• grad school,  grades,  transcripts

    with a grain of salt

    January 16, 2017

    hi.

    i am a sixth-year student, hoping to finally begin grad school next year
    (fall 2017). i have heard that grad schools assign more weight to
    undergraduates’ later academic performance than their earlier; however, i
    was wondering if this is supposed to indicate that higher-level courses are
    more heavily weighted, or if it is rather simply because they are looking
    for how well the student is doing closer to the time of the application.
    so, for example, say you left a bunch of required courses to the end of
    your degree, and they are 100- and 200-level courses, and you do
    significantly worse in them than you did in 300- and 400-level courses that
    you took much earlier –– would the lower-level required courses be
    overlooked in favour of high marks in the upper-year programs? or is it
    really that it is about whatever courses were most recently taken, and so
    the lower-level courses would be given greater weight.

    thanks,
    ‘non

    ———————————————

    hey,

    this is a really good question. each school is different in their process of assessing your transcript. to get more program-specific information, i would highly recommend that you contact the school yourself and take what i am saying with a grain of salt.

    sorry. i had to.

    however, typically, they DO look at your last two years to get an accurate idea of your most recent academic standing. with this in mind, they will still have access to your whole transcript, meaning that if there are certain courses that you took earlier on that were more relevant to the program you are pursuing, they won’t necessarily be ignored.

    so, no. higher level courses (300-level or 400-level) courses aren’t weighted differently.

    capisce?

    peace and love,

    aska

     

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  • east asian studies,  first year,  languages,  subject POST

    s’okay

    January 16, 2017

    Sup Y’all, I enrolled into a minor program (EAS) in order to get priority enrolment for a first year language course. Now that I’m two months into the course, is it safe to drop the minor program and still retain my spot in the course?

    ———————————————

    hello,

    **fyi there is one aska at the moment so as much as i wish we could be considered a “y’all”, “we” is only me 🙁

    after taking a look at all the first year language courses available for EAS, it seems like none of them require you to be in an EAS subject POst to stay in the course, so i would say that it’s safe to drop to retain your spot in the course.

    keep in mind, you’re only allowed to change and delete your subject POsts during specific periods. these vary depending on which type of subject POst you’re adding or deleting, but you can check all of that at this link, right here and right here.

    hope this helped!

    peace and love,

    aska

     

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  • applying for U of T

    wait til you get here

    January 12, 2017

    hello hello first off!! you’re an angel for doing all of this like ?? i am saved from so much anxiety and pls save me from another attack plsplspls
    SO, since i was just so busy and occupied from september to mid november, i just finished up the ouac 105d application this week and i’m expecting the university of toronto to come back with my jointid thing in one or two weeks. but i keep obsessing over how it says, on the page where they apply, that spaces fill quickly and that you should apply “well in advance”. i’m thinking i’ll get my full application in by december 15, about a month before applications are due. is that too late?

    i understand that you have no idea just how many students are applying this year, of course, and since the university participates in university fair at the beginning of november, i’m hoping that indicates that they aren’t totally abhorred by the idea of december applications… but i still do feel very concerned. is it a lost cause?

    ———————————————

    why hello again,

    gurl, pls. breathe. inhale. exhale.

    first, i want to acknowledge that i am fully aware that the application deadline is indeed tomorrow and that i didn’t get to this question in time. i’m sorry about that, but you’ll find that my answer wouldn’t have helped you out too much.

    while askastudent may claim to be all-knowing, unfortunately, there are certain limitations to our knowledge.

    the enrolment services people are hella mysterious. no one really knows what goes on in those offices, not even my omniscient self! what is written on the site is basically all the info they were comfortable with releasing and we kind of have to roll with it.

    it is true that some programs will fill up, but some programs are definitely more competitive than others.

    to me, applying a month in advance sounds like it would be fine, but in the end, it really comes down to how strong your application is. taking the time to send in a good application is definitely better than applying super early with a mediocre application.

    stay calm, youngling. everything is going to be okay.

    i totally understand your pre U of T anxiety, but just try to enjoy the last couple of months of high school before you’re thrown into the pre-real world. what’s done is done!

    that being said, i hope you get in.

    peace, love, and chill pills,

    aska

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  • fees,  graduation,  tuition

    but i thought being outstanding was a good thing

    January 11, 2017

    I’ll (hopefully) be graduating this coming summer.

