• other schools (boo!),  transfer credits,  Transferring

    :-(

    August 18, 2016

    Hello, so I’m currently on academic probation after my first year and due to personal family issues, my father asked me to transfer for a year to St Marys university in Calgary, and then come back to utsg. Will I be able to get transfer credits for the courses I do at the other institution and do I have to reapply or can I just re-register for courses for the semester I come back for?

    Sincerely, a very sad confused person

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    as long as you have a mark on your transcript (and you must have, because you can’t be put on academic probation if you don’t have any marks), you’re officially in uoft.

    wow, how vague. what do you mean by that, aska?

    i mean that once you’ve received a mark at uoft (specifically, in the faculty of arts & science), you can come back to uoft anytime you want. so if you leave, get into another university, and come back after a year (or two, or five), all you have to do is get re-registered (and cough up twenty-five bucks) and sign up for courses.

    that being said, if you are on academic probation at uoft, you cannot receive transfer credits from another university. that means that if you were to follow through with your plans to transfer to St Mary’s, none of the credits you received there could be transferred back to your UofT degree.

    a little bit of unsolicited advice for you: don’t plan so far in advance. if you think it’s a good idea to transfer to St. Mary’s, do it. maybe you’ll really like it and decide to stick around there. that’s great! maybe not. maybe you decide to come back to uoft. that’s great, too! try to take life as it comes to you. changing schools is always a scary thing, but it’s going to be ok.

    and uoft will always be here (very like another ancient school), if you ever decide to come back. i hope that makes you a bit less sad and confused.

    best of luck with all of it,

    aska

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  • first year,  friends,  international students

    f is for friends who do stuff together

    August 18, 2016

    Hi I’m starting at uoft soon and I’m an international student so I will literally not know anyone when I start! Any tips on how to make friends?

    ———————————————

    hey,

    first of all, welcome to canada! i hope you love toronto as much as i do.

    “how do i make friends” is a question we get a lot on askastudent, so if it feels like i’m repeating stuff i’ve said in the past, i apologize. since you’re asking this question, i assume you haven’t read those entries. no worries!

    orientation week (or the less politically correct ‘frosh week’) is a place where you’ll be bombarded by hundreds of people from your college. even if some events seem lame, i highly recommend you attend orientation week. people will be talking about it for years and you’ll feel like you missed out on an important aspect of the university experience. this is your opportunity to take your pick. play the field, mingle, and be cool. if you aren’t cool, don’t be cool. just be yourself so the friends you make will know who you are as opposed to who you’re trying to be. after frosh week, if these friends stick, they’ll probably be the ones who will stick around for a while.

    if they don’t, that’s okay, it just wasn’t meant to be. here comes option 2 if frosh friends are a no-go.

    if you live in residence, attend res events. take advantage of floor bonding activities because they’re literally there for you to meet friends. bond with them.

    if you aren’t living in residence, that’s okay too!

    participate in an extra-curricular activity or two! u of t has clubs for everything you could possibly think of. join a choir, throw a frisbee around, or play chess! you’re bound to find a club that you’re interested in.

    lastly, don’t be afraid to talk to people in class. it’s always good to have a friend in a class in case you decide to sleep in for one of your 9am classes. But you know, aside from using these people for notes, you can actually try be friends with them!

    personally, i make friends with people when i find out we dislike the same things. ‘dislike’ is a strong word and emotion but i feel like it’s very easy to make friends if you complain about the same things. but that’s just me. maybe don’t do that. love one another and be kind, like ellen.

    not to be a debbie downer, but remember that friends are easy to make but hard to keep. it’s going to take some effort to keep some of these friendships going, just like it’ll take time for you to get used to having long distance friendships with people back home. don’t forget to make an effort to reach out or see each other some time. let them know you care! soon enough, you’ll have a squad, if that’s your kind of thing.

