askastudent - your student life specialists

arts & sciences, enrollment, non degree, second degree

bottom of the enrolment totem pole

December 19, 2016

After having completed my BA in a humanities field at U of T I am considering switching directions and following a social sciences path. I know returning as a non-degree student is an option, but I was wondering if non-degree students have problems getting into class with enrolment restrictions or 400-level classes? Is there a way to apply for a second bachelors or something similar?

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hey!

so at U of T, we have a rule that you can’t complete a second degree in the same field as your first degree. since pursuing social sciences would give you another BA, its’s not exactly allowed. you’d have to pursue a different kind of degree, e.g. a BSc.

furthermore, it’s highly recommended that you discuss all of this with an academic advisor (registrar). you can sit down with them and have a discussion about whether or not it is practical/ necessary to pursue another degree/ more courses.

non-degree students are at the bottom of “the totem pole of priorities at U of T”, so you may end up on a waitlist/ not get into the courses you want. you’ll only be able to enrol in classes after everyone else enrols. tough, i know.

for more on how second degrees and non-degree courses work, check out this post!

i’m sorry to deliver you the cold hard truth so soon to Christmas or whichever holiday you celebrate (or not celebrate).

here’s a .gif to cheer you up.

hope that helped. buddy the elf always makes me feel better.

stay warm,

aska

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applying for U of T, dentistry, grad school, rejection, science

i hate you people (dentists)

December 16, 2016

Hi there!

I’m from Latin America and I applied to the MSc in Oral Pathology
(dentistry). My application was rejected. I thought I had a strong letter
of recommendation and a solid background (although maybe not enough
research experience), which leads me to believe my undergraduate GPA wasn’t
high enough (3.2, minimun for my country to apply was 3.0) and was the
primary reason of my rejection.

I would like to ask if any of you is currently accepted in the program,
with what GPA did you get in, and if you recommend for me to reapply.

Thank you!!

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hello,

first of all, i’m really sorry to hear that you didn’t get into the program. i’m sure you worked very hard, but don’t lose hope. there are definitely plenty of career paths you can pursue with your grades and educational background!

i’m actually not a dentistry student, but in posting this, i hope you’ll get feedback from other applicants in the comments!

i’m going to try to answer this question while ignoring the fact that dentists are the bane of my existence…

unfortunately, i can’t tell you exactly why you didn’t get in. that’s a question you’ll have to ask admissions.

however, in regards to your GPA, while it is true that a 3.0 GPA is the minimum, it seems that most applicants who were invited for interviews had higher GPAs. to quote the one of the answers given on the dentistry website:

“A minimum current grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 scale) is required to apply to the Doctor of Dental Surgery Program (DDS). However, a grade point average of 3.0 (i.e. B) at the time of application does not guarantee selection. It should be noted that the 170 domestic applicants invited for an interview had a GPA of at least 3.85 and the 10 international students invited for an interview had a GPA of at least 3.75.”

this may explain why your application got rejected, but again, we will never know for sure. if you have any further questions about admissions, you could always talk to dentistry student services, but it is highly unlikely that they will be able to speak to you about your application specifically.

it’s completely up to you if you feel like reapplying! you should really think about whether or not you want to continue pursuing dentistry. if you do feel like reapplying, maybe consider taking some non-degree courses in order to boost up your GPA for an even stronger application. i believe in you!

good luck with your future endeavours!

peace, love, and don’t forget to floss,

aska

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CR/NCR, dropping courses, late withdrawal, probation

always choose the option with the dog

December 9, 2016

Hello Aska!

I’m extremely frustrated and stressed at how much I’ve taken school for granted, so much that I’m now on academic probation! I’m currently taking 4 courses at UTSG and I know for sure I can not pass this one course. So I’m wondering if it’s possible to drop it before the deadline (Nov 6) without it harming my academic standing.