    I was wondering though what will happen if I cannot pay off my current
    tuition by the end of winter term? Will they prevent me from graduating,
    attending the ceremony, getting my degree, etc?

    Thanks as always.

    ———————————————

    hello!

    first of all, i love the “hopefully” graduating part. people keep asking me if i’m graduating this year and i’m always like:

    anyways, this is a great question! thanks for asking it!

    disclaimer: the following information is only valid for students in the faculty of arts and science.

    there are definitely some real consequences of not paying off your fees. keep in mind, these fees fall under a category of other “university obligations” which you will also need to fulfill. (e.g. library fines, incidental fees; for a full list, consult this link)

    you won’t be able to receive your diploma or any proof of completion of a degree, but you will be able to attend the ceremony. wooo!

    some other notable consequences of not paying off your fees are that you won’t be able to order official transcripts or register as a continuing or returning student. it would be best to quickly double check with your college registrar’s office to see if you have anything else that’s outstanding just in case you’ve missed something!

    unfortunately, at U of T, being “outstanding” in the context of fees is a bad thing. bummer.

    all of this information is actually explained quite nicely in the link above, so i would recommend that you take a thorough look at that! hope this helped!

    peace and love,

    aska

     

     

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  • GPA,  grad school,  grades,  jobs,  lab experience,  life science,  lost

    don’t lose hope, youngling

    January 11, 2017

    Hello,

    I am a life science student in the second year. After completing the fall term studying, I feel that it is very difficult to get a high GPA. I wonder if I get 3.0 cumulative GPA after graduation, what can I do? what school accept me? what work opportunities do I have? Thanks.

    Best,

    ———————————————

    hello,

    *as askastudentuoft, i hope you understand that i am knowledgeable about all things U of T, and that’s about it, so this post will be very U of T centric*

    while a 3.0 GPA is great, many of the life science graduate programs available at U of T require averages which range from B+ to A- (with the exception of the occupational science and occupational therapy program which looks for mid B’s). but, keep in mind, these are just life science programs available at U of T. there are plenty of other schools which offer similar programs which may require different averages.

    you’re only in second year, which means you don’t ACTUALLY know if you’re going to end up with a 3.0 average. you seem to have already lost hope in yourself. don’t stress out right now about what your work opportunities will be and just try your best to get the best grades you can. i can’t really tell you what kind of work opportunities will be available when you graduate because we don’t even know what program you’ll be pursuing for grad school!

    a good place to start is the career learning network. it’s a great tool for current students and recent graduates. you can use it to find research positions (i hear the life science people like those) and postings by companies looking for recent U of T graduates. logging onto the career learning network website is definitely the first step you should take when looking for work opportunities for students like you!

    for now, focus on school and building up your resume with work and volunteer experiences. they can be relevant or irrelevant to your field, but having experience is definitely an asset when applying for any kind of job. volunteer at a hospital from time to time or make some money tutoring kids grade 10 science! whatever it is, just make sure you work hard and build up a good collection of references in case you need them for grad school.

    in all seriousness, i’m graduating later this year and i don’t even know what work opportunities will be available to me! i can’t even see into my own future, let alone yours!

    anyways, hope this was somewhat helpful!

    good luck, work hard, and try your best at everything you do.

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • admissions,  applying for U of T,  averages,  english,  polisci,  St. George

    ENG 4UofT

    January 10, 2017

    hi! regarding the political science question, is there a specific grade needed in ENG 4U that is needed? i read that for st george, you needed low 80s in ENG 4U. I meet the general admissions marks but my English grade is quite a bit lower than my other 5 subjects.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    like i said in the previous post you’re referring to, at st. george, polisci falls under the social science category, so according to the requirements for ontario high school students, you’ll need an overall average (taken from ENG 4U and your next 5 best U/M courses) that’s in the low to mid 80’s. however, it does also state that you should have at least mid to low 70’s as your ENG 4U grade.

    in terms of a specific grade needed, the best we can do is provide you with this “mid to low 70’s range”. my understanding is that it would be hard for the university to provide specific grades since not all students are admitted solely based on their academic performance.

    hope this answers your question!

    peace and love,

    aska

     

