• grades,  partying,  probation

    GPA slave

    March 23, 2016

    Hi Aka,
    Long words in short, I’ve been here in Toronto for so long and never feel too sure academically of myself.Now I’m in my last term of 2nd year, bearing a repeat probation and the feeling of falling down the cliff is comingback again. For this time my midterms are done so poorly that I’m now writing to my registrar’s to see if switchingto part time is a wise option. But I feel like I’ve been delaying so long that I nearly lost all my acquaintances and evenmy roommate is going away to do a super fancy internship in California. My discipline is also a limited one, I also haven’tseen the possibility of switching to another major, feeling my graduation is just further that way. Is there really a way torisk and get a good-looking final mark even though my midterms are really fucked up?
    Slave of GPA

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    we’re in crunch time now. exams are about to smack everyone in the face, much sooner than anyone expects, i’m sure. if i were you, my immediate strategy would be to focus on passing my classes and getting above that 1.50 CGPA that you need to get off probation.

    cancrushed

    crunch time at uoft.

    that means you need to: put everything else aside (except food and sleep) and focus on studying. go to review sessions if they’re available. read the textbook(s). do practice questions. whatever you need to do. if you need to LWD a course/courses, start planning for that now – touch base with your registrar’s office, maybe set up an appointment with them, etc.

    after that’s out of the way and you have a little bit of time to breathe, then you can start thinking about your long-term plans. maybe you need to re-evaluate whether university is really for you. maybe part-time courses are, in fact, the best option for you; talking to your registrar’s office about that is a wonderful step in the right direction. if you’re feeling that you don’t like your current program and you don’t really like any of the other programs uoft has to offer, though, then maybe uoft isn’t for you.

    maybe that’s a signal to start looking into other universities, colleges, or jobs. what career paths are you excited about? or, if you find you can’t bring yourself to feel excited about anything in particular, is there some path that is presenting itself to you right now, that you could be qualified for?

    or, if you’re really set on staying at school, then it’s a good idea to come up with some concrete steps to improve your performance in class. commit to seeking extra help, either from a private tutor, TA/prof office hours, the academic success centre, the writing centre at your college…there are lots and lots of options, depending on what you need. your registrar’s office is a great place to discuss those options and see where you can get the help you need to succeed.

    finally, just a note: you say you feel like you’re delaying and therefore losing friends, opportunities, etc. i don’t mean to say that the situation you’re in isn’t an unpleasant one, or that you don’t need to figure out your academic situation. however, i do just want to give you a gentle reminder that just because you’re going through a tough time, doesn’t mean you’re falling behind. as long as you end up where you want to be, then it doesn’t matter how long you take to get there. focus on you. you’ll get there.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • probation

    it takes a lot to get kicked out of here

    February 16, 2016

    Hi, I got my notice of probation during the fall semester of 2015. And my GPA did not improve, I haven’t spoken to anyone about whats going on, mainly because I am incredibly embarrassed and don’t want to talk about it. I just know that I am on a 1 year suspension because I cannot access my personal timetable for this upcoming semester, it says to contact the registrar. Please help, I do not know how suspension works.
    1. I would like to know if it has started as of now and if I will get a notice, or am I supposed to know that I am on suspension because I cannot access my personal timetable on rosi2. If I am interested in returning to uoft after the suspension, what is that process like? Will I have to go through an interview or something along the lines of proving that I might do better? And has there been cases of not being allowed to return? I am stressing out because I am scared my gpa and my whole academic record will prevent me from returning after my suspension.
    I think that this is an awesome forum 🙂 and i look forward to having my questions answered. thank you.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    1. you are not on suspension yet. assuming you’re at the faculty of arts & science on the downtown campus, academic standing is not assessed until the end of each term. right now, that’s the fall/winter term, which begins in September and ends in April. that means that you’ve got almost two months before you’re assessed once more, and are either designated as in good standing or on probation.
    2. if your GPA remains below a 1.7 after your final marks come in in April, then you will be put on suspension. if this is your first suspension, it will be a 1-year suspension. after 1 year, you’re allowed to return on probation – no interview needed. if your semester on probation after returning culminates in a GPA above 1.7, then you’ll be able to continue in good standing. if you finish the semester with a GPA below 1.7, you’ll be put on a 3-year suspension. repeat that process one more time, and if you still can’t get above a 1.7, THEN you may be refused from further registration. but as you can see, there are a lot of steps before that actually happens.

    i hope this helps. i know it might be confusing to sort through all this information, but the important thing to remember is: your status doesn’t change until April. you have about seven weeks to turn this around. talk to your registrar, the academic success centre, math aid or your writing centre – wherever you need to go to get the help you need to succeed. you can do this.

