OT/PT accepted/waitlist/decline forum - 2021 cycle

[DALOT2021]

For anyone who is applying to dal OT (OR anyone who's writing personal statement), what did you guys generally talk about on the 1500 characters PS? I mainly talked about my work experiences with children with developmental disabilities, but I am not 100% sure if this is what they are looking for..

[Noël]

2 hours ago, yaboijay said:

Anyone else think the casper is so stupid, honestly dont think its fair that we never get to see our score or understand how scoring occurs. I feel like its truly a cash grab 

I completely agree! It's so stupid and such a waste of money. If anything, it's mostly a test of one's typing speed. It definitely doesn't "help assess applicants for non-academic attributes or people skills." They repeat the same type of questions, so you can easily study a rough answer for each scenario beforehand, and then it's simply a matter of being able to quickly process the presented ethical/moral questions and rapidly formulate legible, typed answers in the very strict time limits. It is in no way a useful tool for accessing how one would actually respond in a real-life healthcare scenario. And then for Ottawa, they've started their own personal cash grab on top of CASPer by requiring the completion of their language tests, so an extra $120 for something that's not even proctored, and just two years ago, was accessed during their interviews (along with what CASPer supposedly accesses). Such additional requirements should either be covered in the application fees, or those fees should be lowered to reflect the lessening of work the universities must complete as a result of requiring these ridiculous assessments.

[OTHopeful2021]

9 hours ago, DALOT2021 said:

For anyone who is applying to dal OT (OR anyone who's writing personal statement), what did you guys generally talk about on the 1500 characters PS? I mainly talked about my work experiences with children with developmental disabilities, but I am not 100% sure if this is what they are looking for..

I talked about my work experience with kids and my volunteer experience with seniors. I might mention my research experience a bit, since that also seems relevant to OT. I think as long as we talk about the things we learned from our experiences and how that can transfer over to OT we are on the right track!

[PT0102]

13 hours ago, Noël said:

I completely agree! It's so stupid and such a waste of money. If anything, it's mostly a test of one's typing speed. It definitely doesn't "help assess applicants for non-academic attributes or people skills." They repeat the same type of questions, so you can easily study a rough answer for each scenario beforehand, and then it's simply a matter of being able to quickly process the presented ethical/moral questions and rapidly formulate legible, typed answers in the very strict time limits. It is in no way a useful tool for accessing how one would actually respond in a real-life healthcare scenario. And then for Ottawa, they've started their own personal cash grab on top of CASPer by requiring the completion of their language tests, so an extra $120 for something that's not even proctored, and just two years ago, was accessed during their interviews (along with what CASPer supposedly accesses). Such additional requirements should either be covered in the application fees, or those fees should be lowered to reflect the lessening of work the universities must complete as a result of requiring these ridiculous assessments.

CASPer is how they tend to replace the logistical nightmare that is interviews. If you think about it yeah Casper is 100+$ but imagine having to interview for 4 or 5 schools and travel to each it comes up to a boat load more.... Ottawa's language tests on the other hand completely ridiculous. I completed a bilingual BSc program at a bilingual university with a bilingual certification on my degree and they still want me to pass language tests... That's the real money grab considering its almost more than Casper 

 

[maybePT]

16 hours ago, Noël said:

I completely agree! It's so stupid and such a waste of money. If anything, it's mostly a test of one's typing speed. It definitely doesn't "help assess applicants for non-academic attributes or people skills." They repeat the same type of questions, so you can easily study a rough answer for each scenario beforehand, and then it's simply a matter of being able to quickly process the presented ethical/moral questions and rapidly formulate legible, typed answers in the very strict time limits. It is in no way a useful tool for accessing how one would actually respond in a real-life healthcare scenario. And then for Ottawa, they've started their own personal cash grab on top of CASPer by requiring the completion of their language tests, so an extra $120 for something that's not even proctored, and just two years ago, was accessed during their interviews (along with what CASPer supposedly accesses). Such additional requirements should either be covered in the application fees, or those fees should be lowered to reflect the lessening of work the universities must complete as a result of requiring these ridiculous assessments.

while you may have a point here, the universities have so many applicants they need something to differentiate people. the casper test itself is based in science though, and the strict time limits are so that you type the first thing that comes to your head. you are not judged based on how much you write, but the direction you head in in answering the question. imo the casper is nothing compared to the actual mmi and PT school is much more challenging than the casper and mmi combined. there are OSCE's, which are just like the MMI but youre showing your clinical skills. its just something to get used to. also the reason they dont let you see your score is because then people will learn to game the system and thats not fair to first time applicants. usually schools use casper to weed out applicants and not accept them. im sure the faculty is very understanding that a casper exam tests your ability to type fast and they dont hold that against you.

