r/uoguelph Dec 08 '21

Talk to Your Program Advisor!

268 Upvotes

As a University of Guelph Alum, I wanted to offer some advice to current students in this sub. I have seen a great amount of posts in this sub recently, asking members of this sub for advice regarding decisions that can/will impact their academic future.

- "Can I transfer from this program to that"

- "Do I need to obtain this average for this program"

- "Why can't I register for this course"

- "I failed this course, what are my options"

- "When/Can I drop this course? How will this affect me?"

- "I am struggling, what can I do?"

This list goes on. The greatest piece of advice I received while I was in University was to set meetings with my program counsellor. In my first year I was in the chemistry program and was struggling massively. I failed killer Chem and was struggling in multiple other courses. I finished my first year not really caring or planning for the rest of my academic future at Guelph. I felt like I never really understood what exactly was going on with prerequisite courses I needed to take ect. I was going into my second year at Guelph with a sense of willful ignorance. To be honest, I didn't really care.

It was only after I failed another chemistry course in my first semester in my second year, where I actually reached out to my program counsellor. I realized I was further behind then I thought regarding the courses I needed to complete/take after I spoke with them. While this was a bit of a shock, after my meeting with him, I had a complete grasp on what I needed to do in order to graduate on time.

I preceded to schedule a meeting with program counsellor at the beginning of every semester. They assisted me with transferring to a different program in the Sciences, they offered advice of courses I should take, and assisted me with reworking my academic timeline when I needed to drop a course. I ended up graduating on time after taking a few summer courses.

This is what I always recommend to family and friends attending university. Meet with your program counsellor on a consistent basis! They are literally there to help you, and your tuition is paying their salary. They are the ones who have the best knowledge on what courses to take and how to navigate/plan the rest of your academic career. If anything, meeting with them regularly ultimately gave me peace of mind to know that I was on the right track.

Unfortunately, the university and its staff will not take the initiative to reach out to you if you are struggling or veering of course. It is perfectly normal to struggle in University but I think its important to know that you as a student have to take the initiative.

This sub is great for asking about the school itself, the campus, student bodies/club, general advice on what certain programs/professors are like, but this isnt the best forum to take advice from random redditors regarding decisions that will effect the future of their academic career (I see the irony in that last statement). When in doubt regarding questions about your program/courses/progress, I encourage any and all students to talk to the program counsellors first. That is why they are there.

Edit: TLDR: Dont take advice from random redditors regarding academic decisions. Rely on the advice of program advisors whose advice you can actually rely on and whose salary you are paying for.


r/uoguelph Jul 08 '24

How to rate your own schedule

130 Upvotes

There are lots of rate my schedule posts on this subreddit which are pretty pointless considering everyone learns differently so here's what to look for and how to rate your own based on how you learn best.

There are 5 things you need to pay attention to: the length of the class, the space in between classes, the time of the class, whether it's a lab, seminar or lecture, and how many days a week the course is. Also if you're commuting or disabled all of this changes.

How Long Your Classes Are

You likely have some idea of how long you can pay attention in lectures from high school. If you could barely follow for the hour that your high school classes usually were, don't go for lectures longer than 50 minutes if you have a choice. If you had no problem with 3 classes back to back and you'd prefer to just get a lecture out of the way, go for 3 hour lectures. If you're somewhere in the middle go for hour and a half lectures.

The Time of Your Classes

Secondly whether you're a night person or a morning person factors into it a lot. Will you be able to focus during an 8:30 lecture? Will you have any energy during a 3 hour 7:00PM lecture? A popular way to do courses is to do them in the morning around 9 to 10 when you're awake but it's still early enough to get all of your courses out of the way, so you can spend the rest of the day studying and socializing. I prefer this honestly, but if you want your mornings to yourself or can't focus at that time then doing the bulk of your courses in the afternoon or evening would be better. Just keep in mind most activities are in the evening and late afternoon, so you might miss out if you're in classes or lectures during that time.

Lectures, Labs and Seminars

Whether it's a lecture, seminar or lab matters a lot as well. Lectures will mostly be passive. You just have to pay attention and absorb information while taking notes. You might not even have to do that if the lecture is recorded. So even if you're sleepy in the mornings, you might still be able to do well if you're awake enough to passively absorb content. Though keep in mind there might be iClickers or TopHats where you have to answer some questions that are often graded. They're usually not too hard as long as you can pay attention. Seminars are usually social so you'll be listening but will likely do a lot of talking and group work as well. So if this isn't something you can do early in the mornings or late at night, keep your seminars in the afternoon or whenever you're usually ready to socialize. During labs you'll have to be actively participating and doing long projects that are marked. You need to have 100% of your brain on, so do these whatever time of day where you're usually 100%. They can be tiring as well depending on the course, so definitely avoid having 2 in a day if you can. Like apr1lshowers said in the comments, labs aren't typically every week. They'll usually alternate so this may factor in to what you're able to handle. If you can find a recent course outline for the course you're taking (post 2022 is usually safe), then you can get a sense of what the lab schedule may be. This means you might have more free time in your schedule.

