askastudent - your student life specialists

getting into U of T,  prereqs,  programs,  psychology

timetable builder my beloved

November 17, 2025

hi aska!

thank you so much for answering my question 🙂 (i’m the social sciences applicant who’s interested in psych)

your answer did raise some more questions for me though. will it be difficult to get into the prereq courses i need to apply for a psych major because of my admission stream?

i’ve heard that psych is a ridiculously popular program and they give priority to life sci students.

heyyo,

oh my goodness hi hello, i always love a returning customer!!!!

let’s look at your first question first: will it be difficult to get into the prereqs for the psychology major?

now looking at the website tells me that the only prerequisites for the psychology major are grade 12 calculus, grade 12 biology, and the first-year course PSY100. so unless your school has, like, five million people and only three calculus and biology classes, i think you should be good for 2/3 of those.

as for PSY100, i have more good news for you, because as it turns out PSY100 is one of the biggest classes in terms of enrolment numbers at uoft! if you take a look at this nifty tool called the timetable builder (my beloved), put in the faculty (arts and science), and type “PSY100” in the course code bar, we can see that the current PSY100 class this semester was capped at 1500 people, and there’s still 191 spots available. yowza. next semester there are TWO classes running, one with 500 people that’s filled up and one with 1500 that still has 446 available as i’m writing this.

the one catch to all that is that PSY100 has “P” enrollment controls. what on earth does that mean, you ask? well, if we look into the course itself on timetable builder we can see that certain students had priority enrollment until july 23 this year, and all other students in the faculty of arts and science could enroll starting on july 25. i believe that those with priority were first years in the life sci admission stream. we can see here that this year, first years enrolled in their courses on july 17, so life sci kids had an extra 6 days over everyone else.

that may seem a bit scary, but… there are still hundreds of spots left in both semester’s courses, and it’s november! i think you should be fine getting into PSY100.

as for getting to the PROGRAM, i scoured the internet literally everywhere i could think of and i didn’t see anything that says being in the life sci admission stream is an advantage to getting into the program. the only way i can see that being true is because that stream gives you priority to PSY100, but as we already found, i don’t think you’d have to worry about that. while this site does tell applicants to apply to the life sci stream, i think it’s just cause you’d get priority to PSY100. you can enroll in programs outside your admission stream. so as long as you have the prereqs and your grades are in the right range (check that out here!), you should be just as competitive as any applicants who came from the life sci stream.

i hope this helped answer some of the stuff i didn’t get to last time! i wish you the absolute best in grade 12 and hopefully we’ll see you in psych classes in a few years!

cheers,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
credits, degree requirements

no skipping the line

November 8, 2025

I’m a uoft st george undergrad student doing a double major in two lifesci programs. Is it possible for me to graduate with a bsc instead of an hbsc? Like if i wanted to finish in 3 years instead of 4 years and do less courses as a result.

heyyo,

ah, i get it, there would be nothing sweeter than finishing uni in three years, right? you’d get to laugh at your friends while they’d still have to trudge through another years’ worth of midterms and projects and exams.

but as great as that sounds, unless you take courses in the summer or extra courses during the year, there isn’t much you can do to make it happen.

when it comes to honours degrees, uoft is quite unique (how many times have i said that? we always have to be special). unlike other unis, all bachelor’s degrees in artsci are honours by default. the only way to graduate with a non-honours degree is if you have a CGPA between 1.5 and 1.85 but fulfill all the other requirements for graduation.

so you can’t choose to get a non-honours degree unless you have a CGPA below 1.85. no matter what, if you want out of here, you’ve gotta get your 20.0 credits. no skipping the line.

i know, having to stay here for 4 years isn’t easy, but hey, you’re trapped here now, so make the most of it! i’d say uoft is probably one of the best places to be stuck at for four years. you may not graduate in three years, but at least you’ll have an extra year of eating from the pink food truck!

cheers,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
arts & sciences, programs, psychology

the art of being a science

November 7, 2025
hi! i’m a grade 12 student who’s just applied to UTSG social sciences. I’m interested in psych research as a career but more on the arts side. i know that psych is only offered as a life science and is really science heavy at u of t, but i read on their website that social sciences and humanities students can also declare a psych major if they have the pre reqs to do so.

