OT/PT accepted/waitlist/decline forum 2019

[EMforOT]

6 minutes ago, frogbunny said:

I am a U of T OT student and I think if you get into any other programs you should highly consider if it's worth going to this school. Yes, you get to live in Toronto and you have many more placement options BUT here are the cons: 
1. They keep expanding the program under the guise that there's an increasing demand of OTs when there are simply not enough jobs in Toronto. Many jobs right now are contract or part-time and the market is quite saturated. The only logical reason they're doing this is because it brings in an extra approx. 15k a year per student. The program was already larger than most programs (80-100 students) at St. George campus in and this year they've accepted 130 since they expanded to UTM.  The format is live videos of lecturers from St George campus with occasional classes taking place at UTM. Class discussion are made much more difficult and honestly with this many people (and the technological barriers), it is not a very conducive learning environment. The program's a mess right now and maybe it'll be better in a few years when they've fixed all the kinks of the program. 
2. I suppose I don't know much about other OT programs but this program is SO heavily focused on THEORY and RESEARCH. Aside from placements, we learn very little clinical skills. 
3. Faculty/ higher admin are just not that great. They preach about work accommodations in class but the second a student needs an educational accommodation (physical/mental health) the top admin will try to reject them or even ask you to drop out basically. It always seems like a them vs us mentality with faculty vs students. They get really defensive when concerns are brought up and that's extremely frustrating considering the amount of money we pay for a master's level education. 
4. LEAP/Role-emerging. The most blaring reason. They started them this current year and if you don't know what that is - it's basically a mandatory placement where there is no OT or OT role. If you're wondering how we're expected to be learning from basically no one - let me know, because I still don't know. I've heard about so many non-clinical roles in which students are working on graphic design or just doing research for projects at hospitals. This occurs during third placement and for fourth placement we are expected to basically be competent enough to be fairly independent during fieldwork four. How are we expected to do that when we only have two real placement and this filler placement that occurred (because of reason #1 - expansion). 
5. Placements - there are several problems aside from just the LEAP fieldwork. For first fieldwork they barely let you pick your fieldwork setting, you put down 15 locations and they place you in whichever placement at random. They used to only make students pick 10 placements so it feels even worse to be picking 15 placement settings, many of which are very far outside of DT Toronto - predominantly North York. For fieldwork 2-4 they allow you to pick the exact placement you want that is available in your list of 15. But they also make you pick one placement outside of Toronto so even though you may be at U of T St George, they may ship you out to Markham, Brampton, etc. Placements will often have two or three preceptors who all have different expectations of what you should be doing. 

Are you at the UTM campus? I got accepted there and I am quite nervous about the live video instructions and ways of teaching. I called and they said there is no way of switching to St George. 

[nextOT]

On 5/17/2019 at 6:40 AM, peachesplumsandpears said:

Has anyone gotten any word back from uOttawa? No email, it's blank on ORPAS and still says the same thing it's said since feb on the uOttawa login site: Appplication Under Evaluation. Not sure if this just means I didn't get in - someone told me that uOttawa sends emails late but still...

 

On 5/17/2019 at 7:28 AM, Bleuberry said:

Same for me! I was excited for a second. However, it does say that they updated the application today... Hopefully, it will be any time soon!! 

 

[Maria21]

Did Queens sent out emails to every one , or still some members are still waiting,like me ??

[Bleuberry]

7 minutes ago, nextOT said:

 

I just checked uozone and got in to Ottawa! 

Me too !! Woooohhouu !! 

[PT4560]

Applied + (PT or OT?): UBC, UofT, Queens, McMaster
Accepted: UofT
Waitlisted: McMaster (#8 on the waitlist)
Rejected: Queens, UBC
GPA: cGPA 3.60 subGPA 3.87
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Played competitive sports throughout my undergrad, volunteered at physiotherapy clinic, worked as a BI for a year and been a RA in my lab for 2 years. I thought my references were good as the academic one was from my supervisor in my lab who I've developed a good relationship with. My professional reference was a physiotherapist from the clinic I was volunteering at, and I specifically was working alongside her for about 6 months before the application process started. I spent a decent amount of time on my Queens questions, but guess that didn't work out!

