• subject POST

    Bob Ross wants you to succeed

    April 21, 2016

    *Hi,*

    *I am starting the specialist international development program at UTSC in the fall, and I was thinking of also doing a major in studio. I was wondering, how feasible is doing both a specialist and major? Has it been done before? I am thinking of taking 6 courses per semester to achieve this, would that be extremely difficult? I am in no way extremely academic or anything, my grades are above average.*

    *thanks!*

    *a Bob Ross fan*

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    people have definitely done specialists and majors together. you’re allowed to take up to two majors or specialists and up to three programs altogether, so one specialist and one major is totally within the allowed scope of programs. some specialists only require a few more credits than a major would, so sometimes, there’s not really a huge difference between doing a double major and doing one major and a specialist.

    the difficulty level does depend on which specialist and major you’re interested in, however. the thing about the programs in which you’re interested is that the IDS specialist (i can only assume you’re not doing co-op) requires 13.0 credits, while the studio major requires 8.0. that’s 21.0 credits, which is 1.0 credits above what is takes to get your degree, and that’s not even accounting for breadth requirements or any electives you might like to take. it’s a lot.

    similarly, you are allowed to take 3.0 credits every semester (past that, you need to make a request to the registrar’s office). that being said, it is very difficult. you’ve been in school for a year; you can probably imagine it. i would say it’s doable if you don’t have a job or any other significant commitments, though even then, it’s not fun.

    all this considered, i would say that it might be smarter to downgrade one of the programs you’re considering. a double major (16.0 FCEs altogether) or a specialist and a minor (17.0 FCEs altogether) would be much more manageable. since you’re asking this question, you must have a very specific reason for wanting to do a specialist and a major (hopefully it’s not that you think it sounds impressive, because literally no one – and that includes employers – will care).

    i would ask you to interrogate your own motives carefully, and also seek second and third opinions – from advisors, the registrar’s office, etc. ask yourself what you’ll be able to do successfully. there’s no use in overloading yourself and then not doing particularly well in IDS or studio.

    in summary: it’s all doable. but it’s hard. definitely seek out more advice before making a decision.

    finally, i couldn’t figure out a way to incorporate bob ross into this post, but here’s a motivational .gif to inspire you to figure out the best path for you:

    bob ross motivation

    you can do it.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  international students

    patience, padawan

    April 21, 2016

    Hey there,
    I am a first year engineering student at university in Washington and currently hold a 3.7 GPA (9.2% grade). I did really well in high school as well. I already applied for a transfer I UofT for mechanical engineering and I really need to know when I can expect to hear a response? I really want to find a place to live and also apply for a student visa. Also do they look at international transfers differently?

    ———————————————

    hi there,

    i can’t tell you when you’ll hear back from uoft. not only do i not know when you, specifically, will hear back, i don’t even know when different rounds of offers are given, or to whom. it’s very likely that you’ll hear back in May, but again, i’m really not in a position to be able to give specifics.

    i know that it’s frustrating to be in this limbo, because you need to get a move on with visas and residence. i wish everyone heard back early, with plenty of time to figure out everything else relating to university; unfortunately, it takes time, and i have very little influence over that. (or anything else, really – like, i barely have influence over my own sleep schedule).

    competitive transfer students to the faculty of applied science & engineering generally have at least a 3.2 GPA, and you need to have completed the prerequisites at the high school level as well. if you meet (and even exceed, as you seem to) those requirements, then – congrats! you’re a competitive applicant. being international does not necessarily hinder your application; your grades will be valued holistically to determine your suitability for the program.

    of course, i can’t by any means guarantee that you will be accepted. transferring is a competitive process, especially in engineering. there are few spots and lots of hopefuls. but i will say that meeting and exceeding standards published by uoft is never a bad sign.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • subject POST

    clear for another year

    April 20, 2016

    Due to some family issues during reading week, I’m really failing in my winter semester right now and I may be put on academic probation.

    I’m in my first year and I’m supposed to apply for my subject post after 4.0 credits but what happens if I fail a course and only get 3.5 credits?

    I want to repeat a course or two if I fail them and do them next fall semester. I just don’t know the process to enrolling in repeated courses.

