, and im guessing maybe I sent in a copy that didnt have all my citations on it bc I had multiple. how would I convince her otherwise??

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    “i literally have no friends in that class” lol a mood, where’d they get this headline about me?

    sorry, i couldn’t help it, i had to find a way to sneak that gif in. i promise i know an average of 2.67 people in my courses this sem lol. all jokes aside, this is a tough spot to be in and i’m glad you reached out– you must be panicked, and you shouldn’t have to navigate this alone. this is what i think you should do:

    your first step should be reaching out to the resources you have, which you’ve already sorta done. the registrar’s office would be even better equipped than me to give you a rundown of your options, point you towards other resources, and give you advice.

    • gather any drafts, reading notes, or other proof of the process you went through when putting this assignment together

    this should include the other copies of your assignment with citations! it’ll help you make a stronger case that the assignment is your original work. i know sometimes papers get written super fast, so you might not have many substantial notes/drafts– but anything you have will help you. in terms of “how would i convince her otherwise,” this is the only real piece of advice i can offer.

    • trust the process

    haha i hate this phrase. but in this case, you’re kind of going to have to trust the process– my understanding is that you’ll need to attend several meetings to have your situation sorted out. the first (and hopefully only) one will be with your course instructor; if, after that meeting, they are still convinced you committed an academic offence, you’ll have to sit down with either a dean or department chair. there’s a whole rundown for you in this pdf, should you choose to preemptively subject yourself to learning what “the process” entails. i’m sure you’ll be informed anyway, and there might not be any use in making yourself anxious given that you might not even need to go through it all. but hey. what you do with that link is on you; i just toss info your way. my hands are washed.

    best of luck with this all! i hope this answer has been at least a lil’ helpful, and that the situation resolves in your favour.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • CR/NCR,  grad school

    ah yes, grad school admissions. life’s greatest mystery

    March 2, 2020

    Hi! I am planning on applying to grad school next year and I have a concern that might affect my decision to apply. In my last year, I’ve decided to spend summer to take a few courses so during the year I could lessen my load for a club (3 in summer, 4 per term = 5.5 credits). But, I CR one of my summer courses. The grad programs I’m looking at looks at the final 5.0 credits. Will grad school ignore my CR grade and look at the the last 5.0 credit “real” grades or will they consider the CR still?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    it’s kind of hard to assess this– different grad schools might have different policies, and i don’t wanna toss you the wrong direction by giving you my guess! i’d encourage you to reach out to the admissions offices of the grad programs you’re interested in, and see what they say. as much as i wish i could help you, for this one i think it’s best that you go straight to the source.

    wishing you all the luck (all of it!) with your grad school applications, though, and hope the admissions offices have favorable responses. after you hear back from them (or even before lol we love our registrars), i’d encourage you to drop by your registrar’s office if you have any concerns.

    be Boundless,

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  • admissions,  Uncategorized

    just do ur best dawg

    March 2, 2020

    Hi guys! I’m wondering what kind of average I should aim for in Math (I’m in gr 10 but doing Math for gr 11) if I want to pursue something in the Life Sciences area. Also if y’all have any tips for studying please share.

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    Image result for niki just do your best dawg

    i never really have much to say in terms of high school averages. it’s really hard to tell what’s going to be the minimum competitive average in any given year– unfortunately that information isn’t advertised, nor do i have access to it. even then, though, i don’t think your grade 11 math will typically even matter if you’re completing it in your tenth grade year. this page confirms that they’ll base your conditional offer of admission on the most senior-level math course you’ve completed at the time of your application. assuming you apply halfway through 12th grade but finish grade 12 math in grade 11, they’ll really only be looking at your grade 12 mark.

    my recommendation would be more so that you think of grade 11 math as a way of getting the necessary foundations down for grade 12 math and calculus. you’ll need calculus to get into lifesci, although your calculus grade will only be factored into your admissions average if it’s one of your top courses. i can’t really quantify what averages you should be aiming for, but hopefully this tip on what you should focus on helps you out a little.

    in general, i’d just encourage you to do the best you can– reach out to your teachers for help, review your test corrections in depth, and study with friends who can help you out if it won’t be too distracting. at least when i was in high school, it was support from the people around me that helped me bump my math grade up. and just do your best, man. the u of t competitive average isn’t under your control, and although i know it would be nice to have a number to aim for, i just… can’t really give you anything of the sort.

    so that’s all i have to offer. in terms of general tips for studying? check out our tumblr. i’m usually too swamped by the questions in our inbox to create the kind of studyblr content that REALLY speaks to my soul (lol) so i try to reblog all the useful stuff i see out there. here are some of my favorite posts i’ve seen and reblogged recently, in case you’re too lazy to scroll through our whole feed:

    studying myths 

    using whiteboards to study 

    study breaks

    tips for incoming students 

    parkinson’s law

    color coding your notes 

    miscellaneous tips

    check these posts out!

    best of luck with the rest of your high school career and be Boundless,

    aska

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  • extra courses,  switching

    no upper years in first year courses. none.

