askastudent – Page 50 – your student life specialists

admissions, IB, UTM

utm giveth, but can utm taketh away?

April 27, 2018

Hi!
I can’t express how much this blog has both entertained and educated me– mostly on things that don’t apply to me, but informational all the same.

Well, to get the the meat of things, I’m afraid that my offer to U of T will be revoked??

Basically, even though my IB predicted score is a grand total of 24 (barely passing, my god), I somehow got an offer of admission from U of T Mississauga for Psychology (which is insane because I’m getting a 2 in math a.k.a. not passing).

I hear a lot of my peers saying things like “Oh yeah, you can drop 6 diploma points and UBC won’t revoke your offer lolol!!” or “So and so was worried because, with Waterloo, you can only drop one point!!1!1″… Where can you even find this information, friends??? This would be really freaking helpful to know for U of T so I could skip having a panic attack everyday about my fate in the coming months.

Anyways, I’d just like to know your thoughts. Though I know that time is the only thing that can truly soothe my anxiety, it’s nice to have more of an idea of what I’m dealing with; even if a solid answer can’t be given.

Thank you!!

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hi!

first of all, congrats!

when you were admitted to u of t, you would have received a letter detailing the conditions of your acceptance. that letter can be found on your joinid portal, or it would’ve been mailed to you physically when you were admitted. you need to check out what the the conditions of your acceptance are, according to that letter, as they differ from program to program and campus to campus. you will need to fulfill the conditions of your acceptance that are laid out in the letter in order to keep your acceptance.

if you can’t find the letter, or it’s way too confusing for you, or whatever, then you should get in contact with UTM. check out this link for UTM admission inquiries’ contact info. give ’em a call, they’ll have way more answers re: this issue than i do!

i hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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ccit, enrollment, UTM

maybe we are both ignorant

April 23, 2018

hi! do you know where i can find ccit major’s minimum cgpa requirement? i’ve checked their academic calendar already and either it’s not there or i’ve skipped over it? thanks in advance!

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hi!

i was about to make some snarky joke about how easy it was to find the ccit calendar with all the requirements listed but then… i couldn’t find the minimum cgpa requirement. so, jokes on me i guess.

according to the ccit calendar, it says that “each year the ICCIT program sets a minimum required CGPA. This will vary from year to year and is based, in part, on supply and demand.” i’ve looked around on the iccit website and the course calendar and couldn’t find anything either. this might mean that they haven’t set the minimum required cgpa yet, or that we are both ignorant and don’t know where to look.

you should get in contact with the ccit department themselves. check out this link for info on how to contact the student adviser/ program coordinator.

i hope this helps!

good luck.

xoxo,

aska

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commerce, extra courses, UTM

try, try again

April 20, 2018

Hi,
So I am a first year commerce student at utm and im almost positive im probably not going to get into the post that applied for. If i don’t get in, what are my options in terms of getting into the commerce program? I hear you can apply again after summer, so is that in terms of me taking a course in summer to boost my gpa?

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hi!

so just to confirm, you’re saying that you don’t think that you will get the required minimum marks in the required classes?

according to this link, you can apply for a subject post starting march 11, and if you meet all the requirements by may, you will be admitted in may. however, if you don’t meet the requirements by may, you can retake the courses over the summer and then request the post again starting june 11 and will be notified by early september. so yes! if at first (in may) you don’t succeed, try, try again (in june, after taking in the required courses).

just remember that any course you retake to get into a post will be designated as an “extra” course and will show up on your transcript as “EXT”. this means that it will not count towards your GPA or the 20 credits needed to graduate. it does count towards subject post requirements.

i hope this makes sense! good luck 🙂

xoxo,

aska

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deferral, exams, petition

on internships and deferred exams

April 16, 2018

Hi! Many of the summer internships I have applied to are during the summer exam period (june). Since I am planning on taking summer courses and would like to intern (if i get an offer lol) is there any way i could reschedule my exams if there’s a scheduling conflict? would i be allowed to take my exams earlier than the scheduled dates? I’m assuming employers wouldn’t like an intern taking a day off during a short 10-week internship period. thanks!