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. regardless of academic status, you should be able to access ACORN/ROSI. if you can’t, i would ask for help with that at the helpdesk at robarts library.

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  • probation

    probation, and a laborious metaphor involving roads

    August 17, 2015

    Hey, I’m in a really bad situation. I just completed first year and I’m on academic probation. I failed a course in? the winter term and then took it in the summer and failed it again. I need this course for my program though. What do I do?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i know you’re probably feeling stressed right now. you’re probably thinking that everything is going downhill, that you can’t catch a break, and other gently empathetic Canadian colloquialisms (your…poutine is…soggy? you’ve reached your last moose? why don’t we have more explicitly Canadian phrases about disappointment?).

    however, i would urge you not to think about this as a failure (to put it into harsher words).

    being on probation is not failing. even failing a class is not failing*.

    a much more accurate way of looking at it, i think, is as a crossroads. you have reached a point in your life when you’re being asked to make a decision that will impact the quality of your life.

    the smartest thing you can do is use your probation as a time to reflect and make a decision that will be the best for you and the life you want to live *cue inspirational music stolen from the Eat, Pray, Love movie*

    so, you have a few options:

    1. you can retake the course. since you haven’t passed the course, you can add it yourself on ACORN.

    if you decide to do this, it’s probably a good idea to look into some services at the university that can help you pass the course. your college writing centre, any of the university’s math aid centres, and the various resources and programs available at the academic success centre may be helpful to you.

    and then there’s the standard stuff that’s just good practice if you want to avoid taking the course a fourth time: attend lectures/tutorials consistently, go to your instructor’s/T.A.’s office hours with questions or for feedback, do your reading ahead of time or do practice questions on a regular basis (as the course dictates), and, for the love of all that is good and right, don’t sleep through your exam.

    2. you can not retake the course and start looking into different programs.

    if this course is a prerequisite for a program, that means that there’s a lot more of whatever-the-failed-course-is coming your way. think about whether you actually want that.

    do you want to dedicate your entire academic career to something you find so difficult? how much do you enjoy the course content? do you find the work you put into it worthwhile? is it rewarding? these are all things you should think about seriously before deciding you want to retake the course a third time.

    thinking baby

     

    academic probation is an opportunity to reflect on your experiences

    3. you can think about taking a break from school.

    this is going to depend on a lot of things i don’t know about you – how the rest of your academic history looks, whether you have any external circumstances affecting your ability to commit yourself to school, whether you have the means to take a year off (to work, recuperate, etc.).

    however, i think it’s always something to think about. you should never be at university out of habit. you should only ever be here because you 100%, really want to be here.

    regardless of what you decide, i HIGHLY RECOMMEND you talk with your registrar’s office about it before making a decision. you know when i’m being serious because i used all caps. see that up there? that’s all caps.

    all the very best,

    aska

    * i mean, it?is.?technically speaking. but i’m talking about the bigger picture, y’know?

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  • first year,  frosh

    first week, burst leak

    August 6, 2015

    What’s the first week of uni going to be like? (incoming first year currently freaking out)

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    it’s almost certainly going to be great. i don’t want to invalidate your freak-out (by all means, get all the panicking out of your system now; better to do it in August than in December), but you will almost certainly have a great time and feel silly that you were so worried.

    that said, the look of your first week will depend largely on two factors: 1) whether you’ll be participating in frosh week and 2) whether you’ll be living in residence.

    if you’re doing frosh, your first week will be a whirlwind of group activities that will include lots of chanting, singing, dancing and running around campus. frosh activities will vary slightly depending on your college/faculty, but they have all been conceived of with the same idea: to make students feel more comfortable with each other and the campus, and to get excited students about school.

    here are the websites for each college’s (and the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering’s) orientation weeks, so you can take a further look: innis college, new college, st. michael’s college, trinity college, university college, victoria college, woodsworth college, engineering.

    if you’ll be living on residence, your first week will be a VERY INTENSE one filled with rapid friendship-making, get-to-know-you activities on your floor, and – obviously – moving in. it’s like this bizarre combination of frosh week and camp.

    if you’re participating in neither of those things, you will still have a VERY BUSY first week. here is a list of tasks every student should do before school starts:

    1. get your TCard, if you haven’t already.

    also, get any cards you may need for commuting, e.g. Presto card, GO Student ID, Metropass, TTC Student ID, tokens.

