cneuz

Congrats to everyone receiving acceptances!!
I only applied to Western, and I did not get in. Which is okay, I was expecting it. It feels like crap though, no matter how much you prepare or how little hope you let yourself have. I'm here for anyone who needs to vent. The rigamarole they put you through just to get an expensive education is unreal, you could end up investing so much of your time and money and then might have to potentially just move on to something less competitive... sooo scary. anxiety inducing. and and like, WHY aren't there more schools offering this program when so many people clearly want to take it and SLPs are in such high demand? What the heck is with that Canada.
Anyways, I will be heading to Lambton in the fall for a year long CDA program. This will give me a lot of hands on experience and more grades to improve my sGAP with as well (it is currently a 3.3, like I said, little hope lol) so hopefully next application season will go better ?
This leads me to a question I have: does anyone know how they pick and choose which post-secondary courses count/don't count towards sgpa, mainly Dal? I've read a lot of confusing info, like if you continued your education after your undergrad, they'll take 10 courses from your undergrad and 10 from your post-grad studies or something? I took a post-bach course at wayne state and they used all of my grades from that for my western sGPA... But I worry my CDA grades might not apply? Or just not at dal. Anywho, hoping someone can help clear that up for me. I am planning to actually save up and apply to western, dal, maybe even alberta idk. dal says they don't use certain grades, but also says they might if they're related to the field, which mine would be... ?‍♀️ 
PS I was watching the Hannibal show earlier this week and there was an episode where a character is ..maimed... and no longer has lips and they had the nerve to make his labiodental sounds completely normal, some bilabial too. Anyone else pick up on this stuff now? We clearly need more speech experts in the entertainment industry ?

Congrats to everyone receiving acceptances!!
I only applied to Western, and I did not get in. Which is okay, I was expecting it. It feels like crap though, no matter how much you prepare or how little hope you let yourself have. I'm here for anyone who needs to vent. The rigamarole they put you through just to get an expensive education is unreal, you could end up investing so much of your time and money and then might have to potentially just move on to something less competitive... sooo scary. anxiety inducing. and and like, WHY aren't there more schools offering this program when so many people clearly want to take it and SLPs are in such high demand? What the heck is with that Canada.
Anyways, I will be heading to Lambton in the fall for a year long CDA program. This will give me a lot of hands on experience and more grades to improve my sGAP with as well (it is currently a 3.3, like I said, little hope lol) so hopefully next application season will go better ?
This leads me to a question I have: does anyone know how they pick and choose which post-secondary courses count/don't count towards sgpa, mainly Dal? I've read a lot of confusing info, like if you continued your education after your undergrad, they'll take 10 courses from your undergrad and 10 from your post-grad studies or something? I took a post-bach course at wayne state and they used all of my grades from that for my western sGPA... But I worry my CDA grades might not apply? Or just not at dal. Anywho, hoping someone can help clear that up for me. I am planning to actually save up and apply to western, dal, maybe even alberta idk. dal says they don't use certain grades, but also says they might if they're related to the field, which mine would be... ?‍♀️ 
PS I was watching the Hannibal show earlier this week and there was an episode where a character is ..maimed... and no longer has lips and they had the nerve to make his labiodental sounds completely normal, some bilabial too. Anyone else pick up on this stuff now? We clearly need more speech experts in the entertainment industry ?

