2025 Canadian SLP Admissions/Prep

[SLPinON]

Hii, this will be my third time applying to the SLP programs and I feel like my main weakness may be my letter of intent since I feel like my work/research experiences and grades are strong. I was wondering if anyone who got accepted would be willing to privately message me and either share their LOI or some pointers that they feel made their letter stronger. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you 

[hpsauce]

On 9/17/2024 at 8:14 AM, Slpwithmaryam said:

Hey guys! I am a new student at Western University starting my first year in SLP. When I was applying to schools I always came across American accounts on Instagram that showed me any type of insight into the program/ what we would be learning/ a day in the life. So I started my own account in hopes of helping anyone who wants to apply so that they can get an idea of what it can be like. Feel free to also reach out to me on DM’s for any questions. 
 

IG:slpwithmaryam 

I applied twice and got in on my second round  

 

Hi SLPwithmaryam,

Just wondering if you took any extra courses or what you might have done differently when applying the second time to be accepted? I'm also looking at applying to Western for SLP so any advice would be appreciated!:)

[matchaenjoyerslp]

Hi everyone! I'm a first time applicant this year and I will only be applying to Dalhousie. I would love to compare stats with anyone who has applied or been accepted in the past! 

[Speechie25]

Does anyone know when ORPAS applications open? 

[cs1101]

On 10/6/2024 at 6:56 PM, Speechie25 said:

Does anyone know when ORPAS applications open? 

They are open now 🙂

[SocialCommSLP]

Hi everyone! I applied last year and was accepted to Mac, Dal and Western so feel free to message me! I'll try my best to respond as soon as possible  

[jazzyslp]

Hey everyone! Is anyone applying to McGill and doing their casper soon? Doing mine October 16th and feeling kind of nervous.

[lostornette]

Hello! Is anyone else having issues proceeding with the McGill application? The only options for the start term are winter 2025 and summer 2025, even though the SLP program starts in fall 2025. When I select either winter or summer the application portal doesn't let me proceed, and tells me instead "You've chosen an unavailable program and term combination."

Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance 

[mht31]

Hi Everyone. I am getting my application for McGill and had a question about grade adjustment. I went to Queen's which uses a 4.3 grading scale compared to McGill's 4.0. For the section where you have to put in your grades for each prerequisite I'm not fully sure how to calculate my average. For a 6 credit class I got an A+ (4.3) and for a 3 credit class I got an A- (3.7). Am I supposed to adjust it before or after I calculate as if I adjust it before my average is a 4.0, however, if I adjust it afterwards its a 3.9 which I believe I have to round down to a 3.7. Does anyone know the correct way to submit this?

[mht31]

On 10/17/2024 at 12:06 AM, lostornette said:

Hello! Is anyone else having issues proceeding with the McGill application? The only options for the start term are winter 2025 and summer 2025, even though the SLP program starts in fall 2025. When I select either winter or summer the application portal doesn't let me proceed, and tells me instead "You've chosen an unavailable program and term combination."

Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance 

Hi, I didn't have that same issue. For me it was very clear and simple and the only option was a fall 2025 start. I would try again and make sure you selected everything very carefully. I know the McGill sites tend to be finicky. Good luck

[LaurSLP]

On 10/19/2024 at 10:57 AM, mht31 said:

Hi Everyone. I am getting my application for McGill and had a question about grade adjustment. I went to Queen's which uses a 4.3 grading scale compared to McGill's 4.0. For the section where you have to put in your grades for each prerequisite I'm not fully sure how to calculate my average. For a 6 credit class I got an A+ (4.3) and for a 3 credit class I got an A- (3.7). Am I supposed to adjust it before or after I calculate as if I adjust it before my average is a 4.0, however, if I adjust it afterwards its a 3.9 which I believe I have to round down to a 3.7. Does anyone know the correct way to submit this?

Hi! I currently attend Queen's and am applying to McGill as well. I believe you do not do any adjustment for the prerequisite courses, as it says to to input the information "AS IT APPEARS ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT" (which is the 4.3 scale)

[SocialCommSLP]

On 10/19/2024 at 10:57 AM, mht31 said:

Hi Everyone. I am getting my application for McGill and had a question about grade adjustment. I went to Queen's which uses a 4.3 grading scale compared to McGill's 4.0. For the section where you have to put in your grades for each prerequisite I'm not fully sure how to calculate my average. For a 6 credit class I got an A+ (4.3) and for a 3 credit class I got an A- (3.7). Am I supposed to adjust it before or after I calculate as if I adjust it before my average is a 4.0, however, if I adjust it afterwards its a 3.9 which I believe I have to round down to a 3.7. Does anyone know the correct way to submit this?

to calculate your avg, first convert all your grades to their 4.0 counterpart. So a 4.3 is a 4, 3.7 a 3.7. Then multiply each grade by the course units, total it, and divide by the total number of units. so for example with these two courses it is (24 + 11.1)/9 =3.9 

for prerequisites for McGill and ORPAS, you declare it how it is on your transcript. I ended up not applying to McGill but for ORPAS you can just use the letter grades!

