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OT Ontario Schools Decisions!!!


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3 hours ago, OT_9821 said:

I'm leaning towards McMaster right now (also depends if I get off U of T's waitlist). 

Hi there! I was wondering what is making you lean towards McMaster's program, since I was accepted there too but am torn between McMaster or waiting to see if I get off of Western's waitlist

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36 minutes ago, Music and OT said:

Hi everyone, 

I was rejected from Queen's and U of T with a SGPA of 3.89 and a CGPA of 3.86. I am no. 6 on McMaster's waitlist. Does anyone know how many people usually are accepted off the waitlist? I'm very hopeful.

Also, for those who were accepted, what was your SGPA and what experiences do you have? I read that they would not prioritize people from science backgrounds, but I have an undergrad and master's in music performance and was not accepted.


Thanks! :)

Hello!! 
i had a sub GPA of 3.7 and was accepted to queens and western. I have 1600 hours of nursing experience ( I did a bachelor of nursing) and have worked on a surgical oncology unit for 2.5 years which I think helped my low gpa. I also have 100 hours of volunteer in the emergency department and roughly 60 hours as a health care aide plus shadow experience. I’m certain my experience is why I got in rather than my gpa.

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7 hours ago, Keke said:

Hi Guys,

I got accepted into OT for Queens but I am debating whether to accept or not. I was offered a full time permanent job as a research coordinator (managing all facets of a study) at one of the top research institute in Ontario.

Pros of this job: stable, permanent, benefits, growth opportunities, working in healthcare along physicians and making contributions towards the future of healthcare-- and right out of undergrad a really good position to be in. 

OT obviously has many pros as well and it was something I wanted to do undergrad. Im just on the fence because I know how hard it is to secure a full time permanent position esp during COVID Era. But I'm not sure if I should give up going to OT school for this?

Any advice would be appreciated. 

This sounds like a difficult decision but both options sound great! To me it sounds like the main difference might be patient/client interactions, and so making the choice would depend on what your long term goals in relation to that would be, but I guess even that depends on the type of research that you're doing. There is potential for you to re-apply and start the program later if you decide in a couple years that you would still like to do it. 

 

Wish I could be more helpful! Good luck deciding! 

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Hi everyone!

I declined my offer from Toronto for OT. I am deciding between OT at Western or instead doing Speech-Language Pathology at Western. I love both fields and am struggling with deciding between the two. Is anyone in a similar situation, or does anyone have any insight or helpful tips? Would love to hear from you :)

 

 

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6 hours ago, Jenivev said:

Hey guys,

For those who have received an offer from Western, what kind of stats/volunteer work do you have?

Honestly, I think I must have done pretty well on the CASPER. I have a 3.79 sub-gpa (HBSc in Cognitive Sciences and minor in Neuroscience). No direct OT experience. I have volunteered plenty in research settings related to clinical psychology, psychiatry and completed a project in applied cognitive neuroscience. I have experience with children through coaching soccer, teaching dance, and coordinating a helmet safety awareness program. I also coordinated a program for continued education for adults with a range of developmental disabilities. Now I am working as a developmental support worker. 

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2 hours ago, SaraPT123 said:

Hello!! 
i had a sub GPA of 3.7 and was accepted to queens and western. I have 1600 hours of nursing experience ( I did a bachelor of nursing) and have worked on a surgical oncology unit for 2.5 years which I think helped my low gpa. I also have 100 hours of volunteer in the emergency department and roughly 60 hours as a health care aide plus shadow experience. I’m certain my experience is why I got in rather than my gpa.

Thank you :) So I think my experience is really what is lacking. Congrats on your acceptances!!

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1 hour ago, OTOThopeful said:

Hi there! I was wondering what is making you lean towards McMaster's program, since I was accepted there too but am torn between McMaster or waiting to see if I get off of Western's waitlist

Sure! One thing that I appreciate about McMaster is they have an introductory placement in the first term, which is longer than most other OT programs. I like having that early clinical exposure, being able to apply what I learned in the classroom and incorporate what I learn on that placement back into the classroom. I also like the Northern Studies Stream opportunity at Mac. For problem-based learning, I really don't know what to expect of it now, I'll have to ask around to see other peoples' experiences with it. 

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2 hours ago, OT98 said:

Aside from differences in location, what do you guys think are the main pros/cons of attending McMaster vs U of T for OT?

I don't know much about the UofT program but here are my personal pros and cons for McMaster:

pros - beautiful campus, Northern Studies Stream, overall good program reputation 

cons - seems like a lack of international placement options, not a big fan of Hamilton, I had a friend who did her undergrad here so I visited a lot and it seemed to me that most housing near the campus is run-down with many people (6+) living in one house

could be a pro OR a con - PBL (honestly don't know if this style of learning will suit me well or not haha) + lots of presentations and oral communication in this program (I really dislike oral evaluations but might be good for me in the end to get used to this)

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13 hours ago, OptimisticOT22 said:

Hello! 

Wow this sounds like an amazing job opportunity! But also congrats on being accepted. If this were me, I believe personally I would attend school, I have always enjoyed school. I think that if you think long term, lets say you end up leaving this job, then you will have no masters and it may be harder to find future employment. I could be totally wrong in saying this but at least with choosing the schooling option you will have that extra education and hopefully always be able to find a job. 

Is there an opportunity to sort of stay in a good position with the job? Like maybe work for them this summer until you go off to school and sort of let them know you'd be interested in a position in the future? 

I hope any of this helps! 