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • math,  repeating course

    again and again…and again

    August 16, 2016

    Hi, since I need MAT135 up to a 60% for cs major but i only got a 50% during the school year, but i am not doing too well this summer, now i wonder what will happen if i fail this course during the summer, will it still count in my gpa or no

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    those differential equations giving you grief, eh? i feel you on that one.

    according to the Rules & Regulations in the course calendar, it looks like you can only repeat a passed course one time. i’m specifically looking at the line that says: “Students may not use this one-time-only allowance to subsequently repeat a passed course again after having repeated the same course for reasons noted in i) above, i.e., they may repeat a specific passed course only once.”

    that seems pretty clear cut to me, however, since these repeated courses must be added by your registrar’s office, it’s possible that your college registrar could make an exception in certain circumstances. or maybe not. i dunno. best thing to do? talk to them about it.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • degree requirements,  engineering,  graduation

    i feel bad for engineers, i do

    August 15, 2016

    Dear ASKA,

    If you stop taking courses mid-degree to do other stuff, perhaps for years, can you come back and finish university?

    The APSC faculty has this time limit in which you have to do all your courses:

    “To qualify for a degree, a student must complete a full undergraduate program as outlined in the Faculty Calendar within NINE calendar years of first registration, exclusive of mandatory absences from his or her program.”

    There doesn’t seem to be anything relevant in the A&S calendar besides this:

    “Re-Registration in the Faculty Students who were previously registered as degree or non-degree students in this Faculty, who have completed at least one course in the Faculty, and who wish to return after an absence must submit a “Request for Re-registration Form” (charge $25) through their college registrar’s office. Re-registration is necessary for students who have not registered in this Faculty within the previous 12 months.”

    So, what is the expiration date on taken courses? Or do all art-scis have all the time in the world?

    This is the only concern I could think of – if there are others, please let everyone know!

    (Category: degree requirements)

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you’re right, arts & science students have no time limit on their degree. they can take off as much time as they want, and come back to complete a degree at any point. if they are away for more than a year, they just have to pay a $25 fee to get re-registered.

    as far as i can tell, the information you found is correct. looks like engineers only have nine years to complete their degree. so, you can take time off, just not an indefinite amount. i guess it’s more important for an engineer’s knowledge to be fresh in their mind than it is for me to clearly remember the finer points of Bezukhov’s character in War & Peace on convocation day.

    so there you go! one more thing engineering students can add to their ‘woe is me’ repertoire. you’re welcome, nerds.

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. i know how to categorize posts, my dude. i appreciate the help, but there’s no need for backseat blogging here on askastudent.

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  • OSAP,  UTAPS

    a grant is granted

    August 10, 2016

    Hello,

    So. This is my first year back after about 10 years, so I’m a little rusty. I took 1.5 credits this summer, and have just dropped a half-credit (0.5) course.
    Last week, before I dropped said course, I received a top-up from UTAPs, and was fully intending to continue on in the course, but life happens and an advisor told me I should LWD from it rather than risk failing (which was highly probable). So as of now:
    1. Will I be on academic probation with OSAP (first time offender),
    and,
    2. will I have to pay back the extra top up provided the university? I haven’t spent it all but definitely paid some rent and bought groceries and ttc etc.
    Much appreciated!

    B
    ———————————————

    hey there B,

    1. since you need to be in/pass at least 1.5 FCEs to be making “sufficient academic progress” in the summer, then yes, you will likely be put on OSAP probation at the end of the summer term. if that happens, you’ll need to write a letter to OSAP explaining what happened and how you’ll make sure that it won’t happen again in future. if you want help with that, you should definitely contact enrolment services. i mean, you definitely don’t want my help with it. as soon as i can’t link to stupid GIFs in a written medium, i’m at a loss. stick with enrolment services, for sure.

