{"id":29567,"date":"2026-07-18T00:11:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T04:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/?p=29567"},"modified":"2026-07-20T17:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:34:54","slug":"the-power-of-intrinsic-motivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askastudent.utoronto.ca\/?p=29567","title":{"rendered":"the power of intrinsic motivation"},"content":{"rendered":"

hi!!\u00a0<\/span>i\u2019m<\/span>\u00a0in a bit of a weird situation and\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0don\u2019t know where else to go so\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0can\u2019t tell you how grateful\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0am for this site :)!! so\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0just transferred into\u00a0<\/span>uoft<\/span>\u00a0st.\u00a0<\/span>george<\/span>\u00a0as a\u00a0<\/span>first year<\/span>\u00a0history student (only 1.5 transfer credits) BUT\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0found my love for biology in the last couple years but that means\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0have very few high school\u00a0<\/span>pre requisites<\/span>\u00a0:(.\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0took grade 11 bio online and got the waiver for bio120 (fingers crossed\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0get into a class!) but\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0have no chemistry and no grade 12 math,\u00a0<\/span>ive<\/span>\u00a0been doing\u00a0<\/span>self study<\/span>\u00a0of chemistry and math (and some bio still) going through textbooks and thinking about taking a lighter course load and then taking at least grade 11 chem online and maybe a grade 12 math in second sem. would it be possible at all to load up on bio classes (as well as my history classes weird double major\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0know) and still get in as long as bio is an open major even if\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0lack so many pre requisites? sorry\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0know this is a weird predicament but any help is appreciated!!\u00a0<\/span>tyty<\/span>\u00a0<33<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/span><\/p>\n

hi!! sorry\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0wrote in earlier today as the history\/bio major and\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0looked into it a bit more and realized\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0would have to take a chem\/math per semester online!\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>\u00a0know\u00a0<\/span>im<\/span>\u00a0in a big mess lol but what can you do!\u00a0<\/span>thanks<\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span>ur<\/span>\u00a0time either way!\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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

awww i love it when you guys love aska! it\u2019s so nice to know that i’m actually helping people, y\u2019know?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

i also totally understand your situation. there are plenty of people who start uni for one thing but then discover a new interest. i, for one, don\u2019t think it\u2019s weird at all to be a bio\/history double major! it\u2019s pretty awesome that you can explore two of your interests in your degree. and hey, it\u2019ll open up more job opportunities after grad too.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

the sucky part of this is, as you talk about, the extremely annoying world of prereqs. the fact that you got permission to enroll in bio120 is great, and i think it\u2019ll help you out a lot going forward. lemme break it down for you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(yes, yes, let’s all collectively cringe at aska…)<\/em><\/p>\n

the recommended courses for first year bio majors are bio120, bio130, and some chem courses: either chm151, or chm135 AND chm136. you already have permission for bio120, so that’s awesome! ideally you\u2019d take that in first sem. bio130 requires grade 12 bio and chem. since you\u2019re taking bio120, and presumably high school chem online, i’d email the <\/span>course coordinators<\/span><\/a> to ask if you can take bio130, even though you won’t be doing grade 12 bio.<\/span><\/p>\n

chm135 and chm151 require chem and math. same scenario here: if you\u2019re interested,<\/span>\u00a0email\u00a0the department\u00a0<\/span><\/a>to see if they\u2019ll let you in. no promises, but it\u2019s worth a shot! again, just make sure to mention your plan to take those high school courses (and bio120).<\/span> chm136 only requires chm135. so if you get into 135, you’re golden for 136.<\/span><\/p>\n

however, the good thing about the bio major is that it is <\/span>not mandatory <\/span><\/i>for you to take all those courses in first year. it is recommended<\/em>, but since it\u2019s an<\/span>\u00a0open\u00a0enrollment<\/span><\/a> program, you can still enroll in the major even if you don\u2019t get into all of the courses i talked about. so, if you\u2019d rather focus on your history major this year (or if the department denies your requests, stupid red tape…), that\u2019s no problem. i think it would be totally fair to take a lighter course load so that you can also do those high school classes, and maybe even that self-studying you mentioned. you may not have the time for the latter even with<\/em> a reduced course load, but hey, who am i to deny you the power of intrinsic motivation?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

so to sum everything up, i think the best course of action would be to take those online high school courses (make sure they\u2019re through an accredited school!), and then either a) contact the chem and bio departments to see if they\u2019ll let you into those classes, or b) just focus on your history major this year (+bio120) and then be ready to go for bio\/chem classes in your second year. it’ll mean a ton of time in the lab next year, but such are the sacrifices we make.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

