MagentaMacaron

Have you checked out the University of Virginia? The program is housed within the Curry School of Education and you recieve a M.Ed. When I applied, I got the feeling that the program was especially strong in pediatric/school populations.

I would not retake the GRE. Programs use the GRE as a cutoff, not a determining factor. So, a higher GRE won't necessarily make you a stronger applicant. The other aspects of your application are so much more important.

As long as your GPA makes some sort of arbitrary cut off, you will be considered. I would try to find out what those general cut offs are. Most program websites give you an indication of the minimum GPA you need. I think applying is definitely worth a shot. The process of applying is a good learning experience. Even if you don't get in, you can regroup and make a stronger application for the next year.

I only had one or two prerequisite courses for some programs, and zero for others. It is definitely possible.

Quant-151, Verbal-158, AW-4.5 -2.5 years of volunteering in a speech and language group therapy program for children and teenagers with developmental disorders (worked hands on with clients and facilitated games, activities, etc.) -1 year of volunteering in a speech and stuttering institute working with adults with fluency disorders and children with motor speech disorders (mostly shadowed SLPs) - Helped an SLP administer motor speech assessments to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders at a hospital (on and off for about 4 months) - volunteered as a research assistant in a speech lab for 6 months (created speech samples, ran tests etc.)

Yay! Congrats

I am attending BU! I have declined the other programs in my signature. I hope that helps somebody out.

It sounds like your dream school is the right fit for you, so I would say go for it. However, how reasonable is that debt? Do you have parental support perhaps to cover living expenses? Do you think you will be able to pay of your debt in the long run without an enormous amount of financial strain? If you plan it out and it is doable, I think you may regret not attending your dream school.

I haven't heard from Emerson either ..i Just assumed it meant waitlist/rejection! I am surprised they are still reviewing applications, since they already had the open house. Oh well.

I emailed Brie and there was a delay in getting the packets out. She said they were mailed at the end of last week. Don't worry if you haven't recieved yours yet

Location is a major factor for me. You are investing a huge amount of time/money/energy in graduate school, so you might as well love where you are living. I see graduate school as a great opportunity to travel and see new places. That being said, I think Purdue is a good option because you already love it there and the ranking is high. Northwestern is also a great school with a strong overall reputation, so if you think the tuition is justified, go for it! However, University of Illinois seems to strike a good balance between rank and tuition.

GRE minimums tend to be very low, and GPA is so much more important. You could check with each program and see what their cutoffs are. I think volunteer hours/direct SLP experience is very important! In terms of pre-reqs, a lot of programs do not requre you to have pre-reqs. I have no pre-reqs and their were plenty of programs I could apply to. You may have to take an extra year/semester.

No worries, I know you're not attacking people in any way. Actually, I know how frustrating this whole process is. I applied to schools last year and was rejected by all. Cliche, but rejection was truly a learning experience. I learned that life goes on. During the process my friends and family were the worst " you'll get in, you're a shoe in!", so I felt immense pressure. When I didn't get int, no one cared at all. I spent the year obtaining some great research/clinical SLP experience, so it worked out. And yes, the other programs are in French. I wish I was bilingual!

Great point. Most undergraduate degrees seem to have little practical relevance. Generally, the content is useless, but the skills you acquire (i.e. work ethic, critical thinking) will benefit you in the long run.

How does having an undergraduate degree in CSD work AGAINST you? Perhaps it does not work FOR you per se, but don't AdComms consider all degrees fairly? From an outside perspective, Canada offers zero CSD undergraduate degrees, and there are only SIX English graduate programs in SLP. I am glad programs in the U.S. consider out-of-fielders, because my options are very limited otherwise. I am pretty sure that out-of-fielders have something to bring to the table that is far beyond their money.

I am in the exact same situation. I haven't heard a word and my status has not changed from Complete. Ready to Review. Hopefully, we will hear soon.

IMO, you should pick the program that is the best fit for you, and where you are certain you will recieve the best training possible. That being said, If you do choose the higher tuition, I encourage you to go through the motions of financing your education. Calculate how much money you will need to live (rent, transportation, living expenses) and any loans you will need to take out etc. AND how much you'll end up having to pay back. Do you have any "safety nets" in case something unexpected happens? (i.e. parental support) I say this because I always treated tuition as an "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it"-type of thing, but now that I have the option of going to school and have been speaking to banks regarding loans, the reality of actually being in huge amounts of debt is really weighing on me. Your dream school could look very different once reality sets in!

Thank you!

This may be a little early, but is anyone considering taking the prerequisites offered during the summer? My jaw dropped when I saw how much the courses cost!

Just a little advice regarding the GRE. I wish someone had told me this before, but you DO NOT need a gazillion prep books/flashcards/whatever to do well. They vary wildly in terms of quality. For example, the Kaplan quantitative book was ridiculously simple, but the MAGOOSH (an online prep company) quantiative questions had me panicking because they were so difficult. The official ETS prep material is the most accurate (in terms of difficulty and types of questions you will see). I also liked the Kaplan flashcards. The MAGOOSH blog was very helpful in terms of little tips/strategies. Do as many of the ETS practice tests (Powerprep!!) as possible and TIME YOURSELF. I totally psyched myself out before taking the GRE and kept prologing my testing date. The GRE is definitely not impossible (it made me seriously reconsider applying to U.S. programs..ugh..so silly). You do need to put some effort into it. However, the exam is simply testing your ability to take the GRE. So keep practicing with the proper time constraints in an environment similar to the testing environment, until you obtain a Powerprep score you are comfortable with.

The exact same thing happened to me. I recieved a voice message to call back (no answer unfortunately). There was no mention of a scholarship offer in my letter either. My friend recieved an email confirming her acceptance (that I did not recieve), so maybe it is a faculty member calling to confirm? I am not sure!!

Congrats to you! Have you visited MGH or do you have plans to visit? I was surprised there was no mention of an open house in the letter.

I recieved the email from MGH about two hours ago. Good luck everyone!

The official ETS material is the best way to prep for the actual exam (after all, it is designed by the people creating the GRE!). Therefore, the powerprep is probably the best predictor of your score. Other materials tend to be too easy or difficult. I found the quant section to be the most challenging as well. Here is a blog with some great little quant tips that were very useful http://magoosh.com/gre/gre-math/. The tips will save you time. Also, practice with a timer!! Simulate the test experience as exactly as possible. I did not find the test to be that difficult, it really is the limited time that trips you up...so just practice pacing yourself. Good luck!

The official ETS guide is really the best!! Combine that with some vocab flash cards and you should be fine. The Kaplan prep books were a waste of time for me, especially the quantitative. I think you would be underprepared if you used Kaplan. Honestly, I psyched myself out and bought loads of prep materials. I realized all I needed was the ETS and some vocab refreshers.