OT/PT Accepted/Waitlisted/Rejected 2018

[OTdokie 20]

I thought it would be nice to continue the tradition of having this thread for applicants! 

 

Copy and pasted from the previous years thread. 

 

Here's how it goes (use this format):
 

Applied + (PT or OT?):
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: (cum and sub if you applied to any University using them both)
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

 

Good luck everyone!

[PTT2018 2]

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Applied: BOTH PT/OT @ UBC, U of A, U of M, U of T, Queens, McMaster, UWO, McGill, Dalhousie
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: SGPA 3.72 CGPA 3.5
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: OT, PT, Orthopedic technician, Family physician, and Surgeon shadowing PLUS research assistant to a surgeon. 

[churros31 26]

Applied: OT - UofT, Mac, Western, Queens. PT - Queens 
Accepted: UofT, Mac, Western, Queens PT 
Waitlisted: Western (upper third), Queens OT
Rejected:
GPA: sGPA= 3.76, cGPA= 3.44
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Volunteer at a hospital with PTs & OTs, volunteered as a PTA at a private clinic, volunteered for a program for kids with developmental delays, worked with dementia patients for undergrad thesis, worked in research labs over the past 3.5 years (none directly related to rehab but worked with participants in a wide age range). Feel good about who I chose for references so hopefully that translates to good letters. Got great feedback on my essays so I feel confident about what I submitted.

Update: I was originally waitlisted for the Mac MMI and only got my invite about 10 days before the interview. I did TONS of practice questions in that time and I left the interview feeling like I did a good job! It's definitely possible to get a first-round offer after being waitlisted and with relatively little time to prepare. For any future applicants reading this, best of luck! 

[OTdokie 20]

Just out of curiosity, does ORPAS tell you your CGPA and SGPA once you submit your transcripts?

[HopefulPT95 31]

On 11/19/2017 at 8:33 PM, mccannjx01 said:

Just out of curiosity, does ORPAS tell you your CGPA and SGPA once you submit your transcripts?

Yes they do! Once the deadline passes, they`ll calculate everyone`s sGPA, cGPA and then its available back on ORPAS for you to double check that it`s correct. People have found errors in the past, so please double check your ORPAS calculated GPAs.

Good Luck everyone!

[TobaOTHopeful 1]

Applied: U of A and U of M OT

Accepted: U of A,  Interview at U of M

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: sGPA = 3.93 (U of A), 4.025 (U of M) cGPA= 3.79 (U of A), 3.88 (U of M)

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Over 1000 hours (3 summers) planning and facilitating leisure/recreation activities for intellectually disabled adults, One semester fieldwork placement (approx. 350 hours) working in the playroom with inpatients at the Children's Hospital. My letter of Intent I felt was alright. For my references, I had a prof who I had 4 classes with, as well as who supervised my fieldwork experience and had my supervisor at the Children's Hospital write the other so I think they should be strong (I didn't get to see them). 

[kinestudent23 5]

Applied + (PT or OT?): Mac, Toronto, Queens, Western, Dalhousie (Both OT and PT)
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: SUB:3.81 
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references:

2 academic references one of them is a physiotherapist, other is a personal friend that I am doing my thesis under. The third reference was the team manager that I was the athletic trainer for. Lots of volunteering in coaching and the hospital (500 hours). 30 hours Shadowed at a clinic. 100 hours of an athletic trainer. Would be happy with OT or PT.

[QPT2019 11]

On 11/19/2017 at 8:33 PM, mccannjx01 said:

Just out of curiosity, does ORPAS tell you your CGPA and SGPA once you submit your transcripts?

I believe both are calculated on the ORPAS system once transcripts are received

[OThopeful18 50]

On 19/11/2017 at 5:33 PM, mccannjx01 said:

Just out of curiosity, does ORPAS tell you your CGPA and SGPA once you submit your transcripts?

Yes! In mid February ORPAS will post the GPA calculations online.

[samsamt 0]

Applied: UofT, Mcmaster, Queens ( all PT)

Accepted:

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: sGPA = 3.89     cGPA= 3.72 

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: over 600 volunteer hours of physical activity and research with children, over 300 hours of volunteering in rehab hospital and research in the same hospital , references are from a top professor that knows me for 3 year, and a physiotherapist in the hospital I volunteered for over 2 years , Essays for Queens are okay 

[KTPT 3]

Applied: Western, Mcmaster, Queens ( all PT)

Accepted:

Waitlisted:

Rejected:

GPA: sGPA = 3.78     cGPA= 3.81 

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: varsity athlete and athletic trainer, research in physio intervention and fatigue in breast cancer survivors, osteoporosis, hip replacements and gait, 40 hours running a physical activity and play program for cognitively delayed children, physiotherapy school OSCE model and over 400 hours over 6 years shadowing physiotherapists. I believe my strong essays and potential interview will hopefully made up for my lower grades. 

Note: Applied to Queen's last year and was waitlisted, but ultimately did not get in. 

[PT2B 0]

Applied: UBC, U OF A, QUEENS, U OF T
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: sGPA= 3.7/4.0    cGPA=3.4/4.0,    sGPA=4.3/4.3 (UBC)
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Varsity athlete, lots of rehabilitation experience volunteering with varied populations. Such as with stroke, M.S, Parkinsons, cardiac and cancer patients. Shadowing experiences with well known PTs in the area and and strong essays. Experience volunteering at hospitals, clinics, rec centres, and sports teams. References are also from respected professors in the area.  