anyways, i hope this helped! i know it\u2019s kind of a complicated situation (it always is when it comes to programs\/prereqs), but hopefully this helped you to make sense of it all. good luck, my future mad scientist and\/or the next philomena cunk.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

hi!!\u00a0i\u2019m\u00a0in a bit of a weird situation and\u00a0i\u00a0don\u2019t know where else to go so\u00a0i\u00a0can\u2019t tell you how grateful\u00a0i\u00a0am for this site :)!! so\u00a0i\u00a0just transferred into\u00a0uoft\u00a0st.\u00a0george\u00a0as a\u00a0first year\u00a0history student (only 1.5 transfer credits) BUT\u00a0i\u00a0found my love for biology in the last couple years but that means\u00a0i\u00a0have very few high school\u00a0pre requisites\u00a0:(.\u00a0i\u00a0took grade 11 bio online and got the waiver for bio120 (fingers crossed\u00a0i\u00a0get into a class!) but\u00a0i\u00a0have no chemistry and no grade 12 math,\u00a0ive\u00a0been doing\u00a0self study\u00a0of chemistry and math (and some bio still) going through textbooks and thinking about taking a lighter course load and then taking at least grade 11 chem online and maybe a grade 12 math in second sem. would it be possible at all to load up on bio classes (as well as my history classes weird double major\u00a0i\u00a0know) and still get in as long as bio is an open major even if\u00a0i\u00a0lack so many pre requisites? sorry\u00a0i\u00a0know this is a weird predicament but any help is appreciated!!\u00a0tyty\u00a0<33 — hi!! sorry\u00a0i\u00a0wrote in earlier today as the history\/bio major and\u00a0i\u00a0looked into it a bit more and realized\u00a0i\u00a0would have to take a chem\/math per semester online!\u00a0i\u00a0know\u00a0im\u00a0in a big mess lol but what can you do!\u00a0thanks\u00a0for\u00a0ur\u00a0time either way!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 heyyo,\u00a0 awww i love it when you guys love aska! it\u2019s so nice to know that i’m actually helping people, y\u2019know?\u00a0 i also totally understand your situation. there are plenty of people who start uni for one thing but then discover a new interest. i, for one, don\u2019t think it\u2019s weird at all to be a bio\/history double major! it\u2019s pretty awesome that you can explore two of your interests in your degree. and hey, it\u2019ll open up more job opportunities after grad too.\u00a0 the sucky part of this is, as you talk about, the extremely annoying world of prereqs. the fact that you got permission to enroll in bio120 is great, and i think it\u2019ll help you out a lot going forward. lemme break it down for you.\u00a0 (yes, yes, let’s all collectively cringe at aska…) the recommended courses for first year bio majors are bio120, bio130, and some chem courses: either chm151, or chm135 AND chm136. you already have permission for bio120, so that’s awesome! ideally you\u2019d take that in first sem. bio130 requires grade 12 bio and chem. since you\u2019re taking bio120, and presumably high school chem online, i’d email the course coordinators to ask if you can take bio130, even though you won’t be doing grade 12 bio. chm135 and chm151 require chem and math. same scenario here: if you\u2019re interested,\u00a0email\u00a0the department\u00a0to see if they\u2019ll let you in. no promises, but it\u2019s worth a shot! again, just make sure to mention your plan to take those high school courses (and bio120). chm136 only requires chm135. so if you get into 135, you’re golden for 136. however, the good thing about the bio major is that it is not mandatory for you to take all those courses in first year. it is recommended, but since it\u2019s an\u00a0open\u00a0enrollment program, you can still enroll in the major even if you don\u2019t get into all of the courses i talked about. so, if you\u2019d rather focus on your history major this year (or if the department denies your requests, stupid red tape…), that\u2019s no problem. i think it would be totally fair to take a lighter course load so that you can also do those high school classes, and maybe even that self-studying you mentioned. you may not have the time for the latter even with a reduced course load, but hey, who am i to deny you the power of intrinsic motivation?\u00a0 so to sum everything up, i think the best course of action would be to take those online high school courses (make sure they\u2019re through an accredited school!), and then either a) contact the chem and bio departments to see if they\u2019ll let you into those classes, or b) just focus on your history major this year (+bio120) and then be ready to go for bio\/chem classes in your second year. it’ll mean a ton of time in the lab next year, but such are the sacrifices we make.\u00a0 anyways, i hope this helped! i know it\u2019s kind of a complicated situation (it always is when it comes to programs\/prereqs), but hopefully this helped you to make sense of it all. good luck, my future mad scientist and\/or the next philomena cunk.\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":[53,195,258],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biology","category-prereqs","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