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hi!

to the best of my knowledge, you can’t write an exam BEFORE the date, you can only defer an exam to a later date.

to defer an exam, you will need to file a petition. you will need to make an appointment with your registrar’s office, where they can walk you through the petition process as well as help you with any aspect of your petition that you may be unsure about. they can also give you information on any other options you may have– just in case the advice i’ve given you isn’t the greatest.

this is still super in advance, though. and while i commend you for thinking ahead, there isn’t much that you can do right now except for wait. once you know when your internship will be and when your exam(s) in june will be, then you can start looking into deferring your exam.

i hope this helps! good luck with everything!

xoxo,

aska

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first year

incoming: lots of info

April 13, 2018
Hi! I recently got an offer for social sciences and I wanted to accept but I’m suddenly having second thoughts 🙁 I heard nightmarish stories about how difficult and bad undergrad is. I get that it’s expected but I dont want to be completely swallowed to the point where I can’t even have fun/breaks. Im mentally ill which makes things really hard and I’m scared to accept because of this. I was thinking to try first year and see what happens but Im worried I wont handle it. I dont know what to do.

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hi!

first of all, congrats!

second– these questions are always super hard for me to answer because everyone has a different experience at university and everyone has different measures for what’s “difficult and bad.” i totally understand where you’re coming from, though. the leap from high school to university can be scary, especially if you’re living away from home for the first time– mental health problems or not! i just want you to remember that help will always be made available to those who look for it. and you’ve already looked for it (by sending me this question) so you’re already part way there!

i also just wanna put a disclaimer on this post: i am just a student blogger, so this response is really from my own personal experience and what i know as a student at u of t. i highly suggest that you get in contact with an adviser at your college or faculty’s registrar office who can give you more detailed academic advice and point you in the direction of resources that i may not be privy to.

so, without further ado, here are (SOME of) my tips on getting through uni, based on my personal experiences and knowledge.
1. know what resources are at your disposal
this is something i wish i knew more about in my first year. transitioning from high school to uni can be super overwhelming, especially if you feel as though you don’t know where to turn for info. this is a really good list/ compilation of a lot of the resources you might need during your time at u of t. here are a few that i’ve found personally really helpful:
- health and wellness– it’s where you’ll find info on all the health related services at u of t, including mental health services. you can find out what services are offered as well as how to use those services and how to book appointments
- student life– where you’ll be able to find info on anything non-academic
- UTSU– university of toronto’s student union. you can find info about their clubs and events through their website. they also have all the info on the health insurance that is offered to all undergrads at u of t as well as how to opt out of it
2. get involved!

if you’re a commuter, this’ll give you an excuse to stay on campus after class/ come to campus before classes. it’s also a good way to make friends, whether you’re a commuter or not. i’ve personally found it really nice to be able to do something (non-academic) on campus that is fun and that i’m passionate about, all the while meeting and becoming friends with like-minded people. it’s made my uni experience a lot better and fuller.

you can check out ulife for a list of clubs, or just check out the various booths at the UTSU clubs fair during orientation week! tons of clubs and organizations will be there recruiting first years.

3. meet with an academic adviser at your registrar’s office

this is another thing i wish i did in my first year. meeting up with an academic adviser can be really helpful as they can thoroughly explain to you all the degree requirements that can be very confusing and overwhelming. you can also discuss what you want to major/minor in after first year and they can discuss options and help you get there. i personally find it very comforting and calming to have all my academic questions answered by a capital-A Adult.

phew that was a lot of info!

university is meant to be a time for growth, and growth is meant to be a little uncomfortable–but i know how hard and scary that can be. hopefully this helps a little, though. bear in mind (again) that this is all from my own personal experience. as i said before, just know that help will always be given to anyone who asks for it. if you do choose to come to u of t and you do find yourself in need, don’t feel as though you can’t ask for help. i promise you, we are all rooting for you!

good luck, young one.

xoxo,

aska
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first year, psychology

all in good time

April 9, 2018

Hello,

I have been accepted in ST GEORGE CAMPUS for the Cognitive Science program in Humanities (September 2018 intake), is it possible for me to transfer to the Psychology program in Life Science by taking the PSY 100H1 – Introductory Psychology in my first year (since the UoftT website says this course is mandatory for the psychology program).

If it is possible, are there any other courses I should take in order to be able to transfer to the Psychology program in Life Science.