so i’m wondering, exactly how much wiggle room would i have with customising my courses? im kind of worried about having to take a lot of hardcore science courses. its really not my vibe.

also, would i have to double major? because they don’t offer a ba in psychology do they?

ughhhhh help pls

heyyo,

i’m super excited to answer this one because it’s something i already knew a bit about!! in bygone days i was also considering psychology, and as a not very sciency person myself, was a bit disheartened to see that uoft only offered a science degree for psych.

you are correct that utsg only offers psychology as a science program. HOWEVER, the fact that you applied to the social science admission category does not mean that you can’t do a psychology program. within arts and science, your admission category doesn’t restrict you when it comes to which classes and programs you can take.

the only thing you’d have to watch out for is the prerequisites for the program. i’m gonna assume here that you’re an ontario student. for the psych major, you have to have a passing grade in grade 12 calculus and vectors and grade 12 biology.

now as for how sciency the program actually is… well, let’s take a look at the required courses. the only one that jumps out at me as truly math or science-based is statistics I.

now, you COULD double major, or you couldn’t. see, the way programs work at uoft is a little wacky. if you wanna do psych, your options would essentially be:
- A psych major and another major
- Another major, another minor, and a psych minor
- A psych specialist
if you only wanna do psych, you’d do the specialist, which is basically a super-major geared towards people that wanna pursue research or grad school. it also requires more credits… including another stats course and research courses. if you do a psych major and a major in an arts field, you could choose whether you want an arts or science degree at graduation. pretty cool. or if you only do the psych minor, your degree would be in either arts or science depending on your major.

wooooooow that’s a lot of info.

bear with me for a little longer, dear reader.

you could also look into UofT’s other campuses in Mississauga (UTM) or Scarborough (UTSC). both of them also have psych programs. UTM’s major has some sciencey sounding courses, but unlike UTSG I don’t see any required math courses. for some reason UTSC has a crazy amount of psych programs (like. just look at this). i can’t summarize all of them without making this post a trillion words long, but from what i can see there’s some lab and data analysis courses involved.

all of this to say… you’ll have your first year to think about things. if you’re still interested in psych, 100% take PSY100 since it’ll give you a sample of what the subject is like (and it’s a prerequisite for psych programs). take classes in other areas you might be interested in, and see where the year takes you. explore!

be like dora.

i hope the boatload of info i just dropped on you makes sense, and not like the ramblings of an incoherent person who happens to know a concerning amount about how psych programs at uoft work. i promise i’m normal.

promise.

best of luck with applications and your first year!

cheers,

aska
Read More

aska No Comments
admissions,  applying for U of T,  getting into U of T,  life science

running to labs vs running drills

October 28, 2025

hi aska,

i’m a current grade 12 student in ontario and i would consider myself to be a pretty good student (taking all APs, usually get pretty good grades, on top of homework, etc. etc.). however, i also play volleyball and it definitely does affect my ability to actually focus on certain subjects, of which i have found mostly to be math.

i’m applying to uoft life science (first choice on OUAC, i REALLY want to get in) and i’m a bit scared because i’m not doing very well in data management (current average after 2 quizzes + a test is 81), and i know it’s not a prereq but i’m still worried.  for context, my overall grade 11 average last year was a 91% (including fast-tracked comp sci and advanced functions).  i got a 97 in G11 AP English, 92 in G11 functions, 89 in G11 AP Bio, 87 in G11 chemistry, 87 in advanced functions, and 90 in G12 comp sci.

starting out this semester, i have bio and english, and i think i can project myself doing pretty well in those.

so, my question is: what is the likelihood of someone with my grades getting into uoft life science? what would be an average i should aim for? how can i ensure i get into uoft?

should i just apply to rmc at this point ?

