• grad school

    post-post-secondary education

    April 14, 2015

    Hey Aska,
    Is it impossible to get into grad school with below 3.0 CGPA? Cuz I’ve been hearing people say that in grad school, they only look at your 3rd and 4th year courses as the basis for your qualifications. What about CR/NCRs? LWDs?
    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you’re right, most grad schools only look at your last year or last two years to determine admission. however, it all depends on the grad school, and you should definitely look into that for the grad school(s) you’re interested in.

    CR/NCRs don’t tend to be too much of a big deal. they tend to be more of a problem if you CR/NCR’d courses that are relevant to the grad program you’re interested in, but the fact that you’re not allowed to CR/NCR program requirements usually takes care of that.

    LWDs are a little bit more tricky. one LWD won’t make a whole lot of difference, but more than one will probably impact your application. again, this also depends on what course(s) you LWD’d, how many, and which graduate school you’re applying to.

    all in all, if you want specifics about this kinda information, it’s always a good bet to ask the specific grad school you’re applying to. what i’ve told you are just general guidelines.

    best of luck on your grad school journey!

    aska

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  • first year

    york student struggles…?

    April 14, 2015

    Hey, I know you probably get emails like this constantly. As you probably know how overwhelming university can be 1st year, well i realized that after a month. I basically worked for the whole year before i started uni, and i cant stop now. it gets quite overwhelming, especially not realizing how competitive criminology is.

    I almost lost my mind because thanks to my friend i took almost all 2nd year courses not realizing i did until later. So I messed up my first year pretty bad. my question is what happens next? If i failed all 3 courses that i took including my major what happens?

    thank you ????

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    ok, i’m not sure what’s happening here (standard procedure here on askastudent). two things are confusing me:

    1) i don’t understand what the phrase “all 3 courses including my major” means, for a couple of reasons. the first is that at uoft, you need to take four courses at least in your first year to even?enter a major, and the second is that majors aren’t courses, they’re programs. you can’t fail them.

    2) you titled your e-mail?”york student struggles,” which is either a really mean-spirited joke about how york students always fail stuff, or you’re actually just from york university and you’ve gotten very lost on the internet.

    if it’s the latter case, then hello, nice to meet you – i’m aska. this website has a .utoronto.ca URL, which might clue you in to the fact that i only answer questions about the university of toronto. if you’d like to ask questions about york university, may i direct you to this very excellent tumblr blog that does just that.

    if you’re a uoft student, then the next step after failing the majority of your courses is, likely, that you’ll go on academic probation?for the next semester that you’re in school. you will have that one semester?to get your CGPA above a 1.50. i’d recommend you make an appointment with your college registrar’s office to come up with strategies about how best to do that.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • subject POST

    the faculty is your oyster

    April 14, 2015

    I was admitted to the social sciences program, does that mean i can only take classes that fall under the social science category? Or am I able to try out a class/subject that falls under humanities as well?

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    you can take ANY COURSE in the faculty of arts & science you desire, as long as you meet any listed prerequisites. crazy, right?

    only thing is, some courses are restricted so that certain students are allowed to sign up for the courses first, and some courses are completely restricted to certain students.

    if you look at the fall/winter 2015-2016 course calendar, courses that have these kinds of restrictions are marked with either a ‘P’ (priority) or ‘R’ (restriction). these are called ‘enrolment controls’ and you can read more about them here.

    see you around in the fall, chum,

    aska

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  • CR/NCR,  UTM

    cr/ncr strike panic (UTM EDITION)

    April 13, 2015

    UTM SUBJECT POST CR/NCR WHY YOU DO DAT???!! So with the recent strike i heard that in order to cr/ncr a course you need to be enrolled in that subject post/program? I am in second year and i plan to enrol in the psy subject post later this year. I already met the first year req. just took a break to figure out if psy was for me. However i am taking one of the courses required 270 even though i am not in the subject post yet. Can i still cr/ncr it.. my gpa will suffer from my not so great grade

