2021 Canadian SLP Thread

[coco_SLP]

I believe it's the one that's at the bottom right of the chart.

Edited February 4, 2021 by coco_SLP

[SLPThreadGirl]

What is the difference between the overall GPA listed in ORPAS and the sub-gpa?

[coco_SLP]

4 minutes ago, SLPThreadGirl said:

What is the difference between the overall GPA listed in ORPAS and the sub-gpa?

If I'm not mistaken, the "Overall GPA" is your CGPA (Cumulative average), and the one on the bottom right is your sub-GPA (for the most recent courses).

[SLPThreadGirl]

Just now, coco_SLP said:

If I'm not mistaken, the "Overall GPA" is your CGPA (Cumulative average), and the one on the bottom right is your sub-GPA (for the most recent courses).

So CGPA would be my average for 4 years of university and the sub-GPA would be the last two years?

[wug#2]

3 minutes ago, SLPThreadGirl said:

So CGPA would be my average for 4 years of university and the sub-GPA would be the last two years?

yes

[Speechies22]

17 minutes ago, SLPThreadGirl said:

Is the sub-gpa the GPA listed at the bottom of the course calculations or is it the one above the courses titled overall GPA?

Sub gpa is listed at the bottom of the course calculations (in document tracking). You can see the full calculation for your overall gpa in the Post Secondary Institution tab (click View)

[SLPThreadGirl]

Could anyone who has applied in the past or current applicants who know tell me what is considered a competitive sub-gpa? I'm currently at 3.72 and I'm worried this is not high enough. 

[NDspeechie]

Where do you see your sub GPA?

[coco_SLP]

10 minutes ago, SLPThreadGirl said:

Could anyone who has applied in the past or current applicants who know tell me what is considered a competitive sub-gpa? I'm currently at 3.72 and I'm worried this is not high enough. 

Hey! Would you mind sharing where you've applied? Some schools weigh GPA a lot more than others, like McGill's average admittance is usually around 3.8 (on the 4.0 scale) or higher, but other schools like Western typically use it as more of an admissions requirement and say a GPA between 3.3-3.5 is competitive, or so I've heard. In the past I think it depended a lot on experience, so someone with a lower GPA but lots of great experience, reference letters, etc. might get in over someone who only has a strong GPA. But with Covid things might be different, since some places have eliminated the experience requirement, so I can't say for sure how things will play out.

I'd recommend looking at the schools websites again, because some might be clearer about what they're looking for in regards to GPA! 

However, I think a 3.72 is pretty good!

Best of luck  

[coco_SLP]

Just now, NDspeechie said:

Where do you see your sub GPA?

On ORPAS, go to "Document Tracking" and scroll to the bottom. There should be a big chart to show how they calculated it, and the number in the bottom right corner should be the sub GPA!

[NDspeechie]

For some reason, mine isnt there? 

[NDspeechie]

1 minute ago, coco_SLP said:

On ORPAS, go to "Document Tracking" and scroll to the bottom. There should be a big chart to show how they calculated it, and the number in the bottom right corner should be the sub GPA!

Yeah my sub GPA isn't posted yet? Anyone else?

[coco_SLP]

1 minute ago, NDspeechie said:

Yeah my sub GPA isn't posted yet? Anyone else?

Hmm interesting, I'm sorry. Maybe it will take a bit to get around to displaying everyone's? I think that as long as they received your transcript(s) by the deadline everything should be fine. Maybe wait a day and if it doesn't show up then reach out via SAM?

[SLPThreadGirl]

4 minutes ago, coco_SLP said:

Hey! Would you mind sharing where you've applied? Some schools weigh GPA a lot more than others, like McGill's average admittance is usually around 3.8 (on the 4.0 scale) or higher, but other schools like Western typically use it as more of an admissions requirement and say a GPA between 3.3-3.5 is competitive, or so I've heard. In the past I think it depended a lot on experience, so someone with a lower GPA but lots of great experience, reference letters, etc. might get in over someone who only has a strong GPA. But with Covid things might be different, since some places have eliminated the experience requirement, so I can't say for sure how things will play out.

I'd recommend looking at the schools websites again, because some might be clearer about what they're looking for in regards to GPA! 

However, I think a 3.72 is pretty good!

Best of luck  

I applied to Dalhousie, McMaster, Western and Toronto. Thanks for the information :), I've been trying to look through different websites and some of them either don't post it or you have to do some digging. On Dalhousie's website, they say that accepted applicants typically have a GPA over 3.7. 

 

Best of luck to you as well! Waiting to hear back is so nerve-racking!

[coco_SLP]

4 minutes ago, SLPThreadGirl said:

I applied to Dalhousie, McMaster, Western and Toronto. Thanks for the information :), I've been trying to look through different websites and some of them either don't post it or you have to do some digging. On Dalhousie's website, they say that accepted applicants typically have a GPA over 3.7. 

