BlarneyStone87

As far as I know, all you do is check the box that you are interested in a GA position. They will contact people they are interested in and conduct interviews in the summer. I didn't get an interview, but from the few people I know who went through the interview process, they said it was very daunting and then they didn't get it and were bummed. I do know a few people who did get the positions. They bring you in a room with 6 or more faculty members who each need a GA for their area of research interest (ex. speech science research, language assessment research, clinic helper, etc). They ask you questions and then they choose approximately 6 GA spots

No problem! If you have any other questions, just let me know

All of the classes are in the speech building fortunately! The speech building is about 2 miles from the main campus and we have free parking. You just swipe your card at the gate and you walk in...it's great I commute about 60 miles to school. It seems like most people live within 30 minutes but there are a few other crazy people like me who commute long distances. I get on exit 91 on the parkway and get off at exit 151 and you're there. It's not a bad commute when I have afternoon classes but when I have class at 8:30 or 9, traffic can be hell. On those days, I leave almost 2 hours early to make sure I get there on time. Some days the traffic's not too bad, and other days it's terrible. You just never know!

As far as scheduling goes, last semester I had 3 classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I had Articulation/Phonological Disorders on Monday from 11:15-12:30. On Wednesdays, I had Research from 8:30-11 and Articulation/Phonological Disorders from 11:15-12:30. On Thursdays, I had Educational Audiology from 11:30-2. This semester I have 3 classes 4 days a week - Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday which is a bit of a pain because I commute about an hour to school. Monday, I have Language Assessment from 9-10:15. Tuesdays. I have Clinical Processes from 1-3:30. Wednesday, I have Language Assessment from 9-10:15 and Speech Science from 1-2:15. Then I have Speech Science again on Fridays from 1-2:15. I will start my first clinic in the summer and have no other classes. Typically, we are assigned 1 or 2 pediatric clients during your first semester clinic, and then in your 2nd and 3rd clinic you have more clients as well as more diverse clients (geriatric, adult, fluency, etc). Classes are either 2x a week for an hour and fifteen minutes or 1x a week for two and a half hours. I am a slightly odd case because I took my prereqs online at Utah State in the spring and summer semesters hoping to be considered with a background. Unfortunately, too many people came in with a background and because of clinic scheduling, I am on the 3 year track instead. So this year my course load is fairly light because I am only taking 3 classes a semester compared to others who are taking 4 or 5. I think Montclair has changed their policy so that applicants have to have had their prereqs completed by the fall semester to be considered with a background. I really love everyone in this program and have made some amazing friends along the way. Hope this helps!

Hey everyone, I am a first year grad student at Montclair and I remember being in your shoes last year! If anybody has any questions about the program, I'd be happy to answer

It depends on the program how many prereqs there are. Most have between 4-6 so you probably don't need to take quite that many classes!

I am in the process of taking prereqs at USU right now. When I was applying to programs, I didn't start taking courses at USU until the spring so grad programs could see that I was taking them, but didn't know what my grades were which can be a problem for some programs (e.g. when I visited La Salle, the program director said they probably wouldn't even consider me because they wouldn't know how good of a speech student I was). So you are at an advantage now if you can start over the summer and continue throughout the year. I only took 2 courses in the spring which I just finished: 1) Phonetics and 2) Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Language. I worked the whole time and the course load was very manageable. Anatomy was a lot of studying because the exams were proctored. Phonetics wasn't as much work because the exams were open notes. Now that I know I've decided on Montclair and they said they will accept my courses at USU, I registered for the 3 other courses I need to complete all of Montclair's prereqs at USU: Acoustics and Anatomy of the Ear, Basic Audiology, and Language Development. I signed up a day late (I'm kicking myself now...grrrrrr!) and had to pay an extra $100 per class for late registration. Normally it is $720 per class but I had to pay $820 per class which is still very affordable compared to most programs. I would recommend saving the $$ and working because it's possible! As far as logging in your observation hours, I had to do this for my Seton Hall application. Seton Hall had a form to print out with their application and I had the SLP sign off on it when I finished my observation hours with their ASHA number and where it was. Hope this helps! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask

Thanks so much for the info!

Not sure, did your college accept the credits? I took AP bio in HS a million years ago and got a 3 on the exam but not chem. Not sure, I hope so!

I buckled down and took Bio and Chem at my local community college in the fall to make sure I fulfilled my ASHA biological and physical science requirements. They were 4 credit courses at $101 per credit but there were extra lab fees so it ended up costing $1450 for the 2 courses. I was lucky that I had a great experience with very friendly, funny faculty. I did have labs to do but the lab reports were so much easier than what I suffered through in AP courses in high school. I'm not going to be a biologist or chemist so I was glad the expectations were simple and straightforward. I wanted to get it out of the way before I begin grad school because we're going to have enough work on our plates as it is. I don't know anything as far as online courses go for those requirements, but I definitely would recommend getting it out of the way if at all possible in the summer!

Checked my portal for Temple today and finally a decision was made: Rejected. So thankful I was accepted to other schools, but Temple would have been so close! Finally heard from all of my schools and now instead of being 99% sure I'm going to Montclair I can say I'm a 100% sure. The one good thing about it is not having to suffer between picking between my two top choices

I'm planning on commuting too which took me about an hour yesterday when I left during non-rush hours. If the commute becomes too much, I'll look into housing which Eileen said she is happy to help people with if they need some advice. Fortunately though, she said in our fall semester we'll only be taking classes which most people have 3 days a week (I hope!) which would be very doable. Then in the second semester, most people begin working in the on-campus clinic where you're assigned 1 or 2 patients to work with. They also have group therapy sessions for kids and adults. They currently have 99 patients visiting the clinic from ages 16 months to 91 years-old which people pay for but at a reduced rate because it's a teaching facility. There is a guy in a booth where you can swipe your student ID to park in the lot which is free. If you wanted to park on the main campus which is about a mile away to go to the gym, financial aid office, etc. I believe you would need a parking permit. But I've also heard that there is a shuttle that runs from the clinic to the main campus so it really looks like you shouldn't have to pay for parking at all! Here is the link to our Montclair Facebook group again: http://www.facebook.com/groups/130556483797805/ if mystique or slpgal want to join! Mystique, congrats on making your decision on Montclair! I hope ald360 and I talked you into it yesterday

I did ask about a course schedule and they couldn't give me one yet. In June we will have to meet in person to schedule our courses. They really seem like they try to accommodate to your preferences the best they can.

I went yesterday for the 2nd time since the fall and fell even more in love with the program. The speech building is completely separate from the main campus with free parking. Students have access to the building 24/7 and the building is less than 3 years old. Everything is new, modern, clean, with some really exciting technology. Eileem Fasanella gave 4 of us a clinic tour and she is so nice and so was everyone else there. If anybody else has any questions, feel free to ask!