Please tell me something good.. otherwise I’m quitting life and taking my dog and we are moving to the mountains and becoming mountain people

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hello,

first of all, i realize this answer may no longer be relevant, but i hope in the future you’ll direct your more urgent questions to a registrar! as much as i would like to answer everyone’s questions immediately, some questions do take more time to answer and as a result, it’s hard to answer questions in a timely manner.

nevertheless, i will answer your question now so future students in your situation can benefit! dropping a course before the drop deadline will not have an effect on your academic standing. yippee! i really hope you actually dropped it.

if you ever miss the drop deadline, you have the following options, to credit/ no credit (or as some people call it, “see-ar, en-see-ar”), or to late withdraw from the course.

to credit/ no credit (abbreviated as cr/ncr) the course is an option if you are doing poorly in the course and are not sure if you will pass. if you do pass, you’ll receive credit for the course and no grade. if you don’t pass, you won’t receive the credit. keep in mind, this only applies for courses that you don’t need for your program. you can cr/ncr up to 2.0 FCE’s. cr/ ncr deadlines are usually well into the respective semester and are listed in the ‘sessional dates‘ section of the arts and science website.

to late withdraw (LWD) from a course is for situations in which you think you’ll fail and if you’ve missed the drop deadline and the cr/ncr deadline. it won’t affect your GPA and your transcript will just say LWD. you can LWD from up to 3.0 FCE’s. you’ll have to go through a LWD with your registrar and discuss what went wrong to prevent it from happening again. the deadline for late withdrawal is on the last day of classes in each respective semester, meaning dec 7th is the last day to LWD from an F course, and april 5th is the last day to LWD from S and Y courses)

pro-tip: take a look at all the sessional dates and mark the dates for cr/ncr and LWD on your calendar. you never know when those dates will come in handy!

registrar’s offices always get students saying, “well i didn’t know when the deadline was!” well, tough.

moral of the story? keep in touch with your registrar’s office when you have an urgent situation. they’re a great help and don’t usually bite.

peace and love,

aska

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applying for U of T, arts & sciences, math, other schools (boo!), prereqs, PUMP, transfer credits

transferring + that calculus requirement

December 9, 2016

Hey Aska, I had a question regarding the calculus requirement for Life
Science programs. I haven’t took high school calculus, and am moving soon
and want to transfer to U of T. I am currently taking a first year math
course here at York. The U of T website says “A suitable community college
or university course in calculus” counts, but I’m not sure if the course
I’m taking, “Mathematics for the Life and Social Sciences” will count since
it’s not strictly calculus (though it covers Biocalculus for at least 85%
of the course.) please let me know if I can fulfill the requirement with
the course I’m taking (and if so, what mark is satisfactory, since I don’t
think I can pull off an A atm). If I can’t fulfill the requirement I’ll
just take PUMP or night school.

Thank you Aska, I appreciate your help!!

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hello,

so U of T has a great resource called ‘transfer explorer’ where you can plunk in a course taken at another institution (in your case, york) to see what its U of T equivalent would be. when you put in ‘MATH1505: mathematics for the life and social sciences’ in transfer explorer, it states that the equivalent (last assessed in 2014) is U of T’s JMB170.

the course description of JMB170, doesn’t give me the impression that it is a calculus course. i’m not sure what life science program you’re trying to get into, but from my point of view, MATH1505 doesn’t seem like it would carry over and be considered as a valid calculus course.

just out of curiosity, i took a quick look at the department of psychology’s calc requirement and couldn’t find anything that would include JMB170. if i’m not mistaken, calculus courses at U of T generally have MAT course codes. my recommendation for you would be to contact your chosen life science program directly.

contacting the faculty of arts and science may also be able to help you with this issue, since they are the ones who decide ultimately which courses transfer over.

if worse comes to worse, PUMP is definitely a good option. you’ve done your research!

good luck with everything and i hope you have a smooth transfer process!

peace and love,

aska

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admissions, enrollment, getting into U of T, international students

which curriculum though?

December 8, 2016

Hi, first I would really really be happy if you could answer my question
and help me find a solution to my problem… I really appreciate the
efforts you do to help clueless students like me.

I am a 12 grader high school student living in Saudi Arabia and I’m
currently studying in a Saudi

-supervised American Diploma school section where I study both Saudi and US
subjects. MY PROBLEM IS, I don’t know which system requirement should I
follow. I checked the requirement for US system and they just require too
much.. (2 SAT subject test, SAT, IELTS+)

I can’t do all of that before the deadline of 1 Feb 2017! In my country
people start applying in summer after graduation and not during school. ????
However the Saudi curriculum requirements are so easy they only require
IELTS.
Students who study in such merged schooling systems have to ask the MOE for
a “certificate equivalency” where their transcripts get completely adjusted
to the Saudi system so they get into colleges (Some Saudi schools don’t
recognize foreign certificates). My question is; will I be able to get
admitted as a “Saudi student” if I applied with a “legally” equalized
certificate?

