askastudent - your student life specialists

arts & sciences, biology, chem, prereqs

you’re welcome ??

May 5, 2024

Hi! So I recently got accepted into the uoft arts and science program. I applied for humanities back in October, but after taking chem and bio in second semester I’ve been curious to take some science courses in uni. I looked online and sadly the chem course at uoft requires calculus and functions (that I didn’t take). Is it still possible for me to take this course, or do you have to have the high school prerequisites? Thank u ??

hey there,

ayy congrats on getting accepted!

if you take constructive criticism, it would be super helpful if i knew which chem course at u of t you were referring to? there are, like, at least a couple (there are over 70 chem courses).

jokes, i’m just being a hater. i’m gonna assume you’re probably talking about the standard first-year chem course required for pretty much all science programs: CHM135.

you’re right that the academic calendar says CHM135 requires the prerequisites of grade 12 bio, and grade 12 calculus and functions. so what i would do in this case is email the chemistry department directly and ask them if it’s in any way possible for you to take the course without the grade 12 math prerequisites. i’m not sure if they will say yes or not, but this was what i did for BIO120, and they let me. i would encourage you to email them asap, so that you know whether you need to consider enrolling in online school to complete the prereq.

i actually took CHM135, and i would say it’s definitely do-able without calculus or functions knowledge. however, take this with a grain of salt because i did actually have the calculus 12 prerequisite, so maybe it unconsciously helped, idk. but unless i’ve erased it all from memory, i recall there was only one lab out of five that even referred to functions on a graph. it was just pure memorization, you didn’t actually need to know calculus for it, and either way, it was all explained in the lab book. it definitely doesn’t need bio as a prerequisite though, since i didn’t even take biology 12 either, and i cannot recall anything in that course that required pre-knowledge of bio.

anyways. nothing can make me un-remember difficult CHM135 was, so just be prepared. the general consensus was that BIO120 was much easier, so if you don’t end up trying out chem, at least try out bio. in general, people say that the spectrum of difficulty with first year science courses goes like this: physics>math>chem>bio. (if you want my opinion, i think chem was harder than math, and i loooved BIO120).

if you’re genuinely interested in it, i highly support this endeavour to try your hand in uni science courses! they are so interesting and kind of change the way you see the world around you! if you wanted, you could absolutely complete the math prerequisites through TVO ILC, which i’ve seen people do. my friend did that, and it might seem overwhelming to take a whole calc course online, but it really wasn’t that big of a deal. definitely worth it in the end—think of it as an investment in your future.

also, did you know that you can actually take a major in sciences while taking a major in the arts? i learned that embarassingly late LMAO. so just putting it out there in case you ended up girlbossing too close to the sun and end up loving the science courses you take so much that you want to pursue a science program.

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
architecture, internal transfer, new kids

gaslight, girlboss, garchitect

May 5, 2024

Hi!! I’m current a senior in High school and I made a impulsive choice to apply to all business and math programs for uni due to my parents wishes, but I’ve always been interested in architecture. I got accepted into UofT Scarborough for coop management so I was wondering whether it would be impossible to transfer from this program or something similar into Daniel’s Faculty for Architecture Studies? And if I could, would I have to take an extra year into my studies or what would this entail?

Thank you everyone in advance!!

hey there,

i definitely felt that first part of parents wanting you to apply to business and math programs. see, this is why you should just let your kids study what they want ’cause it’s either going to cause more trouble later on to switch, or they’re going to be !unhappy! for a long minute. i have witnessed way too many intelligent, creative, and passionate people forced into a “practical” major because their parents refuse to pay for their schooling otherwise.

anyways, yes, it is possible for you to transfer from utsc coop management into the daniel’s faculty of architecture, landscape, and design. and you’re not alone! this person a few years ago had the same question.

so what you’ll want to do is called an internal transfer, which you can do by completing both the u of t internal application and the one idea supplemental application. basically, any u of t student can transfer faculties/campuses as long as they meet the prerequisites and apply before the transfer deadline for the faculty.