Congrats to everyone receiving acceptances!!
I only applied to Western, and I did not get in. Which is okay, I was expecting it. It feels like crap though, no matter how much you prepare or how little hope you let yourself have. I'm here for anyone who needs to vent. The rigamarole they put you through just to get an expensive education is unreal, you could end up investing so much of your time and money and then might have to potentially just move on to something less competitive... sooo scary. anxiety inducing. and and like, WHY aren't there more schools offering this program when so many people clearly want to take it and SLPs are in such high demand? What the heck is with that Canada.
Anyways, I will be heading to Lambton in the fall for a year long CDA program. This will give me a lot of hands on experience and more grades to improve my sGAP with as well (it is currently a 3.3, like I said, little hope lol) so hopefully next application season will go better ?
This leads me to a question I have: does anyone know how they pick and choose which post-secondary courses count/don't count towards sgpa, mainly Dal? I've read a lot of confusing info, like if you continued your education after your undergrad, they'll take 10 courses from your undergrad and 10 from your post-grad studies or something? I took a post-bach course at wayne state and they used all of my grades from that for my western sGPA... But I worry my CDA grades might not apply? Or just not at dal. Anywho, hoping someone can help clear that up for me. I am planning to actually save up and apply to western, dal, maybe even alberta idk. dal says they don't use certain grades, but also says they might if they're related to the field, which mine would be... ?‍♀️ 
PS I was watching the Hannibal show earlier this week and there was an episode where a character is ..maimed... and no longer has lips and they had the nerve to make his labiodental sounds completely normal, some bilabial too. Anyone else pick up on this stuff now? We clearly need more speech experts in the entertainment industry ?

Congrats to everyone receiving acceptances!!
I only applied to Western, and I did not get in. Which is okay, I was expecting it. It feels like crap though, no matter how much you prepare or how little hope you let yourself have. I'm here for anyone who needs to vent. The rigamarole they put you through just to get an expensive education is unreal, you could end up investing so much of your time and money and then might have to potentially just move on to something less competitive... sooo scary. anxiety inducing. and and like, WHY aren't there more schools offering this program when so many people clearly want to take it and SLPs are in such high demand? What the heck is with that Canada.
Anyways, I will be heading to Lambton in the fall for a year long CDA program. This will give me a lot of hands on experience and more grades to improve my sGAP with as well (it is currently a 3.3, like I said, little hope lol) so hopefully next application season will go better ?
This leads me to a question I have: does anyone know how they pick and choose which post-secondary courses count/don't count towards sgpa, mainly Dal? I've read a lot of confusing info, like if you continued your education after your undergrad, they'll take 10 courses from your undergrad and 10 from your post-grad studies or something? I took a post-bach course at wayne state and they used all of my grades from that for my western sGPA... But I worry my CDA grades might not apply? Or just not at dal. Anywho, hoping someone can help clear that up for me. I am planning to actually save up and apply to western, dal, maybe even alberta idk. dal says they don't use certain grades, but also says they might if they're related to the field, which mine would be... ?‍♀️ 
PS I was watching the Hannibal show earlier this week and there was an episode where a character is ..maimed... and no longer has lips and they had the nerve to make his labiodental sounds completely normal, some bilabial too. Anyone else pick up on this stuff now? We clearly need more speech experts in the entertainment industry ?

Hi all, thought I’d let you know that I was rejected from Western. Unfortunately this means I was rejected from both schools I applied to. I’m not in too much shock considering it was a slim chance due to my low sGPA. If anyone who was accepted to Western or UofT this year can private message me their stats, that will be sooo helpful and appreciated so I can improve my application for next year!
I will be continuing my job as a direct support professional for a year, and I’ll also be looking for research opportunities with profs (although idk how likely this is considering I’m graduating this summer). I believe my sGPA will be A LOT higher in the next application cycle when I finish this semester, so I’m not sure if I’ll be taking extra courses (except another physiology credit so I can try for uoft next time as well). This is definitely not the outcome I was hoping for, and I’m not gonna lie my spirit was very broken last night, but today I stand stronger and more hopeful for the future. I hope I see some of you in the next application cycle! Please don’t lose hope (although I know it’s easier said than done) & continue working hard for what you want and what is good for your mental health! I am still extremely proud of all of us for getting through this. Congratulations to all of you that have been accepted/waitlisted so far or will be in the near future - it is well-deserved and I wish you the best on your exciting new journey! To the rest of us, I send you nothing but happiness and joy. Enjoy your long weekend everyone, and see you next year! ❤️

Anyone else absolutely jump out of their chair after receiving that email from Western? Definitely expected it to be in regards to acceptances/waitlists/rejections ?

