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OT/PT accepted/waitlist/decline 2020 cycle


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  • 2 weeks later...

@PTbound07

My references did not receive the email until I submitted my application. And unfortunately I can't answer the rolling admissions question. They told me the department would contact me within about a month after I submitted my application. I'm not sure if that is to accept/decline, or if it is just a check in for applicable documents or what. 

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On 12/3/2019 at 11:07 PM, PTbound07 said:

Anyone know how the Dalhousie references are like? I still have to apply to there and I’m not sure if it’s rolling admissions and if the referees get emails during or after the application is sent? 

Do any of the OT schools admit on a rolling basis? I had never heard of this before. 

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50 minutes ago, Sarah31 said:

Do any of the OT schools admit on a rolling basis? I had never heard of this before. 

Hey, I’ve only heard of masters programs in the arts or in the UK having rolling admissions. The website would clearly say If it has rolling admissions, try looking at the admissions timeline! I was wondering if Dalhousie pt had it because someone I know applied to a masters in arts there and it was rolling 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Applied + (PT or OT?): UofA, Western, Queen's, UofT and McMaster all for OT
Accepted:
Waitlisted: 
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa 3.42 and s-gpa 3.79
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

First time applying here! :) For my essay, I highlighted my experiences of working as an OTA since 2018, primarily in the mental health unit of a long-term care facility and have just recently started working on other units for supported living and dementia. As the unit was being commissioned for the first year, I worked directly under two OTs. I've had 3 years worth of practicum at various locations for individuals with physical and mental disabilities and also volunteered to help individuals with physical disabilities to exercise at my local gym. At my practicum placements, I was able to shadow a few OTs and conducted a research project under the supervision of one. I've also been working as a behavioural interventionist for an individual with autism to help them with their ADLs and to aid in their development of social skills. My work experience reference is one of the OTs that I've been working alongside for the past year. :)

 

Super excited for this cycle! Best of luck to everybody!!! :)

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Applied + (PT or OT?): PT - UBC, UOFT, Western, McMaster
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa and s-gpa: UBC last 30 avg : 91.9%, UBC Prereq avg: 87.3%, UBC avg combined: 90.37%, ORPAS Avg: 3.897
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:  First time applying! Currently working as a student Kinesiologist at a physiotherapy clinic.  

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57 minutes ago, rehabdream said:

Applied + (PT or OT?): PT - UBC, UOFT, Western, McMaster
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa and s-gpa: UBC last 30 avg : 91.9%, UBC Prereq avg: 87.3%, UBC avg combined: 90.37%, ORPAS Avg: 3.897
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:  First time applying! Currently working as a student Kinesiologist at a physiotherapy clinic.  

Hey, how did you calculate your UBC average? They told me that they don't release the conversion scales/tables to the public (for OT program).

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Applied: McMaster, Western, U of T, Queens (all pt)

Accepted: Mac, western, U of T and Queens

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: cgpa- 3.98 sgpa-3.99 (from my school) ORPAS sGPA 3.94 cGPA 3.95

Percieved strength of essays/interviews/references: I’m nervous about my essays but think they will end up not being too bad. I have one great reference from the adapted physical activity community who supervised me working over 150 hours with individuals with special needs. My other reference is my honours supervisor but my research has nothing to do with physio. I feel I have a strong GPA but less experience than most because I didn’t decide on physio till my 4th year, do I still have a shot?

EDIT: So excited to receive acceptance from all the schools I applied to, if you have any questions feel free to message me!

Edited by LMC
updated admissions info
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18 hours ago, LMC said:

Applied: McMaster, Western, U of T, Queens (all pt)

Accepted:

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: cgpa- 3.98 sgpa-3.99

Percieved strength of essays/interviews/references: I’m nervous about my essays but think they will end up not being too bad. I have one great reference from the adapted physical activity community who supervised me working over 150 hours with individuals with special needs. My other reference is my honours supervisor but my research has nothing to do with physio. I feel I have a strong GPA but less experience than most because I didn’t decide on physio till my 4th year, do I still have a shot?

Yea, from my knowledge ubc is the main school that really loves experience. Others do too but gpa can out power low experience in their eyes 

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Applied + (PT or OT?): UofT, Western, McMaster (All PT)
Accepted: 
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: 3.98 c-gpa and 3.98 s-gpa
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: My first time applying! I felt that my essays were OK, I highlighted my involvement in rehabilitation in hospital, clinical, and gym settings. I have been a rehab support volunteer at a rehabilitation hospital and a PTA at a clinic for over 2 years, and currently work at a community gym where I train the general population as well as lead COPD classes. My references were the director/PT lead at the clinic I'm a PTA at, and my professor/faculty advisor for a research project. I also emphasized that I completed my diploma in Fitness and Health prior to going into my degree and was given the award for the highest avg in the program, as well as have been actively involved on campus at my school, being a tutor and a rep for my year. Only Western took an essay, and I found it difficult to go into detail about my experiences with their character count. 

