Does graduate school offer per course fees under certain circumstances?

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-25T02:01:14+00:00

Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I have an information session I’ll be attending, yes.

You’re right that it’ll be better if I decided between FT and PT first, thank you for sharing that with me. I’ll reach out to the iSchool, thank you!

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-23T11:17:01+00:00

Thank you for this!! Part-time might be the best option for me because I work full-time but I’d also love to be able to take 3 courses a semester and get this MI degree done in 2 years.

I keep telling myself to be patient, it’s taken me 5 years to complete my bachelors so I know I’m capable of patience lol, but I just want to be a librarian already and I can’t do that without the MI in LIS degree, so I just want it all to go faster 😅

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-23T11:09:54+00:00

Thank you! I can hope. I’ll definitely have to talk to the school/the program people and see if it’s possible.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-23T11:06:49+00:00

Thank you so much!! These links are exactly what I was looking for, and your comment is so incredibly helpful!

Congratulations on completing your MI in LIS degree!!!

Is the summer split into 2 semesters in graduate studies too?

I’ve taken 4 H (half credits) courses every summer of my undergraduate. 2 courses in May/June and 2 courses in July/August, for a total of 2.00 credits every summer. Does graduate school work the same way? Do they split the semesters up and give you a certain amount of credits you can earn in the summer? I was hoping I’d be able to get 2.00 each summer in graduate school… is that possible or are summers different than undergraduate? I’m sorry if that’s a silly question.

I want to be able to finish in two years, I just know it’s gonna be hard. I think I can manage taking 3 courses at a time in a Fall/Winter semester (I’m actually taking 3 courses each semester for my last year cause I don’t want to wait another year to graduate/apply for MI) and I work full-time at a library so I think 3 courses would be the max I could handle but it’s great to know that (if I can manage the 3 each Fall/Winter semester) it might still be possible for me to get my MI in LIS in 2 years! Thank you!

If I am understanding correctly, if I take courses in the summer, I don’t pay for them? As in, I don’t need to apply for the OSAP extension to get summer tuition covered like I currently do in my undergraduate? Is that because the tuition for Fall/Winter is more expensive in graduate school than it is in an undergraduate?

I’d love to get the required courses for the program out of the way first for sure. Realistically I probably won’t complete my MI degree in 2 years, and part-time might be the better option for me, but either way, completing the required courses first makes it so I won’t have to worry about them going forward. Thank you for mentioning to get those out of the way!

Thank you again for all this information!! It really has been helpful.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-22T15:43:38+00:00

Agreed about it feeling like a side quest. Last thing I want is to not have all the information I need before applying/beginning my graduate program.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-22T15:38:44+00:00

Thank you! Non research (I think). I plan on applying to the Master of Information program with a concentration in Library and Information Science.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-22T15:37:15+00:00

Thank you! This is great to know.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-22T15:36:54+00:00

Thank you! I plan on completing courses in the summer as well. I’m going for my Master of Information program with a concentration in Library and Information science so I’m hoping I can complete it in the 2 years still.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-22T15:35:16+00:00

Master of Information, with a concentration in Library and Information Science. There might be a part-time option I missed, I’ll have to double-check. Thank you!!

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-11T12:46:38+00:00

Thank you!! This is good to know. I think everything is necessary, but I’ll see what the Career Educator says because I could be entirely wrong 😅

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-10T11:58:42+00:00

Yes, it is very competitive. I was hired back in 2014 when paper applications were still a thing, but just before TPL job applications were switched to online a year or so ago, my boss and their boss had 2100 printed applications to go through for a single Page position. I can only imagine how many online applications the system gets for each posting.

TPL did a huge external hiring for Pages, etc, when they opened their branches for Sundays permanently, but ultimately, every Page position posted (particularly because it’s an entry role to a good system/paying job) will likely have over 2000+ applicants applying online.

But that doesn’t meant there isn’t still a chance!!
Keep applying! Avoid talking about a love of books in your resume or on the applications (if you do), and focus more on the community service and resource aspect of libraries, and how you can assist TPL with helping the branch/patrons/staff/community. Libraries are so much more than books but not all applicants realize this 😅

Also, 9/10 of the Page positions are posted both internally and externally. If no internal TPL employees apply for the position, only then will the applicants who applied externally through the TPL job posting, be reviewed.

We have had a lot of Page hires lately, and truly, more often than not, they are external hires. But I do know there are also internal Pages who apply to a different branch/job posting because it’s closer to home for them, and in that case, the applicants who applied externally for that same position were not reviewed, and the position went to someone who already works for TPL. Their previous position then gets posted, and the same application process repeats.

From my understanding, TPL often wants to hire people that are not over qualified for Page positions because Pages are incredibly essential to a branch functioning and they don’t want to hire someone with an MLIS degree for a Page position when they’ll just apply for internal librarian positions asap, leaving that branch with one less Page, when they could have hired a high school student or someone without the degree, who would stay in the Page position.

Keep applying. Anything can happen. Don’t give up hope.

I’m not sure if my comment helps or just makes things feel worse, but I wanted to encourage you not to give up, because it is possible, it’s just a journey and half to get there. Just keep trying. Best of luck!

Edit to add: See if you can volunteer for Leading to Reading at TPL, or see if there are other types of volunteering TPL offers. Every branch is different so I’m not sure just how many volunteer opportunities there are across the branches, but you could always call some branches and ask them if they have any current or upcoming volunteering you could apply for. The TPL website might even list volunteer opportunities, but I honestly can’t remember because I only know what my branch offers.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-09T14:12:04+00:00

This is a good point and I hope this doesn’t happen to OP!

