TotallyOriginalUsername

Mine now says submitted as well but beartracks still says my references are "initiated" as well. Seeing as other people are having this issue maybe they just haven't updated anything yet?

I would address this briefly and spin it in a way that sounds positive. Something like, "While I had some tough family situations in my first year, I overcame this to excel in the remainder of my studies". Don't go into great detail, and don't spend more than a few sentences on this. Basically, you just need to recognize that it happened and provide some reason as for why it won't happen again (even if it's just something like) "I know how to deal with this in a better way". If you wouldn't put it in a job application, don't put it in your PS!

I have access to beartracks because I did my undergrad at the U of A. I can view the status of my application by pressing "admissions". Mine changed to "received" as well but I thought that was because the online email thing accepted it? All of my letters were sent by mail, so I entered the csd address.

Have any U of A applicants received any indication from them that their application is complete? ApplyGrad says "request pending" and beartracks says my reference letters are "initiated"/"requires action". My letters were mailed, but they were all sent from within Edmonton (and two of those from campus) so I doubt that they're lost in transit or anything like that. I ask because I've received some sort of confirmation from everywhere else I've applied, but not them.

You might be able to have your referees email ORPAS directly as well! My referee was able to do this after part of the letter went missing.

One thing I've heard from a few SLPs is that when it comes to budget cuts, they're often the first thing to go, and the last to be added when funding increases. Fields like OT and PT tend to be a bit more stable in that regard. This was from people working in a major hospital in an area with public healthcare. Not sure if this holds true for school settings or private healthcare settings- but it's potentially something to keep in mind.

I emailed ORPAS and it turns out there was an issue with the outstanding letter. Luckily, they are allowing my referee to resend the letter via email. Definitely double check with them if you have an outstanding letter!

Thanks so much Sab236!!

Mine seems to be missing a reference as well. It was sent in November! But the one that was mailed just a few weeks ago has been received. Now I am freaking out.

Wow, thanks!

I'm going to email them but did find this in their FAQ. Maybe it is the same thing? Then again, they have another question saying resumes can be uploaded through personal submissions. Hopefully they reply quick, because I am eager just to get my apps submitted and over with!

I went to review my applications in ORPAS and noticed that they had sections for resume, experience, and awards and that I didn't answer them, but I can't find those fields anywhere in the application. I think this is perhaps because those are included in applications for programs I'm not applying to, but this is giving me a real heart attack so close to the deadline date. Anyone know for certain?

Thanks! My references were sent by mail (and two were separate from the rest of my application document), so I am super paranoid about that especially right now.

This makes me feel better. Thanks!

Has yours or anyone else's been updated? I have sent them everything and it shows that they have only received my application fee (which was done online). I am starting to feel a little bit paranoid about it.

Rather than posting a new thread I'm going to post again here. My writer completed the letters (yay!) and will mail them soon. The issue is that one of the schools prefers the student to hand in the letter with the rest of the application, and only wants for the writer to mail it themselves if they are "uncomfortable" with handing it to the student. But my writer can't get it to me for a few weeks (she is away for the holidays), which would mean I'd send my application very close to the deadline. If I ask her to mail it now rather than wait a few weeks, do you think it would reflect poorly on my application that the letter arrived separate from everything else?

Thanks for your advice! I sent her another reminder by email and she said she'd get right on it so I'm no longer that worried. Unfortunately, I have no way of reaching her by phone (they were removed from most departments at my undergrad uni). I think they have one phone they all share in this department, but students were strongly encouraged NOT to call it. So I really only have email as a way of communicating with my professors.

Thanks! It was a week yesterday since I sent the last reminder. Both places that need to have the documents sent by mail specify that they must be received by that date, so I'm hesitant on sending things later than necessary.

For those who have applied to Dalhousie, can you access your application information online? I was under the impression that you could view when all your documents reached them, status, and so on. I've tried logging in using the same username and password I used to make the application and it doesn't work. Was I mistaken or am I doing something wrong?