I've put off the CASPer to the very last date (Jan 9) and I'm extremely nervous. Does anybody have any suggestions other than do the practice questions (I've already done those)? Many people have stated that time was their biggest challenge. 

Good luck to everyone else applying! :)

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2 hours ago, PTyute said:

Applied + (PT or OT?): UofT, Western, McMaster (All PT)
Accepted: 
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: 3.98 c-gpa and 3.98 s-gpa
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: My first time applying! I felt that my essays were OK, I highlighted my involvement in rehabilitation in hospital, clinical, and gym settings. I have been a rehab support volunteer at a rehabilitation hospital and a PTA at a clinic for over 2 years, and currently work at a community gym where I train the general population as well as lead COPD classes. My references were the director/PT lead at the clinic I'm a PTA at, and my professor/faculty advisor for a research project. I also emphasized that I completed my diploma in Fitness and Health prior to going into my degree and was given the award for the highest avg in the program, as well as have been actively involved on campus at my school, being a tutor and a rep for my year. Only Western took an essay, and I found it difficult to go into detail about my experiences with their character count. 

I've put off the CASPer to the very last date (Jan 9) and I'm extremely nervous. Does anybody have any suggestions other than do the practice questions (I've already done those)? Many people have stated that time was their biggest challenge. 

Good luck to everyone else applying! :)

I wrote my CASPer a couple weeks ago, and found the YouTube videos from BeMo Academic Consulting provided useful advice as well as a confidence boost (link to their CASPer playlist here!) It really is as straight forward as it might seem while you're completing practice problems, and I would argue that having confidence is more important than worrying about the time. Being able to consistently identify the important points of each question is key, so you need to be able to compartmentalize each response within the five minute windows!

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12 hours ago, PTyute said:

Applied + (PT or OT?): UofT, Western, McMaster (All PT)
Accepted: 
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: 3.98 c-gpa and 3.98 s-gpa
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: My first time applying! I felt that my essays were OK, I highlighted my involvement in rehabilitation in hospital, clinical, and gym settings. I have been a rehab support volunteer at a rehabilitation hospital and a PTA at a clinic for over 2 years, and currently work at a community gym where I train the general population as well as lead COPD classes. My references were the director/PT lead at the clinic I'm a PTA at, and my professor/faculty advisor for a research project. I also emphasized that I completed my diploma in Fitness and Health prior to going into my degree and was given the award for the highest avg in the program, as well as have been actively involved on campus at my school, being a tutor and a rep for my year. Only Western took an essay, and I found it difficult to go into detail about my experiences with their character count. 

I've put off the CASPer to the very last date (Jan 9) and I'm extremely nervous. Does anybody have any suggestions other than do the practice questions (I've already done those)? Many people have stated that time was their biggest challenge. 

Good luck to everyone else applying! :)

I also wrote the casper a couple weeks ago. I would definitely recommend those BeMo videos. just get a hang of how to analyze the question, rather than the question itself. during the casper theres not much time to really think hard about a scenario as you only have 5 minutes so definitely practice things to look out for when watching a scenario

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Applied: Western, mac, queens, uoft, Dal (all OT) [Nova Scotia applicant]
Accepted: Dalhousie, Western, and University of Toronto!
Waitlisted:
Rejected: McMaster (waitlisted for interview) and Western
GPA: c-gpa 3.63/4 and s-gpa: 3.75/4 (according to ORPAS) 
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I have an OTA/PTA diploma (500 hours of OT supervised placements), volunteer experience with adults with aphasia and kids with juvenile arthritis, and I have worked with kids with disabilities for many years. One of my referees is an OT and she gave me a strong reference. I put a lot of work into my personal submissions and I am happy with how they turned out. my GPA is the only aspect of my application I am worried about. 

good luck everyone!

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On 12/8/2019 at 10:02 AM, HannahT said:

@PTbound07

My references did not receive the email until I submitted my application. And unfortunately I can't answer the rolling admissions question. They told me the department would contact me within about a month after I submitted my application. I'm not sure if that is to accept/decline, or if it is just a check in for applicable documents or what. 

On the Dal online application did you put in the mailing address of your referee in the first box and e-mail address in the second box? I'm a bit confused because there is a mandatory box that says "Address of your first referee*" and then the optional box right under it says "For electronic reference letters only, enter your first referee's  accredited institution e-mail address".

