PT @ UBC/ Queens/ UofS/ Western - please help!

[Beez]

Hi guys, 

Congrats to everyone who got accepted into PT programs this year.

I have a question for people who are accepted to UBC, QUEENS, WESTERN, and University of Saskatchewan. What was the GPA cut-off this year?

Also, if you feel comfortable are you able to tell me the GPA you were accepted with into these programs? How many hours did you volunteer and what made your application stand out? 

I graduated with a BA (history major) two years ago, and decided to work in the field I initially thought was for me. And even now, I enjoy my job but it’s not something I’m extremely passionate about. I always wanted to pursue physiotherapy because I used to volunteer at a senior’s home in the rehab department alongside some physiotherapists.  I enjoyed it so much and thought about switching my majors in the last year of my undergrad but didn’t go through with it since I was almost done my undergrad, and looking at the admissions requirements for MPT, I was worried that it would take me so much longer to become a PT. After working for two years at a comfortable job, I still can’t get the idea of wanting to pursue PT out of my head. So I decided to follow my passion and at least TRY, otherwise, I will always regret it. I’ve already completed the anatomy and physiology prereqs, and working through the rest of the prereqs this year. I’m hoping to apply for next year’s program at UBC, QUEENS, WESTERN and University of Saskatchewan.

I’m a 70 -75% average student (undergrad) and trying to get my GPA high by taking some electives currently. It’s a little disheartening when everyone keeps telling me that 80% will not be enough.  I want this so bad and I’m trying my best to get my GPA high enough to be at least considered. I have LOTS of experience working with people. I have over 100 hours volunteering with kids (coaching, and working with cognitively impaired children), and about 50 hours working with seniors in the rehab department. I’m volunteering in a rehab clinic right now and with a non-profit disability society.

Any advice or recommendation will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

B

[Rehab4Life]

Hey. The volunteer work is sounding great. The sub-GPA cutoff to Queen's this year was 3.68 (calculated by averaging your most recent completed 10 full credits, completed by time of application), which I believe is the lowest in Ontario. Their sGPA cutoff might be the lowest in Canada for PT, if not one of the lowest, because they try to emphasize volunteer work and the written online submissions. Some schools have a cum-GPA cutoff as well, which I believe was 2.89 for Queen's for example. Unfortunately, anything lower than a school's sGPA / cGPA cutoff(s), the application will not be considered. No matter where we apply, the GPA cutoffs are the first barrier. If you need to improve your grades, I would suggest taking a heavier course load versus volunteering.. or simultaneously if you can!

I believe some schools don't use the typical sGPA cutoff. UBC and McGill come to mind, but I'm not sure since I haven't applied to those schools.

[hopefulPT000]

UBC is based on last 10 courses submitted before December 31st, along with average of prereq courses. If a prerequisite course is within the last 10 courses, it will be used only in prereq average and not in last 10 courses. From this years average, i believe it was around 85.5-86% for an interview invite. They also say that they take into consideration the applicants entire application.

UBC only allows you to write down max 2 experiences (minimum 70 hours of working with individuals with disabilities), so it's more of a checkbox rather than an emphasis on experience. 

Admission is based 50/50 gpa&interview score. Hope this helps!

 

[BCPT17]

6 hours ago, hopefulPT000 said:

UBC is based on last 10 courses submitted before December 31st, along with average of prereq courses. If a prerequisite course is within the last 10 courses, it will be used only in prereq average and not in last 10 courses. From this years average, i believe it was around 85.5-86% for an interview invite. They also say that they take into consideration the applicants entire application.

UBC only allows you to write down max 2 experiences (minimum 70 hours of working with individuals with disabilities), so it's more of a checkbox rather than an emphasis on experience. 

Admission is based 50/50 gpa&interview score. Hope this helps!

 

Hey, just to clarify this. UBC uses your most recent 10 from 300-400/upper level courses. Their web site also says they use a combination of pre-req GPA and most recent upper level courses to make interview offers. HopefulPT is correct in that it takes around an 85+ just to get an interview. It took me 2 tries to get in to the regular cohort with an avg just over 87% and over 1000 clinical experience hours. 

My advice would be to improve your GPA and keep on volunteering. Definitely look into multiple schools as well (Queens might be a good choice as mentioned above).  

Hopefully this helps you out. Best of luck following your dreams!

