2023 Canada Admissions SLP thread

[Manitoba SLP Student]

Hi everyone!

It’s my first time applying and I had a quick question. 
For ORPAS, can you go back in and upload your transcript after you submit it? Manitoba student here and still haven’t received my final grades from this last semester and starting to freak out  

thanks! 

Edited January 2, 2023 by HaleySLP

[NikolaSLP]

4 hours ago, HaleySLP said:

Hi everyone!

It’s my first time applying and I had a quick question. 
For ORPAS, can you go back in and upload your transcript after you submit it? Manitoba student here and still haven’t received my final grades from this last semester and starting to freak out  

thanks! 

ORPAS requires official transcripts only, so do not upload your transcripts. Have your school send official transcripts directly to ORPAS for after your grades are posted. ORPAS allows transcripts to be submitted up until January 30th so don't worry about having to get it in before the 6th. Here is a link to the info on transcripts for ORPAS: https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/orpas-transcript/ hope that helps!

Edited January 2, 2023 by NikolaSLP

[SLP71]

Would anyone be able to confirm that we can upload unofficial transcripts to our UofA application? I've seen others talk about this but don't see this mentioned anywhere on the website, it seems to specifically state official. If that is the case, do we have to do anything special so we can get back in and upload our official transcripts later? I sent UofA an email but thought it might be quicker to ask here as well!

[SLP71]

On 1/1/2023 at 1:46 PM, MajorTom10 said:

I took it the same day! I think I read somewhere it takes four weeks for it to be released to the person who took it, but I don’t remember where I heard that lol. As long as U of A has it, I can wait lol. 
 

good luck with your application ,btw! 

I remember reading that somewhere too - should be soon then!

Good luck with your application as well!

[NikolaSLP]

3 minutes ago, SLP71 said:

Would anyone be able to confirm that we can upload unofficial transcripts to our UofA application? I've seen others talk about this but don't see this mentioned anywhere on the website, it seems to specifically state official. If that is the case, do we have to do anything special so we can get back in and upload our official transcripts later? I sent UofA an email but thought it might be quicker to ask here as well!

So it is kind of confusing but basically they want you to upload a copy of your official transcripts that you had sent to yourself as a pdf. They don't want you to send transcripts directly from your university to them.

People say unofficial because there is a possibility that since you uploaded them you could have "tampered" with it so it is not considered official if it is not sent directly in a sealed envelope. 

Once you are accepted to the program they will get you to send a copy directly from your university if needed. 

[SLP71]

1 hour ago, NikolaSLP said:

So it is kind of confusing but basically they want you to upload a copy of your official transcripts that you had sent to yourself as a pdf. They don't want you to send transcripts directly from your university to them.

People say unofficial because there is a possibility that since you uploaded them you could have "tampered" with it so it is not considered official if it is not sent directly in a sealed envelope. 

Once you are accepted to the program they will get you to send a copy directly from your university if needed. 

Ah I see - thank you for clearing this up!

[nslp2be]

Question for ORPAS, e.g. for UofT's "volunteer experience in SLP or AUD" should these be only ones where you worked directly with an SLP or AUD or can they just be speech related? For example I  included a position with March of Dimes where I work with people with aphasia in a conversation circles, very speech/communication related but there is not an SLP present in the sessions. Wondering if it needs to be moved to "other"

Edited January 3, 2023 by nslp2be

[speechenthusiast]

I just want to confirm that requesting a transcript through ORPAS is enough for them to receive our transcripts. Like we don't have to go through our schools and send them/order them out right? 

[NikolaSLP]

2 hours ago, speechenthusiast said:

I just want to confirm that requesting a transcript through ORPAS is enough for them to receive our transcripts. Like we don't have to go through our schools and send them/order them out right? 

If you have only attended schools in Ontario then yes, after you have requested your transcripts through ORPAS you don't need to do anything further. But if you have attended any schools outside of Ontario then you need to get the school to send a copy to ORPAS via mail or electronically. 

[MajorTom10]

I got to see U of A’s reference portal today, cause my boss is doing my reference and she had some questions. Wow it is not as simple as they make it out to be. She had to answer questions about my English proficiency, how she thinks I’d do teaching, all sorts of things. And copy and paste the actual reference letter while also supplying a PDF. I’m glad I gave her time cause I was expecting it to be as simple as Upload letter. 

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

20 hours ago, nslp2be said:

Question for ORPAS, e.g. for UofT's "volunteer experience in SLP or AUD" should these be only ones where you worked directly with an SLP or AUD or can they just be speech related? For example I  included a position with March of Dimes where I work with people with aphasia in a conversation circles, very speech/communication related but there is not an SLP present in the sessions. Wondering if it needs to be moved to "other"

The MODC groups are considered supervised by an SLP. Don't you meet with one periodically?

[speechenthusiast]

Just now, somethingcleveraboutspeech said:

The MODC groups are considered supervised by an SLP. Don't you meet with one periodically?

