SpeechBanana

Bump to bring this thread on the front page !

Here's some hope that someone actually *in* a SLP program can chime in! Is it possible to work during grad school? I'm currently employed with a position not too far from my soon-to-be university, and have a very flexible position. Do you think I can squeeze in work at nights and on weekends? Maybe 20-25 hours a week? I want to do everything to maintain as a good graduate student, but the bills will still need to be paid + living costs... I don't want to take out an excess amount in loans just to live comfortably. I only want to take out the bare minimum to ensure my tuition and books are paid.

I was wondering about you and SF! Congratulations!! I decided purely off of $$$. Which one will cost you the least after considering tuition, moving, and living expenses in the area

If you love Korean culture/food, and opt to accept CSULA's spot, you two should find an apartment in KTown! I <3 KTown ^__^

The University of Pacific in California has an 18 month program. I am very certain that their graduates have had choices in where they work

In the acceptance packet I received from another CA school, it stated that they would try to, but cannot guarantee the classes availability to graduate students in 2 years. This is due to budget cuts in California. I believe this would be the same for CSUN. How does their cohort system run? Do they have each student assigned to a particular schedule, in which you are structured to take x,y,z classes in order? Thus all students are assigned to a schedule, and there are no fighting for spots in classes? Or will it be like undergrad all over again where you might not get some classes? If you were accepted, I'd definitely recommend you contact them to answer these questions for you, and consider that all when you're choosing which school to attend.

I really don't think employers give a hoot about how many credit hours your university required of you. All they care about is your license to work, and your character.

How long is your husband's program? The SLP programs are usually 2 years. If it were me, I'd choose the best program for FIT, and not worry about other extraneous details. Driving is an annoyance, yes, but is it so annoying that you'll give up something you really want? Or? Which program will serve you the best purpose? Which will make you happier? Yes, it's cheesy, but write out a list of pros and cons, and prioritize those items. So far, from what it sounds like, CSUF will be a better fit for you. I myself will be doing a very long commute daily for grad school because the school I chose is a better fit for me So I google mapped (hah, I turned that into a verb! snort) the driving directions from USC to CSUF for you, and it looks like it's an estimated 40 minute drive. As a Southern Californian, I can tell you that's probably not accurate, especially during rush hour. Can you move to a location somewhere halfway as a compromise, and you and your hubby make semi-equidistant drives? By using the 5 freeway, Downey seems to be the center of the two locations. Downey's property/rental rates aren't that high, but their school districts and "niceness" isn't the best, so it wouldn't be a good choice if you have children. However, it would make it ~25 to 30 minutes (again, probably deflated #) for the both of you to travel. Then again, if you choose LA, you can find an apartment that will just be a few minutes drive for the both of you Good luck making your decision, Sung. I'll be driving about an hour and a half each way

Fullerton has a bilingual track, don't they? LA doesn't.

No problem, Sunjiro! I'm practicing my sternness for working with kiddos. So… has anyone heard ANYTHING from Northridge? I know a few of you mentioned CSUF, but no one posted anything about the results on the admissions results page.

Honestly, a relationship would not hold me back from traveling across the globe for graduate school. I love my partner, but that does not mean I have to be near him all the time. Besides, graduate studies will have you busy busy busy, so even if you are local to your partners, you won't have as much free time to invest into the relationship. With modern technology and social media (Facebook, Skype, Face-Time..), it won't even feel like you're that far apart. I love my partner, but I will still put my future first. That future = a better future not just for me, but for the both of us. If you feel your relationship isn't strong enough to survive 2 to 3 years of long distance while you sacrifice your time for graduate studies, then you shouldn't even consider that relationship strong enough of a deciding factor to make or break your choices of grad school. Plus, distance makes the heart grow fonder I'm much fonder of a partner that can wait for me, than a partner who holds me back selfishly.

