askastudent - your student life specialists

first year, housing, one programs

on roomates and ones

March 5, 2018

Hello! I was just wondering if there were any websites or groups in place that newly admitted students can meet each other? I noticed the Facebook page really wasn’t filled with students posting about themselves, I am trying to find a roommate! Also, what is your opinion on the ones programs offered to first years? Thanks!

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hi!

i also just went through facebook and wasn’t able to find any class of 2022 facebook groups. usually, these pages pop up over the summer after everyone has accepted their offers of admission. keep an eye out!

as for finding a roommate, you can check out u of t’s off-campus housing portal. they have a specific area for roommates that is only open to students. you do need to log in with your UTORid in order to access the portal, so if you haven’t set that up yet, you can do so here.

as for the ones programs, it really depends on what kind of student you are. on the one hand, they’re a really good chance to go super in depth on one specific subject in a small class environment, something that you usually don’t get to do until higher level seminar courses. on the other hand, they can be very time consuming and the co-curricular activities (such as guest lecturers or field trips) could be seen as something that bites into precious homework time.

from a more personal standpoint (i did a ones program in my first year!), i enjoyed the classes and made really meaningful connections with the profs and other classmates. however, i did find that the courses didn’t count towards my eventual majors/ minors took up a lot of time (and valuable credits) that could’ve counted towards that. ultimately, it’s up to you. there are pros and cons and you just need to decide for yourself if the pros outweigh the cons.

i hope this helps. get out there and learn!

xoxo,

aska

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engineering, first year, residence

but can you engineer a home?

February 28, 2018

Hey there,

I’ve applied for engineering at U of T and it’s my first choice. I’m also really interested in living in the Innis College res but they claim they only take engineering students with averages above 96% !! Due to some personal issues my grades this semester weren’t excellent and my final admission average will probably end up being between 92 and 93. Is it worth putting Innis as my top choice to be considered for it or is the point completely moot? If not Innis, I’m also fairly interested in Vic, or failing that New, both of which claim to only have “limited spaces” for engineers. How do they choose which engineers get to live in college res, and do I only get considered for my top choice? I would like to avoid living in Chestnut if possible.

As a backup plan to all of that, I have a friend who was slotted into SMC and did some last minute emailing and got switched to UC. Is it likely that residences might have extra space if I try something like that?

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hi!

according to the innis res website, if you want to live on res at innis, you’ll have to rank them first when you apply for res via myres (the residence portal), or they won’t consider you. i’m not sure where it says that innis only takes engineering students with averages about 96, so i can’t really confirm if that’s true or not. either way, i think that if you want to live at innis, you should rank it first anyways. if you don’t get in, it won’t be the absolute end of the world, since the magical res people will place you in your second or third choice.

that being said, i’m not sure whether vic or new also requires that you rank them first. i would get in touch with their res offices specifically to ask. here is the link for vic and here is the link for new. if they don’t require that you rank them first, then it would be a good idea for you to rank them second and third after innis.

as for your friend who switched into UC, i’m not sure how that would work. this is something that you’d have to contact the specific residence offices about.

applying for res can seem kinda confusing, especially since there is a completely different website and portal that you have to go through. you will need to log onto myres, confirm your interest in residence, and rank your residences before march 31st. for more info, you can check out this link.

i hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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academic standing, academic success, failing, first year

it is not the end

February 26, 2018

Hi! I’m a first year, and due to my own personal issues I’ve completely bombed this year. I think I failed two courses first semester, and I’ve already missed two midterms this semester. God just writing that out gives me anxiety. I know I can’t excuse this behaviour, but I lost a loved one before exams first semester & it’s just been really hard but I’m ready to refocus on school, I’m just worried it might be too late. Will uoft kick me out? I don’t care if my gpa is low I just want to graduate

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hi!

i’m sorry that you’ve been having a rough first year. university can be really tough, especially when you’ve got other things going on as well.

so, u of t won’t “kick you out,” but they could put you on academic probation, depending on what your CGPA (cumulative GPA) and annual GPA at the end of this school year is. if it is lower than 1.50, you will be placed on probation. basically, this just means that you can only take up to 5.0 FCE during the fall/winter session and 2.0FCE during the summer. if, after being on probation, your CGPA is less than 1.50 and your annual/ sessional GPA is less than 1.70, you will be suspended for one calendar year. being suspended means that you can’t register as a student for the duration of your suspension. for more information about academic standing/ probation/ suspension, check out this link.

but in your case right now, you would only be put on probation at MOST. and this would only be if your CGPA dipped below 1.50. so, as long as your CGPA is above a 1.50, you’re okay.

i would also suggest making an appointment at your college/ faculty registrar’s office. they’ll be able to provide you with academic advice or refer you to other resources on campus. one of the resources they may refer you to is the academic success centre. i would also highly suggest that you check them out. you can make an appointment with learning strategists and mentors, go to a drop-in session with an academic adviser, or attend workshops. they can really teach you how to learn better, which may help out with some of the academic problems you’ve been facing. i highly suggest checking them out, they’re a criminally underused resource on campus.

i really hope this helps. please know that help is always available to those who seek it out. good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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OSAP

the limit? i guess it exists

February 16, 2018

Since OSAP is only for completing degree, if all my degree requirement s are met I.e eligible to graduate can I still get OSAP? Do I have to submit forms explaining why I need an extra year OSAP? I wish to stay one more year in university but I also need the $.

