OT/PT Accepted / Waitlisted/ Rejected - 2023 Cycle

[pomelo]

Applied + (PT or OT?): U of A (OT)

Accepted: n/a

Waitlisted: n/a

Rejected:n/a

GPA: cGPA 3.67/4.0, unsure of sGPA 

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

This is my first time applying and it was a nerve wracking experience to say the least. I managed to forget the deadlines for the Ontario schools and ended up only applying to the U of A.  Sort of expecting to get rejected but I’ll remain hopeful for now. 

> For the LOI, I felt like I showed my passion for OT in my writing and I believe it's the strongest part of my application. I don’t have any research experience, but I have various ECs that include hospital volunteering with recreational therapy, volunteering with an ESL program, working in the service industry, and my hobbies.

 > I believe my references are fairly decent, one was my volunteer coordinator at the hospital and the second is my prof I took a couple courses with. I’m close with my prof and I’m confident they’ll write a strong reference letter. 

> GPA wise, my cGPA is fairly low compared to competitive applicants but I’m expecting to take additional courses and reapply next cycle if I don’t get in. But hoping with my final semester at uni, I can bring my GPA up (if i get a conditional offer or for the next application cycle). 

> I took the CASPer exam on the last available date and I don’t know what to say honestly, I felt like I did horrible even though the prompts were reasonable but I won't get to know my results until next month. I did some prepmatch scenarios and the practice tests to get myself familiar with the testing environment a week before. Hoping for the best at this point.

Good luck with this cycle everyone! 

[Boukenbc]

16 hours ago, HaadaOT said:

Hi everyone! For those applying to UofA OT and already completed their CASPer and had the results sent out to the school already. Is one of your slots for department check still "Incomplete"? I know our casper scores are supposed to fill one of the 4 slots but shouldn't it be Pending then?

if I remember correctly it stays inccomplete.

[Boukenbc]

I have never written one of these because I was too nervous last year but hey may as well try it now.-

Applied + (All OT?): U of A, UBC ( In province applicant but went to Uni in Alberta), Western

Accepted: n/a

Waitlisted: n/a

Rejected:n/a

GPA: sgpa: 3.76 and 3.8 for UBC I believe

The perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

I know my GPA is on the lower side but it got me to the middle of the UofA waitlist last year so hoping things will be better this year. Also received the 4th percentile of Casper last year and currently waiting for the results.

In terms of experience ( prepare for the run on sentence lol):

  I worked as a recreational therapy assistant in an acute assisted living unit, in vocational rehabilitation for two years, working as an intern under a physiotherapist in pre/post natal care, as an adult day program assistant in a senior care home, classroom assistant with high school students with cognitive disabilities, and a TA for adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities looking to improving daily skills, and founded a club that works to promote inclusion, advocacy, and activism working with non-profits in Calgary to empower all people, with a lot of focus on BIPOC organizations and fundraisers/events towards that. 

I think my experience is what hopefully sets me apart, I was wondering if anyone knew of others who have gotten in, in the 3.7 sgpa range.

[Boukenbc]

44 minutes ago, pomelo said:

Applied + (PT or OT?): U of A (OT)

Accepted: n/a

Waitlisted: n/a

Rejected:n/a

GPA: cGPA 3.67/4.0, unsure of sGPA 

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

This is my first time applying and it was a nerve wracking experience to say the least. I managed to forget the deadlines for the Ontario schools and ended up only applying to the U of A.  Sort of expecting to get rejected but I’ll remain hopeful for now. 

> For the LOI, I felt like I showed my passion for OT in my writing and I believe it's the strongest part of my application. I don’t have any research experience, but I have various ECs that include hospital volunteering with recreational therapy, volunteering with an ESL program, working in the service industry, and my hobbies.

 > I believe my references are fairly decent, one was my volunteer coordinator at the hospital and the second is my prof I took a couple courses with. I’m close with my prof and I’m confident they’ll write a strong reference letter. 

> GPA wise, my cGPA is fairly low compared to competitive applicants but I’m expecting to take additional courses and reapply next cycle if I don’t get in. But hoping with my final semester at uni, I can bring my GPA up (if i get a conditional offer or for the next application cycle). 

> I took the CASPer exam on the last available date and I don’t know what to say honestly, I felt like I did horrible even though the prompts were reasonable but I won't get to know my results until next month. I did some prepmatch scenarios and the practice tests to get myself familiar with the testing environment a week before. Hoping for the best at this point.

Good luck with this cycle everyone! 

