2022 Canada Admissions SLP thread

[SLP2B95]

Hi Everyone! I'm a second year at McMaster and happy to answer any questions you have about the program or application process! Just wanted to note that while the average subGPA's of prior applicants that are advertised on the website are scarily high, I applied with a pretty average subGPA and still managed to get in. So... definitely do whatever you feel is going to be in your best interest but I hope those numbers don't totally dissuade any of you from applying to Mac if you think the program would be a great fit for you!

Good luck everyone! I know first hand how stressful applications can be so if you feel like you need any support through the process,  please feel free to message me. Y'all got this!  

[speechiestudent]

does anyone know what's going on with McGill's applications this year? they still have yet to open...

[Speechiepeach]

Hi everyone, good luck with applications! 

I'm in my first year of SLP at McMaster and just wanted to comment on the GPA cutoff. As scary as it looks, I was offered an interview and was ultimately accepted with a 3.86. You definitely don't need a 3.9, but I would suggest only applying if you have a 3.8 or higher for your wallet's sake (MMI cut off was around 3.83 last year).  It is too bad they focus so heavily on grades, but there are other schools that weigh your experience more fairly, so don't be discouraged  

Best of luck with this exciting process!!

Edited October 10, 2021 by Speechiepeach

[2nd year Dal Student]

5 hours ago, Speechiepeach said:

ou definitely don't need a 3.9, but I would suggest only applying if you have a 3.8 or higher for your wallet's sake (MMI cut off was around 3.83 last year).

I second this ?  I had a 3.81 sGPA, and as you can see, McMaster was the only school to outright reject me ?  I was so sad when I didnt even make the cut off for the interview, esp since they said only the top 150 applicants get interviews. I was like "WHAT, are there even 150 SLP spots in canada???" But fear not, I did end up getting accepted to two other SLP programs!

[SpeechieAlly]

Not directly related to admissions but I thought it interesting none the less, York U has started a BA program in speech and language sciences, like Brock’s program. I’m pretty sure that would make it only the second program of that type in Ontario. Do these give applicants any sort of advantage? I know generally programs don’t like the slp undergrad program that you can take in the USA. 

[CCSLP94]

9 hours ago, SpeechieAlly said:

Not directly related to admissions but I thought it interesting none the less, York U has started a BA program in speech and language sciences, like Brock’s program. I’m pretty sure that would make it only the second program of that type in Ontario. Do these give applicants any sort of advantage? I know generally programs don’t like the slp undergrad program that you can take in the USA. 

I graduated from Brock's program (now I'm at Western) and I wouldn't necessarily say that taking that program gave me an advantage as an applicant, but I also don't think it gave me a disadvantage. I know that a decent number of people from my undergrad were accepted to grad programs in Canada and/or the USA. Even if it didn't give me an advantage as an applicant, I definitely think it made my first year easier. Having the background knowledge was really helpful in nearly all of my classes. Taking that program also helped me feel very confident that this is what I want to do with my life before I spent the money on grad school!

[victoriaSLP]

On 10/10/2021 at 11:14 AM, speechiestudent said:

does anyone know what's going on with McGill's applications this year? they still have yet to open...

They're open, I just applied. You have to apply through their graduate admissions site

[SoaringSLP]

The ORPAS application portal opens up on October 14th - just a few days away! I am im(patiently) waiting lol

[wug#2]

Current UofT student here! I know how scary this process can be, so please DM me with any questions you may have. 

[2022slpplease]

oops

Edited October 12, 2021 by 2022slpplease
Forgot to quote the post I was responding to

[2022slpplease]

16 minutes ago, wug#2 said:

Current UofT student here! I know how scary this process can be, so please DM me with any questions you may have. 

Would you feel comfortable sharing your stats?

[lostsoul]

does anyone know if applying to SLP and OT at the same time impacts your application at all? Also if you get three references for SLP are those also counted towards your OT references or would you have to get your referees to fill out two separate letters?  

[Slpyxd]

Hey everyone,

For people who applied/are applying to UBC SLP, do you know how they calculate your CGPA? I saw on their website that it's based on your last 60 credits for 3rd and 4th year courses only, but do they also look at your 1st and second year too? Thanks !

[2022slpplease]

For those who have applied in the past: Is it okay to use your statement of intent for one school for another? Of course I would make some changes to match the different requirements but I'm wondering if ORPAS has some sort of plagiarism system and if this would make it ding. 

 

[SpeechieAlly]

I applied to UofT and Western through ORPAS last year and this wasn’t an issue. Be as efficient as you need to ?

[SpeechieAlly]

ORPAS is open friends!

The number of applicants jumped up for all programs last year. You had less than a 10% chance to get into Western! 

