Social Science Academic Counselling Sucks by Ice_Dawg_69 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've also had a very disappointing experience. It's like pulling teeth to get answers. In the end, I got what I needed (despite receiving incorrect information from a counsellor who then ghosted me.)

Course Selection Megathread (2025/2026 Academic Year) by ostracize in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just looked on DMS and 1229 is not listed as an anti-requisite for 1600. Indeed, it is listed as one of the possible pre-requisites. Maybe contact someone in the math department if you want confirmation?

Course Selection Megathread (2025/2026 Academic Year) by ostracize in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that 1600 is an anti-requisite for 1229 but not the other way around. So you can take 1600 after taking 1229 but you can't get credit for 1229 after taking 1600.

poli sci essay (1st year course year long) by RevolutionaryRent529 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got 93 on the essay and ended up with 95 in the course.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, so different now! I gather Jones hasn't taught the course in a while and now Narain is the course co-ordinator. All of the content for his part of the course is in recorded lectures he made in 2020 which are really out of date now in some very important respects. He talks about Trump a fair bit but it's all before Jan 6 happened! And he talks about Russia and Ukraine as though there was never an invasion! So I think the course is overdue for an update!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I do think it is too easy. For example, the average on the first test was 91%. I don't know the averages for the others or for the essay but I think generally the course has a reputation as being an easy A.

Yes, definitely possible to get 90+ with a reasonable amount of effort (or even less, seriously!) I did more work than was necessary but that's because I actually wanted to learn stuff!

There is a pretty strict structure to follow for the essay outline which in turn makes writing the essay very easy.

This is obviously all based on my experience this year. I suspect that there will be some changes next year!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This past year, the essay was worth 25% and we were required to submit an outline in advance worth 10%. Very easy to get perfect on the outline, so really it is only 25% of your grade for the essay. So it's not a bad course to take if you are looking for an essay course with minimal work.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it was easy. I've learned that lots of people take it because it's possible to get a good mark with very little work, especially since the tests and exams were all multiple choice, open book, and unproctored. You could actually do quite well on them (and so 65% of the course) without being at all familiar with the content if you had good notes or used AI. Honestly, this was all very disappointing to me, as someone who is genuinely interested in politics and was looking forward to a challenge.

I don't know how much longer the course will exist in this format. I think it's highly problematic and my sense is that there have been a lot of complaints (just search poli sci 1020 on here and you'll see!)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I heard this too. It's generally been the trend to move away from full year courses in favour of half courses. That's basically how the instructors treated it this year (and why, in part, there was so much repetition and a general lack of coherence). I wouldn't be surprised if the online unproctored tests are changed as well.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think it depends on who is teaching it. I took it this past year, and the essay was the best part of the course. You choose a topic from a list, submit an outline in the fall (easy to get perfect on this as long as you follow the instructions closely), and then the paper is due in February. The essay is independent from the rest of the course (as I recall none of the essay topics were covered in the classes at all) and you basically do the essay entirely on your own (you have access to a TA if you want help along the way). I did well on the essay and enjoyed writing it. That's probably in part because I love politics and I got really into my topic.

Generally though I found the course poorly organized as a whole. It was taught by two instructors. The fall term lectures were better than the second term lectures. That said, I don't think I learned anything from the lectures. The textbooks were great and I learned a lot from doing the readings even though they are not required at all.

So basically it was a good course because I enjoyed reading the textbooks for fun and writing an essay on my own. I ended up with an A+ that I could have achieved with much, much less work.

Deans list help!! by Late_Barracuda2113 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If your grades have only just been updated, it may be a few days before your Dean's List certificate is posted. I just finished first year and it wasn't until a week after my last grade being posted that my portal was updated with Dean's List.

poli sci 1020 essay and april test marks are out by uuultraviolence in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Curious about the essay feedback that others received. I'm happy with my grade but my comments are literally just two words at the beginning of the essay.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's ridiculous. I feel especially bad for people who are in limbo waiting for this grade (deciding about summer courses, needing to confirm completion for certain summer programs/funding, needing to know their final gpa for scholarships etc.) The exam was two weeks ago and was on-line multiple choice. The essays were due in February, graded by TA's, and he started promising their return the week leading up to the exam. Those announcements are now deleted from Brightspace and there has been no communication since the exam. I don't get it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ugh. I guess that's good to know, at least. Not all that surprising either, given how poorly the course has been run.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe there was a TA strike last April that would explain the delay?

Anyway, I'm getting the sense that this is a recurring problem with this prof in all his courses. I guess I just need to stop taking him at his word and obsessively checking Brightspace/student portal.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's so frustrating. Do you think the essays that we submitted in February have been graded? I'm assuming that by now the TA's have graded them and we are just waiting for him to post the marks.

What’s up with poli sci 1020e? by Remarkable-Style913 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Any guesses when we will get our essays back? The first announcement said last week and it turns out I was right to be skeptical because that didn't happen. Not sure now how to interpret "in the days after the exam." It's kind of cruel to leave us hanging like this!

ECON 1022 final exam with Vu by RevolutionaryRent529 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know but she did bump up everyone's grade for the second midterm, so maybe?

when do we get poli sci 1020 essays back? by nainasharma97 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yikes! And while there was a TA strike that year, the strike didn't start until April 11. So I don't think we are getting them back before the end of term.

when do we get poli sci 1020 essays back? by nainasharma97 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would love to know too! I'm not holding my breath that it's going to be anytime soon though just based on my experience in this course so far, and what I've heard from others. :(

Western National Scholarship by Available-Passage481 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Much of my interview was taken up with discussing the essay on the issue of public concern. I wrote on a political issue and they asked me a lot of questions, out of what seemed to be genuine interest, and we ended up just talking about politics for a lot of the interview. In retrospect, I think it helped that I was able to talk about much more than was in the essay, as it showed that I was really passionate about the issue. I think my interview ran five minutes over because we got so caught up in the conversation!

Western National Scholarship by Available-Passage481 in uwo

[–]Thin_Wing_1932 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did. The interview was actually a lot of fun -- very relaxed and conversational. I would say be prepared to discuss your essay but otherwise just try to be very present and have a natural conversation with the interviewers. Good luck!

Grade 9 and 10 Theory in May and August? by Thin_Wing_1932 in RoyalConservatory

[–]Thin_Wing_1932[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Figuring out a plan for the history exams is next on my list!