JcSLP

Yes I went there for undergrad and I currently am there for grad school Likes: The program is very tight-knit. Professors care about you, the clinic director is great and very accommodating. My favorite thing is that you can go off-campus or be in the on-campus clinic any given semester (you don't choose, though.) Right know I'm at an off-campus placement, and over the summer I'll be on campus. Also they have an extensive list of affiliations for externships, so if you want to back to where you're from for an externship you likely can. Another thing (this could be seen as a pro or con depending on your personal preference,) is that classes are at night, usually around 5-7:30. If you want to work during the day when you don't have clinic you could, you just have to make sure you have a flexible job. Dislikes: The town itself is a little bland. In undergrad it was really fun (lots of parties, bars, etc.) But now, not so much. About 1/3 of the people in my program commute from Buffalo. Hope this helps! Message me if you have more questions

Hi! I'm in grad school right now, and In my program there's probably 5-6 people that commute an hour. I myself am moving at the end of the semester and will be doing a 40-ish minute commute. I think it's definitely doable, although in our program we go off-campus for placements and at-least one semester on campus, so a lot of people get placements closer to where they are living when they go off campus (still commuting back for class, though.) Most of the people that commute will still come to campus for a lot of the day to do work too.

@SpeechLaedy That is an insane amount of debt! Which gives you a really hard decision to make Do you actually need the full amount of the loans they're offering to you or will you get a refund? For example I take the full amount to get a refund to pay my rent/cost of living. If your bill is less than the amount of loans they awarded you you can elect to only accept part of it. I know that the CUNYs can be super competitive, but I'm going to a SUNY and my tuition for fall semester is like $6,500. Is moving out of the city an option? I hope everything works out for you!

There are a lot of really inspiring articles on ways to pay your debt on pinterest which I read frequently to keep me sane!! Haha. I'll owe about the same as you when it's all said and done. I agree with what Poor_salieri said, try to live below your means and devote as much of your income as you feel comfortable with to your loans instead of just paying the minimum payments. Just remember that generally we want a lot of things we don't need! Like, I really want an apple watch, but I just had to make a payment on my student loan... so yeah, no apple watch for me. Another method in contrast to the snowball method is the "avalanche" method, which is paying off your loan with the highest interest rate first. I personally want to try this because some of my interest rates are crazy! Also refinancing to get a lower interest rate can help in the long run. Make an account with StudentLoanHero. I did, and it's very helpful! Lastly, check out Public Service Loan Forgiveness if you have federal direct loans!

I'd suggest outlet/factory stores if there are any near you (a lot of them have websites as well though!) This summer I've been accumulating clothes little by little from places like Loft outlet, Banana Republic Factory, Old Navy, etc. For example, I've found pairs of nice dress pants on clearance for $10-$15! That way I don't have to drop a ton of money in one lump sum. You don't need to break the bank! TJ Maxx & Marshalls are also really good. I think for women, the universal dress code would be tops with high necklines and long enough to cover your back fully even when bending down, full or ankle length dress pants, a few cardigans to throw over sleeveless tops. I think some schools allow you to wear knee-length dress shorts in the summer. For men, button ups or polos and dress pants.

I plan on getting my TSSLD certification. I'm not 100% sure where I want to work/with what population, so for me I want to keep my options open. It also depends on what grad program you go to, like the poster above said. The program I'll be attending doesn't make you apply for a seperate track, however when I applied to Ithaca I had to apply to the specific "with teacher certification" program. I think as far as other requirements, I believe you have to take parts of the NYS teacher certification exams.

yeah!

I'll be attending Fredonia in the fall! But I haven't found a facebook group yet either

I finally have accepted an offer; at the cheapest school I applied to! I think as long as the program is accredited, organized and the professors/supervisors care about their students, you're going to be learning the same basic things as someone in any other program, and get the same amount of clinical hours, because of the ASHA requirements. Placements/specialties/opportunities for research may vary, but in the end I think if you want to succeed as an SLP you're gonna do that no matter what program you go to!

Just chiming in, but I didn't hear back about an assistantship- on the results page someone said they had sent out 11 offers and those people had 2 weeks to decide. When I was emailing the department, they said I was still being considered for one, but I decided I didn't want to keep waiting and holding my seat. So I declined my offer. I really love the location and I think the program is a good one, but like you I just couldn't afford it without a GA position.

