sab236 Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 Is anyone else writing the GRE? Or has written it recently? Are you guys studying really hard for it? I'm mostly studying the math section because I am beyond rusty.
TotallyOriginalUsername Posted December 13, 2014 Posted December 13, 2014 I wrote it in October. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I still needed to study like crazy for math. I think I studied for about three months before writing the exam. I didn't do nearly as much prep for verbal or AW and got fairly good scores in those sections (160 and 5.0), but my math was still lower at 152 (this was an improvement compared to how I was doing in math before, though). I guess the lesson to take from that is if you're weak at a subject then focus on it hard. Use the powerprep software if you haven't already!
SLPdreams Posted December 15, 2014 Posted December 15, 2014 Question for everyone out there! I am a Canadian student attending an American university for speech pathology. I would love to apply to Western as it sounds like a wonderful school and I would like to be back in Canada, but people keep telling me it's not worth it to apply because I will not get accepted with an American degree. Is there any truth to this? Any advice would be appreciated! Hi Kirsten! I'm not sure if others have already addressed this issue as I haven't yet read through the entire thread. I just wanted to let you know that I am currently in my first year at Western and we have a classmate who is Canadian but did their undergraduate degree in the US. From my understanding, as long as you have the prerequisites and are competitive as an applicant, then you should be fine! p.s. Western is awesome
SLPdreams Posted December 15, 2014 Posted December 15, 2014 Hi everyone! I wanted to quickly post here to see if I can help out in answering any questions you may have. I am currently in my first year at Western for SLP and still remember how stressful this time of year is. If there are any questions out there about Western, I'd be happy to answer them as best as I can. I didn't get a chance to read the whole thread (I started to and then realized how many posts there were lol). I'd also be happy to share my stats in private messages. Good luck with your applications and happy holidays!
speechful11 Posted December 16, 2014 Posted December 16, 2014 (edited) Hi all! Is anyone else wondering how good their references will be? How important are references compared to grades? Does anyone know? I am wondering about the clinical one in particular. I really wish we didn't need so many references; they are so subjective and you just never know what they're going to say Edited December 16, 2014 by speechful11
sab236 Posted December 16, 2014 Posted December 16, 2014 Hi all! Is anyone else wondering how good their references will be? How important are references compared to grades? Does anyone know? I am wondering about the clinical one in particular. I really wish we didn't need so many references; they are so subjective and you just never know what they're going to say :-/ I think grades are definitely more important. I don't think your reference letters need to be particularly amazing if you have a competitive GPA. But if your references are special in some way I think it would definitely help. I've heard that University of Alberta and Dalhousie place a slightly less importance on grades. Not that your grades don't matter, but apparently they may be more willing to accept a wider range of applicants (such as people with great references/work experience and slightly less competitive GPAs). But as we all know, its incredibly competitive at every school, but it's still something to consider!
believer15 Posted December 16, 2014 Posted December 16, 2014 Hi everyone! I am applying at McGill for Fall15 and I'm getting a little nervous about my academic reviewer. I was wondering if my reviewer has to send my recommendation letter by the due date ( january 15th), or do I need to send my reviewer's info to McGill before the due date. It's my first time applying and Im a little confused. Thank you
speechful11 Posted December 16, 2014 Posted December 16, 2014 (edited) Hi everyone! I am applying at McGill for Fall15 and I'm getting a little nervous about my academic reviewer. I was wondering if my reviewer has to send my recommendation letter by the due date ( january 15th), or do I need to send my reviewer's info to McGill before the due date. It's my first time applying and Im a little confused. Thank youBetter to do it sooner than later. Your references appreciate having time to write a good letter. Mine took about 3 weeks to submit everything because they are pretty busy usually. For McGill you submit the references' info online and an automatic email is sent to them with all the forms to upload. I would do it way before the 15th which is when the submissions deadline closes - you cannot submit anything after that and neither can your references from what I understand. Edited December 16, 2014 by speechful11
speechful11 Posted December 16, 2014 Posted December 16, 2014 (edited) I think grades are definitely more important. I don't think your reference letters need to be particularly amazing if you have a competitive GPA. But if your references are special in some way I think it would definitely help. I've heard that University of Alberta and Dalhousie place a slightly less importance on grades. Not that your grades don't matter, but apparently they may be more willing to accept a wider range of applicants (such as people with great references/work experience and slightly less competitive GPAs). But as we all know, its incredibly competitive at every school, but it's still something to consider!Thanks for your reply! I am not applying to either of those so hopefully my references are good and weighed less than my grades. Although I am probably just being paranoid! Edited December 16, 2014 by speechful11
TotallyOriginalUsername Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 For those who have applied to Dalhousie, can you access your application information online? I was under the impression that you could view when all your documents reached them, status, and so on. I've tried logging in using the same username and password I used to make the application and it doesn't work. Was I mistaken or am I doing something wrong?
Persis Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 For those who have applied to Dalhousie, can you access your application information online? I was under the impression that you could view when all your documents reached them, status, and so on. I've tried logging in using the same username and password I used to make the application and it doesn't work. Was I mistaken or am I doing something wrong? I can log in however, they have not updated anything on my application.
papillonbleu22 Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 Hi all, I'm curious about SAM. I was told it's the messaging tool used for the ORPAS application. The thing is... I'm not even sure where to find it... Does anyone know how it works or what it's used for? Is it true you can only access it after submitting your application? Thank you all for your information!
speechful11 Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 (edited) Hi all, I am so confused about the volunteer experiences section of the ORPAS application Edited December 19, 2014 by speechful11 apples4apples and speechful11 2
audie2692 Posted December 23, 2014 Posted December 23, 2014 Hello, I am also very confused with the ORPAS volunteer form. What do we put in site population? The amount of people working in the given area during time of volunteering? Also, i think duration does means months. Can someone please clarify!
SLPdreams Posted December 23, 2014 Posted December 23, 2014 Hi all, I am so confused about the volunteer experiences section of the ORPAS application First of all, where it says "volunteer experience description (max 48 chars)" - is that the title of our role? I guess also they don't require the name of the organization. Is "duration (max 30 chars)" just the number of months? I am thrown off by the large number of characters allowed only to enter months, and also unsure as to whether it should be different if it is ongoing. Any help/advice will be appreciated. I posted something like this before but not as specific so hopefully this will help clarify things! :-) Hi speechful11! When I applied last year, I did the following: In the volunteer experience description, I listed my role & the organization's name. In the duration section, I included how many months as well as how many hours per week or month. If I remember correctly, there was a place to enter "From Date" and "To Date" and that's where I put "present" if it was still ongoing. I'm not sure if they changed the format for this year but I included two examples of what I did last year below so hopefully that'll help! From Date 2013-02 To Date Present Volunteer Experience Description AQPA-Quebec Association for People with Aphasia Geographic Location Montreal, QC Duration 11 months, 3-6 hours/week Total Hours 95 hours Site Population Francophone, Anglophone, and multilingual adults with aphasia Activities Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia training. Facilitate a conversation group & computer lessons. Past work in choir & photography groups. From Date 2013-11 To Date Present Volunteer Experience Description Observation – Private Practice, (SLP's name here) Geographic Location Montreal, QC Duration 7 weeks Total Hours 14.5 hours (clinical reference) + 7 hours since Site Population Children with fluency, articulation & autism spectrum disorders; Parents of children with ASD Activities Observed individual therapy sessions. Observed & helped prepare for biweekly More Than Words (The Hanen Group) workshops & a video feedback session.
sab236 Posted December 23, 2014 Posted December 23, 2014 Hi speechful11! When I applied last year, I did the following: In the volunteer experience description, I listed my role & the organization's name. In the duration section, I included how many months as well as how many hours per week or month. If I remember correctly, there was a place to enter "From Date" and "To Date" and that's where I put "present" if it was still ongoing. I'm not sure if they changed the format for this year but I included two examples of what I did last year below so hopefully that'll help! From Date 2013-02 To Date Present Volunteer Experience Description AQPA-Quebec Association for People with Aphasia Geographic Location Montreal, QC Duration 11 months, 3-6 hours/week Total Hours 95 hours Site Population Francophone, Anglophone, and multilingual adults with aphasia Activities Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia training. Facilitate a conversation group & computer lessons. Past work in choir & photography groups. From Date 2013-11 To Date Present Volunteer Experience Description Observation – Private Practice, (SLP's name here) Geographic Location Montreal, QC Duration 7 weeks Total Hours 14.5 hours (clinical reference) + 7 hours since Site Population Children with fluency, articulation & autism spectrum disorders; Parents of children with ASD Activities Observed individual therapy sessions. Observed & helped prepare for biweekly More Than Words (The Hanen Group) workshops & a video feedback session. Thank you that is really helpful! What did you guys put as the course URL for each prerequisite on the ORPAS application? I'm just putting the link to the page that lists all of the course descriptions of each department... but I don't know if that's ideal.
sab236 Posted December 27, 2014 Posted December 27, 2014 Does anyone know if it's okay to send a personal copy of your CV to ORPAS? I can't find it anywhere on the Western or Toronto websites.
kjax Posted December 28, 2014 Posted December 28, 2014 I'm just finishing up my application for McGill and am wondering if anyone knows if they require an actual CV or if a resume is accpetable. Normally CVs require a list of education, thesis, employment, publications, etc... and coming out of undergraduate school I feel like a CV would be rather short. I know for University of Alberta you can attach your resume to the CV form they require you to fill out. McGill's is not very clear. Thanks!
toriec Posted December 28, 2014 Posted December 28, 2014 Is anyone else feeling a little bit pessimistic about their applications? I've been reading this forum for years, knowing that someday it would be me going through all the anxiety of applying to grad schools, and it seems like very few people get in on their first try. I feel like I have a strong application, but I still can't help but think, "Why would I get in on my first try if so many other amazing students haven't?" It's hard to be optimistic about it!
speechful11 Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) Hi speechful11! When I applied last year, I did the following: In the volunteer experience description, I listed my role & the organization's name. In the duration section, I included how many months as well as how many hours per week or month. If I remember correctly, there was a place to enter "From Date" and "To Date" and that's where I put "present" if it was still ongoing. I'm not sure if they changed the format for this year but I included two examples of what I did last year below so hopefully that'll helpThis is really helpfully! Thanks so much! Edited December 30, 2014 by speechful11
SLPdreams Posted January 1, 2015 Posted January 1, 2015 Is anyone else feeling a little bit pessimistic about their applications? I've been reading this forum for years, knowing that someday it would be me going through all the anxiety of applying to grad schools, and it seems like very few people get in on their first try. I feel like I have a strong application, but I still can't help but think, "Why would I get in on my first try if so many other amazing students haven't?" It's hard to be optimistic about it! toriec, don't give up hope! It is competitive and it's good to be aware of that going in but some people DO get in the first time around so you really just never know! I've got my fingers crossed for you and everyone else applying this year!
ssymslp Posted January 4, 2015 Posted January 4, 2015 Thank you that is really helpful! What did you guys put as the course URL for each prerequisite on the ORPAS application? I'm just putting the link to the page that lists all of the course descriptions of each department... but I don't know if that's ideal. I'm also having trouble with the course URL section for ORPAS. I was using the academic calendars for each of the schools I attended (Brock and Western University), but when I copied and pasted the links from the prereq page back into a browser, the pages don't show up. I then tried using pdf website links and that also did not work. What has everyone else been doing?
TotallyOriginalUsername Posted January 5, 2015 Posted January 5, 2015 I can log in however, they have not updated anything on my application. Has yours or anyone else's been updated? I have sent them everything and it shows that they have only received my application fee (which was done online). I am starting to feel a little bit paranoid about it.
speechful11 Posted January 5, 2015 Posted January 5, 2015 Hi! Is the deadline for ORPAs the 16th or the 9th? What is the difference between those two deadlines they have listed?
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