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hi!

basically, life sci and humanities are enrollment categories and they don’t really affect you after your first year. they’re just in place so that certain students get priority for certain courses (ie. if you’re in life sciences, you can enroll in life sci courses before students in say, the humanities). first year at u of t is general, which just means that you aren’t committed to any specialist/ major/ minor (or in u of t terms, program of study) yet. so, if you wanted to do psychology after first year, you totally can! the enrollment category you are in right now won’t affect what programs or courses you can enroll in in the future.

so, like you said, you would need to take PSY100H1 if you want to enroll in a psychology POSt (program of study) after your first year. according to the faculty calendar, you need to get at least a 75% in PSY100, grade 12 calculus, and 4.0 FCE (full course equivalents) in order to apply for psych.

there aren’t really any other courses that you should take in order to get into psych in second year as i think most courses have PSY100 as a prerequisite.

i hope this was helpful!

good luck, looking forward to seeing you on campus in september!

xoxo,

aska

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first year, nursing

Protected: let me nurse your worries

March 26, 2018

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computer science, internal transfer, physics, UTM

the ol’ switcheroo

March 21, 2018

Dear Aska,
I’m going to be going to UTM for computer science, as that was my backup choice and I got deferred from St. George.

However, I still feel very strongly towards physics and I was wondering if it would be possible to take physics related courses at UTM and transfer/switch my major to physics at St. George after my first year or so.

If so, when would I apply for an internal transfer and would I be able to switch my courses from a computer science major to a physics major if I were to take courses similar to someone majoring in physics as a first year?

Thank You!

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hi!

you really should direct this question to someone at the registrar’s office at UTM. since you aren’t even in first year yet, meaning that you haven’t enrolled in any courses yet, you should meet with an academic adviser at the registrar’s office, tell them about your situation and that you’re thinking of transferring, and they’ll be able to give you advise on which courses that you SHOULD take in your first year.

that being said, here is some more general info that i, a humble student blogger, dug up.

taking physics courses as a “computer science” student is totally possible. and internal transfers are also possible.

check out this page for all the info needed to transfer to the faculty of arts and sciences (scroll down to “transferring from another u of t faculty or campus).

it is also possible for you to take physics courses at UTM and then transfer to physics at st. george. one thing that you should be aware of is the program requirements and whether or not they’re different between the two campuses. i suggest that you take a look at the first year physics courses offered at UTM, see what their st. george equivalents are using the transfer explorer, and then see how many of the st. george program requirements you will have fulfilled with your UTM transfer credits.

if there are courses that you need for physics at st. george that you can’t take at UTM in your first year, you can always try to transfer after your first year and then take those courses when you get to st. george.

i really hope that helps! good luck, my young friend.

xoxo,

aska

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admissions, international students

usa! usa! usa!

March 19, 2018

Do u have any posts for international applicants, specifically from the US?

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hello!

while we don’t have a specific US international applicants tag, we do have a general international students tag. you could also check out our admissions tag for more info, though it is more generalized, so you’ll have to slosh through a lot of posts to get to ones that’re relevant to you.

you can also check out this link on the u of t website that describes how to apply to u of t as a US high school student. they also have information on what to do if you have AP or IB credits.

hope this helps! good luck!

xoxo,

a very canadian aska

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non degree, registration

back 2 calc

March 14, 2018

Hi aska. I’m 5th year of my undergraduate life and have been slowly but surely been raising my pretty low GPA to get it high enough to graduate this coming June. Back in my early uni life I’ve managed to pass the 1st year calculus course but failed the 2nd 1st year calculus course twice. I never bothered doing it a 3rd time because I changed my programs but as graduation is approaching I’ve been regretting not finishing it. After I graduate is it possible to come back and just complete it?

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hi!

yes it is! actually, lots of students come back after graduating to update their marks in a specific course, take a pre-req for grad school, boost their GPA, etc etc etc.

if you’ve graduated from u of t and you wanna return to take courses that are in the same faculty or division that you just graduated from, you need to visit your former registrar’s office who can help you re-register as a non-degree student OR if you need to re-apply on OUAC. check out this link for more information about non-degree registration (scroll down to “non-degree applicants”).

i hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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admissions, financial aid, first year, scholarships/bursaries, victoria

welcome to u of t, here’s too much info!

March 12, 2018

So I was accepted into U of T today for Life Sciences at St. George and I also got into Victoria College (which is supposed to have a lot of scholarships). I was really expecting to receive at least a small scholarship as my average was 94.5 (if I include English, because i think i read somewhere that they include English no matter what) and 96.7 without English. Do I get notified about scholarships at a later time or have I just not received any. On another note, I am planning to do a specialist in Pharmacology and Biomedical Toxicology. Do you know how competitive that program is?