[OTplz2021]

On 1/24/2021 at 3:32 PM, AcceptMeOT said:

I was looking for it too, you just have to call the registrar and they will tell you, the number is (902) 494-2450

Thank you so much for your help, I'll call them tomorrow! 

[OTplz2021]

On 1/23/2021 at 8:43 PM, OTHopeful2021 said:

FGS got back to me yesterday! Took about a week. They needed some more info before they could give me my banner number though. I wonder why there isn't an easier/quicker way to access our banner numbers. If they put it on the application portal or something than that would be less work for us and their staff. Hopefully they get back to you soon!

I agree, they are really making us work for it. Someone said they called the Registrar office and were able to get it from them right away so I'll just do that tomorrow since its due so soon. Thanks for your help

[PTPTPT]

12 hours ago, PT0102 said:

CASPer is how they tend to replace the logistical nightmare that is interviews. If you think about it yeah Casper is 100+$ but imagine having to interview for 4 or 5 schools and travel to each it comes up to a boat load more.... Ottawa's language tests on the other hand completely ridiculous. I completed a bilingual BSc program at a bilingual university with a bilingual certification on my degree and they still want me to pass language tests... That's the real money grab considering its almost more than Casper 

 

Agreed about CASPer - I think the price is quite reasonable tbh cause interviews in-person are sooo much more $ (and time)

Also agreed about uOttawa and I'm in the exact same boat as you - my degree is even from them and I passed their language tests to get said bilingual degree lollllll D:

9 hours ago, maybePT said:

while you may have a point here, the universities have so many applicants they need something to differentiate people. the casper test itself is based in science though, and the strict time limits are so that you type the first thing that comes to your head. you are not judged based on how much you write, but the direction you head in in answering the question. imo the casper is nothing compared to the actual mmi and PT school is much more challenging than the casper and mmi combined. there are OSCE's, which are just like the MMI but youre showing your clinical skills. its just something to get used to. also the reason they dont let you see your score is because then people will learn to game the system and thats not fair to first time applicants. usually schools use casper to weed out applicants and not accept them. im sure the faculty is very understanding that a casper exam tests your ability to type fast and they dont hold that against you.

Agreed about CASPer here too - never thought to compare it to the OSCEs but that's a great point! And CASPer states that you're not docked marks for style/spelling/etc. (but correcting myself is pretty much a reflex so I end up wasting some time on that anyway lol)

To add RE: CASPer score: you're not given feedback on interviews, essays, etc. so I think it's reasonable to not get a CASPer score, either (as nice as it would be)

[PT1994]

Does anyone know the level of french for the Ottawa U PT French admission test?? I.e. is it comparable to like a DELF B2 or higher (A1/A2)? 

[stttta]

Hi everyone, 

I'm applying to Western for OT. Since there was no requirement for references I didn't add my references. Looking back now I'm a bit concerned if I should have added my references even though it was not a requirement. Does anyone know if Western looks at your references for OT? 

[OTHopeful2021]

3 hours ago, stttta said:

Hi everyone, 

I'm applying to Western for OT. Since there was no requirement for references I didn't add my references. Looking back now I'm a bit concerned if I should have added my references even though it was not a requirement. Does anyone know if Western looks at your references for OT? 

Since it's not required for the application they shouldn't be looking at references when making admission decisions, so I wouldn't worry. And on this page there's nothing about references under the OT section. Hope that helps!

[OTHopeful2021]

On 1/12/2021 at 4:51 PM, OT-InTheMaking-2020 said:

I am applying too and am wondering if it does..... I am having a hard time getting in touch with them as well!

Were you able to get in touch with them and ask about the character count? It only occurred to me now that there's no official character counter on the app so I'm also unsure about what to do

Edit: for anyone else applying to dal OT they have emailed me back to let me know that the character limit does include spaces.

[yaboijay]

On 1/25/2021 at 11:53 AM, maybePT said:

while you may have a point here, the universities have so many applicants they need something to differentiate people. the casper test itself is based in science though, and the strict time limits are so that you type the first thing that comes to your head. you are not judged based on how much you write, but the direction you head in in answering the question. imo the casper is nothing compared to the actual mmi and PT school is much more challenging than the casper and mmi combined. there are OSCE's, which are just like the MMI but youre showing your clinical skills. its just something to get used to. also the reason they dont let you see your score is because then people will learn to game the system and thats not fair to first time applicants. usually schools use casper to weed out applicants and not accept them. im sure the faculty is very understanding that a casper exam tests your ability to type fast and they dont hold that against you.

