I'm a 5th year undergrad student, just took my GRE today, and I'm going to begin applying for CSD masters programs for Fall 2016. My top five are Vermont, Appalachian State, Louisiana at Lafayette, Pittsburgh, and Austin. I personally am a stutterer and am interested primarily in studying stuttering.
My first love is sociology. I love reading those long, dry research papers and conducting my own research in the way that I have in various courses. I know that if I do choose speech pathology over sociology for my masters (sociology being the fallback), I will most likely try to pursue a doctorate and get into the research of stuttering from a sociological lens. I know this does exist in the world of speech pathology. Dr. John Tetnowski, who I have been in contact with for almost a year after I read one of his articles, is doing exactly what I'd like to do. I get the sense that (while he seems a little frustrated because he's been asking me to come and visit the school but I can't because of finances/scheduling) he does want me there. That's a good feeling, and I think it counts for a lot.
Like I said before, I'm a stutterer, and I actually founded the National Stuttering Association chapter here in Miami. I'm a good writer, and I think that my letter of intent will show that I'm passionate about pursuing this subject. I'm not going to have a fantastic GPA (departmental 4.0 but an overall 3.2 or around). My GRE verbal score was 152 and my quantitative was a 144. I'm planning on retaking it to see if I can do better on both. Also, I'm a male. Only bringing that up because I know that the ratio of men to women in CSD grad programs tends to increase the odds of men getting into programs. I'll need to do my pre-requisites wherever I go, as my school does not offer speech pathology courses to undergraduates.
I know this is by no means comprehensive, but do you think I have somewhat of a chance to get into the schools I want to apply for?