However, UofT has been my goal since the beginning and when I was offered to write the CAP exam I did prep a lot for it. I don't think you need to research a lot for it, but having read a bunch and talking to my friends who have been accepted just made me feel more confident on the day of.

I will be accepting UofT and hopefully the McMaster waitlist will move soon for those who are waiting. This process has been craaaaaaazy stressful and I've definitely gotten some helpful tips through this site. If any future applicants have questions for me, feel free to DM me! 

[nextOT]

On 5/17/2019 at 9:44 AM, Bleuberry said:

Me too !! Woooohhouu !! 

Félicitations! 

[OTNL2019]

8 hours ago, OTschool2019 said:

Thank you for this number ! I’m a second time applicant. I didn’t get in despite having a higher GPA this time around ! I guess I wasn’t meant to be an OT. 

I was a third time applicant this year! My first year I applied everywhere and didn’t even get waitlisted. The next year same thing and I got waitlisted in the bottom half of U of A and was not successful. This year I applied to less and got accepted to glasgow, McGill and waitlisted for Dalhousie. 

 

Don’t give up!!!! If you think you want to be an OT you will be an OT!!!!! 

 

Send me a message if you’d like

[fdsafdsakl;]

27 minutes ago, EMforOT said:

Are you at the UTM campus? I got accepted there and I am quite nervous about the live video instructions and ways of teaching. I called and they said there is no way of switching to St George. 

No I'm at St George and I think they're changing the format next year so there they might have professors at both campuses. But they were also updating the video conferencing so I'm really not sure what's happening. 

[hopefulOT2019]

.

[livhealth]

Applied + (PT or OT?): All OT - Western, Queens, UofT Mac

Accepted: Western, Queens, UofT, Mac

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

sGPA: 3.83

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: 3 years of undergrad research, several years of volunteering at a hospital in oncology/paeds, clinical hours (non-OT), 2 references from a professor and hospital supervisor. McMaster's interview seemed to go well and had meaningful conversations at most of the stations. Message me if you would like to know more.

[Yellowhead]

2 hours ago, pt to be said:

For Future Applicants:

Applied: Western, Queens, Toronto, Mcmaster (All PT)

Accepted: Queens

Waitlisted: Western

Rejected: Mcmaster

GPA: c-gpa= 3.69 , s-gpa= 3.96

In terms of experience nothing extraordinary, volunteered with hospital elder life program for about 150 hours, and with children treatment centre for about 50 hours. I spent quite a good amount of time writing my Queens essay, I did the CASPER test early and did not feel that I did good enough. 

 

Congrats on your acceptances. Did you hear from U of T?

[OTdokie]

Well, after failing to secure a spot in Canada for the second year, it looks like I'm off to the UK! If anyone is in a similar situation, please feel free to message me!

Congrats to everyone who was offered a spot, and to those that didn't make it in this year, keep at it! I know it's so disheartening to be so passionate about something and be rejected, but you never know what the next year may bring! 

[OTtobe]

1 hour ago, thysiopherapy said:

Anyone know how the UofT waitlist moved in the past years? Do they over-offer people before moving onto the waitlist?

I heard that in the past they have over accepted to the point of having too many people in the program in the fall but that was a few years ago and I don’t know if they have changed their system as a result and/or if that was just an off year. Definitely a question you could email and ask and they should be able to honestly answer.

[thysiopherapy]

55 minutes ago, OTtobe said:

I heard that in the past they have over accepted to the point of having too many people in the program in the fall but that was a few years ago and I don’t know if they have changed their system as a result and/or if that was just an off year. Definitely a question you could email and ask and they should be able to honestly answer.

