katieliz456

I used public transit (bus&lightrail) for my first 2 years, because having a car/parking pass was way out of my budget. I lived on campus, so I didn't have to stress about getting to/from class, which helped. 1. The lightrail is GREAT- very reliable, and runs every 15-ish minutes. It goes to both the Tempe and Downtown Phx campuses, and there are a number of nice apartment complexes along the lightrail route. It's pretty easy to just jump on the lightrail and not have to worry about connections. There are plenty of bike racks, if you prefer to bike to the station, and then ride. During rush hour, you might have to stand, but there are lots of grab bars and the total ride from campus to a nearby apartment would only be about 15 mins. There are occasionally "creepers", so i don't recommend riding alone late at night. 2. Public bus: I used the bus to get to/from work at the Tempe Marketplace mall when I lived on campus. The buses are ok, but only run every 30 mins and tend to run late. This was annoying because I'd usually be cautious and take the earlier bus to work, then have to spend 30-40 minutes killing time at the mall. Our streets are all on a grid system, which does make the bus system easier to navigate. Bus stops are really close together (at least every couple blocks), so it shouldn't be a problem for grocery shopping or running errands. Again, it is just slightly inconvenient because you may have to wait at the bus stop for 30 minutes after you've finished your shopping (not fun in the 115 degree heat!) 3. Orbit circulator: There are free buses that go through the neighborhoods of Tempe/Scottsdale. I take the Orbit to campus every day, because it goes right down my street and drops me off in front of my building on campus. The Orbit runs every 15 mins, and takes about 20 minutes from my house to campus. driving would take only 10-15 minutes, but I like being able to study on the Orbit and not having to pay $8/day for parking! I have a car that I use on the weekends for errands& visiting friends, but I actually love the Orbit. There are also some sketchy homeless people who sit on the bus all day, and it sometimes smells like pot :/ But if you bring an iPod and read a book, no one should bother you. If you go to valleymetro.org, they have the Orbit routes and you can look for a place along one of the routes. Neighborhoods south of campus (near Southern) tend to be cheap, safe, and quiet-- lots of families, retired people, and some grad students. Very few undergrads and partying, and extremely low crime rates

I'm doing a clinical program, which is (almost always) unfunded. My goal is to take out loans only for tuition. I have some money stashed away from working part-time during undergrad, and I plan to patch together a few jobs this summer (respite care, retail, and research, probably) so I can work 60-ish hours/week for a couple months. I might also try to work 5-10 hours per week for my first semester, when my course load will be relatively low. I will use this savings, plus my leftover college savings money, plus some savings bonds, to cover living expenses, books, and travel. My parents are generous enough to continue taking care of my health insurance. I plan to live with roommates and I actually prefer to do my own cooking. I'm also a vegetarian, which cuts down on the grocery bills quite a bit! This helps keep my monthly budget low. I'm trying to avoid taking out Grad PLUS loans, because they have higher interest rates. Thankfully, the FAFSA considers me to be "Independent", and calculated my Estimated Family Contribution as $0.00. This means I am eligible for the full 20,500 in Stafford loans. If you can patch together a few different strategies, it might make the sticker shock seem a little more do-able:)

Just got my acceptance to Northern Arizona University, but will be declining ASAP (when i get back home to my computer to fill out the form). Hopefully this will help someone on the waitlist!!

Yay, jmarti's back!!! : D

Wow, that is really impressive. Congrats again:) It feels so good to know I was accepted somewhere-- i definitely did cartwheels and backflips when i found out-- but i'm sure it will feel 10x better when I know for sure where I am going!!

Wow, i'm surprised that there were so many rejections from people who got accepted elsewhere! :/ And it seems weird that I was the only waitlist on here :/ This whole admissions thing is so unpredictable!!

Congrats on making your decision!! It's crazy to think that exactly a month from today, we will all know where we will be spending the next 2+ years of our lives!! I've been missing Jmarti, too Hopefully she is out and about enjoying springtime!!

CONGRATS!! It looks like you still have several schools to hear from, so it seems like you have good chances for funding somewhere!

Idk if they are doing them in that order, but mine was technically submitted 11/22, if that helps! Hopefully yours is next!! I'm still not sure why it takes schools SO long to update stuff electronically... it really shouldn't take more than a day.

Waitlisted! They want me to mail in this detailed response form regardless of my decision to remain on the waitlist... ain't nobody got time for that!

CONGRATS!!!!!

any other Baylor applicants on here?? I know they had a late deadline, but I applied for the summer program (starts the first week of June), so I'm hoping to hear back ASAP!

I was thinking that maybe they emailed applicants who live farthest away? Maybe they figured that if you'd receive the letter within a day or two that was sufficient, but if it would be longer than that they notified via email so we wouldn't have to wait too long?

Way to go! Congratulations and enjoy your pie

Yeah, that's what i'm wondering, too. It wouldn't be a deal-breaker, since I think i'd be able to get in-state tuition for the 2nd year, which would help a lot. I'm also hoping to apply for a GA/TA position, but I think we have to enroll before we can do that?

Sweet, thank you! Also, do you have any idea how far the airport is from the school, or how you plan on getting there? I have no clue about the geography over there

Hahaha no worries, I actually think the whole thing is rather hilarious! It just shows how unpredictable this whole process is:) and thanks! I'm in a similar position-- i really want to work in public schools, and i know the demand is so high that they'll take anyone. I think it's more important to be somewhere where we are happy and included than somewhere that the US News decided is #1! nope, not hallucinating! thanks, and congrats on your multitude of acceptances! I hope your visit goes well; you have tons of great options to choose from

Yeah, it was kinda bizarre because initially my online status said ACCEPTED, but then i got an official rejection email o.0 ASU is actually pretty competitive and is a top research school with some well-known faculty members, and I think i am pretty much in their league. Oh well, their loss all we need is one acceptance, right?!

haha apparently! I was confused because I made it to the interview round (85 applicants were invited, out of 320+ applicants total), but was not one of the 70-80 accepted, and i thought my interviews went really well. However, i had already ruled it out because they are doing some big changes to the program (new dept. chair) and clinicals (now required to do 3 semesters at the in-house clinic, and only one "elective") which I know i wouldn't enjoy.

CONGRATS!! it feels awesome to know we will actually get to be SLPs one day:) I hope we can remember this passion and enthusiasm during our stressful days in grad school!

I'm sorry, I truly didn't mean to offend anyone with my comment I realise that I'm by no means one of the strongest applicants on here, and I can see that many schools use a holistic approach to admissions. I meant to say that I know some girls with 4.0 GPAs, near-perfect GRE scores, tons of research experience, etc. who could probably get in to Iowa or UW Madison or another top-notch school with full scholarship, but they chose to apply to smaller, less-well known schools with a clinical focus rather than a research focus. I know absolutely NOTHING about App State, and I'm sure it's an excellent school with high standards. I'm sure that all who were admitted there worked very hard to earn their acceptance. I think the original poster may have just been surprised about the decision and, perhaps, confused about the university's admissions criteria.

I've heard about schools doing this, too, and it seems so unfair :/ I know some great applicants who applied to "lower-ranked"/less desirable schools as their top choices because they wanted to be near family or significant others, or because they didn't want to take out loans for more "prestigious" programs.

Yay! Buddies! Are you going to the visit day(s)? I was so shocked/excited/flattered to see my email, but I assumed I would never get in so I was already pretty set on going elsewhere....but it'd be SO hard to turn down Vanderbilt... :/

hopefully we hear by the end of the week! is that your top choice?