I think that is a ridiculous system that is unfair to those who do not have access to a quiet space at home or have difficulties concentrating and or typing. I think that making people pay application fees and submitting applications for their program just to have everything negated because you were unable to complete this test is simply ridiculous and a cash grab. I would understand if this test occurred prior to allowing you to submit your application to help determine if you can continue on or not. But removing candidates based on these results is frankly ridiculous and is even worse if you consider they only allow you to write it once per application cycle. If a student works hard and is able to achieve amazing references, grades and work experience I find it very dumb to think none of it will even be considered if they do not perform well on this one test as the system will automatically score them out. Additionally, I understand it is based in science but not providing a criteria on how these are marked is also ridiculous how are we suppose to better our responses or even prepare, yes I understand they want to know what comes to your mind first but how does that gage how a person will react in these situations.

[PT0102]

4 hours ago, yaboijay said:

I think that is a ridiculous system that is unfair to those who do not have access to a quiet space at home or have difficulties concentrating and or typing. I think that making people pay application fees and submitting applications for their program just to have everything negated because you were unable to complete this test is simply ridiculous and a cash grab. I would understand if this test occurred prior to allowing you to submit your application to help determine if you can continue on or not. But removing candidates based on these results is frankly ridiculous and is even worse if you consider they only allow you to write it once per application cycle. If a student works hard and is able to achieve amazing references, grades and work experience I find it very dumb to think none of it will even be considered if they do not perform well on this one test as the system will automatically score them out. Additionally, I understand it is based in science but not providing a criteria on how these are marked is also ridiculous how are we suppose to better our responses or even prepare, yes I understand they want to know what comes to your mind first but how does that gage how a person will react in these situations.

To say that it's unfair because you can't find a quiet space I think is false if you absolutely could not find a way to get a room to yourself at home it's understandable. Not everyone has the luxury of living in a detached house no neighbors etc... However most community libraries should be able to offer you a quiet space free of charge. If you have concentration issues (ADD, ADHD etc...) the Casper team actually allows certain accomodations for those conditions if you communicate with them. Saying it's unfair to people who have hard time typing it's like saying interviews are unfair to those who aren't good at talking (and again of it's due to some condition they will accommodate). Unfortunately not everyone gets in and if you're spending the money to apply you simply have to accept that risk it's the reality of an application cycle. 

[happyeveryday]

Hi guys! 

Anyone on here a 2020 grad applying to Dal OT? I am trying to submit my Supplementary Application. However when I enter my graduation date for my undrgrad in the format requested (05.20 or 5.20), every time I move to the next section it removes the zero, so my graduate date reads 05.2 or 5.2. I have noticed it does not do this with 21, so it must be some formatting removing the zero and seeing it as invalid? Has anyone had this issue? 

[zerochance]

Can anyone shed some light on how I would go about calculating my sGPA?  Im applying next cycle but Id really like to know if my sGPA is competitive with to begin with because of how important it is.  I have summarized my situation below.  Please have a look if you can:

2018 - 6 courses (3 in Fall 2018, 3 in Winter 2019)

2019- 7 courses (3 in Fall 2019 PLUS a year-long course so 4 total, 2 in Winter 2020 PLUS the same multi year course so 3 total for winter 2020) > 4 courses in Fall 2019, 3 Winter in Winter 2020

2020 Spring/Summer- 3 courses (for both spring+summer in total). Then I took some courses as continuing education (see below plz)

2020 Fall- 3 courses. I plan to take one more course in the upcoming spring term (spring 2021) so that they won't have to go back to my 2018 winter grades.

[dalotot]

For those applying to Dal OT

Am I crazy or is 1500 characters only around 2 paragraphs?

[happyeveryday]

On 1/27/2021 at 2:45 AM, OTHopeful2021 said:

Were you able to get in touch with them and ask about the character count? It only occurred to me now that there's no official character counter on the app so I'm also unsure about what to do

Edit: for anyone else applying to dal OT they have emailed me back to let me know that the character limit does include spaces.

The character count for Dal OT includes spaces! 

[happyeveryday]

13 hours ago, dalotot said:

For those applying to Dal OT

Am I crazy or is 1500 characters only around 2 paragraphs?

Yes! Crazy how short it is!

[PTPTPT]

On 1/27/2021 at 4:16 AM, yaboijay said:

I think that is a ridiculous system that is unfair to those who do not have access to a quiet space at home or have difficulties concentrating and or typing. I think that making people pay application fees and submitting applications for their program just to have everything negated because you were unable to complete this test is simply ridiculous and a cash grab. I would understand if this test occurred prior to allowing you to submit your application to help determine if you can continue on or not. But removing candidates based on these results is frankly ridiculous and is even worse if you consider they only allow you to write it once per application cycle. If a student works hard and is able to achieve amazing references, grades and work experience I find it very dumb to think none of it will even be considered if they do not perform well on this one test as the system will automatically score them out. Additionally, I understand it is based in science but not providing a criteria on how these are marked is also ridiculous how are we suppose to better our responses or even prepare, yes I understand they want to know what comes to your mind first but how does that gage how a person will react in these situations.