One of the students during the CAP told me that too. I called and asked and said they can't disclose if they over-offered compared to seats. :/

[PA3049]

1 hour ago, frogbunny said:

I am a U of T OT student and I think if you get into any other programs you should highly consider if it's worth going to this school. Yes, you get to live in Toronto and you have many more placement options BUT here are the cons: 
1. They keep expanding the program under the guise that there's an increasing demand of OTs when there are simply not enough jobs in Toronto. Many jobs right now are contract or part-time and the market is quite saturated. The only logical reason they're doing this is because it brings in an extra approx. 15k a year per student. The program was already larger than most programs (80-100 students) at St. George campus in and this year they've accepted 130 since they expanded to UTM.  The format is live videos of lecturers from St George campus with occasional classes taking place at UTM. Class discussion are made much more difficult and honestly with this many people (and the technological barriers), it is not a very conducive learning environment. The program's a mess right now and maybe it'll be better in a few years when they've fixed all the kinks of the program. 
2. I suppose I don't know much about other OT programs but this program is SO heavily focused on THEORY and RESEARCH. Aside from placements, we learn very little clinical skills. 
3. Faculty/ higher admin are just not that great. They preach about work accommodations in class but the second a student needs an educational accommodation (physical/mental health) the top admin will try to reject them or even ask you to drop out basically. It always seems like a them vs us mentality with faculty vs students. They get really defensive when concerns are brought up and that's extremely frustrating considering the amount of money we pay for a master's level education. 
4. LEAP/Role-emerging. The most blaring reason. They started them this current year and if you don't know what that is - it's basically a mandatory placement where there is no OT or OT role. If you're wondering how we're expected to be learning from basically no one - let me know, because I still don't know. I've heard about so many non-clinical roles in which students are working on graphic design or just doing research for projects at hospitals. This occurs during third placement and for fourth placement we are expected to basically be competent enough to be fairly independent during fieldwork four. How are we expected to do that when we only have two real placement and this filler placement that occurred (because of reason #1 - expansion). 
5. Placements - there are several problems aside from just the LEAP fieldwork. For first fieldwork they barely let you pick your fieldwork setting, you put down 15 locations and they place you in whichever placement at random. They used to only make students pick 10 placements so it feels even worse to be picking 15 placement settings, many of which are very far outside of DT Toronto - predominantly North York. For fieldwork 2-4 they allow you to pick the exact placement you want that is available in your list of 15. But they also make you pick one placement outside of Toronto so even though you may be at U of T St George, they may ship you out to Markham, Brampton, etc. Placements will often have two or three preceptors who all have different expectations of what you should be doing. 

Hello,

 

Please excuse myself for this response but I have to make this. I am not an OT applicant but I've got to pick apart this message because this post is quite timely right when results are out and frankly are scaring other people about their acceptance for which they worked very hard to get today. First and foremost, I can't fathom the fact that you joined this forum 2 hours ago just to make this point of yours. I'm sure you must have came across this forum when you were applying yourself to OT schools. Anyhow that is extraneous to my following points. The job market in Toronto is saturated and frankly wherever you go, especially in a busy city, it is always going to be saturated. Please don't frighten new students just because the supposed market is saturated. I am currently in my final stretch to become a PA, and I've had many people told me about the job market prospects being saturated, but that doesn't mean I should not become what I wanted to become. Getting a job is tough, it's multifactorial- economy, your skills, personality, and how well you come across during an interview 2 years from now or whenever. I just want people who are accepted to day to UofT or wherever to know that don't be scared of what the market will be like 2 years from now.  There will always be a job opening somewhere, although for some it may be close to home, for others they may have to make some sacrifices and move there, and that's something you have to be willing to do if the situation demands it. 

I currently go to a PA program in USA, am from originally in toronto. We practice many of our skills in lab with models and not on humans. We are practically thrown into the placement with only experience largely on models, and very little on humans, but yet we turn out fine. It does take time to adapt, but the programs that are accredited for OT, i'm sure follow a certain requirement of what is to be taught. I get that the expansion part of class size can be an issue, and whether you may be open about it or not, it feels to me like you got placed at UTM whenever you were accepted and you don't get to have the classroom interaction because you are primarily watching live-streamed lectures. I quote "The format is live videos of lecturers from St George campus with occasional classes taking place at UTM. Class discussion are made much more difficult and honestly with this many people (and the technological barriers), it is not a very conducive learning environment.", and i feel this is one of your hurting points about this program and I agree with you, if you are in a master's program, and you have to watch recorded / live stream lectures, it sucks. There is no standard classroom interaction that those at St. George can get. But that isn't a reason to tell someone not to go to their school of choice, esp if it was UofT or whichever. The onus then becomes on you to be able to adapt to situation and variables outside your control - like where you got placed, and ask the questions you need outside of class. It's not ideal but its as best you can do, i mean i'm sure you must be doing that, and I have no doubt that there must be some sort of option available to ask faculty members at UofT.

