2022 Canada Admissions SLP thread

[thespeechdream]

13 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. 

I think the reason why people viewed Western as the easiest school to get into was because GPA was not a big factor in their consideration compared to the other schools and hence why they get the most amount of apps as well! my biggest recommendation is that if you're currently in school, make sure this last semester of marks are amazing! Try your best to boost up your GPA because due to Covid, it's one of the biggest factors that most schools are looking at!

[thespeechdream]

Hello 2022 applicants! Just wanted to wish you guys good luck for this round of applications! I was in the same boat as you guys are in last year and I completely understand how stressful and overwhelming the process is. As easy it is to say, please do not panic and burn yourselves out while completing these applications, while it is a stressful time for all of you, just remember that you've gotten this far, you'll reach your destination as well

I am busy with grad school however will try to check this forum for any questions you may have. 

Also, just an FYI for if you are applying to McGill, they do not let you send your references until you submit your applications (meaning resume + letter) so make sure you do that asap so your references have time to fill our their forms as well! 

and in terms of subGPA for ORPAS, they count the average for all your courses in second year, not just the last term (the system is different) 

 

[jec]

47 minutes ago, thespeechdream said:

Hello 2022 applicants! Just wanted to wish you guys good luck for this round of applications! I was in the same boat as you guys are in last year and I completely understand how stressful and overwhelming the process is. As easy it is to say, please do not panic and burn yourselves out while completing these applications, while it is a stressful time for all of you, just remember that you've gotten this far, you'll reach your destination as well

I am busy with grad school however will try to check this forum for any questions you may have. 

Also, just an FYI for if you are applying to McGill, they do not let you send your references until you submit your applications (meaning resume + letter) so make sure you do that asap so your references have time to fill our their forms as well! 

and in terms of subGPA for ORPAS, they count the average for all your courses in second year, not just the last term (the system is different) 

 

Thanks for the FYI! I believe other unis allow you to upload docs later.  And on that point, must you also submit a transcript at the same time even if you're currently taking courses, and will later have an updated transcript? 

[thespeechdream]

12 hours ago, jec said:

Thanks for the FYI! I believe other unis allow you to upload docs later.  And on that point, must you also submit a transcript at the same time even if you're currently taking courses, and will later have an updated transcript? 

In terms of transcripts for McGill, they look at your cumulative GPA so you have to submit an unofficial one (which can be done after you submit your apps). You can submit it with your fourth year - term 1 marks or without (they recommend without just in case it takes your school time to update this info on their portal and apps are due early Jan). They only ask for an official one if you get an offer from them.

In terms of ORPAS, you just have to place a transcript request on ORPAS, pay the fees, and they handle the rest. Once you graduate and have received an offer, you send in another request for a final transcript via ORPAS and they mail it to the school you will be attending in the fall.

And yes for ORPAS, your references can send in their letters at any point (even before you submit your application). 

I hope this makes it a little more clear! 

Edited October 16, 2021 by thespeechdream

[2022slpplease]

For the transcript request it asks for transcript timing. If you are currently enrolled (e.g. graduating in April) do you select "end of term" instead of "immediately" ? 

[thespeechdream]

2 hours ago, 2022slpplease said:

For the transcript request it asks for transcript timing. If you are currently enrolled (e.g. graduating in April) do you select "end of term" instead of "immediately" ? 

yes!

[SoaringSLP]

So western states that we need to provide a personal/professional reference using a third academic form provided in the application but I can't find it anywhere. Is it on the ORPAS portal and I'm just not seeing it?

 The organization I volunteer at wants reference form requests by Nov so I'm trying to figure this out asap. I also emailed Janet asking if the SLP or volunteer coordinator there can write me a reference from a professional standpoint rather than a clinical one. I know previous applicants who were still able to submit a reference from an SLP. I'll keep you posted on what she says. 

