Gingiestrong

Hey all, So I have a question for current grad students (especially those in programs with a Med SLP focus), or anyone really that has had experience in medical settings. I'm currently in the process of applying for my 2nd year externships, and looking to apply to several hospitals, outpatient clinics, etc. for the adult population. I'm primarily interested in working with individuals with aphasia and TBI. That being said, what has been your general experience with acute care settings vs. inpatient and outpatient rehab? What did you enjoy the most? Also, how many clock hours did you gain from these experiences? I'm mostly interested to see what a typical day was like for you working in these settings (especially acute care). Was the focus mostly on swallowing eval/treatment, or did you have the chance to administer a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment approaches? I'm also concerned about gaining enough clock hours through these placements. I've been told by many people that medical settings tend to be unpredictable in the amount of hours you'll receive, whereas this is not much of a concern with school placements. Sorry for the novel ya'll, this has just been a stressful process lol. I look forward to hearing any input!

I'd have to disagree with this. My GPA and GRE were in the low-average range (compared to the scores I see on this site), and I was still accepted to 2/5 programs. I'm almost positive that my acceptances were based on a combination of my experiences, letters of rec, and SOP, because my scores were not competitive at all. Most people on this site would see my stats and immediately think "damn, that's a weak candidate", but from experience, I think that if you spend enough time tailoring each application and doing your research on programs, you have a good shot at getting in. Like @MangoSmoothie said, quality is better than quantity!

1. I chose PSU mostly because of their awesome clinical placement opportunities, as well as location. I'm from Arizona, so Oregon is a lot closer to home for me than Florida (my other choice)! Also I was very impressed with the program when I attended their open house, and the faculty and current students were super personable. 2. I applied to 5 programs! I honestly feel extremely lucky to have been accepted anywhere, let alone 2/5 programs, considering I didn't apply to a lot of schools and my stats weren't stellar haha. 3. Already decided! But just to summarize, the deciding factor was placement opportunities and location. It also helped that Portland seems like a really fun place to live, especially for young people!

For anyone who's thinking about accepting, here's the FB group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/550489598462023/

Portland State University: https://www.facebook.com/groups/550489598462023/ Currently the only group member lol. Let's gooooo

They did their first round of acceptances on March 18th, and I believe a second round will be sent out by the end of this week!

I went to the Tuesday open house! Honestly, I was very impressed with the program and I literally just accepted my admissions offer this morning. In regards to the workload, I felt that they were being pretty honest about how stressful grad school is, and keep in mind that most (if not all) programs will be insanely time-consuming during the first year. I think a lot of programs try to avoid discussing the time commitment during visit days because there's a chance they may scare away admitted students, and the point of these events is to basically convince students to attend lol. This may sound super weird, but I would be kind of suspicious if I saw first year students that WEREN'T somewhat exhausted; I feel that being challenged to that extent is the best way to become prepared for this field! It would be terrifying to land my first job and realize that I couldn't keep up with my caseload, paperwork, etc. because I wasn't pushed enough during grad school. I guess the selling point for me was the fact that PSU has the largest number of clinical affiliations in the community that I've seen thus far. To me this means that we may be more likely to get placements that match our preferences, whereas a lot of programs are limited in this aspect and you kind of end up being placed in a setting that's the complete opposite of what you wanted haha. I feel that off-campus placements/externships are super important when it comes to gaining real-world experience as future SLPs, and PSU's program has so many options! Just my opinion though. If you end up deciding on PSU, let me know! I'm considering making a FB group soon if one hasn't been made already.

Has anyone made one for PSU yet? I'll probably make a group in the next week or so if it doesn't exist already!

Has anyone else still not heard from Arizona State University? My portal still says "in review" and I believe they sent out some acceptances last week. I've been accepted to one of my top choices already and would like to accept my offer, but am waiting on ASU before I make a final decision. It's just making me anxious because decision deadlines are coming up so soon!

This may be a dumb question, but how late can you file your FAFSA and still be able to get aid? I started filing mine, but am waiting to finish it until I complete my taxes. The school I will most likely be attending doesn't begin classes until September 26th, so I thought I had some time, but I'm not so sure anymore haha.

Yeah I'm currently living in Tucson and one of the things I'll miss is how cheap the cost of living is! I assume your top choice is UA then? I know it's probably terrifying to think about pulling out loans, but UA's program is so awesome that I can almost guarantee that you won't regret it in the long run haha. And yeah, I'll most likely accept Portland's offer! Although rent may be totally heinous, I feel it'd be worth it in the end, and I'm ready for a drastic change in scenery.

Wow, that post about the $20,500/year was from this thread. Sorry ya'll, ignore me.

I feel like if you're not offered funding from the program, the best option is to stick to federal loans? On another thread about this, someone mentioned that you can take out a maximum of $20,500 per year, which depending on the program and if you're in-state or not, should cover tuition at least. I'm super hesitant to consider private loans, considering how heinous interest rates can be. I guess it also depends on where you'll be living. I'm highly considering Portland State, but after browsing apartments and realizing most decent places in Portland are $1000+ a month for a 1 bedroom, I can't imagine surviving without like selling my soul to the devil lol. I think as far as working PT goes, it may be best to start your program first and get a sense of the work load and such before taking on a job. Being able to cover expenses is super important obviously, but I'd be afraid that I'd start failing miserably in school if I added on the stress of working too. At best, I think most of us could only afford to work on weekends, since it seems like the majority of programs require you to be on campus or in clinic from 8-5 (maybe even later than that) Monday through Friday. So basically it seems like loans are unavoidable lol. Another option would be to just work your ass off during the summer and hope that you can save up enough to at least make it through the first few months of school.

Idk why but I laughed at this comment for like 10 minutes, but also cried a bit as the reality started to sink in haha. I always thought the stress would be over once you get that first acceptance letter, but I was horribly mistaken! Every time I think about tuition and living expenses I die a little bit inside.

I mainly applied to the program because they have so many specialty tracks, and my friend told me they have one in medical speech-language pathology, which is something I'm very interested in. Not sure if this is true or not, but I guess I'll find out at the information session! I'm definitely eager to learn more about their clinical placements, since it sounds like they have quite a few affiliations throughout the city. I've only visited Portland once, but it seems like a great place to live, especially for young people! Although it'd be convenient to stay in-state, I'm honestly ready for a big change. I was raised in Arizona and I'm kind of over the constant heat/blistering sun and the close-minded, bitter humans that seem to inhabit most of the state lol. Do you have any suggestions for housing? I've been browsing apartments in the downtown area and needless to say, I can't afford it! I have no idea where to even start looking. I'm for sure attending the information session on the 29th, so maybe I'll see you there!