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hi!

unfortunately, i don’t know a whole lot about OSAP and the OSAP website doesn’t seem to have any information on your particular circumstance.

i suggest that you get in touch with enrollment services, they’re the OSAP experts on campus.

sorry that i don’t have more information/ can’t answer your question. you’ve managed to reach the limit of aska’s otherwise limitless expertise.

nonetheless, i hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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courses, first year, math

O! math.

February 12, 2018

Can i study the most basic math course like MAT133Y1 without having high school calculus and only studying till O level maths, I just need to meet the min requirements for econ majoring

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hi!

according to the faculty calendar, “high school calculus” is a pre-req for MAT133. however, because there are so many different education systems that the university encounters with its newly admitted students, it would be impossible to account for every single education system and how they would be related to the canadian and/or ontario education system. what i’m getting at is that your O level maths may be enough to satisfy the “high school calculus” requirement.

get in touch with the math department. they would be able to give you a definite response to your question.

though you may technically have the requirement fulfilled with O level maths, you might find that MAT133 is a little too difficult for you. there is, of course, no shame in that whatsoever. but if you do find yourself struggling in MAT133, the math department runs drop-in math aid centres with TAs and mentors. i suggest checking them out, if you need help.

i hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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admissions, daniels, masters

you are the architect of your own future

February 7, 2018

Hi,

I go to ryerson university, and i would like to do masters architecture at UOFT i have a 3.2 GPA, and hopefully higher in the last two years. my only problem is that im in third year and i got one C+ on my transcript. Do you think this will affect my chances?

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hi!

according to the daniels faculty website, you need a completed bachelor’s degree and a “final year average of at least mid-B”. a mid-B at u of t is usually around 3.0. this means that with your 3.2 GPA, you do reach the minimum requirement.

they DO say that they will look at an applicant’s entire academic history, but i don’t think one C+ will be too much of a blemish on your overall academic record if the rest of it is okay. that being said, i’m just a student blogger, i don’t know everything. you should get in contact with the faculty and their prospective grad student contact. you can get that info here.

i hope this helps! good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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academic success, failing, health and wellness, mental health

i’m rootin’ for you!

February 5, 2018

HI!!!
Sooo ya, Im in my 3nd year of study and I already failed 2 courses back in first year. I thought I was doing fine in this course (csc236) but then the marks came and it was abysmal. During this whole year I wasn’t feeling well, a lot of anxieties and some depression – I know, I only have myself to blame. I’d like to ask what are your suggestions on the actions I should take to deal with this 0.0gpa and the advice to do better?

Thanks ;(

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hi!

that sounds like a really tough situation to be in. i’m really sorry for how long this response has taken me, but i hope that you still find it helpful.

first of all, i’m going to suggest that you make an appointment with your registrar’s office. they can help you and/or point you towards resources that can help you. they should be your first point of contact whenever you’re feeling distressed (emotionally or academically). make an appointment, talk to one of the advisers there, and they’ll be able to give you more nuanced/ detailed/ personalized advice– more than i can give you (as a lowly student blogger).

for academics, i highly suggest checking out the academic success centre. you can make appointments with learning strategists, mentors, people who work in writing centres, and a whole bunch of folks that’re there to help. they can provide a lot of personalized advice and teach you all about HOW you learn and ways of learning more effectively. that should help you learn BETTER and (hopefully) boost your marks. they also have some walk-in appointments that you can make, if you don’t wanna make an actual appointment.

you should also check out health and wellness. in your question, you said that you aren’t “feeling well” and have “a lot of anxieties and some depression.” i think that you should check out their mental health services, even if you don’t think that you need to. mental health is super important, and the university doesn’t talk about it enough. mental health can really have a negative effect on your academics and getting to a healthy state of mind can help improve your academics as well.

i hope this was helpful. i think that, most importantly, you should make an appointment with an adviser at your registrar’s office– they are literally paid to help you. school, especially this school, can be really hard, and we all need a little bit of help sometimes. there’s no shame in it 🙂

good luck.

xoxo,

aska

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Chestnut, first year, residence

res-earch

January 31, 2018

Hello,

I am enrolling in UofT’s Faculty of Arts and Science Program for the fall semester of 2018, and I wanted to ask how I could choose the Chestnut Residence as a preference on my OUAC application? It only gives me the options to rank the 7 Faculty of Arts and Science colleges. Also, if I want to live in Chestnut, what college would I be considered a part of?

