After five long years, I've come to the point where I've had to make a hard choice yet again: what to do with my future. Granted, the future is something that I worry about most days (being a mostly-humanities student with chronic…
“One rose, to go please.” How [not] to manage your time.
With the end of the term coming up, I'm struggling to keep my head above water. Between studies, work, being a TA, and co-curricular activities, I've got a rather full plate. And sometimes, it's hard to look out and see…
An End of Term Toolbox
As the year begins to wind down (or up, as it may be), assignments are becoming more daunting than ever. In fact, I'm writing this blog post mostly as a form of procrastination: I've four papers to write in the next ten days,…
Asking Questions
A few weeks ago, I suggested that students try applying to conferences. A question I’ve heard since then is: “But how can I participate in conferences outside of presenting a paper or poster?” “Good question”, I respond, spinning them into…
Having fun with learning
It sounds like an oxymoron, I know, but I think it’s really important to have fun with your studies. There are a few reasons for this. On the one hand, you’ll have an easier time studying and learning if you…
Getting involved with conferences
My reading week was split into two tasks: (a) grading midterms for the class I TA, and (b) presenting at an conference in Michigan. I've been at UofT for five years, but this is my first year applying to conferences. Upon…
Making Group Work Work
"Teamwork makes the dream work", or so I've been told. Some people might be inclined to respond that "Group work makes the nightmare work". It's a scary form of assessment which universities seem to be falling increasingly in love with. From an…
Goodnight moon
"When do you find time to sleep!?" people often ask me. (I like to keep busy). My response is usually something like "Sleep finds time for me". Truly, since first year, my sleep schedule has become increasingly erratic. I find myself…
YOLO, CR/NCR, and other abbreviations
YOLO: You Only Live Once* CR/NCR: Credit/No-Credit Students in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences are allowed to use up to 2.0 full course equivalents of CR/NCR status on coursework. That means that, on your transcript, instead of a grade appearing, you…
Dropping a course like it’s hot
Schoooooooooooooooool Schoooooooooooooooool If we count the two summer terms, I've been at UofT for sixteen terms. In that time, I've dropped a lot of courses. This week, I dropped two more. As a full time student, I've been paying flat fees since first…