askastudent - your student life specialists

admissions, applying for U of T, rotman

preparing to absolutely slay

January 25, 2025

hi there again! i hope you’re doing good! i apologize for the bother, but i wanted to ask what you might recommend or what advice you might have for the rotman commerce supplementary application or any incoming applicants, since i’m super keen on completing the supplementary soon and have been trying to prep with old questions/practice but it still seems super intimidating!

i just wanted to ask what strategies you might recommend or studying tips when preparing for the supplementary as i really want to do my best!

also thank you for taking the time to read this! and i hope you have a good one!

hey there again,

OMG a returning customer!

great question. so just to preface things: i am not a rotman student myself, but i do know a couple rotman students and here’s what i’ve gotten from them.

i’m sure you already know this, but definitely make use of rotman online resources to prep. they post the supplemental application questions in the portal, and you’ll be able to practice lots beforehand. you can also check out this recent webinar recording giving more details on how it’ll work.

the best thing you can do is prepare with the practice questions, which you’re already doing, so yay! besides that, my friend says to make sure that you can answer the questions in a clear manner, and that your thoughts are organized. like, don’t ramble, but stay direct and specific to the point you’re making. and also, practice standard interview questions. rotman students have to come across those quite often during their undergrad.

besides that, from my experience as a U of T undergrad, i would say it’s always good to be prepared to talk about your past relevant extracurricular/academic activities and what you learned from those, or what you achieved in those areas. a question i am sooo tired of seeing is to “describe a time you encountered a conflict/hardship and had to overcome it”. and from my experience doing interviews, please make sure you start your the supplementary during a time when you’re in a good, calm, and well-rested head space. i once did an interview right after something stressful happened and let’s just say i was shaking while answering questions.

yeehaw. anways, i also think it would be good to have a prepare response of why you want to go into business, or why you’re interested in this field, since they’re probably gonna ask that, right? according to their website, they want “outstanding students that have demonstrated academic excellence, have an understanding of leadership and community, and a passion for the world of business”. so definitely keep that in mind and try to highlight those characteristics!

ie. make sure you seem genuinely interested, and have evidence of community/leadership involvement.

and it’ll be really helpful to practice interview questions with someone else/different people! that’s something that will be super beneficial for the quality of your responses, since other people can give you feedback from another perspective. i definitely recommend it.

again, remember, i’ve never done this application, that’s just some general advice from being an undergrad at U of T.

overall, don’t stress too much. there won’t be anything crazy/surprising in the questions that’s meant to trick you or catch you off your guard. i know it can feel really scary and intimidating to do all this pre-U of T stuff, but according to people who have done it, the supplemental application is not as scary as it seems, and you’re gonna be so okay.

best of luck with your application! you can do it!!! wishing you lots of gentleness, sweet treats, and warm hugs this month. and omg would it be crazy if i asked you to update me if you get in maybe?

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, human biology, prereqs

i am once again asking… which campus?

January 20, 2025

I am a grade 11 student who is currently taking advanced functions but my mark is not very competitive, I was thinking about retaking the course in summer school. Will Uoft not consider me if I retake and if it’s in summer school. I want to apply to the human biology program and the prerequisites include advanced functions.

hey there,

thanks for your question! just to set things straight, i’m going to assume that you’re talking about the human biology program at the st. george campus?

if you want to apply to the human biology program at the st. george campus, you’ll be applying to U of T under the life sciences admission category. basically, all programs here are grouped into six admission categories when you’re first applying, and all you have to worry about is the requirements to get into that broad category.

to get into the life sciences admission category, you definitely need to take english and calculus. but interestingly enough, on this page, the pre-requisites list doesn’t include advanced functions (MHF4U), just calculus and vectors (MCV4U).

so, if you’re applying to the st. george campus, i can tell you that you don’t actually need advanced functions and can stop reading here!

however, if you’re applying to the scarborough campus, you can ignore everything i just said and keep reading.

sorry for the emotional whiplash.

but ok, now i’m gonna assume you’re applying to human biology at UTSC!

to answer your question, does U of T care if you retake a course or take it during the summer? well U of T says they do accept repeated courses, but “priority will be given to students who took the course in a single attempt”. you can find the full quote on this FAQ page under the admission decision drop-down button.

basically, what i think this means is that retaking a course doesn’t take you out of the game completely, but it might negatively impact your chances of getting in. according to my predecessor (previous aska), if it’s a close call between you and and another applicant (ie you’re right at the cutoff) and they have to choose between y’all, they’ll choose the student who didn’t retake the course. butttt, i have zero idea if this is true.

