SLPH2b
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Posts posted by SLPH2b
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Not PhD in Biology but going into MA Speech Language Pathology this fall. I graduated college in 2009, so I'm expecting to be the oldest (one of the oldest) in the cohort. I think we have a different way of looking at things (in a good way) since we were lucky to have had work experience prior to starting grad school.
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Well, I gave up all hope weeks ago, but I just got the call from Iona today!!! I was accepted and I couldn't be happier or more relieved! This goes to show: never give up, it isn't over until it's over!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Isn't it a great feeling?! I found out that I got into St. John's last week so hooray for perseverance
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! -
Thank you for opening up about your situation. I am in a similar boat, I have applied for two years in a row and have not been able get into a program. Although, I was hired on as a Speech therapist by a district under a credential waiver. Its a little crazy that I am performing all of the duties of a fully credentialed SLP. It's been a wonderful experience and I hope it is enough to give me that extra edge that I need to get into a program.
I think your experience should definitely boost your application next year. You should really consider schools with Spring admissions.
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This advice is super helpful, thank you so much! I can't believe you got denied in the first place with a 3.9 major GPA and all of your experience. I'm definitely going to keep more in contact with schools, hopefully it will help. Congrats again on your acceptance and good luck at STJ!
Thank you! Good luck to you too! I know how tough it is and sometimes you want to give up. I say, utilize all your resources and get your name out there
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I would certainly miss class to attend a wedding of someone I'm close to. In the year leading up to my own wedding, I missed class and rescheduled exams in order to fly home to plan my own wedding (we had moved for school but wanted to have the wedding at home where everyone else was).
But again, my experience is in research based graduate programs. I know that at one of my old schools, some professional programs made it clear on their application page that you cannot miss any class or take any time off during the (12-16 month) program at all, or risk failing.
Thanks! I'll definitely keep this in mind.
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@arf09 congrats ! That's amazing! I was looking into St. John's but am afraid my GPA isn't high enough. Do you mind sharing your stats?
Thank you! My stats are all over the place, so here goes:
Career changer/out-of-field
5 years research experience (ranging from wet lab to drug development to public health research)
2 years physical therapy work
obtained my SLPA license
Undergrad GPA: 3.0
Major GPA: 3.9
GRE (can't remember my scores from 3 years ago, but my current scores are as follows): 152 V, 156 Q, 4.5 W
tons of volunteer experience since graduating, though have decreased a lot in the last 2 years
~28 observation hours, over 100 hours of clinical hours for SLPA licensing
My LOR writers were 2 professors and 1 SLP (supervising SLP while obtaining SLPA license)
From what I've experience during my 2 years of applying, as awful as it is, I honestly think it's all by luck. Those with higher GPAs/GREs will have a higher chance of being admitted right away (that is, I truly believe some schools don't read LORs or SOPs.. feel free to present dissenting opinion, but this is what I can see). Next comes the ones who are borderline (this is where those STRONG LORs and SOPs come in handy). But to reiterate, I honestly think they close their eyes and move their fingers down the stack of applications and pick. I got REALLY lucky that I maintained contact with the program director and that there were slots available.
My advice: for those with low quantitative scores, contact the director and maintain a relationship! Don't overwhelm them with SOP content, just state that you're GPA is on the low side but you'd still like to be considered a competitive applicant, what else can you do to increase your chances of being admitted? Then follow up with an email just before submitting, after submitting (approximately 2 weeks after deadline. they're going to be swamped and may not even read your email, but do it anyway), and then after decisions have been made. Maintain contact (if waitlisted or rejected) that you're still interested should space open up. **Do this all on the one email thread so they can see that you've been in contact with them all this time** (they may not have read your email then, but they might read all of them at once if they see your latest update).
Hope this helps!
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What about for a wedding? For financial reasons, the bride (I'm a bridesmaid) made hers on a weekday, which means I would have to miss at most 2 days (Monday and Tuesday).
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Big congrats to you - you must be so psyched!!!
Thank you!! OMG YES SOOO PSYCHED!!! I even had the audacity to even question about whether I should attend or not (other things have been happening at work that will help me later on), but in the end, I knew this is what I want to do. I'm so excited!!
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that's great! when did you send the email? I wanna try the same...so if you could give me some info it would be greatly appreciated
Hey! So I've been in communication with the program director for some time now. I first reached out before I was applying so throughout the application process and even afterwards, I've sent an email here and there. I sent her an email just to update her about new changes and that I was interested in applying in the next cycle, and she emailed back saying something along the lines of "way to go!" (LOL). Then a few days later, I get the acceptance letter. I submitted my deposit yesterday and now looking for housing. This is for St. John's in Queens for anyone who is interested (they have spring admissions too!).
So for any St. John's folks attending in the Fall, please accept my request to be added to the FB group. Thanks!
