Owl.on.a.Slide
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Posts posted by Owl.on.a.Slide
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12 hours ago, flyforyourlife said:
Hi all! I wondered if there are any current students in Ontario SLP programs who could tell me if they think it’s possible to work part-time while in the program? Just trying to plan out my life haha
UofT student here as well, I've been working from home up to 20 hours a week (including weekends) but would definitely not recommend. I still got very good grades but I barely got any sleep to catch up on work or readings. I do also feel like that my learning and enjoyment of the program were affected a bit, so unless you really need to make some money I'd avoid it, or work max 10 hours/week
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8 hours ago, BSLP22 said:
Does anyone who was on this forum last year recall where they got to quadrant wise at Western last year? I've been waitlisted (2nd quadrant) and just trying to roughly figure out the chances I have of getting in.
I'd take this with a grain of salt because I feel that applications and numbers have changed quite a bit since 2021, but back then their waitlist seemed to be massive (maybe 20+ people in each quadrant?) and they ended up going through the 1st quadrant and a few people in the 2nd quadrant, then if I'm not wrong a couple of people were contacted in September after classes started 😱
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13 minutes ago, speechenthusiast said:
Oh we can't use SLP even if we put it in brackets after spelling it out the first time?
I did this last year and looks like it was fine
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On 12/5/2022 at 3:35 PM, lilaccloudsz said:
Since I retook the course, it does not count as a credit for that session on my transcript. For ex, I took 2 other courses plus this one I retook, but I only got 1.0 credits instead of 1.5. So I assume that the retaken course won't count on my sub-gpa because it wasn't counted as a credit? Hopefully this clarifies.
If it is still within your most recent 20 half credits, ORPAS will count it. I retook a course I failed (so it showed up as F NCR on my university's transcript) but ORPAS counted it anyway and screwed up my gpa for years. It really sucks.
Edit: sorry I just read your post more carefully and saw that you're referring to the most recent course
to my knowledge they count every university course you take
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On 10/12/2022 at 3:05 PM, LarissaTorres said:
Hi everyone!
I’m a first time applicant and applying to UofT, Mcmaster, and Western. I’m pretty nervous as I know how competitive everything is and I’m still awaiting responses from professors to be my reference. I’m curious if anyone knows the cut off sub-gpa’s from last year and how heavily they rely on references. To be honest I didn’t participate much in class and graduated two years ago so its been difficult to get a strong reference letter. Anyways GOODLUCK to everyone!
Forget applying to McMaster if your sGPA is below 3.85, or consider it if you are close (I was waitlisted for interviews last year with a 3.83) although you'd probably just be donating 100 bucks to McMaster ?
For UofT you need around 3.80 to have a good chance, but some people with sGPAs lower than that got in this year. Beware though that for some reason they admitted 70 students at UofT this year. Not sure if they screwed something up but we are the largest class yet (I can't complain, what if I was one of those 10 extra? lol).
For Western it's a hit or miss, people with very high GPAs (3.90+) still get waitlisted and in theory you have a chance to get in with a somewhat low sGPA, but you probably still need to be in the 3.60s-3.70s.
We can't really tell how much they rely on references...I got rejected twice and re-applied with more recent references and got accepted but I also improved my grades a lot, so who knows? You just gotta do the obvious stuff, i.e. ask a prof that you are sure would remember you, from course where you got a good grade, and give them your resume and copies of the assignment you submitted to them. You don't get to know where your application was not good enough if you get rejected, which sucks
Good luck anyways!
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On 8/16/2022 at 11:11 AM, Snick said:
So here’s a question. My 20th course is a full course. I only need .5 of a course to make the full 20 lengths. Anyone know how they manage that for sGPA?
Hey! It's quiet in here
It will actually depend on your older courses, not the most recent ones. If to reach 20 half credits they need to extract the grade of some credits from your oldest semester (where you took more than 1 course), they will average that entire year and weigh it whatever you are missing to make 20 credits. It's a bit messy, hope it makes sense!
For the statement of intent, it's definitely challenging to fit everything in 500 words but it's possible! But definitely don't leave it last minute and have it reviewed by friends, profs, writing centres etc!
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6 hours ago, MHSCME said:
For anyone starting at U of T this September, where on campus are the classes taking place? There’s no info on ACORN or Quercus on where to go when school starts. Any help would be appreciated
Hey! All classes will be at 500 University (rehab sciences building).
It sounds like you're not in our fb group/chat yet, if you have Facebook feel free to join the group and ask to be added to the group chat: https://facebook.com/groups/525461565667529/
Otherwise see you soon!
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On 5/13/2022 at 12:45 PM, SpeechieKeen7 said:
Does anyone have a general idea of where Western may be on the their waitlist? Thanks!