UofA will just look at your SGPA  

[ot__W0W]

58 minutes ago, Boukenbc said:

I have never written one of these because I was too nervous last year but hey may as well try it now.-

Applied + (All OT?): U of A, UBC ( In province applicant but went to Uni in Alberta), Western

Accepted: n/a

Waitlisted: n/a

Rejected:n/a

GPA: sgpa: 3.76 and 3.8 for UBC I believe

The perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

I know my GPA is on the lower side but it got me to the middle of the UofA waitlist last year so hoping things will be better this year. Also received the 4th percentile of Casper last year and currently waiting for the results.

In terms of experience ( prepare for the run on sentence lol):

  I worked as a recreational therapy assistant in an acute assisted living unit, in vocational rehabilitation for two years, working as an intern under a physiotherapist in pre/post natal care, as an adult day program assistant in a senior care home, classroom assistant with high school students with cognitive disabilities, and a TA for adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities looking to improving daily skills, and founded a club that works to promote inclusion, advocacy, and activism working with non-profits in Calgary to empower all people, with a lot of focus on BIPOC organizations and fundraisers/events towards that. 

I think my experience is what hopefully sets me apart, I was wondering if anyone knew of others who have gotten in, in the 3.7 sgpa range.

In U of A, the average gpa last year was 3.7. I believe you have a shot! Good luck

Edited January 27, 2023 by ot__W0W
missing info

[HaadaOT]

3 hours ago, Boukenbc said:

I have never written one of these because I was too nervous last year but hey may as well try it now.-

Applied + (All OT?): U of A, UBC ( In province applicant but went to Uni in Alberta), Western

Accepted: n/a

Waitlisted: n/a

Rejected:n/a

GPA: sgpa: 3.76 and 3.8 for UBC I believe

The perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

I know my GPA is on the lower side but it got me to the middle of the UofA waitlist last year so hoping things will be better this year. Also received the 4th percentile of Casper last year and currently waiting for the results.

In terms of experience ( prepare for the run on sentence lol):

  I worked as a recreational therapy assistant in an acute assisted living unit, in vocational rehabilitation for two years, working as an intern under a physiotherapist in pre/post natal care, as an adult day program assistant in a senior care home, classroom assistant with high school students with cognitive disabilities, and a TA for adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities looking to improving daily skills, and founded a club that works to promote inclusion, advocacy, and activism working with non-profits in Calgary to empower all people, with a lot of focus on BIPOC organizations and fundraisers/events towards that. 

I think my experience is what hopefully sets me apart, I was wondering if anyone knew of others who have gotten in, in the 3.7 sgpa range.

Someone in this forum posted a while ago that on average students who got admitted into UofA last year had a GPA of 3.7. I'm sure you can find the post if you go back a couple pages. They were also a current student at UofA MScOT so a professor told them about that. Tbh I wouldn't worry because I've been following these forums for a while now and have seen many people say they got in with a 3.7!

[pomelo]

22 hours ago, Boukenbc said:

UofA will just look at your SGPA  

Thanks for the reminder! Unfortunately my grades for my last 2 years are consistently around ~3.7,  I’ll definitely need the luck. My knowledge is a little old from two cycles ago, but I also heard people getting accepted into the program with low 3.7s. 

[HaadaOT]

Hey!! Quick question for those applying to UofA MScOT, I just signed my Department Checklist through the PDF system and I also locked it so that it cannot be edited any further. Does anyone know if thats what I'm supposed to do LOL and that if locking it is fine? Thanks in advance! (PS. please reply before the Jan 31st deadline LOL)

[ot__W0W]

11 hours ago, HaadaOT said:

Hey!! Quick question for those applying to UofA MScOT, I just signed my Department Checklist through the PDF system and I also locked it so that it cannot be edited any further. Does anyone know if thats what I'm supposed to do LOL and that if locking it is fine? Thanks in advance! (PS. please reply before the Jan 31st deadline LOL)

sorry, what do you mean by locking it? like it is a protected pdf doc? otherwise, the person who is reviewing your application will not see it, i suppose?? Because I don't remember "locking" any document when i applied.

[HaadaOT]

11 hours ago, ot__W0W said:

sorry, what do you mean by locking it? like it is a protected pdf doc? otherwise, the person who is reviewing your application will not see it, i suppose?? Because I don't remember "locking" any document when i applied.

So when I locked it, it pretty much made it so that after I signed the document no more changes can be made. The document isn't password protected, because after I uploaded it into GSMS and re downloaded it, I could open it without a password, but was unable to make any changes since it was signed and locked, does that make sense?

[PT2022A]

On 9/29/2022 at 10:05 PM, MOT2022hopeful said:

Hi everyone,

this will be my second year applying for UBC MOT program. I got to the interview process and sadly didn’t get in. Fingers crossed for this year. 
 

My gpa is 89%, 4.03 on 4.33 scale and 3.87 on a 4.0 scale. I had a 4th quartile score on the CASPer test last year and some experience with an OT. All my references were highly positive. 
 