The matter of focus on theory and research, what each program focuses on will vary i guess from school to school and that is something that isn't in your control and there will be no perfect program that focuses on skills and less on theory and research. Being of UofT undergraduate student at one point in time, I can say there is more emphasis on research and theory but that's UofT in general by nature. But it's still not a reason for those individuals today who worked hard to get 100 or however many spots out of 1000+ applications to give up on their choice. The whole issue about health / mental reasons and taking leave is important and something that all programs around the world especially the professional level need to work on. The programs are so tight packed and paced that there isn't much room for a break for the students in the program. I myself went through 2 cases where I had pneumonia and both times I was told, "being sick isn't an excuse to not write the exam", and the program i'm in, we move module wise, so everyone's got to pass before the next module starts. It sucks, and they need to be better on these aspects, its ridiculous! For that, I am absolutely with you, they need to be more understanding about some accommodation for whatever issues we are facing. 

As for the placements, honestly, it sucks that they ship you out to Brampton or Markham, but honestly it's not that far away from Toronto. Unfortunately, insurance prices are sky high in Toronto, and having a car is a huge financial burden, so I cannot speak for everyone, but having a car is practically needed especially for programs like this and practically anywhere you go in USA. I drive 65 miles to my placement, and it absolutely sucks, but I don't view that as an obstacle to not going into the program I'm in, nor would I hesitate to choose the school I go to, despite all its flaws. 

I applaud you for speaking up and raising awareness about the flaws of the program at UofT, and frankly I don't even know if you're in the program, and it's hard for me to ignore that you made an account 2 hours ago just to make this post. As a critical mind, I hypothesize, what if you are on the waitlist for this program? After all, we are all just anonymous usernames on a thread. The same could be said about me, but I have no bias towards deterring those who got in today from choosing the program and school they wanted to go to before today. 

Conflict of interest would be that I have very close friends who read your post and now all of a sudden, the program they were so excited and hoping to get an acceptance from this whole cycle, are now suddenly doubting because of one post on a forum. To those who read this and are potentially waitlisted, accepted or rejected (and are planning to apply to this school in focus), don't let one person's experience or view change what you wanted to do or go. I can honestly write a lot about the program I go to, but you have to understand there will be flaws and pros at every school. For some, such factors mentioned above are so pivotal it changes their opinion about where they want to go or what they want to do, but for others like me, I adapt with what I can, accept the non-perfect situation and make best of what I can with it.  At the end of the 2 years, you still have a career despite what the job market may be, and have at least enough training to do the job you need to do, you may not get extensive training but that's where the learning takes place, once you are out there on your first job. 

Congratulations to all those who are accepted and don't lose hope for those who are waitlisted or have been rejected, I myself had to try three times before getting into the program and school I wanted. 

 

[pt to be]

1 hour ago, Yellowhead said:

Congrats on your acceptances. Did you hear from U of T?

Thank you! Yes, I heard a few hours ago, got rejected

[nexPT]

Congrats to everyone who got their acceptances today! This was my first time applying and I am in the rejection pool unfortunately

Applied: Western, Toronto (PT)

Waitlisted: Western (lower third, basically a rejection)

Rejected: Toronto

s-GPA: 3.92

I was quite surprised by the flat rejection from U of T. I wrote the CAP and thought I had answered well for the most part, so I was expecting to be placed somewhere on the waitlist at least. Feeling pretty disheartened right now since a rejection means I wasn't even close, and I'm not sure what I could have done better. I'd really like to try and figure out where I went wrong, so would anyone who's written the CAP be willing to DM me? Much appreciated

[Rajalgool]

A huge congrats to everyone that got accepted to programs today! I thought I had a shot at getting into Western, but was unsuccessful in both my Queens and Western applications this year. Thankfully I got into UBC, which was my first choice and dream. I think that it was probably related to being an In-province applicant.