I hope you are able to help me

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hi,

first of all, thank you for your kind words! i wish i knew all the answers to your questions off the top of my head but sometimes these questions take time to figure out.

in regards to your question: WOW this is so complicated. this question made no sense to me so i decided to consult a registrar! they know everything. this is what they said.

“if you are following the saudi system and if the school is recognized by the ministry of education in saudi arabia as eligible to offer the saudi diploma, then applying as a saudi student is okay.

the “legally” equalized certificate is not the issue, it’s whether or not you are following the saudi system (which it sounds like you are following both saudi and US) and if the school is recognized by the ministry to offer the saudi high school diploma, then applying as a saudi student is fine.

if your school is only accredited to offer the US diploma, then you must apply as a US student.”

hope this makes more sense to you than it does to me!

if you have any more inquiries, enrolment services would probably be the best place to contact!

cheers,

aska

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astronomy and astrophysics, campus, GPA, internal transfer, St. George, subject POST, Transferring, UTSC

please be the new neil degrasse tyson

December 2, 2016

Hi,
I am a first year student currently majoring in the Physics and Astrophysics program at UTSC and was wondering what GPA I should strive for in order to be admitted into UTSG. I know that competitive programs tend to require 3.7 – 4.0 GPA’s, but I’m assuming competitive means engineering rather than physics.

Also, do you know the deadline for internal transferring? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. I’m assuming that it’s sometime after, or maybe during, the winter semester since that’s when the latter half of my physics related courses are.

Thank you for your help

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hello hello!

so first of all, we don’t actually have a physics and astrophysics program at the st. george campus so it would mean for you to find a similar subject POSt, like astronomy and astrophysics.

there isn’t really a GPA range posted anywhere in regards to astronomy and astrophysics specifically, but i’ve been told by admin that the grade that we were accepting last year was B+~ A- (3.3-3.7) for internal transfers, but these averages do change from year to year, so keep that in mind. if you want something more accurate/ updated, you could always contact enrolment services directly!

in terms of evaluating your GPA, they would be looking at your CGPA as well as your most recent annual GPA.

when it comes time to apply, go see your registrar’s office to make sure you’re on track for your transfer. once that’s all settled, you’ll have to complete an online application right here.

the next deadline for an internal transfer to UTSG is january 13th 2017 for a september 2017 start date.

it will ultimately be up to you to decide whether you want to major, minor, or specialize in astronomy and astrophysics, but since astronomy and astrophysics subject POSt’s are all part of type 1, you can apply following the completion of 4.0 FCE’s.

best of luck! i hope you get in and become the new neil degrasse tyson.

peace and love,

aska

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other schools (boo!), weirdness

york needs an aska

November 22, 2016

Heya!

So I’m a York student (you may get your fork jokes out) and I’m in a bit of
a situation.
In 2014 I had a family situation that mighhttt have caused me to get really
sub-par grades in a couple of courses. I already retook the courses and
everything, and fixed up the grades.
Finally, in 2016 and with part-time student status, I got the time to
petition the initial attempts at those courses. Unfortunately, the
committee refuses to look at it since it’s a request past the deadline,
regardless of my reason to petition them.
I’ve already made one appeal that I did not have easy access to the
documents throughout the 2 years (seeing as the court case pertaining this
event is still ongoing, and it’s more important my family deal with that
than some Uni petition). They rejected the appeal, again on grounds that I
still don’t say why I decided to petition so late.
I have one last chance to appeal, and I was wondering if you had any advice
on how to do so successfully? This was a really bad time for my family with
several economic and medical issues, in addition, it’s really important for
me for post-grad opportunities, so it would be ideal if the courses got
removed.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thank you.