If I chose in-state tuition, which I most likely will unless I get a GA offer (at Ithaca, but I'm not banking on it), SUNY Fredonia is 11k (with a grant) per academic year, UB is 14k, not including summer tuition. At Fredonia you can pay anywhere from 2,000-3,100 per semester for rent. UBuffalo is a bit different since it's in a city, so I haven't found any student rentals that let you pay per semester. It looks like I'd pay anywhere from 600-900/month for a one bedroom, but it can be like 300 a month if you live in a 3-4 bdrm house with roomates.

Thank you for the advice! I agree that attending a different school could broaden my connections and perspective and possibly lead to better opportunities later down the road. I'm leaning towards the new school, even though it is a little more expensive. I'm not sure if 2-3k a year makes much of a difference in the end.

Does anyone have advice for someone that is choosing between two schools that are very similar in cost? My top 2 choices are only around a 2-3k difference per year... I have no idea how to decide which one to go to, and I keep going back and forth. One is my undergrad institution, so I know most of the professors and know the school like the back of my hand. The other is in a new city that's a bit closer to home which I like, and the school itself is much bigger. Any opinions/experiences going to a new university or staying where you got your undergrad degree? Thanks guys!

Congrats! I was accepted to Ithaca too, although I don't think I will be accepting my offer. I haven't visited the school but from what I've seen online it looks like a good program! I attended a lecture on their program "ICreate" (for young adults with Autism) at the NYS Speech-Language Hearing Association's convention, and it was very interesting.

From everything I've heard/seen so far, yes you could accept. I'm not really sure of the exact way to do this but most departments say you need to notify them as soon as possible if you do not plan to attend, so they can open the spot up to someone else. I'd say just politely and professionally email or call the department and tell them that you will no longer be attending their program, and thank them. You'll likely lose your deposit as most are non-refundable.

I'm facing some similar decisions too! I think this part has made me more anxious than any other part of this whole process haha... I really like ALL the schools I applied to. @lily48slp, my initial thought would be to chose the program that's 23k cheaper, but like someone else said, It would also depend on how much undergrad debt you have if any. I would look at the location of the programs as well. If option A is in a city or an area that might have a diverse population, even if there is no specific multicultural emphasis outlined in the program, there could still be good externship and CF opportunities in that area. But, if you really love the option B school, it's in an area you love, AND has the speciality you want, it might be the perfect fit for you. I wouldn't worry about rankings at all.

It is- but that academic year includes summer. So $20,500 for fall, spring and summer semester. I didn't realize this until I got a letter from a school I was accepted to regarding the fafsa!

I'll PM you!

Hi! Congrats on your acceptance! I'm kinda in the same boat as you, I need to go to the cheapest school. What I've done is calculated my expenses (including cost of living/rent! I forgot to do this at first, but for me at least, it's a huge factor) for each school, and determined the total cost of the program for each. I would say after doing this, just plan to go to the cheapest school if that's what you need to do. Don't include "possible" funding, because nothing is guaranteed! I don't think you can base your decision off of something that may/may not happen. If a funding offer from another school comes before your deadline, you might decide to change your choice at the last second (this is my plan! I'm probably not going to accept an offer until close to the deadline.) Regarding your FAFSA: Yes, do it today! I did mine in October, since it opened way early this year. This is how the school makes your financial aid package, and determines your eligibility for other grants/scholarships/tuition waivers/etc.

I might be commuting that far as well (45mins-1hr depending on traffic.) I know a lot of people that drive an hour for school, I think you'll just have to make sure you plan ahead and stay organized.

When you say Buffalo, are you talking about University at Buffalo or Buffalo State?

It depends, do you have loans from undergrad? I also am deciding between programs, 2 are private and would cost around 45-50k without funding, and my in-state options are more like 29-34k without funding. Since I have loans from undergrad, my private options most likely won't be feasible unless I get a good funding offer. If you don't have any other loans or a very small amount, it could be worth it, but if you can see yourself happy at the state school too it's always better to have less debt than more haha

Congratulations on all your acceptances! I'm so glad at this point that I only applied to 4 schools when I originally was going to apply to 8. I decided to just have confidence in my chances and focus all my time and energy into the few applications I had. The hard part now is, they are all schools I can see myself going to haha.

Definitely go before committing I'd say! I'm attending one at the end of March, before I make a decision, since I haven't visited the school yet. On the topic of open houses, does anyone have suggestions on what to wear to them (casual/professional/in-between)?

As of today I've heard back from all my schools! Now I have some tough yet exciting decisions to make!