Thanks!

heyyo,

wellllll I’ve never been to rmc and don’t know anyone who goes there, but im willing to guess that life at utsg life sci is quite a bit different than at rmc. for instance, i have yet to hear of a life sci student who has been forced to do obstacle courses at 7am in order to get their degree. but hey, maybe i just haven’t talked to enough life sci kids yet…

to answer your actual questions though:

the recommended average for life sci admission varies depending on the campus. that’s right, you can take life sci at all three uoft campuses. I don’t know which one you’re at (guys, PLEASE tell me what campus you’re talking about!!), so i took the liberty of doing a bit of research for all of them. so generous, i know.

at utsg (the downtown campus), the approx admission range is mid to high 80s. at utsc it depends on the specific programs you’d wanna do but they’re mostly mid-high 70s, and at utm there’s no grade requirements for life sci specifically but the general requirement is an average of 75%. so i’ll let you make assumptions about that.

also, a quick side note in case you didn’t know about it already: some programs within the life sciences category require certain classes in high school. i would very very very much highly recommend that you look through all the programs listed in the table on this website to make sure you’re taking the classes you’ll need to get into any programs you might be into. there’d be nothing worse than wanting to apply to, like, the pharmaceutical chemistry program but oops! you didn’t take grade 12 physics.

thank me later.

so as for how you can ensure that you get in — life sci is a grades-only admission category, so really the best thing you can do is maintain your good grades.

now as for balancing school with volleyball, it’s of my personal opinion that having something fun outside of academics is almost always a good thing. i think it boosts your mood, can prevent burnout, and if it’s a team sport like what you’re doing it can keep up your social relationships. i mean, if i didn’t have a life outside of academics, i wouldn’t be writing to you right now. and how sad would that be?

however, if you find that it’s really distracting you and having a negative impact on your schoolwork, talk to your guidance counselor and/or coach to see what you can figure out together. if you really feel like you need a bit of a break from volleyball you could try telling your coach, but i would personally never recommend fully dropping out of a sport or ec that makes you happy unless your academics are in really dire straits. which yours are not!

keep up your great work so far, and best of luck with your application! i hope you’ll be running to your labs at uoft this time next year, and not running drills at rmc (unless you decide you’re into that).

cheers,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
academic success,  criminology,  UTM

go get that crim

October 27, 2025

I’m writing my second test today for criminology and honestly I’m traumatized after the first ever term test I took for any course came out as a 68 and I’m just worried about how it’ll affect my POSt. I also have no idea what study strategies work best so I can maintain 80-85 in my classes.

heyyo,

aw, i’m really sorry to hear that you weren’t feeling great after that test :/

it’s totally normal to be disappointed, AND it was only your first test — so as difficult as it is, don’t be too hard on yourself.

the good news is that trying to figure out what study methods are good for you is exactly what you’re supposed to be doing! so here’s how i can help you with that:

i did a bit of digging, and from what you told me i think you’re at utm? i’m also guessing based on the info about the program you wanna go into that it’s criminology, law, and society. the website tells me that the only courses you need to get in are:

1) ISP100, and

2) a final mark of at least 67% in SOC100 OR a final mark of at least 70% in both SOC109 (the course i think you’re talking about?) and one 0.5 credit course in sociology at the 200 level or above

although it says it can change each year, you will indeed need at least a 2.0 GPA to be considered, which is equivalent to a C average or 63-66%.

there’s a smaaaalll chance you could be aiming for the utsg program, but i think your description fits better with the utm one. still, i dropped the link to that program page in the off chance my sleuthing failed me.

(oh, and ps: tell me what campus you’re at or you may not get the answer you want! i’m very wise but unfortunately i can’t read your mind through the internet. yet).

based on all that program info, if you were able to get a 68 on your first test, please be SO far from giving up hope! you’re very very close to where you wanna be.

if you wanna get some good advice or tips on how to study more effectively to get those grades up to the 80-85 you want, i think i found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when it comes to UTM study resources. if you can imagine that as a rainbow.

please meet: the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre website.

in this pot of gold, you can find info on a whole bunch of programs and workshops, and if you’d rather stay in your room and sit behind a computer (same), you can peruse a ton of videos and articles about every academic skill you could imagine.

and if all else fails, you can also book a personalized appointment at the centre so you can get your specific questions answered.

