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Hello everyone! I'd love it if you would try to talk me OUT of the school(s) that you are hoping to receive offers from. I have offers from U of A, Western, and U of T and each program has different aspects that really appeal to me, but it's hard to compare a list of positives. Why not try approaching it from the other side then? I think dealbreakers can be easier to recognize than "dealmakers". As an example of what I'm getting at, to one person, Toronto is expensive but SO WORTH IT to be in a big city with so much going on . To another, paying so much money just to have a life of crowds and commuting and concrete and constant noise sounds AWFUL. Both takes are equally honest/genuine, but people are going to differ a lot in which perspective resonates with them. So without further ado, please share why your preferred school might NOT be a good fit for someone else. You never know what might make someone realize they wouldn't be as happy in one program or city as they could be somewhere else, and if they turn down their offer someone will be drawn from the waiting list you're on. It's win-win!

Western did! Silence from U of T still. I figured it was either gonna be midnight or during working hours, like 9 am ET.

Hi! I can tell you how it went when I got waitlisted at Dal. March 10 people started receiving offers spread out over the several days while no one else got any updates. Then people started saying they were waitlisted starting like March 17, again a bit sporadically rather than a big batch of emails going out at once. I got an email offering the waitlist on March 21, and THEN I think people started getting rejected a few days after that. But I'm pretty sure some more people, not a ton but some, got good news after rejections started going out, acceptances or at least waitlist offers. Obviously the timeline is different this year, but the take for me was you just don't know until you know. You can adjust your expectations, but someone's gotta be the person they finally decide to offer the last available seat to. My guess is top candidates are easy, the obvious rejections are easy, but the people in the middle take longer and that's why acceptances trickle out over days. Like what says more about the candidate's potential and suitability, research experience or varied volunteer placements? 300 SLP-related volunteer hours, or 100 SLP-related hours but over a years' experience working with developmentally delayed children or adults with TBI? What about living with a family member who has a communication disorder? How much "better" does a non-applicant need to be to win a seat over the Maritime applicant? ...

SOOOO I just realized I could've (should've?) submitted an updated transcript to ORPAS after fall grades were posted. They have one from when my fall 2018 classes were in progress. What do you think are the chances that they would update my GPA calculation to include these grades? I have grades equal to or above my GPA in those classes and it would decrease the value of my 1st & 2nd year grade average from 14 to 8 in calculating my subGPA, so it would be a tiny GPA boost if they did ?

Depends on the school, I think. I've heard from multiple sources UBC looks at grades first. I don't know what their cut off point is, or whether they cull by percentile (e.g. applicants with grades below the 60th percentile are rejected), or how they assess cGPA vs subGPA, sorry! I've been kinda ignoring anything about grade assessment; it's not anything I have any influence over and I have enough to stress about already!) My inclination is that schools that ask for additional tests/scores, like CASPer and GRE, and McMaster with MMIs, seem like they're trying to understand applicants more broadly than just your transcript? and therefore might be more willing to consider the application, see how we'll you're doing recently/read your explanation of your 2nd year grade dip, etc.. after all a 3.2 is totally solid outside the crazy world of SLP apps). I'm hoping my GRE scores (average in QR but solid QW and very strong VR) gives me a little boost over my really average/slightly below average, GPA!! (average in a SLP application context, haha)

Hi to anyone who is a little more on the ball than I am with finishing up their U of T application. I put in my referee info fairly pretty late because it was online submission anyway. (I gave them all the details about forms, letters, deadlines, etc. back in October and updated/checked in again about three weeks ago; it's just the formal invitation to submit that was late-ish.) Anyway, after a bit of head scratching trying to figure out how to go about submitting a second clinical reference for U of T, I sent a request through SAM (giving all contact info, including email, for my referee). I received a copy of the blank clinical form as a response -- we were fully expecting she'd be able to submit online so this has thrown me a bit. If she sends by regular mail it'll arrive a bit late; if I put in her info in the 3rd reference slot I assume she'd get the form for academic references; and then there is the email for his referees are having trouble submitting online. What makes most sense, do you think? Also: foreign transcripts, I'm not sure if I need to submit an official translation. The grading rubric and the transcript is in English but not the course names. Transcript and grading rubric already sent to ORPAS direct. I'd rather save the cash if they don't need official translations or if PDF scans are fine/fine for now. ORPAS won't count the grades toward my GPA anyway and nothing on that transcript is relevant to grad school anyway... Multiple transcripts are such drama. ?

Hi everyone, I'm a second time applicant, kind of -- I applied to Dal a couple years ago and was waitlisted. I've spent the time since taking ling/psych classes so I can apply to the two year programs. This round I'm applying to U of T, McGill, Western, and U of A. I'm not local in any of those provinces unfortunately so I have that working against me. (Also why I'm not applying to McMaster haha.) My subGPA is in the 3.7-3.9 range and I've volunteered with both kids and adults in different settings (school/clinic/private practice) and had volunteer experience lead into paid work with similar populations to those SLPs work with. I'm also currently helping with some phonology research. I flip flop between "I am so incredibly average; how will I ever get in?!" and "okay but you're also comparing yourself to people who post online about their stats and experiences and that crowd probably skews toward stronger applicants; stop panicking about average". Does anyone know how much U of A looks at GRE scores? I half remember someone saying all that it's mostly "Are you average or better? Ok good, on to the next part of the app." But I have zero idea if that's credible. Anyway, nice to meet you all and hope very much to meet some of you in person next September. So, how 'bout that CASPer test?