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hi!

when applying to the faculty of arts and science, you have to also apply to a college. though most people who live on res do live at the res that corresponds to their college, it’s not required.

after being admitted to u of t, you will be prompted (in my year, it was via email. i don’t know if that’s changed) to apply for res. in the application, you’ll be able to pick between all the different residences (college affiliated or not). if you want to live in chestnut, this is when you would pick chestnut (if i remember correctly, it was also a ranking system, so you’d have to rank chestnut first). check out this link for a more detailed breakdown of all the different college affiliated residences and this link for more info on chestnut.

if you live in chestnut, you can be a part of any of the 7 colleges. the college you belong to isn’t just where you live, it’s also the admin and resources that you can access. for example, if you needed to talk to a registrar, you’d get in contact with your college registrar. for the most part, there aren’t too many major differences between the colleges, but i still suggest doing your research.

so, basically right now, you need to rank the 7 colleges (after doing your research)wait until you’re accepted to u of t, and then apply for residence!

i hope this helps, good luck 🙂

peace and love!

aska

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economics, enrollment, first year

economics makes me a confused puppy

January 29, 2018

I received an acceptance letter from the university of Toronto, it stated that I have been given admission into the school of applied social sciences in woodsworth college. I wish to pursue economics and in the letter it was nowhere mentioned that I have been admitted to the economics course.

I wished to enquire what is the process of getting the course(economics) I want in college?

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hi!

first year in the faculty of arts and science at u of t is general. this means that you have free reign over what courses you take, as long as you keep your intended programs of study (POSts) in mind. so, you should to take a look at the calendar (which is where every course and program in the faculty of arts and sciences are listed) to see which programs interest you and then take those courses in your first year at u of t. you apply for programs after you’ve completed 4.0 FCE, generally between your first and second year.

so, if you wanted to study JUST economics, meaning that you would be doing an economics specialist, you would first need to enroll in the economics major. to do that, you need to get at least 63% in ECO101/102 OR 70% in ECO105, AND 63% in MAT133 OR 60% in MAT135 and MAT136 OR 55% in MAT137 OR 55% in MAT157. you can check the link for more information (and a better layout tbh, i just have no idea what the most comprehensible way to type that information is). after a year in the major program, you can apply for the specialist program. the details for how to get into that program can be found here.

i hope that makes sense.

basically, for your first year, you can take anything you want (keeping your desired programs and their requirements in mind) and then apply for programs between first and second year. so, if econ is what you have in mind, then you’ll need to take ECO101/102 or 105, MAT133 or 135/136 or 137 during your first year so that you can qualify for the economics major.

i suggest making an appointment with one of the academic advisers at your college (in this case, woodsworth) registrar’s office. some colleges may have a first year adviser who would be able to give you tons of information. to be honest, i’m feelin’ a bit like those confused puppies up there over these econ requirements (also, wouldn’t it be fun if aska was run by a puppy? how cute!!), so checking in with someone at a registrar’s office would be really, really helpful.

i hope this wasn’t TOO confusing. best of luck and see you in september!

xoxo,

aska

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colleges, st. mike's

colleges, crim, enrolment, oh my!

January 22, 2018

Hello,

I am admitted in the University of Toronto St. Michael College for studies in Humanities. I have 2 questions for you.

1) What is the difference between all the Arts & Science colleges?

2) Is it possible for me to select Criminology & Socio-legal studies as a major after my first year even though i have been admitted in the faculty of Humanities?

Thank you.

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hi!

since your question is in two parts, i’ll be answering in two parts.

1) colleges are kinda like a student’s “home base” during their time in the faculty of arts and sciences. every student in artsci belongs to a college. this is mostly for administrative reasons, as u of t and the faculty of arts and sciences are huge. so, if you needed to access any admin (ie. registrar’s office, dean’s office, etc), you would want to get in contact at the college level first. there are also a lot of different resources that are available to students at a college such as writing centres. you will also be participating in orientation week with your college and if you’re living on residence, your college is where you would live.

there isn’t really any difference between the colleges, they all serve the same basic purpose. there are some people who say that each college has their own “personality”, but you will be able to find people that you click with no matter which college you’re at. basic people will tell you all about the stereotypes associated with the different colleges, but that’s all they are– stereotypes.

