Frequently Asked Questions

SubGPA is calculated based on the final 10 full courses (equivalent 20 half courses on a transcript as of the end of the fall term preceding the application deadline.

Example if you are applying for the 2026 cycle:

At this point there are 15 half courses with another 5 half courses required from 2nd year to make up the equivalent 20 half courses. ORPAS does not take these additional courses from 2nd year as they appear on your transcript. The year is averaged and the average (eg 87) taken 5 times to make up the required course complement.

NOTE Summer courses stand alone and are not calculated as part of the academic year. Example if you had taken the equivalent of 5 half courses in the summer following your 2nd and 3rd years then the additional grades from your entire 2nd year would not be used in the GPA calculation.

No. Grades from practicums or activity-based courses are not included in the subGPA calculation.

From all of the applications received, only the applicants with the highest sub-GPA are given further consideration. The cut off GPA is dependent on that year’s strength of the applicant pool and therefore varies from year-to-year.

• The top applicants’ files are screened for completeness including all necessary documentation, Casper score, and appropriate prerequisites
• Students who are ranked significantly below average on the Casper test may not be given further consideration. Students ranked more than two standard deviations above average, may be added to the files sent for external review even if they were not within the top applicants ranked by sub-GPA
• The Applicant’s Statement, Letters of Reference, volunteer/paid physical therapy experience, volunteer/paid non-physical therapy activities/community service, and accomplishments are then assessed by three independent reviewers and a score is assigned using standardized rubrics for each of these areas. The rubric is not available for applicants to review
• Final ranking for offers of admission is determined by the average of the scores from all three reviewers. Offers are made beginning from the top candidate until the class is filled
• Applicants not receiving a first-round offer of admission are placed in order of rank on the waiting list. Students are notified of their position on the waitlist (upper, middle, or lower third).

Files that were not within the external reviewer process receive a notification that they were unsuccessful (no placement on the wait list).

Casper is one of several components considered in the admissions process. We do not provide applicants with a numerical interpretation of their score or a general ‘cutoff’ threshold. In certain years, the ‘cutoff’ or what would be considered ‘significantly below average’ for Casper has been adjusted to reflect the applicant pool. Currently, a combination of your Casper score and GPA is used to determine whether your application is in the top applicant pool that proceeds to external review. Please note: no additional details about scoring or weighting are available by emailing ptadmit@uwo.ca.

Taking a 1000 or 2000 level course in year 3 or 4 is acceptable. This is, of course, dependent on your undergraduate program requirements.

If a course is repeated and both attempts fall within the final 10 full courses (equivalent 20 half courses) both grades would be used in the subGPA calculation.

There are no course load requirements or level requirements when attempting to increase your GPA.

Students do not require WES for exchange grades that fall within subGPA. A reminder that the transcript from the university the exchange occurred at will need to be submitted as well.

To add the Indigenous Canada course to the Prerequisites page in your application, please add The University of Alberta to the Postsecondary Education page using the non-degree options from the drop-down menus.

• Degree Type – Less than One Year
• Field of Study – Non-Degree
• Degree – Not Applicable
• Diploma/Degree Status – Not Expected

You can then link the University of Alberta on the Prerequisites page. We advise applicants to enter “MOOC” as the course code and “Indigenous Canada” as the course title on the prerequisites page.

Please upload your certificate of completion from Coursera via the SAM page in your application, using the “Other” upload category.

For further questions regarding the Indigenous History prerequisite, please reference the ORPAS FAQ or reach out to ORPAS directly at professional@ouac.on.ca.

There is no set minimum or maximum numbers of hours required for experience. An applicant should have a variety of experience in a variety of settings if possible. This what we recommend.

Correct. Choose a professor who knows you well and yes, can compare you to other students. This does not have to be someone who has been teaching for 30 years as opposed to someone who has been teaching for 10 years.

Academic accommodations consist of arrangements that allow a student with a disability a fair opportunity to engage in academic activities and fulfill essential course and program requirements. Accessible Education (AE) at Western provides support and services to students with disabilities at Western, including academic and fieldwork accommodations.

Because of the individualized nature of academic accommodations, students and prospective students are encouraged to meet with an Accessible Education counselor early on to obtain information about specific accommodations and services that may be available to them.

Some academic accommodations, such as those for traditional lecture-based courses, may not be suitable or appropriate when students are completing clinical placements. In such instances, accommodations that are specific and can be operationalized to learning in clinical placement contexts will need to be considered.

Students are also responsible for ensuring academic accommodations are updated each term and are in place early for clinical placements.

Please see the Academic Accommodation page for more information.