To all of you that didn't get in, don't give up! It took me 6 years to go from wanting to be a physio to actually getting into a program. It's an absolute journey, but if you learn to embrace the journey as one of life's many adventures then you will learn a lot along the way and also take away a massive life lesson. If you're solely focused on the destination, you will never be happy with where you're at. Keep working hard, talk to everyone you know about your passions and struggles - they will give you invaluable advice and research everything there is to know about these application processes and how to succeed. Again congratulations to everyone that was successful today and to those who weren't it's time to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to make your application more competitive next cycle!

[OTMACPLS]

1 hour ago, PA3049 said:

Hello,

 

Please excuse myself for this response but I have to make this. I am not an OT applicant but I've got to pick apart this message because this post is quite timely right when results are out and frankly are scaring other people about their acceptance for which they worked very hard to get today. First and foremost, I can't fathom the fact that you joined this forum 2 hours ago just to make this point of yours. I'm sure you must have came across this forum when you were applying yourself to OT schools. Anyhow that is extraneous to my following points. The job market in Toronto is saturated and frankly wherever you go, especially in a busy city, it is always going to be saturated. Please don't frighten new students just because the supposed market is saturated. I am currently in my final stretch to become a PA, and I've had many people told me about the job market prospects being saturated, but that doesn't mean I should not become what I wanted to become. Getting a job is tough, it's multifactorial- economy, your skills, personality, and how well you come across during an interview 2 years from now or whenever. I just want people who are accepted to day to UofT or wherever to know that don't be scared of what the market will be like 2 years from now.  There will always be a job opening somewhere, although for some it may be close to home, for others they may have to make some sacrifices and move there, and that's something you have to be willing to do if the situation demands it. 

I currently go to a PA program in USA, am from originally in toronto. We practice many of our skills in lab with models and not on humans. We are practically thrown into the placement with only experience largely on models, and very little on humans, but yet we turn out fine. It does take time to adapt, but the programs that are accredited for OT, i'm sure follow a certain requirement of what is to be taught. I get that the expansion part of class size can be an issue, and whether you may be open about it or not, it feels to me like you got placed at UTM whenever you were accepted and you don't get to have the classroom interaction because you are primarily watching live-streamed lectures. I quote "The format is live videos of lecturers from St George campus with occasional classes taking place at UTM. Class discussion are made much more difficult and honestly with this many people (and the technological barriers), it is not a very conducive learning environment.", and i feel this is one of your hurting points about this program and I agree with you, if you are in a master's program, and you have to watch recorded / live stream lectures, it sucks. There is no standard classroom interaction that those at St. George can get. But that isn't a reason to tell someone not to go to their school of choice, esp if it was UofT or whichever. The onus then becomes on you to be able to adapt to situation and variables outside your control - like where you got placed, and ask the questions you need outside of class. It's not ideal but its as best you can do, i mean i'm sure you must be doing that, and I have no doubt that there must be some sort of option available to ask faculty members at UofT.

The matter of focus on theory and research, what each program focuses on will vary i guess from school to school and that is something that isn't in your control and there will be no perfect program that focuses on skills and less on theory and research. Being of UofT undergraduate student at one point in time, I can say there is more emphasis on research and theory but that's UofT in general by nature. But it's still not a reason for those individuals today who worked hard to get 100 or however many spots out of 1000+ applications to give up on their choice. The whole issue about health / mental reasons and taking leave is important and something that all programs around the world especially the professional level need to work on. The programs are so tight packed and paced that there isn't much room for a break for the students in the program. I myself went through 2 cases where I had pneumonia and both times I was told, "being sick isn't an excuse to not write the exam", and the program i'm in, we move module wise, so everyone's got to pass before the next module starts. It sucks, and they need to be better on these aspects, its ridiculous! For that, I am absolutely with you, they need to be more understanding about some accommodation for whatever issues we are facing. 

