midnight

I think your Q and V scores are solid for anthro or poli sci programs, but your AW might be a problem. Some schools don't take AW into consideration at all, but some do for admissions and/or funding purposes. If the anthro or poli sci programs you're applying to require writing samples, they might not care as much about AW since your actual work tells them far more about your writing abilities than a standardized writing score does. Still, I'd probably consider retaking and aiming for a 5.0+--annoying, I know, but those are just my two cents.

I'm glad they finally communicated with you--it sucks that it was so late and that it wasn't good news, but it's nice to have closure. Now you can fully focus on preparing for USF!

I'm sorry, bcjami! If you decide to reapply next year, best of luck to you!

As others have said, PBK is legitimate. My alma mater didn't qualify for a chapter until recently, so I wasn't able to join, but my husband joined his chapter. It's mostly a nice reminder of his academic accomplishments, but there are real benefits to membership if you choose to pursue them.

I'm sending actual thank-you cards.

^Ditto what jmarti said. I think that it might be more beneficial to visit schools in person if possible. Many schools have open houses in the fall or will allow you to schedule an appointment to tour the department.

Not stupid at all! Unfortunately GPA and GRE can keep people out of programs, but you have some amazing experience, and it sounds like your LORs will be great, too. Schools will take SLP coursework into consideration, and they like to see an upward trend in grades. I think it's vital for you to do as well as you can on the GRE and write an amazing SOP that details all of your SLP-related research and experience. People here can recommend programs for you, too. Luckily there are many schools in Ohio and Pennsylvania that have graduate SLP programs if you want to stay in that region. Best of luck!

rpatty, a grad student I talked to at open house found CU grad housing in June or July without a problem even though the school site makes it seem like it's kind of hard to get a spot. Thanks for mentioning the off-campus housing site! I need to start looking around in earnest right away.

I graduated in 2008 as well, and I had no problem asking four professors for LORs. They all remembered me, and they were all happy to write letters for me. My advice: Make sure you have your SOP (at least a rough draft) ready for them as well as your CV. Remind them of any work or projects you did with or for them and any awards you won at your school or other ways you participated in the department. Scan any problem sets or research papers from their classes in case they need a refresher of the quality of your work. Just make sure to prepare and present information about yourself for the profs you ask so they can write the best letters for you. I don't think most people keep in touch with professors once they've graduated or forge long-term relationships with them (I certainly didn't; I moved away, started working, etc.). Perhaps you should have since you knew you wanted to attend graduate school, but you didn't for whatever reason, so don't sweat it now. Also, you have valuable work experience and a solid professional resume. That's important, too, and will help strengthen your application along with your LORs, GPA, GRE, and SOP.

Thanks! I love that Boulder is pedestrian-friendly, so I hope to take advantage of that and won't be bringing a car with me my first year or two. $1K (and nearish the campus) is in my price range, though the upper limit. I'm going to search around later and see if I can get your opinion on promising places I find. And yeah, stop procrastinating.

Oh, and here's the already-existing Facebook group for Boulder SLP/AuD incoming and attending students: https://www.facebook.com/groups/168863929844238/ Someone might want to create a class of 2015 page, but I'm actually in the class of 2016. Womp womp.

I was an out-of-field applicant with 164V/150Q/5.0AW on the GRE. I didn't have any volunteer experience, but I had several years of work experience as a tutor and inclusion preschool teacher as well as personal experience as a caretaker for a family member with aphasia; I discussed all of it in detail in my SOP.

Oh no, I didn't think that you or rpatty were asking anyone here to be roommates. I just hope it's not too hard for me to find somewhere for myself since roommate situations seem to be really popular in college towns, and I need a small place of my own.

Thanks, CO! I'm fine with a larger studio or a one bedroom. My husband is going to stay with me for extended periods of time when he's working in the area, and we're also going to use the apartment as a sort of storage space until he can permanently move out to Denver, so the extra cost won't be a total loss. I wish I could room with a couple reliable people, but between my cats and my unique situation, it's not ideal.

B seems like the best all-around choice.

Congrats on your decision, rpatty! I would also love any info on where to find an apartment near the school (preferably walkable). I was going to stay in grad housing, but now I think I need my own place so I can bring my pets with me.

I'm probably going to end taking a non-lab physics course called Color and Light for Non-Scientists...which is kind of annoying because I also want to take Spanish and of course need to fit in all my other SLP classes, and I want to avoid taking anything during the summer if possible. So there are definitely science classes that don't have labs and aren't intended for science majors. The only issue is finding them in your town or online....

Longwood: http://www.longwood.edu/socialworkcsds/9359.htm

I think it's normal to have second thoughts, but I also think the best thing about SLP is that our doubts can be lessened by knowing that job placement rates are great and nearly every program will prepare us well for whatever path we want to take. FSU sounds like a wonderful program, and I assume you'll be getting in-state tuition rates (even better).

Yeah, you're probably right, but it was odd! I think I said the full name, too, but it's possible that I found a few people who just weren't familiar with it. C'est la vie. As a native Virginian, I love UVA and was thrilled to be accepted there, and I know you'll have a great experience.

Congrats on your decision, srh! I definitely regret not checking it out in person, but it's better for me to be at Boulder since I plan to live near Denver permanently after I graduate. (On the East Coast, UVA is well-known and has a great reputation, but I mentioned it to a few people from the West during the Boulder open house, and they seemed largely unfamiliar with it. I was really surprised.)

I had the same issue as wsc; the reading comprehension kicked my butt, but I didn't have any problem with the GRE vocab. My score only increased the equivalent of two points upon retake, but I boosted it to 164, which was fine for me. If it helps at all, one of my sentence completion questions was taken directly from The New Yorker. It wouldn't hurt to read The New York Times, either.

I thought it was interesting that at the open house, someone pointedly asked if Boulder students were more competitive in the Denver metro job market than UNC grads, and one of the presenters essentially said yes. I'm honestly not sure how true that is or could be; UNC seems to have a really strong program, and there are lots of great career opportunities throughout the state. Is there any way to find out what some of the UNC SLP alumni are doing now? Anyway, I think you should take the funding as long as you feel you'll receive adequate clinical and research experiences at UNC. It's true that Greeley is a small farm town, but it's only a little over an hour from Denver and 45 minutes from Ft. Collins. Also, as zabius noted, the program is only two years, and you can easily relocate after you graduate. Best of luck with your decision!

Are you limited to the GA/western NC region? I think taking pre-reqs may be a good idea. My only worry about doing that is spending a lot of time and money and still not getting accepted to an SLP program for whatever reason. It seems really important to get near-perfect grades if you do go the pre-req route, and you may want to consider retaking your GRE if it's on the lower side. Good luck!

You know I agree with you! I hate that some schools don't notify applicants in a timely manner. Messed up.