askastudent - your student life specialists

computer science

a fine balance

July 26, 2017

Hi aska. Sorry for my bad English.
As I’m starting to work full time soon, I was wondering whether there are
online or evening courses available for the following majors : Computer
Science, German language and Geographical Information Systems.
I’m still interested with CS, though the first year I struggled with my
studies (I got my education backhome and it was different). If I retake the
courses, can I get into CS POS? Or shall I consider non-degree studies in
CS ?
Best,
O.

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hi!

travelling to a completely new country for school and balancing work/ finances on top of a busy academic life cannot be easy. i feel for you, o, i really do. i’m really proud of you for putting in the time and effort to continue your education (and in something you’re passionate about!) and i hope others in your life recognize that too. student life can be very isolating and we don’t hear “i’m proud of you” enough.

to find courses that would fit into your busy schedule, you could use the faculty of arts and science’s timetable. you just need to plug in what you need in a course (like which day you want, what time of day, etc) and it’ll spit out options for you.

so, i put in the majors that you’re interested in and the following online courses popped up: CSC108H1F/S and GGR272HS.

i also searched for evening courses but way more popped up and as much as i wanna help you, i don’t really feel like typing out 68 different course codes. take a look at the timetable yourself to see if any of those courses interest you.

you can retake courses once if you need it to get into the CS POSt, but it will be designated as “extra” (meaning that it will show up on your transcript but the mark won’t affect your GPA or be counted towards the 20 FCE you need to graduate). i would get in contact with your college registrar’s office or the department of computer science to figure out the next steps you nee to take in order to enroll in an extra course (as ACORN will block you from enrolling in it yourself, if i remember correctly).

if you’re having issues studying or need some extra support, you could also check out the academic success centre. they’ll be able to connect you to a mentor who would work with you to develop study skills and provide you with guidance. they’re a really great resource that is severely underused!

i hope this helps. don’t forget that you can always get support, you just have to ask for it.

good luck! i’m rooting for you.

xoxo,

aska

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credits

anotha one (semester)

July 26, 2017

I also wanted to ask if it was viable for a student to graduate in 4.5
years (since I’m missing 1.5 credit to graduate on time) ?? Like if I had
to take a semester more of classes, is the only option to pay for another
whole year?

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hi!

you can totally graduate in 4.5 years! you can take as much time as you need.

if you were only taking 1.5 credits, you would be considered a part time student and charged the fees associated with that status.

i would check in with your college registrar to see what they say. they could provide you with options to see if you could graduate without taking the extra semester (though of course, taking more time is no big deal at all! but knowing your options can be helpful). they’ll also be able to help you change your stratus from full time to part time or tell you about changing your fees to be per-course. the college registrar is your best friend!

i hope this helps! good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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first year, SDS, sociology

sexy soc-y ;)

July 25, 2017

Hey! Is there recommended first year courses I should take if I want to double major in sexual diversity and sociology? 🙂

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hi!

so, you just need to go to the faculty of arts and science’s calendar to see what first year courses are offered by those department as well as which courses they recommend you take in first or second year.

for sexual diversity studies, they suggest that you take SDS255H1/ SDS256 in your first year as well as “a broad range of of courses in the humanities and social sciences”.

for soc, they suggest SOC101Y and a combination of two half-year courses that are outlined in the calendar that i really don’t feel like typing out for you. sorry but not sorry. you got into this school, you can read.

i hope this was helpful!

xoxo,

aska

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admissions, grad school, psychology

psych! don’t really have an answer

July 24, 2017

Hi there aska! I’m a psych major interested in eventually doing my masters in psych. Say for example I chose to do a thesis on women’s mental health, would I need to take courses related to my future area of specialization or is any psych course fine?

