• 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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  • 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

    ———————————————

    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.

    giphy

    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.

    d6f

    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.

    ———————————————

    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.

     

    giphy-2

     

    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

    ———————————————

    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.
    ———————————————
    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!
    giphy-1
    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.

    ———————————————

    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.

    giphy

     

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

    cheers,

    aska

    Read More
  • 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

    ———————————————

    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.

    giphy-5

    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!

    ———————————————

    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

    Read More
  • campus,  internal transfer,  rules,  St. George,  Transferring,  UTSC

    sticky situation

    November 7, 2016

    Hello,

    So I originally enrolled at UTSC because I had missed the application
    deadline for SG. I decided to start in Scarborough and brave the commute (I
    live downtown) for a year to hopefully try for an internal transfer later.
    I dilly-dallied and decided I enjoyed Scarborough bc of a course offered
    (IDS) but then started to hate the commute and now want to return to my
    original idea of transferring.

    My question is about courses at another campus:
    I have the intention of transferring (again missed the deadline last year
    BC I thought I liked Scarborough) so ideally I would like to gather
    downtown courses this year so i can transfer in my third year.
    So. I currently have 3 utsc FCE’s (from 2015/2016) and took 1 FCE this
    summer at SG. As of this fall, I enrolled in 2 more FCE’s on the st.george
    campus, but have a sneaking suspicion that I am in violation of the rules
    for taking courses at another campus.

    On the office of the registrar website it states:
    “Courses at UTM or St. George
    utsc.utoronto.ca/registrar/courses-other-campuses
    You can take a maximum of 5.0 credits at another U of T campus (or 1.0
    credit if you have completed fewer than 4.0 credits) as a UTSC student.”
    I SWEAR I had spoken with a councilor who said I could only take 1 FCE in
    the first year only. NOT that I needed to also complete at least 4.0 FCE at
    utsc. What is your understanding of this rule? Can I appeal? I am enjoying
    my courses and do not want to be removed.

    ———————————————

    hi,

    you, my friend, are in a sticky situation! i honestly wasn’t sure if i should answer this question because i thought you would be removed from your courses by now, but since i haven’t heard anything about you being removed, i’m going to assume you’re still in your st. george courses.

    you are, indeed, in violation of a rule at U of T, but at the same time, getting kicked out of your courses this far in would suck.

    giphy

    first, go back to your counsellor and be all, “yo wut?”

    okay, but seriously.

    in regards to your inquiry, i called the utsc registrar’s office and asked what they thought about your situation. based on what they told me, it seems like you have two options.

    first, (10/10 would recommend) you can call admissions at st. george to let them know about your intentions to transfer. in this scenario, you would probably have to tell them the number of FCE’s you have completed at scarborough and st. george. they may even subsequently remove you from your courses if they ask for your student number.

    on the other hand, it is also possible that they may make an exception for you if they know you’re thinking of transferring to st. george eventually. you’ll still have to wait until the next deadline (january 13th),  of course, but you may be able to keep the courses you’re in. you could definitely mention that you heard from your counsellor that it would be okay. i can’t guarantee that you’ll see this outcome, but you never know until you call!

    your second option, (1/10 would not recommend) is to not call at all. the course-remover people will eventually do their rounds and remove you from your st. george courses. after that, if you want to argue this, you’ll have to open up communication with the university and explain why you broke the rules. i can’t speak on behalf of the course-removing people, but if i were in their shoes, i would be less forgiving if it seems like you knowingly broke the rule and didn’t seek out any guidance or resources.

    if i were you, i would call admissions to see what they can do for you. you may be surprised at what they have to say. if they end up removing you from courses because you called, that blows, but remember, it would’ve happened sooner or later.

    giphy-4

    just be honest and come clean about your intentions instead of living in fear!

    i hope you do the right thing.

    cheers,

    aska

     

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  • americans,  arts & sciences,  cool things,  english

    it wasn’t me (clean version)

    November 4, 2016

    You said the UofT English courses are very traditional, but I was wondering what exactly that entailed. I know there are probably a few hundred pretentious schmucks out there that’ll swear by their life that there’s nothing they’d enjoy more than rereading A Midsummer’s Night Dream, but that’s just not me. I have a friend in the states that’s doing a BA in English and they had courses like Zombie Literature and etc. Is there anything as fun and interesting as that at UofT?

    ———————————————

    hey,

    uhhhhh not sure who said that, but it wasn’t me! i am (believe it or not) the 15th aska running the site and i’ve actually never taken an english course at U of T. thank you, IB credit!

    thank you for offending all the pretentious schmucks reading this- i’m sure they’re angrily shaking their berets at you. *lowkey high five*

    k, but seriously, shakespeare can be good sometimes. (i’m saying this as someone who doesn’t read for pleasure) i’ve definitely watched some very interesting sparknotes vids on shakespearean plays… “to be, or not to be”… that’s a thing, right? i only pretend to know shakespeare because of michael fassbender and oscar isaac’s portrayals of shakespearean characters.

    giphy-3

    U of T is just as hip as any school in the states, okay? we’re such a huge university, it would be a shame to not have some good classes.

    in our english department, you can take classes on graphic novels, children’s literature, detective novels, science fiction, and fantasy and horror. if you want to check out the full list of courses that are offered, you can find them in the calendar.

    if you can’t find ‘fun and interesting’ courses in english, there’s always mus321-perhaps you’ll find some more down-to-earth mustachio’d fellas. (p.s. it’s MOVEMBER now, i’m so happy)

    hope these courses are fun and interesting enough for you!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • applying for U of T,  engineering,  english

    shakespeare ex machina

    November 4, 2016

    Greetings, I’m in a predicament and I need some enlightenment. I applied to the Eng program for 2016 but didn’t get accepted so I decided to try applying again. Do you think its worth applying for a second time? Signed Confused Me

    ———————————————

    hello,

    first of all, a little more info would’ve been helpful! i appreciate your efforts in trying to be concise, but do you mean eng as in english or engineering? help me out here!

    giphy-2

    if you didn’t get accepted it may be because your high school marks weren’t high enough, but again, i have no idea, mostly because i don’t know what program you applied for, nor do i know you personally.

    if you want more information on this matter, it may be worth it to contact your department (whichever it may be) to see how you can boost your application. not sure if this a thing they do, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask!

    i obviously can’t speak on behalf of enrolment services, but chances are, if your marks are still the same as they were the when you first applied, it’s likely you’ll get the same answer. it also depends on the applicant pool that you were in- maybe the averages were particularly high that year and you didn’t meet the cut-off. these are just examples, of course, and i hope you know that i am in no way assuming that your grades were too low. there are plenty of reasons why someone might not get in and low grades is just one of them!

    i know this probably wasn’t the most encouraging response, but hopefully you now have some more things to think about. i wish there was more i could do!

    but hey, be careful what you wish for. school may not be for you! my sage advice would be to make sure it’s 100% what you want.

    best of luck!

    signed,

    an even more confused aska

    Read More