occamstoothbrush

Just saying hi. I moved to Boston and did my five prereq courses at BU this summer (what a whirlwind), am now studying for a competency exam so I don't have to take another prereq, and start grad classes on September 3rd. I can't believe that a year ago around this time I hadn't even officially decided to apply yet! I hope everyone else is doing well.

Out of curiosity, why are you asking? Are you thinking of changing your decision or is University of Tulsa the more expensive school?

Haha, and I chose BU. Ultimately just a much better fit for me overall. I had many sleepless nights about it, though.

I haven't seen one but I think it'd be cool to have one.

Boston University!!

I was quite literally making the exact same choice between BU and MGH without having received any scholarships anywhere. I decided this weekend that I will be attending BU. Honestly, I'm just sort of diving into this. I know that being a speech pathologist is what I want to do with my life, and I know that BU is the right place for me to be for the next two years. People survive taking on a lot of debt, and there are loan forgiveness programs if you want to go that route.

I decided on BU after the open house, so I'll be seeing you both there!

Anyone going to BU's open house this weekend?

Anyone going to BU's open house this weekend?

I wondered about that scenario, but I kind of have a feeling you're not supposed to apply to other schools while you're committed to one. I'm not sure, and I don't really see how it matters as long as you paid your deposit, but something to keep in mind just in case that's how it is.

You still have so many more to hear from, too! Congratulations!

At MGH's open house they talked about the fact that it's two years plus an extra summer and that the number of credits has meant that some past students have been able to negotiate a starting salary based on having a master's degree plus 15 extra credits (so, basically a little salary bump). Not sure whether or not this would be the case for you but thought I'd throw it out there.

Do you have to work in the same place for 10 years to be eligible? And if not, can you not have any periods of unemployment in those 10 years?

I visited a few weeks ago! I got a tour and was able to sit down with someone and ask some questions.

For sure! Were you planning to get down to USF? Are there other factors in this (boyfriend, location, etc)?

Whoa! That's quick. Have you visited USC before?

Told you to watch out because you might end up with choices! Congrats!!

So do you think you'll go there even if you get good news from USC or UVA?

YESSSSS! Congrats! Watch out, you may even end up with a few choices!

Yeah, I was pretty upset to learn this too. Dr. Mentis just kept saying that they're only given so much by the school to give the initial scholarships and they can't offer "additional" money...but it makes no sense not to pass them along the line if the people given them decline their offers (which they're somewhat likely to do -- the people who get merit money likely have multiple enticing offers!). I'm not sure what you meant by MGH does this as well, but I was told by a professor at MGH that they would in fact offer declined scholarships down the line.

Just gonna repost this question, haha.

I was wondering why UVA had moved to waitlist in your signature! That's super weird, it's getting really late and they've already let out-of-field people know...

I'm still choosing between MGH and BU at this point. Waiting for BU's open house to make a decision. I was leaning heavily toward BU for a while but after MGH's open house I'm feeling conflicted again because I thought MGH was completely fabulous. I'm coming from out of field and am still figuring out my place within the field; though I lean generally towards more literacy/education based stuff, I am interested in learning a lot about the medical aspect of speech pathology. I was worried going into MGH's open house that it was a completely medically based program and I'd be out of place, but I talked to some current students who assured me that while we would be thoroughly trained medically people go in all sorts of directions and I'll be prepared for whatever I want to do. Anyone else in the same boat as me? What are your thoughts?

I'm amused by all the gradcafe people who were at the MGH open house today - I was there too! Small blonde wearing a red shirt, jeans, and a blue scarf...anyone see me?

I still haven't gotten my letter but that's interesting to me. When I visited Northwestern earlier this week I asked about funding if you defer -- whether you'll be considered again the following year, etc. The woman I met with said funding would be honored if you were offered it originally but she doubted you'd be considered again if you weren't originally offered funding.