2021 Clinical Psychology Applicants CANADA

[crazyforclinical]

For those who are starting to complete their OGS applications for the masters level, how did you write your research proposal? Since we do not know who we will be studying under or what exactly will be our research, is the proposal similar to what is expected with the CGS-M? AKA we have to show we can write a detailed proposal but upon being offered the award you aren't held to directly studying the proposed research? 

[Edge98]

17 hours ago, broski said:

I included my undergrad thesis

Also, can you include your thesis if it's in progress? What does 'invited' mean for conferences/symposium? Thanks!

[emsmith]

21 minutes ago, Regina77 said:

Thanks a million for your response- so helpful thanks. In regards to contacting POI did you just email briefly? include your resume? I have this fear it could work against me if I say too much/too little?

I've done both with different people - I find a short email just to find out if they're taking students gets a much quicker reply than a longer email detailing my interest and experience (which sometimes takes a lot of work, just for a one line email back saying they're not taking students). However, I have had kind and enthusiastic responses from both types of emails, depending on the POI. 

If you're asking them specific questions and outlining your interests, I would include my CV, that way it is there for them to look at if your email sparks their interest. If they don't have time to read it, they won't but I doubt they would be offended that you included it. 

I feel like if you're generally being respectful of their time and showing interest in their work and working with them, you'll be fine even if your email is on the longer side. 

[emsmith]

17 hours ago, Edge98 said:

No you copy and paste your personal statement.  I believe it can be 1-2 pages long. There is no where to upload it after you submit. 

I'm wondering if there is a place to attach your CV after you submit? Or are we expected to include everything in the copy/paste boxes underneath the statement? Thanks!

[Edge98]

1 hour ago, emsmith said:

I'm wondering if there is a place to attach your CV after you submit? Or are we expected to include everything in the copy/paste boxes underneath the statement? Thanks!

you only include your statement in the box, and upload your CV after

[Regina77]

5 hours ago, emsmith said:

I've done both with different people - I find a short email just to find out if they're taking students gets a much quicker reply than a longer email detailing my interest and experience (which sometimes takes a lot of work, just for a one line email back saying they're not taking students). However, I have had kind and enthusiastic responses from both types of emails, depending on the POI. 

If you're asking them specific questions and outlining your interests, I would include my CV, that way it is there for them to look at if your email sparks their interest. If they don't have time to read it, they won't but I doubt they would be offended that you included it. 

I feel like if you're generally being respectful of their time and showing interest in their work and working with them, you'll be fine even if your email is on the longer side. 

 

5 hours ago, emsmith said:

I've done both with different people - I find a short email just to find out if they're taking students gets a much quicker reply than a longer email detailing my interest and experience (which sometimes takes a lot of work, just for a one line email back saying they're not taking students). However, I have had kind and enthusiastic responses from both types of emails, depending on the POI. 

If you're asking them specific questions and outlining your interests, I would include my CV, that way it is there for them to look at if your email sparks their interest. If they don't have time to read it, they won't but I doubt they would be offended that you included it. 

I feel like if you're generally being respectful of their time and showing interest in their work and working with them, you'll be fine even if your email is on the longer side. 

thanks for the tips. I will write that email then! fingers crossed

[Wanderingmind]

For anyone that is applying to CGS-M, do you know if our transcripts have to say our class standing? I was under the impression that we need to be first-class standing, but my official transcripts dont show my class anywhere. Just wondering if I should be contacting my university about this, or if this is normal and okay.

[prospectivegradstudent21]

confused about the CGS-M proposal writing, anybody have resources from online that helped them? trying to find templates/examples but to no luck. only have an example from ryersons video. u can quote this or reply to me through private messages, thanks!

Edited November 20, 2020 by prospectivegradstudent21

[VanessaB]

7 hours ago, Wanderingmind said:

For anyone that is applying to CGS-M, do you know if our transcripts have to say our class standing? I was under the impression that we need to be first-class standing, but my official transcripts dont show my class anywhere. Just wondering if I should be contacting my university about this, or if this is normal and okay.

Your transcripts should come with a grading legend. Sometimes these are on the back of the transcript and sometimes they’re on a separate page. You’ll want to include these.

[+ve regard]

18 hours ago, Regina77 said:

Thanks a million for your response- so helpful thanks. In regards to contacting POI did you just email briefly? include your resume? I have this fear it could work against me if I say too much/too little?