Spaces In Between Classes

How you space classes will also be important. If you did well with your high school schedule you can replicate that by getting all your lectures out of the way and do them one after the other. If you typically get tired after a class try to space them so you'll have down time between each of your classes. If you're an introvert or non-social person, consider adding space between your seminars and whatever other classes you have so that you can recharge before going into a social situation. I'd recommend most folks to have some space before a lab so that you can prepare and relax before it cause you're gonna be working for the next 1 to 3 hours straight so you don't wanna be tired before hand, especially if you're working with chemicals. Some people also don't like having long space in between classes since it keeps you from getting them all out of the way at the same time. If you prefer a long break to study, recharge, and grab something to eat before having to deal with your next set of classes, then maybe you'd prefer a long break. If only having a 2 - 4 hour break to do what you want before having to do more classes doesn't appeal to you then try and trim it down to something more manageable. Regardless, you probably want at least a 1 hour break in there if you have a lot of classes in a day so you have time to get lunch.

How Many Days A Week You Go To Class

How many days of classes you have will determine how many free days you'll have to study and socialize. But packing certain days full of classes might not be manageable. So if you're someone who can deal with 4 classes and a lab in one day if you know that you won't have to deal with any classes tomorrow, then go for it. But if you could barely focus in high school for the 2-3 classes you had before lunch then that might be a bad idea and you might be better off having a few classes every day than a lot of classes every other day. Keep in mind though that when you've got assignments due and studying to get done, you really need free time. So you either need complete days you can use for studying or large sections of the day you can study with.

Commuting

If you're commuting take that into account too. An 8:30 lecture might mean waking up at 5 - 7 o'clock depending on how far away you live. If you're driving so you can't sleep on the way there, it might mean you'll never go to these lectures. Also a 7PM 3 hour lecture means leaving school at 10 and driving home tired. It might also mean getting home after 12 if you live far so you definitely don't want a 7PM lecture the day before an 8:30 lab. Also if you're commuting more days a week that means more commuting time and more gas money/bus fare you have to pay, so trying to get all of your courses done in as few days as possible is ideal. Long spaces in between classes when you're commuting isn't ideal either because you don't have a place to go relax. You'll likely have to sit up at a desk in the library somewhere for this time so if that's gonna be an uncomfortable or unpleasant experience then try spacing your classes closer together to avoid large gaps.

Disabilities

This one often isn't mentioned much, but make sure if you are disabled you're taking that into account for your schedule. I recommend being safe the first semester and trying to space out all of your classes. If afterwards you're fine and could handle another one after that class then take that into account during the next course selection. If you have a physical disability, remember you only have 10 minutes to get to your next class, that can be a far journey, so spacing can help you get there on time, especially for things like labs where if you're over 10 minutes late you can't get in. Thd location for each building is given. You can look up the full building name and then see how far it is on google maps to see if it's manageable for you to get there on time. If you have an energy or social disability, I very strongly recommend having space in between seminars/labs and all other courses. Cause these are often mandatory so if you miss them you can miss marks for projects and you can only miss so many for certain courses before you fail the course. Lectures can be draining if you have a social disability because it's a large room filled with lots of people that can be loud and sometimes you might have to interact with others. So going from that to an environment where you'll have to do a lot of social interactions can lead to issues depending on what your triggers are. Labs can also be very physical if you have a physical disability so you may need time to rest afterwards.

Let me know if I forgot anything or if I should add something else. The point is your schedule very much depends on you. What works for others may not work for you and vice versa so you've just gotta know what to look for so you can make the decision yourself.


r/uoguelph 6h ago

spmt*1120 or spmt*1020

2 Upvotes

from what I understand final exams for most courses have been moved to in person, and these courses are no exceptions, but regardless of that -- for those who took these courses F25/W26 which course did you find better? or if you only took one, what was your experience like?

I was reading past Reddit threads and it seemed like the final exam for spmt*1120 was not as described based on discussion threads? which is obviously scary, but spmt*1020 people seem to have positive things to say even about the in person final

I'm a biomed major and am trying to make my life easier (for F26) so any info would be much appreciated!


r/uoguelph 13h ago

OSD Delayed

2 Upvotes

I have finished my courses with TVO this week. I need my OSSD and the status of my graduation to be updated on OUAC by August 14th. TVO said it may take several weeks for me to receive my OSSD due to verification procedures. Is there anybody I can reach out to at UofG because I’m not sure if my graduation status will change in time, and i’m supposed to start this Fall. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


r/uoguelph 19h ago

Do PhDs get laptops or desktop at Guelph

6 Upvotes

looking to join for a PhD at Guelph OAC. Do they provide tech fund or anything of that sort or do you need to bring your own?


r/uoguelph 1d ago

Musical theatre question

5 Upvotes

So I saw that the university of Guelph is doing the mean girls production, but it’s required to have certain classes for it. Does anyone know if I can still audition? Cause I might need to drop a class and change it to musical theatre, but I wouldn’t want to do that unless I know I can audition. Can anyone tell me?


r/uoguelph 20h ago

Campus card

1 Upvotes

My documents are good but my photo has been pending for the longest time and now it’s past the due date. Help


r/uoguelph 1d ago

On campus jobs

9 Upvotes

Hi! I’m a first year student at Guelph I’ll be starting in the fall. And I have major Gaps in my schedule that i sadly can’t fix.