i hope this helps! you’ve got this 🙂

now go get that crim

cheers,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
admissions, applying for U of T, engineering, getting into U of T

entering the hallowed halls

October 15, 2025

Hello, I have a question. I’m currently a gr 11 student. i didn’t really care about my grades or study at all. I have an 80 average I know won’t cut it for university. I want to go to UofT Mechanical Engineering. I have amazing ecs, 500+ hours volunteer, intern 4 months, DECA 4 years, STEM 2 years. I can easily get 97+ in gr 12 but I’ve been told they look at gr 11 for consistency which I don’t have so I’m unsure if I can make it in.

heyyo,

i’m far from an expert on engineering admissions but luckily for both me and you, there is a LOT of info about them online. plenty from official sources (check out the ones i link for you!), or, if you are so inclined, you can enter the hallowed halls of reddit to read about the experiences of the applicants before you.

oh, and there’s quite a bit on the lovely site you’re already on, too (shameless self-advertising, i know i know).

anyways, for now i will save you a bit of time sorting through all that info and give you the important stuff:

so i’m gonna assume that you’re an ontario high school student. if you’re out of province but in canada, see here for the requirements. if you’re international, check here.

now if you are indeed a student in ontario, according to the admission faqs, you need to have an average of about high 80s to low 90s to be competitive for mechanical engineering. it’s important to note that when grade 12 final marks aren’t available yet, admissions will look at your grade 11 prerequisites to help calculate your average. they also consider your individual grade 11 and 12 courses along with the average.

you’re right that extracurriculars are important for engineering admissions. according to the admission faqs, you’ll have a chance to write about your experiences and submit a personal profile. part of that personal profile involves recording yourself answering questions. i do believe that there are workshops that can help you prep for that part of your application, but i couldn’t find any available at the moment. i did, however, find a site which lists some upcoming events for hopeful engineers. keep your eyes peeled!

my advice for what you can do right now is to start getting some help from teachers and guidance counselors. ask your teachers for more feedback so you know what skills you can work on. and my friend, i am very sorry to be the one to inform you of this tragedy, but if you wanna go to uoft, you will have to start studying.

i know, i know, it’s all quite upsetting. but you can start now by doing some research on study tips (there’s SO MUCH out there, google is your friend), and asking your guidance counselor if you want some more personalized advice.

and one last thing: 100% keep aiming for mech eng, but there are also other programs at uoft (and at other unis, forgive me for being a bit traitorous) that you would probably find cool too! check out all of the programs that the math and physical sciences admission category at uoft’s st george campus can lead you to, or browse more options at uoft’s mississauga and scarborough campuses. oh, and there’s always the other programs within the faculty of engineering.

best of luck with applying to uoft next year! enjoy the rest of high school!!

cheers,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
fraternities & sororities, greek life, partying

the frat house rental market be booming

October 10, 2025

Hi! I was wondering if i can rent a frat house for a Halloween party this year, I’m thinking November 1st

heyyo,

soooo it seems like you are far from the only one to be curious about whether frats will let you host a party in their houses! because i actually just got a question from someone else about basically the same thing. so I’ll refer you to that post for a more detailed response. apparently it’s a hot rental market for frats at the moment!

a lot of people want to be the reverse ned flanders.

i was able to do a little bit more sleuthing for you, though! I dmed all of the frats listed here that were active on instagram. unfortunately no one got back to me at the time of this writing 🙁

however, i do suspect that some of these frats may have been a littttle bit less willing to respond to poking questions about house parties from a uoft-affiliated account. i would recommend that you give it a try yourself, since i imagine you would be a lot less intimidating than moi.

so i would say to give that a shot. i hope it goes well for you! i’m sure you’ll have an absolutely raging party, which aska here will sadly not be attending because they have two midterms right after reading week. thrilling, i know.

cheers,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
course conflicts, courses

course conflict? yuck

October 9, 2025
I signed up for a year course and a winter course. The year course is required for my major, and the winter course for my minor. The issue is, the tutorials for my winter course are only happening on one day, and during the time that my year course lecture is happening. I don’t want to drop and delay either of them. Is there a chance they’ll add a tutorial on a different time/date?