[2022slpplease]

Why does ORPAS need our referees addresses? Will materials be sent to them? One of my references lives in France but has a relative in Canada she gets a lot of her mail sent to so I was wondering which address would be best to put in. Or if this information is generally not that important and if either one would be okay.

[2022SLPhopefully]

Hey all!

Does anyone know if it looks really bad to U Alberta if one prerequisite has a low grade? I took it in my first year of uni and didn't do my best. 

[2nd year Dal Student]

53 minutes ago, 2022slpplease said:

Why does ORPAS need our referees addresses?

I cant say 100%, but I feel like they do nothing with it. When I applied last year, I found my prof's office address on campus from the atlas even though everyone was working from home and there didnt see to be any problems 

[2022slpplease]

2 hours ago, Quote_Actual said:

I cant say 100%, but I feel like they do nothing with it. When I applied last year, I found my prof's office address on campus from the atlas even though everyone was working from home and there didnt see to be any problems 

Thank you! Perhaps its just an extra measure to make sure people aren't faking their references. I've never heard about referees being mailed anything. 

[2022slpplease]

6 hours ago, SoaringSLP said:

So western states that we need to provide a personal/professional reference using a third academic form provided in the application but I can't find it anywhere. Is it on the ORPAS portal and I'm just not seeing it?

 

Im a first time applicant so i'm not 100% sure  but I think the referees get emailed all the information they need to fill out those forms/input the required information, letter, etc once you send the email through ORPAS. There is also a sample academic reference and confidential assessment form on Western's website: https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/csd/programs/files/ORPAS_sample_reference.pdf 

 

[2022slpplease]

6 hours ago, SoaringSLP said:

The organization I volunteer at wants reference form requests by Nov so I'm trying to figure this out asap. I also emailed Janet asking if the SLP or volunteer coordinator there can write me a reference from a professional standpoint rather than a clinical one. I know previous applicants who were still able to submit a reference from an SLP. I'll keep you posted on what she says. 

I emailed Janet about this and she said that SLP's are allowed to fill out the professional/personal reference form as long as its from a professional/personal stand point and not a student clinician standpoint. 

[SoaringSLP]

1 hour ago, 2022slpplease said:

Im a first time applicant so i'm not 100% sure  but I think the referees get emailed all the information they need to fill out those forms/input the required information, letter, etc once you send the email through ORPAS. There is also a sample academic reference and confidential assessment form on Western's website: https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/csd/programs/files/ORPAS_sample_reference.pdf 

 

I emailed Janet and she told me that under the referees section in the drop down menu you can add 3 references. I'm assuming the first two you add are your academic ones and the third is your personal/professional one. I wasn't sure if the referees section was just for the academic ones and there was a different section for professional/personal but not the case!

[SoaringSLP]

1 hour ago, 2022slpplease said:

I emailed Janet about this and she said that SLP's are allowed to fill out the professional/personal reference form as long as its from a professional/personal stand point and not a student clinician standpoint. 

yep, this is also what she told me too!

[2022slpplease]

17 minutes ago, SoaringSLP said:

I emailed Janet and she told me that under the referees section in the drop down menu you can add 3 references. I'm assuming the first two you add are your academic ones and the third is your personal/professional one. I wasn't sure if the referees section was just for the academic ones and there was a different section for professional/personal but not the case!

Oh great to know! I also assumed the first two were academic and last one was professional/personal. Just to be safe I made sure to put "SLP" in the position section and the SLP's Clinic but im sure theyll be able to tell who is who based on the content of the letters. 

[Wugs]

9 hours ago, 2022SLPhopefully said:

Hey all!

Does anyone know if it looks really bad to U Alberta if one prerequisite has a low grade? I took it in my first year of uni and didn't do my best. 

Hey! I definitely had a lower grade for one of my pre-reqs that I took in second year, and it was fine. Still got in! 

[wug#2]

On 10/12/2021 at 4:17 PM, 2022slpplease said:

Would you feel comfortable sharing your stats?