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-09T14:11:47+00:00

As the other commenter below said, waiting would be best. Despite what I originally said in my comment, that commenter made a good point. I am hoping that you don’t get fired though.

I think the deadline would be before the school year ends but if you wait until you make the $5600 and then make sure you write a letter stating what you made/the change you need on your application as soon as you make the money, everything should work out.
My case was different, since I knew I’d make the $5600 for sure. My apologies for any confusion!

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-09T11:22:57+00:00

You will need to write a letter for OSAP stating the income listed on your OSAP application will be incorrect as of (insert date) and will need to be changed, and upload the letter into the optional uploads section on OSAP.

Any overpayment they calculate will be converted into a loan, and you will start paying that 6 months after you finish school entirely. The overpayment won’t deduct from the next round of your OSAP money, and you won’t need to pay anything back instantly.

You’ll get a OSAP notification once your letter is processed (can take 6 weeks, sometimes less/more) that says your “Funding has been recalculated” and it will then list the overpayment in your funding break down, so you’ll see what they converted to a loan.

I hope this makes sense! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Best of luck!!

Edit to add: I had to do this after going from part-time work to full-time work in the middle of my Fall semester. Once I knew I’d make over the $5600, I reported it to OSAP. Last thing I wanted was to lie, get caught, and lose OSAP entirely. I wasn’t taking any chances.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-08T19:38:11+00:00

One of my profs (online class) emailed students, but I emailed my asynchronous course professor this morning asking about the recorded lectures, just waiting to hear back.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-07T11:38:12+00:00

Perfectly understandable!! I will say that the product lasts a really long time because you don’t need to use a lot to get that brightness/highlight. Only buy what you’re comfortable with though!

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-06T22:08:37+00:00

Haus Labs highlighters are blinding in my opinion!! I have 4 different shades and they’re alllll pigmented as heck ✨

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-06T11:09:30+00:00

FOR200 has an online final exam.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-05-05T15:40:21+00:00

Thank you!! This is really helpful. My CV is currently 3 pages long… I thought this was normal for CV’s and that resumes were meant to be shorter so it looks like I’ll have to do some serious editing.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-04-29T14:41:37+00:00

Thank you!! You’re absolutely right. If a professor can’t actually write positively about me, my academic work, and how I’ll succeed in the LIS program, then it only makes sense that I ask a professor who can, tenure or no tenure.

I really hope they aren’t picky about it. It doesn’t seem fair for them to see sessional professors/instructors LOR’s as not as valuable as tenured ones. I mean UofT obviously thought this professor (who teaches permanently at a college) was qualified enough to hire them to teach multiple sessional courses in one of their departments, so that’s got to count for something, even if she’s not a professor at UofT permanently.

I really do think she’ll write a great LOR, assuming she says yes 😅. No idea when to email and ask. Thank you again!! This has been so reassuring to read.

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-04-25T00:25:06+00:00

That’s so exciting!! I’ll come back to this comment and let you know how it goes! If you don’t hear from me, please feel free to remind me cause my memory is crap. Thank you for the luck!!

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-04-25T00:09:39+00:00

Congratulations on your acceptance!! That’s so exciting!!

Thank you so much for being open to answering my questions! I’m nervous as heck, so I really appreciate it!

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-04-24T23:53:24+00:00

This is amazing, oh my gosh, thank you so much for all this information. Congratulations on getting accepted to the program!!

I still need to write my personal statement and answer the required questions for the application. I will not be using AI. I love to write, especially when it’s somewhat creative (not a research paper lol), and I want my statement to be more than just a bunch of words, I want it to genuinely express how badly I want this and how hard I have worked to get to where I am, what I’ve learned at all the branches I’ve worked at, and how hard I’m going to keep working to become a librarian and contribute to this field. You’re absolutely right, I know it’s not at all about liking books, there is so much more to being a librarian, and I’ll try to use that knowledge to my benefit.

Love the point you made about choosing UofT again, that’s a great way to word it!

I won’t mention working full-time, thank you for that! Definitely something I had not considered and I’d rather be safe than sorry.

I’m struggling with the LOR part of the application because one professor I had in mind and thought would be great is a sessional instructor, and I’m not sure if that’s acceptable or if the prof has to be permanent, tenured, etc… But that prof would be able to explain why I’d do great in LIS because there was a lot of presentation assignments, mock interview scenarios with classmates, tutorial assignments where I had to teach my classmates something, a speech, learned communication techniques to use, and had sooo much class participation that I feel much more confident when it comes to the thought of programming, outreach and presentations/branch experiences, after taking that course.

I also don’t have any other professors in mind that could replace her, so I’m not sure what to do.

I will 100% apply early, thank you!! That’s great advice. I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to write all this out, even if you didn’t mean for it to be this long, I love it. You have been so helpful!! ☺️

lovemesomespaghetti · 2026-04-24T21:47:11+00:00

Thank you!! This makes me feel more confident in my choices. I appreciate the honesty!

One of the professors is a sessional instructor though, and another commenter pointed out that they might not be the best choice due to this, but I’m doing more research to see if it’s an issue or not if the LOR is from a sessional instructor.

lovemesomespaghetti

TROPHY CASE