    ———————————————

    hi there,

    i think you misunderstood something along the way, amigo. you were able to credit/no-credit ANY S COURSE affected by the strike in the winter semester (including courses that count towards a subject POSt) until april 6th.

    that deadline has already passed, so…i hope you selected it cr/ncr already.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions

    when you’re in, you’re in (almost always)

    April 13, 2015

    Can conditional offers become final offers before the end of the grade 12 year?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    as long as you maintain the conditions of your offer of admission, the offer will not be retracted.

    so i guess technically, no, because the offers are only final once you actually get your high school diploma, but if you got an offer and you maintain the conditions of your acceptance, you’re in!

    cheers,

    aska

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  • askastudent love/hate

    EXCLUSIVE ASKA INTERVIEW OMG

    April 13, 2015

    Dear aska,
    I would like to ask some personal questions. (Feel free to skip any of these questions if you feel too anxious about them.)
    What inspired you to create this blog sometime 20 years ago?Before you were aska, what were you (other than being in Innis)? What are you doing when you’re not being aska?How does it feel to become a popular blog for UofT?What are your overall expectations/future aspirations for this blog and for life in general?If you could give one piece of advice to every UofT student (based on your experiences and your blog), what would it be?
    Many thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    thanks for the questions! they kinda made me feel like a celebrity. *puts on shades* *gives paparazzi the finger* *strokes the Italian Greyhound poking out of my Louis Vuitton bag*

    1) i didn’t create askastudent, much as i’d like to be able to take the credit for it. (also, i’m really trying not to get offended that you thought i was like, what…40 years old? at least? please, trust me…i’m still young and hip…you gotta believe me, man).

    askastudent has gone through a lot of askas – we tend to rotate in and out on a yearly basis (with some exceptions). askas are always students at uoft, so once an aska graduates, they are OFF to BIGGER and BETTER THINGS.

    all the askas are unified by our INCREDIBLE WIT AND CHARM, so people usually can’t tell when there’s a new aska, which can make it seem like there’s been one person writing the same blog for twenty years. but i feel like that would be kind of excessive, so…we don’t do that.

    2) before i was aska, i was just another student, like you! after i became aska, i remained another student, like you, with the exception that now i’m allowed to prattle on without restraint on this blog. goodness knows why they let me do it.

    3) when i’m not being aska, i’m usually either avoiding schoolwork by binge-watching old Disney movies, being slightly late to class, and complaining about school to friends in various diner spots on campus. i can also be found in a number of other positions/roles at the university, but in the interest of not being too identifiable, i won’t tell you exactly what those are.

    just trust that the other things i do are COOL and FUN.

    4)/5) *sweeps back platinum blonde hair* well, i never thought i would end up here…so famous…i owe it all to my fans, really…

    honestly, i’m just happy i’ve been given the opportunity to be a part of askastudent. a lot of really talented people have written for this website, and i just hope to be able to live up to the example they’ve set. i really care about this blog. i care about keeping an open and honest dialogue between students, and i believe in students helping students, so i guess my future hopes for the blog are that it continues to exist and improve and help out students.

    6) my future aspirations for life in general are that i can find a job. just…any job that will let me pay rent and buy food. that would be so ideal.

    7) my advice for any uoft student would be: try to experience your time here as deeply as possible. get involved, talk to people, do the things you’re excited about and see where they’ll lead you.

    this is the time to try new things and get outside your comfort zone a bit, because the consequences to not conforming are going to be relatively light compared to later on in life.

    so stay out with your friends until 4am, join that club you’ve been eyeing, say the controversial thing in class, and put your heart and soul into the things and people you care about.

    also: none of the colleges are better than any of the others. so stop asking.

    thanks for the Q’s!