As for the placements, honestly, it sucks that they ship you out to Brampton or Markham, but honestly it's not that far away from Toronto. Unfortunately, insurance prices are sky high in Toronto, and having a car is a huge financial burden, so I cannot speak for everyone, but having a car is practically needed especially for programs like this and practically anywhere you go in USA. I drive 65 miles to my placement, and it absolutely sucks, but I don't view that as an obstacle to not going into the program I'm in, nor would I hesitate to choose the school I go to, despite all its flaws. 

I applaud you for speaking up and raising awareness about the flaws of the program at UofT, and frankly I don't even know if you're in the program, and it's hard for me to ignore that you made an account 2 hours ago just to make this post. As a critical mind, I hypothesize, what if you are on the waitlist for this program? After all, we are all just anonymous usernames on a thread. The same could be said about me, but I have no bias towards deterring those who got in today from choosing the program and school they wanted to go to before today. 

Conflict of interest would be that I have very close friends who read your post and now all of a sudden, the program they were so excited and hoping to get an acceptance from this whole cycle, are now suddenly doubting because of one post on a forum. To those who read this and are potentially waitlisted, accepted or rejected (and are planning to apply to this school in focus), don't let one person's experience or view change what you wanted to do or go. I can honestly write a lot about the program I go to, but you have to understand there will be flaws and pros at every school. For some, such factors mentioned above are so pivotal it changes their opinion about where they want to go or what they want to do, but for others like me, I adapt with what I can, accept the non-perfect situation and make best of what I can with it.  At the end of the 2 years, you still have a career despite what the job market may be, and have at least enough training to do the job you need to do, you may not get extensive training but that's where the learning takes place, once you are out there on your first job. 

Congratulations to all those who are accepted and don't lose hope for those who are waitlisted or have been rejected, I myself had to try three times before getting into the program and school I wanted. 

 

Well said! 

OP was very fatalistic and almost sounds like they don't want people to accept because they're competition in the job market. 

Not a good look or mood to put out there for such a happy day (for some applicants anyway). 

[PA3049]

9 minutes ago, OTMACPLS said:

Well said! 

OP was very fatalistic and almost sounds like they don't want people to accept because they're competition in the job market. 

Not a good look or mood to put out there for such a happy day (for some applicants anyway). 

I do want to say that I have been engaging in a very insightful conversation with the OP, and I would discourage attacking the OP, because he/she was trying to explain their experience with the program. After our discussion / talk, they have re-edited the post to make it more neutral and try to explain both sides of the story. 

From what I got out of the discussion with the individual is that there are certain aspects of the program that he/she didn't know about prior to accepting and wanted to help others know about what he would have liked to know prior to making that choice. One thing was research, it seems to be a much bigger component than he expected in a clinical program, and whether if you like research heavy based program is a factor you have to consider. Other was less with education but more so with the students vs faculty and communication issues along with other matters that frankly cannot be judged without knowing more. As well as his experience with the clinical placements and the new LEAP placements.

I am happy that the OP reached out to me and we were able to discuss more about his viewpoint and their intentions are not as bad as the initial post came out across. 

[OTMACPLS]

4 minutes ago, PA3049 said:

I do want to say that I have been engaging in a very insightful conversation with the OP, and I would discourage attacking the OP, because he/she was trying to explain their experience with the program. After our discussion / talk, they have re-edited the post to make it more neutral and try to explain both sides of the story. 

From what I got out of the discussion with the individual is that there are certain aspects of the program that he/she didn't know about prior to accepting and wanted to help others know about what he would have liked to know prior to making that choice. One thing was research, it seems to be a much bigger component than he expected in a clinical program, and whether if you like research heavy based program is a factor you have to consider. Other was less with education but more so with the students vs faculty and communication issues along with other matters that frankly cannot be judged without knowing more. As well as his experience with the clinical placements and the new LEAP placements.

I am happy that the OP reached out to me and we were able to discuss more about his viewpoint and their intentions are not as bad as the initial post came out across. 

I did not attack the OP, I hope it doesn't come across that way. I just think it wasn't the right time or place to be doing it. But it's good that you gave that extra information to clear the air. 

