NikolaSLP

I wouldn't stress over your GPA! the UofA is only using it as a base requirement, so once you meet the 3.3 GPA they aren't considering it any further. People who had 3.3 or 3.4 GPAs got into the UofA last year! I know its hard but try not to stress about it!

1. Yes, its based on the last sixty credits to my knowledge, I couldn't find any info on their website that says otherwise. 2. Snapshot is not required for the UofA 3. If Atlus (CASPer) says it has been delivered then you are all good. 4. Once you submit your application you can access it in the GSMS portal under completed applications. From there you can check if your references have submitted their references or not. Also up until the 15 of January you can delete and upload documents as well.

If you have only attended schools in Ontario then yes, after you have requested your transcripts through ORPAS you don't need to do anything further. But if you have attended any schools outside of Ontario then you need to get the school to send a copy to ORPAS via mail or electronically.

So it is kind of confusing but basically they want you to upload a copy of your official transcripts that you had sent to yourself as a pdf. They don't want you to send transcripts directly from your university to them. People say unofficial because there is a possibility that since you uploaded them you could have "tampered" with it so it is not considered official if it is not sent directly in a sealed envelope. Once you are accepted to the program they will get you to send a copy directly from your university if needed.

ORPAS requires official transcripts only, so do not upload your transcripts. Have your school send official transcripts directly to ORPAS for after your grades are posted. ORPAS allows transcripts to be submitted up until January 30th so don't worry about having to get it in before the 6th. Here is a link to the info on transcripts for ORPAS: https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/orpas-transcript/ hope that helps!

Yes, for the UofA referees have until February 1st to submit their letters. If you want to double check it says so here! https://www.ualberta.ca/communications-sciences-and-disorders/programs/msc-in-speech-language-pathology/admissions/application-process.html#:~:text=Applicant referees will be contacted,%24135 cheque to the Department.

I'm 26 and have been out of my undergrad for nearly five years now. I didn't know what I wanted to do once I finished my undergrad, so I moved to Japan and lived there for three years, been back for almost two years now and have continued working. I can relate to feeling out of the loop now that I've been out of undergrad longer than I was in it ahaha, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've heard of plenty of people in their thirties getting in!

I can't speak for McGill, but I asked Vicki last year if we need the snapshot for UofA, and she told me no! Hope that helps.

Yes, you definitely can. It's not a hard rule, just makes for smoother reading when the acronyms aren't used.

No, professions are not capitalized in formal writing. Here some other tips that might help with formal writing! - No contractions: don't -> do not - No acronyms: SLP -> speech language pathologist - Places, names, and languages need to be capitalized. ex. Ontario, Western University, English

Yes, typically if the schools require a third reference they give you the option of submitting either a third academic reference or a professional reference. However, for Western it needs to be two academic and one professional/personal reference, the professional/personal reference being the replacement for the clinical reference this year. For the UofA its at least two academic references and the third can be either or. The UofT is only requiring two academic references and waiving the third reference all together, but if you have been out of University for five or more years then one can be a professional reference. I can't speak for the other schools as I haven't looked into their application processes that much.

I had the same problem last year when I took a pre-req at the UofA. The answer depends on the school. For UofA applications, you only need unofficial transcripts, which should be available to you mid-January from the UofA. From there you can download a copy and upload it to your application. For the UofT and Western, ORPAS only accepts official transcripts, so you'll have to leave it as IPR, and send the official transcript as soon as you receive it.

The professional reference does not need to be from a current employer.

Yes, they won't accept it from MyCreds because the application only requires unofficial transcripts. You should be able to have a copy of your transcript sent to you either electronically or by mail, from there you can print/open them and scan them to your computer which will allow you to upload them as a pdf. If thats not possible I would contact Ryerson and Brock and let them know you need a physical copy.

I'm not applying to Dalhousie, so I could be wrong, but is there a chance they are referring to chronological order not for the courses on your transcripts but for your most recent studies? Me for example I got my degree at Ucalgary but did open studies at Athabasca afterwards so my most recent transcript would be Athabasca. If you've only attended one school, that would be your most recent.

You would address them as Dr. since they have PhDs.

Okay so if I understand correctly, you previously took this course and received credit for it, but then you retook it to improve your grade later right? In that case you already received credit for the course, so your school did not give you a full credit when you retook it. I believe, in this case ORPAS will include the most recent grade for that credit in your subGPA calculation if the original credit falls within the last 10 full-credit courses. Thats my take on it from what ORPAS says anyways, if you want to know for sure I would suggest sending them an email to confirm. Hope that helps!

From what I understand, both the written and video portion count towards the score that gets sent to the schools. But you only get feedback on the written portion. Its weird because last year you got the quartile score for your entire test and now you only get half? like what??

I took CASPer in October, and yes I can confirm that it is now half written and half video response. However, you only receive a quartile score for the written portion... which is pretty dumb because that only tells you how well you did on half the test...

It doesn't count towards your degree, but that doesn't matter for subGPA calculation. ORPAS calculates your subGPA based off your 10 most recent full-credit courses regardless of whether they counted towards your degree or not. For example, I graduated in 2018 and received my degree but since then I have taken 10 half-credit courses as an open studies student, so ORPAS will include those courses and some from my degree as well. Hope that answers your question!

Just a heads up for people apply to the UofA! They added some new questions for the career interests statement: 1. Why do you want to pursue graduate training in Speech-Language Pathology, and at the University of Alberta specifically? 2. What unique qualities will you bring to a graduate training program in communication sciences and disorders? 3. Please describe your perspective on equity diversity and inclusion (EDI) and/or your personal experiences with respect to EDI. How will these perspectives impact your role as a future SLP or student in the MSc-SLP program? 4. We may not have asked something that you find important to share with the admissions committee. Let us know if there is anything else that we should know when reviewing your application. (this one is optional) I also noticed they have added 15 spots for Saskatchewan students! So the quota is now 56 + 15 for Saskatchewan residents. I think they added this because of the shortage of SLPs there right now, but thats just my theory.

Western’s minimum for prerequisites is a B. Honestly, I’m not sure how much it really matters but the SLP masters is really competitive, which means lots of competitive applications, which means admissions boards could be using prerequisite grades to narrow down or decide between applicants. I would say retake the course because honestly you never know what could be the deciding factor, plus it would allow you to then apply to the UofT, as thier B+ requirement is a hard cut off for applications.

Hey! So I can't say I know where most Canadians go, but after I got rejected last year I also looked into US schools. There are a LOT of schools (over 100 I think??) so you'll have a many to choose from. However, one of the major downsides is that most of the schools require you take a leveling year (from September to August), as the US does offer an CSD undergrad. When I was looking last year I looked at the University of Montana and University of Arizona. The leveling year for UofM was roughly 10 courses over 12 months and about 27,000 dollars USD. The master program was an additional 44,000 dollar USD. So roughly 71,000 USD just for tuition! And UofM is considered the cheap option. The UofArizona was much more expensive, I think averaging 53,000 USD a year. Another downside is that to receive you Masters you have to meet the American Hearing Associations guidelines, which is an additional 5 general courses outside your SLP masters; things like a multiculturalism, Biology etc. Some of these you may already have from you undergrad. Overall applying in the US is less competitive as there are more schools to apply to however, it is much more expensive and requires just as many requisite courses as Canadian schools if not more. If the price and time commitment is not a worry for you then it is definitely an option!