I think (hope) that the new CASPer Snapshot may resolve these issues if schools choose to use it in the future. I haven't done it, but I've done Mac's Kira. I don't think anyone can complain about what is essentially a video interview. It's still half(?) written answers but I think typing efficiently is an unavoidable skill nowadays. Even if you wanna handwrite in class, a lot of clinics use electronic charting only.

Also, although CASPer is stressful and time-limited, I think that having ideas come to mind quickly is partly a reflection of being able to perform well under stress and having solid life experience (including anticipating and preparing for what topics could be discussed), which PT schools want and PTs need. I get it though, like CASPer stresses me out too and I worry about how the 2-3 hours can mean so much. But I think the same can be said for any 2-3 hour undergrad exam that's worth 30-40% in one of your last 20 courses ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Regardless, I think someone else mentioned that CASPer won't necessarily make or break you cause it's more of a screening tool, so you reallyyyy need to screw up to not be looked at after that. And you mentioned being okay with doing CASPer before being allowed to submit your application but isn't that the same thing as "removing candidates based on these results"?

[maybePT]

On 1/27/2021 at 1:16 AM, yaboijay said:

I think that is a ridiculous system that is unfair to those who do not have access to a quiet space at home or have difficulties concentrating and or typing. I think that making people pay application fees and submitting applications for their program just to have everything negated because you were unable to complete this test is simply ridiculous and a cash grab. I would understand if this test occurred prior to allowing you to submit your application to help determine if you can continue on or not. But removing candidates based on these results is frankly ridiculous and is even worse if you consider they only allow you to write it once per application cycle. If a student works hard and is able to achieve amazing references, grades and work experience I find it very dumb to think none of it will even be considered if they do not perform well on this one test as the system will automatically score them out. Additionally, I understand it is based in science but not providing a criteria on how these are marked is also ridiculous how are we suppose to better our responses or even prepare, yes I understand they want to know what comes to your mind first but how does that gage how a person will react in these situations.

there is no publicly available data from universities saying that a bad casper can disqualify you. Im sure if you have great references and a great gpa and relevant experience, the universities are not going to hold a casper test against you. imo the MMI is much more important. the harsh reality is that there is more applicants than there is seats and your application is evaluated as a whole to determine if you get an interview or not. keep working hard and Im sure you will do well. never stop believing in yourself

[OTHopeful2021]

Anyone here applying to U of M OT? I assumed no school needed the CASPer snapshot but upon reading U of M's application guide I have just discovered it's required lol. I did my CASPer on Jan. 5, anyone know if it's too late to do it now and get it sent to U of M on time?

Edit: nvm, found this on the CASPer site "If you’ve already completed the Casper Test and the score distribution deadline has passed for your program(s), but you have not yet taken Snapshot, that is ok! Your application will not be considered incomplete, but we do ask that you complete Snapshot as soon as possible." 

[AcceptMeOT]

2 hours ago, OTHopeful2021 said:

Anyone here applying to U of M OT? I assumed no school needed the CASPer snapshot but upon reading U of M's application guide I have just discovered it's required lol. I did my CASPer on Jan. 5, anyone know if it's too late to do it now and get it sent to U of M on time?

Edit: nvm, found this on the CASPer site "If you’ve already completed the Casper Test and the score distribution deadline has passed for your program(s), but you have not yet taken Snapshot, that is ok! Your application will not be considered incomplete, but we do ask that you complete Snapshot as soon as possible." 

I believe the last accepted date for uofm to take it was Jan 26 so you might be too late  

Edit: although it only mentions that for the actual casper test, not necessarily snapshot. I think if snapshot can be distributed before Feb 8 they should still be able to accept it 

Edited January 31, 2021 by AcceptMeOT

[OTHopeful2021]

1 hour ago, AcceptMeOT said:

I believe the last accepted date for uofm to take it was Jan 26 so you might be too late  

Edit: although it only mentions that for the actual casper test, not necessarily snapshot. I think if snapshot can be distributed before Feb 8 they should still be able to accept it 

Yeah I think I'll shoot the CASPer team an email just to be safe! I'm thinking it should be fine but I'd hate to pay the $100 app fee only to find out later that my snapshot was sent too late haha

[OTapplicant2021]

On 1/6/2021 at 8:27 PM, OT2021at said:

Hi all! For Western OT, it states on their admission page that they rank student applicants based on their sub-GPA and Casper test score. Does anyone know or have an idea on how they weigh sub-GPA and Casper? Thanks

I've been told its something like 70% grades and 30% Casper. It's just so annoying that we never found out how we did on the Casper