follow the instructions on this page under “university of toronto students”. even if you’re currently a senior in high school, you’ll be applying for a transfer as a u of t student from utsc, since that’s where you were admitted. but to my understanding, you’ll have to apply next year and take your first year at utsc in management. this is because the daniel’s internal transfer deadline this year was january 15, and it’s well past that.

i hope that this isn’t too disappointing for you! i definitely don’t think it’s the end of the world to take your first year in management. if you only spend one year there, all your credits will be eligible to be assessed for transfer so that the courses you take there don’t go to waste. just make sure to fill out the transfer credit assessment application by the deadline (which is sometime in may/june, as you’ll see on that page).

so overall, it does seem like

1. you can transfer into architecture

2. you might have to take an extra year in your studies.

however, if you really don’t want to take an extra year, you do have some options. so first, i would say to take summer school to get more credits done, which most people end up doing. this way you should be able fit your studies into four years.

the second is that you actually won’t be super behind if you transfer after first year, assuming your credits get transferred. i also changed programs going into my second year, and at first i thought i would be behind and have to take an extra year. BUT because all u of t students have to take electives on top of the courses required for their programs of study, the courses i took in first year just ended up counting as electives for me. so i wasn’t actually behind at all!

let me explain: you need 20 credits to graduate. in general, one course that takes one semester = 0.5 credits. say you take a double major and each major is 8 credits each. then you’ll have 16 required credits for your program, which leaves 4 credits for up to 8 elective courses.

finally, the third option i want to place on your radar is the certificate in business fundamentals program. if you really wanted to get some sort of degree in business at utsg, a certificate is basically the smallest version of a program that u of t offers, and you only need to take 4 courses to complete it. people usually use a certificate as a small add-on to whatever main majors or specialist they are taking, if they just want a bit of experience in that area. however, i am not sure if you are able to take this while being in the daniel’s faculty of architecture. you would need to email the department or the registrar to find out.

i hope that all makes sense? just keep in mind, this is my thoughts on the matter. so i think the best thing you can do now is to reach out to either daniel’s admissions at undergraduate@daniels.utoronto.ca or your utsc registrar to confirm all this, and to ask for specific advice on applying for an internal transfer. it’ll be very helpful, since you can also ask their advice on what your best options are. they would know best.

anyhoo, wishing you luck. i hope you’re able to study what you want to study, you’re gonna absolutely kill it. go forth and commit some gaslighting, some gatekeeping, and a whole lot of garchitecting.

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
financial aid, international students, new kids, scholarships/bursaries

money, money, money

May 4, 2024

hello!!! international applicant to uoft here, hoping to get into econ^^ i’ve heard about the top 6 rule, and was hoping it applies to us too, since my grade 12 math grade suffered a bit (our school has a strange grading system where it assigns “equivalents” to certain numerical ranges… my midterm math grade was the equivalent of a high 60 to low 70) and since econ falls under social sciences they won’t be looking for math. the rest of my grades (all of grade 11, as well as grade 12 minus math) are high (low to high 90s) and even my grade 12 average is the equivalent of a 92+ with that math grade (again, weird grading system) so i was wondering what you think about my chances? thank you!

hey, i was the international student who sent in the ask about applying to social sciences even with a very low midterm math grade. kindly disregard my previous ask since we now have an update: not only did i get in, i also got the international merit award (somehow!) it’s still a lot of money, though, and my parents are kinda reluctant to send me though i really want to go ? for my question: is it in any way possible that i will get additional/different scholarships that could maybe offset the tuition a little more? thanks a lot!

hey there,

wow. congratulations omg?!! that is a really great scholarship.

but yeah, international student tuition is insanely high, so every bit of financial aid you can get will help. the good thing is, it is absolutely possible for you to get additional scholarships on top of the international merit award. you are able to apply to many more awards throughout your time in university! (i’m going to place this handbook on navigating that here, in case it’s helpful.)