Holy batman! Yeah a lot of the CA schools only offer ~15-20 spots I actually prefer to be in a program like that for the personal attention, but I feel they should be offering more than ONE cohort group per year then... I feel it's not responsible for them to spit out soooo many undergrads and post-bacs without being able to supply positions for even the top 10-20% of the grads.. Forcing those rejected to apply again another year with even MORE people as competition. There shouldn't be such an impacted situation. I call BS on them not having the $, since we all pay $$$ for tuition. And the job market is still needing so many more grads. End rant. Luckily, I have a position next year. I am just so upset at the system for shutting out so many well deserving students. my closest friends and classmates are struggling to find placement, and they're all very well deserving.

I don't think it has to be a professor. I was thinking more along the lines of those private exam proctoring services. I think you mentioned you're in FL, right? This one is in Orlando: http://www.valenciaenterprises.org/testing.cfm If you're not near them, you can try to find another? My university offers proctoring services by hired staff (sometimes even student employees) for students that had emergencies or need more time due to disabilities. Maybe call some school disabilities offices to see if they can recommend a private company?

Oh no did you Google up some local proctoring services? Or call them for advise on where to go? Your online program doesn't make you go to proctoring services for your exams? Good luck with it!

congrats on all your acceptances, arrowgirlie!

Someone just posted that they're off the NYU wait list.

Thanks, y1989! I just saw on the admissions page that there have been multiple people admitted to Redlands by email. I no haz. Boo.

Good morning, Californians! Alright, so when are we hearing back from Fullerton again? > HURRY UPPPPPPP Thanks to ArrowGirlie, UofR is supposed to get results *soon*! Eek! Anyone have any news on when Chapman is going to make decisions? Anyone have any details on CSUN? Don't they know we're all obsessing over grad cafe like we're "overlyattached girlfriend"? F5 F5 F5 F5 F5!

I believe you have to find your own externships, whereas residential campuses find them for you. And I know CSUN and Nova both charge additional distance education fee on top of their tuition, so it costs more. I have not heard of any programs being cheaper.. Which ones do you know charge less? I'm interested, JIC I don't get into any programs this year.

Oh, and of course, good luck with making your decision

From what I have heard, there is zero difference on your degree. It's your licensing and your degree that gets you your jobs and allows you to work as a SLP. There's no stigma against an online degree, anyway, since it comes from a legitimate institution. However, since you don't get that face-to-face interaction, it will create a barrier for building relationships with your classmates and instructors. If you've already made professional contacts and networked at your job, you might not care for this anyway. Online programs also force you to really be in charge of your education. YOU have to be proactive in setting aside time for your studies and such. It takes a lot of will power to not procrastinate and to stay on top of everything. You should contemplate if this is worth it for you. Yes, you get $1k paid off every semester by your employer, but it extends your tuition an extra year, so the fees increase anyway. Also, take into account that most online programs also charge an additional distance education fee. BUT, you get to work, and you get to have your bills paid while you're going to school. What are your needs and obligations? If you *can* attend a residential program, go for it, but if you can't due to financial or career obligations, online programs are fabulous opportunities. Designate an area of your house to be distraction free for your studies, and create a time schedule that you're forced to follow.

IIRC, none of the privates have rolling admissions (Chapman, Redlands, University of the Pacific). And the southern CA CSU's also do not. CSUN's distance learning, online program starts Summer instead of Fall, so you can apply earlier than the next fall season. CSUF has spring admission, but I have heard that may be canceled for the next year due to budgeting issues. I'm not familiar with the northern CA CSU's.

oops I repeated Northridge. I meant UOR. Silly me.

Thanks for that, Jeff Mooo. I hope I get in! They are my top choice. Has anyone heard any info on CSUN, Chapman or Northridge? What's going on with those campuses?

Has anyone heard anything from CSUF yet? They're supposed to let us know starting today! I wonder if they're emailing, calling, physical mailing, or just using their website? I just finished my interview at CSULA, too. The faculty there are so NICE. They were not intimidating at all, and were very welcoming. I was blown away by that because some other schools' faculty have been so cold and unwelcoming. YK, you're right, there is a prompt, however I do not feel comfortable giving others an unfair advantage by releasing the questions. Sorry.