 

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Applied + (PT or OT?): Dal (PT/OT), McMaster (PT/OT), UofT (PT), UofO (PT/OT), Western (PT)
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA:c-gpa = 3.61 and s-gpa - 3.77 (pretty upset about my gpa calculations, originally thought it was on a 4.3 scale which is what my university goes by, makes a huge difference)
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

-References are professors that I have strong professional relationships with, one is a Dal alumni (not sure if that makes a difference). One is my honours supervisor (honours to do with physical movement and embodied cognition), one is a professor that I TAed for in an advanced neuro course in which the TA positions are normally reserved for graduate students. 

- Haven't completed my essay for Western, however, I will mention my extensive community involvement including coaching and officiating basketball, planning two conferences one to do with mental health and the second concerned with encouraging young women to participate in sport. I will also mention my work as a PTA in a private clinic as well as my volunteer work at a well known rehabilitation facility in the province. My mother is also a physiotherapist so I will most definitely mention the fact that I basically grew up in a clinic and that I often shadow her at work whenever I get a chance (do you guys think this is worth a mention?).

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On 12/22/2019 at 9:26 AM, PTyute said:

Applied + (PT or OT?): UofT, Western, McMaster (All PT)
Accepted: 
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: 3.98 c-gpa and 3.98 s-gpa
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: My first time applying! I felt that my essays were OK, I highlighted my involvement in rehabilitation in hospital, clinical, and gym settings. I have been a rehab support volunteer at a rehabilitation hospital and a PTA at a clinic for over 2 years, and currently work at a community gym where I train the general population as well as lead COPD classes. My references were the director/PT lead at the clinic I'm a PTA at, and my professor/faculty advisor for a research project. I also emphasized that I completed my diploma in Fitness and Health prior to going into my degree and was given the award for the highest avg in the program, as well as have been actively involved on campus at my school, being a tutor and a rep for my year. Only Western took an essay, and I found it difficult to go into detail about my experiences with their character count. 

I've put off the CASPer to the very last date (Jan 9) and I'm extremely nervous. Does anybody have any suggestions other than do the practice questions (I've already done those)? Many people have stated that time was their biggest challenge. 

Good luck to everyone else applying! :)

Hey! I wrote mine a few weeks ago! I ordered a book from amazon (https://www.amazon.ca/BeMos-Ultimate-Guide-CASPer-Test/dp/1722496762/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=casper+test&qid=1577478194&sr=8-1) and it had lots of practice questions but also talked a lot about what the markers are looking for within a response! That's what I found helpful. It also broke questions up, showing you strategies on how to answer questions. Overall, I was nervous but once I got into it, it was fun! Don't stress out too much because all you can do is prepare!

Good luck!!

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15 hours ago, Reehab said:

On the Dal online application did you put in the mailing address of your referee in the first box and e-mail address in the second box? I'm a bit confused because there is a mandatory box that says "Address of your first referee*" and then the optional box right under it says "For electronic reference letters only, enter your first referee's  accredited institution e-mail address".

 

Can't really recall, but I'm pretty sure I put the address of the university that the prof teaches at in the address box, and then their email in the electronic reference letters only box 

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Applied + (PT or OT?): McMaster UofT, Queens and Western (all OT)
Accepted: McMaster, UofT (St. George campus), Western
Waitlisted:
Rejected: Queens
GPA:  c-GPA = 3.21, and s-GPA = 3.83
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I think my personal submissions are good. I did a lot of research for them. I've volunteered a lot with kids with autism spectrum disorder, and other behavioural issues. I also did some shadowing with an OT at Kidsability. One of my references is the prof I did my thesis on child development with, and the other is a volunteer supervisor who oversaw my programs student association, and a conference that we ran. I honestly felt that my Mac interview wasn't amazing, but I guess it went okay, and I found the Casper test pretty straight forward, but it's hard to say. Good luck everyone!

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Applied + (PT or OT?): Dal, Queen's and Western (all PT)
Accepted: (PT) Dal (NS resident), Western
Waitlisted: None
Rejected: Queen's
GPA: c-gpa = 3.91, s-gpa = 3.85
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Essays are still in the works! I'm writing about how my experience with varsity cross country has helped me see the importance of a PT within a multidisciplinary team of care providers from a patient perspective (emphasis on multidisciplinary teams). I'll also discuss leadership within athletics, having returned to assistant coach at my high school track and XC program, captained my university team, and volunteered with our special varsity program where our athletes engaging with youth with intellectual disabilities through sport. I've also volunteered over 40 hours as a PTA in a local clinic since last summer. My references include my honours supervisor, who I've worked for during two previous summers on undergraduate summer research grants, and the director of a mental health charity where I've volunteered over 1000 hours since 2013.

Good luck all! Excited to share this experience with everyone :) 

Edited by jhall_88xc
Adding acceptances/rejections for applicants to reference next year!
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