curly_girl

@SLPinNeedofDegree If you haven't yet made a decision, I would suggest calling Appalachian State. I spoke to the director of the program, and she gave me good, candid advice.

Money is a bit of a problem, but luckily the dollar is very strong right now and I could get US federal aid. Basically, if I get in (up to 3 weeks ugh), I need to make a choice about where I see myself in 10 years. Luckily I am single with no kids, so I only have to consider myself. I do have a dog, but my mom is practically begging me to go to Australia so she can take care of her for two years. If I get in, I will probably converse with my adviser, have a couple sleepless nights, crunch some numbers and then make a decision. And then second guess the decisions until I start the grad program. I do think that if I went to Flinders I would be a better clinician than if I stayed in the US. I don't mean that as an insult to school in the US, but the way Flinders teaches is more suited to my learning style than the traditional US approach. Knowing this, I really hope I can figure out a way to make it work financially (IF I get in, of course). I know that my US options are still very good, so if I stay in the US it won't be the end of the world.

Thanks speechie 92! I think I may have some with the paperwork, but I know it would be much easier if I have already worked for a year before moving back to the US. I also wouldn't mind staying abroad after I graduate, but I have heard that SLP salaries in Australia are significantly lower than in the US. Although I also wouldn't mind working in any of the countries Australia has mutual agreements with. Feel free not to answer, but are you from Singapore or South Africa? During my interview they mentioned mutual agreements with those two countries (among others) and I know that ASHA does not have agreements with those countries. I am glad that Flinders has a good international reputation. Based on rankings, I thought it probably has a very good reputation, but it is nice to have that confirmed!

I just declined my offer to Appalachian state, hopefully someone else will hear good news soon. I spoke with the director, Dr. McCullough, and she was very helpful. She gave me very candid advice. She told me that no matter where I go, I will get the job I want, so she would advise me to go to the cheaper school, or cost being roughly the same go to the school in the location I would prefer to live. She also helped me compare Appalachian State and Central Missouri over the phone. She seems like she would be great to work with. I ended up declining because of the schedule (clinic all day, class at night, intense because it is a short program), the price, and the location (snow + mountain roads + night + CA girl + tiredness= unsafe driver). Hoping everyone gets good news from the schools they haven't heard from yet!

I just wanted to update people. I have just officially declined my offer at Appalachian State. I spoke with the director, Dr. McCullough, and she was very helpful. She gave me very candid advice. She told me that no matter where I go, I will get the job I want, so she would advise me to go to the cheaper school, or cost being roughly the same go to the school in the location I would prefer to live.

I just had my interview with Flinders! The interview really makes me like the program, and makes me want to attend. I think the interview went well, and I hope I get in. They told me that they are making decisions shortly, but because of the international office it could be up to three weeks until I hear back! I hope that I hear back tomorrow like you did. Did they give you any information on employment statistics. I asked in the interview, but they talked more generally about requirements in the US and transferring info, and how I could work in a slew of other countries. The way they described the program and problem based learning seems so much better suited to how I learn than US programs, but I don't want to go if I can't get a job. I wouldn't mind working in Australia or another country either for a couple years, but I want to make sure it is a viable option for me.

I don't know, sorry. I have been admitted but have not yet started grad school. You can ask them, but they might not be able or willing to disclose that information.

For me it depends a lot on how I am commuting. Public Transport: 1 hour, maybe up to 1.5 hours Driving: Preferably no more than 15 minutes, up to 30 in unusual traffic. I should also note that I am single with no kids and have no reason not to move closer to school. I don't like driving, so spending more than an hour a day doing so would severely impact my happiness with my choice in grad schools/ not moving. I really don't mind public transport, or sitting in a car if someone else is driving. When I studied abroad, my commute was minimum 45 minutes on public transport plus 15 minutes of walking. I regularly did this leaving at 6:30 in the morning and standing the majority of the trip. I would still rather do that than drive 45 minutes every day. Also, you can look up directions at the time you think you would leave for school for a couple days to give you an estimate of how long it will take.

I can't say if you will get into the schools you are interested in, but I can tell you some stats. I got into Appalachian State for Spring admission with a GA position. My GRE verbal was a 160, quant was 151, and writing was a 5.0. My first BA I got a 3.1 (3.3ish in my anthro major), and so far I have a 3.6 in my second BA from USU. I did have a kick-ass resume. According to the school, these are their admissions stats: Admission Statistics (Fall 2015) Students Admitted: 18 in-field, 9 out-of-field Average GPA of those admitted: 3.71 Average GRE of those admitted: V: 153 Q: 149 Admission Statistics (Spring 2015) Students Admitted: 15 in-field Average GPA of those admitted: 3.68 Average GRE of those admitted: V: 152 Q: 150 Admission Statistics (Fall 2014) Students Admitted: 27 in-field, 13 out-of-field Average GPA of those admitted: 3.69 Average GRE of those admitted: V: 153 Q: 148 Admission Statistics (Spring 2014) Students Admitted: 19 in-field Average GPA of those admitted: 3.59 Average GRE of those admitted: V: 148 Q: 145 You should also call or email each school you are interested in and ask if they would consider an applicant like you. To be safe, I suggest you look into ways to do your prereqs before you start grad school, doing well on them would really help your application.