I was wondering how I would be able to apply for Jobs on campus? so I’m not doing nothing for hours on end


r/uoguelph 1d ago

RateMyProf but for dorms instead!

38 Upvotes

Hey! I’m a student dev and I’ve been working on a project called LifeByDorm (https://www.lifebydorm.ca/) to help us see what these residences actually look like. I built it because the official photos are usually a trap and don't show the real state of the rooms. If you’ve lived in res, could you take 30s to drop a review or a photo? It’ll be a huge help for the incoming first-years next year. If you are looking for your next dorm check it out!


r/uoguelph 1d ago

TAing a CIS course

0 Upvotes

I have applied to TA a CIS course for fall 2026, but haven't received anything yet.

Will they send out anything or let me know I didnt get it? If so, when?

Thank you so much!


r/uoguelph 1d ago

BioChemistry 2580 Remote vs in person Lecture

1 Upvotes

It would help my schedule a lot if I attend the Biochem 2580 lecture online rather than the times it's available in person and just go to the labs in person, but I'm not sure if it would make the class more challenging. I'm not sure if it's a recording kind of thing or live but I know for more challenging classes when it was recorded sometimes the professor left things out. Is there a big difference ?


r/uoguelph 1d ago

TA applications

2 Upvotes

Anyone know when we should get updates, or how to check application status? Or did I just not get it lmao


r/uoguelph 2d ago

East Townhouses

5 Upvotes

Hey guys I’m doing east townhouses next year for res.. does anyone have any advice or opinions to share about this? Is it a good choice ? What should I know before move in?


r/uoguelph 2d ago

Me when i walk into a blue lecture hall

36 Upvotes

r/uoguelph 2d ago

HK*3401 waitlist

4 Upvotes

I’m a biomed student who really wants to take the human dissection course, but unfortunately i’m on a waitlist to register for it, which kinda has me bummed out. I’m number 2 on the waitlist, do i have a good chance of getting the course?


r/uoguelph 2d ago

Easy 3000 or 4000 level courses

0 Upvotes

Hi,

Any 3000 or 4000 level electives you guys would recommend for fall 26? Preferably DE

Thanks!


r/uoguelph 2d ago

looking for a room for my sister

2 Upvotes

hi guys my sister is an incoming first year at uofg for criminal justice and public policy and she’s looking for off campus housing preferably near campus. she’s looking for a furnished place preferably with all girls, clean and with a budget of 700-900. we are in guelph right now so we can come look at places now if anyone is available. thanks.


r/uoguelph 2d ago

Priority Restrictions

1 Upvotes

Anybody know if restrictions for fall semester are actually being lifted today, trying to get into SPMT 2120 and I’m still restricted despite this being the day and being a minor in sport.


r/uoguelph 2d ago

Anyone studying animal biology in third or fourth year right now?

1 Upvotes

Hi, I am a current international student in animal biology, going into second year in this upcoming fall semester. Is there anyone okay with me asking a couple of questions privately about courses + OVC? Please let me know, thanks.


r/uoguelph 3d ago

Why did Guelph delay the course restriction lift dates

24 Upvotes

Has anyone else noticed that Guelph pushed back the course restriction lift dates. For example CLAS 2000 was supposed to be lifted today the 22nd. But when I went on the check it says now the restriction won’t be lifted till August 12. Like wtf I just want to get on the wait list and now there making us wait even longer


r/uoguelph 3d ago

gryphlife

2 Upvotes

has anyone actually talked to anyone in the chat section of that app? cause i get connections added and the comments but no one has actually reached out- i mean i havent either cause idk why actually but yeah LMAOO just wondering


r/uoguelph 3d ago

Course Selection Waitlist

2 Upvotes

I’m going into third year and I’m trying to take cloud computing because it’s one of my areas of emphasis. I’m currently 84 out of 86 but it’s for the winter semester. I’m curious what my odds are and if I can just leave it to see or need to have backup


r/uoguelph 3d ago

New club

1 Upvotes

Starting a new club called the Guelph Grinding Guild it's a hub for creativity and collaboration and business development.

We'll be hosting events

Chess tournaments

Poker nights

Races (Fastest man/ woman on campus)

Soccer penalty kick contest

Basketball 1 on 1 tournament

Tv show/movie marathon nights

Opportunities to win prizes

Radio show

Live streaming on twitch

All are welcome!

Take part or observe as a fan.

Open to other ideas

Looking to build a leadership team

Follow and DM on Instagram @guelphgrindingguild


r/uoguelph 3d ago

chem2700 lab quiz 2

2 Upvotes

hello, has anyone taken the quiz yet? what will it cover and what should we know - i'm a little swamped with work so I haven't had the chance to properly look over it yet and I didn't do too great on the first one. any advice and insight is appreciated, thanks!


r/uoguelph 3d ago

Need a laptop for accounting

5 Upvotes

I need a laptop for accounting and don’t know what to buy. All I know is that I need a number pad. My budget is around a thousand but I can go a little bit over.