    2. UTAPs is a grant, so you shouldn’t have to repay it to the university after you receive it. the only instance in which this might happen would be if you dropped all your courses before you got an instalment. from what i understand, that’s not what happened in your case, so you should be a-ok.

    feel free to follow up with your registrar’s office and/or enrolment services with all this, so they can guide you through this process.

    best,

    aska

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  • graduation

    a sad fifth year

    August 9, 2016

    Hello,

    I am sadly going to be doing my 5th year in the fall.

    Is there any way I can graduate in June while taking my last course in the summer? I really don’t want to wait another year just to graduate.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you’ll be taking courses until summer 2017, you mean? if so, then no, you can’t graduate in June 2017. the next best thing you can do is graduate in November 2017, which is a wait time of only 2 months after you finish classes. not too shabby, if i do say so myself.

    and hey, if you get a job or something in those two months and you don’t yet have your degree, not to worry; after you finish your courses, the faculty can confirm that you are eligible to graduate and have completed your program requirements.

    peace,

    aska

    P.S. don’t be so sad about doing a fifth year! it won’t be so bad. maybe you can join a club or something to help the time pass? just a thought.

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  • subject POST

    *gloria gaynor voice* YOU WILL SURVIVE

    August 9, 2016

    Hey aska!

    I’m entering my first year at the UofT for humanities and in second year I want to be in the health studies and employment relations program doing a double major. Both program say that there is limited enrollment. I even visited the campus and talked to a prof there and he said he doesnt know too much about the health studies program but knows they only take in 40 people from around 200 applications.

    I talked to the Health Studies student union on their facebook page and they said from what they know the program accepts everyone who qualifies so that was confusing cause online it says its limited enrolment. In health studies you can take any course to get in but you should have some science courses and social science courses. However, for the employment relations
    program they want you to take economics and the sociology and psychology courses.

    I’m really worried I may not get in the programs and I know people say “have a backup” but those are really the only 2 programs I am into and I want to work in a hospital or business as a coordinator or human resources manager or perhaps in health policy. I really do not want to transfer into York U second year for their health management program because I like UofT
    much much better. From your experience, have you seen people who did not get into their program? Did you get into the program you wished to be in? And finally what advice would you give me?

    Thanks so much for your time!

    ———————————————

    hey!

    welp. i feel you like you’ve already done more research than i have on this one. i don’t want to disagree with so many sources, but i believe your initial information was correct. the employment relations major is indeed a type 3 (which means there is limited enrolment), and the health studies major is a type 2L (also limited enrolment).

    i’ve never heard that stat about health studies before, so i can’t confirm it, but who am i to contravene a professor? what he said certainly makes more sense than what the health studies union said, since program enrolment is definitely limited for the health studies major. maybe they meant it as a consoling platitude (like, “don’t even worry about it! pretty much everyone gets in who applies!”) rather than an actual fact.

    but let me back up for a second here: you’re only going into your first year. i feel like you’re worrying about things that are way, way out of your control right now. i know you’ve got your heart set on this path, but you never know – you may end up hating it. i’m not saying you will, just that it’s a possibility. you may change your plans entirely. or you may absolutely CRUSH your courses and be basically a shoe-in to both your majors. right now, you can’t know for sure which way it’s gonna go.

    in the face of that uncertainty, what i would do is stick to your plan and focus on doing as well as possible in your courses, to increase your chances of getting into the majors you want. try to focus on the now.

    nonetheless, i’m feeling that you have a LOT OF ANXIETY about this, so i’m gonna go along with you on your hypothetical for just a minute. let’s assume the worst case scenario: you don’t get into either one or both of your majors.

    i have seen lots and lots of people not get into their program of choice, and while i admire your drive, there is one thing and one thing only that distinguishes success from failure: being able to adapt. that doesn’t mean giving up on your dream. but if (worst case) you don’t get into one or both of your majors, you can STILL ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL of working in human resources/health policy – you just might have to go about it a different way.

    for example, maybe you don’t get into employment relations, but you still make sure to complete the required courses to gain CHRP designation, making it easy for you to go out into the world and do human resources for a living. instead of health studies, you pursue a global health major; very similar, but it’s a type 1, meaning you’re guaranteed enrolment.