I am trying to decide between these two schools. Does anyone have any insight on either of these two programs? Thanks in advance!

@SLPinNeedofDegree I also heard back from Appalachian State yesterday. I need to respond by Friday at noon (EST) or they will give my place to someone else. If you haven't heard back yet, you might hear after that. Good luck!

You are welcome! And thank you! I only applied to three schools in the US (and a couple abroad): Appalachian State, University of Central Missouri, and Valdosta State. I was going to apply to more schools in the US, but I was accepted to Central Missouri really early and realized that I would rather go to Central Missouri than the other schools I was going to apply to. FYI, I forgot to mention it before, but you should probably call (or at least email) the schools you are interested in. The stats don't tell the the whole story, and calling the schools can give you insight on how they select applicants. You can also ask if in the past they have accepted applicants with similar stats to you. Good luck!

It is good information that I am sure people appreciate it. That rant was a long time coming, and not directed at you in particular. Lately there have been a lot of threads about stats, and I get annoyed by two things: 1. When people ask questions about grad schools that a quick google search can answer. Not necessarily what this tread is doing, but I is seems like people sometimes post without looking at edfind or searching through old posts. Also, calling or emailing a school is always an option, in old threads people have even posted what they emailed (I know because I asked). This forum is a wonderful and useful resource, but I wish people did a little homework before starting new threads. 2. When people overstate how competitive this field is, it doesn't help anything and makes anxious people more anxious than they need to be. I think of it this way: If I had decided to continue working instead of going back to school, every job I would have applied for would be more competitive than any of the grad schools I applied to. Even had I applied to more competitive schools, that might have been true. Some of my former classmates got jobs (and didn't) where over 100 people applied. Back to the OPs original question: It is really hard to tell how competitive a school is, because you don't know the stories behind the stats, even if they are accurate. Some schools put a greater focus on numbers, others more on the resume. If you are looking for some "safety" schools to put on your list, I would start calling/emailing schools. Ask them about the admissions, but also ask them questions about the program. I was set to apply to one school, until I called them and asked specific questions. Also, when you write your SOP, make it specific to each school. Name a professor or a program unique to the school that makes you want to go there. Sounds simple, but a lot of people don't.

Like I said, these schools sometimes have self-selecting applicant pools. If they tell people they have to have at least a 3.5 to be even considered, people with GPAs below a 3.5 just won't apply. I know I wouldn't waste the money. I also have no idea how accurate EdFind is, or even how the stats are calculated, which is why I suggested calling or emailing schools to ask. It is also part of the reason that I did not originally list the schools. That and the fact that the data I have is over a year old, and some of the schools have gone through two (or more) admissions cycles since then. I don't think that edfind is perfect, but I do think it is a useful tool. At the very least it is a good starting place. I admit, I do find it annoying when people come on here asking how competitive programs are without even looking at edfind or going through the trouble of asking the school. I also stand by my statement that getting into grad school is not as crazy competitive as people make it out to be. Yes, some schools accept less than 10% of their applicants. Many of those schools are on the east coast. That does not mean that every school accepts less than 10%, or that everyone who gets into grad school has perfect grades. In the application cycle for the 2010-2011 school year, applicants had almost a 26% chance of being accepted into grad school (https://slpecho.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/grad_slp_chances/). I don't know what the number was last year, but I would not consider that as ridiculously competitive as I feel these boards make it out to be. Before I started looking at edfind, I thought the average admissions rates would be under 10% based on what I was hearing from people and when I started looking at grad school websites. Do I think that just anyone can get into grad school? No, I don't. Do I think that people are overly nervous about it? Yes, yes I do. If you look at the people who are on these board and compare them to the general population of people who apply to grad school for SLP, they are unlikely to be similar. I was literally just learning about this today in my stats class. I think we have to remember that fact. We also have to remember to be careful how to ask schools questions. If you ask a question that contains the word "competitive" schools are going to say that they are. As a culture, we tend to judge the quality of an education by how hard it is to get into the school. I suggest you follow twinguy7's approach and ask how likely they are to consider an applicant like you. We also need to remember that you only need to get into one program. If you apply to 20 programs and get into all of them, you get to go to grad school. If you apply to 20 programs and only get into one, you still get to go to grad school. Perhaps we disagree on what is "very competitive" or how competitive people make the field out to be. As I have suggested in other threads, I think that everyone with less than perfect stats check out this thread: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/49929-fall-2014-less-competitive-grad-programs-applicants-thread/. Lastly, applicant who only want to go to schools in one region need to ask themselves the question: Is it more important to me to live in this certain area, or is it more important for me to be accepted this applicant cycle? Sorry for the poorly organized rant.

Yay! Once you start applying, you will be happy you didn't needlessly spend $200. This process is so expensive