Thank you! Yes, I have given her the necessary materials! I know for a fact she's written letters for a lot of my classmates and never heard any complaints, so maybe I am panicking too much. I don't want to bother her too much, but I don't want her to forget either! I really don't want to risk finding out if a school is lenient or not, especially since one of them is my dream school/ program! But you are right in that it is out of my control, and I shouldn't worry too much.

I have letters that are due in the second week of January. All but one of my writers have submitted. Last week, I sent the remaining writer a reminder but did not receive a response (when I reminded the others I got a response, not sure if this is standard practice or not though). My writer did tell me when she agreed in October that she would be writing them in mid-December, and asked me to send a reminder before then (which I did). It's now into what I would consider mid-December and I haven't heard from her. Two of letters, including the one with the earlier deadline, need to be sent by snail mail. Theoretically this should only take a few days, but I would like to leave some buffer space just in case there's a delay. Furthermore, one of my schools would like me to include the letter with the rest of my application package if possible. I have everything ready to go except the letter! I'm starting to panic a bit, with less than a month left before the deadlines. Should I email the prof again and let her know my concerns? Or should I just wait? What's the correct way of addressing this?

I wrote it in October. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I still needed to study like crazy for math. I think I studied for about three months before writing the exam. I didn't do nearly as much prep for verbal or AW and got fairly good scores in those sections (160 and 5.0), but my math was still lower at 152 (this was an improvement compared to how I was doing in math before, though). I guess the lesson to take from that is if you're weak at a subject then focus on it hard. Use the powerprep software if you haven't already!

Thank you!

I have a big, glaring, ugly irregularity on my applications and transcripts and that is my stats grade. I did very, very poorly when I took the first year level course, but still passed. My major problem with stats is testing- I can work through problems and understand the material fine when I have time to think about it, but find it difficult when I am under pressure. I usually do well on assignments and the like. I have had the same problems with math classes for a lot of my life. Unfortunately, the majority of the class grade in my stats class was made up of exam marks. At the time when I took that first course, I wasn't thinking seriously about grad school, and needed credit in the course to take other courses in my major and minor. So I made the (in hindsight, quite stupid) decision to stick with the class and received the awful grade. In my final year, I decided to take the higher level up in order to boost my grade for my applications. I could not retake the first level course because I had already received credit in it (this is a school policy). I did very well in my SPSS lab and on my assignments. I studied like crazy for that class, but did not do very well on the midterm. The exam was very difficult, the class average was quite low, and the prof even apologized to the class but told us he couldn't do much to raise our grades. That said, I still made a lot of mistakes on my own merit, and my poor grade was largely my fault regardless of difficulty. This time, after consulting with the prof, I decided to withdraw, as I realized it wouldn't be worth the hit on my GPA if I received another poor grade (or especially if I failed). Unfortunately, two of the schools I am applying to want me to declare a stats class as prerequisite course. Which means that they will definitely see my grade. All schools will see my transcript anyways, but the others don't seem to be looking for stats so far as I can tell. My other prerequisite grades are good, as are my grades in general- especially in the last two years where it counts. I have no other Ws or Fs on my transcript, and no other super low grades. As I mentioned, my first stats course was a prereq for many of the courses I took later on. I was expected to have a strong understanding of statistics in those classes- and I did just fine. I am applying to a professional program, and while some research will be part of my studies, my main focus is on clinical practice. So, in regards to my SOPs: How do I explain this to the two schools who are asking me to declare my stats grade? I feel like anything I say will just come across to them as making up excuses, especially the not testing well part. How do I explain this if one of those schools has a specific prompt for their SOP that doesn't include explaining irregularities, AND has a limit of 3000 characters to begin with? My letters are already sent so I can't ask somebody to write it in there. Do I mention this to the other schools I am applying to, even though they are not asking for my stats grade? One of these does has a prompt for explaining irregularities. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Thanks! I do have some of them still in doc, but I definitely don't have all of them. One of my prereqs is four years old so I definitely don't have that one. I will try emailing them about the course catelog. EDIT: I can't find an email contact for someone from ORPAS to ask.... am I blind? Does anyone know?