2) yes, it’s possible for you to for you to enroll in criminology and socio-legal studies as a major even though you were admitted into humanities. as long as you have the appropriate prerequisites fulfilled, there’s nothing stopping you!

you just need to take 2.0 FCE (full course equivalents) in either: HIS (history), ECO (economics), PHL (philosophy), POL (polisci), PSY (psychology), or SOC (sociology). then, between first and second year (or whenever you complete 4.0 FCE), you have to apply for the major on ACORN. check out this link for a detailed explanation of the program enrollment process. criminology and socio-legal studies is a type 3 program.

you could also make an academic advising session with your registrar’s office, who would be able to give you even more information.

i hope this helps! see you on campus in september!

xoxo,

aska

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UTM

don, but not the draper kind

January 22, 2018

Hi!

I’m a student at UTM and I am thinking of applying to be a don at my campus next year. I heard it is REALLY competitive and hard to get in (Like 500+ apply and only 40 get it or something like that). Is that true? How hard is it to get in? Do your academics really matter? I’m a student coming back from 1yr probation so will that be a big deal? I’m actually doing very well, so far I’m getting As and A+s. I’m also trying to get involved with the school community and I am sure that I will continue to do all that throughout the school year.

If you can share any thoughts or experiences that you know about what it is like to be a don and if it is worth it and what the selection process is like that will be great.

Any information will really help, thanks 🙂

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hi!

first of all, i am so sorry that this response is so late! unfortunately, the deadline has passed for applications to be a don. again, i’m so so sorry and i hope that you were able to find the application on your own. i will still answer the question, for future reference. again, i’m so sorry.

unfortunately, i have no idea how competitive it is to get in. for info like that, you should get in contact with UTM’s student housing and residence services.

since it is a little too late to apply, at least for the 2018-19 school year, you can take a look at the requirements so you can apply next year. though i don’t know whether or not having been on probation would be a “big deal”, they do say that there isn’t “one type of person who becomes a residence life staff”. take that as you will. however, you do need to have (and maintain) a cgpa of 2.0.

i don’t know too much about donships, especially at utm, so there isn’t much i can do to help here. get in contact with student housing and residence (which i’ve linked above) and keep an eye on this page for future opportunities.

i hope this helps, and sorry again for the extremely late response.

good luck,

aska

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CR/NCR, polisci, UTM

escape (CR/NCR) from POL114

January 17, 2018

hi there! im a first year student at UTM and POL114 is really kicking my butt… i want to CR/NCR it but i also may want to minor in polisci in the future! by the end of the school year, i would have completed the 1 credit requirement for polisci without POL114 ( took POL111 and POL112). so… is it okay to CR/NCR a polisci course if i will complete the required 1 credit anyways?

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hi!

so, according to the poli sci department’s website, the only requirement for a polisci minor is 4.0FCE in POL courses, including 1.0 300-level course and 1.0 100-level course. that means, if you have POL111 and POL112, that you can safely CR/NCR POL114 and still enroll in the polisci minor. however, since it is still relatively early in the term, you could wait until you get a few marks (like, after the midterm or first assignment) to really make your decision. you might actually be doing way better than you originally thought! the deadline to cr/ncr a course is march 14th.

i would also be mindful of the other polisci programs. right now, you want to do the minor, but if you should ever want to switch to a major, you would need POL200, POL214, and a whole host of other requirements. though POL114 isn’t one of the courses that are covered in the “fields” for the major, it could count towards the “3.0 additional POL courses”. so, just keep that in mind.

other than that, i would also suggest talking to the registrar at UTM who would have the most information and would be able to give you the best advice. perhaps even better advice than i (gasp! i know!).

overall, as long as you keep what i said in mind, as well as the prereqs for future POL courses (courses that you would want to take), you can totally escape POL114. that’s what CR/NCR is right? escaping?

xoxo,

aska

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internal transfer, UTM

keep calm and (cat) slide on

January 17, 2018

Hi!
I’m currently a first year student at UTM and I was wondering if it’s possible for me to transfer to UTSG. I haven’t been able to find much information about this online. How competitive is it?
If one of the required courses for the program I want to enroll in at UTSG isn’t offered at UTM what do I do? Can I do that course after I transfer?

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hi!

yes, it is possible for you to transfer from UTM to UTSG. how competitive it is, as i’ve mentioned MANY TIMES NOW, it’s all based on the pool of applicants in any cohort. you can check out this link for more information. you can also contact enrollment services, who would have the most up-to-date and accurate information about transfers, enrollment, and recruitment.

if one of the courses you need for your desired POSt at UTSG isn’t offered in UTM, you can definitely take it when you get to UTSG. just remember that you wont be able to enroll in your desired POSt, so you’ll have to enroll in (a) placeholder program(s). you can check out the transfer explorer to see what the UTSG equivalents of your UTM credits are, you may actually have the required courses for your desired POSt and can just enroll in it once you transfer.

i hope this was helpful, i know that there isn’t much info out there on internal transfers. i would suggest making an appointment with the registrar at UTM to discuss transferring since they’ll be able to give you more personalized information and point you towards other resources.

good luck! may your transfer be smoother than this guy’s:

xoxo,

aska

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