1. scholarships/awards

the main thing you should check out is the award explorer, which is a searchable database of thousands of awards offered at u of t.

basically, there are several different types of awards you can get during your time here: admissions, in-course, and graduating awards. the one you just got is an admissions award, which is given out to newly admitted students. although there are some that require a separate application, all you new kids are automatically considered for these when you apply to u of t, based on your grades.

once you’re a current student, you can also receive awards called “in-course” awards. again, some require applications, but for others, you are automatically considered based on your grades once you get into your program of study. u of t offers over 5,800 in-course awards every year, and all you have to do is keep track of when they are being offered, as application deadlines happen at different times of the semester.

finally, during your last year, you are also eligible for graduating awards.

within the broad categories of admissions, in-course, and graduating awards, there are more specific awards given by your faculty or college every year. to find out more about faculty/college awards, follow this link to look at their individual websites. (my little nugget of advice for faculty and college awards is to get involved as a student leader! there are several student leadership awards that are much easier to apply for than the competitive ones you’ll be looking at for economics student awards.)

just make sure that you apply filters when using the award explorer in order to see what you are actually eligible for. otherwise, you’ll just find yourself scrolling through an overwhelming number of awards. for example, if i apply the filter “open to international” and search up “economics”, i can see 44 awards that you are eligible for simply as an international student in economics! spend some time looking through there, and you’ll find there is a lot to apply for during your upper years.

2. other avenues of financial aid

if you want to earn money while completing your degree, i would recommend the work-study program. they offer part-time, paid, on-campus jobs that are available on all three campuses, and are often flexible due to the fact that you’re a student.

there are also emergency grants available to domestic and international u of t undergrads in case of unforeseen financial emergencies.

however, it’s true that there are much less financial aid opportunities for international students compared to domestic students. while domestic students have access to OSAP and UTAPS, u of t says they are not able to offer direct financial aid to international students because they are a publicly funded institution. which, yeah, okay that makes sense. in this case, they say you should look into you home country’s financial aid programs.

but if you’re an american—as a canadian, i say that as aMERcan (with a bit of a gag reflex)—you’ll have access to several USA student aid programs. these include the william d. ford federal direct loan program, alternate/private loans, the 529 college savings plan, and others.

and as always, i recommend that you reach out to a recruitment officer at your college registrar! they can give you more specific info and meetings with them are super helpful.

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
academic standing, petition, suspension

an academic comeback

May 3, 2024
I got suspended and I’ve been out of uni for a year. Is it possible to come back the summer before fall. I just wanna be in school

hey there,

man, i’m sorry that happened. well, i have some good news: you might be able to come back to school if you’ve been suspended, by submitting a suspension petition. but before you even read this, i would highly recommend that you read through this page about suspension petitions on the artsci website.

now, i’m not sure what your exact situation is, but let’s walk through some general options that are available.

if you received a suspension due to your academic standing, there are two petition types you could look into: early return from suspension, or lift of suspension. meanwhile, if you received a suspension due to academic misconduct, you would not be able to submit either of these petitions.

1. one year suspension

if you’ve received a one-year suspension, u of t recommends that you submit a lift of suspension petition, since it’s not common to request an early return from this type of suspension. this is because the committee on standing expects that you would take a full year to reflect before you come back to school.

in order to make a strong petition to the committee on standing, make sure to reach out to your registrar, as they can help you with this petition. in the petition, you also want to show that you’ve been involved in substantial activities and academic planning, to demonstrate that you are ready to come back!

2. three-year suspension

if you’ve received a three-year suspension, you can submit either an early return or lift of suspension.

here are a few important things that the committee on standing will consider when making their decision. the first is how much of your suspension has already been served — i’m assuming that they would be more inclined to approve a petition if you’ve already served most of your suspension rather than if you’re only one year in. the second is what you’ve been up to during your suspension, and what plans you’ve set up towards academic success upon your return.

on top of the requirements described in preparing petitions, these plans and activities should be outlined in the “personal statement” part of your petition. you basically want to communicate why you got suspended in the first place, and how you won’t let that happen again if allowed to return to your studies. if you’ve taken a lot of time away from school already, you should also describe specific activities that demonstrate why you are ready to come back. this could look like taking classes somewhere else, or working to save up and free up time to focus on your studies in the future.

