{"id":29544,"date":"2026-07-07T19:54:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T23:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/?p=29544"},"modified":"2026-07-07T19:54:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T23:54:31","slug":"my-friend-take-a-breath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/?p=29544","title":{"rendered":"my friend… take a breath"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi!\u00a0I’m\u00a0going into grade 12 this fall, and I really want to\u00a0apply to\u00a0neuroscience at the Scarborough campus. My grade 11 semester 1 grades were good (95.5% average), but not my semester 2 grades (low 90s average), which dropped my overall grade 11 average down to a 93%. I also only got a 92 in\u00a0chemistry, and\u00a0only got a 90 in English – both of which are prerequisites for the program. How much would low grades in those two courses affect my chances of getting into the program?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you so much!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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

my\u00a0friend… take a breath.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

you\u00a0are\u00a0<\/span>so fine\u00a0<\/span><\/i>right now.\u00a0a\u00a093 average is nowhere near being \u201cnot good.\u201d in fact, an average like that could get you into\u00a0most programs in\u00a0ontario\u00a0(only excluding the\u00a0absolute\u00a0most competitive\u00a0ones).\u00a0i\u00a0know it might\u00a0not\u00a0seem like it,\u00a0if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0comparing yourself to\u00a0people on reddit who are worried about their 97% averages, but you are doing\u00a0really\u00a0really\u00a0well.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

utsc\u00a0neuroscience has a recommended\u00a0<\/span>admission average of high 70s, or low 80s if you wanna do co-op<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0even\u00a0if those numbers are actually a little higher,\u00a0or even\u00a0if your grades drop a bit next year, you would still be in a very good position to get into the program.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

i\u00a0don\u2019t have\u00a0any\u00a0super detailed advice for you, other than to just keep doing what\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0doing!\u00a0of\u00a0course you should stay focused on school, but\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0stress yourself out over\u00a0it too\u00a0too\u00a0much.\u00a0as\u00a0long as you stay on top of your studies next year, you will be perfectly fine.\u00a0take\u00a0some time to enjoy your hobbies and hang out with friends before you get to\u00a0uoft\u00a0and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0all over…<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

ok\u00a0i’m\u00a0just kidding, of course\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0still have time to do fun stuff in uni.\u00a0but it is true that you will\u00a0probably have\u00a0a bit less free time than you used to.\u00a0so\u00a0enjoy your senior year,\u00a0keep up the\u00a0good work,\u00a0and try\u00a0not to get too wrapped up in admissions (as hard as that is)!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

Hi!\u00a0I’m\u00a0going into grade 12 this fall, and I really want to\u00a0apply to\u00a0neuroscience at the Scarborough campus. My grade 11 semester 1 grades were good (95.5% average), but not my semester 2 grades (low 90s average), which dropped my overall grade 11 average down to a 93%. I also only got a 92 in\u00a0chemistry, and\u00a0only got a 90 in English – both of which are prerequisites for the program. How much would low grades in those two courses affect my chances of getting into the program?\u00a0 Thank you so much! heyyo,\u00a0 my\u00a0friend… take a breath.\u00a0 you\u00a0are\u00a0so fine\u00a0right now.\u00a0a\u00a093 average is nowhere near being \u201cnot good.\u201d in fact, an average like that could get you into\u00a0most programs in\u00a0ontario\u00a0(only excluding the\u00a0absolute\u00a0most competitive\u00a0ones).\u00a0i\u00a0know it might\u00a0not\u00a0seem like it,\u00a0if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0comparing yourself to\u00a0people on reddit who are worried about their 97% averages, but you are doing\u00a0really\u00a0really\u00a0well.\u00a0 utsc\u00a0neuroscience has a recommended\u00a0admission average of high 70s, or low 80s if you wanna do co-op.\u00a0even\u00a0if those numbers are actually a little higher,\u00a0or even\u00a0if your grades drop a bit next year, you would still be in a very good position to get into the program.\u00a0\u00a0 i\u00a0don\u2019t have\u00a0any\u00a0super detailed advice for you, other than to just keep doing what\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0doing!\u00a0of\u00a0course you should stay focused on school, but\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0stress yourself out over\u00a0it too\u00a0too\u00a0much.\u00a0as\u00a0long as you stay on top of your studies next year, you will be perfectly fine.\u00a0take\u00a0some time to enjoy your hobbies and hang out with friends before you get to\u00a0uoft\u00a0and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0all over…\u00a0 ok\u00a0i’m\u00a0just kidding, of course\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0still have time to do fun stuff in uni.\u00a0but it is true that you will\u00a0probably have\u00a0a bit less free time than you used to.\u00a0so\u00a0enjoy your senior year,\u00a0keep up the\u00a0good work,\u00a0and try\u00a0not to get too wrapped up in admissions (as hard as that is)!\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":[10,245,285,120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-admissions","category-getting-into-u-of-t","category-neuroscience","category-utsc"],"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