So you want to attend the University of Toronto for Physiotherapy eh? Great choice! Just like the other Physiotherapy programs across Canada, the University of Toronto has an excellent program and reputation. That is a large reason why they have among the highest number of applicants each year. With this in mind it will be important to do everything in your power to stand out from the rest of the applicant pool. This includes having a positive showing on their interview. This blog will focus on how to prepare for the CAP interview.
Before we start discussing how to prepare for the CAP, let’s learn more about it. The CAP (Computer Administered Profile) is the admissions interview utilized by the University of Toronto. It is a written exam performed virtually that will assess your personal characteristics, experiences, knowledge of the physiotherapy profession and critical thinking/problem solving skills. The CAP is only required for application to the University of Toronto. It consists of both short and long answer questions. It is weighted heavily in the admissions decisions as it makes up 40% of your applicant score (the other 60% being your sub-GPA).
Only the top 300-350 applicants to the University of Toronto Physiotherapy program will write the CAP. These individuals will be selected based on their CASPer score and sub-GPA. Typically the CAP will consist of around 10 questions in which you are allotted two hours to complete.
Alright, now that we have an understanding what the interview consists of, let’s talk about how to prepare for it.
Tip #1 Reflect on your Physiotherapy Experiences
As mentioned above, the CAP will assess your knowledge of the Physiotherapy profession. Therefore, it is essential to be introspective and reflect on what you currently know about the profession. When I was preparing for the CAP interview I found it helpful to organize a flow chart of my volunteer experiences in various settings and then sorted what I learned from each one. This allowed me to reflect on not only my involvement in Physiotherapy but on the profession itself.
I would suggest this to be your first step in preparing for the CAP as it should identify a strength or weakness in yourself as a candidate. By starting with this step you can then map out the rest of your preparation. Maybe you will need to spend more time learning about the profession. On the contrary, you may feel that you have a strong grasp of what a Physiotherapist does and can focus your efforts on practicing the delivery of your answers. Regardless, introspection is key when it comes to interview preparation.
If you are looking to learn more about the Physiotherapy profession and improve your CAP score then consider Physioschool.ca’s PT Interview Booster course. This course has a module dedicated to CAP interview preparation and thoroughly discusses the profession and how you can communicate your knowledge throughout the CAP interview.
Tip #2 Practice your Writing Style
The style in which you write can be a powerful tool for readers to stay engaged and understand your answers. The last thing you need is the evaluator of your CAP to be confused with your answers. This happens more than you may think and can be the downfall of applicants to the University of Toronto Physiotherapy program. Therefore, practicing your writing is an important component of CAP interview preparation.
It is important that you are critical of yourself when evaluating your writing. It may also be helpful to ask a friend to read practice answers and provide you feedback on how well you got your point across. While writing the CAP you will want to be specific and to the point with your answers. You can prevent yourself from using run-on sentences and incomplete thoughts by practicing your writing and then reading your answers back to yourself out loud. This will help to put you in the shoes of the evaluator and understand how your answers are being read. This is a relatively simple way to prepare but can drastically improve your overall score.
Tip #3 Answer the Question being asked
This tip is not rocket science but is a common mistake made by applicants writing the CAP. Too many applicants get caught up in writing lengthy responses that talks around the question being asked. Meanwhile, those that answer the question directly will typically have a higher score. This is important to remember on interview day as nerves and stress may be clouding your thought processes. Therefore, make tip #3 your mantra heading into the interview.
You should also consider this tip when practicing for your interview. Expose yourself to various difficulties and styles of questions and focus on answering them directly. When reading your answer back to yourself it should be abundantly clear within the first few sentences that you are answering the question directly and not talking around it.
If you are in need of practice tests and questions that cover a wide variety of question styles then reach out to us! We have a multitude of CAP interview practice tests within the PT Interview Booster course that can be helpful in your preparation.
Conclusion
Best of luck to all of you challenging the CAP for the upcoming admissions cycle! I hope you found these tips helpful. If you are curious about the Interview Booster course offered by Physioschool.ca please reach out to us! This course was designed to help reduce the uncertainty of physiotherapy admissions interviews while helping you improve your interview skills. Thanks for reading!
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