[SoaringSLP]

Does anyone here have a solid understanding of how ORPAS calculates the subGPA or would be willing to DM me to help me calculate mine? I'm kinda confused as to when they end up needing to average out a semester or year

[SoaringSLP]

10 hours ago, 2022slpplease said:

For those who have applied in the past: Is it okay to use your statement of intent for one school for another? Of course I would make some changes to match the different requirements but I'm wondering if ORPAS has some sort of plagiarism system and if this would make it ding. 

 

I've talked to students currently in the program and have read their personal statements. For instance, their statements for both UofT and Western were identical except for the part where they talk about why they want to attend that particular school. So you should be fine

[SpeechieAlly]

Have the Western personal statement requirements changed this year? I can’t remember what the questions were last year but they feel different. 

[SoaringSLP]

1 hour ago, SpeechieAlly said:

Have the Western personal statement requirements changed this year? I can’t remember what the questions were last year but they feel different. 

It definitely has. It used to be just like UofT's prompt which is still the same now but Western's is this currently:

Your statement should include the following components: An explanation of why you have chosen SLP as a career, demonstrating your knowledge of the profession and its scope of practice. A description of what you will bring to the SLP profession (e.g., strengths, experiences, attributes, leadership skills and/or abilities). A brief explanation of why you have chosen to apply to the SLP program at Western University. Your applicant's statement should elaborate on your unique and exceptional qualities, experiences, and circumstances rather than solely on your aspirations to become a Speech-Language Pathologist.

Seems they want us to be able to better demonstrate our knowledge of the field and emphasize why we're a good fit. Almost feels like they're putting a lot of weight into the letter and weeding people out this way since those with more experiences may have responses that have greater depth. I dunno about you guys but I'm already feeling the pressure. 

[SpeechieAlly]

8 hours ago, SoaringSLP said:

It definitely has. It used to be just like UofT's prompt which is still the same now but Western's is this currently:

Your statement should include the following components: An explanation of why you have chosen SLP as a career, demonstrating your knowledge of the profession and its scope of practice. A description of what you will bring to the SLP profession (e.g., strengths, experiences, attributes, leadership skills and/or abilities). A brief explanation of why you have chosen to apply to the SLP program at Western University. Your applicant's statement should elaborate on your unique and exceptional qualities, experiences, and circumstances rather than solely on your aspirations to become a Speech-Language Pathologist.

Seems they want us to be able to better demonstrate our knowledge of the field and emphasize why we're a good fit. Almost feels like they're putting a lot of weight into the letter and weeding people out this way since those with more experiences may have responses that have greater depth. I dunno about you guys but I'm already feeling the pressure. 

Honestly me too! I was really hoping to just reuse my statement from last year but it looks like I’ll have to make some serious amendments. 

I wonder if this is a way for them to hopefully weed people out since last year they have at least 100 more applicants than previous years  

[SoaringSLP]

2 minutes ago, SpeechieAlly said:

Honestly me too! I was really hoping to just reuse my statement from last year but it looks like I’ll have to make some serious amendments. 

I wonder if this is a way for them to hopefully weed people out since last year they have at least 100 more applicants than previous years  

Yeah, their acceptance rate was somewhere around 9% after I did the math? I'm not good at math so don't take my word on that but my friend did tell me that western slp at this point was harder to get into than med school. My friend got in last year but just by a hair since she was first quadrant on the waitlist, which is so interesting and shocking since I feel like in the past a lot of people viewed western as the school that was easier to get into. 

[SLPEventually]

9 hours ago, SoaringSLP said:

Yeah, their acceptance rate was somewhere around 9% after I did the math? I'm not good at math so don't take my word on that but my friend did tell me that western slp at this point was harder to get into than med school. My friend got in last year but just by a hair since she was first quadrant on the waitlist, which is so interesting and shocking since I feel like in the past a lot of people viewed western as the school that was easier to get into. 

Where are you finding these stats? I can't seem to see info about applicant number/acceptances from Western or UofT.

Edited October 16, 2021 by SLPEventually

[SoaringSLP]

2 hours ago, SLPEventually said:

Where are you finding these stats? I can't seem to see info about applicant number/acceptances from Western or UofT.

right here: https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/orpas-program-requirements/

Here you can find the amount of applications they received and how many students they accepted. Western SLP received 534 applications and they accepted 50. So acceptance rate is around 9% if I did the math right

Edit: I just realized it says that they're accepting 50 students for 2022. Not sure how many they accepted for the previous cycle but its probably around the same 

Edited October 16, 2021 by SoaringSLP

[thespeechdream]

On 10/14/2021 at 11:44 PM, SoaringSLP said:

I've talked to students currently in the program and have read their personal statements. For instance, their statements for both UofT and Western were identical except for the part where they talk about why they want to attend that particular school. So you should be fine

hello! yes I did use the same statement for all my applications and just changed up the part about the school. It takes way too much time to even perfect one statement so I would not worry too much about creating multiple!