{"id":29471,"date":"2026-04-27T18:47:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/?p=29471"},"modified":"2026-04-27T18:47:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:47:29","slug":"weve-got-a-clever-one-on-our-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/?p=29471","title":{"rendered":"we’ve got a clever one on our hands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey, so I have some questions as a grade 11 student in Ontario. <\/span>So<\/span>\u00a0I want to apply to life sciences (Chemistry) and Mathematics and physical sciences. I had\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a080% in functions last\u00a0<\/span>sem<\/span>, should I take advance functions in the\u00a0<\/span>Summer<\/span>\u00a0so\u00a0<\/span>Uoft<\/span>\u00a0looks at it as my course to refer to my math grade and is\u00a0<\/span>Uoft<\/span> okay with taking summer classes? And how to perform well in advance functions in the summer and will I have a big gap going into Calc after. Thanks.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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

my my you are clever. doing a summer course so that it can take priority over your grade 11 mark? tricky.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

now i hate to break it to you, but while you are right in some parts, your plan may not be quite as effective as you hope. it’s true that universities tend to focus most on your most recent grade in a subject since, well, it\u2019s the most accurate show of your skills\/growth at the time. so in that sense, if you do better in your summer advanced functions than in grade 11 functions, the summer course will be more relevant. <\/span>and yes, summer courses are totally ok.\u00a0<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

however,\u00a0i\u00a0have two disclaimers for you.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

one: as you might know, unis will still look at your grade 11 marks, even if you have more recent grade 12 results for those subjects. yes, the newer one will take precedence, but it\u2019s not like your grade 11 mark will disappear. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

two: i don\u2019t know how things work for you, but from my experience in high school (and what i assume is the default), you can\u2019t exactly decide which semester you take your courses. so this means that it’s possible you could take calculus in first sem. as well, if your application is considered in the april\/may admission rounds, your second semester midterm marks will be in play too. so either way you could have calc become your most recent math grade anyways.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

overall\u00a0you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have a bad\u00a0plan\u00a0but\u00a0i\u00a0think if you\u00a0wanna\u00a0go ahead with it, it should be because you want to work at your own pace\/give the course more attention, not just so it can be your most recent\u00a0grade.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

as for how to prep for calc if you do it in second semester? weeeeelll i have to be totally honest with you… aska is not a math expert. i maaaaay have never taken advanced functions or calculus. maybe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

so\u00a0i\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0give you super specific tips here.\u00a0however,\u00a0i\u00a0have done online courses in the summer, so the best advice\u00a0i\u00a0can give you is to\u00a0set aside\u00a0specific\u00a0time in your day to work.\u00a0it\u00a0may be hard at first, but trust,\u00a0it\u2019ll\u00a0make things so much more efficient and keep you focused.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

you\u00a0may have a bit of a gap for calc if you take it in second\u00a0sem, but most classes will be understanding of this and provide some review at the start of the semester.\u00a0i\u00a0also heard some good things about\u00a0<\/span>this\u00a0youtube\u00a0channel<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>this website\u00a0<\/span><\/a>from friends who took the course. and if you feel like you need a bit\u00a0more\u00a0of a refresher, you could always get extra help from your teacher\u00a0or guidance counselor.\u00a0or the obvious… review your notes over the winter break. even though that might really suck.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

good\u00a0luck with your math adventures and your applications this fall!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

Hey, so I have some questions as a grade 11 student in Ontario. So\u00a0I want to apply to life sciences (Chemistry) and Mathematics and physical sciences. I had\u00a0a\u00a080% in functions last\u00a0sem, should I take advance functions in the\u00a0Summer\u00a0so\u00a0Uoft\u00a0looks at it as my course to refer to my math grade and is\u00a0Uoft okay with taking summer classes? And how to perform well in advance functions in the summer and will I have a big gap going into Calc after. Thanks. heyyo,\u00a0 my my you are clever. doing a summer course so that it can take priority over your grade 11 mark? tricky. now i hate to break it to you, but while you are right in some parts, your plan may not be quite as effective as you hope. it’s true that universities tend to focus most on your most recent grade in a subject since, well, it\u2019s the most accurate show of your skills\/growth at the time. so in that sense, if you do better in your summer advanced functions than in grade 11 functions, the summer course will be more relevant. and yes, summer courses are totally ok.\u00a0\u00a0 however,\u00a0i\u00a0have two disclaimers for you.\u00a0\u00a0 one: as you might know, unis will still look at your grade 11 marks, even if you have more recent grade 12 results for those subjects. yes, the newer one will take precedence, but it\u2019s not like your grade 11 mark will disappear. \u00a0 two: i don\u2019t know how things work for you, but from my experience in high school (and what i assume is the default), you can\u2019t exactly decide which semester you take your courses. so this means that it’s possible you could take calculus in first sem. as well, if your application is considered in the april\/may admission rounds, your second semester midterm marks will be in play too. so either way you could have calc become your most recent math grade anyways.\u00a0 overall\u00a0you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have a bad\u00a0plan\u00a0but\u00a0i\u00a0think if you\u00a0wanna\u00a0go ahead with it, it should be because you want to work at your own pace\/give the course more attention, not just so it can be your most recent\u00a0grade.\u00a0\u00a0 as for how to prep for calc if you do it in second semester? weeeeelll i have to be totally honest with you… aska is not a math expert. i maaaaay have never taken advanced functions or calculus. maybe.\u00a0 so\u00a0i\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0give you super specific tips here.\u00a0however,\u00a0i\u00a0have done online courses in the summer, so the best advice\u00a0i\u00a0can give you is to\u00a0set aside\u00a0specific\u00a0time in your day to work.\u00a0it\u00a0may be hard at first, but trust,\u00a0it\u2019ll\u00a0make things so much more efficient and keep you focused.\u00a0 you\u00a0may have a bit of a gap for calc if you take it in second\u00a0sem, but most classes will be understanding of this and provide some review at the start of the semester.\u00a0i\u00a0also heard some good things about\u00a0this\u00a0youtube\u00a0channel\u00a0and\u00a0this website\u00a0from friends who took the course. and if you feel like you need a bit\u00a0more\u00a0of a refresher, you could always get extra help from your teacher\u00a0or guidance counselor.\u00a0or the obvious… review your notes over the winter break. even though that might really suck.\u00a0 good\u00a0luck with your math adventures and your applications this fall!\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":[10,245],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-admissions","category-getting-into-u-of-t"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29472,"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29471\/revisions\/29472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}