    If I have 3.5 credits does that mean I’m still a first year? Does that mean I don’t need to be in a subject Post?

    I know I’m capable of doing much better so I’m going to try to redo my courses. Any help for this would be much appreciated.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you got it. if you finish this term with 3.5 credits, then you’re still considered a first year and don’t have to sign up for a subject POSt(s). if you go above 4.0 credits in Fall/Winter 2016-2017 (or any subsequent Fall/Winter), you’ll have to sign up for a program(s) in Summer 2017 (or the following Summer in whatever year it happens to be), between April and September of 2017.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • first year

    don’t be sure. it’s better that way.

    April 19, 2016

    hi there, ive recently been accepted into life sciences at u of t st george campus and am wondering what to do next.(course wise). ive heard stories about how the courses you take first year have a huge impact on the later years in university. thats whats stressing me out because frankly im not sure what exactly i want to branch off into. also what can i specialize in further along the road? thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    whoever’s been telling you that is talking a bunch of bologna. i mean, yes, first year is an important adjustment period and you shouldn’t take it lightly. the foundational life science courses (BIO120/130, MAT135/136, CHM135/136 and sometimes PHY131/132) are very important for your later years. a solid foundation in these courses will serve you well in pretty much any program in the life sciences that you decide to pursue.

    and yes, you’ll likely have one or two courses in your first year that completely shake up (and possibly even reorder) how you think about the world. however, that doesn’t mean that those courses will set you down a certain path. if anything, they will open your mind to many more possibilities than you were previously aware of.

    the great thing about uoft is that you’re not actually in a program in your first year. you can make mistakes, you can change your mind, you can not like any of the courses you’re taking – or you can love all of them. after you have a year under your belt, you can then approach the question of what program you’d like to apply to with a lot more context. in fact, you’ll only be able to sign up for programs in the summer after your first year. if anything, I think that not being sure what you want to do is better than being set on one thing, because it means you’ll be open to new paths, rather than going through first year with blinkers on.

    as for what you can specialize in, your options are fairly extensive. assuming you decide to stay in the life sciences, just a short sampling of programs you might take includes: biology, biochemistry, cell and systems biology, chemistry, cognitive science, environmental science, forest conservation, human biology, immunology, molecular genetics…you get the idea.

    your undergrad will prepare you to enter postgraduate programs like pharmacy, nursing, veterinary school or medical school, as well as research/graduate studies, or more non-traditional paths. ultimately, the longer you’re in school, the better you’ll be able to elucidate what it is you’re actually passionate about.

    sometimes it takes four years of schooling to figure out that you don’t want to continue going to school; sometimes, it confirms that school is where you’d like to stay all your life. it takes time, and i think the major takeaway here should be: as long as it takes to figure it out, that’s not too long. and if you never figure it out, all the better, because that means you’re always learning.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • first year,  subject POST

    changing track before you even start

    April 19, 2016

    Hi,
    I recently got admitted to UTSG for studies in life sciences. However, I recently realized that I don’t want to study life sciences, and that I would rather study humanities/social sciences (intl. relations and Spanish). How do I go about switching this? I emailed the New College registrar just because I didn’t know who else to email, but it’s been a week and they haven’t emailed me back yet.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you can’t switch into the humanities or social sciences right now. you’ve been accepted into the life sciences, and there’s no way to change your offer of admission. the silver lining is that you’re not actually in a program (what we call a subject program of study or subject POSt) at this point. you’re in a degree POSt, which is the general stream of life science. you’ll be required to pick a program (or programs) in the summer after your first year.

    the good thing about being in a life science degree POSt in your first year is that it doesn’t mean very much at all. no one will force you to take any life science courses in your first year. you’re free to sign up for SPA100Y1 and ECO100Y1 and HIS103Y1/HIS102Y1 (all of which you will need to be eligible for the Spanish and international relations majors in your second year).

    the only thing that could cause a minor hindrance is that some of those courses that you need may have a priority, which means that you would have to wait until a later date to enrol into them. since course enrolment goes so fast, it’s always possible that those courses that have priorities might fill up before you get the chance to enrol in them.

    however, not all courses will have a priority, and many of these first-year, introductory courses are very, very big. that means that they are less likely to fill up, and also that lots of people are likely to drop them one week in, and free up space for YOU to sign up.

    and one final tip: priorities (and other enrolment controls) are why it’s a good idea (for everyone, not just for you) to have backup courses. try and arrange as many different schedules as possible that still allow you to complete the prerequisites for your subject POSts of interest. you may not get your ideal schedule, but you’ll get one that does what it needs to do.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • architecture,  first year,  residence

    when you’re at uoft and you’re blossoming like a flower

    April 19, 2016

    Heya Aska!

