{"id":29456,"date":"2026-04-15T15:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/?p=29456"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:30:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:30:01","slug":"admission-categories-the-scandalous-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/?p=29456","title":{"rendered":"admission categories: the scandalous truth??"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hii,\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m<\/span>\u00a0currently in grade 12 and I got accepted for an alternate offer at UTM, social sciences, when I originally applied for Life Sciences. I also applied for life sci at UTSG (but now have no hope of getting in<\/span>\ud83d\ude41 )<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>So<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m<\/span>\u00a0wondering how hard\u00a0<\/span>is it<\/span>\u00a0to switch from social sci to life sci. Would I be able to get the pre\u00a0<\/span>reqs<\/span>\u00a0in my first year so I can apply for life sci for my second year.\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m<\/span>\u00a0really confused on\u00a0<\/span>weather<\/span>\u00a0I\u00a0<\/span>should to<\/span>\u00a0take the risk of accepting my social sciences admission and try to switch but also risk being in a program I\u00a0<\/span>don\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>wanna<\/span>\u00a0to graduate with or not.\u00a0<\/span>Plsss<\/span>\u00a0help!!<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

heyyo,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

my friend my friend my friend, you are far<\/em> from the first person to be in this conundrum. luckily, there is a very simple answer for you and all those who have tread in your path. there’s a little secret: your admission category really doesn\u2019t matter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

i know what you\u2019re thinking: aska what do you MEAN the thing that defines whether or not I get into this school doesn\u2019t even matter? has this all been a LIE???<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

and i guess i should clarify that your category does matter for admission purposes (ie. checking for prereqs, controlling numbers). but once you\u2019re in, the only reason it still exists is to get you slight priority enrollment in the courses relevant to your category. aaaaand that\u2019s about it. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

you\u00a0typically\u00a0enroll in your program(s)\u00a0at the end of\u00a0first\u00a0year. as long as you have the necessary prerequisites for it (either first-year courses or high school courses),\u00a0<\/span>there\u2019ll be no difference between you and another applicant who has a more \u201crelevant\u201d admission category<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0so\u00a0the only thing you\u00a0have to\u00a0do is make sure you have those\u00a0prereqs\u00a0for the program you want\u00a0<\/span>(you can check here!). while you won’t have priority enrollment for these courses, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. personally, i was able to get into all the courses i wanted in first year, including a few outside of my admission category!<\/span><\/p>\n

alternatively, if the program you want is an \u201copen\u201d program, literally all you have to worry about is getting 4.0 credits in your first year. and boom, you\u2019re in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

my advice would be to wait to see if you get a utsg offer (for life sci or another alternate) and if you weigh your options and want to come to uoft (duh), take one of the offers! but when you make your decision just know that you aren\u2019t restricted to taking programs from within your admission category. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

so don\u2019t worry about graduating with a degree you never actually wanted. trust me, there are many opportunities to change your program. if you wake up on graduation day and realize \u201coopsies, i forgot to change my program\u201d… well, don\u2019t blame that one on aska.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

here’s to you gallivanting around the medsci building this time next year!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

cheers,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

aska<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hii,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0currently in grade 12 and I got accepted for an alternate offer at UTM, social sciences, when I originally applied for Life Sciences. I also applied for life sci at UTSG (but now have no hope of getting in\ud83d\ude41 ).\u00a0So\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0wondering how hard\u00a0is it\u00a0to switch from social sci to life sci. Would I be able to get the pre\u00a0reqs\u00a0in my first year so I can apply for life sci for my second year.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0really confused on\u00a0weather\u00a0I\u00a0should to\u00a0take the risk of accepting my social sciences admission and try to switch but also risk being in a program I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0wanna\u00a0to graduate with or not.\u00a0Plsss\u00a0help!!\u00a0 heyyo,\u00a0 my friend my friend my friend, you are far from the first person to be in this conundrum. luckily, there is a very simple answer for you and all those who have tread in your path. there’s a little secret: your admission category really doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 i know what you\u2019re thinking: aska what do you MEAN the thing that defines whether or not I get into this school doesn\u2019t even matter? has this all been a LIE???\u00a0 and i guess i should clarify that your category does matter for admission purposes (ie. checking for prereqs, controlling numbers). but once you\u2019re in, the only reason it still exists is to get you slight priority enrollment in the courses relevant to your category. aaaaand that\u2019s about it. \u00a0 you\u00a0typically\u00a0enroll in your program(s)\u00a0at the end of\u00a0first\u00a0year. as long as you have the necessary prerequisites for it (either first-year courses or high school courses),\u00a0there\u2019ll be no difference between you and another applicant who has a more \u201crelevant\u201d admission category.\u00a0so\u00a0the only thing you\u00a0have to\u00a0do is make sure you have those\u00a0prereqs\u00a0for the program you want\u00a0(you can check here!). while you won’t have priority enrollment for these courses, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. personally, i was able to get into all the courses i wanted in first year, including a few outside of my admission category! alternatively, if the program you want is an \u201copen\u201d program, literally all you have to worry about is getting 4.0 credits in your first year. and boom, you\u2019re in.\u00a0 my advice would be to wait to see if you get a utsg offer (for life sci or another alternate) and if you weigh your options and want to come to uoft (duh), take one of the offers! but when you make your decision just know that you aren\u2019t restricted to taking programs from within your admission category. \u00a0 so don\u2019t worry about graduating with a degree you never actually wanted. trust me, there are many opportunities to change your program. if you wake up on graduation day and realize \u201coopsies, i forgot to change my program\u201d… well, don\u2019t blame that one on aska.\u00a0 here’s to you gallivanting around the medsci building this time next year!\u00a0 cheers,\u00a0 aska\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,110,258],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-admissions","category-life-science","category-programs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t