Agree with emsmith  

I emailed with a CV attached, so the POIs could reference it if they wanted. I also included enough detail in the email itself (a paragraph) so they could get a sense of who I was.

I think if I was a POI, I would definitely want to see a CV. Committing to a student for 6+ years is a big decision, so showing initiative and providing them with any necessary background to make that decision is +++

When I met with my POI (back in the days of in-person contact), he had reviewed my CV very thoroughly and asked me follow-up questions based on that info. So it ended up being a good choice. 

Good luck and good writing!

Edited November 20, 2020 by +ve regard

[Wanderingmind]

2 hours ago, VanessaB said:

Your transcripts should come with a grading legend. Sometimes these are on the back of the transcript and sometimes they’re on a separate page. You’ll want to include these.

So my transcripts do not come with a grading legend, should I use the one I found off the universities website? Or do I not need one if the transcripts show my grade as both a percentage and as a grade point?

[Edge98]

For CGS-M, do we submit our proposal and our references/bibliography in the same document? and upload to the "outline of proposed research" section? If not, where do we upload our references? 

[Rapunzel116]

2 hours ago, Edge98 said:

For CGS-M, do we submit our proposal and our references/bibliography in the same document? and upload to the "outline of proposed research" section? If not, where do we upload our references? 

Yes references on your proposal document!

[Rapunzel116]

6 hours ago, Wanderingmind said:

So my transcripts do not come with a grading legend, should I use the one I found off the universities website? Or do I not need one if the transcripts show my grade as both a percentage and as a grade point?

I would add the legend from your universities website to your transcripts still. Most schools ive applied to specify to have one so better to be safe and have it.

[LMoll]

Hi everyone! On the topic of transcripts, my school's official transcript does not even provide a GPA. It provides the percentage grade and then the class average-- that's it. I emailed UVic to ask what they would require (because their instructions were slightly more demanding) and they weren't much help. Do I need to provide a GPA scale? Or is the even necessary considering the grades are percentages?

[VanessaB]

47 minutes ago, LMoll said:

Hi everyone! On the topic of transcripts, my school's official transcript does not even provide a GPA. It provides the percentage grade and then the class average-- that's it. I emailed UVic to ask what they would require (because their instructions were slightly more demanding) and they weren't much help. Do I need to provide a GPA scale? Or is the even necessary considering the grades are percentages?

I took some classes at UVic a few years ago. There's a grading legend that goes with the transcript. This is what you'll need: https://www.uvic.ca/registrar/assets/docs/ot-legend.pdf

[VanessaB]

2 hours ago, LMoll said:

Hi everyone! On the topic of transcripts, my school's official transcript does not even provide a GPA. It provides the percentage grade and then the class average-- that's it. I emailed UVic to ask what they would require (because their instructions were slightly more demanding) and they weren't much help. Do I need to provide a GPA scale? Or is the even necessary considering the grades are percentages?

Or wait, do you mean you’re applying to UVic but your undergrad transcripts aren’t coming from there but somewhere else? In that case, the funding agency wants the grading sheet, so it applies to all universities you’re listing on your funding app. It would be in your best interest to track down the grading sheet even if your transcript has percentages listed.  

Edited November 21, 2020 by VanessaB

[Regina77]

13 hours ago, +ve regard said:

Agree with emsmith  

I emailed with a CV attached, so the POIs could reference it if they wanted. I also included enough detail in the email itself (a paragraph) so they could get a sense of who I was.

I think if I was a POI, I would definitely want to see a CV. Committing to a student for 6+ years is a big decision, so showing initiative and providing them with any necessary background to make that decision is +++

When I met with my POI (back in the days of in-person contact), he had reviewed my CV very thoroughly and asked me follow-up questions based on that info. So it ended up being a good choice. 

Good luck and good writing!

thanks yet again. Another question are there any in your cohort or other cohorts coming with healthcare backgrounds like occupational health nutritionist nurses etc? I have a healthcare background and I wonder if it works against me but hope the program values interdisciplinary backgrounds or maybe not? what do you think?

[LMoll]

13 hours ago, VanessaB said:

Or wait, do you mean you’re applying to UVic but your undergrad transcripts aren’t coming from there but somewhere else? In that case, the funding agency wants the grading sheet, so it applies to all universities you’re listing on your funding app. It would be in your best interest to track down the grading sheet even if your transcript has percentages listed.  

