T.O.hopeful

Wow I didn't know some programs actually asked this question, not like anyone would answer "no"! I think if it were me, I would be prepared to speak to why the program is the right fit for me similar to what we mention in our SOIs, and use that reasoning to justify why the school ranks highly. And if it's a CGS-M school, then I would further reference that as evidence of the program ranking highly for me. But if it's not a CGS-M school... I would likely lean towards mentioning why but in a way that still makes me look the best as I possibly can in that situation lol. I'd be too nervous to leave out that elephant in the room as the committee/POI would clearly know I didn't list the program for CGS-M, so I wouldn't want to come off as fake raving about how this is a top choice yet I didn't rank them for the award. My hope is they would appreciate my honesty.

Does this week seem fairly quiet to other people or is this to be expected? I was expecting to hear of more invites during this second week of January but it's been quiet on here and the discord page. Tough seeing American schools have so many invites being sent while we wait for our POIs to dust off the application pile... lol And congrats @SoundofSilence!! Envious of your ability to relax now and it's only January ?!

I'm sorry to hear that you did not get accepted. But sounds like you're already using this as an opportunity to improve your skills/experience for the next admission cycle, which is a great attitude! Good luck with your new job, as it sounds like it will be quite relevant on your CV. Last year, I applied to only two clin psych programs (and no MSW ones). For one program i got to the interview and waitlist stage and was ultimately rejected. Because i had contact with several dept. faculty members, I did end up sending a follow up email for feedback after i was rejected. But for another program, I never received an interview invite and therefore didn't speak to anyone in the department. For that program, I decided not to ask for feedback. So, I would say it's easier to ask for feedback when you've already established some sort of connection/line of communication with the faculty? But not sure what others feel.

I echo this last point here ! I applied to primarily Canadian programs with the exception of one American clin psych program. And for that US school, right after the application deadline, a generic email was sent to all applicants with a timeline of when interview invites would be sent out, when interviews would be held, and when the first round of admission offers would be sent. This reduces so much anxiety because now i know if I hear nothing the week interview invites get sent, then i can focus my attention towards other schools. I know it can be challenging when a lot of applications get submitted but I wish all programs could operate with this kind of transparency!

I believe people started hearing back late January/early February for interviews. Despite an early application deadline, they were one of the later programs to reach out

I know some programs explicitly say they look at the GPA for your last 2 years only,so you could check the websites of those programs you listed. You could also email the program administrators to ask about that if the website isn't clear, I.e., do they look at last 2 years GPA only. Other than the GPA, sounds like you have great experience and would be a good candidate.

Did you consider a Masters in Social Work? It's versatile but also leads to licensure/registration and you can do counselling with an MSW

Mine is the same. I think it's still quite early for any news

Did anyone apply to Ryerson's clinical pysch program but listed a psychological science (i.e. non-C.Psych) professor as your POI? If yes, please let me know

I had an informal pre-interview for UTSC. If anyone wants to DM me for info related to timelines/next steps, happy to provide. I know how stressful the waiting game can be but I'm not fully comfortable putting out certain information directly on the forum? So just DM me if interested.

Congratulations! Nice to see a York interview to get an idea of when they're reaching out. I get the sense many people don't post updates on the results page..

I can't speak to which programs would be best for you but in terms of the references, don't worry about needing one that was your former professor. I obtained my bachelors degree 10 years ago and opted to use professional references only as I didn't keep that close contact with my school professors. If any of your professional references happen to hold university appointments though, I would try to use those people if you can. But if not, most school programs acknowledge that it's okay to use professional references if you've been out of school for long!

Nope, doesn't matter. You're hanging out with adults not children, 3-4 year age gap is nothing.

Hey! You could probably check the "Current Student" pages of the program websites as they'll typically post timetables for the current school year (which will give you a sense of what next year would be like). Many programs also have a program calendar/handbook, which also gives information about start dates or any orientation/expectations required of you prior to September

I think in general if you can financially afford to apply to more than one program and there's more than one program that's a good fit for you, then it's always a good idea to go this route. That said, it sounds like you have a really strong application based on your experience and the fact that you got to the interview stage of UofT's program, which is arguably the hardest Canadian program to get into given how many applications they receive. I don't know anything about UofC's program but given your background/history I think you'll be a stong candidate for this program as well! As an aside, for people that applied to UofT's MSW program, are there interviews for this program? I didn't see anything on the department website indicating applicants would be interviewed. Any insight on this process would be greatly appreciated!

Hi! Did you try creating an account at the link https://dalonline.dal.ca/PROD/bwskalog.P_DispLoginNon where it says First time student account creation?

Hey! Have you sorted this out now? I read on another page how a program that listed December 10 as their deadline actually was referring to December 9 at 11:59 pm, so when the person tried to submit documents shortly after midnight, it wasn't working. If you're still having issues, I'd suggest reaching out to York's administrators directly to clarify the issue just in case their December 15 deadline actually meant Dec 14 @ 11.59 pm

I remember a person posting a few pages back saying they got into the OISE program and the POI that accepted her never responded to the email she sent him prior to applying. So, I definitely wouldn't read too much into it if not everyone has responded to you!

Hey! Just feeling relieved that it's submitted ? I got the notification last night that my final referee had submitted her reference letter so my submission was officially completed . The 400 words was a bit challenging but I find these word limit exercises always make us better writers because you surprise yourself with how well you can get your point across with less words lol

I don't know the answer for sure but I think since a time isn't given, you can assume you have until 11:59 pm tonight. I also applied to the UofT MEd program and their webpage was explicit that the deadline was at 5 pm. So, I feel with the social work page not giving a time, you can assume until end of today!

Okay, thanks so much for this information! Sounds like they have issues with people applying multiple times lol. I still had no reply today, so I'll definitely email tomorrow. Thanks again!

Did anyone apply to UOttawa this year? I applied November 25 and still haven't receive the login information to submit my documents/the names of my referees. I received an email Tuesday (Nov 30) saying they were trying to load my online application but were coming up with someone with "similar credentials to mine". They asked a few confirmation questions, I responded right away, and then it's been silence ever since. Not sure if I should follow up or wait the 10 days they say it can take to get login info...

Thank you both!! I figured it was Faculty of the Department but started to overthink things ?

Hi everyone! This may be a silly question but could someone let me know what should be going in the "Faculty" line in the CGS-M portal within the Identification section? I.e., it shows: Organization: Faculty: Department/Division: I'm just not sure if Faculty is meant to be Faculty of the Department, i.e. Faculty of Social Sciences. Or if they want me to list the names of actual faculty members? Any insight would be greatly appreciated

I'm actualy hoping to submit my application by the end of today and similar to what the other poster said, I'm not getting close the the 1500 work mark. The biggest section I have is 567 words. That said, my research interests section does include things I've taken from the literature, so I will likely add a small reference list at the end since I'll have the word count space to hold it.