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hi!

you would have to check out the specific program’s prereqs. if you were thinking about pursuing your masters at u of t, you can check out this link.

otherwise, i can’t really help you. i don’t know what program you want to get into, so i can’t give you anything but very general advice. i would get in touch with the school or program that you’re interested in, ask them if there are any courses that they require you to have completed before, and see what the steps are from there.

sorry i can’t be of more help.

xoxo,

aska

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transfer credits, Transferring

another coy transfer answer

July 24, 2017

If I get good grades in my second year though I have a really low first year GPA, would I be able to transfer to u of t? I’m a student at another uni. Or do I need high GPA’s for both my first and second year?

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hi!

i can’t really say for sure whether or not you’ll be able to transfer (aska makes no absolute guarantees, only educated guesses and estimations). logically, though, it would make sense that you’d have a better chance of getting in if you had a high CGPA (cumulative GPA).

before you apply to transfer, you should also hit up the transfer explorer to see how many credits you can transfer over to u of t and what the equivalent courses are here.

hope this helps! good luck.

xoxo,

aska

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Uncategorized

what’s ma tuition?!

July 21, 2017

Hi. what is the masters tuition for international students? (MA in political sciences)

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hi!

unfortunately, there isn’t a specific number posted anywhere online. if i were you, i’d get in contact with the school of graduate studies, who would have the most information about graduate programs at u of t.

i’d also get in contact with the department of political sciences to see what their policies and application process is for international students. they also have a MA supervisor that could help you out. they’d also have information for you about scholarships, grants, and bursaries to help you finance your masters.

i hope this is helpful! good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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subject POST

subject post blues

July 21, 2017

hey hey! I just need some clarification. So lets say I met all the requirements of a subject post but get rejected because its competitive. Doing better in my second year won’t improve my chances of getting into the program if I dont retake the prereq courses (and try to get better grades in those courses) correct? thank uu

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hi!

unfortunately, you can’t enrol in a course that you’ve already taken and passed without the permission of the department. if you want to retake a course for your subject POSt, i would go to the department and ask if it’s possible.

i would also make an appointment with your college registrar to discuss next steps or alternatives for the upcoming school year since you didn’t get into the subject POSt you wanted. they might also be able to help you with the next steps that you need to take if you want to retake a course you’ve passed.

i hope this helps! good luck!

xoxo,

aska

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internal transfer, Transferring, UTM

don’t let your dreams be dreams!!

July 19, 2017

Can I transfer from UTM to UTSG in my fourth year to the same department? So my specialist is Biology, can I do the same in downtown? Thanks!

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hi!

unfortunately, i’m not 100% sure whether or not utsg would accept you as a fourth year student. i would get in contact with enrolment services and see what they say. they may deflate your dreams, but you never know!

if you were to transfer and get in, you might not be able to be in the same subject POSt or combination of subject POSts. because the program requirements at utsg are slightly different than those at utm, you might not fulfill the requirements for the equivalent program that you were in. the selection of programs is also slightly different from campus to campus, so your specific program (or program combination) might not even exist at utsg! check out the program calendar to see what the requirements are for the program that you’re interested in. i just said program a lot.

enrolment services can help you figure out what kind of program you could get into if you transferred over from utm, but i would also consider talking to the registrar at utm. they’d have tons of info too.

don’t let your dreams be dreams, dude!

xoxo,

aska

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credits

may the force be with you

July 19, 2017

Hi! Can I graduate from a Honours degree in 3 years instead of 4 by taking classes in the summer?

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hi!

yes you can!

however, in addition to classes in the summer, you would have to also take 6 FCE during the year. i did the math in this post.

basically, you’d have to take 6 FCE for 3 years (for a total of 18 FCE) and then take 2 during the summers. either one in each summer or cramming both into one. you could also split take 6 FCE one year, 5 FCE the next two years for a total of 16 credits. then, you’d have to take 4 FCE and the only way you could do that in two summers is if you took 2 FCE every summer.

it’s totally within the realm of possibility, but it would be hard and exhausting. but not impossible!

good luck dude. may the force be with you.

xoxo,

aska

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syllabus

syllabi for my guy

July 18, 2017

Hi aska! Can I ask professors (who don’t know me) during the summer for syllabi of their fall/winter courses I intend on taking or is that weird?

