2022 Canada Admissions SLP thread

[2022slpplease]

On 12/5/2021 at 5:32 PM, SpeechieAlly said:

Are you submitting a resume? I don't think it really matters which way you do it in this circumstance as long as you are consistent throughout the application.

No I am not submitting a resume. I am referring to the personal submission of volunteer experiences. It says "Entries will be sorted chronologically (most recent first) within each category." But I'm not sure if that means regardless of how we enter it, ORPAS will somehow sort it, or if we should enter them chronologically ourselves. 

Also I was able to find some answers the question I posted so Im going to post it here in case anyone else has the same issue I believe it should be chronologically organized by end date

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

Hi all -

I haven't read through all the posts (I've been trying to avoid this thread as much as possible! Hello, increased anxiety!) but I wanted to share something interesting that I heard from the U of T information session last month...

He said that you can upload as many references as you want and you may get lucky and the person reviewing your application may read them and take them into account! So it's worth it to still get your clinical supervisor to write something down just in case. 

Also, he said that if you have a relationship with a professor who is no longer on the faculty, but held a significant position before they left, you can still get them to write you your academic letter (if they feel comfortable doing so).

Hope this helps!

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

Does anyone know how to send transcripts from Athabasca U to ORPAS? I did it last year but can't remember...

[SpeechieAlly]

22 hours ago, 2022slpplease said:

No I am not submitting a resume. I am referring to the personal submission of volunteer experiences. It says "Entries will be sorted chronologically (most recent first) within each category." But I'm not sure if that means regardless of how we enter it, ORPAS will somehow sort it, or if we should enter them chronologically ourselves. 

Also I was able to find some answers the question I posted so I'm going to post it here in case anyone else has the same issue I believe it should be chronologically organized by end date

I know what you're referring to, what I meant was that if you are also submitting a resume, to be consistent between your resume and volunteer section the order you put entries in-if that makes sense!

But no worries now, looks like you got it all figured out

[2022slpplease]

44 minutes ago, SpeechieAlly said:

I know what you're referring to, what I meant was that if you are also submitting a resume, to be consistent between your resume and volunteer section the order you put entries in-if that makes sense!

But no worries now, looks like you got it all figured out

Oh I see! My misunderstanding. Thank you, thats great advice

[2022aud]

On 12/7/2021 at 10:40 AM, somethingcleveraboutspeech said:

Hi all -

I haven't read through all the posts (I've been trying to avoid this thread as much as possible! Hello, increased anxiety!) but I wanted to share something interesting that I heard from the U of T information session last month...

He said that you can upload as many references as you want and you may get lucky and the person reviewing your application may read them and take them into account! So it's worth it to still get your clinical supervisor to write something down just in case. 

Also, he said that if you have a relationship with a professor who is no longer on the faculty, but held a significant position before they left, you can still get them to write you your academic letter (if they feel comfortable doing so).

Hope this helps!

Hi! I heard something similar in the info session I attended 2 months ago! Thanks for sharing. When he means you can upload "as many references as you want", that is using all three available reference spots under the "Referees" section? Or would it be uploading additional documents with SAM? I haven't uploaded anything through SAM before so I'm unsure! Thanks in advance for any help!!!

[pls_SLP]

Does anyone know if it is alright to abbreviate Speech-Language Pathology to SLP in our statement letter? Not quite sure if that seems a bit unprofessional... It's just that it gives us much more space to write more characters?

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

12 hours ago, 2022slp said:

Hi! I heard something similar in the info session I attended 2 months ago! Thanks for sharing. When he means you can upload "as many references as you want", that is using all three available reference spots under the "Referees" section? Or would it be uploading additional documents with SAM? I haven't uploaded anything through SAM before so I'm unsure! Thanks in advance for any help!!!

Amazing question. I'm pretty sure it's by uploading additional documents with SAM... Anyone else have an answer to this question??

[SpeechieAlly]

7 hours ago, pls_SLP said:

Does anyone know if it is alright to abbreviate Speech-Language Pathology to SLP in our statement letter? Not quite sure if that seems a bit unprofessional... It's just that it gives us much more space to write more characters?

I think so! I had an SLP look over my statement and she said it was okay as long as you make sure to do something like "...speech-language pathology (SLP)..." the first time you use it and be consistent throughout your statement.

[2nd year Dal Student]

On 12/9/2021 at 1:19 PM, pls_SLP said:

Does anyone know if it is alright to abbreviate Speech-Language Pathology to SLP in our statement letter? Not quite sure if that seems a bit unprofessional... It's just that it gives us much more space to write more characters?

From my perspective, its better to shorten it! When I applied last year, I had a western SLP prof edit my SOI (I went to an open house, asked lots of questions and he offered). At first I said the full thing and later wrote SLP. He said "be consistent" so I changed them all to SLP. I dont have it listed in my signature, but I was accepted to Western Audiology right away and its the same admissions board for both programs, so I take it that was fine.