    So I’ve navigated successfully through the Daniels site and gotten myself an offer for Architectural Studies! Yay! Since I’m most likely going to accept, I got a few questions for you!

    1) How big is the Daniels faculty? Around how many undergraduates get accepted each year? I’ve tried looking but I can’t really find a solid number and I really want to know approximately how big my class sizes might be!

    2) Which residence is most popular for Arch students to live in? I don’t live in Canada so I can’t come to residence tours to see what it’s like and feel the vibe…

    3) (A more general question but) How can a super shy introvert like me get involved in dorm life, making friends, life around the campus etc. etc? I really want to work on improving myself as a person but at the same time it takes a lot of effort to shove me out of my shell :/

    Thank you so much! I always love reading your responses!

    – A smoll high schooler from across the globe

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    1.   the reason you won’t find any numbers on this is because it’s not reallypractical information in the way that you probably think it is. it’s true that Daniels is a faculty separate from the faculty of arts & science, but since the undergraduate division only offers one specialist (visual studies), most Daniels students are also taking a program (or two) in the faculty of arts & science. that means you’ll be taking courses with artsci kids, which means that the class size kind of just depends on the class.

    most first-year classes are pretty massive; i’m talking several hundred students, sometimes close to a thousand. if you take a more obscure class or a second-year course, it may whittle down to under a hundred. i don’t mean to imply that there isn’t a separate culture and hub of community and resources at Daniels – because there is. it’s just that there’ll be a lot more crossover than you think.

    2.   again, because architecture is so small, i don’t know that there’s a specific residence for architecture students. there is certainly a vibe, as you put it, to each college residence (plus Chestnut), which is very hard to articulate. since that vibe is so ephemeral, i think it makes the most sense to make a decision based on concrete things, especially if you can’t come to campus for a tour.

    bad vibes american horror story

    sometimes, a residence tour can help you get a feel of where you’d prefer to live

    some questions you may want to ask yourself include: do you prefer dorm- or suite-style? what’s your price range? where is the residence located in relation to your classes, libraries, and other amenities? would you rather live in a tall, modern building like Woodsworth, or an old, castle-esque building, like those at Victoria and St. Mike’s? do any of the residences or colleges run an activity or program that particularly interests you? these things can all help you make a decision.

    3.   i’ve used a handy little schematic (pictured below) to demonstrate this question. what it’s illustrating is that there is a good way to push yourself, and a bad way. if you can push yourself just a smidge past your comfort zone, you enter into your challenge zone. in the challenge zone, you gain skills and confidence by trying new things that are challenging but still doable. if you regularly enter your challenge zone, it starts to expand. those things that were previously found challenging become part of your comfort zone. and voila – growth!

    however, if you push yourself too hard and end up in situations where you’re very uncomfortable, you may find yourself in the panic zone. in the panic zone, you feel completely unequipped to handle the situation at hand, and you begin to panic. after getting yourself out of the situation, you feel nothing except a greater aversion to that type of situation.

    the key to getting out of your shell, i think, is engaging your challenge zone as much as possible, but not pushing yourself into your panic zone. maybe the thought of living with a roommate causes you to panic, but you can challenge yourself to meet everyone on your floor before the end of the first semester. baby steps, and you’ll get there.

    other general tips: get involved with extra-curriculars. not only can they lead to opportunities (even potential jobs!) but your network of friends will expand so, so quickly. on a similar note: get a job! you may get lucky and actually become friends with your colleagues. introduce yourself to the people sitting next to you in class. if your residence has a dining hall, sit with people. maybe you can start by sitting with your don, and then gradually add people to your group. finally, hang out in your common room. that’s just a general tip about residence. all you have to do is literally sit there and new potential friends will come TO YOU. it’s the LAY-Z-BOY of friend-making.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • psychology

    this person gets a gold star forreal

    April 14, 2016

    Hey Aska,

    I know this is the umpteenth time you’re getting a psych question, but I’ve searched all the tags and haven’t found what I’m looking for so here it goes:

    I’m planning on switching to a psychology minor this summer while I’m going into my 4th year. I’ve completed one major already and 75% done of my second major, so I think I’ll be okay adding this in rn. I’m taking psy100 first sem in summer, then hoping to take two other psy courses (psy240,270) in the second summer sem *praying I get all credits* so that I can apply for the minor in the second request period of the summer. The only problem is, I don’t remember if I fulfill the calculus prereq. requirement just because I graduated nearly 3 years ago from high school and don’t remember what I took in gr.11/12. I do know for sure I took senior math in both gr.11/12, but can’t remember which ones I got the credits for: calc, advanced functions, or data management [?]   Can I ask the psych department to check if I fulfill the calc requirement, and if not I know I can go back to tdsb and get night/summer school for the calc, but the deadline for registration for that is coming up so what do you suggest? I just need to know if I meet the calc requirement cause I myself am not sure lol.

    thanksabunch.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    first of all, you’re awesome for checking the tags. and kudos for asking a psych question that’s brand new. you’re the reason i wake up and continue to go to work every day with a smile on my face, despite the fact that my bed frame is now officially broken and i no longer own any tights without holes in them.

    the easiest thing to do in this situation, of course, is to look back at your high school transcripts and see what you took. i assume, however, that you threw away those precious documents and now don’t have access to them. that’s why i keep all my documentation for an absurdly long amount of time. i still have my grade 11 chemistry notes. i have a file on my computer for every class i’ve ever taken in university. yes, i realize i’m an e-hoarder. fight me.

    i don’t know how exactly the psychology department goes about checking how people fulfil requirements, so unfortunately i can’t give you specific directions. asking them if they can take a look for you is a good start, though. they may direct you to enrolment services, which likely has your high school transcript or some kind of academic record on file. may as well start with the department itself, though.

    also, regardless of whether you have the prerequisite or not, it may not be a bad idea to review your calculus over the summer. if you can’t even remember taking the class, maybe you need a refresher on the material.

    best of luck!

    aska

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  • second degree

    degree numero duo

    April 13, 2016

    Hi there,

    I am alumni at U of T (having completed a BA in political science specialist). I am wanting to return to complete a BSc in psychology and human biology. I have already completed the petition to A&S. I was just wondering if you knew anything about success rates or if they are prone to not letting students come back and, if so, for what reasons?

    Thanks.

    ———————————————

    Hey Aska,

    I submitted a petition to return to complete a second degree (BSc – right now I hold a BA) almost a month ago. I called A&S and they said Woodsworth would let me know. I called Woodsworth and they said A&S is handling it. So, seems like neither is handling it? Do you know how long it will take to hear back about the petition and what the success rate is? My GPA in my BA wasn’t fantastic but I also now have no clue how or when I will hear back as I can’t seem to get an answer.

    Help! Lost, frustrated and entirely confused!

    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well, seeing as this answer is obscenely late (how did a month go by so fast?) i’m hoping that you’ve heard back from them at this point. if you haven’t, i would call the office of the registrar at the faculty of arts & science, let them know you’d like an answer, and tell them woodsworth isn’t giving you one. somebody should be able to let you know when you can expect to hear back from them.

    i honestly don’t know the success rate for second degree petitions. lots of people are ineligible because they want the same degree (e.g. another B.A. when they already have a B.A. from uoft), so that’s not an issue for you. i imagine that if you didn’t do terribly in your first degree (no academic probations, suspension, that kind of thing), then you should be eligible, but i honestly don’t know what the rates of success are.

    definitely keep in touch with the office of the registrar at arts & science, as well as the registrar’s office at woodsworth until they can give you an ETA.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    $20 for palm reading

    April 13, 2016

    I’m in my first year, and looking to transfer from UTSC to UTSG. However, I failed one of my courses :'( and right now my GPA is probably around 3.36 ish. Is there a possibility I can still get in? Do they look individually at each course or collectively?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i would say there is still a possibility. a 3.36 is a B+, which is above the minimum mark you need to be competitive if you’re transferring from another university. there is no explicit minimum CGPA for an internal transfer, but given the standard applied to external transfers, i’d say that’s a competitive CGPA.