tbh, all you can do at this point is to do as well as you can in all your other courses, to make up for the repeated course. if you’re stellar at your other subjects, you can make it so that they won’t ever have to choose between you and another applicant, right?

but i also happened to notice that the human biology admission requirements give you the option between advanced functions OR calculus & vectors OR mathematics of data management for your math pre-requisite. if you were really worried about how retaking a course might impact your application, you could just take one of the other pre-req options.

meanwhile, they couldn’t care less if you complete a course during summer. that will have no impact on your admission decision whatsoever.

and yeah, i hope this helped, whether you were applying to UTSG or UTSC! best of luck to you, you’re gonna smash that course through the roof! everyone’s gonna be so sockless because you’re gonna knock their socks off. the classroom is gonna explOde from how much you’re gonna destroy that course.

over and out,

aska

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campus life, clubs, fun & places, u of tears

seek and you shalt receive

January 18, 2025

I just need to know. Everybody says UofT isn’t as depressing and it’s what you make out of it, but I need a clearer answer. What’s it like there? Do you get to have a vibrant social life there? Are there fun things to do on campus? Like maybe attending games or idk just fun things to do.

I want to study Economics on the St. George campus and I want to know if there’ll be time to do fun things on campus, in the city. I know I’ll be busy; it’s university it has to be.

But I just need my university life to be fun and full of adventures, if that makes sense. Can I get what I’m looking for?

Thank you.

hey there,

ok but those people are kinda right, it is what you make out of it. in my opinion, your sense of fun and adventure will entirely depend on how much initiative you take to seek out fun activities on your own.

the baseline is, you will have fun and adventure at U of T if you actively seek it out.

things to do on campus?

to answer the first part of your question, are there fun things to do on campus? yes, a hundred times yes. there is honestly an overwhelming number of fun and exciting things to do on campus, happening everywhere and everyday. because of the large and diverse student population, there are more clubs and student organizations than you can count, and events are targeted to a wide range of interests.

there’s everything from cultural or spiritual groups to artistic groups to academics/career focused groups and everything in between. like, there’s a club about bread? and definitely a LOT of clubs have game nights if that’s what you’re looking for.

since you asked specifically about games, i can point you towards the GLG board game club, the esports club, and the tabletop gaming club, found on instagram at @torontotabletopgamingclub. but if you were interested in other things, you can also search up clubs by category on the utsu website, “find a registered club“.

in short, i can tell you with absolute certainty that the opportunities do exist, should you wish to take them.

but do you want to join clubs, student leadership, sports teams? are you the type of person to sign yourself up for an art gallery night? attend a karaoke event? sign yourself up for a weekend of cooking workshops? you gotta take that initiative and make that commitment, it won’t just come looking for you.

that’s one thing i wished i knew earlier on in my undergrad. in high school, there were only so many clubs, you only really joined things if your friends were joining too, and it was easy to hear about everything going on. but at U of T, the biggest university in canada, you gotta actively search through all the noise and find the groups/events/opportunities you’re interested in. you gotta put yourself out there, into rooms where you don’t know a single person.

vibrant social life?

from what i’ve heard, many people at U of T don’t consider their social life to be particularly vibrant. there are plenty of people who do, but plenty of people who don’t. once it hits the second month of the semester, most people who consider themselves studious will mainly hang out with their friends by studying in the library. maybe there will be some fun things on the side, but as you go deeper into midterm season, those will be fewer and farther in between.

it also depends on what you consider to be a “vibrant” social life. does that mean parties every weekend? having a large friend group to do things with? these things are definitely possible at this school, depending on your ability to balance your time. we are not a party school like mcgill or western, but parties do happen!

this section is funny because i wouldn’t say i have a vibrant social life, i mainly only see my friends within the walls of a library. all of our hangouts happen during the first two weeks of school and reading week. but like, that’s kinda on me because i like my sleep. if you don’t (like most people at U of T), you can most likely have a vibrant social life.

fun things to do in the city?

y’all, if i had to pick a sentence to say in front of a lie-detector test, i would say that toronto is definitely a city with fun things to do. that’s a given.

this one is hard to go over though, just because of the LARGE scope of fun things this city offers. toronto is THE city to socialize in and make connections in. i always say that i love toronto because it feels so connected and so, so alive. there is just such a depth and breadth of culture and community in this city, and it’s filled by the most incredible people with such interesting backgrounds.

personally, my favorite events in toronto are kensington market pedestrain sundays and the annual nuite blanche event. but the best everyday thing to do is go exploring! every street here is filled with exciting things to see. there are also a lot of niche socializing events i’ve heard word about that you won’t see in most other cities.