[PTwinterlo]

I'm curious why you are applying to queens/western but not uoft and Mac? I believe westerns gpa cutoff is as high or higher than Mac and u of t. The Mac interview cut off this year was around 3.82 and I believe the u of t CAP cut-off is a little lower (maybe 3.8 or 3.81?). Western, Mac and u of t (also queens) all use sub-gpa from your last 20 half courses/10 full courses and it's adjusted through orpas to meet the Ontario standard out of a 4.0 scale. Ontario pt schools don't distinguish between higher or lower level courses when calculating sub-gpa and applicants def use that to our advantage when needed (ie taking a couple semesters of "easy" online courses to bump up sub-gpa). Anyway if you are going through the effort of applying to queens and western you might as well increase your chances with Mac and u of t. If your gpa isn't high enough for Mac or u of t then from what I understand you likely wouldn't be considered by western either. When it comes to calculating your sub-gpa they will look at last 20 half/10 full courses completed before the application deadline (includes fall semester courses) and pre-req marks are only included if they fall within recent courses. You can also be completing pre-requisites over the winter as long as they are finished and transcripts submitted by June 30th. 

[PTwinterlo]

Oh also- as requested:

sub-gpa 3.82

received interviews at Mac and u of t (only just made the Mac cut-off by getting off the waitlist).

accepted by u of t and queens

[PTwinterlo]

Just re-reading your comments about your gpa. If you don't want to take a bunch of electives to raise your sgpa, I would consider applying for OT as well as Queens PT. I think with a 70-75 average you will only be considered by Queens in Ontario (not sure about other province requirements). So to up your chances of getting into a rehab masters program you could back up with all the OT programs. I'm not saying OT and PT are interchangeable, but they are both awesome client-centered professional rehab masters. And your marks are much more competitive in OT. This was my first year applying for PT and I decided not to back up with OT. While I did end up getting accepted, as soon as the application deadline passed I was very stressed about the possibility of not getting in this round and I deeply regretted not applying for OT because I think I would've really that program as well. 

[Beez]

On 2017-06-15 at 8:35 PM, PTwinterlo said:

Oh also- as requested:

sub-gpa 3.82

received interviews at Mac and u of t (only just made the Mac cut-off by getting off the waitlist).

accepted by u of t and queens

 

Thank you so much. You were very helpful. I don't know why but I was under the impression that UofT was harder to get into. Also, I wasn't aware of the 4.0 GPA scale because in BC most of the schools use 4.33 scale. Thank you for letting me know about the option of taking lower level courses to bump up my GPA for Ontario schools. I will def use that to my advantage and take few easy lower level classes to bump up my GPA. I was really worried and overwhelmed reading other's applications and how strong they were compared to mine. But I've also realized how BADDDD I want this and I just have to put in the work and keep trying. I might not be accepted my first try next year, but that's okay because I will have another year after that to upgrade and add experience to my application. 

 

 

[Rehab4Life]

11 hours ago, Beez said:

Thank you so much. You were very helpful. I don't know why but I was under the impression that UofT was harder to get into. Also, I wasn't aware of the 4.0 GPA scale because in BC most of the schools use 4.33 scale. Thank you for letting me know about the option of taking lower level courses to bump up my GPA for Ontario schools. I will def use that to my advantage and take few easy lower level classes to bump up my GPA. I was really worried and overwhelmed reading other's applications and how strong they were compared to mine. But I've also realized how BADDDD I want this and I just have to put in the work and keep trying. I might not be accepted my first try next year, but that's okay because I will have another year after that to upgrade and add experience to my application. 

 

 

They're all tough, as U of T, Mac and Western basically require an sGPA of 3.81-3.82+ on a 4.0 scale to be competitive. 

[HopefulPT95]

Hey Beez, I was accepted into western, queens, UofT, and UofAlberta (waitlisted mac 15) so I'll try to help out! But much of what I would say has been covered so I'll just second what's already been said. Unfortunately, sgpa is a huge portion of the application process as schools can have upwards of 1300 applications to filter through so making the gpa cutoff is important so taking easy course regardless of the level will 100% be beneficial! 

I also agree that for OT, you would be a very competitive applicant (however I know I hated it when people told me to do OT cause PT is so hard to get into but let me tell you it's possible!!). So if you want PT as bad as it sounds, just dive in and go for it.

I also agree that if you want PT, apply to many programs, dont limit yourself to only a few, you never know which programs will be looking for a certain ideal candidate you could deff be one with your experience if you can make that first gpa cutoff. UofT does for some reason have a reputation of being harder to get into, but they interview more people than other schools i.e mac & UofAlberta so it might be better for you as if you get passed that gpa cutoff you can then allow your experience to shine during the interviews.

I also know many good physios who took a few tried to get accepted so you have the right idea, if you dont get in next year keep trying for the next cycle!! Don't let anyone tell you that you cant do it and dont let everyone else's applications on here overwhelm you. Yours on paper would be strong if you can boost that gpa enough to make the cuts in my opinion. This year was my first applying but I've been following this forum for a bit and can tell you from experience that spending countless hours looking at everyone else's profile who got accepted is just gonna make you more overwhelmed and stressed like I was for the last few years until last month haha!