2026 Canadian SLP Admissions / Prep

[polly181920]

Hi everyone. In honour of Ontario offers being finalized, I thought I would get on it and create the forum for those of us applying next year to Canadian schools!

[AngelaFeehan]

Hello all!

I'm an SLP and a researcher at the university of Calgary. I'm looking for volunteers this summer who are interested in speech language pathology-related experience. Here are the details of the role:

Seeking volunteers with a linguistics background to provide transcription services. Volunteers will prepare transcripts of recorded speech of research participants with Tourette syndrome for a research project being run out of the university of Calgary and the University of Alberta. The project seeks to understand the speech fluency and language of children with Tourette syndrome. A volunteer with a high level of attention to detail, excellent email communication skills, and an excellent independent work ethic will be a good fit for this role. You will work independently and be expected to follow ethics guidelines for privacy and confidentiality of research participants.

The role will require a minimum of 4 hours per week of dedicated computer time to complete transcriptions and a minimum commitment of three months. Only volunteers able to make the full commitment will be considered. This is not a paid position, but an honorarium will be offered based on the number of transcripts completed.  

Email angela.feehan@ucalgary.ca by May 23rd, 2025 to express your interest in supporting this project. 

 

Best,

Angela

[rymn0]

I discovered SLP later in my degree and don't think I have the grades or experience to make it in the upcoming cycle but I'm giving it a shot to at least become familiar with the process!

[blackpearl]

Hello everyone! This is my first (and hopefully only😭) application round! I recently graduated but since my sGPA isn't as competitive as I thought (~3.6/3.7), I am thinking of either going back as a continuing student or taking online courses at Athabasca U since I want to work ft and focus on volunteering this year. I'd love to hear somebody's opinion on Athabasca or if you have any course recs I could take from there!

I also feel like I may lack a lot when it'll come to my statement of intent since I don't think I have enough experience in this field. I was planning on working on it this summer but got sidetracked due to some personal situations and it's been eating me up. I'm trying to stay calm and get back into motion little by little.

Hope y'all are enjoying the rest of your summer and good luck with this application round🙂

[SLPStudenttobe]

Hello!

Awesome to have a chat going for 2026 applicants. I will be applying to Canadian SLP programs (looking at Western, UofT, Mac) but lately have been interested in doing my masters in SLT abroad in the UK. Wondered if anyone new of any forums for SLP's overseas that I could take a look at:) I know Facebook groups are also common for this kind of situation but am struggling to find any so any info would be helpful!

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their summer!

[Luv]

Hello! I was wondering if any past applicants could message me for some advice on applying to this upcoming cycle!

 

Edited August 20 by Luv

[ang1999]

Hi everyone! This will be my first round of applying, and I just had a few questions regarding the casper exam for Western. Do we have to wait until we’ve submit our application to reserve our casper? It says we need the OUAC ID and I was told you’d need to complete your ORPAS application before you got that ID.

[Lingbrain]

Hi all, 

I was wondering if anyone has any insights or advice for applying to western? Does anyone know what they value a lot in applications (research, EDI, grades, LOI)? Im also curious to hear about how people organized their CV for western- did you follow the example they have on the website or organize it another way?  

[songbird23]

On 8/15/2025 at 1:16 AM, blackpearl said:

Hello everyone! This is my first (and hopefully only😭) application round! I recently graduated but since my sGPA isn't as competitive as I thought (~3.6/3.7), I am thinking of either going back as a continuing student or taking online courses at Athabasca U since I want to work ft and focus on volunteering this year. I'd love to hear somebody's opinion on Athabasca or if you have any course recs I could take from there!

I also feel like I may lack a lot when it'll come to my statement of intent since I don't think I have enough experience in this field. I was planning on working on it this summer but got sidetracked due to some personal situations and it's been eating me up. I'm trying to stay calm and get back into motion little by little.

Hope y'all are enjoying the rest of your summer and good luck with this application round🙂

Feel free to reach out to me, I've been taking Athabasca courses as an Open Studies student this last year while working ft and volunteering.

[Speechie_slp]

Does anyone know where to find western’s statement of intent prompts? I can’t seem to find it in their website nor on the ORPAS website.  

[TLA]

On 8/14/2025 at 11:16 PM, blackpearl said:

Hello everyone! This is my first (and hopefully only😭) application round! I recently graduated but since my sGPA isn't as competitive as I thought (~3.6/3.7), I am thinking of either going back as a continuing student or taking online courses at Athabasca U since I want to work ft and focus on volunteering this year. I'd love to hear somebody's opinion on Athabasca or if you have any course recs I could take from there!

I also feel like I may lack a lot when it'll come to my statement of intent since I don't think I have enough experience in this field. I was planning on working on it this summer but got sidetracked due to some personal situations and it's been eating me up. I'm trying to stay calm and get back into motion little by little.

Hope y'all are enjoying the rest of your summer and good luck with this application round🙂

Hi! I got into U of A this year and I did my undergrad at Athabasca. There are some easy AU courses. There are other courses that I’m confident are WAY more work than you’d have to do at a brick and mortar. So you have to select carefully haha. If you have questions feel free to message me, I might have some course suggestions! 

[dawnoo24]

On 8/26/2025 at 11:37 AM, ang1999 said:

Hi everyone! This will be my first round of applying, and I just had a few questions regarding the casper exam for Western. Do we have to wait until we’ve submit our application to reserve our casper? It says we need the OUAC ID and I was told you’d need to complete your ORPAS application before you got that ID.

Hey! If you're still looking for the answer, it's on Western's admission page's FAQ: https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/csd/programs/admission.html. It seems like there's a placeholder you can use until you get your specific ORPAS number.

[dawnoo24]

On 8/29/2025 at 4:56 PM, Lingbrain said:

Hi all, 

I was wondering if anyone has any insights or advice for applying to western? Does anyone know what they value a lot in applications (research, EDI, grades, LOI)? Im also curious to hear about how people organized their CV for western- did you follow the example they have on the website or organize it another way?  

I used their CV template, only taking out categories that didn't apply to my experiences and changing small things like font or heading organization. 

When I applied, everyone emphasized Western as wanting well-rounded applicants. This includes volunteering (even though it's not required), research, LOI with clear purpose, and good references, but ymmv. It's also important to know that you don't have to have all of these things, but show them everything you have!

[dawnoo24]

On 9/15/2025 at 11:08 PM, Speechie_slp said:

Does anyone know where to find western’s statement of intent prompts? I can’t seem to find it in their website nor on the ORPAS website.  

Hey, if I remember correctly, you'll see the prompts once ORPAS applications open in mid-October. When you're filling out the application there's a section for school-specific requirements and it'll be there. You'll figure it out, don't worry! Some general things to consider if you want to start brainstorming is why SLP? Why are you a good candidate for the profession? And why do you want to go to Western?