    or maybe you do a Master’s of Industrial Relations and Human Resources after your undergrad, and then go into the working world.

    there are many, many more options that can all take you to the same place. and if you need some help figuring out which options are available to you, you can always book appointments with your registrar’s office throughout your time at uoft.

    see? even your worst case scenario is survivable.

    all the best for your first year,

    aska

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  • hard,  polisci

    how many politicians per campus have we produced

    August 8, 2016

    is it easier to get good marks for political science at uoft mississauga or uoft scarborough compared to uoft st geroge? thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i have a documented dislike of these kinds of questions, because i feel like there’s no sufficient way to answer them. who’s to say what would be easier or harder for you? i don’t know you. i don’t know YOUR STORY. and there’s no acknowledged hierarchy that i can refer to in order to, like, rank them.

    i won’t play dumb. i know that the downtown campus has a reputation as a more academically rigorous campus than the other two. i don’t know if it’s the professors or the workload or just the fact that st. george is so much bigger – and therefore seems more intimidating – than the other campuses, but it does have that reputation.

    that being said, i don’t have any actual numbers or facts to back up this bad (or good? depending on how you look at it) rap that st. george has as a ‘hard’ school. i have no way of comparing grades across the three campuses, or anything like that. in addition, i’ve only ever been a student downtown. my own experience was that i never found it that difficult. challenging, for sure, but survivable. one of my POSts was poli sci at the downtown campus, and i didn’t ONCE cry over my notes in a library. yeah, that’s what you call a winner.

    that being said: no two people have the same university experience, and you shouldn’t base a decision like this on what some anonymous blog is telling you.

    if i were trying to decide between the three campuses, i wouldn’t make the decision based on something as ephemeral and quantitatively groundless as “easiness.” instead, i would consider things like: what courses you need to take for each campus’ program, which campus is closer to where you’ll be living, which campus you like best, and whether any of the campuses offer special programs.

    for example, UTM offers combined specialists in economics and political science and history and political science, and UTSC offers a co-op program in public policy that may interest you. meanwhile, UTSG has a stellar faculty. UTM and UTSG both require 10.0 FCEs for their specialist, while UTSC requires 12.0 FCEs. small differences like this can be what you base your decision on.

    i know i didn’t actually answer your question, but unfortunately, there was no way to do that without a lot of wild guesses, and askastudent is about the HARD FACTS, son.

    have a groovy Monday ~

    aska

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  • Transferring

    transfer^2

    August 5, 2016

    Hey aska! This June I transferred to UTSC from York University and got admitted as a second year student, if I transfer to UTM next year will my credits took at York be accepted by UTM?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    wow, you really can’t decide on a university, huh? you’re like a frog, hopping from one academic lilypad to another.

    i called the scintillating folks at the Student Recruitment & Admissions Office at UTM, and they let me know that both your UTSC and York U credits would be assessed all over again, and then you would receive a certain number of transfer credits towards your UTM degree. your previous transfer credits would be disregarded.

    hope that helps. have a swaggy weekend.

    ribbit,

    aska

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  • masters,  rotman

    MB, eh?

    August 4, 2016

    I’m working towards a bachelor degree in psychology and communications, could I apply for mba?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m going to answer this question using the uoft MBA program as a guide, because your undergrad degree is probably not from uoft (seeing as we don’t have a communications program), and you didn’t say where you want to get your MBA, but i have to assume something about this question is related to uoft. it’s in our URL, after all.

