Applying to OISE MT Program

[studentgal88]

Hi everyone,

A 3rd year science student here. Thinking of applying to OISE (UofT)'s Masters of Teaching (MT) program, but am not sure if I will be accepted / chances of being accepted. 

My cGPA is 2.80 (I didn't do well for the first 2 years because of personal issues), and hoping final year GPA will be 3.80 (applying to MT in final year, so I'm not sure if they'll see this GPA before sending out admissions)

I would like to apply for sernior/intermediate (Biology - Science, though my grades aren't that good in science), with second choice in English (my university english grades are all A's, top percentiles). I might be considering junior/intermediate instead though (for english/general science).

My recent/present ECs in: 

- teacher's assistant in high school (science class, grade 10-11)

- hospital (pediatrics) placement, assisting physician and child patients

- mentoring university students (privately) in English

- teaching piano and science for elementary school students (2013-2014)

My 2 reference letters will be from my English TA who is familiar with me personally, and the science teacher that I assist at a nearby high school.

Could some of you give me advice and opinions on my chances of gaining acceptance? I know my GPA is not that good - should I give up on applying to MT at OISE?

 

Edited March 14, 2016 by studentgal88

[El Jefe]

This application looks a bit weak for me.

[VKBun]

14 hours ago, studentgal88 said:

Hi everyone,

A 3rd year science student here. Thinking of applying to OISE (UofT)'s Masters of Teaching (MT) program, but am not sure if I will be accepted / chances of being accepted. 

My cGPA is 2.80 (I didn't do well for the first 2 years because of personal issues), and hoping final year GPA will be 3.80 (applying to MT in final year, so I'm not sure if they'll see this GPA before sending out admissions)

I would like to apply for sernior/intermediate (Biology - Science, though my grades aren't that good in science), with second choice in English (my university english grades are all A's, top percentiles). I might be considering junior/intermediate instead though (for english/general science).

My recent/present ECs in: 

- teacher's assistant in high school (science class, grade 10-11)

- hospital (pediatrics) placement, assisting physician and child patients

- mentoring university students (privately) in English

- teaching piano and science for elementary school students (2013-2014)

My 2 reference letters will be from my English TA who is familiar with me personally, and the science teacher that I assist at a nearby high school.

Could some of you give me advice and opinions on my chances of gaining acceptance? I know my GPA is not that good - should I give up on applying to MT at OISE?

 

I wouldn't say you're out of the running yet. I believe they mostly look at your final year marks (although it wouldn't hurt to have a killer CGPA). I'd try to make sure your CGPA is as far above 3.0 by your final year, because it is in the end a graduate program and many grad programs like cutting off applications around 3.0.

What are your grades actually like in science? That would be important to note. Ultimately, there are a lot of applications to the MT program and many are quite strong. As long as you have a B+ or so in Bio, I think you still have a chance for sure.

Your experiences are pretty great! How many hours do you have in that high school classroom?

Your TA is not a sufficient reference - you need a proper academic referee (a professor). The high school teacher is a great second reference! Your top priority, if you are serious about this application, is getting to know a professor in the next year, and then having them as your academic reference. OISE at U of T requires a professor familiar with you as a reference!
 

I am only one person, however I did get accepted into OISE's MT program this year for I/S teachables English and History, and my husband got accepted at OISE as well for I/S for Mathematics and Physics. We at least have a small amount of experience with the program Please let me know if you have any other questions!

[AK47]

On March 14, 2016 at 7:22 PM, studentgal88 said:

Hi everyone,

A 3rd year science student here. Thinking of applying to OISE (UofT)'s Masters of Teaching (MT) program, but am not sure if I will be accepted / chances of being accepted. 

My cGPA is 2.80 (I didn't do well for the first 2 years because of personal issues), and hoping final year GPA will be 3.80 (applying to MT in final year, so I'm not sure if they'll see this GPA before sending out admissions)

I would like to apply for sernior/intermediate (Biology - Science, though my grades aren't that good in science), with second choice in English (my university english grades are all A's, top percentiles). I might be considering junior/intermediate instead though (for english/general science).

My recent/present ECs in: 

- teacher's assistant in high school (science class, grade 10-11)

- hospital (pediatrics) placement, assisting physician and child patients

- mentoring university students (privately) in English

- teaching piano and science for elementary school students (2013-2014)

My 2 reference letters will be from my English TA who is familiar with me personally, and the science teacher that I assist at a nearby high school.

Could some of you give me advice and opinions on my chances of gaining acceptance? I know my GPA is not that good - should I give up on applying to MT at OISE?

 

Hi! there! I would recommend get a professor to be your academic reference --TAs are students themselves so they prefer full time/permanent faculty to be references instead! Good luck!

[studentgal88]

25 minutes ago, AK47 said:

Hi! there! I would recommend get a professor to be your academic reference --TAs are students themselves so they prefer full time/permanent faculty to be references instead! Good luck!

Thanks! Do you happen to know if I have any chance of gaining acceptance into this program? And what I can do to improve my standing?

[AK47]

55 minutes ago, studentgal88 said:

Thanks! Do you happen to know if I have any chance of gaining acceptance into this program? And what I can do to improve my standing?

Heyya! I'm not sure what their criteria is specifically for selecting students but from personal experience, I would say experience definitely matters a lot --they aren't a fan of tutoring/babysitting experiences too much since that experience is different from "classroom experience" (maybe mention that in your statement of intent? You can tell them you know working with students one to one is very different than working with them in the classroom but this experience still taught me [insert what it taught you about teaching etc.]). If possible, try getting a job as a camp counsellor this summer with the age group you plan to teach (they love the idea of paid work experience with children because it shows you were in a position of responsibility), or some more experience working in schools or with groups of high school kids (maybe at the local library? I'm not sure, but you can research this more). Also, do select references who can write STRONG letters for you --references matter quite a lot and they can sometimes be the deciding factor of your application. I wouldn't worry too much about the grades --higher averages help, but they aren't mandatory as long as you meet the cutoff. Personally, I just got accepted into the program and I had about 700 hours of child experience, plus an additional set of teaching experience at the university level, research experience and conference publications, and about a 3.7 cGPA but some of the other candidates I read about on this page were accepted with 10,000 hours of experience and a B+ average. I'm not sure if this helps but good luck! 

[studentgal88]

Thank you everyone for your help! I was also thinking of applying to York University's Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) program as a back up over MT at OISE. Because at that point I will already have had my bachelor's in science (B.Sc), would it be "stupid" to go for another bachelor's (in education)? Does B.Ed actually allow people to easily find teaching jobs as opposed to MT?