[Lingbrain]

Hi, does anyone know how U of A and Western weigh their applications? Do they put more emphasis on specific requirements (grades, LOI, volunteer, research, references, etc.) ?   

[Speechie25]

Just a quick question: if I drop down to 4 courses instead of 5, is that still considered a full-time course load for Western and Toronto? Will they care? 

[slpgal890]

Hi! Does anyone know if people have gotten accepted this past cycle with a sub gpa in the 3.7's? Just a bit worried and curious if this range would make the cut offs / still even be considered competitive and to get in.

Thanks!

[emilliondreams]

hi everyone! this is my second cycle applying. I was waitlisted at ubc and uofa for the previous cycle, and I believe something that was weak about my application were my references. i'm currently working full-time in a field unrelated to healthcare. do you think it would be alright to use a reference from my work, where I would get a stronger reference, or use something from my volunteering which might not be as strong? 

[jazzyslp]

Hey everyone just working on my personal statement! Wanted to know what falls under academic achievement and non-academic achievement. Does academic achievement include working as an RA? and does non-academic achievement include a volunteer experience I am proud of?

[BubbleSLP]

On 10/26/2024 at 6:46 PM, emilliondreams said:

hi everyone! this is my second cycle applying. I was waitlisted at ubc and uofa for the previous cycle, and I believe something that was weak about my application were my references. i'm currently working full-time in a field unrelated to healthcare. do you think it would be alright to use a reference from my work, where I would get a stronger reference, or use something from my volunteering which might not be as strong? 

Hey! I would say using a work reference from your current position would be acceptable but not as strong as a reference who can directly speak to your potential as an SLP or working with populations in which SLPs are involved (e.g., children, youth, older adults, etc). 

[BubbleSLP]

4 hours ago, jazzyslp said:

Hey everyone just working on my personal statement! Wanted to know what falls under academic achievement and non-academic achievement. Does academic achievement include working as an RA? and does non-academic achievement include a volunteer experience I am proud of?

Hi! Research assistantship does not fall under academic achievement; only coursework would be applicable! RA-ing would fall under non-academic achievement, as well as work and volunteer experience. I would encourage emphasizing non-academic experiences that are closely related to SLP (and expanding on those), as opposed to any or all experiences that you have been involved in. 

[jazzyslp]

17 hours ago, BubbleSLP said:

Hi! Research assistantship does not fall under academic achievement; only coursework would be applicable! RA-ing would fall under non-academic achievement, as well as work and volunteer experience. I would encourage emphasizing non-academic experiences that are closely related to SLP (and expanding on those), as opposed to any or all experiences that you have been involved in. 

Hi! Thank you for responding! That makes a lot of sense. I didn't really win any awards or anything, just had a decent GPA, so guess that's the only thing I can say is an academic achievement. I will definitely emphasize my non-academic achievements. Appreciate it!!

[SocialCommSLP]

On 10/23/2024 at 11:05 PM, Speechie25 said:

Just a quick question: if I drop down to 4 courses instead of 5, is that still considered a full-time course load for Western and Toronto? Will they care? 

they dont care!

source: i only had 3 courses in the fall when I applied

[Speechie25]

59 minutes ago, SocialCommSLP said:

they dont care!

source: i only had 3 courses in the fall when I applied

Amazing, thanks for your reply!! 

[Speechie25]

Does anyone know if UofT held interviews in past years? It says on their website they might ask for interviews but I don’t think I’ve seen that before 

[tsslp]

On 11/11/2024 at 7:42 PM, Speechie25 said:

Does anyone know if UofT held interviews in past years? It says on their website they might ask for interviews but I don’t think I’ve seen that before 

they didnt last year but before that i’m not sure! i only know of mac doing interviews but there may be others 

[LaurSLP]

U of T's website says that the second section of the Statement of Intent is a summary of volunteer experiences and should list:
    1    Volunteer experiences in the field of speech‑language pathology and/or audiology in point form, including dates, duration, total hours, populations, and the nature of activities in which the applicant participated; and
    2    Other relevant volunteer experiences, including dates, duration, populations, and activities.

Does anyone know where in the ORPAS application to complete this second half? I have submitted my SOI but did not see a section for the second part