I did the same with the school names, I called them UWO, U of T and Dalhousie. Now that I think about it, maybe that was a bit professional lol but I got accepted to all of them so I think its okay!

Edited December 11, 2021 by Quote_Actual

[SLPEventually]

On 12/7/2021 at 11:35 AM, somethingcleveraboutspeech said:

Does anyone know how to send transcripts from Athabasca U to ORPAS? I did it last year but can't remember...

Here is what ORPAS says:

If you attend, have attended or have withdrawn from a Canadian university or college outside of Ontario, you must contact the registrar’s office to arrange to have your transcript sent to ORPAS.

ORPAS has established procedures with approved distribution centres to release their transcripts by electronic means. The collection of electronic transcripts is not an automated process. As long as the document is available to ORPAS by the transcript deadline, it will meet the deadline requirement.

If your institution does not issue electronic transcripts, you must arrange with their registrar’s office to have an official paper copy sent to ORPAS.

I can't remember but I thinkkkkk last year when I did it, I sent it not through electronic means but to the physical ORPAS centre:

ORPAS
170 Research Lane
Guelph ON  N1G 5E2

 

Although on Athabasca's transcript request https://www.athabascau.ca/registrar/_documents/transcript-request.pdf it says they're temporarily stopping physical copies because of COVID. I've emailed them so I'll let you know what they say. If they don't get back soon, I'd request a physical copy to the ORPAS location.

[Natalie SLP]

Hi everyone! 

Does anyone have any idea how the personal reference should be structured if we're applying to multiple schools? My personal reference should mention what school I'm applying to in the letter but it only allows us to do 3 referees (2 academic, 1 personal) so we can't really get 2 personal letters catered to different schools if that makes sense. 

Any ideas? 

[SoaringSLP]

3 hours ago, Natalie SLP said:

Hi everyone! 

Does anyone have any idea how the personal reference should be structured if we're applying to multiple schools? My personal reference should mention what school I'm applying to in the letter but it only allows us to do 3 referees (2 academic, 1 personal) so we can't really get 2 personal letters catered to different schools if that makes sense. 

Any ideas? 

I don't think they need to specify the specific school when writing the personal/professional reference. In this case, they would just have to write about you and your potential for working in a professional environment and vouch for your character in a more general way? If that makes sense. 

[neuroling]

On 12/14/2021 at 9:25 AM, Natalie SLP said:

Hi everyone! 

Does anyone have any idea how the personal reference should be structured if we're applying to multiple schools? My personal reference should mention what school I'm applying to in the letter but it only allows us to do 3 referees (2 academic, 1 personal) so we can't really get 2 personal letters catered to different schools if that makes sense. 

Any ideas? 

For UBC, ORPAS, Dal, I don't think any of my references made any reference to the particular programs in their letters (I didn't get into Western or Dal but I did get an offer from UBC). One of my references did say that she altered her letter slightly for UA as I mentioned their EDI initiative to her. In general, I think the admissions officers know that the reference's job is to write a letter about you and your job is to know about the programs. I hope that helps!

Edited December 16, 2021 by neuroling

[Owl.on.a.Slide]

Hey! Did anyone from last year write down what the sGPA cut off was to get an interview at McMaster? I managed to get my sGPA to 3.83 (3rd time applying, first time it was 3.3 ?) and I'm wondering if it's worth trying...

[2022slpplease]

For those who are applying to Western and UofT for SLP: are you submitting the optional CV to Western? 

If you are, are you going to send it to UofT as well? (i.e. through SAM). I thought about doing this but just realized it says in bold "Do not upload any document not on this list" so I'm not sure if thats a bad idea or a harmless little "shoot my shot" haha. 

[22speechie]

Does anyone know if my referee for McGill can submit their letter in French? I'm guessing they can, but I'm not sure where/who to mention it to. 

Also, does McGill require an actual letter or do my referees just rank me on the qualities listed and add comments?

Thanks!

[Wugs]

On 12/17/2021 at 9:19 AM, slp2020ab said:

Hey! Did anyone from last year write down what the sGPA cut off was to get an interview at McMaster? I managed to get my sGPA to 3.83 (3rd time applying, first time it was 3.3 ?) and I'm wondering if it's worth trying...

Congrats on raising your GPA! I'm not sure how it'll pan out this year, but to help your decision these are the GPAs listed on their website:

"The average sub-GPA (on a 4.0 scale) of applicants receiving interviews for admission is listed below, by year. 
2017 - 3.79
2018 - 3.83
2019 - 3.85
2020 - 3.86
2021 - 3.90"

I think it's possible that they went up by a lot due to COVID/online school, so I have no idea if that trend will persist this year. 

[SoaringSLP]

On 12/17/2021 at 11:19 AM, slp2020ab said:

Hey! Did anyone from last year write down what the sGPA cut off was to get an interview at McMaster? I managed to get my sGPA to 3.83 (3rd time applying, first time it was 3.3 ?) and I'm wondering if it's worth trying...