    March 2, 2020
    hey dude! do you know if second years can take first year courses? i’m thinking about switching out of the humanities stream into life sci, but ill need to take bio120, bio130, chm135 + chm136 if i want to pursue the program i want (ecology major). do i need to take summer courses, or? is there a way i can take those first year courses next year? thanks so much!
    ——————————————
    hey hey heyo (cringes a little because who sounds this much like a middle schooler on a tuesday? ridiculous.)
    you should be able to take first year courses as a second year, yes. this isn’t an uncommon situation to be in. do you need to do them in the summer? i’m not sure. i guess it depends on how anxious you are to get into the program– if you don’t mind waiting until next year’s program request period, you can definitely take those prereq courses during the regular school year.
    if you do decide to take a full summer courseload and get those courses under your belt sooner, you should be able to request admission to the EEB major for your second year. EEB seems to be a type 1 program, which is lucky for you because that’s the most lenient form of POSt in terms of admissions. you’ll be able to enrol in type 1 programs until september 23, 2020, by which time your summer courses should show up as completed.
    you might wanna just keep in mind that u of t won’t recognize any 100-level courses you take beyond 6.0 FCEs’ worth, at least as far as your degree or CGPA are concerned. after you take 6.0 FCEs of 100-level courses, any other 100-level courses you complete will be counted as ‘EXTRA.’ they’ll be invalid towards your 20 credits to graduate and can’t be used to raise (or lower!) your GPA, but you can use them for things like prerequisites and program admission. so that’s your one caveat. nothing to prevent you from taking more first-year courses, just something to be aware of. if you’re uncertain whether this rule will impact you in any substantial way, i’d recommend that you visit your registrar and have them check.
    hope this helped! and hope your new POSt is heckin’ incredible. proud of you for being brave enough to switch into something you find more interesting, even if it could possibly inconvenience you.
    be Boundless,
    aska
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  • admissions,  biology,  prereqs

    broaden your horizons, or whatever

    February 28, 2020

    Questions! (I was recently accepted into the faculty of arts and science! Yay!) *deep breath* Here I go: I hope you won’t judge me but I didn’t take any science or math courses in Grade 12 simply because I thought majoring in English would satisfy me. (I severly limited myself, I know, and I’ve been regretting everything) The thing is, I’m now looking at all of these awesome programs that require math, bio, etc. and I was wondering if uoft let’s students take the classes required for those programs that you don’t have the high school prerequisites for. ie. You need to take a bio course for a genome major, but that bio course requires you to have taken grade 12 bio. Is it possible to still get into a more science and math oriented programs? It sounds impossible just typing it out because I don’t know if I would even be able to catch up to university level courses.

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    congrats on your acceptance!

    honestly, you’re thinking about these things pretty early on– you’re in a much better position to catch up than, say, someone who realized the same thing in september of your first year. it’s really cool that your interests are broadening and you’re thinking about what will fulfill you. genomes? dang, dude. that’s some cool stuff.

    i wouldn’t say the game is over for you. as far as i can tell, these are your options:

    • contact the biology department

    i looked up the requirements for the genome major, even though i don’t know if it’s really what you’re interested in or if you just mentioned it as an example. it looks like you are correct and they will be looking at the high school courses you took to determine your eligibility for required courses like BIO120 and BIO130. but both course descriptions mention that you can get in touch with the course office if you don’t have the required prereqs. i’m guessing this means that they have some form of policy for dealing with students lacking prereqs. while i’m not sure what that is, i’m hopeful that they’d be able to provide you with some guidance on this issue.

    if you’re interested in programs other than genome biology and run into the same issue, i’d follow the same path and contact the department. they’re usually the ones who will know whether exceptions can be made for you, and/or what your best course of action is. department contact info can usually be found under the program listing on the artsci calendar. 

    • take summer school

    if your summer is unoccupied and the thought of spending the lovely months of july and august in a classroom doesn’t make you want to soak your pillowcase in tears, then covering those science/math prereqs in the summer is always an option.

    i still think you should contact the relevant u of t departments first, just to make sure that you don’t unnecessarily pile on schoolwork in the summer. i also don’t really know how many prereqs you think you need, and whether those could plausibly be completed over your break. i don’t know how it works for you, but what i remember from taking summer school in high school was that you were limited to two courses at a time???? obviously, that’s probably different in different systems/provinces/countries etc.

    it may also be important to note that once you complete those courses, you should provide proof of completion to your registrar/the department. the department is allowed to kick you out of a course as soon as they realize you don’t have the prereqs, which can even happen in the first few weeks of school. i don’t really want you to have to deal with that nasty surprise, so this has been your heads up.

