2021 Canadian SLP Thread

[heynowheynow]

Would anyone be interested in a Zoom night to prep for the MMI together? It'd be super nice to practice and hear diff perspectives to questions! 

[coco_SLP]

9 minutes ago, heynowheynow said:

Would anyone be interested in a Zoom night to prep for the MMI together? It'd be super nice to practice and hear diff perspectives to questions! 

I'm super busy the next week and a bit leading up to the MMIs, but if it's at a time when i can make it then I'd be down to join this!

[SpeechieWannaB]

1 hour ago, 2021speechie said:

Have many of you already completed the Indigenous course requirement? Based on the information on their website it says that we have until August of our first admission year to complete the course so I was waiting to see if I got accepted before completing it. But I'm concerned now that I see Vicki said that you need it to have a strong application...

I did last summer... I had some spare time, so I figured why not? Quick and painless! And it was really well put together in the fact that you could just do one week's work in just over an hour or so. 

[Em98]

Sorry don't know how to delete this!

Edited February 25, 2021 by Em98

[Em98]

1 hour ago, 2021speechie said:

Have many of you already completed the Indigenous course requirement? Based on the information on their website it says that we have until August of our first admission year to complete the course so I was waiting to see if I got accepted before completing it. But I'm concerned now that I see Vicki said that you need it to have a strong application...

I asked Vicki about how to prove that I took the MOOC course and she said she doesn't care about that until admissions offers have been made. It sounded to me like U of A doesn't really look at that at all for admission.

[neuroling]

1 hour ago, Em98 said:

I asked Vicki about how to prove that I took the MOOC course and she said she doesn't care about that until admissions offers have been made. It sounded to me like U of A doesn't really look at that at all for admission.

Thank you for sharing this! I was so nervous about not having finished it 

[Mousse]

Question about ORPAS: 

Here is the link I'm referring to: https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/orpas-program-requirements/

I was just going through the application guide and saw they've given the amount of applicants per program in 2020 and the number of positions in 2021. I initially thought it's last years information since our app was technically submitted in 2021 but, it wouldn't refer to the positions as "2021 positions".  

So, do these numbers include us? 

[SpeechieWannaB]

1 minute ago, Mousse said:

Question about ORPAS: 

Here is the link I'm referring to: https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/orpas-program-requirements/

I was just going through the application guide and saw they've given the amount of applicants per program in 2020 and the number of positions in 2021. I initially thought it's last years information since our app was technically submitted in 2021 but, it wouldn't refer to the positions as "2021 positions".  

So, do these numbers include us? 

It states at the top of the web page that the last update was October 15, 2020 of last year. So I'd assume that the stats listed would have been applications from last admissions cycle ?‍♀️

[Mousse]

Just now, SpeechieWannaB said:

It states at the top of the web page that the last update was October 15, 2020 of last year. So I'd assume that the stats listed would have been applications from last admissions cycle ?‍♀️

Exactly! But the years are confusing... Just don't understand why'd they'd refer to them as 2021 positions if the program started in fall 2020. 

[SpeechieWannaB]

Just now, Mousse said:

Exactly! But the years are confusing... Just don't understand why'd they'd refer to them as 2021 positions if the program started in fall 2020. 

I think the application numbers were last year total applications, but the 2021 numbers are the seats available this year? 

[Mousse]

Just now, SpeechieWannaB said:

I think the application numbers were last year total applications, but the 2021 numbers are the seats available this year? 

okay yep that makes sense lol. logic, I don't always got it innit m8. 

[s.slp]

For those of you wondering about UofA's new admission process, I think I may be able to shed a bit more light! In past years (including 2020 admission cycle) UofA ranked all applicants by GPA and only once they had their rankings of the top grades did they begin to look at any supplemental items. This year they are doing it the opposite way and will be looking at all the additional items and doing their rankings while blinded to the GPAs. They have changed this in an effort to get a more diverse class and are using the GPA cutoff listed as just a minimum. So if you have great supplementals (within the top 62 applicants) and a lower GPA still within their cutoff, it seems like you would have a fairly decent shot at being admitted. Obviously there are more nuanced details that won't have been shared outside of staff though so do keep that in mind!

