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OT/PT accepted/waitlist/decline forum 2019


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Hello fellow applicants!  I am very excited to be applying this year!!

 

 

Applied + (PT or OT?): Western OT (1st time)
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa and s-gpa; cGPA 3.78, sGPA 3.99 (i think)
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I have worked/ volunteered in multiple settings as a Recreation Therapy student in mental health, geriatrics, accessibility planning, community Alzheimer's programs, and community inclusion initiatives.  I have also worked underneath both OTs and PTs in a clinical hospital setting for rehab after strokes/ car accidents, mental health, and home care.  I have also volunteered as a fitness instructor for clients battling illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, as a camp instructor in expressive arts camps for children with disabilities and abroad doing healthcare education/ promotion in rural villages. Western doesn't ask for references but the Dean of my faculty has volunteered to be my reference if needed. The Western OT program also has the CASPER test this year which I am nervous about but it should go well!

Looking forward to professional program preview day at Western this weekend.  I am so excited that it is finally time to apply! I have been debating between OT and Nursing since high school!! :)  Good luck everyone :) 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Applied + (OT): uOttawa (through CNFS), Queens, UoT, UoA, Manitoba

Interviews: Manitoba, Ottawa
Accepted: Manitoba, Ottawa
Waitlisted: UoA, UoT, Queens
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa:3.38 and s-gpa: 3.7/4.0 - 3.93/4.5 (MB)
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I've been volunteering for a program that teaches youth with a disability to swim for 4 years now. Helped develop the adapted swim program at my work. I also have 2000+ hours supporting people with a disability with their everyday tasks in a community residential program. 

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Applied (Physiotherapy): UBC, UoT, McMaster

Accepted: - Received interview invites for all 3!
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: Overall 3.84, Sub GPA 3.83 UBC Average: 87%
Extracurrics: I've been volunteering with 2 physiotherapy clinics, I've shadowed IMS needling, and I did my co-op in physical therapy research where I learned loads about tedinopathy :)

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Applied (All OT): UK - (Oxford Brookes, Glasgow Caledonian), Alberta, UBC, Queen's, McGill, Western
Accepted: Glasgow Caledonian, Oxford Brookes 
Waitlisted:
Rejected: UBC (Pre-Interview), Alberta, McGill, Queen's, Western
GPA: cGPA: 3.3, sGPA: 3.56, UBC average: 82.53%
 

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Strong personal component to essay (talked about mom's recovery from TBI), varied volunteer experiences (hands-on with experienced OT, day program at group home for persons with disabilities, provincial rehab unit at local hospital), lived abroad for three months, solid professional relationship with references. This is my second year applying. 

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Applied + (PT or OT?): PT (UofT, Western, Queens) and OT (McMaster, UofT, Queens)
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: cGPA: 3.7  3.55           sGPA: 3.88 3.85
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: references- they were alright, interviews-god knows if I'll even get to this point, essays-working through them now

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Applied + (PT or OT?): PT UBC, Western, Queens, UK, Ireland
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: sGPA: 3.75 UBC GPA: 85%
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Essays should be strong volunteered at a neuro physio clinic for a year and a half, tons of coaching experience and some cool life experiences, very strong academic and professional references. 

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6 hours ago, PTHopeful2019 said:

Applied + (PT or OT?): PT (UofT, Western, Queens) and OT (McMaster, UofT, Queens)
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: cGPA: 3.7 sGPA: 3.88 (still needs to be confirmed by ORPAS)
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: references- they were alright, interviews-god knows if I'll even get to this point, essays-working through them now

How do you know when ORPAS confirms your GPA/sGPA?

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Applied + (PT or OT?):  OT at UofT, McMaster, Western, Queens 
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa: 80% and s-gpa: 3.85
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: 
-Volunteered at a children's treatment center for children with disabilities, volunteer at the Hospital Elder Life Program where I provide cognitive orientation, physical activity, meal assistance etc. to older patients. 2 years experience doing respite work where I work one-on-one with two girls with Autism focusing on goals, (one child's goal is fine motor skills, other child is social skills). Currently work at Children's Aid Society where I work with children who have behavioural difficulties, some of which have developmental delays, we focus on using evidence-based practice to help these kids reach goals, and integrate a lot of sensory play, skill development etc. 
-Shadowed an OT in a hospital, and a private practice OT (not many hours doing this, about 7 hours total)

-I am pretty confident in my personal statements, but I know many applications will have very strong personal statements and a little worried mine will not stand out!
-References from: one professor from my undergrad from my ABA and FASD courses, volunteer coordinator with the Hospital Elder Life Program, and parent who I provide respite relief for. 

I applied last year as well and did not get accepted (i've since raised my GPA and gotten more OT related experience), so hopeful for better outcomes this time around! 

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20 hours ago, Megs said:

Applied + (PT or OT?):  OT at UofT, McMaster, Western, Queens 
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa: 3.7 and s-gpa: 3.9
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: 
-Volunteered at a children's treatment center for children with disabilities, volunteer at the Hospital Elder Life Program where I provide cognitive orientation, physical activity, meal assistance etc. to older patients. 2 years experience doing respite work where I work one-on-one with two girls with Autism focusing on goals, (one child's goal is fine motor skills, other child is social skills). Currently work at Children's Aid Society where I work with children who have behavioural difficulties, some of which have developmental delays, we focus on using evidence-based practice to help these kids reach goals, and integrate a lot of sensory play, skill development etc. 
-Shadowed an OT in a hospital, and a private practice OT (not many hours doing this, about 7 hours total)

-I am pretty confident in my personal statements, but I know many applications will have very strong personal statements and a little worried mine will not stand out!
-References from: one professor from my undergrad from my ABA and FASD courses, volunteer coordinator with the Hospital Elder Life Program, and parent who I provide respite relief for. 