———————————————

hello,

**disclaimer, this post is filled with tons of shade. opt for another one of our lovely posts if you can’t handle the shade.**

so i’m a u of t student (you can get your #uoftears jokes out of the way) and i’m in a bit of a situation.

so in 1999, one of my predecessors launched a site called askastudent.utoronto.ca, intending it to be a website which answered the many questions of stressed out U of T students. since then, a significant number of york students have decided that utoronto stands for any flippin’ university in toronto and not JUST the university OF toronto.

so my question is this. why doesn’t york have a blog like this?

askastudent.yorku.ca sounds pretty good to me, doesn’t it?

sincerely,

askastudentUOFTANDNOTYORK

*

*

*

*

okay. all jokes aside, it seems like you’re in a really tough situation. while we do have a reputation of being really tough on our students, i don’t want to start a stereotype of us being terrible people, so i will say this. i REALLY wish i could help but since you don’t go to U of T, i’m not familiar with how petitions work at york. i’ve never even set foot on your campus… like, how do i even get there? we may be all-knowing on all things U of T related, but we definitely know as much nothing as jon snow when it comes to york.

the best thing for you to do would be to keep talking to your registrar’s office. at u of t, registrars are the ones that help you with the petition process.

i’m sorry that you guys don’t have this kind of ‘ask a fellow student’ resource at your school, but hey, maybe this would be a good time to start one? we could even entertain a healthy aska rivalry! let us know if you start one!

good luck with your situation, again, i really wish i could help.

peace, love, and solidarity,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, arts & sciences, colleges, english, film

not another college question

November 20, 2016

Hi!
I’m a student who’s applying internationally for the faculty of arts and
sciences. And I really don’t understand the college system.
I mean I do, but like, are there subjects that are not available in all
colleges? Are there any colleges that are academically lower than others?
I’m planning to either major in film or english, is that going to matter?
Also, how do I do my research about the colleges? I’m really lost about
this whole situation.

Thank you so much, your blog really helped clear up a lot of thing.

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hello,

i was going to preface this post by saying ‘ugh, not another college question’, but you’ve asked some questions that i think are important to address, so i have no sass for you today.

let me try addressing your questions one by one.

1. are there any subjects that are not available in all colleges?

do you mean to ask if there are any subjects that are exclusive to certain colleges? the answer to that is no. you have access to all courses in the faculty of arts and science regardless of your college affiliation.

2. are there colleges that are academically lower than other colleges?

no, not that i know of. there are students who perform well and students who perform poorly at every college. even if there were, we most likely would not be able to disclose that information on aska because that would be hella shady.

3. i’m planning on majoring in film and english, does that matter?

not really. innis college IS known for their cinema studies program and there isn’t really ONE college affiliated with english. innis also has a writing and rhetoric program, while vic has literature and critical theory. the only thing that might matter is, for example: you might hear more about cinema studies events if you’re an innis college student. regardless, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem as long as you are subscribed to the right listservs (email subscriptrions). to see a list of every college’s specialty, click here!

4. how do i conduct research on the colleges?

you can go on this website and find the tag ‘colleges‘. we’ve answered tons of questions similar to yours and you’re bound to find out a lot about each of them. even browsing reddit or college websites can tell you a lot about them. maybe you’ll find that one particular college gives off a good vibe. like i’ve said in the past, what college you’re part of doesn’t REALLY matter unless you’re thinking of living in residence. there’s also college culture to consider, but you’ll have to find out about those yourself by talking to people from the respective colleges. if you want more info on the residences offered, check out our ‘residence‘ tag!

keep in mind that when you’re ranking colleges, some colleges (innis, vic, trin) require you to rank them first.

choose wisely, my friend.

peace and love,

aska

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grad school, jobs, lab experience, psychology, work-study

no experience with labrador retrievers necessary

November 20, 2016

Hello!

On the psych grad school page it states that applicant have to have lab experience. Could you please clarify what this means?

Thanks!

Another psych student

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hi,

when you say another psych student, are you implying that i am also a psych student, or are you implying that you are yet another psych student that is asking me a question about lab experience?

lab experience pretty much means you have to find placements in labs to help conduct research. having experience in these labs will definitely come in handy when you’re in grad school.

i did a quick google of “lab experience u of t psychology” and it showed me this link, which i found very informative.

you are responsible for finding lab placements yourself, but the link i’ve attached has plenty of resources which you can seek out, whether it’s the career centre, the career learning network, or even the psychology students association! they will be able to provide you with all the available opportunities as well as how to go about applying for them. they’ll probably even know more about how many hours you need / what kind of positions qualify!

hope you find a good placement! good luck!

sincerely,

not a psych student

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exclusions, grades, graduation

proud of you

November 18, 2016

I have 21 credits and a cGPA of 3.21; do I graduate with distinction? I’m pretty certain if I had 20 credits my cGPA would not meet the distinction threshold.