they also list a few questions that you should answer in your statement:
- what are the circumstances that led to your suspension? what impact did these circumstances have on you?
- if permitted to continue your studies, what is your academic plan going forward in order to be successful? consider addressing any patterns of unsuccessful terms/courses (e.g., repeated courses, credit/no credit or late withdrawal).
- have the extenuating (non-academic) circumstances that affected your performance been managed or concluded? if so, how?
- what would you change if you were permitted to continue your studies? consider addressing any campus resources or health supports you would access, or changes in your housing and/or financial situation.
- if you are petitioning for a lift of a three-year suspension, what steps did you take after your first (one-year) suspension to prevent an additional suspension?
overall, yes, it is possible to return to your studies, depending on your situation. i would say that professional academic advice is so crucial for this, so please, please, reach out to your registrar and read the full recommendations listed on the artsci websites that i’ve linked.

wishing you a successful academic comeback, i hope everything works out for you!

over and out,

aska
Read More

aska No Comments
graduation, odds are that won't be asked again

defy gravity! defy it with drones.

April 21, 2024
Hi Aska,

This may seem out of bounds from the usual questions you receive but do you know every graduation hood colour for each faculty? I feel like there isn’t a website that has a comprehensive list, and if you do a Google search online, you can only guess a few if they explicitly write that this colour matches a certain faculty. I’m just curious to know if this is a thing…

Thanks!

hey there,

uhhhh.

a comprehensive list of every graduation hood color for every faculty at u of t?

i don’t think there is one, but there is this tiktok video that shows all the hood colors at utm.
because as the people are saying, tiktok is the new google. (i can’t tell if i’m joking). but if you are on a tiktok cleanse like i am, here is a summary of what this video shows. keep in mind that the content is specific to utm!

bachelors:
- black/white – bachelor of science, bachelor of arts
- orange/white – bachelor of business administration
- black/orange/white – bachelor of commerce
doctoral:
- dark blue/scarlet – doctoral (medical)
- scarlet/white – doctoral (graduate)
masters:
- black/cerise – master of arts
- black/maroon – master of applied science
- black/orange/grey – master in biotechnology
- black/white/orange – master of forensic accounting
- black/orange/white – master of management & professional accounting
- black/white/royal blue/orange – master of management of innovation
- black/grey/cerise – master of science
- black/dark blue/dark grey – master of science of biomedical communication
- black/grey/orange/biosphere blue – master of science in sustainability management
- black/dark brown/ivory – master of urban innovation
- black/blue/kelly-green/grey – master of science in occupational therapy
- black/slate grey/corn yellow – master of science in planning
learning that all these degrees exist was not on today’s bingo card but here we are, i guess. i think the biosphere blue color name goes hard, but who chose corn yellow?

anyways, a couple more tips if you want to start your detective career today. gaspard is the company that manages the rentals of grad gowns and they have a list of hoods online, but they don’t actually tell you the colors. so that’s a dead end. but, there’s a comprehensive list of all the faculties at u of t, which gets you a step closer.

then all you’ll have to do is match that list up to colors! set up one of those crazy bulletin boards with the red string. make sure your hair is messy, there’s a close-up shot of you sweating while writing frantically, and there’s a pile of dirty coffee mugs in the corner. attend every single u of t graduation across all three campuses to see the hood colors for yourself. if you really wanna get crazy, set up secret cameras to attend them for you and watch them all on 30 different monitors set up on the wall. don’t let the world stop you, if you want a list, make it yourself! as u of t says, defy gravity! defy it with drones. secret spy drones.*

but if you really wanted to find out for whatever reason, the office of convocation may have an internal list, but you would have to make an in-person appointment to ask.

over and out,

aska

*for legal reasons this is a joke
Read More

aska No Comments
admissions, physiology, programs

today, your gpa doesn’t matter!! (rare sighting)

April 15, 2024
does u of t look at my first year gpa when I apply to programs for second year? i am looking at majoring in physiology and was wondering if my gpa affects my chances? i have satisfied the individual course requirements

hey there,

this is a good question. well, i can tell you that your cgpa will not affect your chances of getting into the physiology major. (however, it may be different for other programs).

