angela4

@Jordyn_M463 Here is the dress code from my school’s handbook. People don’t always follow it. My black pants definitely have denim in them. We do have a polo shirt with the university name on it that we can wear too. I purchased mine at the beginning of the year for I think about $25. Hope this helps! Dress for all clinicians should be appropriate for a professional setting. Male clinicians are required to wear a dress shirt with a collar (t-shirts and tank tops are not acceptable) and a pair of slacks. Male clinicians may wear jackets or sweaters, if they choose. Female clinicians may wear dresses, suits, skirts, dress slacks, jumpsuits, blouses, and sweaters. Tops that reveal cleavage (e.g. halter tops, sheer blouses, tank tops, tube tops) and overly short skirts are not acceptable. Under no circumstances are clinicians permitted to wear jeans, leggings, gym or sport shorts, beach attire, flip flops, or warm up suits. Footwear should be appropriate for a professional setting. Optional dress: you may wear the Department Polo Shirt as a shirt/top.

That's great advice. Best of luck to you. I met with disability services and they seem like they really just want the students to have all the tools they need to succeed. Meeting with disability services really helped me feel like I wasn't "alone" in the educational process and that someone will be there for me along the way. I don't think it would be a bad idea to talk with them about what you've been dealing with and see if they have any advice.

For anyone looking for places to shop, I highly recommend Goodwill. I've gotten tons of new looking professional tops there for $3.99 each. I've never bought pants or shoes from there, but I love going for tops. You have to spend some time sifting through and maybe visit a few locations, but it's totally worth it.

I know there was a section of my school's website about accommodations for injuries. Maybe it would fall under that category. Worth looking into! @Arcanelady27 congrats on starting back up again! That must have been really tough to have to put things on pause but you have to do what you have to do for your health. I hope things go great for you in the Fall. @Louly that's awesome that you've had good experiences working with your professors. I'm not as good at communicating my needs the right away.

You should be able to go to your university's website to find out some of the accommodations they offer for people with mental health issues. I know my school's disability office has a list of different types of conditions and what accommodations might be helpful for those conditions. I also found that emailing the student disability office was really helpful in getting my initial questions answered about privacy and why/why not and how to register. I haven't done anything official yet but they've been very helpful. You might try emailing your schools disability services to find out more!

@Moongirl201 @jmk @Speechster @Kslptobe @Adelaide9216 @foreverschwifty I would love to have a small private group or forum for grad students with chronic illness who are starting this year. Would anyone be interested in being a part of one? Maybe a Facebook group with a discreet name, or a group on another platform? Or even just a facebook group chat on messenger?

To add to my previous post, I think there are always people who talk about how hard grad school is- when it might just be their way of coping with extra stress. Especially because it is socially expected and acceptable to talk about how busy you are while in grad school. There are tons of challenging times in life, whether it's stressful times at work, with family, etc. Some things are more acceptable to "complain" about, and grad school is one of them. It's sort of like a badge of honor for some people. But that's just what I think.

I haven't started SLP grad school yet, but I have been in grad school for a different field. For what it's worth, I found that the coursework itself was not harder, just more time consuming.The assignments were different because I had to think in a more analytical way - not just memorizing information, but thinking for myself, and analyzing the type of work I did in internships and relating it to what we were learning. I did not think the actual material (the readings, etc). was any harder than in undergrad! I'm not sure if it will be like this for SLP, but I hope so :).

Thank you. Unfortunately sometimes even the most opened-minded, well educated people (like professors) have prejudices and preconceived notions about people with certain disabilities/medical problems. I was shocked that things happened the way they did, but at the very least it's helped me learn how and when to share (still working on it though...:) ) I have a doctors appointment in a few weeks and will ask them to fill out the documentation for academic accommodations. I'm a little self-conscious about asking for it, but I think it will be for the best in the end. I hope everything goes well for you!

Ugh that must have been so frustrating!

I think you're right. I don't see anything on the ASHA site about grade minimums. So now I just need to figure out where I heard that. I am going to look into it a little more...it would be great if I could withdraw from my current Bio class. If the school required a B-, would they say so on any paperwork/the website?

Oh man. For some reason I thought ASHA required a B-, not just certain schools. I'm in the middle of retaking Bio now because I got a C in undergrad. Was I wrong about ASHA requiring a B-?

@Moongirl201 Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more.

