SLPright
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Posts posted by SLPright
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@SLPMaybe When I got an SLP student to edit my statement, she recommended cutting out a bunch of the generic stuff I had about why I wanted to be an SLP, since a lot of people are going to write very similar things and it eats up your word count. I still wrote about why I want this career, but I tried to make it more unique to me as an applicant.
Talk about the tangible things that you've done and what you learned or demonstrated from that experience. People can say anything about their own attributes and reasons for why they think they'd be good for the program, but tangible evidence to back it up makes your statement much stronger. I think ORPAS didn't take resumes/CVs last year so I also mentioned awards in my statement. It's good to include why you're interested in a particular school as well - shows that you've done your research and have a compelling reason for choosing their program.
Don't be afraid to write about non-SLP things either. For Dalhousie the prompt was simply just "Describe your most valuable learning experience" and I chose to write about something that's not at all related to SLP (volunteering with my uni's student union) but I talked about the qualities and skills I gained from that and how that would be relevant to SLP.
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Hi everyone! I'm a first-year SLP student at U of T right now. I know the application period is really stressful so I'm here to offer to answer any questions you want to ask. I think I'm in the somewhat unique position of having applied to all 6 Canadian programs last year (McMaster is new) and accepted to 5. I'm hesitant about sharing my stats since I'd been prepping for SLP for a long time, so I think my stats are higher than the minimum (at least, for all but one school haha) and I don't want to freak you guys out.
Re: disorganized profs, I had ORPAS receive one of my references almost 2 weeks late (Jan 21, deadline was Jan 8) and it was fine. As others mentioned, ORPAS doesn't actually send the application until at least a few weeks later.
On 11/28/2016 at 10:41 AM, JessieBear said:In the personal submissions section there is a spot for "other volunteer experiences", which is separate from "volunteer experiences in SLP or AUD". What types of things do you guys think are acceptable in this other category? I have volunteered with international students at my university (mentorship), at my psychology undergraduate research event, and took notes for students with disabilities. Is it okay for me to include these things even though they aren't directly related to speech pathology?
Yes, definitely include these. It never hurts to show that you're well-rounded!
On 12/2/2016 at 6:27 PM, Bananis said:@hopefulspeechie52 Hey, I don't see anywhere to do transcripts requests on there... I'm not an Ontario school btw if that matters. I've put in everything but all the prerequisites and the extra documents like CV and whatever. But I've filled out all the school information and everything else. I already have one school sending transcripts by mail, but the other I'll have to wait for this semester to be over. But where is this transcripts request page?? I'm so confused by this system haha
As I think you've figured out now, this section of ORPAS is ONLY for requesting transcripts for Ontario schools. None of my universities were, so I had to go the each uni's site and request to send transcripts to ORPAS (the address should be in the ORPAS instruction manual).
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7 hours ago, LittleHopeful said:
Thank you so much! Knowing that there are people who do get in with a BA is a big relief for me.
Almost all of the people from my undergrad university who went onto SLP did so with a BA, since linguistics and psychology are both in the faculty of arts at my uni. I think it is important to do well in the more science-y pre-reqs, but I don't think your actual degree matters as much as your pre-reqs, and your other experience! The volunteer experience is important since that's one of the big things distinguishes applicants from each other.
I applied just after graduating with my BA, so I'm in a bit of a gap year right now. I've met people who went into the SLP grad program straight after undergrad, and others who had some time off before starting their master's (whether by choice or because they discovered SLP later and needed time to build up their application.
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On 5/24/2016 at 1:55 AM, Klamb said:
Hey everyone! I came across this forum when tying to find advice online about volunteering. I am a certified teacher from Montreal who is currently living and working in Tokyo. In September, I am returning to Montreal to take some prerequisite courses at McGill and will be applying to the SLP program for the following year (Fall 2017). I graduated from my undergraduate degree with a GPA of 3.7 which I hope is high enough to be considered (?).
My main concern (which I am actually losing sleep over) is the volunteering hours. I have been shamelessly emailing places in the hope of securing something for the fall but to no avail. It seems nearly impossible to find an SLP who is looking for a volunteer or a shadow... I have also tried hospitals and care facilities but they mostly want volunteers for cafeterias, bingo nights, etc.