Hoping the new CASPer test goes just as well this year, and now I’ve worked as a rehab assistant with OTs and OT clients for over 600 hours so I’m hoping this is my year.

Are you a BC resident? 

[PT2022A]

 b

[MOT2022hopeful]

20 minutes ago, PT2022A said:

Are you a BC resident? 

Yes I am! 

[Boukenbc]

1 hour ago, PT2022A said:

Hello everyone,

Applied + (PT or OT?): 

PT: Western, UofT

OT: Western, Queens, Mac, UofT, UBC 
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: c-gpa 3.7 and s-gpa 3.9 

CASPER: haven't received yet 

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: 400 hours shadowing an Occupational Therapist, 50 hours coaching a softball team for the Special Olympics, 350 hours Autism Ontario positions, president of club at university, volunteer fitness instructor for the school board 50 hours and STEM Camp volunteer 250 hours. 

Reference: Occupational Therapist I have shadowed for almost 2 years 

Professor that knows me fairly well. 

Ontario Resident 

I am super nervous! 

Good luck to everyone who applied 

 

Are you leaning more towards PT or OT? Also your stats are incredible! Best of luck to you  

[s9983]

Has anyone here by chance raised their sub-gpa after graduating, or know anyone that has? I wonder what I can do with my sub-gpa if i'm not content with it. Do I have to do a whole other post-bachelorette degree? 

[PT2022A]

5 hours ago, Boukenbc said:

Are you leaning more towards PT or OT? Also your stats are incredible! Best of luck to you  

I am leaning more towards OT it is my passion to work in paediatrics 

Thank you! 

[CuppaJoy]

For those applying for the UofA OT program, is there a button to submit our application on the portal? Or do we just upload everything and leave it as it is?

[HaadaOT]

2 hours ago, CuppaJoy said:

For those applying for the UofA OT program, is there a button to submit our application on the portal? Or do we just upload everything and leave it as it is?

I thinkkkkk that when you pay for the application it gets submitted, and then you can add your docs like CV, LOI, and Department checklist. If you have already paid for and submitted it then you don't need to submit again. If anyone else has some insight, please let me know 

[HaadaOT]

Hi everyone, 

I need help ASAP!! I submitted my official transcripts into my UofA application and obtained these transcripts from MyCreds. Upon further investigation, these transcripts have an "permissions password" on them, which allows people to view the document but not edit it since their official. One of the requirements for transcripts on the UofA website is that they must not be password protected. Can anyone help me determine if my transcripts are fine? I am really worried and would appreciate any help! Thank you in advance

[Boukenbc]

4 hours ago, HaadaOT said:

Hi everyone, 

I need help ASAP!! I submitted my official transcripts into my UofA application and obtained these transcripts from MyCreds. Upon further investigation, these transcripts have an "permissions password" on them, which allows people to view the document but not edit it since their official. One of the requirements for transcripts on the UofA website is that they must not be password protected. Can anyone help me determine if my transcripts are fine? I am really worried and would appreciate any help! Thank you in advance

From my knowledge they cannot have a password. I used mycred too for one of mine and just uploaded the pdf and it wasent password protected I would try that.

[HaadaOT]

20 minutes ago, Boukenbc said:

From my knowledge they cannot have a password. I used mycred too for one of mine and just uploaded the pdf and it wasent password protected I would try that.

Did you upload the exact doc that you downloaded from MyCreds? That's what I did, and the thing is, they dont have a password for opening but have one for editing, that sort of thing. That's how MyCreds gave them to me

[Boukenbc]

21 minutes ago, HaadaOT said:

Did you upload the exact doc that you downloaded from MyCreds? That's what I did, and the thing is, they dont have a password for opening but have one for editing, that sort of thing. That's how MyCreds gave them to me

My is just a pdf I saved off Mycreds, doesn’t have an edit option or anything 

[OT applicant]

I can’t remember if this is the first or second year that McMaster is doing the Kira interviews . Does anyone know what the GPA cut off is to get an interview invitation ?

[HaadaOT]

9 hours ago, Boukenbc said:

My is just a pdf I saved off Mycreds, doesn’t have an edit option or anything 

Thank you so much for your help! I also emailed the UofA MScOT people and they said the MyCreds transcripts are fine to add into my application. 

[1896528]

19 hours ago, OT applicant said:

I can’t remember if this is the first or second year that McMaster is doing the Kira interviews . Does anyone know what the GPA cut off is to get an interview invitation ?

All applicants with a 3.3/4.0 (B+ or 77% or 9/12) sub-GPA and who have met the requirements for the four pre-requisite courses, will be invited to participate in an online interview.