basically, if you’re at U of T, there will be some type of gathering within 2km, on or off campus, for pretty much every pursuit you could think of. it’s crazy. but it’s just a matter of hearing about the right events for you and making the time to go.

which brings me to the second part of your question.

will there be time to do all these fun things?

yes, if you make the time. honestly, it’s completely up to you and your work ethic. economics is a hard program, but i know several econ students who do make the time to get involved in campus life and fun events. as long as you’re not taking 6 courses (pls don’t do this to yourself), or have a bunch of evening classes, you will probably have time to do fun things even if you have a part time job on the side. plenty of people have made it work.

just don’t expect to have an abundance of free time. you’ll have to choose which fun things you want more out of the many options, since there will be only so much time in your schedule. most likely, your schedule will be packed, but it is absolutely possible to strategize and fit in time for fun and adventure. i’ve done it, and most of the people i know have done it. you can do it too!

however, please take everything i say with a grain of salt. this is all just my opinion as informed by my singular experience, and you could have a totally different take when you get here!

finally, if you wanted to vibe check what life at U of T is like, you could check out some student life instagram accounts. like @lifeatuoft, @uoftsu, @uoftsportandrec, @econ_uoft, @utsgdc, or @esauoft. your home college will also have plenty of student-run events! check out @myncsc, @innisicss, @vusac for example.

over and out,

aska

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academic success, awkwardness, profs

weirder things have happened

January 15, 2025
do people actually go to office hours, or is that weird? – can you go without having specific questions about the course?

hey there,

yes, people do actually go to office hours.

to be honest, whether it’s weird or not depends entirely on your ability to hold a one-on-one conversation with your professor without letting the anxiety take over. but most times, your professor will carry the convo and do their best to make you feel comfortable! they’re also always happy to connect with their students, i’ve only ever met one prof who wasn’t :D.

however, i totally get the hesitation about going to office hours. a lot of the time, i find myself wanting to ask my professors about their research, but hold back because i know so many students ask them about it to try to get some RA position. but at the same time, i rarely ever have clarifying questions to ask my profs about course content or assignments, since most times it’s TA’s that do the marking.

so, here are two things that have helped me get more comfortable with attending office hours, whether that be with a TA or prof:
1. eliminate the one-on-one aspect of office hours. bring a friend in the course, and say that you both had some similar questions about the course content or assignment! or that you’re both interested in hearing more about their research. this makes a load of difference, making it feel a lot more like a casual hangout than a Meeting With The Prof.
2. if you don’t have specific questions about course content, there are other things you can chat about: like their research, their career advice, other classes they’re teaching, advice on navigating the department, and grad school. that last one is especially applicable for chats with your TA’s.
3. but ultimately, course content is the main topic of most office hours meetings. here are some helpful things you could ask concerning the course:
- - could they explain a complicated lecture slide in more depth?
  - could they help you with some specific practice questions you’re working on? or practice questions from past exams?
  - could you run your final essay topic by them, and flush it out more?
your office hours interactions will also just depend on the prof or TA in question. most profs will want to get to know their students, some more than others. you’ll probably be able to determine this friendliness with a quick vibe check on how they lecture.

also, it’s a whole lot easier to go to office hours to connect with your prof if they have a set time. if you have to reach out to make an appointment with them, you should probably come prepared with questions to ask.

overall, i’d say attending office hours is one of the best things you can do to get the most out of your courses, despite how scary or awkward it can seem. i know most people don’t go because they don’t have specific burning questions, but i encourage you to *sparkle emoji* make up some questions! because having your profs actually know who you are can come back and do you some good in the future. man, i gotta start practicing what i preach…

but yeah, it’s totally normal to go to office hours. the best answers come straight from the source and talking directly to your profs can really help you do better on your assessments.

hope this helped!

over and out,

aska
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credits, degree requirements

unlimited, the future is unlimiteeeed

January 14, 2025

hi aska, im trying to plan out my degree. do you know if we are capped at 20.0 credits during our undergrad? in short, is there a limit to how many credits an undergrad student can take at uoft?

hey there,

nope! i can tell you that there is no limit to how many credits you can take over the course of your undergrad degree.

i can see how it might be confusing, because we all know we have to take 20 credits to graduate. but according to the HBA/HBSc requirements, 20.0 credits is just the minimum amount of credits required for the completion of your degree, not the maximum.

so if you’ve already met the 20 credits, you’re free to take as many courses as you want before you request graduation! ie. you aren’t forced to graduate when you finish 20.0 credits, you have to ask to be let out of here.

but, note that other limits do exist: there’s a limit to how many credits you can take per semester, and a limit to how many programs you can enrol in (three).