    2. buy your books (most will be available at the UofT bookstore, though you may have to resort to other options like Bob Miller).

    every September, the controversy over whether it’s worth it to actually buy course books flares up again, like a recurring rash.

    on the one hand, they cost an arm and a leg, and you will cry when you see your balance by the end of of your shopping spree. plus, everyone on Facebook and Twitter is promoting sites where you can find everything you need (maybe) for FREE!

    on the other hand, you’re not so sure about the free/cheap options because they might not be the right edition, you kind of want a physical copy, you want to be able to set these books on your bookshelf to make you look smart later on, etc. etc.

    if you’re unsure about any of your books, the best thing to do is wait until the first class. then you can ask how essential it is that you own a certain edition.

    you can also wait it out and only buy the books when it becomes apparent that you will actually need them. some courses will rely more heavily on books than others, and there’s nothing wrong with just waiting and feeling it out.

    3. practise the route between your classes.

    it’s one thing to be able to point out all your classes on a map. it’s another to actually make the trek between, say, Northrop Frye and New College, slogging across Queen’s Park, manoeuvring past the giant plant pots next to Sid Smith, and figuring out exactly how much time you need to get between those two places.

    most of your classes won’t be back-to-back, so you should also identify convenient food and washroom stops in your vicinity for times when you have a break between classes.

    again: make sure to do this before classes actually begin. that way, you’ll be confident about your route when school starts.

    4. if you’re thinking of getting involved on campus (and you really should, in one way or another), then you should stop by UTSU’s Clubs Fair on September 9th. find out what kind of stuff is out there, and maybe even sign up for one or two clubs that interest you!

    5. if you think you will need it, look into support services on campus.

    – Accessibility Services takes a notoriously long time to process applications, so sign up for them before classes start, if you can.

    – Drop by CAPS and see what they’re all about. familiarize yourself with the process of booking an appointment.

    – identify academic success tools: your registrar’s office, the UofT libraries that will be closest to you on campus, the Academic Success Centre, the math aid centres, and your college’s writing centre.

    and that’s aska’s guide to having a great first week! i really do hope you enjoy your initiation into the wild ride that is UofT. stop back in sometime and tell me how it went.

    cheers for now,

    aska

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  • probation

    no one wants to hear about first year, including grad schools

    June 22, 2015

    I’m thinking of returning to U of T now that my three-year suspension has ended, but as I did so poorly before, I’m trying to figure out how far I’ll be able to progress in the future! I’m a second year student (8 credits) with a 1.22 cumulative GPA, and while I believe I can bring it up, I fiddled around with this calculator (http://gpacalculator.net/how-to-raise-gpa/) and it seems that even if I were to average a 4.0 from now on (positive thinking!), it would be difficult to raise my CGPA just to 3.0 (and that’s the best case scenario).

    How important is your CGPA (at least your early CGPA) down the road? Does U of T’s grad school typically look at your entire academic history, or are the last two years their main focus? I’m thinking ahead and wondering if I might want to go to U of T’s cinema studies grad programme for an M.A., but the page (http://sites.utoronto.ca/cinema/MAprogram.html) says “Minimum” *B+* standing, demonstrated by an average grade in the final year, or over senior courses”. Does this mean B+/3.33ish as an annual GPA or as a CGPA? And even if I do meet the minimum requirements, will they take one look at my terrible early academic history and run away screaming???

