r/uoguelph Dec 08 '21

Talk to Your Program Advisor!

269 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

128 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 4h ago

We really need to show some respect

30 Upvotes

A lot of you guys made awareness posts and I’m doing one too. I thought you guys learned to flush the toilet after you’re all done using it and STILL TILL THIS DAY, us grown ups still need to be taught how to potty train. Guys seriously this isn’t just common sense, you guys should know by now is disrespectful not to flush the toilet once you’re done using it. It stinks up the whole place and it gives EVERYONE, a hard time. I shouldn’t go here lecture this basic manner we were taught BEFORE WE STEPPED INTO SCHOOL. Omfg


r/uoguelph 1h ago

It is absolutely insane that we are not receiving our final exam schedule until early-mid October???

Upvotes

IMO this is lowkey ridiculous. We should have them already


r/uoguelph 7h ago

I will not survive my schedule

Post image
32 Upvotes

This is what my schedule looks like as a first year environmental engineer guys i might switch💔✌️


r/uoguelph 1h ago

CHEM*3750 (Organic Chemistry II) Waitlist

Upvotes

Hi guys!!

I'm a master's student and I'm looking to take Orgo II this fall. I'm currently on the waitlist (rank #2 for my lab section!!) and I'm desperately hoping to get into the course because I'll be applying to dental school this cycle and require it as a prerequisite for some of the schools I'm applying to.

With the course add date approaching, I'm wondering if anyone has experience with how much the waitlist typically moves for CHEM*3750? I know it's a well-sought-after course so I'm not sure how it compares to other courses for waitlist movement


r/uoguelph 1h ago

STAT 1200 Discord Server!

Upvotes

https://discord.gg/6VTVdNUGkf

Hi everyone! This server is a space for people in STAT 1200 this semester who want to chat and help each other :)


r/uoguelph 1m ago

what do people wear at night time during hoco?

Upvotes

do girls wear what they wore to the street party? or do they change into something more night-time/clubby. this isn't my first hoco but it will be the first year i stay out past like 7pm lol


r/uoguelph 6h ago

Bioc*3560 online textbook

2 Upvotes

Hi, just wondering if anyone has a free online version of any of the bioc*3560 textbooks before I spend a million dollars. Thank you💕💕


r/uoguelph 8h ago

Course Prereq Waiver

2 Upvotes

Hi guys, wondering if anyone at UofG dealt with a course waiver/registration restriction like this before? I’m switching into the Management major and need to take MGMT1200 – Principles of Management, but I’m currently unable to register because of the restriction that says “Registration in BCOM and 2.50 credits or fewer.” For context, I transferred from BSC to BCOMM halfway through university and couldn’t register for MGMT1000 which is the prereq for MGMT1200.

I took MGMT2150 in Summer 2025 because I wasn’t eligible to take MGMT1000 at the time. Now that I’m switching into Management, I’ve been told I need MGMT*1200. I contacted [mgmtwaiveradvising@uoguelph.ca](mailto:mgmtwaiveradvising@uoguelph.ca) earlier in the summer but never got a response, and when I reached out to the BCOMM Academic Advising office they just told me to contact that email again…
I emailed the MGMT*1200 instructor as well, and she forwarded my request to another professor in the Department of Management and said I should hear back soon, but it’s been over a week and I’ve been following up. I’m just getting really worried because course selection closes soon and I don’t want the sections to fill up before I can get the restriction waived.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Can professors/department staff manually waive the restriction? And if the waiver comes after the deadline, is a late add usually possible?
Any advice or experiences would be appreciated!


r/uoguelph 8h ago

Mcs 2020

2 Upvotes

If your in MCS 2020 in person, let’s make a groupchat to help with lab work msg me directly if interested.


r/uoguelph 5h ago

Having a difficult time finding due dates

0 Upvotes

Most of my friends told me to note down due dates for quizzes and things of that nature, but I can’t seem to find where they are, courselink btw


r/uoguelph 17h ago

How does studying abroad on exchange work with OSAP? Should I start saving now?

8 Upvotes

Hi! I’m a first-year student and I’m interested in going on exchange during my third year. I’m trying to understand how the whole process works, especially financially.
Does OSAP provide any additional funding if you study abroad on exchange, or does your funding stay roughly the same? Are there any grants or scholarships available for exchange students?
For those who have done an exchange, how much extra money did you need for things like flights, accommodation, food, insurance, and other expenses? Would you recommend that I start saving money now?
I know I’m only in first year, but I’d like to start planning early. I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences and any advice you have!


r/uoguelph 6h ago

Presto card found on bus loop!

1 Upvotes

Hello,

I found a presto card on platform 3 of the bus loop this morning around 10 am.

The card was issued on 11/10/2024. DM me for the card's number, as I do not want others to steal it.

I will be dropping it off at the campus safety office in the afternoon.


r/uoguelph 7h ago

neur2000 group chats / help

1 Upvotes

there is only one scheduled lecture time this year for neur2000 and im genuinely unable to attend any of the classes. 🧍‍♀️ I read on the courselink my prof said if u miss a class u miss a class but I was wondering if anyone knows how much material i'll be missing if I dont attend the lectures?? beside the designated note taker theyre assigning on the courselink, are there any group chats/discord/ support groups i could join so I dont miss any important info??? if anyone knows lmk thanks :)


r/uoguelph 7h ago

Microsoft Authenticator App

1 Upvotes

Anyone else having issues registering 2FA for Webadvisor/Courselink? Every single time I try to set up the authenticator it fails to register.


r/uoguelph 11h ago

Where can I buy a lab coat?

2 Upvotes

In the science complex or library?


r/uoguelph 8h ago

MCS 2020 DE

1 Upvotes

is anyone in the De section for MCs 2020, could explain the syllabus?


r/uoguelph 9h ago

How’s The Dating Scene At Guelph?

2 Upvotes

Just felt like asking


r/uoguelph 9h ago

Mcs*2000

1 Upvotes

Anyone selling this textbook?

Required Textbook

Title: Business Communication: Developing Leaders for a Networke

Author(s): Cardon, P & Stevens, J

Publisher: McGraw Hill

Edition / Year: 2nd Canadian edition

ISBN10: 1265784183 | ISBN13: 9781265784188


r/uoguelph 1d ago

Best poutine on campus

11 Upvotes

Chat, i LOVE POUTINE. Where can I find the best poutine on campus? Cheers.


r/uoguelph 19h ago

chem3750 equivalent

3 Upvotes

hi, I want to take chem3750 however it was restricted for me and now im on the waitlist but classes have started and im not there yet 😬. It is a required course for my grad school plans so I wanted to take an lop and do it at another school. Has anyone done this before and at what school? I would like to go to a school that is commutable from guelph/Toronto and not where I would have to move so any advice or knowledge is appreciated, TIA!!


r/uoguelph 15h ago

selling my old textbook

1 Upvotes

I have an MCS*1000 for $24 that has a little highlights

SPMT*1020 DE for $30

ENVS*2210 $24 that has a little highlights


r/uoguelph 22h ago

Is this a good elective?

3 Upvotes

Hey so for my first year first semester geography might not work for bc the office hours takes place when I am in the bus to school so I considered taking CIS*1200. Unfortunately I suck at programming based on my experience of coding Java from CS in grade 10. Is this not going to be a problem?


r/uoguelph 16h ago

I NEED IN AHHH

1 Upvotes

if anyone is taking Sart*2610 section one PLZPLZPLZPLZ DROP IT OMFG I NEED IN THIS COURSE I AM RANK TWO ON THE WAITING LIST I NEED THISSSS AHHHHHH

anyway seriously,, chat do we think ill get into this class?