according to the artsci calendar on the physiology major, they only look at your grades in these required courses:
- bio120 and bio130
- (chm135 and chm136) or chm151
- 1.0 credit from mat135, mat136, mat137, mat157, phy131, phy132, phy151, phy152
you just need to be above a certain minimum average in these courses to get into the program. this minimum apparently changes each year, which is common for program requirements. isn’t that just, like, so convenient for us?

sorry i can’t give an exact number, since i’m not in physiology. the academic calendar does say that if you have a grade lower than a 60% in each course or a grade average lower than 70% in these required courses, you won’t be considered for admission. but just because you have higher marks than this doesn’t guarantee admission.

if you wanted my personal (and very possibly straight up wrong!) opinion, you’re only really “guaranteed” to be fine if your course averages are above an 85. so i’d assume the minimum average is somewhere in the bounds of 70 and 80?? idk don’t hold me to that.

since you’re a first year, all the above applies to you. but if you were a second year and above applying for physiology, your whole record may be considered in your admission. this is specified on the same artsci page linked above, which says “applications from students lacking numerical grades in one or more of the specified prerequisites, or students applying in their second or later years, may be considered on the basis of their entire academic record and the availability of space in the program”.

i hope this clarified things, wishing you the best luck (and grades) in your application to physiology!

over and out,

aska

p.s. anyways guys, there have been a lot of questions coming in lately so thanks for everyone’s patience. ~~is it finals week or is it my final week? stay tuned to find out.~~ either way, answering your questions is a top tier way to procrastinate and i hope i am being useful. 😀 love y’all
Read More

aska No Comments
ccit, new kids

ccit for newbies

April 10, 2024

hi! im an international student and i just got accepted at uoft in ccit! is there any specialization we can take in the degree? thanks!

hey there,

first of all, congrats on your acceptance.

second of all, woah, this is a cool department. i am getting absolutely sold by its description on the artsci website.

i’m guessing you’re asking about specialization within the CCIT department, and not within the CCIT major? if it’s the former, then yes, there are several programs you can choose from the communication, culture, and information technology department. as you can see on the arts & sciences calendar, they offer a specialist, a minor, and several majors. (if you’re unfamiliar with what those are, refer here for the difference between program types).

they offer five different programs that you would apply to after your first year:

1. specialist in digital enterprise management (DEM). this is basically a management program that specializes in the tech industry. and it sounds so cool? an important thing to note, though, is that you cannot take this at the same time as a major in CCIT, a major in management, a major in commerce, or a major in TCS.

2. major in CCIT.

3. major OR minor in professional writing and communication (PWT).

4. major in technology, coding, and society (TCS).

5. professional experience certificate in digital media, communication, and technology. this is an add-on certificate to the other four programs, since it requires that you’re enrolled in one of them. it’s like an internship sort of thing that lets you get some out-of-classroom experience in a 12-16 week work placement.

but if you were asking about specialization within the CCIT major, there is always room for personal choice and exploration within each major. the CCIT major requires 8.0 credits to complete. of those eight credits, four will be taken up with required courses. but with the other four credits, you have freedom to choose between any third year or fourth year CCT or VCC courses. so you can build-your-own-degree based on what you’re interested in!

anyways, i hope this was helpful! good luck with everything.

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
anthropology, major, minor, programs

if they don’t say no, it’s a yes

April 9, 2024

I’m from an Ontario high school, can I double major in Anthropology and Archeology and minor in Indigenous studies? Like is that a thing?

hey there,

well, have i got good news for you. *fishes in my pocket* here it is: to my understanding, yes, you can absolutely do a double major in anthropology and archaeology while also doing a minor in indigenous studies. i think that’s a really great combination, those programs compliment each other so well!

below is my explanation. there are a couple reasons why i think you might have asked this question, and i think i’ve got them covered.