heyyo,

what a tricky situation, but one that is sadly probably all too common at uoft. i love how much choice we have with programs here but oh my GOSH it makes planning hard.

ok, so after much research, i have formulated a very non-evil and very much uoft-sanctioned master plan for you.

first of all, to answer your question directly: to the best of my knowledge, tutorials are typically only added when all the available ones are full.

so, there is a chance!

however, it is still just a chance, and since most people will have enrolled in classes in the summer, it’s a pretty small chance.

so here is what i would advise you to do:
1. check on ACORN to see if there’s another lecture section that works with your schedule, which often is the case with bigger classes. some classes have tutorials that you can only take if you’re in a certain lecture section.
2. if you aren’t already enrolled in the max course load (3.0 credits) next semester, enroll in a backup class (or go on a waitlist) that works with your schedule, preferably one that fulfills your minor requirements. that way, in case your currently planned winter course doesn’t work out, you can keep working towards that degree of yours.
3. KEEP CHECKING ACORN!!! even if you enroll in a backup course, check back periodically to see if more sections of the course you really wanna take have been added.
also, I’m not going to sit here and ignore the possibility of taking the winter course but either

a) skipping part of the lecture of your year-long course, or

b) skipping tutorial for your winter course

because it is a possibility. just not a great one. it really really depends on your situation, because for most classes you have to attend both lecture and tutorial. you’re also more likely to have exams scheduled at the same time (bad) and if there is mandatory participation in either class, your prof/TA has no obligation to help you make up those marks.

i would say avoid this scenario at all costs. don’t skip class. a little bird told me that bad things may follow.

hint hint.

if you’re still in a tricky situation and my sage wisdom fails you, please please please go talk to your registrar’s office (see here for utsg, here for utm, and here for utsc)! they will probably have even better advice than your humble aska (gasp!) and they have access to a lot more of the behind-the-scenes stuff than I do.

i hope this helped and that you can get your classes sorted out! best of luck, soldier.

cheers,

aska
Read More

aska No Comments
fraternities & sororities, greek life, partying

please sir can i party at your house

August 14, 2025

i’m trynna host a party can i rent out a frat for the night and like which ones and how do i contact themm

hey there,

sooo i’m not even gonna try to pretend like that’s my scene.

but i will try to answer this as best i can.

usually, i can be such an effective internet sleuth when it comes to student life stuff. the problem with this is that there’s very little online or easy to find info about the frats. like, i dug and dug and couldn’t find much about renting out frats :/

the closest piece of info i could find is from 2015, and it says sigma chi rents their house out because they are “desperate for money”. lol who knows if that’s still true.

my personal thoughts are… do frats even rent their houses out at all? i would be surprised if this happens, because they are used as actual houses where people live. they don’t just exist during a party and vanish on other days. however, according to this ancient aska post, rumor has it that it is possible… so who knows… i’m sure any house will do it for a certain amount of money.

ok. here is a list of toronto frats. some are exclusive to U of T students and some are a mix of different universities. my top recommendation is to search each one up on google and go to their websites, where you should be able to find a “contact” page. on another day, i would do that for you personally, but right now my eyes are aching from looking at my computer all day!

tbh, you could also probably search them all up on instagram/tiktok and DM the accounts, or if you’re feeling really persistent, even DM the people tagged in their posts.

otherwise, if social media fails you, and the contact pages also fail you, there is something else you could do. remember when you were searching each frat up on google? on google you will also find their addresses :D. if you were a brave soul, you could, in a very casual and chill manner, show up to the houses and chat up the first guy you see. maybe he’ll hand you a beer and y’all will become bros, idk?! how are your social skills.

and if not, there will also be lots of parties during orientation week and the first few weeks of school — maybe show up then and ask. that is, if your party isn’t on a deadline.

but yeah, jokes aside, literally just go through that list i gave you and find their contact info on their official websites.