Thank you for this. It is so nice to be reminded that my entire worth isn't measured by subGPA... Even if today it feels like it is. 

Hi all! Eagerly waiting for April 1st! In the meantime, I will also be happy to share my stats.
 
Degree: I will be finishing my honours bachelors of science in psychology and neuroscience with a minor in biology.
GPA: My ORPAS sGPA is only 3.43 and cGPA is 2.7. I am extremelyyyy nervous about my GPAs, especially my cGPA because I spent my second year of uni on academic probation. I worked really hard to get out of it and maintained pretty much straight As the past couple of semesters, however I know that my few mishaps from second/third year have been included in my sGPA calculation. Good news is I am only applying to Western and McMaster, both of which claim to focus solely on sGPA, but seeing my cGPA on ORPAS lets me down every time.
Experience/Volunteering: 
1. SLP student assistant - 130 hours 
2. Direct support professional working with dual diagnostic adults and seniors in residential homes - 680 hours 
3. Inclusion facilitator working with dual diagnostic children supporting them in day camps - 400 hours 
4. Child and youth worker assistant/mental health therapist assistant working in day milieu program for autistic children and a youth mental health walk-in clinic - 480 hours
5. Executive member on two university clubs promoting and raising awareness for autism and childhood cancer
6. Volunteering in cognitive neuroscience research labs investigating human communication
References: I was lucky enough to have a the SLP that I volunteered with to provide me a good clinical reference letter (although this specific requirement has been waived this year), but my two academic references were from profs I took courses with during the past fall semester or last year. I am not sure if these will be strong references, however given that my university has switched to being completely online, finding professors to write reference letters this year was especially challenging.
I am extremely nervous about this whole process. I have already been rejected from one program (non-SLP) where I felt extremely confident in my application. After receiving that news, it's been a little tough to not feel discouraged. I'm not holding out too much hope on McMaster as I know their selection process begins with sGPA ranking, however I am hoping (by God's good grace) that I get into Western.
Good luck to everyone! Remember to keep your mind healthy during these times

For me, Dalhousie is my top choice. Here is why: 
The faculty members are also very welcoming and supportive. From what it seems like, staff does a fantastic job at increasing camaraderie of the cohort. 
If you'd like, you can continue developing research skills by volunteering for a lab, for example. 
Apart from the program itself, I also like the idea of experiencing life in a city that isnt so expensive. 
Hopefully this helps someone! 

For Western, if you have a login with the student center, the decision (acceptance, rejection, waitlist) appears right on the front page.
Source: this is my third time applying and I'm tired of seeing the yellow triangle indicating waitlisted ? 
 
I've also wanted to put my input on this feed for a while... I guess now's the time since anxiety is running high with 1 week until decisions are out? so this is my third time applying to Canadian SLP programs, and it has not been an easy 3 years.  From volunteering in SLP and audiology clinics full time, taking a bunch of non-degree courses to increase my GPA, working full time at an SLP clinic as a client care coordinator and STILL receiving waitlisted/rejection... this process was grueling and took a huge toll on my mental health. I feel all your posts and empathize with the anxiety from the bottom of my heart. 
I decided to apply this year to US universities, and man, that experience was incredible. First, it's super easy to apply as they have a centralized app portal for the majority of SLP programs in the states. I got follow-ups from program coordinators personally asking for more information on my experiences, TWO acceptances so far, and just an all around feeling like they value each and every applicant. 
I wanted to share this experience with you to let you know that each and every one of you are working your ASSES off and in the hopefully unlikely event that you don't receive good news this years, DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP.  There ARE options and you ARE worth it.
Also I would be more than happy to share my stats, info I've gathered from US unis, and just if you want to DM me to rant I'm more than available.