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    it’s not often i get to give out good news on this website, you know. some say it’s turned me into a bitter, hateful old witch, but i think it’s spawned my own special brand of offbeat charm.

    regardless, it’s times like this, when i actually get to give good news, that i particularly cherish. they’re little gems of hope in a river of let-downs and disappointments.

    that quote you pulled means that cinema studies will only be looking at your ‘senior courses’ i.e. mainly 400-level courses to make admissions decisions for the M.A. program. for most people, that translates strictly to your final year (and maybe parts of your third year). which is great news! finally!

    yes, after a 3-year suspension, it must be daunting to get back up on your feet and once more tackle the beast that is academia. however, if you can muster a really exceptional average for your last year, then you’ve got a real chance for that master’s program. i doubt they will look at your first two years, but even if they do, they will be encouraged by the massive improvement that you’ve made.

    so don’t worry about your first year. it will not be the death knell of your grad school application. as long as you work hard and strive to do better in your senior years, that’s all you need.

    remember to take advantage of the writing centre and your TAs’/profs’ office hours to make the very best of your courses. your registrar’s office is also always available for any bumps in the road.

    in sum: YOU CAN DO THIS! JUST DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU! ANY OTHER CLICHED (BUT GENUINE AND HEARTFELT) ENCOURAGEMENT YOU CAN THINK OF!

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. GPA scales work slightly differently from university to university, so if you’re going to be using a GPA calculator, you may as well use the one actually created by uoft itself.

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  • probation,  UTSC

    probe a shun

    May 4, 2015

    Hi,
    I am a life science student at UTSC and have almost completed first year. As of now my CGPA is 1.47. I realized that this is not adequate in order to complete the Life Science program. If i want to switch in to Management (Accounting program) what is the minimum average or GPA I should maintain? Is there any possible way that I could increase my current GPA? Please advice?

    Regards.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if your CGPA is a 1.47, that means that you’ll be on academic probation in the next term that you take classes. ‘what’s academic probation???’ i hear you ask. well, when you are on academic probation, you have one term to get your CGPA above a 1.60 and be in good standing. otherwise, you’ll be suspended for one year. and no one wants that. so, what can you do about it?

    there are plenty of resources available to increase your GPA. in fact, utsc requires that you use them at least once when you are on probation, but i’d recommend taking full advantage of them. the Academic Advising & Career Centre is a great starting point, and if you’d like help with specific courses, why not check out the Writing Centre or the Math and Statistics Learning Centre?

    you probably wouldn’t be able to enter into management just yet. you need to have completed 4.0 FCEs (including certain management courses) and admission is competitive. what you can do is spend the next year working on getting the prerequisites* you need to apply for a management POSt.

    if you take advantage of the resources around you and work hard to improve, you can definitely kick that probation to the curb.

    best of luck with it,

    aska

    * “Courses completed must include MGTA01H3, MGTA02H3, MGEA02H3, MGEA06H3,MATA32H3, and MATA33H3. MATA32H3 and MATA33H3 are strongly recommended, however MATA30H3/A31H3 and MATA35H3/A36H3/A37H3 may also be used to satisfy the calculus requirement.“

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  • depression

    coming back strong

    September 29, 2014

    HI Aska,
    I am in a terrible predicament. This is going to be long so please bear with me.
    I started at U of T Life Science program in 2009 and I am still at it. This is my sixth year at U of T and I am still in my Third year based on the credits I have obtained.
    So, basically my story is that two of my family members died in first year and I started my slide downward from there on. I went from a 3.7 gpa to a 3.3. In second year, I did found out that my grandmother’s cancer was back and had metastasized. I did okay but i started losing interest in my studies. In the ended up with a 2.8 GPA. My grandma passed away in the summer before my 3rd year. And I pretty much started ruining my academic career? I did the first semester (with 3 courses) of 3rd year and dropped out the second semester with a GPA of 2.5.
    Came back the next year and pretty much did the same thing as the previous year – did one course in first semester and dropped out of the rest. I thought that was the lowest I could go but, low and behold I didn’t get any help from anyone. I went to my college registrar’s office and they basically said that i should try to do better and try all the resources available at u of t. I pretty much was so depressed that I just continued on a self-destructive pathway and decided to come back in for another year 2013-2014. I pretty much failed everything. GPA plummeted to 2.1.
    When my family asked me about how I haven’t finished university yet I didn’t have any answer. I had just spent five years of uni, wasted tons of money and only ended up with 11.5 credits and 2.1 GPA. My family sought of help an intervention (for lack of a better word) and told me to get my life back in control. They told me what i already knew that I was ruining my life and all the potential that I had. I have gained 40 lbs over this period cause pretty much all i did was stay in my bed and stuff my face with food. I had decided to just give up on uni but, seeing my parents crying because of what I was doing to myself sought of gave me a final spark to do something with what I had left of my university career.
    So, finally to the question I have for u. (Sorry for the long rant about my sordid past). I am back for another year. This is my sixth year in u of t. I have 11.5 credits so I am considered a third year student and have a GPA of 2.1. Is there any chance that I could actually salvage any the rest of my academic career?? I know I should have asked for help a longtime ago but, now that I am finally getting to it is there anything u can suggest?
    Thank you,
    JJ
    Looking for a light in the dark tunnel of my life.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well, your health and wellness is your number one priority. if you feel unhappy with where you are in your life, then attending to that is important. on campus, CAPS and Counseline are great counselling services, if you think you could benefit from that.