1. are anthropology and archaeology too similar?

there is nothing i can find on the department of anthropology website or on the arts & science calendar that says you can’t take both anthropology and archaeology together. i get how it might be confusing because they’re both in the same department, and require several of the same courses. but if they don’t say otherwise, i’m pretty sure you can take them at the same time. because usually, if you can’t take two programs together, they’ll clearly say it on the program pages that i linked above.

and, it’s actually a good thing that archaeology and anthropology are similar. if you do choose to do a double major and a minor, you may be worried about fitting in all the courses into four years, since that minor adds on extra credits to fulfill. but you should know that you’re able to take courses that count towards both of these programs.

for example, if you took ANT100Y1, it would be counted towards both your archaeology and anthropology majors. hitting two credits with one class! that’s not the only one, too. there are many other courses i can see that overlap between these programs. work smarter, not harder.

2. can i take 2 majors and a minor?

another reason you might have asked the question is because it initially seems like you only have 3 program combinations to build your own degree with: one specialist, or two majors, or one major and two minors.

but these options are just the minimum that you need to graduate. some students choose to do more than this, and it’s great! the maximum number of programs you can take is 3, as long as one of them is a minor.

3. 12 distinct credit rule

keep in mind that there is a rule about having 12 distinct credits. this means you need at least 12 different credits that aren’t overlapped, and it kind of just makes sure that people don’t overlap their entire degree. like, there is a limit.

finally, i’d recommend checking out one of my recent answers to a similar question. and if you’re ever unsure about anything programs-wise, or need an Official Answer TM, literally just send an email to the department you’re looking at. they’re so helpful and will have answers, too. (it’s literally their job! take advantage of that!)

good luck with everything, hope this clears things up!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
major, programs, specialist

doin the most

March 26, 2024

hiiii!! I’m a high school student looking at uoft programs, do you know if it’s possible to do a specialist and a major at the same time as part of the build your degree? thank you!!

hey there,

great question! yes, it is possible to do a specialist and a major at the same time. you wouldn’t catch me trying that, considering i took too many electives in first year, but all the power to anyone who wants to!

as you can see on the “build your own degree” page, it’s true that the common program combinations are one specialist, or two majors, or one major and two minors. but those are just options that are the minimum needed to graduate. you can absolutely do more, up to a maximum of three programs. but if you do three, one of them has to be a minor.

if you’re doing a specialist, you won’t have to worry about the 12 distinct credit rule, according to the arts & sciences page on program requirements. the 12 distinct credit rule basically says you need 12 credits that don’t overlap and count towards multiple degrees. this rule only applies to majors and minors. so while taking a specialist and a major, it might seem overwhelming to complete all your credits, but you are able to take courses that will count towards both your specialist and major! assuming they’re somewhat related.

for example, if you were doing a specialist in psychology and a major in books & media studies, you could take PSY427 “media psychology” and it would count towards both programs! isn’t that super convenient? i was excited when i found out about that.

just make sure that your programs can be done together, since there are some exceptions where two programs can’t be done together. to my knowledge, this is the case with collaborative life science programs. you can check that out with this short list of program exclusions for the collaborative life science programs under the tab “acceptable combinations”.

and just to be safe, you should also check the specific pages on the arts & sciences calendar website for your programs to see if there are any other exceptions. these pages should be easy to find, but if not, just google “program name uoft” and click on the arts & sciences link.

finally, i’d encourage you to reach out to a recruitment officer if anything else is still confusing! it likely will be, because everything about uni is so confusing at this stage, and we’re just expected to know it all and have it all together? actually, scratch that. everything about life is confusing right now and we’re just expected to know it all.

lol sorry for that pessimistic ending. it’s finals season. but i hope this was helpful, good luck!!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
life science, lost, new kids, programs

crash course for incoming students

March 25, 2024

Hey! I got accepted into Life Sci but I’m having some serious second thoughts… I’m not sure if I wanted to major in something science related but I really want to go to UofT, so now I’m stressing over courses. I feel like everywhere I look, I get vague answers, so I was hoping I could recieve a clearer one here :/ are there required courses in first year that are related to the area you’re admitted into, or can you just take whatever prereqs a major has (within arts and sci)?

hey there,

well, you have come to the right place!! before you read all this, the tldr is that you’ll be fine.

when i was accepted into life sci, i was in your exact situation. i wasn’t really sure if i wanted to follow through with science and wanted to try out the arts. the rules around switching around and taking prerequisites are so confusing for incoming students, and for what? it really does not need to be that complicated, so i’ll try to lay it out as clear as i can.