Hey! I'm in the same boat as you, I could only apply to Western, my subGPA is 3.3 so... outlook not good but I have a plan B that'll hopefully make potential third time the charm... that gives me *slight* peace of mind (how many years am I going to do this before I give up?? and what does that mean for me when SLP feels so right for me??) ... plan B for me is the CDA program at Lambton College, the way I see it I'll get more good grades to boost my subGPA, actual clinical hours and way more experience, and a diploma I can get a job with in case everything goes sideways. 
I too am trying not to lose hope! I always hear that Western does look at the whole application and not just GPA, so having good, wide-ranging volunteer experience and letters of rec are a big part of it  my fingers are crossed for everyone, the world needs more SLPs.

Hey! I'm in the same boat as you, I could only apply to Western, my subGPA is 3.3 so... outlook not good but I have a plan B that'll hopefully make potential third time the charm... that gives me *slight* peace of mind (how many years am I going to do this before I give up?? and what does that mean for me when SLP feels so right for me??) ... plan B for me is the CDA program at Lambton College, the way I see it I'll get more good grades to boost my subGPA, actual clinical hours and way more experience, and a diploma I can get a job with in case everything goes sideways. 
I too am trying not to lose hope! I always hear that Western does look at the whole application and not just GPA, so having good, wide-ranging volunteer experience and letters of rec are a big part of it  my fingers are crossed for everyone, the world needs more SLPs.

Sooo I noticed some people starting to post their stats and experience on here and I can anticipate some of us are going to start getting a little freaked out and even more nervous as deadlines for offers are going to start approaching soon. I just want to remind everyone to keep their heads up! Others having stellar GPAs or much more experience does not discount your hard work and dedication! I know it's so easy to start comparing your own stats against everyone else's but trust me when I say it does not help. I think it's great that so many people have come together to share in this experience and support each other, so stay positive friends! You won't know until you know

Hey all!
I hope you all are doing well!
Good luck to all those who have their MMI's! Just be yourself and do not stress too much! 
I was wondering if there was anyone else on this thread that for whatever reason was only able to apply to one University like me? I find not having any back ups to be very nerve-racking. So whether I get in or not determines my fate for the following year. My sGPA is 3.40 which is not the greatest (I had a really bad third year due to some personal circumstances) but I do not want to lose hope! I volunteer with a clinic currently and I have worked with 3 separate SLPS and all of them have said that they think I would be a great SLP! Which I guess is very encouraging!! So I hope Western can look past my sGPA and I hopefully get accepted!
Now I know I just said that I am feeling the anxiety, but I will say that from what I have read about the others in this thread you all seem like very smart, kind and just over all great people! So try not to stress too much guys, and I wish you the best of luck in your applications and for the future!
-Pav

Hey! I would say that for the most part, Western's program is meeting my expectations pretty well. Of course due to COVID things are a lot different than I was initially expecting during application season last year but I think the faculty members are doing a great job trying to make online learning as easy as "normal" as possible. The work load is basically what I expected based on advice I got from upper year students (be prepared for A LOT more work than undergrad, at least in my experience). The content so far is not too bad for me since I did my undergrad in Speech and Language Sciences, so it's been a lot of review so far. The main thing that I don't like is the insane amount of group work we are assigned. I can definitely appreciate the importance of working well with my colleagues, but it seems that the professors are trying to compensate for the lack of in-person classes by giving us way more group work than we would normally get and it's very difficult to try and arrange Zoom meetings with 10 different groups every week. However, the professors are very open to our feedback (this is just as much an adjustment for them as it is for us!) and I think next term will run a lot more smoothly.
Regarding the statement of intent, the main advice I've been giving is to just really focus on playing up your strengths. For example, although COVID has changed the volunteer requirements, if you have awesome volunteer experiences I would definitely still talk about it in your letter. If your GPA is a bit lower than you'd hoped, focus on achievements in other areas. This website has some great tips that I used when writing my letter: https://www.gograd.org/resources/grad-school-statement-of-purpose/
I hope this helps!  