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • fees,  part-time

    full-time student, part-time napper

    April 9, 2015

    If I take 3.0 FCE in 2015-2016, would I still be considered a full-time student even though I would be charged per-course based on the new changes regarding flat fees? Thanks in advance, Aska!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    yes, you would still be full-time.

    i’m not 100% what the context is for this question, but just in case you’re wondering, what your full-time status means in practical terms is that 1) your incidental fees will be a little bit higher than for part-time students and 2) you will still be considered full-time under OSAP.

    all the best,

    aska

    P.S. sorry for the wait on this question. these new-fangled fees rules are really THROWING ME FOR A LOOP, y’know?

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  • psychology,  UTM

    psych you out

    April 9, 2015

    Hi,1) I am second year student at the UTM campus and I plan on applying to the psychology major in the coming weeks. I already meet the psy100 grade(completed in first year) and the first year entry psy requirements. i just decided to pursue a major in psychology this January. I know there is a requirement that second year students need to meet in order to apply to the subject post. with a combination of grades. I am currently completing psy210 . what do i need to get into the program now

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    alright, the website is a bit confusing, so i double-checked this info with the lovely lovely people at the UTM psych department, and this is what you need:

    1. PSY201H5

    2. at least 1.0 additional FCE’s of the upper-year requirements for the psych major

    3. at least a 63% average in the above courses

    4. an AGPA of at least 2.0

    5. BONUS: and yes, just in case you were worried, it is a type 2 program (see page 12), which means that as long as you meet the requirements, you should be admitted to the program.

    and voila! just mix your ingredients together in a large bowl, leave to cool for 2 hours, and you’ll have a DELICIOUS psychology major (serves four). then just add tuition to taste (the university’s taste, obviously. not yours).

    best of luck with your application bro,

    aska

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  • enrollment

    they will drop you like a hot potato

    April 9, 2015

    Hi,

    I was able to enroll in all my desired summer courses (and even an extra)?for the S session in the summer!? I need to take 2 half courses during the?S session, but I enrolled in 3 so I have a back up in case one seems?terrible when I get there.? The plan is to drop one during the first week?of classes. Will ROSI / the university let this stand, given that the most?you can take during one session is 2 half courses?? Will I get booted out?of one?? Will there be any financial costs for this?? I was surprised they?even let me sign up for the third.

    Thanks!

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    i like how dramatically you said “Will the university let this stand.” i can just imagine some big hotshot at the very top of the administrative food chain banging his mug on his desk and shouting, “THIS ABSOLUTELY CANNOT STAND. JIM. MAKE A NOTE OF THIS. AND THEN BRING ME MY DRY-CLEANING.”

    much as i’d hope that’s how it goes down, it’s unlikely. what i?do know is that they will drop you from the course you last added probably within the first week of classes, if you don’t drop one yourself. whether jim running hurriedly back and forth from dry-cleaning is a part of that process, i guess we’ll never know.

    your faculty will send you an e-mail letting you know that you have until whatever date to drop a course before they do it for you, so make sure you keep an eye on your utoronto e-mail account for that.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • first year,  residence,  UTM

    look out…it’s FROSH ON RES!

    April 7, 2015

    Hey Aska! Alright so I was accepted into the CCIT program and I’m seriously considering accepting it, but I just want to get some stuff cleared up before I do.

    First of all, does the CCIT program offer an internship/ Co-op? Also do I have to maintain a certain GPA by the end of my first year to continue on to my second year?

    Ok, now about residence. When I went to the open house someone had told me that the school expects you to find your own place by the second year. Does that mean I cannot live in res after i complete my first year? Also when in res do i have to buy my own internet or does the school provide that for me? Does the school have a list of stuff I should and shouldn’t bring?

    What is campus life like? I hear a lot of people say that it’s pretty dead because UTM is a commuter school. I also hear a lot of complaints about the food options on campus. Is it really that bad?