1. admission categories

so when you’re admitted to u of t, you are in an “admission category“. there are six of these in arts & sciences, and they are just a way to group the 340+ program choices into general categories for incoming students. the great thing about admission categories is that they actually give you a lot more freedom to explore during your first year than if you were admitted into a specific program. (here is a list of all the programs included in the life sciences category).

essentially, what i was told for ease of understanding, was that your admission category does not really matter. a common assumption many incoming students make is that your admission category is your program and you’re already tied down and committed. but at this stage, you are not in a program yet—therefore, you can really take any courses you want and shoot for programs that aren’t in your admission category. the only thing your admission category actually has material impact on is getting first-pick during course enrolment.

2. programs of study (POSt)

during the spring of your first year, you will apply to your programs of study (abbreviated as “POSt”). there are three levels of programs: a specialist, a major, and a minor. the difference between these is the number of courses required. most often, people take 2 majors, or 1 specialist, or 1 major and 2 minors. but the maximum number of programs you can enrol in is 3. if this is confusing, sid smith commons has a page with a really great visualizer for what these combinations can look like.

some programs are “open” and some are “limited”. open programs have no prerequisites, while limited programs do. again, sid smith has a page about how to apply to programs.

3. first year pre-requisite courses

to answer your question, yes, pretty much. you can just take whatever pre-reqs a major has within arts & sciences. because remember, at this point, you are not tied down to anything.

for example, if you were admitted into life sciences because you wanted to get into biology (life sci), but now are changing your mind and wanting to major in urban studies (humanities), you could absolutely do that! all you would have to do to get in to the program after first year is take the pre-req courses listed on the artsci website under “enrolment requirements” for that program. that is, if there even are pre-requisites. if there are no pre-reqs, take whatever you want in first year and then select that program on acorn in march!

4. if you’re still confused, here is what i did

in my first year, i was admitted into life sciences, but decided going into it that i didn’t want to do sciences. so i only enrolled in arts courses for my first year. and the spring of my first year, i applied to my open enrolment arts majors. then, i decided to 180 backwards and go back into life sci. so in my second year, i took the first year pre-req courses for the science major i wanted. then in spring of my second year, i applied to my life sci major, keeping my other arts major.

a lot of people’s paths look like a bit zig-zaggy like this. some people know exactly what they want to do, but most people don’t really know! it takes some exploring to figure it out and that’s okay. it’s normal to have second thoughts!

anyways, i hope this clears things up! please drop any more questions that come up. good luck going into first year, you will be amazinggg!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
graduation, hart house, tcard

phone calls are not so scary

March 25, 2024

How soon after the semester ends does your tcard stop granting you access to the Hart House fitness center? This is my final semester so I’m done classes and assignments by April 10, the summer semester doesn’t start until May, and I don’t graduate until June. Will I be able to access the Hart House fitness center, and use my tcard as normal until the end of April, May or June?

hey there,

congrats on almost being done your final semester!!

so since i haven’t graduated yet, i wouldn’t actually know exactly when your tcard would stop working.

but good thing i’m aska and have access to all my past reincarnations. therefore, i do have an answer for you!

but no, this morning i overcame my stereotypical gen z fear of making phone calls and i gave the hart house fitness centre a call. they were able to search up individual students to see when access would end for them. since i’m not graduating, i told them the name of the first person i thought of who i know is graduating this spring. looking at that, they said that from the incidental fees you pay, you would have access until may 21st. i’m assuming this would be the same date for everyone graduating this spring.

however, i’m not sure if this is like a general tcard-ends-working date for all u of t services. i honestly doubt that it is.

anyways, love the hart house gym. enjoy it while it lasts, and good luck on your home run stretch!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments
admissions, commerce, repeating course, UTM

a grand total of one fact

March 16, 2024

Hello!