Probably still in the first quadrant. It might also be a good idea to follow up with Janet, last year the class was full at the end of April, and obviously the waitlist will move much slower after that
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9 hours ago, teachtospeech said:
Looking for some advice: This is my first year applying to SLP programs because I actually went to school for concurrent education and am currently a teacher. In order to be eligible to apply this year I took courses I was missing from my undergrad (anatomy, physiology, cog psych) while teaching. My GPA is not the highest (rejected from Mac and U of T), but it was enough to get on Western's waitlist and I am still waiting to hear from Dal. My question is, what could I do to upgrade my application package should I try and apply again next year? I am signed up for Phonetics through U of A in the spring, and taking Orton Gillingham training in the summer. I currently teach special education (Autism) and English Language Learners, as well as some time in Kindergarten (trying to get as close to "speech populations" as I can!). Should I try taking more courses, volunteer with an SLP, or retake a course to upgrade my marks? My undergrad was 2013-17 so a little while ago. Any suggestions from those who have applied more than once are greatly appreciated!
Hey! I've applied three times to Ontario schools only, it depends on what school you really want to get in. If you want to get into McMaster you obviously have to focus on sGPA only (you need a 3.85+ to be safe, but still, you'd be at the lower end of their 125 candidates), but UofT has also put a lot of weight on grades since covid (you probably need 3.80+ to have a good shot). Western definitely looks at applications more holistically but also seems a bit random, some people with amazing stats were placed in lower quadrants of their waitlist.
Keep in mind that if you retake a course, ORPAS does not replace the previous grade if it's still within your last 20 half credits. They will count both (they suck). So it only makes sense to retake a course if it's a prerequisite where you got less than A/A+.
Not sure how your academic references are, but if you end up taking more courses it might also be a good idea to take one that has a synchronous component where you can get a strong reference, preferably in a field that's related to SLP (I think one part of the reference letter asks your referees something about your attitude towards the field of rehabilitation, or something like that).
Hope it helps and feel free to send a PM if you want more info!
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Congrats first peeps off the waitlist!
3 hours ago, teachtospeech said:Congrats!! Did you ask what quadrant ahead of time? I almost don't want to know ? but I am getting kind of antsy just waiting! I wonder if they are doing calls in rounds or if they did all the calls for currently available spots today. I also wonder if the waitlist is based on grades alone, or if other factors also count towards your spot on the waitlist. Not sure if anyone has insight but that would be nice to know.
I'm pretty sure they just rank every applicant based on grades and all the other factors included in the application (volunteering, references, etc.) and you're placed in the waitlist according to your ranking rather than grades alone. I'd email Janet, if you are in the 3rd or 4th quadrant it's very unlikely you'll get a spot
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3 hours ago, SLP123PLEASE said:
What is the program size for Western SLP vs Audiology again?
SLP 50, audiology 32
https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/orpas-program-requirements/
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19 minutes ago, speechbean said:
Hey!
Does anyone have any insight on UofT’s waitlist?I know we can’t find out where we are on the list but do we know how many people are usually waitlisted, how many get in off the waitlist, how early/late we could hear back about it?
ANY info on their process for waitlisted applicants would be super appreciated!
Hey, you can try to check the 2021 and 2020 threads with keywords like UofT, waitlist, off, offered, etc...I've taken a quick look and there's not much. A couple of people got off the waitlist in late April in 2020, maybe one got off in late April in 2021. It's probably not a large waitlist, but it's also unlikely that it will move much. I think it's because UofT is the top choice for a lot of applicants. I know, being waitlisted is excruciating, especially with no information
hope you hear good news soon
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Offered admission at UofT and waitlisted 2nd quadrant at Western, already accepted UofT's offer. Good luck to those on the waitlist!
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4 hours ago, KSpeech said:
Does anyone know how far into the waitlist Western went last year in terms of acceptances/seats available after April 15th? Janet has informed me that I'm in the first quadrant but not sure if Western usually gets through the whole first quadrant lool, any insight would be helpful!!!
Yes I confirm what the poster above said. A few people that were in the second quadrant got off the waitlist in the summer, and according to a recent post two spots freed up in September (!!). I think it might have been halfway through the 2nd quadrant considering that not all people on the waitlist are in this forum.
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2 hours ago, ElsaNotFrozen said:
Congrats to everyone who got in! For those who have re-applied, did you guys ask the same profs to do the references again? Maybe it's silly, but it was hard for me to ask the first time, can't imagine bothering them with it again :S
I don't think it's silly, it gave me a lot of anxiety to ask again lol. I applied 3 times, one of the referees was the same for all three applications. I also attended a workshop offered by York U on graduate admissions and SOI, I think the speaker prof was the coordinator of Graduate Studies or something and he said most professors are eager to help and just reach out, that gave me a lot of confidence to ask for new and old references!