[OkanaganOT 2]

Applied: UBC & U of A OT
Accepted: UBC, U of A (declined offer)
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: 92% or 3.94/4.0 (Unsure about this sgpa/cgpa but these are both the calculated GPA for my application based on each institution's requirements)
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: 2+ years of work experience with special needs children - collaborated with an OT who provided me with various OT techniques to use with the children, volunteer & paid research experience @ university, work reference letters from respected non-profit organization.

[JBrooke 0]

My calculated cGPA and sGPA in ORPAS don't align with my own records? Is anyone else having this problem? Also, does anyone know exactly how they calculate the *average* mark?

[EmilyPT 1]

1 hour ago, JBrooke said:

My calculated cGPA and sGPA in ORPAS don't align with my own records? Is anyone else having this problem? Also, does anyone know exactly how they calculate the *average* mark?

For my average mark it looks like they used all the courses I took in 2016 to calculate a mean GPA, and then applied that mean GPA nine times to cover the 20 courses. I'm not 100% sure on this though as the calculation doesn't quite fit when I try it. I was surprised they would average that many courses, but I guess that's what they mean by taking the average of the calendar year. Do schools calculate their own sGPAs or do they use the ORPAS calculation?

 

Edit: Nevermind, I see now that they took the average of my fall 2015 and winter 2016 classes to calculate the average mark, and then that mark was applied nine times. 

[msshark 0]

1 hour ago, JBrooke said:

My calculated cGPA and sGPA in ORPAS don't align with my own records? Is anyone else having this problem? Also, does anyone know exactly how they calculate the *average* mark?

Mine didn't align either because they didn't include a course in my GPA calculation. I e-mailed ORPAS about it and they were quick in fixing it so you can try e-mailing them. 

If it says "Average" at the bottom, it means they took the average of all your courses in one academic year, then multiplied it by the number of courses needed to fill the remaining spots of the 20 half courses. 

[JBrooke 0]

17 hours ago, msshark said:

Mine didn't align either because they didn't include a course in my GPA calculation. I e-mailed ORPAS about it and they were quick in fixing it so you can try e-mailing them. 

If it says "Average" at the bottom, it means they took the average of all your courses in one academic year, then multiplied it by the number of courses needed to fill the remaining spots of the 20 half courses. 

Oh crap... I see what they did now. When I did my own calculations I had gotten my 2015 average by adding all my courses together and took that average in a percentage which was an 80. something, which I then assumed they would count 3.7 four times. But what they did was convert each course to the GPA first and then took the average of that... which leads to a lower conversion. My bad! My sub-GPA is lower than expected then  

[OptimisticOT 0]

Applied: McMaster, Queens, and Western OT and PT
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: 3.86 overall, sub- 3.92
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: experience working with older adults with chronic conditions in a specialized gym setting, volunteer at hospital helping with delirium care, extensive experience working with children and adults with both physical and intellectual disabilities (also the topic of my thesis)

[Revolus 2]

Where can I find my subGPA? ORPAS posted only my cumulative GPA.
edit: nvm, now it's posted

 

[Ptstudent2 9]

Applied + (PT or OT?): u of t, McMaster, western, Queen's PT
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
GPA: cum 2.08 sub 3.98
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: 

[OTkylie 7]

Can someone tell me where I can find my “sGPA” on orpas? I see my cGPA but can’t seem to find where they calculated my sGPA. 

[Revolus 2]

13 minutes ago, OTkylie said:

Can someone tell me where I can find my “sGPA” on orpas? I see my cGPA but can’t seem to find where they calculated my sGPA. 

Go to "Document Tracking" and scroll all the way to the bottom.

 

[OTdokie 20]

Applied + (PT or OT?): Queens & UofT (OT)
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected: Queens, UofT
GPA: cGPA=3.28 (ORPAS) sGPA=3.53 (ORPAS) 

Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: I'm pretty confident in my essays. I spent a lot of time editing and carefully reviewing them. I also had two profs, an academic advisor, and a practising OT to take a look at them. My first reference was written by a prof that I cultivated a good professional relationship with and who has seen my academic abilities. My second reference was from an OT that I worked very closely with. 

I think my supplemental materials are good but I'm worried that my GPA will be a hindrance. 

Good luck everyone! 

[WannabeOT 0]

Applied + (PT or OT?): (All OT) MacMaster, Western, and Queens 
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
cGPA:3.79 subGPA:3.85
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Essays were looked over by current Physio. One reference was a prof of mine who I was her undergraduate Research assistant. Other reference doesn't know the field of OT well but can speak well to my work experience. 

[Miria 4]

Applied: McMaster, Western, U of T, Queens (all OT)
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
cGPA:3.96 sGPA: 3.97
Perceived strength of essays/interviews/references: Essays were OK (I think). 2 references from thesis/summer research supervisor & clinical research supervisor. Lots of experience :D. Currently a clinical research assistant recruiting participants for a study of clinical depression. Volunteering: cardiac rehabilitation exercise assistant, observing PTAs in a long term care home, wellness/relaxation program shadowing for an OT, hydrotherapy pool & exercise volunteer for women with developmental disabilities. Also 3+ years of research in 3 labs in Psychology and 2 summer NSERC research fellowships.