    Thanks in advance!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    CCIT does in fact offer internships, though it’s not mandatory to complete an internship to complete the program. you can learn all about CCIT internships here and here.

    you can see the first-year requirements for entering one of CCIT’s three programs here (the GPA is competitive for admission, but there’s no minimum cut-off).

    as a matter of fact you can live in res in second year. according to this page, the first 300 upper-year students who reapply to residence are guaranteed a spot. upper year students are definitely a minority in residence – 300 is not a lot – but it is still possible to stay, if you really want to.

    i’d disagree that campus life is dead. UTSG is a commuter school too, and in my experience there are still oodles of ways to get involved. besides that, residence life is a whole separate thing from student life, so if you plan on living on residence, you’ll have two communities you can get involved with. here are just a couple of ways to get involved on res at UTM.

    as for food, this list looks pretty good to me!

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  summer

    down at the m-i-double-s-i-double-s-a-u-g-a

    April 7, 2015

    Hi!

    I was wondering if a St. George students take UTM courses, will the grades be counted toward GPA? Especially CGPA?

    How many courses max. can we take at other UofT campuses then?

    I’m going back to mississauga to visit family during the summer so I’m thinking about taking the summer courses at UTM to save the commute. ( also I really want to boost up my GPA T-T)

    Thank you so much!!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    1) yes. all uoft courses show up on your uoft transcript and count towards your GPA (and CGPA), regardless of which campus you took the course at (see “Courses at University of Toronto Scarborough and University of Toronto Mississauga“).

    2) no max. there is a limit for utsc and utm students who want to take courses on other campuses (5.0 FCEs), but there isn’t one for downtown students. lucky us.

    3) i realize the last bit of your question is not actually a question, but you included it so i’m gonna add my two cents: taking courses at utm shouldn’t be a problem, BUT keep in mind that course enrolment for UTSG students at UTM doesn’t start until april 21st (see page 2).

    also: taking courses at UTM is no guarantee that the courses will be easier. the earlier you break outta that downtown-campus snobbishness, the better. take it from a fellow downtown-campus snob.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • jobs,  library

    librarians in da house

    April 7, 2015

    Hey! I’m interested in applying to a student library job at EJ Pratt library next year, but there’s no information on their website about jobs, even though I know that students work there. So I ask you, oh knowledgeable one: Do you know how and when can I apply?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you can take a look at student library vacancies here and apply for jobs here if you’re not picky about which library you want to work at.

    if you’re looking to work at pratt specifically, the process is a bit different.

    the reason you weren’t able to find anything online is because they actually don’t list anything online. their application forms are available in physical form (that’s paper & ink; ancient, right?) at the circulation desk at pratt. you can fill one out there, and they’re looking to hire people for september at this point.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • enrollment,  suspension

    calendar year = 12 months

    April 7, 2015

    Hi,

    So this takes some shame to say, but I am coming off a year suspension. This was for many reasons that I cannot excuse myself for and I take full responsibility for letting this happen. However I did have a good year. I sat in on classes throughout the year, ones that I was really interested in, and held a good job as well, and I feel prepared and determined to come back to Uoft even though I know it will be an unhill battle. Anyways, my question is, I was notified when my suspension begun that it would last a full calender school year. I assumed that meant September through to April, and I was under the impression that I could enroll in summer courses? Is that incorrect? Being out of service for a year, I’m embarrassed to say I’ve forgotten how to check my start time for enrolling? Will I be put out of priority for classes (like getting the latest start time to enroll 🙁 ) because I checked on Rosi on April 1st and it says my student account is ‘active’ but I clicked enroll just to check, and it says I am not eligible to enroll. What does this mean? Can I not enroll for summer, and have to wait for September? I know I should contact my registrar, but I wanted some background info first so I don’t look absolutely naive, even though that’s how I must look now.

    Any guidance appreciated!

    Thanks

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    one calendar year would be from september to september, not september to april, so you’re likely not eligible to take courses until september.

    good on ya for checking in with aska first before calling in – i’m always down for saving registrars a phone call or two – but if you want to make certain that this is actually the reason you can’t enrol in courses (i’m pretty sure it is, but it never hurts to check), your college registrar’s office would be the best place to ask.

    cheers,

    aska

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