midnight

The GradCafe results board gives you a good idea of when you'll hear back. UVA seems to notify acceptees at the beginning of March but keeps everyone else hanging--perhaps until some of the first-round acceptees reject their offer? Boulder seems to notify acceptees and rejectees alike the third week of March.

Nope, they won't receive your essays (and I can't imagine them taking time to read them even if they did). They only see your scores and corresponding percentiles.

jmarti: Aside from the expected competitive nature of SLP admissions (Chapel Hill accepted 44 out of 341 prospects last year), I was told that CH accepts very, very few out-of-field applicants. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but their site does heavily emphasize SLP prereqs, so I tend to believe that it's true. You're not OOF (heh), and your academic and professional interests are aligned with some of CH's strengths. I don't think you're misinformed at all. You're a strong candidate for their program. And I don't want anyone to read me wrong: I definitely think people should apply to schools they're interested in even if the acceptance numbers are daunting and admissions are highly competitive. You won't get in unless you apply!

Pinkman, what sort of quant percentile do the programs you're applying to expect? I think your score is great. It would be a shame to retake unless there's a good reason (i.e., a school that specifies 80th percentile+ for quant).

chellinchen, that's really disappointing. I agree with you--grad school is a time of discovery but also of focus. I think it's almost...condescending? presumptuous? insulting? to assume that you can't possibly have a defined interest while exploring everything the field has to offer. I'm kind of worried because I specified my interest in aphasia in one of my SOPs. The school's prompt essentially asked me to write about my academic interests, and that's my main one *as of right now*. That doesn't mean my path won't change once I'm in school or that I'm going to shutter myself off from learning, and I truly hope they don't take it that way. I worried about that while writing my SOP, but I (perhaps wrongly) assumed that the school would understand that I'm flexible and open to new experiences. Anyway, I totally understand where you're coming from.

badgerina, I think you sound competitive, at least from the POV of your GPA and background. Madison is competitive, but Whitewater seems to be less so. However, a lot of the competitive schools seem to be wild cards when it comes to acceptances. If you check the Gradcafe results board, there were some Madison acceptees with 3.5 GPAs and 1150 GRE scores last year and in 2011. It's just too hard to say who the schools pick and why, and all you can do is try! While I don't know your GRE scores and haven't read your SOP, I think you likely have a good shot at any of the schools on your list. I also think it's worth remembering that you've done all you can do to make a good impression, and everything will work out somehow.

jmarti37: I'm applying to UVA, too, and I don't think your GPA is at all a concern. Your degrees and experience sound really impressive, too. I think most schools consider the total package, though I have seen schools that heavily emphasize GPA (e.g., the other school I'm applying to states on their site that accepted applicants generally have GPAs of 3.3 or above--then again, perhaps those with 3.3+ GPAs tend to have stronger applications altogether).

slpgal123: I don't really know how schools will view graduating early, but I doubt it will hurt you given your phenomenal GPA and strong GRE scores. You've applied to a lot of schools, so your chances of getting in somewhere seem good IMO. RN2SLP: I think being an RN will give you an edge (clearly you know how to work in a clinical setting), and your GPA and GRE are strong. I hope Vandy is kinder to you during grad school admissions! My second school's deadline is tomorrow, so the process is officially in full swing. I'm nervous, excited, scared, etc. Basically I'm Jessie Spano on caffeine pills. Best of luck to everyone!

Yeah, stats is big part of the test now (I had at least five stats questions, maybe even six or seven!), so that class will definitely help you. And the GRE only poses basic stats-related questions: mode/median/mean/range, standard deviation, simple probability, simple combinations and permutations. There is no trig on the GRE. Quant is mostly a mix of arithmetic, algebra/algebra II, geometry, and the aforementioned stats/prob. The quant material on the GRE is not complex, but it can be tricky when you're dealing with comparisons or funny wording.

I've heard that Manhattan math skews quite a bit harder than the real GRE math. I bet that your actual quant score will be closer to your Powerprep results. My advice? While it's nice to be able to skip over and come back to questions, don't do it too often if you can help it because it can make it harder to manage your time. And for AW, no matter how inane the prompt, stay formulaic yet cohesive, provide relevant and specific examples and counterexamples, and type until your fingers fall off. Good luck!