Is anyone here applying for a second time? I just started the process again, and have realized that U of T and Western are both eliminating the volunteer hour/clinical reference requirement for this year because of Covid... This is pretty upsetting for a second time applicant who has spent the last 5 years getting as many hours as possible. Just wondering if anyone else is in the same boat here. 

There seem to be a lot of threads asking the same thing popping up lately and I figured it might make sense to make an overall guide thread and then those who feel their answers still haven’t been adequately answered can post below for an idea of what their chances are. Here is a brief rundown of factors affecting your likelihood of getting into top-tier and well respected programs. If you fall below par in any one of these factors you can bump it up by being stellar in one of the others. I'll add to this if others point out other things I've left out.

School requirements:
Your first stop should be the school admissions website – this will tell you what prerequisites you need, give you an idea of GRE and GPA requirements and what work experience is expected (if any)

GPA:
From what I’ve seen/read over the years any GPA over 3.4 and you should be competitive. That’s not to say if your GPA is lower than 3.4 you’ll have no chance, but if you have a GPA above 3.4 you should be in good shape.

GRE score:
GRE scores seem to be most important for schools with demanding quantitative programs and for securing the top financial aid. Most schools will state the average GRE scores for their incoming classes on their website – use these to see how competitive you are. By and large you should be competitive if you score over 650 on verbal and quantitative and over 4.0 on the AWA. For the top schools over 700 seems to be closer to the mark.

Work experience:
For most programs it will be expected that you have at least 1-2 years of relevant experience in your field. This can be lowered a little if you have other pseudo-relevant work experience (management in the for-profit sector etc.) but you should have shown some level of professional interest in the area you hope to study at grad school. Applicants coming straight out of undergrad may find it very hard to get into the programs aimed more at junior/mid-career professionals such as Johns Hopkins SAIS and Princeton’s WWS.

Language skills:
For a lot of programs being able to speak a second language is a must, while for others it is just a very good selling point. If you can show experience working in a foreign language this will show adaptability and will endear schools looking to enrol a diverse group of applicants.

Quantitative requirements:
A lot of schools will want you to show experience in micro/macroeconomics and some maths/statistics courses. You can fullfil these through undergrad classes or by taking courses at a community college/diploma program.

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching):
Work overseas and study abroad are also viewed extremely favourably by admissions committees and if you have taught English abroad, worked in the Peace Corps or otherwise gained experience living in a developing country this will really strengthen your application. It also shows you to be a go-getter, and that you can bring this outside experience to grad school study.

Statement of Purpose:
This is where it all comes together. This is your chance to impress the admission committee and show how your personal 'arc' has brought you to this point - being the perfect addition to their grad school. This more than any other part of your application will determine how admit committees view you as an applicant and it's also one of the only application variables that's completely under your control. Having a cohesive narrative that brings together life experience, past academic history and professional experience is a must. It also gives you a great chance to showcase your writing style - so make sure no grammar/spelling mistakes make it into your final revision.

Great list of SOP pitfalls

If your profile matches at least 3 or 4 of the criteria listed above then you are competitive to apply to an MPA/MPP/IR program.

What is most important about any grad school application is showing fit – that is how your profile matches the speciality of that school and its program. If you can’t articulate compelling reasons why you are a good match for them and vice versa, question whether you should be applying to that program.


A note on applying to top schools:

It is worth noting that nobody here can tell you what your chances of getting into a top program (Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown etc.) because getting into a top program requires a certain amount of luck as well as a great profile. Some people get offers from Harvard with a 2.9 GPA, but also happen to have singlehandedly retaken an allied command post in the Korengal valley. It’s down to who reads your application and what they happen to be looking for with the current application cycle.

Spend time improving the elements of your application that you can (GRE, work experience, languages) and don’t waste time freaking out about the things you can’t change (GPA).

If you’ve read all of the above and really still can’t tell if your application is competitive, post your profile below.