    as for how they assess your marks, the main considerations are CGPA and program prerequisites. if the course you failed is a prerequisite for the program you applied to, that may present a problem. if it’s a course that will be largely irrelevant to the program you’ve applied to and the rest of your transcript looks pretty good, then i’d say your chances are much better. like, if you failed first-year econ and got 80s in your French courses and you’re transferring to French, admissions is more likely to downplay the importance of the econ course.

    as always, i’m not involved in the admissions process, so all of this is based on careful reading of uoft websites and what i’ve picked up over the years. there are many factors that go into deciding whether or not to admit someone, and you may receive a decision that contravenes what i’ve said in this post. except it won’t be contravening it, because of this disclaimer: i am not a 100% accurate predictor of admissions decisions. i’m more like a fortune teller with a neon sign who works on yonge street: lots of practice means i will sometimes get things right, but not always.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • summer

    you usually need to go to some class to pass

    April 13, 2016

    hey aska!question about summer school hoping u couid answer. UTMstudent thinking about changing programs to DEMprogram. In order to get into the program i need to take cct109,110 was considering taking it in summer school, but I recently accpected a good paying summer job and they said i could have 1hr a week to go to class. Long story short do u think i could do well in the class going to 1 hr of lecture a week? wanna take the class but but also need the money& dont want to fall1yr behind.HELP!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    no, that’s not a good idea. CCT109 and CCT110 both have 5 hours of class per week in the summer (4 hours of lecture and one hour of tutorial, each). that’s ten hours of class altogether, not to mention the time outside of class you’ll need to spend doing readings and assignments. if you only attend 1 hour of class per week, you’re only going to 10% of your classes.

    i’m not going to tell you what to do, but you’d be risking failing those courses if you decided to only go to one hour of class a week. if you really want to do them over the summer, it may be a good idea to seek other, more flexible, part-time employment.

    best,

    aska

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  • admissions

    look down

    April 13, 2016

    Hi, I recently got a conditional offer to st George u of t social sciences. The condition was have a 75% overall average at the end of June, and a 75 in English. We have a report card coming out in mid April and I was wondering if my marks dropped by then, will I lose my offer? Or do they wait to see my final June report card so I can increase my marks??

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i don’t usually do this, but my answer to this question would be literally identical to the one i just answered, so: see my previous post. thanks!

    aska

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  • admissions

    even the potential for rejection is too much

    April 12, 2016

    So i received a conditional offer from utsc YASSS but they explicitly stated they want 4.0, so an A in the letter. Am i going to get my offer revoked if I got B or B+? (somewhere at 3.5) :”(

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    your use of GPAs instead of percentages is really throwing me off. do you go to a really fancy high school that uses GPAs instead of percentages? is uoft just using its own GPA system in its admission letter? are YOU trying to be clear by translating letter grades to a uoft GPA? are you transferring from UTM or UTSG, or another university? who knows. i’ll just have to cover all my bases.

    if the university’s admission offer?requires you stay at an A and you get a B/B+ as your final average, there is, of course, the chance that your offer will be revoked. i don’t want to deny that, especially (though not only) because i don’t need angry high schoolers chasing me down because they didn’t get into uoft when i said they would.

    however, a B/B+ is not THAT much lower than an A, in high school terms at least. the difference between a 3.5 and a 4.0 is actually pretty significant in uoft terms, but since i’m not sure whether that’s your high school GPA system or ours, i’m just going to ignore it and talk about the letter grade.

    ultimately, grade drops usually have to be pretty severe for an offer of admission to be revoked. i would strongly advise you to do your very best to try to meet the conditions of your offer of admission, because if you don’t, the offer?could be?revoked. that being said, there’s no need necessarily to FREAK OUT over a B+ when they’re asking for an A.

    if you’re transferring, i would say the same applies. usually, you need a ‘B’ average (including prerequisites) to be competitive when transferring from another university, so if you dip down below a 4.0 it’s likely not the end of the world. though, again, if you’re not meeting your conditions, it is a possibility.

    cheers,

    aska

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