midnight

Thank you! And I just read about your Vandy incident. Between that and ASU, it's like you're in some warped grad school version of The Hunger Games!

I doubt they would woo me! Hahaha. (And seriously, who's the person with the 170/168 GRE? Whoever you are, I'm in awe of you!) Maybe your letter is an earlier draft that they forgot to edit.

This was in the letter: "You are invited to a departmental Open House on Friday, April 5." tuckerma, do you have a school that you're leaning toward more than the others, or is it mostly dependent on financial awards?

I think the most important thing for you personally is keeping your Spanish skills intact any way that you can while jumping on any bilingual opportunities that you can. Language retention and practice seem more important than a specific cert or track, though I may be wrong.

Thinking good thoughts!

Don't be ashamed. This process is ridiculous and emotional for everyone. I didn't somewhat relax until I heard back from my first school. And I'm very much going to try to attend open house!

I am PSYCHED for you!

Boulder accepted me! OMG, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off of my shoulders.

I got in! I got in!

It sounds like you are incredibly enthusiastic about School A while almost dreading School B. I agree with the others here that School A may be a better choice, and perhaps you can integrate your interests with the research you'll be doing there (can you find out if that is possible?). Also, you may enjoy tackling something new, and the school environment sounds supportive and conducive to doing so. My biggest concern is how School A's research path will affect the rest of your career if it's truly not an area you want to pursue. You'll be in schools for a few years as a student, but for much longer as a professor!

Yes, especially a course like Religious Ethics or Moral Leadership. Oh, the irony! 11Q13, you shouldn't make yourself feel awful for having to turn them in--disappointed, angry, or frustrated, perhaps, but not awful. They learned a hard lesson, but by the time a student reaches college, she should very well know that plagiarism and cheating are completely unacceptable and cause for punishment or even expulsion.

I agree with tarrman.

Just one quick and easy fix: any and all mentions of "accounting" need not be capitalized; you don't need to capitalize "literature" or "business company," either. I agree that you need a native English speaker to clean it up, and it needs more direction and polish.

Was your GPA strong as an undergrad? Did you produce quality work? If so, you may be surprised to find out that many professors do remember you, possibly even quite well. It also helps to jog their memories with examples of projects you did, scanned tests or problem sets that you did well on (if you still have any in your possession), etc. I do think it's going to be important for you to have academic references. One out of three or four recs can be professional, but that's tricky in your case since your jobs haven't been relevant to the CS field. If worst comes to worst, you can possibly take another relevant class or two (might be a good idea anyway as the industry is dynamic and 2006 is ancient history--assuming you took any CS-related coursework as an undergrad), find a CS-related job, and/or volunteer somewhere with a CS focus with hopes of getting some recs. Those would all be good for your CV anyhow. ETA: Don't forget that your GRE and SOP can strengthen your app, as well as the POIs you make and the schools you choose. If you kill the quant section and write an enthusiastic, convincing essay after aligning with profs whose work interests you, your app will be all the better for it.

I know you probably wanted to score higher on the GRE quant considering your science background, but I really think your score is more than fine for essentially any SLP program. Actually it's the accepted student average for Boulder applicants if that makes you feel any better! Wishing you and everyone else here who applied or who has already been wait-listed all the best, too!

I haven't read all of the replies, but I suggest that you invest in wool socks, thermal items for layering, proper winter outer gear (a down-filled or Gore-Tex coat, hat, gloves, scarf or neck gaiter), and some nice waterproof snow boots. If you have those things, you should be OK.

Though this is a bit tangential, one of my undergrad professors is deeply interested in Shakespeare's continuing relevance and seemingly inescapable, transcendent nature. She's written a few books specifically about Shakespeare as a cultural property, not a literary one (e.g., Extramural Shakespeare by Denise Albanese). I mention her approach as it seems to explore the ongoing canonical debate and shift, culture-as-art, and why we view certain authors and texts as eminently worthy while others are not.

Sorry, I probably sound like a jerk! It's just that Boulder is my first choice, and I really want to move to Colorado.

I just keep thinking of what I could've/should've done to strengthen my application (if only I had scored a few points higher on the GRE quant, if only I had included one or two extra things on my CV that didn't seem relevant when I put my app together, etc.).

Yes, I firmly believe that the new GRE verbal is easier and more intuitive, especially for humanities majors. Context helps immensely, and most of the vocab words aren't arcane. In fact, I don't remember any words that completely stumped me, and I can't say the same thing for the old GRE. From the new test, I do remember words like "fealty," "purview," and "amorphous," which are all familiar or at least guessable. Between the old GRE and the revised, my score improved from the 89th percentile to the 93rd. I missed only one question related to vocabulary on the new test; the rest of my incorrect questions were in the reading comprehension category (long science passages on the GRE are the bane of my existence). tl;dr: If you took the old GRE and didn't do so well, I heartily recommend the new GRE. ETA: For the new GRE, it's important to remember that the test allots only 30 minutes for the Issue task (as opposed to the 45 on the old), and you do not get to pick your topic. I found the new AW format to be more stressful and trickier after taking the old test, and my score dropped; although I don't think an AW score is an essential part of the English lit application, I still recommend some timed writing practice before the test to boost your confidence. It's terrible to start the test off feeling like you've bombed the AW.

OK, that is a ridiculously long potential wait, but I'm glad that you still have a shot!

Yeah, it seems that a lot of students decline for that reason. Many people are accepted from the waiting list (and many of them still decline due to the cost!).

NIU sounds like the best option for the reasons you've listed. Do reputation and name matter that much in the audiology field? If not, I say go with NIU (unless another school offers you some solid funding, of course).

Rankings are partially based on the quality of schools' faculty, facilities, and resources. While rankings probably shouldn't be your main concern, a highly ranked program will likely be strong. However, SLP rankings are tricky as a school can have a lower ranking but be extremely competitive due to applicant numbers and limited spots, and schools with lower rankings will still provide you with what you need to begin a career, which is what really matters. It's not unheard of for someone to choose a lower ranked school over a top program once tuition, fit, or any other number of important factors come into play. I say visit the programs you're accepted to since they're all accessible in your tristate area. I think your impressions of the programs after in-person visits will give you far more information than a ranking number.

"2.) If you decided to apply for programs few to no prerequisites, which schools did you consider and/or apply to? What was your major as an undergrad, and how did you gain experience in the field? Are you glad you chose this route? If you've already begun your program, do you feel prepared and on par with your peers? Is there a bucket list out there of schools with limited or no prerequisites?" This is what I'm doing, and due to my needing to find schools that take students with no prereqs plus my location preferences, it's the main reason why I applied to just two programs. I majored in English as an undergrad, and I don't have experience in the field per se; however, I have experience tutoring children and adults, working as a preschool teacher, and caring for a family member with aphasia. Personally I prefer taking classes in-person, so distance education for prereqs wasn't much of an option for me. I think it's better that I've opted for programs with an on-campus three-year track. As for schools that take out-of-fielders with no experience, there are quite a few. I haven't seen a comprehensive list (though we should start one!), but your options aren't too limited if you decide to apply as someone without prereqs. ETA: "If I had it to do over again, I would have applied to a 3 year program, so that I wouldn't have felt so up-in-the-air wondering if taking all these classes would be worth it." Yes, that's another big reason why I decided to go the no-prereq route.