Thank you so much for your response! I think my heart is definitely set on OT! OT is such an awesome career and has a great job prospect in Canada as well! 

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6 hours ago, OTtobe1 said:

This sounds like a difficult decision but both options sound great! To me it sounds like the main difference might be patient/client interactions, and so making the choice would depend on what your long term goals in relation to that would be, but I guess even that depends on the type of research that you're doing. There is potential for you to re-apply and start the program later if you decide in a couple years that you would still like to do it. 

 

Wish I could be more helpful! Good luck deciding! 

Thank you so much for this! I don't think I can pass up going to school for OT I see myself as an OT for long term for sure, other opportunities like this can come as an OT as well! Best of luck with your schooling and future endeavours!

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1 minute ago, OptimisticOT22 said:

No problem! I wish you the best!!!!! Where did you apply to/get accepted for? 

I had applied to Western, McMaster, UofT and Queens. Didn't get an offer from the first three b/c my sGPA was not the greatest and pretty much and given up hope, but to my surprise got an acceptance to Queens! 

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17 hours ago, OTtobe1 said:

Hi everyone!

I declined my offer from Toronto for OT. I am deciding between OT at Western or instead doing Speech-Language Pathology at Western. I love both fields and am struggling with deciding between the two. Is anyone in a similar situation, or does anyone have any insight or helpful tips? Would love to hear from you :)

 

 

Hi! Congrats on your offers, I'm sure you will be great regardless of which path you choose! :) Can i ask what made you choose Western over Toronto for OT? I feel like I am also leaning towards Western over Mac / U of T, but struggling explain why lol. 

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Hi! Im making the choice between Western, UofT and Mac for OT and I was hoping anyone could help me out in deciding what my best choice would be!

I know many people have said living in Toronto is one of the main cons of UofT due to high rent costs, however my family lives in Toronto so that wouldn't be an issue for me and almost making it a no brainer choice due to the advantageous placement opportunities. I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight on the UofT program and if the larger class size really does affect the quality of education? Thanks in advance :) !

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On 5/14/2021 at 12:29 PM, OptimisticOT22 said:

I LOVE that you said this because I saw the international opportunities on Westerns website as well and am for sure into this! That would be amazing and such a cool experience, I haven't seen anything like that at McMaster so far but I could be entirely wrong! Where were you accepted :))

I'm deciding between UofT and McMaster with considerations to the international opportunities! I also got into Queen's (not really considering) and got waitlisted to Western. This is what I found for international opportunities at Mac - https://healthsci.mcmaster.ca/docs/librariesprovider128/handbooks/clinical-education-handbook-2020-21.pdf (p. 67) :) Though I can't see where the placements actually are 

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4 hours ago, TRtoOT said:

I'm deciding between UofT and McMaster with considerations to the international opportunities! I also got into Queen's (not really considering) and got waitlisted to Western. This is what I found for international opportunities at Mac - https://healthsci.mcmaster.ca/docs/librariesprovider128/handbooks/clinical-education-handbook-2020-21.pdf (p. 67) :) Though I can't see where the placements actually are 

Why are you not considering queens? I was accepted into queens and western and trying to decide between the two! 

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Hi everyone!

I applied to McMaster, UofT, and Queens, and was accepted to all 3. I’m still unsure of where I want to go but I’m 90% sure it’s UofT. 
To me, the placement opportunities are too good to pass up. I’ve talked to OTs who say that you want the biggest and best placement sites as a student so that you can learn the most during those years. They also look great on your resume when you’re applying to jobs after grad. 
As for the educational experience, someone currently in the program has given me tons of insight. The profs are the best in the field and recognized worldwide. Even though it is the biggest program, they care deeply about student mental health and make time to talk to students if they’re struggling. She even mentioned that profs remembered what she wrote her personal statement about. I was worried about all of this when I was considering UofT but it honestly sounds like the faculty is done amazing, and they have done a great job of online teaching too. 
Also for me, I’m excited to have the opportunity to live in downtown Toronto during my early 20s and make some memories :)

So those are my thoughts! McMaster is still definitely on my radar, but Queens isn’t because I don’t love their whole “small town placement” thing. I’m a member of the Queens Facebook group, and if anyone knows of one for UofT or Mac I would really appreciate it! 

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20 hours ago, SamOT2021 said:

Hi! Im making the choice between Western, UofT and Mac for OT and I was hoping anyone could help me out in deciding what my best choice would be!

I know many people have said living in Toronto is one of the main cons of UofT due to high rent costs, however my family lives in Toronto so that wouldn't be an issue for me and almost making it a no brainer choice due to the advantageous placement opportunities. I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight on the UofT program and if the larger class size really does affect the quality of education? Thanks in advance :) !

Hey! I can’t speak to how class size affects quality of education, but I have heard that UofT has done a great job of online learning because it was already set up between St George and Mississauga :) I think their transition to online and hybrid learning was a lot more seamless than some other schools. I have also heard that profs make a real effort to get to know individual students in the program!

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14 hours ago, TRtoOT said:

I'm deciding between UofT and McMaster with considerations to the international opportunities! I also got into Queen's (not really considering) and got waitlisted to Western. This is what I found for international opportunities at Mac - https://healthsci.mcmaster.ca/docs/librariesprovider128/handbooks/clinical-education-handbook-2020-21.pdf (p. 67) :) Though I can't see where the placements actually are 

Thank you for that! definitely good to know:) What are your pros and cons for your options as of now??

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