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I got in after a rejection. Just found out last week! Completely out of the blue... I had emailed the director with an update and the next thing I knew, I had an email with a CONGRATULATIONS.. YOU'VE BEEN ACCEPTED!!
finally... I can now breathe a little easier. I now have to worry about finding housing (Queens, NY) and making sure I can afford it. There's no way I want to delay this due to funding, this has been a loooong time coming
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Changed some of my schools around so my first deadline is due June 15th, but my application was verified within 12 hours!! My LOR writers waited literally until the last minute to send their letters. While I had 1 completed (SOPHAS required at least 2/3 letters submitted) letter submitted, I still needed that 1 more to get verified.
One thing that scares me, though, is that SOPHAS seemed to have made my overall GPA slightly lower. I hope schools do look beyond the overall and notice how significantly higher my post-bacc courses were compared to my UG GPA. Now, I wait.
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arf09, would you mind me asking which schools you have in mind ?
I'm looking at programs with June, July deadlines: Drexel, NYMC, Alabama, Texas A&M, University of Texas
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Just found out this afternoon that I got into the medSLP program at University of Washington - Seattle off the wait list!! I am absolutely shocked! Was 100% expecting not to get in
CONGRATULATIONS!! Seattle is an amazing city!
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@cosmicmorgan, i saw someone declined their acceptance at Loyola! Maybe you're next!
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Is it too much to email the director this week about waitlist status? I called last week and spoke to the Director (though I'm not quite sure she got my name or remembered it by the time I hung up), who told me they're making their way down the waitlist.
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Don't go by what SOPHA lists, go by what each individual program lists on their respective websites. If you want to double check, email or call the programs you are interested in.
You need to fully complete the app before it can be e-submitted, and then verified. The verification took literally five minutes for me after I e-submitted my application.....I'm just assuming there are hardly any applicants this late in the game.
Awesome! I'm just finishing up my personal statement so once I've had it edited, I'm good to go. My goal is to e-submit in the next few days. I requested transcripts so I hope it gets there soon so I can be verified asap.
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Arf09 what school are you waiting on?
New Mexico!
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The deadlines listed on SOPHAS means that your app needs to be completed/verified by then, correct? I read somewhere on the FAQ that as long as you e-submit well before the deadline, they can process it and continue to receive documents even after the deadline has passed. It seems a little confusing to me...
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We will hear something! I have faith!!
@cosmicmorgan GOOD LUCK TO US!
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First of all, Broadway.. IMPRESSIVE! May I ask which show? I'm an avid Broadway fan and I'm impressed with the actors' ability to rehearse and put on 8 shows a week! I think you can spin your passion and work experience in broadway into an interesting personal statement. You will definitely stand out.
Your undergrad GPA is good. If you begin the prerequisite courses and get As, you'll definitely be competitive (plus a good GRE of course, just aim for 300 or higher). I think your GPA is good enough to begin the 3year programs with the first year as leveling. Again, just aim to break the 300 minimum for the GRE. You should also try to get great LORs. I know you've been out of school for awhile but maybe you can still reach out to one of your old professors. The rest can be from your current work (supervisor or anyone who can attest to your potential to succeed in grad school) or if you volunteer, you can use a volunteer supervisor as well.
Hope these help!
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@WisconsinNite99, I'm still on the UW-W wait list; I hope we both get good news from them! I have my heart set on Whitewater.
& thanks for the positive thoughts, as always, @polarbeara
3/4 schools I'm waitlisted at said their first round of wait list acceptances have until 5/1 to accept or decline their spot. Here's to another week of waiting!
If you guys haven't heard from your school about waitlists, just send them an e-mail. Only Rush hasn't responded (I may have emailed the wrong address..), and everyone else was super nice and gave me a heads up on the time frame!
I'm on the same boat as you with another week of waiting. I wonder if they consider moving those who are persistent and willing to attend up their waitlists...
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thunder thighs
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Union City, Newark, Alameda are good choices for short commutes. Oakland and Berkeley are also good choices, but traffic is hell even to/from these places. Maybe you guys can connect with current grad students/second year grad students who will be moving and see if you can take over their lease or sublet (those who are subletting).
when your loan doesn't fully cover tuition..
in The Bank
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I'm attending St. John's this fall for a different grad program. It's so expensive and I agree that the financial aid amount they're offering does not cover the cost of tuition. I've been calling Financial Aid office every day for nearly a week but their hold/wait times are ridiculous! I told the folks over at Financial Aid Office that they seemed to have miscalculated my cost of attendance and that the loan amount they calculated for tuition was half time per semester, so basically there was another semester of tuition they didn't include! I decided to apply for a private loan because I got a way better rate than what the PLUS was offering. I hope I won't have to take additional loans for spring because this is ridiculous. It also doesn't help that I got in off the waitlist, so there were no GA positions offered :/
Also, they didn't calculate health insurance (if you don't have one) into the cost of attendance. If you feel like they need to adjust your budget, you should fill out the Graduate Budget Appeal form and show documentation of school-related expenses (rent, books, health insurance, even one-time purchase of a computer!).