sayjo

That's not true. I know for a fact that someone in my family member's class failed the second time and had to go an extra semester. My family member is grateful for all of the medical experience (definitely helped getting a job in the medical field), but has told me that they would choose somewhere else if they were going to do it again. This is in part due to the stress level but also due to finances as Rush is a fairly expensive program and they will now be paying back loans for a long time. I, personally, didn't even consider Rush because I'm not really interested in the medical side of SLP. However, my family member's warnings about finances helped me make the decision to forego expensive schools (I was also accepted to Northwestern, loved it, but couldn't justify the $$$) and decide to go to a smaller state school in Illinois that gave me a graduate assistantship (full tuition waiver + stipend). I'm very happy with my decision and love my school, but I know that a school like Rush is the best option for some. I don't think it's a bad school, I just don't think it was the best fit for my family member (who is an extreme perfectionist and doesn't handle stress well). Best of luck making your decision!

Just received their CCCs...so very recently.

A family member went to Rush. About 1/2 of family member's class failed the oral comprehensive exams first time through. One hour, four questions (no, you don't know what they will be ahead of time)...yikes!! Also, family member was stressed out ALL. THE. TIME. I'm currently attending a different program and feel nowhere near the amount of stress that my family member (and majority of family member's classmates) did. That said, if you someday want a job in a hospital in the Chicago area, you'll have connections up the wazoo.

Teach for America is different than what you are describing. I was in a program that was similar to TFA and in that program I taught in an inner city school for two years before receiving my education money from Americorps. What you are looking for is some kind of agreement that will pay for your school while you are in school with the understanding that you will work in a certain area for x number of years after you graduate. Illinois has something similar: http://www.isac.org/isac-gift-assistance-programs/illinois-special-education-teacher-tuition-waiver/. You might want to directly contact the schools you are interested in to see if they know of waivers. I believe this is how I found out about the Illinois waiver. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

Check out Rush University in Chicago, IL. Heavy hospital focus.

I don't know if you do actually need a clinical master's first. One of the professors at my school doesn't have her CCCs and (obviously) has never been a practicing clinician. However, I don't really think this is a good thing. It's important to have your CCCs if you're going to be teaching others how to be clinicians. I do want to add that I, personally, am glad that graduate schools don't accept many applicants for two reasons: 1. Applicants that are accepted are the cream of the crop. If everyone could get accepted into a graduate program, you'd probably end up with a lot of mediocrity. Example: Teaching. I hate to bash on teachers (I was one myself, and I know about the hard work they do) but just about anyone can get accepted into a teaching program. The result? You end up with a lot of great teachers, but a lot of sub-par teachers too. 2. Job availability. Again, coming from teaching, it is SO DIFFICULT to get a teaching job because there are a ton of applicants out there! In addition, schools don't have to pay their teachers good salaries because of supply and demand. I've been paying a lot of attention to job websites (like Indeed) and it seems there are always SLP jobs available. It will be so nice to be able to pick from an array of jobs once I graduate, rather than just taking whatever I can get. I don't have a problem with post-bacc programs, because I was a post-bacc student myself and found it difficult to find a program near me. However, I DO feel like schools need to be up front with students about the difficulty about getting into graduate school, so that students don't feel blindsided if they are unable to get in. Just my two cents.

Last year, I heard back from University of Illinois in early/mid February, which surprised me because I wasn't expecting to hear back so soon. Purdue notified me about a week later. I'm pretty sure I heard back from the rest of my schools sometime in March.

Rush University focuses heavily on the medical side. Their program is actually located inside Rush Hospital in Chicago. A family member of mine attended Rush and had the opportunity to do many unique medical placements (such as working as part of a craniofacial team). Additionally, their coursework is very in depth compared to other schools. I believe my family member had entire courses on topics such as head & neck cancer, TBI, etc. Rush's program is very rigorous though - so if you decide to go there, be prepared to work hard!

I only had my 20 observation hours at the time I applied, but I had worked as a teacher for the previous five years. I didn't go out of my way to get volunteer hours.

I'm still (barely) in my 20s, but I also was in the classroom before changing careers. I taught for five years before going back to school. I applied and was accepted to schools last application season and just finished up my first semester in grad school. I definitely feel like my previous experiences in education have helped me be successful in my program. My husband and I don't have children and weren't tied down to a certain location, so I was able to apply to a number of schools. Ultimately, I chose the school that cost the least amount of $$$. I ended up getting a G.A., so I don't have to pay tuition (yay!). Let me know if you have any questions!

I'm not trying to scare you away from the education field (Lord knows we need good teachers), but I do want to caution you that in my opinion, there is considerably larger amount of stress being a special education teacher compared with being an SLP. However, special ed can still be a very rewarding job if you're the type of person who has a good personality for it. Again, I want to strongly encourage you to try to shadow and/or interview special education teachers before making your final decision. Ask them about their favorite/least favorite parts of their job, how much work they have to take home, do they feel valued in their profession, etc. Volunteer work (like you did in high school) is great to get some hands-on experience. I worked at a summer camp for kids with special needs one summer - that might be something to look into. Just a final piece of advice - I know it's hard to go against your family when you're young and your parents are paying for school. I get it. I've been there. My parents were really overbearing and insisted on me only majoring in certain fields. I was too scared to go against their wishes. Now, I really wish I would have put my foot down and done what I wanted to do. I ended up working in a career for 5 years that made me miserable just because I liked making my parents happy. I still like making my parents happy, but being older has given me a lot more perspective. Sometimes I do things that they don't like, but I'm an adult and I know they'll get over it eventually. You need to follow your own heart and do what makes you happy. I promise your family will still love you (even though they might not act like it at first).

