2022 Canada Admissions SLP thread

[UnderLing21]

4 hours ago, speechiestudent said:

For those who have graduated, and have probably applied to SLP multiple times, what jobs have you worked in the mean time to gain more experience? 

This is my second time applying, and I was lucky enough to find a job as a school-based SLP assistant right after graduating with my degree in linguistics, so I've been doing that for the past 2.5ish years. During my undergrad, I worked as a behaviour interventionist, and I have continued to do some respite care for Autistic kids/youth on the side, as well as a bit of tutoring. I haven't managed to get my foot in the door for any real experience with adults though, thanks to covid! 

[SpeechieWannaB]

On 3/14/2022 at 10:33 AM, SLPrettyPlease said:

My submission confirmation email says that all further communication about my application would be done through the GSMS Portal, so I assume that means the decision as well? Although it would be nice to receive an email letting you know the decision has been made so you can prepare yourself to read it ? This is my first time applying to UofA so I'm just speculating.

Last year when I applied to the U of A I received an email stating that there was a "new message that requires my attention" and to log onto the portal. 

So you get a tiny bit of a warning I guess lol. Mine was a rejection, so that kinda took the excitement out of it ?

[AG404]

Has anybody heard from McGill?? 

[ElsaNotFrozen]

1 hour ago, AG404 said:

Has anybody heard from McGill?? 

Nothing

[SpeechieAlly]

Has anyone gotten any news today? Interesting, seems like McGill might be releasing decisions later than usual 

[stressedschwa2022]

On 3/14/2022 at 8:02 AM, hopefulslper said:

Not me checking this forum every day in case anyone's heard anything yet ?

I'm refreshing my inbox probably 20 times a day and at this point I should just bookmark this thread ?

[AlwaysanAssistant]

For anyone who has been accepted to McGill in the past, how did you find out? 

[AG404]

25 minutes ago, AlwaysanAssistant said:

For anyone who has been accepted to McGill in the past, how did you find out? 

A friend said she was notified by email.

[AG404]

Hi Guys!

I had a mishap with my application with McGill, and it seemed that my personal statement was did not get copy & pasted. Sucks for me!

I emailed Antoinette about the application and she said that decisions will be made early next week! Good luck everyone! 

[Caitlin SLP Applicant]

4 minutes ago, AG404 said:

Hi Guys!

I had a mishap with my application with McGill, and it seemed that my personal statement was did not get copy & pasted. Sucks for me!

I emailed Antoinette about the application and she said that decisions will be made early next week! Good luck everyone! 

I'm sorry to hear that! I hope you we're able to figure something out! Thank you for letting us know decisions will only be made next week! Now I can stop constantly checking my email and obsessing over this forum...at least for a couple of days haha?

[AG404]

Just now, Caitlin SLP Applicant said:

I'm sorry to hear that! I hope you we're able to figure something out! Thank you for letting us know decisions will only be made next week! Now I can stop constantly checking my email and obsessing over this forum...at least for a couple of days haha?

It's alright! I'm a little disheartened because I worked so hard on it. 

She mentioned that it was not disadvantageous because I had attached my CV. She said the committee had ample information to review my file! Hoping for the best! 

[AtBatts]

2 hours ago, AG404 said:

Hi Guys!

I had a mishap with my application with McGill, and it seemed that my personal statement was did not get copy & pasted. Sucks for me!

I emailed Antoinette about the application and she said that decisions will be made early next week! Good luck everyone! 

That makes sense that it is early next week. Last year, the 15th was on a Monday so perhaps it is something similar this time around.

Good luck to you guys

[2022slpplease]

On 3/15/2022 at 4:49 PM, UnderLing21 said:

This is my second time applying, and I was lucky enough to find a job as a school-based SLP assistant right after graduating with my degree in linguistics, so I've been doing that for the past 2.5ish years. During my undergrad, I worked as a behaviour interventionist, and I have continued to do some respite care for Autistic kids/youth on the side, as well as a bit of tutoring. I haven't managed to get my foot in the door for any real experience with adults though, thanks to covid! 

Thats amazing! Did you need a CDA certificate to become an SLPA? Could you elaborate more on the differences in roles between CDAs and SLPAs? 

[UnderLing21]

1 hour ago, 2022slpplease said:

Thats amazing! Did you need a CDA certificate to become an SLPA? Could you elaborate more on the differences in roles between CDAs and SLPAs? 

I didn't end up needing any specific certifications for my position. If someone else who did have an actual CDA certificate had applied, they probably would have gotten the position instead of me, but honestly I was super lucky! I was able to make the argument that my combination of education (Linguistics degree with psych minor) and experience (behaviour intervention, volunteering with SLPs, etc) was equivalent to one of the certifications they would have asked for. I don't know how common this is compared to places being really stringent with their requirements, but I always try to look at the "required qualifications" section of job postings as more of a wish list rather than a must-have! 