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hi!

yes! you can email profs and ask them if they’d be able to send over a copy of their syllabus. some profs are a little more strict about their syllabi though, and might not send it to you. some profs don’t finalize their syllabus until later on too, so you might not be able to get syllabi from those profs. but it is 100% acceptable to email a prof or contact the department to ask if you could see the syllabus.

hope this helps! get that education!

xoxo,

aska

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courses, wait list

why are there so many hunger games comparisons to u of t

July 17, 2017

Hey Aska how are you? I’m just not quite understanding the waitlist process. I was put onto a waitlist for my priority group which had a certain number spaces (all of which are full) but it seems that my rank has actually increased rather than go down since yesterday. Do you know why that is? Also when August 4th comes and the merging of the waitlist occur , are 4th years given priority , then 3rd and so on? Thanks a lot!

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hi!

i’m good, thanks for asking. i feel like no one ever asks aska how they’re doing, so thank you kind asker.

i have no idea why your rank in the wait list went up, not down. i guess the only thing i could tell you is… well, sh*t happens? sorry there isn’t really a better explanation.

i do have an answer for the second part of your question! when august 4th rolls around and the priority drops, all the different wait lists will collapse into one and your position in the new wait list will be determined based on when you got into any wait list for the course. so, for example, if you were the third person to be in a wait list, regardless of your priority group, you will be the third person on the new wait list.

i hope this helps and i hope this makes sense (lol). good luck, course enrolment is hell.

may the odds be ever in your favour.

xoxo,

aska

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breadth requirements, degree requirements, first year

the scary world of degree requirements

July 17, 2017

Hello! I’ll be a first year student soon and I was look at the breadth requirements page and I don’t get what any of it means? FCEs? 100 series? 300+ series? What??

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hi!

welcome to u of t and the annoying and confusing world of degree requirements!

basically, you need 20 FCE (full course equivalents, which means you could take 20 full year courses, 40 half year courses, or any mix as long as it adds up to 20 full course equivalents) to graduate. within those 20 credits, there are certain requirements that you need to fulfill. according to this, you need to have at least 6.0 FCE of 300/400-level courses with at least 1.0 400 series, and no more than 6.0 100-level courses.

but what does this all mean!??!

the “level” of a course denotes what year that course is meant to be taken in. 100 being first year, 200 being second year, etc. you can tell what “level” a course is from the first number in the course code. for example, ENG140 is a first year or 100- level course. of course, these levels are all suggested and oftentimes upper year students take a lower level course in order to complete requirements. as long as you don’t go over the max of 6.0 100-level courses and as long as you take at least 6.0 300+ level courses, you’ll be good!

this brings us to the elusive breadth requirement. the breadth requirement is the university’s way of making sure that we turn out somewhat well-rounded. there are 5 “categories”, all corresponding to a different area of study. you need to complete 1.0 FCE in 4/5 categories or 1.0 FCE in 3/5 categories and than 0.5 FCE in the remaining two categories. for the most part, whatever program you’re interested in will fulfill at least 2 or 3 of the categories, so you just need to look at completing the other 2 or 3. though a lot of students decide to get their breadth requirement out of the way in first year, it doesn’t really matter when you do it, as long as they’re done before you graduate.

i hope this helps! i know this is a lot and can be really confusing. don’t hesitate to reach out to your college registrar to set up an academic advising session just to figure some stuff out. it can be really helpful.

see you on campus in september!

xoxo,

aska

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hart house, tcard

getting swole thanks to incidental fees

July 14, 2017

Incoming student here. Does my Tcard give me access to the athletic centre or other on-campus gyms? Or do I have to pay for a membership?

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hi!

your t-card gets you into all the gyms on campus- hart house, athletic centre, and goldring! memberships to these gyms are included in your tuition as compulsory incidental fees. once you get charged tuition on ACORN, you can check your invoice to see a breakdown of your incidental fees. as long as you are a student at u of t (and paying incidental fees) you will have access to those gyms!

hope this helps!

xoxo,

aska

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