I applied last year as well and did not get accepted (i've since raised my GPA and gotten more OT related experience), so hopeful for better outcomes this time around! 

Do you know if schools use a 4.0 or 4.3 gpa scale for OT? What scale does everyone use when they post on here? I'm looking into OT but can't seem to find what schools use what scale- I'm looking into Dalhousie, Western, Queens, and  UBC. Thank you!

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Applied (OT): UofT, Western, Queens
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa:3.85 and s-gpa:3.85 (did the calculations myself, so might be wrong, but I have a cGPA 3.96 at UofT)
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

- Essay and references should be strong

- ~600 hours as a volunteer crisis counselor (back when I thought of going into clinical psychology); ~1100 volunteer hours at a hospital split between the rehab clinic working with elderly patients and doing therapeutic recreation with a focus on yoga and meditation; certified yoga teacher but only teach sporadically; working on my yoga therapist certification; spent three years as a research assistant in a lab focused on applying meditation in clinical practices

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  • 2 weeks later...

Applied: PT @ Western, Queens & McGill.

Accepted: McGill, Queens, & Western

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: s-GPA is 3.85.

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I have 700 hours of experience working in a Physical Therapy clinic as a CSEP-CPT and lots of research experience.

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8 hours ago, Mo.Physio said:

Applied: PT @ Western, Queens & McGill.

Accepted:

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: s-GPA is 3.85, not sure about my c-GPA but I know its higher than my s-GPA.

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I have a Master of Human Kinetics, and studied psychosocial correlates of gross motor competency in children. I was a Research Assistant and piloted the development of a computerized gross motor skill assessment tool to detect motor disorders in children. I have 700 hours of experience working in a Physical Therapy clinic as a CSEP-CPT. I led four community health initiatives through the Healthy Kids Community Challenge and helped 6,000 children in our community build self-efficacy to make healthy lifestyle choices. I taught Sports Sociology at Collège Boréal. I did a premedical internship abroad. I currently work as a researcher and policy-maker in Public Health. I volunteered as a Falls Prevention Facilitator.

First time applicant wanting a career change. I think my references are strong and I have a strong application overall. I'm a mature student for those wondering (26 yo).

Do you mind if I ask if this includes your masters grades? I heard Queens, Western, and McGill don't consider graduate courses (McGill just bumps your undergraduate GPA by 0.1)

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Applied: PT (Queen's, UofT, Western)

Accepted:

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: sub-GPA: 3.9 based on ORPAS conversion table c-GPA: 3.7

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I'm from UW, and I was in the co-op program. I have had placements working with adults with developmental disabilities in a home care setting, as well as in a gym setting, where I designed exercise circuits. I also worked with individuals with TBI, MS, and older adults wanting strengthening and conditioning.  I worked with Special Olympics athletes and helped condition them for their events. I also had a placement at a large physiotherapy clinic and am currently volunteering at another PT clinic. For two summers I've worked at a golf course, where I designed an Excel program to track player's round times, and participated in a sales competition where I produced the most profit. 

I'm nervous about acceptances, but excited. Good luck to everyone!

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Applied: PT --> Queens, UWO, Mac, UofT
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: c-gpa: 3.82, sub-gpa: 3.92
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

References are strong; shadowed at 3 outpatient PT clinics for 6 months (~200 hours), 1 cardiac rehab centre for 3 months (~50 hours), started my own dance program for seniors, working administrative job for last 4 years, former clinical research assistant for paediatric studies, 12 years volunteering with a non-profit organization planning fundraisers and events,  multiple service learning trips abroad to Asia and Africa conducting community infrastructure development. 

Not sure how competitive I am but hopefully I receive one acceptance! Good luck everyone :)

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4 hours ago, HopefulOT(one day) said:

I’m a bit worried as I have many experiences but felt I wasn’t able to show them as well on my personal statements with such a small character count- I do feel they are shown well on the CV. Does anyone know if both documents are evaluated equally?

Don't sweat it, friend! I feel the same, but we have to have confidence that our input is enough for them to accept us. I think they put the tight character count to test us on our concise writing ability and to make sure that people don't go on and on about their experiences like saving 1000 puppies in Africa :) 

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8 hours ago, HopefulOT(one day) said:

I’m a bit worried as I have many experiences but felt I wasn’t able to show them as well on my personal statements with such a small character count- I do feel they are shown well on the CV. Does anyone know if both documents are evaluated equally?

When I applied, I was told to focus on different stuff in my CV vs. my personal statements because they wouldn't want to read the same things on two separate application documents. I don't know if they're weighed exactly equally or not, but it worked out for me! Good luck!! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Applied: OT Shenandoah U

Accepted:

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: sub-GPA: 3.54

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I have volunteered with Wounded Warriors Program. I have also volunteered with local community groups to help with MS patients. 

I'm nervous about acceptance and impatient on hearing from them. When should I hear back?

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1 hour ago, FutrOT said:

Applied: OT Shenandoah U

Accepted:

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: sub-GPA: 3.54

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I have volunteered with Wounded Warriors Program. I have also volunteered with local community groups to help with MS patients. 

I'm nervous about acceptance and impatient on hearing from them. When should I hear back?

I've never heard of that school before, sorry!

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