you know, i once heard legend of a guy who’s been taking undergrad courses at U of T for like 10+ years. never got a job, just loves to learn. tbh i wish i could just do that too, the workforce is too scary.

but yeah, hope this helps! i’d also encourage you to plan out your degree using U of T’s degree explorer site, it’s been super helpful for me.

over and out,

aska

*ps. if you don’t get this title, you clearly haven’t seen wicked*

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campus, distribution, grades

the latest scoop on grade deflation

January 10, 2025
Hello! I’m a grade 12 student who has applied to two programs at UofT: Life Sciences at St. George, and Physical and Mathematical Sciences at UofT Scarborough. I’ve heard a lot about grade deflation at the undergrad level at St. George, but not so much about the other campuses. Is it still present at Scarborough and Mississauga? Thank you!

hey there,

great question.

i go to the st. george campus, and in my experience, grade deflation is a pretty common occurrence here. however, i believe it happens across all campuses, since it seems to stem from U of T’s institutional grading policies and not from individual professors or TAs.

although i’ve never taken any courses at UTSC, i did take one course at UTM in which the grades were clearly deflated. and if i had to throw out a super rough estimate, i’d say maybe 20% of the courses i’ve ever taken were impacted by grade deflation.

that being said, personal anecdotes can only tell you so much, so i won’t say too much about the details of the grade deflation i’ve experienced in my courses. instead, if you wanted a more detailed analysis, i’d recommend checking out some articles written by the varsity (U of T’s student paper)! i’ll link them here:
- TA’s speak out about U of T grading deflation allegations
- The Breakdown: Grade deflation.
these articles argue that the grade deflation at U of T is an institutional problem. essentially, there’s a whole handbook for instructors in the faculty of arts and sciences that outlines rules about how they give out grades. as the varsity suggests, this tells us that the source of the deflation does not lie with individual course instructors.

for example, the guidelines say that for first and second-year courses, only 15-35% of the students should get A’s. meanwhile, the proportion of F’s in a first or second-year course should not be more than 10%. if not, the course should undergo review and make sure grades were given out fairly.

interestingly, these guidelines are mainly meant to apply to first and second year courses, since U of T knows that grades matter the most for grad school when you’re in third and fourth year. so if this is something you’re worried about, it seems like grade deflation might not be as pronounced in upper year classes.

anyways, to directly answer your question, i spent some time looking into the UTSC academic handbook, UTM handbook, and the UTSG handbook, and i found that the guidelines on grade distribution are consistent across all three campuses. if these guidelines really do enable certain instructors to keep deflating student’s grades, then there should theoretically be not much difference across campuses in rates of grade deflation. the only noteworthy difference is that the UTM handbook explicitly mentions that these guidelines are not mandatory, and course marks are not required to fit into pre-defined grade distributions.

overall, the data on grade deflation is super murky and there’s not a clear answer. my take is that grade deflation is definitely present across all three campuses, but whether it happens at similar rates is anyone’s guess.

i also think that if you’re trying to choose between which campus to attend, there are plenty of other factors to weigh. i’d recommend you check out this article on what makes each campus unique, and also look into the different opportunities at each campus for your specific programs!

and finally, please don’t let this get you down or make you too scared about coming to U of T. if you’re coming to UTSG for life sciences, i can tell you that none of the first year life sci courses i took were affected by grade deflation. while i know it’s widespread across different departments, in my personal experience, mainly social science courses have been the issue. all hope is not lost and it’s still possible to do well!

best of luck and hope this helps!

over and out,

aska
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admissions, ccit

new year, same old questions

January 6, 2025

Hey aska,

I am going to apply for CCIT next month for Technology, Coding and Society at University of Toronto Mississauga campus and my average is 78% Would I be fine with applying with that average or should I try to boost up my average?

And also aska,

Will be a Non Ontario student and applying late January affect my chance of admission?

hey there,

ok we’re starting the year off with a banger, another admissions question. let the slayage begin.

so you want to apply for CCIT and have a 78% average.

first off, i just want to make sure that you calculated this average the same way U of T calculates your average.

because according to the CCIT info page, your overall admissions average is not just the average of all your marks. instead, it’s calculated using your mark in english plus five of your top academic courses — so it’s only an average of six courses.

they say this average should be around the mid to high 70’s if you want to be a competitive applicant, and you’re definitely in that range, which is great. meanwhile, on the info page for general admissions, it says you’ll need a minimum mark of 70% in grade 12 level english and a minimum overall average of 75%.

however, they also say that the mid-70’s estimate is just a guideline based on the previous academic year, rather than a strict cut-off for admissions. so take from that what you will.