i hope it works out and i hope you get to party!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
u of tears, UTM

into the deep end

August 13, 2025

hey i’m an incoming freshman for utm social sciences and i had way too many people say uoftears in front of me recently so I was curious as to how difficult the social sciences program actually is, in terms of time spent studying and difficulty of assignments? I’m aiming for criminology law and society as a major plus maybe philosopy and polisci so I want to know what I’m getting into 🙂

hey there,

fair question! it’s super valid to want to know what you’re getting into at U of T after hearing about its reputation.

just a quick disclaimer that i go to the UTSG campus, so i can’t directly speak to what it’s like at UTM. also, not everyone will agree with what i say here, because uoftears can be a touchy topic. remember that all this is just my personal opinion after spending a good three years here. 😀

to answer your question, let’s look at what exactly feeds into the uoftears reputation and whether each thing applies to you or not.

to my understanding, the discourse around uoftears is mostly tied to the student experience at UTSG. this is because the entire concept of uoftears is used to complain about two main things, one of which mainly applies to UTSG:

1. a lack of social life (a UTSG issue)

2. academic stress (a UTSG and UTM issue)

social life

let’s explain!

U of T’s reputation for being depressing is largely fed by students’ feelings of isolation at the UTSG campus. i feel like UTM, if we’re looking at general trends, is not as plagued by this issue.

due to its smaller size, UTM is known to be more interconnected. it’s easier to build relationships with your professors, TA’s, and classmates, with a much lower population compared to UTSG. for context, there are almost 70, 000 undergrad students at UTSG and around 16, 000 undergrads at UTM.

meanwhile at UTSG, courses are so large (in the thousands sometimes) that professors and TA’s can only “know” a tiny fraction of their students. even when i try to build a relationship with my professors, i often just feel swallowed into the hoard of nameless faces and idk, it doesn’t exactly feel good to be perceived as a rando in class.

it’s also notoriously hard to make friends at UTSG. i fear the loneliness epidemic here is real.

so yeah, the uoftears experience of U of T as a depressing school is largely fed by these things. if you’re at UTM, i don’t think you’ll need to worry as much about this side of uoftears.

ok sorry i need to move on and answer what you actually asked about: academics!

academics

in regards to academics, the truth is that U of T is an academically rigorous experience across all three campuses. you will spend a lot of time studying and working on assignments, and getting top marks will be very difficult.

the study culture here is a lot more intense than other schools, especially during the long midterm season and exam month. like, i do not see any of my friends at other schools studying as hard as U of T students do.

however, it’s really hard to say exactly how long you’ll spend studying or how hard you’ll find assignments. if you wanted to check it out, i can offer you a flushed out answer of how long i personally spend studying in this other answer i posted.

all i can really say is, social science programs at UTM are probably not the worst of uoftears and you will likely be fine. these programs aren’t exactly known for grade deflation, like say, life sci programs at UTSG — grade deflation is a big contributor to academic stress at U of T.

you say you want to go into criminology and polisci. what i’ve heard is that they’re quite competitive programs, at least in comparison to other social science programs. i’ve also taken a few polisci/public policy courses, and man! you really gotta work hard in those. everyone was so smart, innovative, and quick on their feet — i had to really push myself to keep up in class discussions. (it was SO worth it though. being in this environment high-key forced made me to get smarter and better in record time.)

overall, the jump from high school to university is quite hard, and at U of T, it’ll be harder than other canadian universities.

but here’s the thing.

sure, it felt like i was thrown into the icy cold deep end of a pool in my first year. but genuinely, it’s a high risk high reward situation. yes, you’ll study for so long your eyes start twitching, but also, you’ll have access to priceless career opportunities and connections at U of T.

professors here are all, like, celebrities in their fields. they do crazy cool work and there is so much to learn from them. not all, but most, of the students here are super smart, dedicated, and ambitious people. you have a lot to gain from learning alongside them. U of T is also a very powerful institution with strong partnerships to other institutions, and we get a lot of funding for research, experiential learning, etc.

basically, there are numerous reasons why people choose to go here. it’s hard work, but there is a lot to reap. there are also ways to avoid falling into the dark side of uoftears — like finding a good community on campus, choosing a program you actually care about, and knowing what resources are available to you (there is very good student support available at U of T).