Thank you! I'll try my best to find that and attach it. What about the select schools that still require you to mail an official transcript? There're no way to attach a grading sheet to the sealed document. Would you recommend I just attach it online?

[VanessaB]

11 minutes ago, LMoll said:

Thank you! I'll try my best to find that and attach it. What about the select schools that still require you to mail an official transcript? There're no way to attach a grading sheet to the sealed document. Would you recommend I just attach it online?

Usually, you'd have to request those transcripts to be mailed directly from the institution to the school(s) you're applying at, so if they don't attach a grading sheet then the receiving institution will likely just use what's in the envelope. If you think your official documents won't suffice, you may want to contact the programs directly and ask if they'd prefer a separate mailed grading sheet or if the official copy will be enough. Most of the time, if the official transcripts aren't sufficient, they'll let you know, but some schools get so many applications that they may not be able to flag every issue.

Edited November 21, 2020 by VanessaB

[VanessaB]

12 hours ago, Regina77 said:

thanks yet again. Another question are there any in your cohort or other cohorts coming with healthcare backgrounds like occupational health nutritionist nurses etc? I have a healthcare background and I wonder if it works against me but hope the program values interdisciplinary backgrounds or maybe not? what do you think?

I think it really depends on the program and factors such as faculty specialization and how well aligned their research programs are to your own applied experiences and research path. One thing you may want to keep in mind is that some programs are looking for depth and breadth of your psychology-specific courses. If you can show that you've obtained comparable experiences and courses, it may not be an issue. On the other hand, some programs will only consider applicants who have an Honours Psyc degree, so unfortunately some programs aren’t willing to consider a range of degrees for entrance.

Speaking from my own experience, having worked as an educator for many years (so coming from an education background not healthcare background in my case), I had tons of applied experiences, especially working with children, but I was lacking in my academic psychology background. Due to this, I went back to school to complete another undergraduate degree later in my 20s and majored in Honours Psych. This not only gave me more exposure to psychological research, but I was able to gain current psychology-specific research references, and I expanded the depth and breadth of my academic psychology background. Doing another degree may not be needed, but that's the path I took.

Edited November 21, 2020 by VanessaB

[Jpsych_]

Hey everyone

for the CCV, would you put your research articles that have been sent to a journal but not published yet in the working papers section? 
 

thanks!

[Jpsych_]

On 11/8/2020 at 10:09 AM, VanessaB said:

You’re summarizing the research you’ve proposed and are planning to undertake. Don’t just copy parts of your proposal though. You’ll want to find another way to explain things. Explain things in plain, easy-to-understand language. If you get the funding, your summary could be posted for the public to read what your research is all about, so anyone from any discipline or the general public should be able to read the summary and understand what’s going to happen and what your research is all about.

Did you add in text citations to the summary of proposal? 

[VanessaB]

Just now, Jpsych_ said:

Did you add in text citations to the summary of proposal? 

Yes, you need to include in-text citations as well as the corresponding reference list that follows the proposal. The proposal will be one page and your references will be on a second page.

[Regina77]

2 hours ago, VanessaB said:

I think it really depends on the program and factors such as faculty specialization and how well aligned their research programs are to your own applied experiences and research path. One thing you may want to keep in mind is that some programs are looking for depth and breadth of your psychology-specific courses. If you can show that you've obtained comparable experiences and courses, it may not be an issue. On the other hand, some programs will only consider applicants who have an Honours Psyc degree, so unfortunately some programs aren’t willing to consider a range of degrees for entrance.

Speaking from my own experience, having worked as an educator for many years (so coming from an education background not healthcare background in my case), I had tons of applied experiences, especially working with children, but I was lacking in my academic psychology background. Due to this, I went back to school to complete another undergraduate degree later in my 20s and majored in Honours Psych. This not only gave me more exposure to psychological research, but I was able to gain current psychology-specific research references, and I expanded the depth and breadth of my academic psychology background. Doing another degree may not be needed, but that's the path I took.

thanks Vanessa that helps. am lucky in that my first degree was honors psych then went into 2nd degree for healthcare....so from what you are saying do you think your experience in education  and degree in psych helped your chances?