As the year comes to an end, I always take time to reflect on everything that has happened — both good and bad. One of the most important things that happened to me in the last year was making my program of study at the University of Toronto, abbreviated as POSt. It was one of the few things that I was worried about for most of the year, and finally making my program was one of my biggest accomplishments.
I was admitted to the University in the September of 2017 through the CMP1 stream, which is considered as “in stream.” The way that the POSt system works is that every student within Arts and Science, in their first year, is not technically in a program yet. I wanted to be admitted into the Computer Science POSt, which meant that I needed a high average in CSC148 Introduction to Computer Science and CSC165 Mathematical Expression and Reasoning for Computer Science. The cutoff each year is determined by taking the top x% of students, and the average of the last person between these two courses is the cutoff. As a result, no one knows what the exact cutoff is while doing the classes, leading to an incredibly competitive environment in the first year.
Another interesting part of the POSt system is that you don’t necessarily need to be accepted into Computer Science straight from high school. For example, if an individual was to be accepted into Political Science from high school, they could enrol in both of the necessary courses and try to meet the “out of stream” cutoff. Although the out of stream cutoff is slightly higher, this is a viable option for those who don’t have a high enough average coming out of high school.
I took both of these classes in the second semester of my first year. However, I psyched myself out. The cutoff was expected to be in the mid-80s, and with everyone around me being so motivated and the material being very new, I didn’t try my hardest. My grades definitely reflected that as well. After thinking about how I handled my second semester, I realized that I wasn’t taking myself seriously enough. I decided to enrol for both classes in the summer for a second chance to make my program.
When taking the classes over the summer, I didn’t fixate on my marks. I focused more on genuinely learning the material, asking questions when confused, and just trying my best. I also decided not to focus on how smart everyone around me was. The people in my classes were bound to be smart, but it was my job to focus on myself. One of the best moments of my life was finally making the program.
The POSt system taught me a lot. Firstly, although hard work and dedication can get you anywhere, I do believe that POSt is a luck game, especially when the cutoff is so high (83% for in stream, 86% for out of stream). Many of my smartest friends didn’t make it as a result of a percent or two, whereas some of my friends who decided to grind only for those two classes while ignoring their overall GPA ended up making it. Below is an image of the historical data for this program. Previously, the website used to show the actual cutoffs, but they have changed it to show the number of applications and number of admissions.
It also ultimately comes down to circumstances. Some of my peers were not able to take summer school classes as a result of needing a summer job, not being able to pay for another semester’s tuition, or not being in the country. I was lucky enough to be in Toronto the entire summer and have that second chance — but not everyone is able to do that. The unfortunate part of this is that it de-rails many people’s lives as a result of a few questions here and there throughout the entire semester. I have seen a lot of my friends be forced to change their life plans as a result of 1 or 2 percent.
Moreover, it taught me how important mindset truly is. When I thought I had no chance of making my program when taking the courses in the winter, I lost motivation and had negative thoughts when doing my midterms and finals. If you have these negative thoughts while writing exams, you get into your head and end up underperforming. When thinking positively about yourself and your goals, it is likely that your grades reflect that.
My advice for those who are currently going through the POSt process is to try your best, but if you don’t make it, there are so many other options. You can always try again as I did; you can transfer to the University of Toronto Mississauga or transfer programs. One of the good parts of having a general first year is that it allows people to explore their options and not be bound to a particular program. Moreover, the transition to university is hard. It is completely normal to feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you receive and when you add high cutoffs marks to the mix alongside a competitive environment, one is bound to feel incredibly stressed out. It’s also important to note that students come out of high school with averages in the 90s and expect to receive the same grades at university but they don’t realise how different the work and is. A lot of people, therefore, become complacent and don’t think that they need to study as hard. If you go into university with the mindset that you know how to study — don’t. It’s a completely new system and it takes some time getting used to, which is completely okay.
At the end of the day, it’s important to trust your gut and try your best and if you can honestly say that you did that, you should be proud of whatever the end result is. Whether you’re first past the post or it takes you multiple tries to finally make it everything happens for a reason and you have got to believe that.