    MBAs, like JDs and MDs, are surprisingly lax in their undergraduate requirements. you don’t need to have a specific degree or a background in a certain area in order to apply. your bachelor in psych and communications would not disqualify you.

    what you should take a look at is all of their other requirements for admission, of which there are quite a few: GRE/GMAT scores, a competitive GPA, (typically) at least 2 years of work experience, an admissions essay and an interview, and possibly a few more things besides. if you’re wondering what you’re up against in terms of competition for admission, take a look at the current class profile. you can find out the average admissions GPA, average GMAT score, and other helpful information to give you an idea of what the school is looking for.

    in short: the world is your oyster, future expensive tie-wearer! go forth and apply. i hope all your dreams come true.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • first year,  math

    lost in a STEM course maze

    August 4, 2016

    Hi,

    I am a first year student from the States and I recently signed up for my courses on timetable. I’ve taken 2 years of AP Physics (algebra-based) and one year of AP Calculus AB. I registered for PHY151 and MAT135/136 and failed to see that PHY151 has a co-requisite of either MAT137 or MAT157. I am worried that my calculus knowledge is not quite strong enough for MAT137. I did pretty well in high school calc but not well enough that I feel super confident. After looking at the course description for MAT137 I can’t tell if it is a good idea to take it in first year. I plan to enter some type of mathematical or physical sciences program which is why I chose PHY151 (plus two years of physics).

    Is taking MAT 137 a bad idea? Should I switch to PHY131 and keep MAT135/136? If anyone knows of any major differences between the two math classes that would be greatly appreciated. I am taking CHM151 in addition to physics and math. I thought about dropping physics for first year and taking BIO120 instead (and keeping MAT135/136) because I have no clue what sciences I like best and I couldn’t bear taking all three plus math. I’m in need of advice about the two math courses and about which two of three (physics, chemistry, biology) is most important to take in first year.

    Thanks so much

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you’re thinking of entering a math/physical sciences program, then yes, it does make sense to take PHY151 and MAT137 or -57. it’s great that you’re being realistic about your abilities and trying to find the calc class that works for you, but you will need to take 137/157 if you’re planning on doing PHY151.

    here’s what i would do: enrol in the PHY151 and MAT137. see how the math goes. if you took AP Calculus, you’re probably better prepared than you think. HOWEVER – and this is the important point – if you do find that it is too much for you, you can DROP DOWN to MAT135/136 by early October.

    unfortunately, it’s not possible to start in MAT135/136 and upgrade, but at least you can downgrade if you find the 137 to be completely overwhelming.

    if you do drop down, however, you will be in a sticky situation with respect to the physics class. since you have to be taking MAT137 or 157 to stay in PHY151, you will likely be removed from PHY151 unless you stay in MAT137. it’s possible to ask for an exception from the physics department, but it would certainly be an exception. it’s not something you can count on. what’s more likely is that you’ll have to make the hard decision of either abandoning physics or sticking it out in MAT137.

    that’s all pretty far down the road at this point, though. it’s pointless to stress about it now. i’ve laid out one possible strategy, but you have to do what feels right to you. down the road, if it turns out that the decision you made isn’t working for you anymore, then just change it.

    there is this rhetoric about university that makes it out to be this inflexible decision, a once-in-a-lifetime chance. it’s like the decisions you make on course enrolment day in first year will dictate the rest of your life. not so. in my first year, i knew by December of my first ever semester at university that i was in the wrong program. so i changed it. big whoop. four years later, i graduated from the right program and the right school. i’m glad i started out on the wrong path, because it helped illuminate the right one.

    as for which sciences you should take: it really depends on what program you’re interested in. if you’re thinking about a more physics-based program, you probably won’t need to take any biology, and perhaps not even any chemistry, either. the astronomy & physics specialist, for example, only requires that you take physics and math in your first year. biological physics, understandably, requires phyiscs, bio, chemistry and math (though they don’t all have to be taken in your first year).

    obviously, your ideas about which program(s) you’d like to enrol in may change after first year, but if you can decide which programs you think you might be interested in, then you can get an idea of the first year courses you might want to take.

    good luck!

    aska

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  • other schools (boo!),  Transferring

    a Parent Post

    August 2, 2016

    My son finished his first year of Humanities at McMaster with very decent marks, high 80s and higher. He applied to McGill and even though his marks are apparently good enough, it’s seeming more and more likely that he won’t be accepted. I’ve suggested that he return to McMaster ( where he wants to specialize in Philosophy and History ) but he’s convinced it would lock him into McMaster for the next three years. He’s sure it’s too difficult after two years to switch schools. He’d consider another year at Mac if it meant he could then transfer to U of T.