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hi!

first of all, congrats! yay! u of t! life sci! vic! yay! yay!!!!

u of t-wide admissions scholarship recipients are notified at the time of admission, either with your acceptance letter or under a separate cover. if there’s any confusion about this, you should contact enrollment services who’re the scholarships/ financial experts on campus. check out their contact info here.

as for vic-specific scholarships, the website says that “applicants with an average in the mid-90s will be automatically considered for (though not guaranteed) an admission scholarship when they apply to victoria college.”it doesn’t say anywhere when applicants are informed, but i would assume that it’s at the same time as the u of t-wide ones. on the u of t scholarships website, it says that “MOST faculty and college scholarship offers are made at the same time.” i would contact the vic awards office over any confusion, as i am but a humble student blogger who isn’t privy to all the mysterious workings of this crazy university. their contact info is here, at the bottom of the first part of the page.

i know how closely related getting scholarships and accepting an offer of admission can be– we’d all like to pretend that the school we pick is actually and completely our choice, but in reality… school costs money and sometimes ya gotta go where the money is. i suggest looking into other sources of funding like OSAP (or your local student loan) or UTAPS (u of t specific financial aid). there are a lot of different ways to get funding, apart from scholarships, so if you haven’t received any scholarships this year, looking for other sources of funding could be super helpful and a good avenue to explore.

as for the specialist in pharmacology and biomedical toxicology, i can’t really tell you how “competitive” a program is as it’s based on the pool of applicants during any given year. according to the website, admission to the program is based on a “student’s grades in the following courses: BIO120H/BIO130H/CHM138H/CHM139H/CHM151Y1 and from 1 FCE from any of the following MAT135H1; MAT136H1; MAT137Y1; PHY131H1/PHY151H1; PHY132H1/PHY152H1”. whew… that’s a lot. basically, it looks like those are the required courses that you have to take before you can apply for the program… i think. this is “askastudent” after all, not “ask a department admin person.” you should get in contact with the undergraduate coordinator for the department of pharmacology and toxicology. their contact info can be found here.

i hope this was helpful! that was a ton of info to slap onto a freshly minted, newly admitted, not even first year student.

good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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criminology, es&l, failing, first year

program scramble

March 7, 2018

Hi!

So I’m a first year at UofT (St. George campus) and I’m almost 100% sure I’m failing most of my classes.

I already dropped Psych100 first semester because I missed the first test due to a loved one passing away, and I didn’t do so great on the second test (40%). I took psych again second semester and most so second sem I have 3 full year courses and 2 half.
I planned on going into Criminology and Ethics, Society and Law but now i don’t think I’m gunna meet the requirement of 70-75% I’m going to need to get in. What can i do and what might my other options be to major in?

My grades so far have ranged from 50-75%.

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hi!

first of all, because this is a bit of a specific question, i suggest that you make an appointment with your college/ faculty registrar who’ll be able to give you more specific and personalized information.

that being said, i’ll try my best:

so, from what i can gather from your question, you will have 4.0FCE (full course equivalents) at the end of this semester, if you pass all your courses. if you do get all 4.0FCE by the end of this year, then you will have to enroll in a POSt (program of study). you need to be enrolled in a POSt before you can enroll in courses for next year. according to this list, crim is a type 3 program and ethics, society, and law is a 2L program. you can check this link out for what “type 3” and “type 2L” means.

you can still apply for the programs, even if you don’t get in. you’ll find out on july 3 whether or not you got in, then you’ll have til august 8 to accept if you get in. however, if you don’t get in, then you should enroll in a placeholder type 1 (the kind with no application required) program so that you can enroll in courses for the next year. i know it sounds kinda counterintuitive, enrolling in a program you don’t wanna be in, but you need to be in a POSt to enroll in courses, and you don’t need to enroll in any courses that have to do with your placeholder/ fake POSt. after enrolling in your fake POSt, you can take the required courses for crim and ES&L, increase your average, and then apply again the next year.

i hope that makes sense.

if you don’t finish 4.0FCE at the end of this school year, you will still be considered a “first year student,” meaning that you won’t need to enroll in a POSt before enrolling in courses.

good luck!

peace and love,

aska

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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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