so yeah.

and that’s all i have for you. please don’t let anything i’ve said here scare you away. like, don’t you dare let me change the course of your future like that?? but i hope this helped. i hope i’ve adequately addressed the good and bad sides of U of T, however briefly.

bestest of luck and welcome!!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
arts & sciences, fees, registration, tuition

pay us! uoft screams

August 5, 2025

hi! i’m in the faculty of arts and science and i’m confused about what the “minimum payment to register” is. i got an email that the deadline for that is august 12 which is super soon. i don’t want to get kicked out, how do i find out how much it is and when do i have to pay the left over fees?

hey there,

amazing question, i also just got that email! don’t you just love receiving slightly threatening emails from U of T.

for folks who don’t know, this email from the faculty of arts and science says to either pay or defer the “minimum instalment to register” by august 12. if not, you might be removed from your courses.

i know that it’s kind of a scary email if you don’t know what it’s saying. so hopefully i can clear things up in time for you to send that minimum payment in!

basically, to find the minimum payment to register, go to your acorn account. then, go to the “financial account – invoice & net cost” tab. here, you’ll find your invoice for the school year, detailing all the charges that make up your fall and winter tuition. scroll to the very bottom, where you’ll find the title “CURRENT SESSION TUITION CHARGES total”, which will indicate your total tuition for the entire school year. seeing this, you’ll clutch your pearls at this devastatingly high amount of money that keeps increasing each year. you might even squint suspiciously, wondering why the school needs that much money from you. -_-

and thennnn…. right below that, you’ll see “MINIMUM PAYMENT TO REGISTER”, which will show you the exact amount you need to pay U of T by august 12 in order to register for the school year.

so yeah, you have to pay that amount by august 12. but besides that, there are other deadlines for the remaining part of your school tuition.

for fall fees, the deadline for most students is september 30. meanwhile, winter fees are due by november 30.

all these deadlines can be hard to keep track of, so if it makes sense for you, just know that you’re also able to pay the entire year’s tuition in one go! you don’t have to do it in parts, these separate deadlines just make it a possibility in case people need that.

finally, you can also see this all explained on the registrar’s website, here and here. you actually might want to check that out since it also explains different deadlines for special cases.

hope this helps and good luck this year!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
admissions, applying for U of T, engineering, extracurricular, grades

it’s brutal out here

July 14, 2025
hey, im an extremely extremely average student. grades are always in 70s or 80s. I’m in grade 10, I’m really interested in both uoft’s st George campus and Scarborough for civil engineering and computer engineering.

but as you know.. my grades wont really cut that.

i know grade 11 grades r the *most* important. how much will my extra-curriculars matter? (next year / gr11) and how do I go from this to a 90s student? I’m worried I’m wasting my time and not using my full potential but I don’t know how to get to that level lol.

thank you.

hey there,

well, you’re right. grade 11 and 12 marks are the most important for university admissions. so it’s great that you’re thinking ahead about how you can do your best in school during these next years!

you said you’re interested in the st. george and scarborough campus engineering programs.

ok. let’s hit the basics first. you can find all the info about engineering admission requirements at U of T here. in short, they will base your admission on the average of six grade 12 level courses:
- english
- calculus and vectors
- chemistry
- physics
- advanced functions
- one other academic course (will take the course with the highest mark)
BUT, most of the time when you send in your application, your grade 12 marks might not be out yet. in that case, they will calculate your admission average using the grade 11 equivalents of those courses.

so your best bet is to focus your energy on those ^ subjects during both grade 11 and 12.

based on the engineering admissions reports from 2023 and from 2024, the mean of admission averages is in the mid 90’s. geez, the competition is brutal.

keep in mind though, that’s just the mean. not everyone who was admitted was in the mid 90’s.

we, however, are special and do want to be in the mid 90’s. so how do you lock in and become a 90’s student, you ask? hmmm. honestly, i’m not sure i can tell you anything you haven’t already heard before, without knowing about your study habits or specific issues you’ve been having.

