leesta

Like Gandalf, I also tutor on the side but it really does cut into a lot of precious time. It's a very tight juggling act - but it's possible (and absolutely necessary for me). A full-time job is a definite no-no.

Ah sorry for some reason I misinterpreted your post. Go ahead and take the recommendation from your boss Even if you don't get a recc from volunteer, you'll have it listed somewhere on your application. Your strengths doesn't necessarily have to be directly SLP-related - most applicants don't have that anyway. Play to your strengths and tell your boss what you feel you've learned that could help as a future SLP, and maybe they'll consider that when they write your recommendation. Good luck!

I would say the SLP. The adcom aren't looking for work experience in of itself, they want to know what you got out of it. If the boss is the person who would know that best, then get it from them... but most likely it's the SLP who you have interacted with the most and learned the most from.

Thank you all for your sincere replies and advice. It was a grueling 24 hours but I've made my decision to withdraw from UW and attend SDSU! I really do feel at peace about it, and especially so now that I know for SURE that this admissions process is over. Whoohoo!

Heard back from SDSU yesterday, got off the waitlist! And now I'm going crazy because I'm rethinking my decision and I have one day to reply with my answer. UW - Awesome school, would love to study in the MedSLP program, great city, offered one in four scholarships (albeit very small) and a possible TA position SDSU - A fraction of the UW cost, best school in CA, great location as well, being with the boyfriend and being able to get married sooner. I know this is a very general outline of my situation, but any thoughts? I'm not too interested in research, but I understand the value of a highly ranked school, especially one like UW. I spoke with Dr. Barlow earlier this morning and got some more info about the program since I barely knew anything about it... based on what she said, it looks like a solid program as well. Thought all the worrying/anxiety was over, but I guess not

How is everyone paying for their programs (especially for those that are attending the pricier schools)? Parents? Savings? Loans? Their first child?

Just accepted I hope you get off the waitlist!

Did it. Gonna be a Husky this fall!

For those of us that are waiting, it seems like a lot of the schools are letting out acceptance notifications first and giving them until the April 15th deadline for their response, and THEN they contact the rest of the applicants once more spaces open up. While this is pretty convenient for them, it's pretty terrible for us that are still waiting for SOME kind of response. This is what waitlists are for. UMass Amherst is doing this and CSU Fullerton as well (spoke with both of them today).

Are you considering CSUN over SDSU? If so, do you mind sharing why?

Really becoming more than a bit frustrated with the CSUs... April 15th is in ONE week and they're taking their sweet time

Wow thanks! If you don't mind, could you forward me those conversations as well? If I decide to go, I'll be entering Seattle not knowing a soul as well... I'm sure it'll be fine as we get lost in studying, but it's a little daunting at the same time.

You probably won't be seeing many grants for grad school, especially if it's for a CSU. Loans and assistantships are pretty much it.

I'm considering UW much more seriously now even despite the cost and no funding. I'm still confused about a couple things, and even though I should probably ask the department directly, I'm gonna throw them out here in case others are wondering the same: I'm kinda confused about the deposit. Is it $500 to the University, or that AND another $500 to PCE? For the internship, they said something about having affiliation agreements with clinical facilities in Washington and nationally... does this mean we get to go out of state to complete our internship? Probably not though, because there's still a class we'd have to take at the same time... unless it's a web course. Noticed there's no craniofacial class listed in the curriculum. I'm really interested in this area, so I'm hoping it's under another course with a different name. Otherwise I'd think the Med track a bit incomplete Other than that... started looking up Craigslist postings and neighborhoods. I'm finally letting myself get over the fact that I'll need to take out loans for pretty much the whole thing, and looking forward to the fact that I'd be getting top-notch education and studying in a concentrated area I'm really interested in. Still not 100% as my other school results haven't come in, but my heart's leaning towards Seattle at the moment

First of all, congrats! Those are some pretty competitive schools you got into It's hard to get anything out of the CSU departments, but from what I do know, there's not too much of a medical emphasis in any of those schools. That said, it's not difficult to get a job or become more interested in the neuro aspect with a more generalized program. If you're interested in getting your PhD, then taking up a master's thesis or independent study would be a great way to do this. I went to CSUF for my postbacc, and Dr. Li and Dr. Tom are both great profs to work with in that area. I'm not too sure about Long Beach, but the few interactions I had with them left me feeling kinda badly towards the program. The department's SUPER competitive and the admin people were unhelpful, but of course that might not have anything to do with the program itself. LA, I know nothing about, but I've heard that it's more of an emphasis towards the school settings, which is the typical case for most CSUs. If you really want to get down to the nitty gritty, call and/or visit and have a chat with the professors. I see you're from LA, so visiting all three isn't impossible. Try to see how your interests would match up with the school and you'll get a better lead of where you'll want to go. It's unlikely that the department will set this kind of thing up for you, so you'll have to do some stalking - catch a prof right after their class or during office hours or shoot them an email directly to see when you could come in. Maybe you could talk to some of the students while waiting around in the department office. Otherwise, it'll probably just come down to location. Good luck!