based on all of that, if the average of your english mark and top 5 marks is 78% and you have over a 70% in english, you’re theoretically fine. but if you want my person opinion, it wouldn’t hurt to do your best to boost your average as much as you can? because U of T is always saying stuff along the lines of “just because you have these guidelines marks is not a guarantee that you’ll get in”.

my take is that 78% is sort of toeing the line and the higher your average is, the more likely your chances are. so if you’re able to push and get that average a few percents higher, i think that would only help secure your spot. but there’s also no need to panic or stress a lot since you are already in the competitive range. so, up to you.

to answer your last bit, no, from what i’ve been told, being a non ontario student will not affect your chances of admission at all. you can see on the general admissions page i previously linked that the admissions requirements are as the same no matter where you went to high school.

and finally, will applying in late january affect your chances? i mean, as long as you apply before the application deadline on january 15 and get your documents in by february 1, it doesn’t really make a difference when you apply.

hope this helps and good luck!

over and out,

aska

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askastudent announcement

the doctor is out

December 19, 2024

hey hey sailors,

just a little aska announcement that i’ll be going offline for the winter break, so any questions that come in won’t be answered until school starts again in the new year. ~~i need a break.~~

your college registrars will also be closed, from dec 24 to jan 5, so don’t go treading through the snow to find them during the holidays. i know we all love them a lot but they also need a break. from the work, not from you ofc.

so yeah, see y’all in a bit.

over and out,

aska

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residence, victoria

bold of you to assume where i live

December 19, 2024

hey, im in grade 12 and i applied to victoria. i know that starez is opening in a few days, and i’ll have to chose a residence to stay in for my first year

from your experience, what’s the best residence in victoria college (upper/lower burwash, rowell jackman, annesley etc.)

hey there,

thanks for asking!

soooooo i have actually never lived in a victoria college residence. i actually live in a little cottage on the moon.

so i’m not sure i’ll be much help on the personal experience side of things, but maybe i can point you towards some resources that might help?

the first thing i would recommend is to tour the residences, but i’m assuming that’s probably not in the cards if you’re asking this question on here. another option would be to see a virtual tour. i think it’s cool that those exist now, and from what i can see these are high quality and have a nice user experience lol.

you can also see videos about each of the residences at the bottom of this page, and more on the bottom of this page.

i’d highly recommend that you do your research and make a decision based on what each one offers and how they would fit your needs. for example, do you want to live with a roommate? how many roommates do you think you can handle? do you want to live with the opposite gender? do you want a kitchen? how many people can you stomach sharing a bathroom with? (it gets kinda gross, i’ve heard).

i know that all vic students are required to buy a meal plan, so maybe you don’t think you’ll need a kitchen. but i had some friends in first year who had meal plans and realized they really missed having a kitchen, and were trying to boil noodles in their kettles. having a kitchen also means having a fridge and freezer. ~~ice cream requires a freezer. just some things to consider.~~

here’s a quick rundown of what all the 5 residences offer.

annesley hall

annesley hall is an all-women’s residence, which offers a music room and library. here, you’ll be living in either single, double, or triple rooms. you can see the floor plan here.

margaret addison hall

margaret addison hall is traditional dorm co-ed style with a common room and kitchen on each floor, floor plan here. they have single or double rooms here, and also music practice rooms, study areas, kitchenettes, and 6 common rooms.

rowell jackman hall

rowell jackman is an apartment style dorm with both single-gender and co-ed options. each suite has a kitchen, common room, one or two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. idk what the difference would be between a common room and living room, but i guess they have both? and in this apartment-style suite, you’ll be with 3 to 7 other students, in single or double rooms.

i was gonna say that this place seems like the best to me, but it does say that it’s mainly a residence for upper year students and first-years are only sometimes placed here in the double rooms. the rowell jackman floor plan is here.

upper burwash hall

upper burwash hall has co-ed single and double rooms. on each floor is a kitchenette, small eating area, and common room. washrooms are co-ed and the floor plan is here.

lower burwash hall

finally, lower burwash hall offers single, double, and triple rooms with “semi-private” washrooms, whatever that means. again, each floor has a kitchenette and common room. floor plan is here.

full transparency, i just got all that info from this official vic website. sorry that i couldn’t offer you any scathing personal opinions on vic residences. but if you don’t have social anxiety, you could absolutely just send a DM to some vic student group instagram accounts asking if anyone could give their personal opinion on the residences. students are behind those accounts and will see your message, it’s just a matter of whether they have the energy to respond. doesn’t hurt to ask though!

here. i’ll happily dox them for you: @vusac @viccollegelife @vicscarletandgold @vicorientation

and this is how i find out vic college has an mma club?!