    the academic success centre is your go-to place for academic support. your college’s writing centre is another good resource.

    i’m sure your college registrar gave you the same resources, and more. all these resources, though, assume that you’re going to decide to complete your degree. if you’ve returned to school, obviously i want everything to work out for you at school.

    however, you don’t want to be doing anything that seems worthless to you. that’s just not cool.

    if you’re doing your degree for a purpose (e.g. a job, to get an additional degree/certificate, interest in the topic of study etc.), then not only do i think you can salvage your academic career, but that you should.

    on the other hand, if school makes you miserable and your previous difficulties have been a result of doing university instead of what you really want to do, then, honestly, drop it like a hot potato.

    if you are invested in seeing this through to the end, you totally can. it’s possible to improve your GPA from a 2.1 with 8.5(+) credits to go. you just have to do a bit of exploring to find a support system that can help you.

    the awesome services i listed are included in the fees you pay every year, so why not take advantage of them?

    at the very least, you owe it to yourself to investigate a little bit, and see which, if any, of these resources can be useful to you. once you build a network of support, success will seem a lot easier, and maybe you can even start to see that light at the end of the tunnel.

    best,

    aska

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  • first year

    it’s ok to be scared but maybe try to not be so scared: a motivational speech

    August 29, 2014

    this one?goes out to all my?first years out there who are quaking in their?boots at the thought of starting school. listen up, ’cause aska’s about to explain why a bit of quaking is okay.

    if you’re coming into first year,?you’re allowed (even expected) to be?afraid. in case you haven’t noticed this yet, it’s normal to be apprehensive about new situations. if we didn’t, our species would’ve died out the first time someone?tried to tackle a mountain lion and everyone just charged in after the dude instead of running in the other direction, and that would’ve been embarrassing and bloody for all of us.

    if you’re afraid that university will be too difficult, or that everyone else will be smarter than you – that too, is normal, and a result of high school teachers’ unfortunate tendency to make their students?behave?by instilling in them a mortal fear of THE ALMIGHTY UNIVERSITY.

    still, being afraid is sensible if you handle it the right way.?the important thing is NEVER to let your fear get so big that it makes you stick your head in the sand. you may come to school in september and find that classes are harder than you thought, or you’re lonelier than you expected to be. life might throw you some curve balls.

    but if/when a curve ball does happen, you SHOULD NOT?BE AFRAID?to seek out help. the problem will only?get worse if it’s not dealt with, like a particularly unfortunate boil.

    on the other hand, if you ask for help as soon as you notice there’s a problem, the boil will be gone before you can snapchat a picture of it to unwitting acquaintances.

    you’ve got lots of time to drop courses you don’t like (september 21st/january 15th), ask questions about course material (go to your tutorial and prof’s office hours!), get help outside of class (at a math aid centre, writing centre, economics study centre, or with one of the many, many tutors employed by uoft’s academic departments), and speak with your registrar’s office about any questions you may have.

    at every step of the way, there is someone available to answer your questions and provide support. even aska will answer your questions, as long as you let me poke fun at you a bit first.

    enjoy your first week, everyone!

    aska

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  • writing

    everybody loves essays … or not?

    January 9, 2013

    Hi there Azka,

    I really like IMM250 (immunology), but there is this one essay we have to write on diabetes and the word “essay” basically drives me crazy cause this is gonna be wroth 30% of our mark, and I don’t know how to even write an essay. Should I still take the course? is there any help available at uoft st.george? and the outline for tho essay is so vague, all we are given are headings. thats is.

    ———————————————

    Heyo!

    I totally think you should take the course — granted, I’m biased since I’m almost certain that essays are what have been keeping me in university… But really, don’t let the prospect of an essay prevent you from taking something you like!

    Anyhow, even if you’re not confident in your essay-writing skills, UofT offers tons of extra resources to help out. For starter’s, you have your college writing centre. Essentially, you’re given about an hour to work one-on-one with a writing instructor who helps you structure your paragraphs, properly conjugate your verbs, and even play devil’s advocate to your possibly shaky arguments. But if you can’t get an appointment at your college’s writing centre, the Academic Success Centre sometimes offers some workshops on writing as well.

    Likewise, you’ve got the Writing Plus workshops held over at Woodsworth that might help you. There’s “Thesis Statements,” “Organizing an Essay,” and “Revising the Essay,” so I think those could really help you out.

    But aside from those, the university’s writing website also offers a bunch of tips on going about your research and writing. St. George has a ton of extra writing help, so don’t worry about a lack of services.

    And if your essay prompts are pretty vague, that’s a good thing! That means you can really work with the question and research almost anything as long as it works within the massive confines of that prompt. Essays are a great way of practicing your research skills and critical thinking.

    Good luck!

    aska

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  • asia,  choosing,  grades,  partying

    several questions from a new student

    May 24, 2011
    Hey there,

    So I’m having a really tough time choosing between McGill (Arts & Sci, Business) and U of T (Arts & Sci). I’m actually leaning towards U of T right now, but I’m so frightened of the grading system! Is it really as bad as every says? And other questions:

    -What percentage of St George students maintain an A average in arts?
    -Do people who did IB/AP/had 90% averages blah blah blah have an easier time getting good marks once they come to Toronto for uni?
    -How are the parties at Trinity? (That’s my college! :D)
    -What percentage of U of T is asian? lulz

    Thanks a lot! Have a good one 🙂

    ———————————————

    Hi there. Congrats on getting into two of the bestest schools in Canada. It’s hard to argue with four years in Montreal (bagels, smoked meat, bicycling) over U of T (uh…pad thai?), but I’ll try to make a case for it. Here goes:

    a) I have no idea what the percentages are for St. George students in Arts. But really, grading and marks are not as bad as people might be telling you as long as you GO TO CLASS AND DO THE WORK. I guarantee, especially in the Arts, as an uber slacker, that I did not always pull my weight, and I still got 70s. If you go to class, hand in your assignments and do your readings, you will be an academic success, I swear to god. Bell curving is mostly a factor in the Life Sciences and Economics. There is no need for a bell curve in English and Philosophy classes. Just GO TO CLASS AND DO THE WORK.

    b) Some of the IB/90% kids had an easier go of it. Some got back one essay marked “68%”, had a panic attack, started binge drinking and never graduated. University is an adjustment period so there are lot more factors at play than just academics. If you can stay on top of your schoolwork while still making time to make new friends, attend events and get to know your city (also: take care of yourself), then you will probably find it easy to get A’s. There are a TON of resources at U of T to help you academically, like the Writing Centre, your college registrar and smaller tutorial groups. Use ’em all.

    c) I’ve never been to a Trinity party but I”m sure they’re epic? $$$ plus history plus mandatory robes makes for a particularly dope party atmosphere I”m sure. Are you living on campus for your first year? That will make a big difference campus party-wise.

    d) I don’t like answering questions about race so I would prefer not to answer this one. U of T is a very diverse, multi cultural campus with lots of ethnic groups represented and it is wonderful that way.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • dropping courses,  internet

    i’m off that ROSI, i’m off that

    April 29, 2011

    Hey bro’s.

    Long story short, I dropped all my courses except for 0.5 in each semester. Stupidity/procrastination. I’m second year. However, after logging into the UC Writing Help website, at the bottom of the page, it listed the courses I was eligible to get help in. A full year course that I dropped was showing, and this scared the shit out of me, because if it’s still on my record, then I’m pretty much suspended no matter how well I do in my last course right now.

    Is this correct??? I dropped the course via rosi well in time before the deadline, and it does not show up on rosi, OR my blackboard anymore.