 

Best of luck to you as well! Waiting to hear back is so nerve-racking!

Best of luck! I applied to several of those schools as well. I think a 3.72 is pretty good, I've seen posts in the past of people being accepted with below that, and if you have things like some experience, good letters of intent, and good references, then I'm sure you'd be a worthy candidate! 

And thank you, it definitely is nerve-wracking! In March and April I'm definitely going to be refreshing my browsers way too often haha

Edited February 4, 2021 by coco_SLP

[DreamingofSpeech]

40 minutes ago, SLPThreadGirl said:

Could anyone who has applied in the past or current applicants who know tell me what is considered a competitive sub-gpa? I'm currently at 3.72 and I'm worried this is not high enough. 

Hey :) I've been around this block a couple of times haha so maybe I can offer some input. First of all, a 3.72 is a sGPA to be proud of so please don't forget all the work you put in to get yourself to this point! Since this is the first application year that's a bit unusual because of COVID, many of us are expecting GPA to play a bigger role than in past years BUT please remember many of these programs still look at more than that area of your application when they consider you. Many people speak about averages of accepted classes being around 3.7-3.8 usually, but remember this is not a minimum! I've seen people get accepted when I didn't when I've had 100+ volunteer hours more than them but they had a higher GPA, and I've also seen the opposite happen!

It's going to stressful while wait for the results to come back, but keep in mind that there are so many aspects that we don't see. We don't see people's letters, we don't see their references, and there's also no way to know what the group of people you are applying with are bringing to the table. Best of luck to you, and if it doesn't go your way this year there's always room to improve and keep trying :)

[HOPEFUL13]

Hi everyone! 

Does anyone know if each school calculates the applicants sGPA individually, or do they just take it from ORPAS? I am just wondering because 4 of my credits are from practicum courses and ORPAS did not include these courses in their calculations. However, I know McMaster does include practicum courses so I wasn't sure if they would automatically recalculate my sGPA or I would have to inform them? Also, does anyone know if any other schools include practicum courses (I also applied to UOT, and then Queens for OT)? 

Thanks for your help guys

[coco_SLP]

25 minutes ago, HOPEFUL13 said:

Hi everyone! 

Does anyone know if each school calculates the applicants sGPA individually, or do they just take it from ORPAS? I am just wondering because 4 of my credits are from practicum courses and ORPAS did not include these courses in their calculations. However, I know McMaster does include practicum courses so I wasn't sure if they would automatically recalculate my sGPA or I would have to inform them? Also, does anyone know if any other schools include practicum courses (I also applied to UOT, and then Queens for OT)? 

Thanks for your help guys

Hey! My understanding was that every school just takes it straight from ORPAS.

However, if McMaster does include those practicum courses, then maybe they would calculate the GPA on their own when they look at your transcript? I know schools outside of Ontario calculate it on their own, so it's completely possible that McMaster might as well. I think it would be worth reaching out to them to see for sure though. 

The UofT website for SLP says " The University of Toronto uses the ORPAS sub-grade point average (GPA) to determine eligibility for the MHSc program and the sub-GPA is part of the overall assessment process" so I would assume they'll be using the ORPAS one that doesn't include practicum courses. (I can send you the link that says this is need be). 

I didn't apply for OT so I can't speak about Queens though, sorry! I'd suggest double-checking their website, and if nothing is there, then emailing them might be best. 

Hope this helps  

[coco_SLP]

20 hours ago, NDspeechie said:

Yeah my sub GPA isn't posted yet? Anyone else?

Hey! I just got an email today from ORPAS saying I can now see my GPA calculations in ORPAS. Mine were posted yesterday but I just got the email today, so maybe by now they've posted everyone's? It might be worth checking! 

It also says we have until February 19th to report any required changes to our academic records. 

[MHTherapy]

Hi guys! Hope everyone is staying safe  

I just checked my official subGPA on ORPAS and it came out to be 3.43. I don’t have much hope of getting into McMaster with this sGPA since they rank you based on your sGPA and only the top 125 applicants get called for an interview. However, I do really want to go to Western and listed it as my first choice. I’m just a little bit worried and feeling a little bit discouraged with my sGPA. It doesn’t seem like I’ll be competitive enough based solely on my sGPA, but I do have a lotttt of volunteering (SLP and non-SLP) that I’ve completed over the past four years or so (over 1000 hours in total), so I’m hoping that might help my application but I’m not too sure. Feeling a little bit lost. If anyone knows of applicants making it into Western with a 3.4 sGPA I would love to hear from them! 
 

Wishing everyone lots of good luck with applications! 