i feel like the main thing people struggle with these days is just time management and planning how you’ll spend your time prepping for assessments. procrastination is really a grade killer, man. (if you wanted specific advice to help with it, check out this other post i made.)

usually, the student mentor side of me would point you towards the vast resources that U of T offers for its students. but, since you’re still in high school, i’m not sure what your situation is. if possible, i think a good course of action is to look into learning strategies, or study counsellors — whatever resources your high school might provide. sure, it might feel like dork behavior, but you have nothing to lose. best case scenario, it actually helps you develop good study haits, and you get into U of T! yippeee.

but if you don’t have any study-help resources available to you, you are not powerless!! the best thing you can do is be aware of what works and doesn’t work for yourself, and react accordingly. you know? like, if your night study sessions are not that effective, try studying in the early morning instead! try different things out and see what sticks.

meanwhile, bro to bro, my alternative advice would be to befriend the top student in each of your classes. they can be really good at explaining things and it makes them feel good about themselves. like, let’s be real, having the smart kid’s help is a tried and true way to boost your grades in a pinch. and don’t worry, it’s not a parasitic relationship, because you’ll boost their ego! *whips around* who said that…

anyways, real advice and silly advice aside. let’s talk extracurriculars! how much will they matter?

well, unlike most programs, extracurriculars do matter quite a bit for engineering applicants. U of T wants to see that incoming engineering students have strengths outside of the classroom. i guess we’re trying to beat the all-engineering-students-are-sunlight-deprived-allegations.

you’ll be able to show your extracurricular activities through the online student profile, which is a supplementary application you send in after you’ve submitted your OUAC application. with this, they’ll be most interested in activities that show your “leadership, dedication, and overall excellence”. the good thing is that your activities do not need to be engineering related. for example, they can include student clubs, volunteering, arts, athletics, community involvement, or paid employment.

on top of that, you’ll also submit a “personal profile”, which includes some timed written and video responses. these will apparently help U of T “get to know you as a person”, and are mainly meant to assess your communication skills.

and, yeah! that’s kinda an overview of what U of T asks for in engineering applications. the short story is that grade 11 and 12 marks matter the most, and extracurriculars do matter quite a bit. overall, all you can do is your best! you’ve already got a great start by asking the right questions and wanting to improve.

i hope i gave somewhat useful and sensical information here lol. wishing you good luck in all your endeavours! i believe in you <3

over and out,

aska
Read More

aska 2 Comments
admissions, applying for U of T, summer

mmm, refreshing!

July 7, 2025

Hi thanks for answering our questions ur a life saver, so my question is will me taking courses over the summer affect my ability to get into Uoft st.george or UTSC for general science or human biology, my grade 11 mark for chemistry wasn’t very competitive so I decided to take grade 12 through the summer so I can focus on the course one on one, also the course wasn’t available through the TDSB so I was recommended to take it through the TCDSB I hope it doesn’t make a difference, Thank you again for your help!!

hey there,

aw you’re sweet! thanks for the thanks :)))

and, have i got great news for you!

taking courses over the summer will definitely not affect your acceptance. U of T doesn’t actually care when you take your courses, whether it’s summer or during the school year, it’s all the same to them.

you said you’ve decided to take chemistry during the summer so that you could commit more focus to it. that sounds like a really great decision to me.

taking grade 12 chemistry during the summer also means that your final chemistry marks will be out by the time you apply to U of T. this is good because it means they will focus less on your grade 11 marks if they have access to your grade 12 marks! for context, usually, U of T puts focus on grade 11 marks during application season because most people’s grade 12 final marks aren’t released yet. basically, having your grade 12 chem mark released is a good thing for you, if your grade 11 mark is not competitive.

you also said you’re taking the course with the toronto catholic district school board instead of the toronto district school board. i can see why you might be concerned, but i’m quite sure that will not make a difference on your application — they’ll mainly just pay attention to your mark, not where you took the course.

yeah, all i see is some good decision making and good planning. wow, we love to see it. refreshing! (this is not a subtweet at anyone else, i promissse.)

sending you the bestest luck for chem 12 and your grade 12 year!!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments