2017 Canadian Application Thread!

[SLPlease?]

11 hours ago, SLPwannabe! said:

Hey everyone!

Congrats to all who have been accepted to iwherever, that is a wonderful accomplishment and something to be proud of.

I've applied to U of A for this upcoming fall and and desperately waiting for an answer. They sent out a round of acceptance emails this past Thursday and I'm only hoping I will get one in the coming weeks.

I just wanted to ask a question to anyone in the program or who knows a lot about it - I've heard they're doing a "holistic" approach with applicants, i.e. looking at their app as a whole. I say this because I know U of A is a grades heavy school and my GPA is a little low compared to all of these 3.7/3.8's. I'm almost embarrassed to say what it actually is even though I should be proud of my work.

I have a lot of SLP volunteer experience as well as some great references, but a non competitive GPA. I guess my question is should I be as panicked and worried as I am? I've had multiple panic attacks about this ?
 

This is the third time I've applied to schools to get into this program, and I found that with each round of applications I was constantly anxious and stressed out. That being said, whether you get in or not, it's definitely not the end of the world even though it's disappointing (after many rejections over the years I know from experience).

If for whatever reason you DON'T get accepted somewhere I highly recommend contacting the department and asking for specifics on what they think should be improved. I ended up re-writing the GRE, finding more volunteer opportunities, and taking undergraduate courses after I had finished my degree in order to boost my GPA. I also didn't have a very competitive GPA at the time I finished my degree, but after taking the extra classes I managed to get it up to 3.7.

I've got my fingers crossed for you for the up-coming week @SLPwannabe!

[A_linguist]

9 hours ago, SLPlease? said:

This is the third time I've applied to schools to get into this program, and I found that with each round of applications I was constantly anxious and stressed out. That being said, whether you get in or not, it's definitely not the end of the world even though it's disappointing (after many rejections over the years I know from experience).

If for whatever reason you DON'T get accepted somewhere I highly recommend contacting the department and asking for specifics on what they think should be improved. I ended up re-writing the GRE, finding more volunteer opportunities, and taking undergraduate courses after I had finished my degree in order to boost my GPA. I also didn't have a very competitive GPA at the time I finished my degree, but after taking the extra classes I managed to get it up to 3.7.

I've got my fingers crossed for you for the up-coming week @SLPwannabe!

Great advice, @SLPlease?. As someone who has also been through two rounds of rejected applications, I completely agree with your advice to take some courses to boost GPA, get some more volunteer opportunities, and keep at it. I went and did a Master's, too, as I was told by a professor at UofT SLP that they find that applicants with MAs are well-suited to their programs (especially if it involved research in a related discipline). 

For finding good volunteer placements, I suggest contacting SLPs directly and avoiding going through general volunteer streams (at a hospital, for example). I wound up getting clinical research experience by contacting a team at a hospital directly. From my experience, SLPs are really busy people and an extra set of hands is great to have around. 

[SLPLS]

Hey guys,

This is really too late anyways, but I was checking out some of the frequently asked questions on ORPAS and I found this..
"

How do I submit my resumé to ORPAS?

Applications: Rehab Sciences (ORPAS) Categories: During Application

This year, applicants must upload their resumé in the Personal Submissions section of the application. Before attaching this document, you must review the resumé requirements for each university, as requirements vary. To upload your resumé, save the document as a PDF, and use the browse function to select your PDF from your computer. The file cannot be larger than 5 MB. Word documents will not be accepted. Do not mail your resumé to ORPAS."

I definitely didn't submit a PDF resume, or any resume for that matter..... Can someone please tell me I'm tripping out and this actually wasn't required?! 

 

[dxsh4]

Hello everyone,

The time now is close before we all find out our futures! I was wondering on everyone's opinion on what my chances are to get in. I have a life science degree with a 3.8 subGPA and a 3.52 cumulative GPA. Have quite a few summers volunteering with special needs children and with SLP for an adult post-stroke recovery clinic. I have no research experience and am not published but I managed to work as a TA for a few courses. I am scared that my subGPA may not be high enough plus for UofT on one of my prereqs I only have a B+ (stats  ). I am constantly having nightmares about not being taken anywhere and will probably proceed to freak out for the rest of the week. Just hoping for a little bit of reassurance... and good luck to everyone else applying!

[SLPlease?]

4 hours ago, SLPLS said:

Hey guys,

This is really too late anyways, but I was checking out some of the frequently asked questions on ORPAS and I found this..
"

How do I submit my resumé to ORPAS?

Applications: Rehab Sciences (ORPAS) Categories: During Application

This year, applicants must upload their resumé in the Personal Submissions section of the application. Before attaching this document, you must review the resumé requirements for each university, as requirements vary. To upload your resumé, save the document as a PDF, and use the browse function to select your PDF from your computer. The file cannot be larger than 5 MB. Word documents will not be accepted. Do not mail your resumé to ORPAS."

I definitely didn't submit a PDF resume, or any resume for that matter..... Can someone please tell me I'm tripping out and this actually wasn't required?! 

 

Since OPRAs isn't used solely for SLP applications it's very possible that other programs like OT or PT may require resumes for their applications. I definitely don't recall the application for SLP on ORPAs asking for a resume so I wouldn't worry about it.

[razzerpears]

Ugh!! Still have a "Pending" decision on U of A. Has anyone who HASN'T been accepted have this on their application?

[lindzzz]

41 minutes ago, razzerpears said:

Ugh!! Still have a "Pending" decision on U of A. Has anyone who HASN'T been accepted have this on their application?

To ease your mind a little - this is very unlikely to change anytime soon. I applied two years in a row and both times the "decision" page didn't change for a month or more after I received word of their decision. Acceptances come out first via email, wait list emails come a few days afterward. Rejections go out anywhere between mid to end of April (again, via email). 

[SLPwannabe!]

3 hours ago, razzerpears said:

Ugh!! Still have a "Pending" decision on U of A. Has anyone who HASN'T been accepted have this on their application?

I'm having issues logging into the grad portal so I can't even check my status

[slpteacher]

Congrats to all of those that have gotten their acceptance letters already!

I am eagerly awaiting a response from the UofA, even after the first round of admissions have been given (http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=speech+alberta). It still says decision "Pending" on my account as well. I am well aware that this is the last step of the process that they usually update (this is my fourth time applying to the UofA). It is good to know that I am not alone though.  I really thought this year was my year (I graduated from the Education program with a 3.8 GPA, have plenty of volunteer experience, and work full time as a teacher now). Fingers are still crossed!

[slpteacher]

4 minutes ago, SLPwannabe! said:

I'm having issues logging into the grad portal so I can't even check my status

Well that's frustrating!! But no need to worry as it is likely that you will get an admission decision through email before they change it on the portal 

[SLPwannabe!]

Do we think U of A will be sending emails sporadically throughout the week until the 1st? Or all on the 1st?

[mizuro]

Btw, if anyone is still worried about their "pending" decision on the portal, I was told that it is the Faculty of Graduate Studies or something that finalizes that so it takes much longer to update. Mine took around 2-3 weeks to update after I was accepted.

[SLPlease?]

Is there a group on Facebook for the Fall 2017 cohort at UofA? I did a brief search, and there are a number of different groups that have already been created, but I have no idea which one is actually relevant to this year.

[slp_m633]

Is anyone else having difficulty resetting their passwords for their McGill UApply portal? Login page says we must reset by tomorrow March 28 10:30am EST. I'm unsure if this applies to us, but I'm having trouble resetting haha. Pls lemme know what you guys are experiencing! Many thanks!

[SLPLS]

5 minutes ago, slp_m633 said:

Is anyone else having difficulty resetting their passwords for their McGill UApply portal? Login page says we must reset by tomorrow March 28 10:30am EST. I'm unsure if this applies to us, but I'm having trouble resetting haha. Pls lemme know what you guys are experiencing! Many thanks!

Hey! Ya, I reset my password a few days ago. Instead of pressing the reset button that is located on the homepage of the uapply log-in (before actually logging in), I first logged into my account and then went to "My Account" section on the top bar to directly change my password. Hope that works for you! 

[slp_m633]

59 minutes ago, SLPLS said:

Hey! Ya, I reset my password a few days ago. Instead of pressing the reset button that is located on the homepage of the uapply log-in (before actually logging in), I first logged into my account and then went to "My Account" section on the top bar to directly change my password. Hope that works for you! 

Very smart! Thanks! It worked

[slpslpslpbc]

On 3/25/2017 at 9:34 AM, DanielleSLP said:

The countdown is on -  I'm SO glad we'll have a response by the end of this week! 

Something that I found helpful was creating a chart so that when I get the news, I immediately have action steps in place to deal with: the good news, the ok news and even the bad news. Thought I would share it so you can create one of your own to help you deal with the difficult waiting period! And don't forget to put "celebrate" under what to do immediately if you're accepted! ?

 

My boss, who is a SLP, just told me this: 

Accepted:Immediately- Drink joyously. 
Waitlisted:Immediately- Drink nervously. 
Rejected:Immediately-  Drink to get wasted. 

That's my plan. 

Edited March 28, 2017 by slpslpslpbc

[slpteacher]

For those of us who are still anxiously waiting for an acceptance email from the UofA, I emailed the office assistant to ask when final admission decisions will be made and her response was as follows:

"The first round of offers will be sent out by April 1st.  If you have any other questions please let me know." 

I haven't heard of anyone else finding out they've gotten in since March 23, so I am still holding onto that last shred of hope! 

[slpteacher]

1 minute ago, slpteacher said:

For those of us who are still anxiously waiting for an acceptance email from the UofA, I emailed the office assistant to ask when final admission decisions will be made and her response was as follows:

"The first round of offers will be sent out by April 1st.  If you have any other questions please let me know." 

I haven't heard of anyone else finding out they've gotten in since March 23, so I am still holding onto that last shred of hope! 

I suppose by April 1st in the important thing here. It doesn't say on April 1st so I am very confused as to whether that means the admissions will be sporadic or not. Sorry I cannot help, SLPwannabe! 

[13SLP]

I'm also waiting to hear back from UofA. I'm also surprised that we've gotten nothing from UofT, like an acknowledgement or something. Will their answer just be posted on ORPAS on Friday?

[SpeechWannaB]

23 minutes ago, 13SLP said:

I'm also waiting to hear back from UofA. I'm also surprised that we've gotten nothing from UofT, like an acknowledgement or something. Will their answer just be posted on ORPAS on Friday?

I applied last year, and they just sent us an e-mail in the morning around 8:30..they never sent us an acknowledgment of application prior to admission results.

ORPAS didn't have their results page last year so I am not sure if UoT will just update like Western does at midnight, but last year it was definitely the following morning. 

[SLPwannabe!]

6 hours ago, slpteacher said:

I suppose by April 1st in the important thing here. It doesn't say on April 1st so I am very confused as to whether that means the admissions will be sporadic or not. Sorry I cannot help, SLPwannabe! 

No worries thank you anyway! I suppose I will just keep an eye on my inbox until the 1st! 

[DanielleSLP]

On 3/28/2017 at 0:53 AM, slpslpslpbc said:

My boss, who is a SLP, just told me this: 

Accepted:Immediately- Drink joyously. 
Waitlisted:Immediately- Drink nervously. 
Rejected:Immediately-  Drink to get wasted. 

That's my plan. 

hahaha! Cheers!  @slpslpslpbc

[theyaaz]

9 hours ago, SLPwannabe! said:

No worries thank you anyway! I suppose I will just keep an eye on my inbox until the 1st! 

When I talked to the admin at U of A last week, she said that if you don't hear on or by April 1st, that doesn't mean that you didn't get in. My acceptance letter has a response date of April 13, so I'm betting they'll send out another round of offers/wait list notifications once the offer rejections from this round come in around the second week of April. Keep those fingers crossed!

[SLPLS]

Today is the day, people.  at midnight. Western.