    Is it possible that I’m still registered in it? FYI it’s LIN100Y1, and the course I’m taking now is MUS315H1.

    Is this just a mistake, perhaps their site was not updated or something? I’m assuming (and hoping) that Rosi & Blackboard are a more reputable source than the UC Writing Help website.

    Is this worth seeing the registrar?

    Thanks a lot.

    ———————————————

    Broseph.

    I don’t understand why the Writing Centre and not ROSI would track you as having been registered in a class that you’ve already dropped, but I wouldn’t consider their website more reliable than the end-all, be-all she-beast that is ROSI.

    Did you talk to your registrar about this? Basically if ROSI says you’re not in a class, then you’re not in a class. Maybe the Writing Centre glitched up and doesn’t track classes that have later been dropped later in the year?

    Fools.

    I hope you ended up getting the help you needed!

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • bad times,  writing

    everyday is a winding road (academically speaking)

    April 29, 2011

    I feel like I try so f***ing hard to do well in my courses and I always come up flat on my face. The highest mark I’ve gotten on an essay is 71. My average in highschool was 89. I knew I was going to get lower marks then that in first year, but it just seems so much. Every time I get an essay back I dread looking at the mark and then when I do, I feel like crying. Maybe I’m being overdramatic but when I don’t do well at something I want to give up and quit. So, I guess I should get to the question. Does it get better? Will my (apparent) ‘bad’ writing improve? Thanks anyway.

    ———————————————

    Hey there. We have all been there. I remember having a 91 average in high school and getting my first mark and being like, “what 65???” University is hard and it sometimes is frustrating and it always makes you want to give up. But you’re commited to it, right? And it will get better.

    As you progress into further years, your classes will get smaller which will be a big help. Seek out independent studies and seminars – which will allow you to direct your research into your personal favourite topics of study and allow you to work more intensely with a professor. Get involved with your student union. And use your college writing centre, which will completely guarantee a boost in your essay grades. They hire trained editors to go over student essays and help you write a more formidable argument. The women at the Innis Writing Centre are complete geniuses and have saved me time and time again! Best of all, it’s free!

    The secret to doing well in university is going to class, reading all the material, and using the library (and your research materials) effectively. Academic writing and discourse is an entirely different way of writing, but once you master it and understand it – you will go far. Maybe talking to your prof or one of your registrar’s will make you feel a little more assured, so you can improve your grades next year?

    Another amazing resource is the Academic Success Centre, which offers drop-in consultations with a professional about how to write and study more effectively and workshops on writing and rhetoric. I’d definitely look into that.

    I guess what I’m saying here is that everyone struggles with the transition from high school to university, and first year, with its giant introductory classes and huge tutorials is bound to be intimidating. But there are resources for you, and I know that you can do it.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • architecture,  first year

    even frank gehry gets nervous

    August 9, 2010

    hey,

    Aside from being moderately excited about going to u of t, i am very apprehensive. im afraid that i wont be able to keep my marks up; but i guess everyone feels that way going into university. i was wondering about the types of courses? that i should be taking first year that would help me in the design major (aside from the arch courses). or does it really not matter. i was also wondering about what types of courses you take in a design major and what you learn. thank you so much for your help!

    ———————————————

    You’re only “moderately excited” to start U of T? Hell that’s no way to start a year. I understand your worries perfectly, but feel the need to assure you. U of T is tough, but fair. And the university provides plenty of resources to help newcomers such as yourself.

    The calendar recommends upper courses courses for a major with a concentration in architectural design in fine art, geography and near middle eastern civilizations. And so, a first year art course is not out of the question. Luckily there are also a few first year seminars that might be a good way to go, which are smaller and more discussion orientated. You will have to take ARC 131H1 and ARC132H1, which you have already selected. But after that, the design stream forwards you to take ARC 313 and ARC 314 (architectural design 2 and 3) which details the framework of design.

    A very very good place to ask more questions is the Faculty of Architecture. Andy Payne is the program’s coordinator and a super nice guy, who I think could field some more detailed questions about the program. But right now you’re just testing the waters. Take ARC 131/132 and see how you like it. Feel it out. Sketch the Empire State Building and consider other classes in fine art, urban studies and geography to go along with your program. Don’t forget about the writing centre and your college registrar for additional resources.

    Best of luck to you.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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