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hey there,

the only reason why you wouldn’t graduate with distinction is if any of these 21 credits were considered extra. an extra credit would fall under:

-any 100-level courses taken after you’ve reached your limit of 6.0 100-level FCE’s

-any course that you have already passed and are repeating

-an exclusion for a course you’ve already taken

if none of your courses fall under this category, yes, you will graduate with distinction! your credits will all be considered in your cGPA! congrats for making it!

cheers,

aska

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admissions, getting into U of T, grades

c- in grade 9 sewing

November 15, 2016

Hi, when I apply to UofT, do I only need to submit my grade 12 grades? or do I need to submit my grades from grade 9, 10, 11 too? Thank you.

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hi,

your full transcript will be sent to U of T (including earlier years), meaning they will be able to see your grades all the way back from either grade 8 or 9 (depending on where you’re from). however, admissions will mostly look at your grade 12 marks to see if you have the classes that are required for your program. this is not to say that they won’t take your grade 11 marks into consideration. for ontario high school students, it does say on the website that the university will send out conditional offers based on your grade 11 marks as well as your grade 12 interim and final marks.

i hope you’ll be as relieved to hear this as i was. if they had considered my grade 9 marks in sewing (or any other subject for that matter), i probably would not have gotten in to U of T.

work hard and show’em all you have to offer!

cheers,

aska

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admissions, applying for U of T, averages, polisci, social sciences, St. George, subject POST, UTM, UTSC

a polisci question on election day

November 8, 2016

Hi, what are the approximate averages needed for ontario students to get into BA political science at St George, Mississauga and Scarborough? Thanks

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hello there,

first, let’s break this down. at U of T, political science falls under the category of social sciences. if you want to pursue political science, you might consider applying to the social sciences stream after high school.

once you are accepted, you’ll first have to complete a total of 4.0 FCE’s (full course equivalents, or credits) until you can be accepted into a political science program, be it a major or a minor. 4.o FCE’s just means that you’ll only be able to apply after first year. keep in mind, you don’t necessarily need to get into your program after first year, you can enter in second year and on!

in terms of admission into the social sciences stream at each campus, you’ll see here that they recommend the following averages: low to mid 80’s for U of T St. George, mid 70’s for UTSC, and mid to high 70’s for UTM.

before you choose your first year courses, definitely refer to the calendar and look at what courses you’ll have to take and what grades you’ll need to get to be accepted into the polisci program. since i am the nicest stranger you’ll never meet, i’ve linked you to the political science calendar of each campus: UTSG, UTM, and UTSC so you can see what you’ll need. you’re very welcome.

i hope you get into polisci and do some good in the world. don’t forget to thank aska when you receive a nobel prize. happy (or unhappy) election day!

cheers,

aska

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applying for U of T, gap year, intake, keeners, UTSC

we got ourselves a catherine keener

November 8, 2016

Hi, i graduated high school in June 2016 and I decided to take a gap year before I attend university. Hence,I will be applying to utsc for entry into September 2017. If I do get admitted into my program will I be able to at least take my electives during summer 2017? I’d really like to get a head start since i did take time off from school due to unforeseen circumstances.
Thank you for your times and hope to hear from you soon!

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hey,

first of all, i totally understand your desire to get a head start. the sooner you’re done with school, the better. (at least that’s how i’ve always felt)

unfortunately, first year intake at U of T is always in september. to my understanding, starting first year during the summer has only been granted in very unique circumstances, but is highly discouraged and “rarely entertained”.

one of the main reasons for this is that transitioning from high school to first year is a big jump and getting settled into university is such an important aspect of the whole university experience. the university will have orientation events (not just frosh week) in september to help you adjust along with your peers. you’ll definitely understand what i mean once you start in september.

furthermore, i imagine the whole process of petitioning for early intake would be extremely arduous and just not worth it. summer courses also generally move at a faster pace and it would be an even bigger jump to go from high school straight into university summer courses. since i’m saying all of this, it might seem like summer intake is actually an option, but it really isn’t.

trust me on this one, september intake is the way to go. you’ll find a lot more support from both campus resources as well as friends you meet during frosh.

just make sure you apply by january 13th and if all goes well, you’ll be set to start in september!

^this is an amazing song, by the way.

i hope this cleared up some of your questions! best of luck with your application!

cheers,

aska

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