if you really wanted to, you could also reach out to the vic registrar at vic(.)registrar(@)utoronto(.)ca , since they have people there who are available to help with new student transitions and answer student questions specific to victoria college.

anyhoo. hope this was sort of helpful? wishing you the best first year ever!

over and out,

aska

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academic success, course work, u of tears

pov: i try my best not to scare you away

December 19, 2024

Hi Aska!! I’m a grade 12 student who’s thinking of applying to Arts & Science at the St. George Campus. I was just wondering what the workload is like?? Like how much time do you spend in lectures? How much homework is there? How long does it take to do the homework? I’m a pretty big procrastinator, so I’m really scared that I won’t be able to handle the university workload 🙁

hey there,

ok first off, love you for specifying the faculty and campus! and second, this is so real of you, i remember lots of people wondering about this when i was in high school.

just a disclaimer to start off: the workload would sort of depend on whether you’re in humanities/social sciences or the life science/physical sciences side of things. i do however, actually happen to have one major in social sciences and my other major in life sciences, so i feel like i can speak to both. just please remember that this is one person’s experience and everyone’s is different!

workload

so the overall workload just depends on how many courses you’re taking. each semester, people usually take five (or four) courses at a time. you will hear about people taking six, but in every instance they are super busy and school is the only thing they do — aka no extracurriculars or jobs. so taking more than 5 courses is not super recommended by anyone and is pretty rare. anyways, my humble opinion is that four courses is the sweet spot, and by taking four courses per semester, students are usually able to get better grades and get the most out of each course. (that is, if you are able to. i know some people have to take five courses because they can’t take summer courses and stuff).

within my four courses, i have been taking two life-sci and two social science courses at a time, to balance it out.

for some context: life sci/physical sciences will almost always have practicals and/or tutorials, which will increase your time spent in class. you’ll be assessed mainly on tests/quizzes and problem sets or lab reports. there’s a lot of memorization and the end-of-term assessment will pretty much always be an exam. meanwhile, social sciences/humanities will have longer readings, and assignments are fewer but heavier weighted. here, end-of-term assessments could either be a long essay or an exam.

take from that what you will.

how long does it take to do the homework/study

man, i wish i tracked how much time i spent doing each of my assignments, but i don’t. and i can’t really generalize about this because there are so many different types of assignments.

so i guess i can tell you how much time i spend generally studying/writing essays/doing assignments? uhhhh it might scare you off but i know you asked this question wanting honesty so i have no choice but to give it to you straight:

generally, i spend all my time working, unless i’m cooking, going grocery shopping, or sleeping. every weekend of the semester, i study from noon to night time. ~~often, if my lecture is recorded, i’m skipping it to finish the assignment for said class, and then watching the lecture back in 2x speed~~. annnd during this past exam season, i was studying from around 7am to 11pm almost every single day for 3 weeks straight.

BUT before you start running, i’m pretty sure this isn’t true of the average U of T student. keep in mind that i do still have the time to work two part time jobs and volunteer on the side. it’s also a known fact that i spend a lot more time on things than others, just because that’s how i’ve always done school, and i like to be super thorough. i am not, however, an anomaly. my old roommate studied even more than i did and i literally never saw her leave her room to do anything fun the whole semester.

which brings me to this: your time spent studying will mainly depend on what grades you’re shooting for. people who are aiming for grad school usually spend more time on their work because they need better grades, but if you aren’t planning on going to grad school and just trying to pass, your workload will look a whole lot different. i, and my aforementioned roommate, just choose to suffer because we’re both trying to get the best grades we can for grad school.

how much time i spend in lecture

i’m going to include tutorial time into this total, because that also counts as class time. (in case you’re not familiar, lecture is the instructive class time that happens in larger groups, tutorial is added to some courses as smaller more focused discussion/assignment time).

i am taking four classes this semester, and i have 10 hours of lecture/tutorial and 3 hours of lab per week. last fall, i was also taking four courses, and i had 12 hours of lecture/tutorial and 3 hours of lab per week. each year, i’ve averaged around 11 hours of lecture/tutorial per week, taking 4-5 courses per semester.

idk what 11 hours of lecture tells you, but an important point i want to highlight is that your time spent in lecture is not indicative of your workload. it’s all about what’s assigned, how long your readings are, and how many assessments you have. you’ll see some people with schedules that are super full and other people with schedules that look sparse, and tbh, they’re often the same amount of busy.

handling the transition to uni

i’d say the workload is definitely a jump from high school, and to be so honest, it took sweat and tears to adjust during my first year. what i would recommend to make this transition easier is to take first year foundation courses — these are super cool courses that you can only take in first year, maxed at 25 people per class. in my experience, the professors of these classes make more of an effort to transition you into uni, like teaching you tips on how to write your first uni paper and stuff.