As someone who has a very similar sGPA I decided not to apply to Mac but also for other reasons besides their GPA cutoff. The program there isn't fully accredited and I like the way the curriculum is laid out at other schools better. For the last cycle I know people who had a 3.84 and above were getting interviews. If you really want to get into McMaster, I'd still say to go for it. However, in staying realistic there may be a chance that the cutoff will be higher this year. So do with this information what you will. 

[wug#2]

On 12/11/2021 at 6:55 AM, Quote_Actual said:

From my perspective, its better to shorten it! When I applied last year, I had a western SLP prof edit my SOI (I went to an open house, asked lots of questions and he offered). At first I said the full thing and later wrote SLP. He said "be consistent" so I changed them all to SLP. I dont have it listed in my signature, but I was accepted to Western Audiology right away and its the same admissions board for both programs, so I take it that was fine.

I did the same with the school names, I called them UWO, U of T and Dalhousie. Now that I think about it, maybe that was a bit professional lol but I got accepted to all of them so I think its okay!

I abbreviated all of these things as well and got into all the schools I applied to. I don't think it matters that much in the grand scheme of things!

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

Repeat and first time applicants applying to Ontario universities... Do you suggest writing two different letters of intent for each school? They each write something a bit different about what they're looking for in it. Last year I submitted identical letters, essentially only changing the names of the schools. 

Very interested in hearing your thoughts...

[SoaringSLP]

14 hours ago, somethingcleveraboutspeech said:

Repeat and first time applicants applying to Ontario universities... Do you suggest writing two different letters of intent for each school? They each write something a bit different about what they're looking for in it. Last year I submitted identical letters, essentially only changing the names of the schools. 

Very interested in hearing your thoughts...

Hi there, first time applicant here! In terms of what I did, I wrote slightly different versions of my personal statement for the schools I'm applying to. This was mainly because I know Western wants us to focus more on demonstrating to them what our experiences and skillset is. I talked less about ambitions and got straight to the point about the unique experiences and skills I have. The body of the statements were pretty much the same but the way I went into the letter in explaining my reasoning for picking SLP was a bit different since Western was clear that they want to read less about our ambitions. The very ends of the letters were completely different as they also want us to write about why we want to attend that specific school. I've known people last cycle whose letters for different schools were completely identical except for that very last part. I decided to write slightly different versions because I know Western changed up their prompt this year and were more vehement about what they're looking for (previously, it was the same exact prompt as UofT's). When in doubt, I think it's better to rely on the instructions in the prompt and cater it as much as you can to the specific school you're applying to. It for sure is extra work but better to be as polished as you can.

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

1 hour ago, SoaringSLP said:

Hi there, first time applicant here! In terms of what I did, I wrote slightly different versions of my personal statement for the schools I'm applying to. This was mainly because I know Western wants us to focus more on demonstrating to them what our experiences and skillset is. I talked less about ambitions and got straight to the point about the unique experiences and skills I have. The body of the statements were pretty much the same but the way I went into the letter in explaining my reasoning for picking SLP was a bit different since Western was clear that they want to read less about our ambitions. The very ends of the letters were completely different as they also want us to write about why we want to attend that specific school. I've known people last cycle whose letters for different schools were completely identical except for that very last part. I decided to write slightly different versions because I know Western changed up their prompt this year and were more vehement about what they're looking for (previously, it was the same exact prompt as UofT's). When in doubt, I think it's better to rely on the instructions in the prompt and cater it as much as you can to the specific school you're applying to. It for sure is extra work but better to be as polished as you can.

Very helpful answer! Thank you so much.

Good luck!

[MELSLP99]

Hey guys!

How are you guys sending your transcripts to Dalhousie, I'm coming from mcgill and on the national student clearinghouse I cannot find the option to send it to Dal.

[DreamingofSpeech]

On 12/12/2021 at 7:10 PM, SLPEventually said:

Here is what ORPAS says:

If you attend, have attended or have withdrawn from a Canadian university or college outside of Ontario, you must contact the registrar’s office to arrange to have your transcript sent to ORPAS.

ORPAS has established procedures with approved distribution centres to release their transcripts by electronic means. The collection of electronic transcripts is not an automated process. As long as the document is available to ORPAS by the transcript deadline, it will meet the deadline requirement.

If your institution does not issue electronic transcripts, you must arrange with their registrar’s office to have an official paper copy sent to ORPAS.

I can't remember but I thinkkkkk last year when I did it, I sent it not through electronic means but to the physical ORPAS centre:

ORPAS
170 Research Lane
Guelph ON  N1G 5E2

 

Although on Athabasca's transcript request https://www.athabascau.ca/registrar/_documents/transcript-request.pdf it says they're temporarily stopping physical copies because of COVID. I've emailed them so I'll let you know what they say. If they don't get back soon, I'd request a physical copy to the ORPAS location.

Last year they had also paused physical copies of transcripts. I checked with SAM and they provided an email for me to request an electronic copy from Athabasca. My transcript was sent way faster and was accepted