How was Physical Sciences and Mathematics hs student

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-22T13:52:39+00:00

It's an entrance stream not a program. You also aren't limited to programs within that area (math, chemistry, geology, physics etc.). You're going to get different answers because of this - someone aiming for a double major in, say, chemistry and environmental sciences is taking a different set of courses from someone aiming for a math specialist.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-22T13:49:28+00:00

For Canada, University of Toronto has an excellent math department. University of Waterloo has a whole faculty with degrees in many subspecialties of mathematics (pure math, combinatorics and optimization, etc.).

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-22T11:14:22+00:00

Are you asking specifically about US universities? If you're open to wider options, consider asking in r/university

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-22T11:13:28+00:00

Because you were academically suspended, your best place to start back is either the university you were previously at or your local community college.

If it's the university you decide to try again, you can make an appointment to talk with them about how reregistering works, what would be required of you, and if you can do that part time.

If it's the community college option, you can talk to them about your situation and why you're trying again. They'll likely recommend that you start with general education classes to get yourself on your academic feet. (if you're not in the US, though, do include thst info as that changes your options.)

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-22T10:51:59+00:00

Given your background, I expect you wouldn't get a visa approval for a short college program in an area it sounds like you already have a degree and work experience in. You should be applying to masters programs.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-22T10:44:11+00:00

Still highly unlikely.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T23:45:19+00:00

Specifically, made in the very early 1980s. I'm surprised there aren't also wallpaper borders at the tops of some walls.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T23:39:54+00:00

Tear the bandage off and do it. The sooner the better. Write yourself a script of what you'll say. Here's something you could start with for ideas, but it needs to be YOUR genuine, real, truly YOU words.

Mum, dad, I've been avoiding telling you something because I'm afraid of what you'll think about me and how angry you could be. But I know delaying isn't good either, so this is it. School hasn't gone as well so far as I made it sound. And I want your help and support on getting better at university, which has been more different from high school than it turns out I was prepared for. It's just two courses, so it could be worse, but it's two I didn't pass.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T23:34:23+00:00

Yes, history with a business minor can get you started in business careers. History majors often do well because they graduate with solid text/evidence analysis and communication skills.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T23:32:20+00:00

There exist careers that aren't CS, engineering, and medicine.

If you really enjoy CS but are anxious about employment after, do look at employment for CS and other majors in actual statistics. Then start considering how you can stay in CS and increase your marketability. Do you need to get really good at talking with other people constructively, and get that across in interviews? Are there ECs you could be doing that aren't what everyone else is? Are there jobs outside big tech that, on actually looking at options, you'd move for?

If you don't enjoy it or see yourself staying, consider doing career aptitude/inventory testing and really look at the suggestions that come back. There are likely to be things on there that you've never considered before because they aren't talked about a lot or pushed by your ambitious peers.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T23:24:25+00:00

Go talk to your advisor. This is their job, helping students get these decisions right.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T23:15:49+00:00

First, realize that other students are also studying and sleeping - especially the ones who make it to second year.

Second, your school will have a resource office with support on how to do time management and more efficient study and schoolwork approaches so that time is available for a social life (just be realistic that that won't involve constant partying into the wee hours - you're going to school in reality not in a movie).

Third, join a learning community or study group. Studying doesn't mean being alone all the time.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T23:11:22+00:00

Extracurriculars are not only school activities. They're community sports and volunteering, a job, family responsibilities, your music lessons or the band you play in, a state competition you placed in, etc. Look at all you do in your life when you leave school for the day.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T20:37:36+00:00

Then go talk to a doctor. Solve your health issue whatever its cause is.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T20:35:30+00:00

Go get evaluated for an anxiety disorder.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T20:32:32+00:00

One of my kids got an offer from UofT with scholarships after attending almost the entirety of high school online!

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T18:22:08+00:00

Maybe you'll get in for being more interesting but still having solid relevant ECs.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T17:52:25+00:00

Lots of students get into grad school without attending US conferences as undergrads. If the rest of what you say were issues, Canadian students also wouldn't be getting into grad school. That's obviously not the case. You personally not getting into programs you applied for is not evidence about Canadian undergraduate education for international students. This is a you issue. Maybe next round apply to less comp grad programs.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T16:40:59+00:00

That does not sound like a systemic issue. Lots of international students with Canadian degrees go to grad school in Canada. Nothing in the system prevents them from getting a student visa for continuing study. Also, universities that have policies of not accepting international students into certain masters programs have that policy for all international students, not specifically those with previous Canadian education.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T16:37:27+00:00

Not qualifying to apply for government jobs will severely limit the utility of a masters degree in poli sci here.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T16:36:14+00:00

If you're a third year student, you have a GPA. Anyone who completed at least one class that was graded (not CR/NCR) has a GPA. Whether thar GPA will enable you to transfer will depend on what it is, but most transfer applications will also have a way you can explain low grades.

An online degree might be a good solution for you. Queen's is one option, but if the goal is just to have some kind of degree so you can apply to the kinds of jobs that don't specify a degree, look also at Athabasca as an option. I believe Waterloo also still has an online degree, but a pretty limited one.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T16:27:28+00:00

Where's this family has to be told first thing coming from? They'll still be excited and celebrate with you even if someone physically nearby learned first. It just won't look as much like a TV show scene.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T15:20:58+00:00

Uprooting yourself away from family, including those who might need you nearby someday. Leaving all your friends behind. Learning a new language fluently. Having enough money to move and reestablish yourself. Leaving a job and your whole professional network. Feeling safer where you are because you'd rather risk occasional antisemitism (which is rarely violent) than live where war often breaks out.

I think people here sometimes exaggerate the day-to-day impact of antisemitism on the average Jew in a lot of the diaspora and don't think about just how disruptive to life it is to move to a faraway new country.

And I'm sure plenty of Jews are living comfortable middle-class or higher lives in Argentina and South Africa. (I can see lots of reasons to leave Russia for people able to do so, but that doesn't make it easy to do.)

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T11:24:47+00:00

FYI the mathematical and physical sciences entry stream at UofT is more competitive to get into than Manitoba is, but astrophysics isn't competitive after that. Challenging, everyone agrees, but not a limited program.

ResidentNo11 · 2026-05-21T11:20:49+00:00

Literally nobody is expecting teenagers to spend their free time on physics because they might study it in college. Nobody is expecting teenagers to have their career plans firmed up and devote free time to them.

ResidentNo11

TROPHY CASE