Tig

HannaN really nailed it- all what was written is good advice- My 2 pennies is this: have your friend work backwards. Look at the universities she really wants, then take a good, hard look at what she has. Write it down in columns, one right next to the other, so it's down in stark black & white. Come back here and ask around about that school; look on the results page to see what people had. That's the road map- everything she has to do is right there. All the goals are on paper. And then she would have costs, too, from which to work with including admission costs, moving costs, materials, etc. From there start ticking the things off, one by one. Get in good with professors / professionals in the area for letters of rec, make a schedule for studying, etc.

mcamp: Aw - you gonna make me blush! Thanks! SopranoSLP: When I attended some "Getting ready for grad school" events that my department put on, they were adament to apply to quite a few, like six or so if I remember correctly. The general criteria was to have 1-2 Mega Awesome Pie-in-the-Sky schools, 1-2 Super Fallback schools where you're almost assured to get in, and the rest in the middle somewhere. I made a list of all those schools, but quickly came back down to earth. Due to my circumstances- really just scraping by day by day, daughter / day care, social supports, etc. - I couldn't afford anything but to take one, good shot at the school I was currently at. Having more schools would probably decrease the amount of pressure I was putting on myself- but then again if I got in to any of those other schools then I would stress on how I would get over there and how to manage my life & families time. It sucked when everyone was finding out about their schools and I felt a total wallflower. Around selection time everyone is stressing out and on high alert; I think my jealousy came in when people find out, good or bad, and then can continue on with life and not have it in limbo. Not to say I didn't have a "B Plan" and a "C Plan" should I not have gotten accepted, but... During another one of my classes we went over post BS life and what it means. Of course, everyone had questions about grad school- and the professor is one of the coolest and realest people I have ever met. She said that, really, once you have your C's then you're the same as everyone else with their C's. I got the feeling it's like if you went to a really prestigious high school, how much would that factor into getting into grad school? Eh- not much, they're looking to see if you finished XYZ with these grades and all this. Similarly, if you have your C's, you're qualified to work: you did X hours at Z place and ASHA told the world that you were gold. However, if you plan on continuing to get your PhD or your education, then where you go for grad school may impact the selection panel. What you did and where would jump out on the application. After all, they're looking to add prestige and profile to their department. But again, that's just what I was told. Who knows what they look for out in the world, let alone with specific panels in specific schools. Hope this helps!

I'm a terrible test taker too, so I hear you. I got myself a couple of workbooks in the winter, studied them when I had the time, then carved out time during the week to be at the library for a few hours over the summer with the test date in the middle of July. It ended up being some of my favorite times being on campus- I'd get my coffee and a cookie, then hit the books, time myself and see how I did. I think I got the Kaplan books. I had one shot to take the test, I didn't have an extra $200 bucks floating around to take the thing again, and I got scores I was happy with. But the time by myself, at the library, in the sweet spots overlooking the quad or the mountains or whatever calmed me down quite a bit. It was a lot of fun.

Applying for grad school is like a job unto itself and takes a lot of drive. It can be daunting, many will decide to sit it out and let the senioritis consume them. But if you want this, you have to go get it. Organize your stuff, get started early, think critically of every step. You gotta play the game: get your professors to know your name, after all, they will likely be the ones you're asking for letters of rec. Research assist, ask questions, be present in class- awake, off your phone, listening- they can tell, and be you. Applying to grad school is an exercise in marketing yourself as a professional. It's tough and exhausting, but you can do it. Everyday, keep your eyes on the prize.