I'm a student at UofA and our student society just gave us this information recently and we were told to share with applicants. Obviously my class did not have admissions using this process so I don't have much more insight but I thought I'd pass along what I was told!

[coco_SLP]

7 hours ago, s.slp said:

For those of you wondering about UofA's new admission process, I think I may be able to shed a bit more light! In past years (including 2020 admission cycle) UofA ranked all applicants by GPA and only once they had their rankings of the top grades did they begin to look at any supplemental items. This year they are doing it the opposite way and will be looking at all the additional items and doing their rankings while blinded to the GPAs. They have changed this in an effort to get a more diverse class and are using the GPA cutoff listed as just a minimum. So if you have great supplementals (within the top 62 applicants) and a lower GPA still within their cutoff, it seems like you would have a fairly decent shot at being admitted. Obviously there are more nuanced details that won't have been shared outside of staff though so do keep that in mind!

I'm a student at UofA and our student society just gave us this information recently and we were told to share with applicants. Obviously my class did not have admissions using this process so I don't have much more insight but I thought I'd pass along what I was told!

Thank you so much for this insight! 

For me personally, I think UA is my top choice but I worry a bit about my application because I don't have much experience directly related to the field of SLP, as I think my GPA is the strongest part of my application. However, I completely understand why they use this holistic process and think it's better than only using GPA. I guess if they also look at CASPer, GRE, 3 references, Resume, a Statement of Career Interests, then maybe they'll find something worth admitting.  I've been a TA and done research before, so maybe they might consider that. I'll keep my hopes up!

 

[Owl.on.a.Slide]

Just received the rejection email from McMaster. If you're waiting and you haven't received one, maybe there's hope for you? ?

[MHTherapy]

Also received a rejection from McMaster

[speechie98]

Also got rejected from McMaster  

 

[MiaSLP]

Rejected as well  Not how I wanted to start my weekend...

[SLPThreadGirl]

Also received my rejection from McMaster today. I kind of prepared myself for it as I know the GPA cut-off is competitive. Just wanted to share this as it made me feel better. My friend who applied last year didn't receive an interview from McMaster but was accepted by Western and UofT and now attends UofT. It goes to show that you can still be a qualified applicant without having an extremely high GPA. I'm hoping McMaster will change their application process in the future. GPA is a very important measure but it doesn't paint the whole picture for many applicants.

[SpeechieWannaB]

8 hours ago, s.slp said:

For those of you wondering about UofA's new admission process, I think I may be able to shed a bit more light! In past years (including 2020 admission cycle) UofA ranked all applicants by GPA and only once they had their rankings of the top grades did they begin to look at any supplemental items. This year they are doing it the opposite way and will be looking at all the additional items and doing their rankings while blinded to the GPAs. They have changed this in an effort to get a more diverse class and are using the GPA cutoff listed as just a minimum. So if you have great supplementals (within the top 62 applicants) and a lower GPA still within their cutoff, it seems like you would have a fairly decent shot at being admitted. Obviously there are more nuanced details that won't have been shared outside of staff though so do keep that in mind!

I'm a student at UofA and our student society just gave us this information recently and we were told to share with applicants. Obviously my class did not have admissions using this process so I don't have much more insight but I thought I'd pass along what I was told!

This is so interesting to me....

Personally, I see some really great points as to why this would create opportunities for those who may not be "strong" from a GPA standpoint. However, I feel that COVID may have negatively impacted those who weren't able to get alternate volunteer experiences. 

So, for the ones who kept their GPA up despite the COVID semester, yet didn't have the opportunity to have those experiences on their resume, this is almost detrimental and possibly the opposite of equitable. 