    • take online courses

    you can also consider taking your prereq courses online. if you’re in ontario, ontario virtual school will probably be able to help you out. if you’re not in ontario, you can try talking to your high school guidance counsellor– ask them to point you in the right direction re: reputable online schools. from what i remember about high school online courses, you can start them whenever and finish them whenever. that might give you a little more flexibility– if you feel up to it, you can get started now and have those transcripts ready much, much earlier.

    best of luck with everything! i wouldn’t say it’s impossible to catch up, maybe just a bit more work. hope this helped and congratulations again on your acceptance.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • financial aid,  UTAPS

    girls just wanna have funds

    February 11, 2020

    hi! are UTAPS funds given twice per school year or just once? I received ~$1500 in the fall semester, and in the invoice, it said that it’s just “Fall 2019” so I was wondering if another one is coming this winter? thanks a lot!

    ——————————————

    hey friendo,

    you should technically be able to view upcoming payments on your ACORN– to see how, go to this link and click the dropdown for “how do i view what awards i have received?” it’ll tell you where to look and what you need to look for to check if you have any more UTAPS payments left.

    if that doesn’t work for you or you’re in doubt about what it’s showing you, go to your registrar’s office, and have them check for you. i am not tooooo sure but i think they’ll be able to see things in the system that you don’t have access to, or help you find info you don’t even know you have.

    hope this helped!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • internal transfer

    le big sigh

    February 7, 2020

    Hi, I am currently a first year UTSC student wanting to transfer to UTSG for second year. I applied to the social sciences program and I was wondering what the general competitive cGPA for internal transfer is. I have a 2.9 right now and I am a little nervous. Please let me know!!

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    i’ve gotten this question a few times in the past, and it never ceases to frustrate me how little info there is on internal transfers to UTSG. UTM has its competitive internal transfer cGPA estimate– where’s st. g’s? geez.

    i’ve been told nothing gets published because it’s such a dynamic pool of applicants, and they can’t actually put a number out and risk being held to it in case it doesn’t accurately reflect what they get that year. which i guess kind of makes sense?? but doesn’t really help you out much. i wish i had more on this, i do. it sucks that you just kinda gotta keep your fingers crossed and wait for word. which isn’t ideal.

    you might try calling enrolment services and see if they’re willing to tell you anything. that’d be my best bet, although i only have about 38% confidence it will work.

    best of luck, though. aska is cheerin’ for ya.

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • sociology,  subject POST

    slight major confusion

    February 7, 2020

    hi! I had a question about switching majors. I’m a first year and I’m not sure if I want a major in sociology or something else. how hard would it be to switch to soc in 2nd year if I originally chose something else?

    ——————————————

    hey there,

    i’m not really sure what you mean by switching in second year. do you mean, like, before your second year starts? midway through your second year?

    if you’re currently in your first year, you’re technically not even in a major yet. dunno if you’re aware of this, but u of t runs on a subject POSt system– which means you apply to be admitted to a program of study in the early summer right after your first year. until you’ve completed that procedure, you don’t even technically have a major to switch out of.

    you might be referring to your first-year admission stream (which i doubt, because you said something about a major) or the program of interest you declared on your ouac? u of t’s not gonna hold you to that program of interest, nor did getting admitted to u of t mean you were guaranteed access to that major. as for the admission streams, those are mainly done for the purpose of giving priority enrollment to students who are most likely to need certain courses as prerequisites for majors in that stream. if that makes sense.

    if you’re hoping to find out more about how to actually choose your programs of study and what that process looks like, i’ve written that up in a previous post and you can view it here. updated deadlines– so you can get a sense of a timeline– are here.

    and, well, if you’re asking about how to switch your major halfway through the year, technically you can’t. what you can do is drop the courses related to the major you don’t want anymore, and start taking prerequisites/program requirements for the major you’re more interested in beginning in the winter semester. then, if you have everything you need, you can request a new program and then drop your current one during the program request period following your second year. might wanna note that you should drop after being accepted to your new program, just in case things don’t pan out.

    for soc specifically, i don’t know that you’re gonna be able to request it without taking a summer course in the first summer semester and then requesting soc as your major during the second program request period that begins in july. this is because to get into soc, you need at least 65% in SOC100 and SOC150, but you can’t take SOC150 without having already taken SOC100.

    tl:dr — switching before second year starts? easy peasy lemon squeezy, as long as you have program prereqs. switching midway through second year? difficult difficult lemon difficult — if you haven’t already taken those first year soc courses, anyway. if you have it should be as easy as requesting soc as a program in the summer.

    hope this helped!

    be Boundless,

    aska

     

     

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