[Syd20]

Applied: OT --> Queens, UofT, Western, McMaster 
Accepted: UofT
Waitlisted: Queens, Western
Rejected: McMaster (Initially got on interview waitlist)
GPA: c-gpa: 3.2, s-gpa: 3.65

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

I have worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor for the past 6 years.  It has exposed me to many different populations and I have gotten the chance to work with individuals of varying ages and abilities.  I also did a placement at a school that has therapeutic programming (OT and PT), for children with various intellectual and physical abilities.  Throughout the year that I was there, I developed a program plan, for a specific area of need, for a child at this school.  I have gotten the chance to shadow an OT in a school setting and was also able to do a placement at a private clinic that does OT for children. 

I got an academic reference from a professor that I had 3 times, and was my supervisor during my placement at the OT private clinic. My professional reference was from the OT I was working under during that placement.  I feel like my essays, experience and exposure to OT helped with my application, as my GPA is on the lower side compared to many people on this forum.

Do not let a lower GPA stop you from applying!! I was certain that I would not get accepted, and would need to go back and take some courses to boost my GPA.  It does not hurt to try if it is what you really want to do! 

Good luck to everyone now, and future applicants! 

[ABB12]

Applied: PT and OT  --> Queens, UofT, Western, McMaster 
Accepted: UofT PT, McMaster PT and OT, Western OT 
Waitlisted: Western PT
Rejected: Queens PT and OT, UofT OT
GPA: c-gpa: 3.78, s-gpa: 3.97

I was undecided for a long time on whether PT or OT was for me, but after seeing my initial reactions to my acceptances I think I'm going the PT route. I will most likely be accepting the UofT PT offer. Hope this helps people on the waiting lists! Don't give up hope!

[ot288]

Applied: (All OT) UBC, UofT, Western, Queens, UofA 

Accepted: UofT, Western, UofA

Rejected: UBC 

Waitlisted: Queens

Stats: 3.33 (cGPA), 3.84 (sGPA), 93% UBC GPA, ~300 hours of hospital ECU volunteering, Canucks Autism Network volunteer and staff work, couple semesters of undergrad co-op research in unrelated field (pulp and paper). 

Congrats to everyone who got the happy emails today! For those with less than happy emails, please keep your chin up. I was in the exact same position last year and I remember it felt like complete death and despair, but as cliche as it sounds it will all just be a distant memory to you next year when you're preparing to start your dream career. It's all about the journey, not the destination. 

My first choice was UBC since I was born and raised in Vancouver and it would save me from going into debt for living expenses (due to not being able to work during the two years and having to live away from home). After the interview I was pretty much auto-rejected (second time, didn't get an interview last year though) which was quite discouraging, but U of A was a close second and I was super stoked to receive such an early offer to U of A. I accepted U of A a few weeks back and have been pretty set on it due to it because closer to home relative to other schools, and also its housing costs and employment/wage prospects in Alberta. 

I just received the U of T and Western emails while on vacation overseas so I've been trying to discuss with family and the general sentiment is that they want me to stick with U of A (which I do too). Based on friends' descriptions of Toronto and Ontario in general though, it sounds like such an amazing place to live (aside from the costs) and this is definitely tempting me. I'm loving the info and opinions that are being shared on this forum/thread (including that informative back-and-forth about UofT a few posts above). Would greatly appreciate some more info from current OT students on their experiences in any of these Canadian OT schools. I plan on confirming my decision over the next few days and freeing up some spots on the waitlist! 

Cheers 

[OTwcoast]

Applied + (PT or OT?): UBC, U of A, Queens, Western, U of T (1st time- ALL OT)
Accepted: UBC, U of A
Waitlisted: U of T, Western (upper third)
Rejected: Queens
GPA:c-gpa: 3.63 and s-gpa :3.76
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I volunteered with those with intellectual disabilities and volunteered at a brain injury/stroke rehab home under an OT. An OT/mentor wrote my reference letter which I think helped! I think my essays were strong. Been working as a kin for 2 years. Was a university athlete for 5 years during undergrad. 

I chose my first pick, UBC!  Good luck everyone