if you’re worried about procrastination, i will say that i recently wrote a post about how i learned to deal with procrastination in university, which you can find here. maybe it’ll tell you a bit about what it’s like dealing with procrastination and the U of T workload? but also, there are a vast amount of academic resources available at U of T to help you out.

for example, there are learning strategists that can do things like help you out a lot with study habits, preparing for your exams, or managing your time. there are even peer mentors that can do the same thing if you’d rather it come from a fellow student in the same boat as you. i have some friends with ADHD, and accessibility services helps them find accommodation for that in their classes and deadlines. there are registered study groups that are formed for most courses, which can really help with procrastination. your college registrar also offers learning strategists and academic advisors, and you will have counselling services at health and wellness available to you as a U of T student.

this is in no way an exhaustive list, U of T offers more resources than i can put in a single post. the gist is that if you’re worried about procrastination, i want you to know that there are ways to navigate that and you are able to succeed at an academically rigorous institution while dealing with procrastination.

overall..

i really don’t want to scare you off but i also don’t want to lie. the reality is that the workload at U of T is genuinely hard to handle for everyone. but it’s not a U of T specific problem, university is just built to stress you out and make you work hard. i know plenty of other people at other universities who are also very busy, i think that’s just part of the deal you take when you go to university.

i do choose to put up with this rigorous workload for a reason, and that’s because i personally think that the pros of U of T outweigh the cons. i am throwing up while saying this but nothing worthwhile is gonna come easily and U of T is a very. good. school. the opportunities that come with it are numerous and high quality, and you will come out with a world-class education. there are SO many good things about going to U of T that make it worth it.

and finally, just remember to take this all with a grain of salt, because i’m sure other people will have different opinions on things i’ve said here. everyone’s uni experience is different!

over and out,

aska

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life science, priority, programs, social sciences, switching

i walked so you could run

December 18, 2024

hey! so im a first year who was switched into social science from life science because of a grade requirement in grade 12. im taking all life sci courses currently but im worried i wont get all the courses i need for a lifesci program next year because of my admissions category. how would i switch back to life sci? is it an easy switch or would i have to jump through a lot of hoops??

hey there,

omg twin, where have you been.

first off, i can tell you that it will all be ok, because i did this myself. when i was in first year, i was in the social sciences admission category, but then after getting into social science programs i decided i sorta hated it. i then spent my second year taking pre-req courses for my life sci program and got in the summer after my second year.

you’ll be in a better position if you’re already taking life sci courses during your first year. but it would be helpful if i knew exactly which life sci program you wanted to get in to? like are you taking the first year pre-req courses this year? or does the program not have any pre-reqs?

check if your program has pre-reqs

because there are two types of programs — open and limited. this website does a great job of explaining the difference, if you want to check it out. but basically, some programs will have a list of first year courses you need to take to get into the program when you apply the summer after your first year, while other programs are “open”, with no required courses.

what you’ll want to do to figure this out is search “your program” art sci calendar on google. for example, this is the art sci calendar’s page for biology. if you click on the drop-down for the biology major, you’ll see that it says “open enrolment program” under enrolment requirements. so that means anyone who applies can get in.

however, if you look at the immunology page and click on the drop-down for the immunology major, it says something different under enrolment requirements. here, it says “limited enrolment program”, and lists courses that you have to take in order to get into the major.

so essentially, all you have to do to get into your life sci program is take the pre-requisites (and sometimes, meet the required grade threshold of those pre-requisites). but if there are no pre-requisites, you’re literally chilling. it doesn’t matter what admission category you’re in, anyone can get in.

to make it easier, i was told that admission category don’t mean anything, and they just make things seem more complicated than they really are. they do not tie you down in any way. the only program that i know actually requires you to be in their admission category is the comp sci specialist.

if you haven’t taken pre-reqs yet:

now, going back to your question of whether you have to jump through hoops. if you are already taking all the pre-req courses you need this year, or if your program has no pre-reqs, then you will have no hoops to jump through. all you gotta do is click the button to enrol during program enrolment and you’ll have switched to life sci.

however, if you have not taken required pre-reqs yet, i fear there will be some hoops. they will be jumpable, but they will be a lil frustrating.

the main thing that got me was enrolment priority on courses. i have an inkling this might be the same issue you also run into, since you mentioned you’re worried you won’t get the courses you need for your program?

basically, during enrolment, some courses are restricted to certain student groups who have “priority” for a few weeks, until they open up enrolment to everyone else after. often, if the course is popular, it’ll just fill up during the priority period.