Oh I've done MODC but I didn't have to meet up with one? What specific program did you do?

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

Just now, speechenthusiast said:

Oh I've done MODC but I didn't have to meet up with one? What specific program did you do?

I volunteered in the Peterborough group for over a year. It was virtual. We met with the SLP quite often. No matter what, the program is known to be overseen by an SLP. I would not hesitate to put it under SLP/AUD volunteering.

[speechenthusiast]

2 minutes ago, somethingcleveraboutspeech said:

I volunteered in the Peterborough group for over a year. It was virtual. We met with the SLP quite often. No matter what, the program is known to be overseen by an SLP. I would not hesitate to put it under SLP/AUD volunteering.

I did the after stroke conversation group and the connect and share/hi tech role. I suppose I could put it under the category anyways!

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

2 minutes ago, speechenthusiast said:

I did the after stroke conversation group and the connect and share/hi tech role. I suppose I could put it under the category anyways!

I really think you should. Make sure you talk about it in your SOI, because some of the schools won't even look at the volunteer section.

[speechiemia]

Has anyone got their casper results? Mind sharing your quartile?

[MajorTom10]

10 minutes ago, speechiemia said:

Has anyone got their casper results? Mind sharing your quartile?

I got mine today! 4th quartile score. 

[Natalie SLP]

14 minutes ago, speechiemia said:

Has anyone got their casper results? Mind sharing your quartile?

Received mine today as well! 4th quartile. 

[Natalie SLP]

To those applying to McGill, do any of you exceed the 21 total credits they ask for the prerequisites? I have 24. 

The only reason I do is because my stats course was a full year course and was a total of 6 credits rather than 3 like they suggest. I feel like it's fine because in the application portal it says a minimum of 3 but I don't know if I should reduce the 18 credits they ask for which includes linguistics, psychology and other relevant areas credits. 

I'm pretty sure it would be okay if I go over but would like some clarity to be sure! Thanks

[nslp2be]

1 hour ago, somethingcleveraboutspeech said:

The MODC groups are considered supervised by an SLP. Don't you meet with one periodically?

I do the virtual APC group and I haven't had any interaction with an SLP although I'm sure they design the program and activities. I believe its the ACDP group that I think is facilitated by an SLP (tried to get into this one but no space!) But yes I think I'll just keep it as SLP related because it definitely is! Thanks for the feedback!

[somethingcleveraboutspeech]

1 minute ago, nslp2be said:

I do the virtual APC group and I haven't had any interaction with an SLP although I'm sure they design the program and activities. I believe its the ACDP group that I think is facilitated by an SLP (tried to get into this one but no space!) But yes I think I'll just keep it as SLP related because it definitely is! Thanks for the feedback!

Ah, maybe you're right! I did the ACDP group. But it's definitely designed/overseen by an SLP so really don't hesitate! Good luck

[SLP71]

1 hour ago, speechiemia said:

Has anyone got their casper results? Mind sharing your quartile?

I got my results as well today! 4th quartile

[nslp2be]

How was the CASPER for everyone? Any tips? Mine is next week and I haven't done any prep yet, getting kinda nervous. Also kind of confused about how the video portion works, do we need to do that bit as well or just the written test?  

[quruxSLP]

Just sharing my experience! This is my first time applying. I will definitely look back at this whether or not I get in~  

I just submitted in my application for the SLP programs at UofT, Western, and McMaster. I'm a bit worried about my prospects, especially because my cGPA (around a B ) isn't as strong as my GPA in the last two years (3.7 on the scale) due to poor performance in my first two years of study. However, I have a lot of research experience in linguistics, especially language perception and production and I've put a lot of effort into my statement of intent. Also, my professors have willingly let me know they have written me one of the strongest letters they have written for a student of theirs. Additionally, I applied to the McMaster SLP program through the Black Equity stream, so I'm interested to see how that process differs. I'll update any fellow Black SLP applicants on my experience!

Edited January 5, 2023 by quruxSLP
just corrected some spelling mistakes

[MajorTom10]

3 hours ago, nslp2be said:

How was the CASPER for everyone? Any tips? Mine is next week and I haven't done any prep yet, getting kinda nervous. Also kind of confused about how the video portion works, do we need to do that bit as well or just the written test?  

Take a read through the website! I did some of the practice questions by setting a five minute timer and practicing answering the questions. It’s tiring, but it’s hard to practice for.  You’ll have both written and video filmed questions. I focused on some core words for me what I wanted out of my responses, and tried to include them in all of my answers. I found these pages helpful 

https://bemoacademicconsulting.com/blog/casper-prep-tips

https://www.savvypremed.com/blog/surefire-tips-for-improving-your-casper-score-with-examples

 

I did mine right after a day of work and I wish I had had a little more rest before as I found it fatiguing. But it wasn’t hard, per se. good luck! 

Edited January 5, 2023 by MajorTom10