Any advice, help or contacts would be GREATLY appreciated!
I asked a lot of SLPs for informational interviews and/or shadows (even short-term, like a few days) if they couldn't take volunteers. This is helpful because it shows that you know what you're getting yourself into, and have made the effort to research the profession even if you can't get direct volunteer hours.
If you have anyone in your contacts who's remotely related to the field, it's worth asking if they can connect you with an SLP, who might be more receptive than ones you cold call/email. I knew a Special Ed teacher through sports and she set me up with some school district SLPs.
Good luck!
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That's the 2008 version of the survey, I'd posted the 2010 one here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5248957/SAC%20university_survey_%202010_speech_0.pdf
This one's measured in days, not weeks. In 2010, U of A was shown as having the most clinical hours. This year, I believe Toronto has 150 days (30 weeks, handbook), UBC has 126 (website), and McGill has approx. 122 days (talked to a current student who estimated that). Not sure about Western, Dal, or Alberta.
Re: deciding on where to go...I'm a big fan of the unit structure at U of T, as I'd imagine it gives you a better idea of what it's like to work full-time in various settings / with various populations. I'm a little worried about less personal attention at U of T with the larger class size (I've heard there's been some problems with the clinical placement selection process) but I like the overall structure of the program, and personally I love the city and have some close friends there. I did also receive a call from a U of T faculty member asking if I had any questions about the program, but I'm overseas so I missed the call and she just left a voicemail. If you look in the handbook, you also see that their "student council" has positions to plan social events, design SLP-branded clothing, do a yearbook, etc. so I think the student life will be good.
I'd be really surprised if students from any other schools get placements in the GTA considering some of the placements offered to U of T students aren't even in the GTA - supposedly only 2 of your 4 placements may be, but even that's not really guaranteed. A friend who goes there (who was going to have to do a placement in Kingston) acknowledged that sometimes she felt a little envious of the in-house clinics at some of the other schools.
For full-time placements, location also isn't really guaranteed for McGill either. If you're flexible about location, you're more likely to get the population you want, and if you're flexible about population then you're more likely to get the location. As mentioned, McGill does get you started with placements in September of first year so you get exposure really fast. The student I talked to also spoke highly of their two clinical coordinators.
It doesn't seem like many people here are mentioning UBC, but I've had an extremely positive impression from dealing with them. It sounds like they give more attention to individuals. I have a friend who's known for a while that she's more interested in adults than children so they've worked out her next placement so she could do that instead. It broke my heart a little bit to decline there (Sue, the graduate program assistant, is so kind), but I've lived in Vancouver for most of my life and wanted a change of scenery. I feel like they're quite strong for research as well.
I didn't research Alberta, Western, or Dalhousie as thoroughly (mostly because of personal reasons as I've never been to the cities they're in), but I wasn't a fan of how Alberta and Dalhousie seems to be mostly theory/coursework the first year followed by the majority of your practicum hours later on. I wanted something more integrated.
As other people have mentioned though, all the Canadian programs are really strong so I feel like there's no wrong choice!
Anyone else who's decided on U of T, feel free to PM me and we can be Facebook friends.
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On 3/17/2016 at 6:13 PM, paidean said:On 3/17/2016 at 5:58 PM, Hopeful_SLP said:On 3/17/2016 at 5:30 PM, SLPright said:
I've got the 2010 version of the survey saved, so I've attached it here!
I'd emailed SAC in Jan 2015 because the link that I had bookmarked redirected to a members-only area. They changed the permissions to public after I emailed, but looks like it's reverted again... I'd also asked if there were plans to do any future surveys but they didn't mention. It's a shame, because it's quite useful.
I can't seem to access the pdf link. I'd love to look at the document. Is anyone else having trouble viewing it?
Same! It gives me the following error:
Sorry, there is a problem
The page you are trying to access is not available for your account.Error code: 2C171/1
Hmm, I also get that error code when I click on my own post. I've put it in my public dropbox here, try that instead? If that also doesn't work, PM me your email address and I'll send it over!