In terms of the differences in roles between SLPAs and CDAs, I'm honestly not that sure. What what I've heard, it depends a lot more on your employer and setting than your title. At least where I am in BC, the certifications seem to be a bit of a murky issue as they're not regulated the same way that other job titles are. My supervising SLP and I spent a bunch of time trying to figure this out early on, as we wanted to make sure that we were all above board in the way that we set up my role. In the end, it didn't seem to matter what job title I went by and what my background was, as long as she supervised me up until the point where she felt comfortable with my level of competence. If you are also in BC and want to know more of the specifics, feel free to shoot me a message!

[AlwaysanAssistant]

52 minutes ago, UnderLing21 said:

I didn't end up needing any specific certifications for my position. If someone else who did have an actual CDA certificate had applied, they probably would have gotten the position instead of me, but honestly I was super lucky! I was able to make the argument that my combination of education (Linguistics degree with psych minor) and experience (behaviour intervention, volunteering with SLPs, etc) was equivalent to one of the certifications they would have asked for. I don't know how common this is compared to places being really stringent with their requirements, but I always try to look at the "required qualifications" section of job postings as more of a wish list rather than a must-have! 

In terms of the differences in roles between SLPAs and CDAs, I'm honestly not that sure. What what I've heard, it depends a lot more on your employer and setting than your title. At least where I am in BC, the certifications seem to be a bit of a murky issue as they're not regulated the same way that other job titles are. My supervising SLP and I spent a bunch of time trying to figure this out early on, as we wanted to make sure that we were all above board in the way that we set up my role. In the end, it didn't seem to matter what job title I went by and what my background was, as long as she supervised me up until the point where she felt comfortable with my level of competence. If you are also in BC and want to know more of the specifics, feel free to shoot me a message!

CDA here! You're totally right that the lack of regulation makes it murky. I've found that employers in Ontario are strict about only taking applicants who have the CDA certificate because it makes a difference in how much training would be needed on their end. The CDA program gives the benefit of a full year of intensive training on how to do speech therapy including 4 months of full time placement, so when I got a job I was able to hit the ground running seeing clients right away. However -- once an SLPA gets their training and gets more experience with doing speech therapy our roles would look pretty much the same! 

[AlwaysanAssistant]

7 hours ago, AG404 said:

It's alright! I'm a little disheartened because I worked so hard on it. 

She mentioned that it was not disadvantageous because I had attached my CV. She said the committee had ample information to review my file! Hoping for the best! 

Thank you for sharing what you learned about McGill's timeline! Can I ask you how you discovered that there was a mix up with your letter? I have to admit I'm a bit paranoid that all my applications went through okay!

(I'm a lightning rod for tech issues I swear!!) ??

[ewdavid]

Has anybody contacted U of A regarding their admissions timeline? 

[hopefulslper]

12 hours ago, ewdavid said:

Has anybody contacted U of A regarding their admissions timeline? 

Nope too scared lol

[SpeechieAlly]

1 hour ago, hopefulslper said:

Nope too scared lol

Does someone want to be the brave soul? 

[SLPtime]

Who else feels their anxiety levels are through the ROOF this month! So nervous for April 1st! AH 

Edited March 17, 2022 by SLPtime

[2022slpplease]

1 hour ago, SLPtime said:

Who else feels their anxiety levels are through the ROOF this month! So nervous for April 1st! AH 

ME. Ill literally catch my hands shaking throughout the day. I think its a combination of waiting for grad school and the world transitioning back to normal but we just gotta breathe it out and take it day by day

[AG404]

20 hours ago, AlwaysanAssistant said:

Thank you for sharing what you learned about McGill's timeline! Can I ask you how you discovered that there was a mix up with your letter? I have to admit I'm a bit paranoid that all my applications went through okay!

(I'm a lightning rod for tech issues I swear!!) ??

I stumbled upon checking over the details section of my application, and saw that my statement of intent did NOT get copied and pasted onto the text box. So upsetting! I even checked and read over the text box before I hit submit to see if everything got copied and pasted.

A great learning experience on my part to quadruple check applications before submitting!

[SpeechPath22]

Does anyone know the sGPA cutoff for Western and UofT in previous years for people who were admitted to their SLP programs? I understand that other factors play a role in admissions, just hoping to get an idea of where I stand! 

 

[2022slpplease]

1 hour ago, SpeechPath22 said:

Does anyone know the sGPA cutoff for Western and UofT in previous years for people who were admitted to their SLP programs? I understand that other factors play a role in admissions, just hoping to get an idea of where I stand! 

 

I can remember from the forum last year that there were some people who got in with a sGPA in the 3.7's but I am not 100% sure if they got into UofT and/or Western. I do know someone who got into UofT for Fall 2020 with an sGPA in the 3.7's. 

Edit: I wouldnt necessarily say this is a cut off though! I'm not sure if the schools have a cut off as long as you meet their other requirements. 

Edited March 18, 2022 by 2022slpplease

[AnnaGrad]

6 hours ago, SLPtime said:

Who else feels their anxiety levels are through the ROOF this month! So nervous for April 1st! AH 

Meee too ahh I've been so anxious ?I  just want April to be here already! haha I really wish the wait times were shorter so we could figure out what we're doing next with our lives sooner, it's tough to plan with the uncertainty