I applied with a 3.8 sgpa and 3.4 ccgpa. I didn't do very well in my first year courses (I even failed a course), but I still got in, so do not get discouraged by your first year courses because they don't matter here (with the exception of McGill who does value your cGPA). I had just under 900 hours of volunteer/work experience. I wouldn't dwell on other peoples stats too much though, as it can lead to a downward spiral of social comparison. 

Let me know if you have any curiosities about the UofT program  Good luck everyone!

[MELSLP99]

Hi I was just wondering, when you write 900 hours of volunteer experience how long ago at the time of your app did you complete these hours? I have some relevant volunteer experience from like 2014-2015 but i don't know if that is too long ago to add on my resume. Thanks in advance  

[wug#2]

27 minutes ago, MELSLP99 said:

Hi I was just wondering, when you write 900 hours of volunteer experience how long ago at the time of your app did you complete these hours? I have some relevant volunteer experience from like 2014-2015 but i don't know if that is too long ago to add on my resume. Thanks in advance  

I had accumulated those hours over the course of 3 years. I dont think the year matters. Imo its what you did/learned while gaining those volunteer/work hours that matters! Hope this helps. 

[SLPwonder]

Hi guys! For those of you applying to the UofA, do you know how GPA is calculated if 2 of the classes (6 credits) that counts towards the last 60 credits falls into a semester of 4 classes (12 credits). Would they calculate all of the classes taken during that whole semester towards the GPA calculation (aka exceed 60 credits)? Sorry if this is confusing hahah!

Also, are spring classes included in the GPA calculation?

 

PS. freaking out about my GPA right now haha

[SLPEventually]

18 hours ago, SLPwonder said:

18 hours ago, SLPwonder said:

Hi guys! For those of you applying to the UofA, do you know how GPA is calculated if 2 of the classes (6 credits) that counts towards the last 60 credits falls into a semester of 4 classes (12 credits). Would they calculate all of the classes taken during that whole semester towards the GPA calculation (aka exceed 60 credits)? Sorry if this is confusing hahah!

Also, are spring classes included in the GPA calculation?

 

PS. freaking out about my GPA right now haha

I believe if 2 classes fall within that semester they use the average of the semester. Although I could be wrong. If you mean fall classes like Sept-Dec - then they can be counted if you hit "send after semester" rather than "Send immediately".  As long as transcripts arrive to orpas by jan 30. All transcripts to date will be included if you have them sent off properly. 

Edit - also don't worry too much, I'm also freaking out about my GPA. I think every single person applying is. The odds suck. If you don't get in this year, next year you will. Good luck!

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by SLPEventually

[2022slpplease]

Is there a specific way we should be inputting prerequisites that are not on Western University's pre-approved prerequisites list? I spoke to Janet before enrolling in the courses and got approval from her but I'm not sure if there's any additional steps I need to complete on ORPAS. 

[Wugs]

On 10/20/2021 at 8:43 PM, SLPwonder said:

Hi guys! For those of you applying to the UofA, do you know how GPA is calculated if 2 of the classes (6 credits) that counts towards the last 60 credits falls into a semester of 4 classes (12 credits). Would they calculate all of the classes taken during that whole semester towards the GPA calculation (aka exceed 60 credits)? Sorry if this is confusing hahah!

Also, are spring classes included in the GPA calculation?

 

PS. freaking out about my GPA right now haha

U of A has changed the weighting in their admissions for how much GPA counts for. Now, you are more likely to have your experience and pre-req grades recognized than your overall last 60 credits. I hope this helps give some reassurance! 

[coco_SLP]

Hey everyone! I'm a first year SLP student at UofA. I found this forum super useful last year, so I thought I'd try and reach out to you all this year to see if I can help. We're in the middle of midterm season rn so I am a quite busy, but please feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the school, application process for any of the schools I applied to (see below), McMaster's MMI, etc. and I'll try and answer as soon as I can  

Edited October 25, 2021 by coco_SLP