lorenzojojo

You guys are the best Twin Cities was the only program I applied to. I had lofty plans to apply to a bunch of schools, but due to time/money constraints I ended up deciding to just focus my energies on the program I really wanted to go to and see what happened. My husband and I also had to take employment options and living near family into consideration along with my more limited selection of 3 year programs (I have virtually no SLP coursework under my belt...yet). I know I can strengthen my application even more in the next year, pick myself up, and put myself out there again soon. For now, I'm keeping it classy with crying + PBR tonight. I will also be enjoying some wine this weekend for sure

Thanks guys I really needed to hear stuff like this right now. I knew I was taking a risk when I applied, but it's still disappointing to say the least. I've worked so hard this past year on my application while teaching full time. I will persevere though and pursue other options I don't have my pre-reqs done yet. I'm going to e-mail the school tomorrow to see if I can get any insight as to why I was rejected (maybe the pre-reqs was the reason). That might help me take the next steps. Which schools have spring admissions pitt123? Would I be able to apply as a 3 year candidate?

Just got rejected from University of Minnesota I'm going to go cry in a corner now.

Dream/Hope- Get into the one school I applied: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 3 year program (hopefully with bilingual/multicultural emphasis). Work with children in schools or private practice, specializing in English learners and literacy issues. Guess- I'm driving myself insane with this. I feel I'm a strong candidate, but my daydreams have become darker as I get closer to hearing and I've convinced myself that I won't get in. I'm not sure exactly the Plan B I'll choose yet. I might do an online Post Bacc or just wait and reapply to more 3 year programs next year. I really love Minnesota's program though so here's hoping!

Hi everyone! I'm an out-of-field applicant looking at 3 year programs. Here are some of my stats: Undergrad GPA: 3.73 Psychology BA M.Ed GPA: 4.0 GRE: V-167, Q-159, W-4.5 I've been teaching elementary school for the past seven years and am wanting to change careers because of my passion for everything speech/language and my experiences with specific students who have needed support in speech/language. I've been wanting to specialize for years now but didn't think I would be able to go back to school until very recently. I've been trying to boost my SLP experience this past year while working full-time. Here are some things I've done: Volunteer at a bike camp for kids with disabilities, volunteer for a theater camp for teens/young adults with disabilities, volunteer at a speech-language clinic, shadowing experience with an SLP (soon I hope), observed an audiologist, currently taking a hearing disorders class in the evenings I'm worried most about how little SLP experience I have so far. I also hope I can get recommendations from someone in the field, as right now I have recommenders lined up from my M.Ed and my work. I'm also working like crazy on my SOP to show my relevant experience as a teacher and why I'm so interested in and qualified for this field. I'm also still deciding on my final list of schools to apply to. Right now my first choice is University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Anyone else applying there? Good luck to everyone!

Thanks for the quick response This is my back-up plan if I don't get in anywhere this round. I could do an online post-bac this year, but would prefer to get into a 3 year program or complete a post-bac in-person. I hope my recommendations combined with my personal statement about my related experiences and passion for SLP can get me into a 3 year program for next fall. We shall see

I am also worried about this. I'm coming from out-of-field and don't have that many speech-language contacts yet. I've been teaching full-time for the past six years, so I have a lot of relevant experience. Working with students in areas related to speech and language is my passion and I have no doubt I want to specialize in this field. I hadn't been aggressively pursuing SLP until this past year because I didn't think I would ever be able to go back to school. Circumstances changed this past year and I am thrilled that I can pursue SLP programs. However, I feel like I'm stuck in this odd place as someone who is applying to 3 year programs for out-of-field applicants. It's like they know you need that first year for the foundation coursework (because you're coming from a different background), but at the same time still expect letters of rec from SLP professors/professionals...from that major you don't have yet. I was explicitly told at one school I was visiting that I would not get into the 3 year program if I didn't have any SLP coursework or didn't have 3 academic letters of rec, including ones from SLP professors. I would still like to use my employer as one of my letters of rec. I feel she can speak to my strengths and skills as an education and leader that would relate to SLP. I have also contacted a professor from my M.Ed program who knew me well (she was my student teaching advisor). However, I don't have a SLP recommender lined up yet and I am really worried. On the upside, I am currently taking a hearing disorders class in the evenings and am doing really well (destroying the tests, participating in class, etc.), so I'm sure the professor (an audiologist) would write me a recommendation...however, still not specifically SLP. I tried desperately to take a SLP class this fall and could not find one that would fit into my schedule at this time. I do have some specific SLP volunteer and shadowing experiences lined up in the next month, but worry that I won't have time to build these relationships enough before the applications are due. Hopefully I can get the audiologist professor and a SLP for 4 letters of rec total. I haven't given up hope yet Any other out-of-fielders struggling with this? Advice? Here are some of my stats: Psychology BA and Education Studies M.Ed from UCSD-graduated with honors Undergrad GPA: 3.73 M.Ed GPA: 4.0 GRE: Verbal-167, Quant-159, Writing-4.5 Work/Volunteer Experience: Six plus years teaching experience at various grade levels including working with students with speech/language/ communication difficulties, volunteer at a bike camp for children with disabilities, volunteer at a theater camp for autistic teens/adults, SLP clinic volunteering and shadowing (soon)