I applied for UTM Commerce but the problem is that I retook one of my grade 12 courses. I checked the program details and it says that they use the higher of the two marks when calculating my average but reserve the right to treat applicants who did the course in one go with preference. I was just wondering how much retaking a course will weigh against me and what the chances of getting into the course are (My average currently is in the range that they look for)

hey there,

i don’t blame you for being confused (this implies i sometimes blame people for being confused). if i was in your situation, i would have the same question. but honestly, it’s really hard to say. u of t doesn’t have a specific statement on this, and i hate to say it, but it makes sense. things change every year, since the chances of getting in all depends on the number of applicants and how brutal the competition is. there’s really no way to make an exact projection of your chances.

i think that it would depend on which of your grade 12 courses you repeated. according to utm’s admissions page, you need six grade 12 courses, including english, advanced functions, and calculus & vectors. if it was one of those three courses, i’m sure they would matter more than if you repeated a random grade 12 course. if a repeated course even matters for admissions. it is so unclear.

i know my answer is not much better than what u of t websites officially say, but that’s because i honestly just don’t have insider knowledge on utm commerce first-year admissions. i’m a student, not a recruitment officer. but i do have an identity crisis about this every time i answer an admissions question!

i did find some info about upper-year program admissions, which might give you a feel for the competitiveness. on the undergrad programs FAQ page, they say that they receive about 600 applications for the commerce program and accept around 300 students. i’d say those are pretty good odds, at a 50% acceptance rate! for reference, the management program accepts 60 students out of 300 applications. the competition is pretty bad in that one.

keep in mind that i’m talking about the acceptance process that happens when everyone applies to their POSt (program of study) after first year. so this is not about first-year admissions, where you are at right now. it’s just meant to give us an idea of the numbers. overall, we’ve learned that commerce is less competitive than management, and that many more students get accepted into commerce.

i’m working with crumbs here, guys. it’s just that the 3D world is holding me back from unleashing my omniscient powers today, or something.

then we finally come to the one and only concrete fact we’ve really got about your chances. the admissions site says that the approximate competitive average for first-year commerce admissions is in the mid 80s. so if your average is in that range, i think you should be fine. but keep in mind the site says “meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee you admission to the university”. again, this is because “admission is subject to space availability and competition”.

anyways, sorry i couldn’t be more helpful. i recommend checking out my previous answer about retaking grade 12 courses, and reaching out to a utm recruiter. if you want to know specific details, definitely please reach out to a recruiter. good luck with everything! i think you will do great.

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska 1 Comment
admissions, repeating course

why so ambiguous

March 15, 2024

Hi. I am retaking MH4U1 (12 Advanced Functions) and SCH4U1 (12 Chemistry) in private school. I already got a conditional offer from UTSC in neuroscience, but was wondering if it hamper the decision later on? UofT websites are not that clear on repeating courses.

hey there,

yay, congrats on getting an offer!

you know, this is such a fair question. i looked on u of t websites, and i agree, they really are not clear on how repeating a course might impact your admission offer. it’s almost like they’re trying to be ambiguous (they probably are, idk).

all that the utsc admissions page says is: “while we recognize that there may be valid reasons for repeating a course, in general we urge you to do as well as possible on your first attempt”. and then the arts & sciences admissions page just really clears things up with: “in some instances, repeated courses will not be accepted for competitive admission categories”.

i mean, yeah… wouldn’t it be nice if they elaborated a bit? well, while we can’t fix the lack of communication skills, we can go through a couple different scenarios here:

if you disclosed the repeated courses on your application, there shouldn’t be an issue. since you’ve already received a conditional offer of admission, all you can do at this point is to meet the conditions on that offer. but if you had specific questions about your offer or the conditions, you should definitely reach out to the utsc recruitment team.

meanwhile, if you didn’t disclose the repeats on your application and were admitted based on your first attempts, it probably is still not an issue. the only scenario where you might have a problem is if you are repeating a course and didn’t disclose an earlier, lower grade on your application. you honestly might still be okay if you fall into this camp, but i really recommend reaching out to the utsc recruitment team to clarify. *points at you* i know we’re scared of human interaction, but you can do it!

over and out,

aska

Read More

aska No Comments