This is my second time going to grad school (first time was in a different field). The first time around I chose to self-disclose my chronic illness to my advisor/professor because I thought it would be good for them to know "just in case." I thought it was smart to be as open as possible. Unfortunately there is a stigma associated with my condition and telling my advisor about my illness was the worst decision I made in grad school. They told me I may not be able to continue because my condition was a liability. I had to get documentation from my doctor, and I finished the program successfully but it was harder because I self-disclosed and the professors made me jump through extra hoops. This time around, I am going to go through the disability office and make sure I have protections in place before I share my disability with a professor again. If you go through the disability services office, they will give you a letter stating your accommodations, but the letter does not share your diagnoses. It is up to you how much information you want to give the professors in addition to the letters. Maybe I just had bad luck, but I thought I should share my experience. I'm not saying it's smart to "hide" your disability, but I think it's good to make sure you are registered with disability services (or whatever it may be called) BEFORE sharing anything. I know I will need accommodations during grad school this time because my medical problems are a little worse now than they were a few years ago. But I'm going to go the official route this time. I encourage you to do the same to have the protections in place before you share with your professors.

@Billy_Pilgrim They totally do! I think you did the right thing going the more affordable route, and the fact that I keep saying that to others makes me realize that maybe I did the right thing too! I hope/believe you will have a good experience at your chosen school.

@tvl @Chai Tea Latte I discovered that you only need 2 members to start a group, so one of you can set it up and add any friend/significant other and then just kick them out as soon as you have created the group. One of you can be in the group alone until you can direct the other where to go. I'm sure you've already figured this out, but maybe it will help someone in the future!

@slp1234 Thank you so much! Your response helped me feel better and know that mine isn't the only school with these problems. @Jolie717 Thank you. I agree about losing a year of salary...I like to think I made the "practical" decision here, and I am just used to making decisions based on feelings. @chaitealatte Congrats on making the right decision for you! Like I said above, I totally agree that gut instinct is important! I guess I'm going about it a different way this time, and hoping for the best @Alicia124 Yes, we are definitely fortunate to have a choice! Thank you. @jmk I love adventures too :). But I guess going to grad school and switching careers is its own adventure. @plume Thanks for the affirmation that cost can be a good reason. And congrats to you on choosing a program! @AlwaysaFalcon I'm glad to know you chose the cheaper school too. Good luck and congrats :)! Thank you so much everyone. I never expected so much helpful advice and input. I'm trying to look at it with a positive attitude and just think about how lucky I am to be able to take this next step in life.

@SpeechLaedy Oops, I didn't see this reply earlier. I won't say the name of the school since I made a negative comment about it, and I feel like that could end up being a mistake down the line! I think you are right that I am worrying too much about it. Best of luck to you with everything!

Thank you both so much. @twinguy7 That's a great way to think of it. Thank you! @CCCaffeinated-SLP Congratulations on your acceptances and the funding offer! I'm sure you will have a great experience. Just what I needed

I accepted an offer to the least expensive/most local program I could. The school seems very disorganized and doesn't feel quite right to me, but I chose it because it will fit in the best with the rest of my life right now, and it is the best financial decision. Maybe when it starts I will feel better about my choice. I think I'm just looking for someone to give me a virtual pat on the back and tell me I made a good choice :).

Hi George - This is a great question! I had some health issues growing up and also helped my special needs cousin. I'm not sure how these influenced my career choices, but I would imagine they had some impact! I've answered 'no' in the poll. Thanks for the question

I was able to get an email address of one of the financial aid officers. Hopefully she can answer some of my questions. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm sorry that happened to you...

I don't know about the graduate programs, but I took some prerequisite courses online at MGH. The professors were wonderful and really cared about the students. I also lived in Boston for another grad program and the city is great. It's very expensive at MGH though, so unless you have a substantial funding offer and you are certain you want to work in Boston after graduation, it is probably not worth it to attend school out of state. The difference in tuition seems too great otherwise. Just one opinion of someone also going through the process :).

A school I am considering has a "cost of attendance" that covers 9 months and 20 credits each year. I would need financial aid to cover 12 months and 34 credits. Does the cost of attendance change depending on how many credits you take? I know I should contact the school's financial aid office to ask this, but the way they have it set up is weird. You have to be a student, log in to your account and find your assigned officer. They have no general contact info on the site. Thank you!

@deblee @poor_salieri @plume Great input on rankings, thank you. It's helped me get closer to making a decision.