Hi, everyone! It's been a few months since I've popped in here. Congrats to all who successfully survived the GRE! I am also very impressed with everyone's stats and experience. Here are some updates on my SLP journey: 1.) I decided not to go the online post-bac route. If I do a post-bac, I would prefer to do it in person. I also heard mixed reactions from schools about which online post-bacs offered the best preparation for a Masters. I think it still might be an option for me if I don't get in for next fall, but I'm not doing it now. 2.) I am taking a class at Cal State San Marcos in the evenings on hearing disorders. It's not exactly a speech-language class, but it was the only class that fits into my current schedule (teaching full-time). I figure since I don't have any specific speech-languge/hearing disorders classes under my belt yet, I should try to take some before I apply to show I can succeed in these types of classes. I'm doing really well so far and LOVE it! So interesting!!! 3.) I'm still applying to 3 year programs for next fall, but have narrowed my list quite a bit. I will just be applying to SDSU and University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (my first choice-love their program). I am worried about how competitive these programs are, but am hoping for the best. Here are my stats since some people have started posting theirs: Undergrad GPA: 3.73 M.Ed GPA: 4.0 GRE: V- 167, Q-159, W-4.5 I've also been volunteering with an organization that teaches theater and singing classes to autistic teens and adults (so fun!) and hope to volunteer in a speech-language clinic and shadow a SLP soon. So far I've been able to juggle everything with my teaching job, but it's been very busy the last couple of months and will continue to be busy until I submit my applications. Right now I'm working on my personal statement and waiting for my letters of rec to come in. I may be popping in again for application advice soon Good luck everyone!

Hey guys It's been great to read about your experiences and feels nice that we're all in a similar boat, so to speak. Anyway, a couple things that have come up since I last posted which may be helpful: 1.) I've been using magoosh.com for GRE prep and it has helped tremendously! I paid for the whole thing, but they have a lot of free resources as well. They have free vocabulary, math, and GRE overview e-books and post frequently on their blog. I really needed to brush up on my math and the videos are excellent! The practice questions also have helped with my pacing. I swear I don't work for them or anything, it's just been a great resource for me. I take the GRE in two days (!) so wish me luck 2.) I met with one of the admissions people for SDSU this week to ask about the program and he was very helpful. My take-aways were: A) Overall, schools are very competitive right now as there have been an increase in applications in the last few years. 3 year programs (the ones I was planning on applying to) are even more competitive and the number of applicants have especially shot up, so they admit only a small fraction of the already small fraction of applicants and really looking at good numbers (for SDSU he said the average GPA for the 3 year program was 3.7, GRE scores averaged 70% and above on each of the 3 sections, and they accepted 7 out of 200 applicants last year!) C) He suggested looking into online post-bac's to open up more options for someone coming from out-of-field. With a post-bac I may be able to apply to 2 year programs, increasing my odds a bit as well as having more options. As an added bonus, I would only need to spend 2 years in school instead of 3 So, although I think my chances are still pretty good that I can get into a 3 year program, I do think it makes sense to try to do the online post-bac route to give me more options and save time and money in the long run. I didn't even consider this option before, so I'm scrambling a bit to apply to programs for this fall. I've applied to La Salle, SUNY, University of Vermont, and Keans online programs and hopefully I'll be able to do one of these while I'm teaching this year. Is anyone else doing the post-bac thing? How do I make sure I'm meeting the requirements for the schools I'm applying to?

@lululuna-- I'm actually not sure if I want to be a school SLP, although that is an environment I'm quite familiar with. Working in a hospital really appeals to me right now. I'm also not sure which population I want to work with yet. I've been working with children for so many years, and am good at it, but would love to help babies/toddlers, adults, and special needs populations as well. I definitely want to keep my options open

I am also leaving teaching to pursue SLP. I am in my sixth year of teaching and have been wanting to become a reading specialist forever. Language arts, reading, and speaking are really my passion and the subjects I love to teach most. I started doing more research into SLP and find it incredibly fascinating. Aspects of reading are part of SLP, as well as so many other areas of speech and language that I find interesting so I'm ditching the reading specialist idea and going back for the SLP masters. I'm still exploring the field so I'm not sure what I might want to specialize in someday or even if I would stay in in a school district or if I would work with a different population altogether. I'm really interested in all aspects of language (semantics, pragmatics, literacy), fluency, and cognition although I'm sure the more I explore, the more I'll learn about all aspects of the field. Another part of SLP that appeals to me is being able to work one on one with people. I love working one on one with students and often find I'm at my best as a teacher when giving that individual attention. I've been working with a student with selective mutism this year and I nearly cried when she talked for the first time in front of her classmates. I plan to volunteer at an Autism center this summer as well as shadow in early childhood and adult programs to get a good range of experiences. I hope that after getting a better sense of what I might want to specialize in or enjoy the most, I will also get a better sense of schools that will be the best fit for me as I go through this application process for Fall 2014.

Hi! I've been lurking on the boards the last couple of weeks and have found them to be incredibly helpful. I'm currently a second grade teacher in my sixth year of teaching. I have a BA in Psychology as well as a Master of Education, both from UC San Diego. I've been interested in SLP for a while and have finally decided to apply to programs for Fall 2014! I'm a little nervous about going back to school after teaching for a while, but I've seen some other career changers on here which is really reassuring. I'm planning to volunteer/shadow this summer for more experience specifically with SLP. I'm also currently studying for the GRE (yuck) and plan to take it (again) this summer. Right now I'm narrowing the list of schools to apply to. I'm trying to focus on schools that have 3 year programs for out of field applicants. SDSU, UofM-Twin Cities, Colorado-Boulder, Loma Linda, Redlands, and UofT-Austin are on the list. I'm looking forward to talking with others preparing to apply for 2014