Edited February 5, 2021 by SunshineSpeechie

[aspiringSLP2021]

Hey everyone!

Did anyone notice a mistake in their sGPA calculations? For some reason they took my average from my 2019 grades rather than just the fall semester in 2019. I took 4 courses that semester and 16 more in the following 4 semesters. I would think they would use those 4 instead of the average for the entire year, since it makes an even 20 courses. This brought down my sGPA quite a lot. I had calculated it to be about 3.7, but now it's at a 3.45. Has anyone else dealt with this? Do you think it could be changed if I email them? 

[cneuz]

4 minutes ago, SunshineSpeechie said:

Hi guys! Hope everyone is staying safe  

I just checked my official subGPA on ORPAS and it came out to be 3.43. I don’t have much hope of getting into McMaster with this sGPA since they rank you based on your sGPA and only the top 125 applicants get called for an interview. However, I do really want to go to Western and listed it as my first choice. I’m just a little bit worried and feeling a little bit discouraged with my sGPA. It doesn’t seem like I’ll be competitive enough based solely on my sGPA, but I do have a lotttt of volunteering (SLP and non-SLP) that I’ve completed over the past four years or so (over 1000 hours in total), so I’m hoping that might help my application but I’m not too sure. Feeling a little bit lost. If anyone knows of applicants making it into Western with a 3.4 sGPA I would love to hear from them! 
 

Wishing everyone lots of good luck with applications! 

Hey!! I just checked too and my subGPA is 3.31... my overall is terrible, only 2.78. This is my second time applying, first time was in 2018 and my subGPA was 2.91, didn't get accepted obvs. 3.31 is so much better but I'm still worried it isn't competitive enough (esp. with my overall being so low... do they look at overall too? or just sub? eeeeeeep). Also feeling discouraged, but also hoping my observation/volunteer hours help boost me. I think we have a good shot! I only applied to Western because it seems like my only realistic option/can only afford so many application fees.

[MiaSLP]

16 minutes ago, aspiringSLP2021 said:

Hey everyone!

Did anyone notice a mistake in their sGPA calculations? For some reason they took my average from my 2019 grades rather than just the fall semester in 2019. I took 4 courses that semester and 16 more in the following 4 semesters. I would think they would use those 4 instead of the average for the entire year, since it makes an even 20 courses. This brought down my sGPA quite a lot. I had calculated it to be about 3.7, but now it's at a 3.45. Has anyone else dealt with this? Do you think it could be changed if I email them? 

Unfortunately if they have to take courses out of your 2019, rather than taking the last courses you take, they take an overall average of that year. In that case, I don’t think it can be changed  I realized this last year as well. 

[Owl.on.a.Slide]

1 hour ago, aspiringSLP2021 said:

Hey everyone!

Did anyone notice a mistake in their sGPA calculations? For some reason they took my average from my 2019 grades rather than just the fall semester in 2019. I took 4 courses that semester and 16 more in the following 4 semesters. I would think they would use those 4 instead of the average for the entire year, since it makes an even 20 courses. This brought down my sGPA quite a lot. I had calculated it to be about 3.7, but now it's at a 3.45. Has anyone else dealt with this? Do you think it could be changed if I email them? 

Like the previous post, I confirm that it is correct. The only way for that semester to be excluded from calculation is taking more courses, which really sucks. For me it is bringing down my subGPA by 0.06 because it's only counting half a credit, but since I failed a course in that semester, the average for that half credit is 1.85 ???

It is a very unforgiving system. I've mostly gotten As and A+s (except for 1 B and 2 B+ in half credit courses) in my last 19 credits, but because of that semester my subGPA is only 3.67.

Edited February 5, 2021 by slp2020ab

[CCSLP94]

22 hours ago, SLPThreadGirl said:

I applied to Dalhousie, McMaster, Western and Toronto. Thanks for the information :), I've been trying to look through different websites and some of them either don't post it or you have to do some digging. On Dalhousie's website, they say that accepted applicants typically have a GPA over 3.7. 

 

Best of luck to you as well! Waiting to hear back is so nerve-racking!

Hey! I'm currently a first-year student at Western. I applied last year to McMaster and Western. My sub-GPA was 3.73 and I was invited to do MMIs at McMaster and was waitlisted at Western. Ultimately I wasn't accepted to McMaster but since I got to the interview level I figure that was more related to my interview responses than my sGPA. As for Western, I don't know what position I was at on the waitlist but on our thread last year I was one of the first to get an offer off the waitlist so I'm guessing I was close to the top. Also, obviously this changes every year but I was told when I was applying that the incoming class of 2019 (i.e., students in second year right now) at Western had a sub-GPA range of 3.5-4.0. I would say with 3.72 you have a great change, especially if your references are really good and if you did well in the prerequisite classes. I hope this helps you!