    Could you enlighten us as to how possible this would be?

    Many thanks,

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i think this is the first time i’ve ever received a question from a parent! it’s kind of exciting. what rabbit hole of the internet did you have to go down to find me? i kind of feel like a bartender at a run-down pub on the bad side of town, and some person wearing tails and a Rolex has just walked, bewildered, through my front door.

    lucky for you, i’m a nice bartender. have a scotch on the house, just because you’re new. that’s the aska welcome.

    as for your question: yes, it’s possible to transfer to uoft after two years at McMaster. transfer students can receive a maximum of 10.0 transfer credits, which typically takes two years to complete. for that reason, it usually makes the most sense for students to transfer after year 1 or year 2 of their studies at another university. after that, it’s still possible to transfer, but it makes less sense, since you won’t be able to transfer over all the credits from your first university.

    other than that, your son needs to have a competitive GPA (at least a ‘B,’ which shouldn’t be a problem if he’s getting 80s and 90s), AND completed prerequisites for whatever program he’s interested in applying to, in order to be considered for admission to uoft.

    as someone who transferred to uoft after their first year, i completely understand that sometimes, you just have to get out of your current school. i’m curious though, about what else may be going on here. why does your son want to transfer? what can’t he get at Mac that he can at McGill or uoft? if it’s just a prestige thing, i would advise you to do the Parent Thing and talk with your son about his expectations. McMaster is a good school, and the opportunities for a grad from Mac will probably be very similar to those offered to a McGill or uoft grad – and he wouldn’t have to do the whole transferring thing, which is not overly difficult, but can be a bit lonely sometimes.

    i don’t know the backstory to this question, and i don’t want to make assumptions. it’s just that my back automatically goes up when i can only hear the voice of a parent, and not of the student. i appreciate you taking the initiative to ask this question, don’t get me wrong – i just want to make sure your kid is happy with their decision in the end.

    best of luck to the both of you!

    aska

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  • wait list

    some lukewarm comfort

    August 2, 2016

    hey, I just got put in rank 9 in a waitlist of a first year class of a course i need with about 190 people. I was wandering if i should just wait it out or enrol in the a different lecture of the same course.

    Thank you 🙂

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i feel for you, buddy. waitlists are truly one of biggest grievances that ACORN has to offer. checking your spot in the waitlist compulsively and having stress dreams about not getting into a course you would sell your left arm for are just some of the EXCITING ADVENTURES you can have while on a waitlist.

    it’s not all doom and gloom, however.

    the acknowledged wisdom when it comes to waitlists is this: if your spot on the waitlist is less than 10% of the total number of spots in the course, you have a reasonably good chance of getting in. since you’re within spot #19 in a class of 190, yeah, you’ve got a shot.

    that being said, the lower the number of total spots in the course, the more iffy this rule becomes. for example, if there are 10 people in a course and you’re #1 on the waitlist, it becomes a lot less certain that one of those ten people is going to drop the course.

    a class of 190 people is kind of on the small side*, and so the 10% rule is a little bit shakier in this case. if there is another lecture section you can enrol in, i would do that, just to be safe.

    best of luck with it! i hope you get a spot! and i hope that all the rest of you noodles aren’t panicking too much about your course enrolment. just breathe. it’s going to be alright. i’m almost certain.

    cheers,

    aska

    * i recognize the absurdity of a class of nearly 200 people being “small,” and yes, i realize that this is oh-so patently uoft. what can i say? you like small groups of people? leave the downtown core.

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