Unfortunately I'd think some of the numbers are outdated given that it's more than 5 years old (e.g. class size, number of applicants, clinical hours) but it's still a good overview.
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4 hours ago, paidean said:4 hours ago, Beeee25 said:
I remember reading a lengthy document online in previous years that was a compilation of information about all of the SLP schools in Canada.I believe it was released by SAC-OAC. I tried looking back in previous forums to find the link, but I was unsuccessful. Anyone know where to find it?
Maybe this? It's pretty old now, though, and much of the information has since changed.
I've got the 2010 version of the survey saved, so I've attached it here!
I'd emailed SAC in Jan 2015 because the link that I had bookmarked redirected to a members-only area. They changed the permissions to public after I emailed, but looks like it's reverted again... I'd also asked if there were plans to do any future surveys but they didn't mention. It's a shame, because it's quite useful.
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I got an email from Dalhousie as well! It's a "recommendation for admission" though, and the faculty of grad studies has to sign off on it. They say that's mostly a formality but can take 5-10 business days before they issue an official acceptance letters, so maybe those are the letters they were referring to when they were talking to @treaclemineroad.
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3 minutes ago, treaclemineroad said:
Arguably (or... objectively, really), Vancouver is more expensive than anywhere in Ontario.
Isn't cost of living in Toronto comparable to Vancouver?
It's also worth noting that tuition costs are quite different. UBC is ~$5500 per year, and I talked to a current UofT SLP student who estimated that she paid $11,500 in tuition and fees this year. Then again, I think UofT has more funding/scholarships available.
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5 minutes ago, paidean said:
These numbers are from 2007, so program sizes may have changed since then (the only one I'm sure of is UBC, which increased to 36 over the past year):
Dalhousie 23
McGill 27
Alberta 44
UBC 36
Toronto 45
Western 30These are the numbers I have, some from official websites, some from talking to current students, and some from past forum threads I think.
Dalhousie 24
McGill 27
Alberta 56
UBC 36
Toronto 50
Western 36 -
1 hour ago, OverCaffeinated said:
i assume for UBC you meant expires on april 14?
Nope, March 14th. The offer of admission itself is open until April 4th, it's just the funding that expires earlier. Sucks because it's hard to make a decision by March 14th when barely any other schools will have made decisions by then...
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For UBC, I'm guessing it's going to be March 15th. Early offers of admission have been sent out with a funding offer that expires on March 14th (so that the money can be offered to other applicants).
I think for the Ontario schools (definitely April 1st according to ORPAS), I've heard that Western updates the portal at midnight, but U of T sends out individual emails throughout the business day. If U of T is doing it at midnight now that'd be nice.
Anyone know when McGill results will be out?
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On 2/10/2016 at 7:30 AM, OverCaffeinated said:
WRONG!
jsut fyi, the choice DOES matter. starting this year, students who rank uoft as first as ranked higher in the applications than those who rated it second. i spoke with someone on the addcom.
From the ORPAS 2016 application instructions, page 3: "You must rank your program choices in order of preference. Ranking information is not used during the application review process and is not used as a criterion for admission."
That's pretty dishonest if they are factoring that in after all.
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12 hours ago, rachelfreed said:
Hey! On ORPAS under current application data (the latest update after our GPAs were calculated), did anyone's program choices get reversed? I.e. I chose UofT first and then Western. Now in this updated application it has Western first and UofT second. It doesn't explicitly say an order unlike the first application. On my original application the order is still the same.
Same for me. Might be be alphabetical (W precedes U). I wouldn't worry about it, they've stated that program choice doesn't affect your application anyway and they just collect it for their own data.
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2 hours ago, OverCaffeinated said:
hey guys, for those who submitted ORPAS already, where does it show up that the references have been received?
When you log into ORPAS, one of the bullet points under "What Now?" will say "You can verify the receipt of your application fees, references or transcripts." I'm assuming it takes a few days for processing etc. before this will show up; today's the first day I've seen it and I submitted my application last week.
2017 Canadian Application Thread!
in Speech-Language Pathology Forum
Posted
Clinical population. Adults or kids? People with ASD, motor disorders, aphasia, etc., or a variety?