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  • alcohol,  frosh,  partying

    hydration and team-building

    January 6, 2017
    what exactly is frosh week? is it all drinking, partying etc haha
     ———————————————

    hello,what a fantastic question! granted, one that i have answered many times in the past, but seeing as your idea of frosh week is a little skewed, i will try my best to enlighten you!

    frosh week is a time of great discovery and excitement. the whole point of the week is for you to become oriented at university, make friends, and gain school spirit. at the st. george campus, each college has their own orientation, so your experience might be different from another friend’s orientation.

    in terms of drinking, fluid intake definitely takes place quite a bit during this week, as most humans require 8 glasses of H2O to stay properly hydrated. some may choose to drink other fluids such as juice, pop, or even gatorade during frosh week because toronto summers are crazy hot. if you want to be super adventurous, i recommend drinking a can of grapefruit sparkling water. it’s very refreshing on a hot summer’s day.

    if your definition of partying= great time + other human beings, then yes. there is a lot of partying during frosh week. you are usually grouped up with a bunch of strangers that you don’t know (other human beings) and you’ll be forced to participate in team-building exercises and you’ll get to attend events (great time). i mean, if you think about it,  U of T is basically a party school!

    hope you stay hydrated and have a great times with other human beings during your frosh week!

    peace, love, and H2O,

    aska

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  • arts & sciences,  friends,  getting involved,  internal transfer,  transfer credits,  Transferring,  UTM

    honk

    January 6, 2017

    Hi

    Do you think it is easier to form a community and actually have a group of freinds much easier at Mississuaga than t St. George?

    While transferring from St George to Mississauga, if I have five credits, will all my five credits be transferred?

    Thank you very much.

    ———————————————

    hi,

    wow, another subjective question! i wish i could just say something along the lines of “put on a canada goose jacket, walk 20 steps northwest of convocation hall, do your best goose call and wait for your new friends to flock over” but unfortunately life does not work in such wonderful ways.

    regarding friends and communities: i can’t speak for utm since i’ve spent my whole undergrad at utsg, but it really doesn’t matter which campus you’re a part of, it’s all about you. i know that seems really deep but it’s actually quite simple.

    friends are easy to make if you make yourself available and keep an open mind. if you’re rude and distant to people, chances are, you won’t make very many friends. when we were younger, we were taught not to talk to strangers. i’d say now that we’re in university, talking to strangers is the only way to go about making friends. you won’t be the only one at either utm or utsg looking to make a friend. during a break in class, maybe strike up a conversation with someone who looks approachable. small talk does suck, but at least after that, you’ll know one person in your class! the easiest way to start a conversation, i find, is giving someone a compliment. i’m not saying that you should say “omg you’re so hot” to that guy who should be pursuing a modelling career instead of being in your class, but something simple like: “nice pencil case!” can be good. if they seem reluctant to continue the conversation, just move on to another person! easy as that!

    profs will sometimes even force you to talk to the person seated beside you in class. this is usually just so you can have a buddy in class to catch you up if you miss a class, but that’s also a way to meet people!

    aska story time: i once made a friend in class because she said “i like your superman shirt!” and then “i like your hair!” and then “i like you!” to me. it was a bit much, but we’re friends now and that’s all that matters.

    if all else fails, please try the goose call method and let me know what happens.

    in terms of being part of a community, we all have different definitions of communities. communities can close-knit and not so close-knit (? can’t think of a better word). joining a club or being part of a residence can automatically make you belong to a community, but it all depends on you and your willingness to participate and be involved. find a club from the ulife list of something you’re interested in. attend a meeting or an event. if you like it, continue showing up and see what happens! the more involved you are, the more close you’ll be with others in a community!

    if you’re transferring from UTSG’s faculty of arts and science to UTM, according to this link all your credits will be retained unless you’re other undergraduate divisions like applied science and engineering, music, physical education and health, or architecture. if your program is outside of the faculty of arts and sciences, you will have to apply for a transfer credit assessment.

    hope this helped! like i’ve said in the past, if you don’t make any friends, a crisp $20 bill will buy you 1 hour of friendship with askastudent.

    honk honk,

    aska

     

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  • 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?

    ———————————————

    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.

    elf buddy the elf

    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!!

    ———————————————

    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

    ———————————————

    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.

    giphy-1

    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!!

    ———————————————

    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

    ———————————————

    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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