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5 minutes ago, SLP--2021 said:
Hi everyone!
Congrats on acceptances!! The wait is finally over. I was rejected for Western SLP but waitlisted for Western Aud. I know the SLP class size is around 50, does anyone know the audiology class size?
Also an update for those waiting to hear back from U of A.. I emailed yesterday to inquire whether we would receive notification of rejection (I have yet to hear and am assuming this is the case) and Vicki said everyone will hear back by the end of April.
Thanks in advance!
It says it here https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/orpas-program-requirements/
The class size for audiology was 32 last year
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3 applications later...
I
GOT
INTO
U
OF
FREAKING
T
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
seen on ORPAS right at midnight!!! Waitlisted at Western (weird), already accepted UofT's offer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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6 hours ago, _waffle123 said:
Hey! Does anyone know how many people Western and Uoft puts on the waitlist?
No idea about UofT, but last year I counted 49 people on Western's waitlist just from this forum. So my guess is 80-100, which is ridiculous lol
edit: actually 49 included those who got a direct acceptance and went somewhere else. There were 30 on the waitlist from this forum, so maybe it's 50-60.
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14 minutes ago, SLPrettyPlease said:
I am lost - I also applied to UofT but I have no idea what acorn is? Did I miss an email from them or something? I know Western will send you an email asking you to set up your Western ID but I've never gotten anything like that from UofT in the past, just the "thanks but no thanks" email on decision day ?
It's pretty much UofT's student services centre, I'm guessing those that can see it are already UofT students in another program. I am not one either, so we do not get access to it
- AtBatts and SLPrettyPlease
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6 minutes ago, AlwaysanAssistant said:
Does anyone know if the focus on GPA changes at all in the case of a mature student?
I doubt it, I am a mature student myself and I haven't seen any special treatment
. I had to take more courses to improve my subGPA, last year I had over 250 hours of volunteering (single setting) and 3.67 subGPA but no research experience. I didn't get in anywhere (applied to McMaster, Western, UofT). It's a very unforgiving process. UofT also says that the prerequisites should be taken in the last 10 years.
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12 hours ago, SpeechPath22 said:
Does anyone know the sGPA cutoff for Western and UofT in previous years for people who were admitted to their SLP programs? I understand that other factors play a role in admissions, just hoping to get an idea of where I stand!
Someone got in with a mid-3.70s in UofT last year, with hundreds of hours of volunteering in multiple settings and multiple research experiences. Several other applicants got in UofT with low 3.80s. I'm pretty sure Western is lower, I got into their waitlist last year with a 3.67 (3rd quadrant, didn't end up getting off of it) and they offered admission to several applicants in the 2nd quadrant.
The thing is that with covid they keep changing their admission criteria so it's hard to tell if it's going to be similar to the previous year or not. It's likely that GPA counts more this year with UofT completely waiving the volunteer/clinical reference and Western waiving the clinical reference.
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7 minutes ago, 2022slpplease said:
Does anyone know when UofT and Western release their decisions on April 1st? I heard that Western is right at midnight but UofT can be a couple hours afterward. Can any past applicants confirm?
I think UofT sends acceptances around midnight but rejections the morning after. I got my rejection around 9 am.
Got my waitlist email for Western at 12:12 am
- AtBatts, 2022slpplease and SpeechieAlly
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3 hours ago, SLPtime said:
Hey guys im confused... I got a emails saying McMaster interview invitations are sent out on March 8, 2022? People already got them?
Yes they always say some date in March but actually send them out in the 2nd/3rd week of February. Unfortunately with a 3.75 subGPA you likely did not get an interview, the cut off this year seems to be around 3.84 or 3.85
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2 hours ago, somethingcleveraboutspeech said:
Hi all,
not exactly about admissions, but does anyone know the in-class time commitments for Western, MacMaster, and U of T? Like, how many hours per week is in lecture/class?
https://slp.utoronto.ca/current-students/master-of-health-science-students/unit_sched_2020_21/
U of T seems to be about 5 hrs/day 5 days a week, I'm assuming the other programs are similar?
2023 Canada Admissions SLP thread
in Speech-Language Pathology Forum
Posted
It really depends on how many courses you need to take to really boost your subGPA. If it's only a few, UofA has a couple of online half-credit courses in Communication Sciences and Disorders which I think would also give you some extra background in the field and would look good on a transcript. They're very expensive though (if I'm not mistaken I paid $1200 each a few years ago)
But if you need a lot of courses, I'd seriously consider what @ElsaNotFrozen said in the previous page. It will be worth it in the long run. I wish I did that back then, I spent years improving my subGPA because I needed to kick a lot of courses out of my subGPA calculation!
I'm not sure I'd take courses at UofT, their standards are pretty high and you might not be able to improve your GPA as much as you could elsewhere