in my case, the pre-req courses like MAT135 and BIO120 that i needed were restricted to “only first years in life sciences” during the priority enrolment period. i was worried because i literally needed them to get into my program and was watching the numbers slowly fill up as i waited for general enrolment period to come.

in the end, they did not fill up. but by the time i could enrol, all the good lectures and tutorials had been taken and i had to deal with the most diabolical schedule. (i am being a little dramatic but what else am i here on this earth to do).

so it ended up fine, but it was super stressful. i highly highly recommend seeing an academic advisor at your college registrar to help you figure it out, because that’s what i did — i don’t think i could have done it alone.

but yeah, that’s the only thing that made the switch to life sci difficult. still, i was pretty surprised that all you need to do to switch from social sci to life sci was take the pre-req courses and it was a lot simpler than it seemed. and now, i’m really glad i made that decision despite how scary it felt.

so i hope this all made sense and answered your question. best of luck to you, you’ve got this!

over and out,

aska

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admissions, english, UTSC

soooo special <3

December 18, 2024

Hiii! I’ve just applied to UTSC for the English Major, and I was wondering if my grade 11 marks are going to be considered as well? I’m a little worried because due to unexpected circumstances I was only able to complete one semester and I’m taking the other semester courses this year along with my grade 12 courses. I dont know if this will affect my acceptance since the grade 11 courses I took were in the range of 85%-60%. I hope someone can help me out with this! Have a good day!

hey there,

yeah, it makes sense that you’re worried about this, this is a really common question! not that you’re basic. you’re special in my heart.

so all applicants to U of T are considered based on their top six academic grade 12 courses. since you’re applying to the english program, english 12 will have to be included in your roster of top six grades — it’s a pre-requisite and it would be crazy if they didn’t look at your english marks when you’re applying to english.

anyways, these six grades are then used to calculate your admission average. according to this website, the admission requirements for english at UTSC say that you would need an average approximately in the mid-70s to high-70s to be competitive.

however, your grade 11 marks that you took last year will still matter, since your marks from this year won’t be fully out when you send in your application. and how much they matter kinda depends on a bunch of uncontrollable factors. like, when your high school releases interim marks, how intense the competition is in the applicant pool, etc.

basically, U of T will look at your grade 11 marks if you applied during the early application period. but, to my understanding, if those marks don’t quite make the cut, you will be considered again when your grade 12 marks start coming out.

overall, it honestly seems to me like you might be fine??? since your marks land right in the mid-70s range that’s required. but like, remember that i’m not a U of T admissions officer or recruiter!

so this is not official advice. if you wanted that, i would recommend attending one of these ask a recruiter sessions. U of T does a bunch of web casts and chat sessions where you can talk to recruiters and get answers in real time. i’ve never attended one, but i’ve heard they’re helpful.

and yeah, that’s it. hope this made sense, and good luck with the rest of your grade 12 year! and sorry i made you wait so long for this answer, final exams the past 2 weeks obliterated me.

over and out,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T

the gate is keeping

November 21, 2024

Hello, I am a 16 year old student and I had a quick question related to a reel I saw. In this reel, it says that colleges and universities release something called a common data set, which shows the acceptance percentage based on marks. I was wondering if uoft has a common data set or something similar to it that poses the same information.

hey there,

common data set? we don’t know her. unfortunately, U of T does not release this.

honestly, it might be because there are so many admission categories, all of which require different grades and courses. and that’s just in arts & sciences — there are also different faculties, like rotman, architecture, music, etc. plus, things change a lot every year.

the closest thing that i can point you towards is the U of T admission bulletin. this is like, the number one resource for finding out everything you need to know when applying to U of T. if you scroll to the bottom, you’ll see a huge chart of all the areas of study at U of T, their pre-requisites, and what programs types are offered. there are also approximate grade ranges listed for some programs.

on top of that, i spent some time looking through U of T’s data website and found a U of T data figure about how many students apply, how many are admitted, and how many register each year. you can also see in this one how many students are enrolled per each field of study at U of T.

i know these don’t provide exactly what you were looking for, but i hope these provided some sort of useful information for you.

anyway. if you’re 16, you’re doing a great job in thinking ahead. i’d say at this point of high school, the best thing you can do is just look at the admission category you’re considering (if you know that yet), and make sure you’re planning to take the grade 12 course pre-requisites you need.

you might also wanna peruse my past posts in the “applying for U of T” category. and “admissions” category. there are a lot of common questions you might useful there.

and yea, that’s it from me. happy to help if you’ve got more questions! <3

over and out,

aska

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