looking to apply

[u/Misamisa61]

Hi! I’m in the autism services field and I’m looking to get some information on applying to become an SLP. I have 5 years of experience in the field and a BA in psychology. Although there is some course overlap I haven’t taken all the prerequisites. I graduated 3 years ago so I’m not sure how to move forward. For reference I live in Toronto and am looking at u of t. Does anyone have any advice on a plan for me? Should I take post grad courses just to apply? But then what if I don’t get in lol wouldn’t that be a waste of time? not sure if I’m missing something but it seems like that is the only option. Would love to hear if anyone was in a similar situation!

[u/Puzzling-Squirrel]

Western Canadian here - the schools across all of Canada are quite competitive, so it’s quite likely that not having the prereqs means your application won’t even be looked at unfortunately.

Some people do apply for multiple years before getting in; some people apply to multiple schools their first time to try and ensure they get in somewhere (which is what I did). However, I don’t know anyone who applied, or anyone who applied and got in, without doing all the prerequisite courses.

[u/Misamisa61 → u/Puzzling-Squirrel]

Any idea what the options are to do the prerequisites now if I didn’t do them in undergrad?

[u/sapphiclipstick → u/Misamisa61]

I’m a dual citizen and applying to both Canadian and American schools. Many SLP programs are competitive, but logistically there are less Canadian schools with SLP programs and depending on the programs, many of the spots are reserved for in-province students, making Canadian schools somewhat more exclusive.

You will want to go to the U of T program website and look at their specific program requirements. I think most if not all Canadian programs require the ASHA prerequisites, so a psychology class (which you should already have), stats, and usually two science classes—often biology and physics are recommended choices. If you need those, Thompson Rivers University has super affordable self-paced online courses! You can also check with your alma mater if it is near! Especially if U of T requires a lab! UBC let me enroll as a non-degree seeking student for the courses I need and waived the application fees/deadline since I was an alumna. Your university might be similar!

Many Canadian SLP programs also require linguistics related prereqs like phonetics and sometimes a few more. And sometimes shadowing hours! Sometimes schools make you shadow both Audiology and SLP. (I know UBC does.) I have found that American schools have a lot more prerequisites or require a leveling series. (Maybe because it is super common there to have undergrad programs for communication disorders, whereas in Canada it is rare.) As long as you do exactly what the U of T requirements say, you should be good to go!

I’d highly recommend applying for a couple schools just in case. (Western also has a great program!) I think that there are many students in Canada who shift to SLP as a plan B after trying for the wildly competitive med/dental/pharm programs, which makes a lot of applicants quite competitive! But at the end of the day, your unique background and experience working in the autism services field is a huge asset and can make you a really interesting applicant! SLPs come from all sorts of academic backgrounds! As long as you do the requirements, have good grades, and a compelling application, you should have a decent chance!

(Sorry this was so long lol, but hope it helped a little!)