I don't envy those having to make the selections this year..... 

[coco_SLP]

38 minutes ago, SpeechieWannaB said:

This is so interesting to me....

Personally, I see some really great points as to why this would create opportunities for those who may not be "strong" from a GPA standpoint. However, I feel that COVID may have negatively impacted those who weren't able to get alternate volunteer experiences. 

So, for the ones who kept their GPA up despite the COVID semester, yet didn't have the opportunity to have those experiences on their resume, this is almost detrimental and possibly the opposite of equitable. 

I don't envy those having to make the selections this year..... 

I agree! I'm in that boat, it's hard to get placements in my city as it is but with COVID that made it near impossible, but I was able to keep up a 4.0 GPA in the Winter 2020 semester that they won't look at. While many schools are removing the requirement for clinical placements this year, it seems like UA is sort of the opposite, although I think they may have been planning this shift in selection process for a while and COVID just sort of happened to get in the way. On their website they also don't specify experience with the field of SLP specifically, but more if you can demonstrate the values of EDI and whatnot, so I'm hoping then by looking at resumes, statement of interests, and especially reference letters then maybe they can value some other good experiences/skills/personality traits! I'll keep my fingers crossed  

[coco_SLP]

I received an email this morning with a Zoom link for my McMaster MMI!

To those of you being rejected by McMaster, I'm sorry that this whole process seems like it's off to a bad start, but please keep your heads up! GPA isn't everything, although I'm sure it might seem like it right now. I'm sure you all have some wonderful skills and experiences outside of that, and so I truly hope other schools are able to see this, and wish you the best of luck with the rest of your applications! It's going to be an emotional next month or two, but stay grounded and keep your chins up  

Edited February 26, 2021 by coco_SLP

[speechie297]

10 hours ago, s.slp said:

For those of you wondering about UofA's new admission process, I think I may be able to shed a bit more light! In past years (including 2020 admission cycle) UofA ranked all applicants by GPA and only once they had their rankings of the top grades did they begin to look at any supplemental items. This year they are doing it the opposite way and will be looking at all the additional items and doing their rankings while blinded to the GPAs. They have changed this in an effort to get a more diverse class and are using the GPA cutoff listed as just a minimum. So if you have great supplementals (within the top 62 applicants) and a lower GPA still within their cutoff, it seems like you would have a fairly decent shot at being admitted. Obviously there are more nuanced details that won't have been shared outside of staff though so do keep that in mind!

I'm a student at UofA and our student society just gave us this information recently and we were told to share with applicants. Obviously my class did not have admissions using this process so I don't have much more insight but I thought I'd pass along what I was told!

Are they referring to experience with EDI or SLP-based experience? Or everything? This makes me nervous that they won't be looking at GPA! 

[neuroling]

Hey all! People who have received interview offers, waitlists (?) and formal rejections (me lol) to Mac should think about adding it formally on the results portal so that next year's applicants have a more streamlined way of checking the timeline.

Best of luck to everyone - getting the email this morning was a disappointing even though I knew my chances were slim to none. There's a right program for you out there, keep it up 

Edited February 26, 2021 by neuroling
changing 'guys' to 'all'

[s.slp]

16 minutes ago, speechie297 said:

Are they referring to experience with EDI or SLP-based experience? Or everything? This makes me nervous that they won't be looking at GPA! 

Hey I'm sorry but I'm not sure! All I was told was that they would be looking at all the additional materials first, but I don't know what specific experiences they will be prioritizing. I imagine that GPA may still be a factor, especially for people near the bottom of the top ~60 because if people have similarly ranked additional materials then I imagine GPA would come in to differentiate those people. This is just my personal speculation though based on the limited info the student society gave me so please don't take this as fact!!

[SLPEventually]

Just got my rejection for McMaster. I'm very discouraged, but holding out hope for Western and UofT.