Crazy, I recommend these books all the time, but I really love The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE for strategy/test tricks and Barron's Six Practice Tests for straightforward practice that's on par with the actual GRE. Also make sure to check out the GRE diagnostic assessment; it allows you to see the types of questions you missed and their level of difficulty, how long you took per question, etc. It's immensely helpful: https://grediagnostic.ets.org/GREDWeb/gred/signIn.jsp

I did about the same on the practice tests as I did on the actual GRE, and my strengths and weaknesses were consistent. I have no idea how long I studied. I relied mostly on practice tests for review/"study" by taking them and then going over what I missed; I don't necessarily recommend this method, but I found it to be better than doing nothing. However, I should've done more back-to-basics review for quant, and I feel I could've done quite a bit better with more focus and direction. I met my lowest target for quant by the skin of my teeth.

chellinchen, I think you're a very competitive candidate--your GRE scores are excellent, your background and experience are interesting and relevant, etc. (And as an aside, I'm interested in neurogenic brain disorders in adults as well.) Best of luck!

My broken record response: Check out The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE (great tips, tricks, breakdown of GRE language and commonly made mistakes), and do all of the practice tests on Powerprep and in Barron's Six Practice Tests.

lacoulter, have you checked out Grad Cafe's past years' acceptance results or the ASHA stats? I think you're on target for the schools you applied to. If you don't get in somewhere, I suggest finding an SLP-related work or volunteer position and applying to more schools. A GRE retake may help, especially if you decide to try for more competitive schools; however, you broke 300, and I think that's more than fine for your current list. (And I think your GPA is fine as well.)

Yeah, I'm curious what the deal is about this whole thing. I'm surprised ETS offers it in the first place since it's ACTUALLY HELPFUL and FREE (haha), and then it's impossible to find on the site unless you already know it exists. Anyway, anyone who's considering a retake should examine their diagnostic results. Incredibly helpful data there.

https://grediagnostic.ets.org/GREDWeb/gred/signIn.jsp

If you retake, MyWorkIsDone, I highly suggest using The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE book for quant tips and tricks and Barron's Six Practice Tests for solid practice that is roughly the same difficulty level as the actual GRE. I leafed through a lot of review materials, and these worked the best for me (and they're cheap!). My quant score was a meager 490 (~143 on the new test) the first time I took the GRE; practice and review boosted me to 150 on the new test--nothing to write home about, but not a bright red flag, either! And my verbal went up on retake, too.

I'm 32 as well. I figure that I may as well give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out--I have made peace with the fact that I don't have control over schools' decisions, and the things I do have control over (GPA, GRE, SOP, LORs [to the extent that I asked profs who truly know my work and abilities]) are good to excellent.

Ditto. I hope everything works out in the end.

Practice, practice, practice and retake. If you're serious about UChicago, I think you need much higher verbal and AW scores to be competitive, or at least to ensure that the GRE doesn't hinder you. Aside from focused vocab practice (matching up/memorizing synonyms seems like the best tactic for the current GRE format), I suggest picking up Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE. It has great tips all around, especially for AW. Peruse the ETS site, too. Randomly pick a few AW topics and write timed essays. Brainstorm specific examples for the 10 or so overarching essay themes as well. Also, Barron's book called Six Practice Tests is on par with the GRE's difficulty; I found it immensely helpful for both quant and verbal practice, and it's straightforward and cheap. Good luck!

I agree. The people here (and on gradcafe in general) are nice and supportive. All I can say is February's going to be a loooong month! Have you checked ASHA EdFind and the results board here to get an idea of past applicants' stats? I think you're competitive, even with lower GRE scores. Some programs have surprisingly encompassing average ranges for the GRE (e.g., I'm applying to UVA, and their quant range is 142 to 158!); I assume they focus more on other application elements like experience and SOPs as I've also seen applicants with amazing numbers get rejected.

I'm waiting until I get my results so I can share any news (good, I hope) with my rec writers. As for gifts, I know they're not necessary or expected, but I've decided to buy each prof an inexpensive item (~$10) that is in line with their specific interests (e.g., a book on early American life, a Leftist analysis of modern African-American literature, an audiobook of the Metaphysical poets).

I think you have a real shot because...you have a real shot! Your GPA is stellar, and your verbal and AW GRE scores are ~90%+. The California schools are quite competitive, as you know, but you've applied to a well-rounded list of schools. Good luck!

Do you have an undergrad degree in CSD? I don't know if it makes sense for you to retake undergrad speech classes, but doing a post-bac program might be a good idea and a way to redeem yourself. I'm not quite sure how that works, though. Also have you taken the GRE? Are the other elements of your application strong?