I agree that SLP might not be the field for you. Graduate level courses are much more difficult than undergraduate level, so even if you were to get into a grad school, I'm not certain that you could keep up with the workload. Both my husband and I changed our majors several times. My best advice is to try to shadow people in the workforce to get an idea of different jobs. Education tends to be a ridiculously easy major (disclaimer: this is my experience - not everyone would agree with me); however, the job itself is EXTREMELY difficult. If you never wanted to be a teacher, it might not be a good fit for you. I don't know a lot about nursing, but some of my friends started off in the field by becoming a certified nursing assistant first. That's a little easier to do and you get hands on experience in the field. Then you can work up to an actual nursing degree. Just a thought.

Rankings tend to be based on the school's research reputation - NOT how good/bad the program is. As long as the program is accredited and you are able to get your Cs, you can find a job.

Also a first year grad student, so I'm definitely no expert, but from what I understand, the /θ/ for /s/ is NOT a phonological process. Rather, it is a distortion of /s/ (dentalization). Similarly, I would guess that /ð/ for /z/ is a distortion of /z/. (/s/ also has another distortion - it can be lateralized, just fyi).

I, personally, loved my online program (Utah State) and felt like the faculty was extremely available and supportive. I'm not sure how other online programs compare. Just remember that if you choose to go the online route, you must be EXTREMELY self-disciplined to make sure you complete assignments and lectures in a timely manner. As long as you go to an accredited school for your post-bacc, your courses will count. That shouldn't be a huge factor in your decision. You mainly need to decide how YOU learn best and what will fit your schedule - then, go from there. Good luck!

Yes, just a typical three ring binder (size may vary depending on the number of courses you are taking). I also purchased dividers to separate my courses.

Hi Articklish! I took both of those classes. COMD 3120 (Artic Disorders) is really cool because it teaches you a lot about what you will actually be doing as an SLP. There are several labs where you complete and score assessments for articulation disorders. The class was fairly easy. Early in the semester, one of our T.A.s (Carol Hurd) posted study guides that she'd made for 3120 in the discussion section. I used those pretty much exculsively to study for the tests. Speech Science is my FAVORITE class I took at USU, but - a disclaimer - a great number of people don't like it. It is a lot more science-y than other courses. However, the professor is very clear and explains concepts well. He is also VERY quick to get back to you if you have a question or don't understand a concept. He provides a study guide for each test. You pretty much only need to know what is on the study guide. He won't trick you with any other questions at exam time. Hope that helps! I loved USU and think it's a great way to learn! Good luck with your semester.

When I did coursework via USU, I used a binder for each semester. I created a different tab for each course in the semester, printed out the lecture slides for each course, and added them to the binder under the appropriate tab. I took my notes directly on the printouts of the lecture slides. This worked well for me and kept me organized. The only other "school supplies" I purchased were textbooks & highlighters. I also bought an anatomy and physiology coloring book on Amazon when I took COMD 3100 that helped a lot. Let me know if you need any other specifics!

I also did classes at USU. I don't remember how much time I spent per week, but I felt that most of the time I spent outside of lectures was memorizing. Quizlet is your friend.

I took five and I was fine. You know yourself best. If you think you can handle it, go for it.

I did a lot of research on this because I was out of field when I decided to apply and didn't know if I needed a second Bachelor's or just needed to complete pre-reqs. What I found is that some schools do want you to have a degree in communication disorders but MOST schools will accept you if you have a degree in a different major and have completed all the communication disorders pre-reqs. Most schools have somewhere between 5-10 pre-reqs that they require. Pre-reqs seem to differ from school to school, although most schools require phonetics, anatomy & physiology, intro to audiology, and a language development course. In the end, I don't think it matters if you want to major in a different field for undergrad, but it will take you a longer amount of time (and more money in coursework) before you apply to grad school. If you do choose to go for a different major, you might want to do something closely related to SLP, such as English, linguistics, or education. I was a teacher prior to applying to grad school, and I feel like my experience in that field gave my application a boost - especially because I had the chance to work with a number of children that had receptive and/or expressive language disorders in my classroom. Finally, I want to point out that you CAN work and do your COMD bachelors at the same time. I'm assuming this will be your first bachelor's degree based on your post. USU offers an online first bachelors. I'm not sure where you're located, but if it's near Chicago, Governor's State offers an in-person part-time first bachelors for working adults. If you KNOW that grad school is your ultimate goal, I would urge you to commit to an undergrad degree in communication disorders unless you have other interests you would like to pursue. Getting into grad school is competitive, but not impossible. Best of luck.

I believe UIUC lets you opt out of some adult coursework if you're choosing only to focus on the pediatric population.

I'm not sure about percentages, but I feel like every school I applied to in the Chicago area had a much higher number of applicants than non-urban schools. Most of the schools I applied to stated how many applications they received in their acceptance/rejection letters. If I recall correctly, most of the schools in Chicago had around 400-600 applicants, whereas others (i.e. central/southern Illinois) had around 200-300. I'm no expert, but I feel like this is true of most major cities. There's a larger population PLUS lots of grad students want to move to big cities for school. That equals more applications and smaller acceptance rates. That said, I believe Northwestern ends up accepting about 50% of their applicants, since so many choose not to attend due to high tuition costs.

Try looking at the coursework and clinical placement options in order to narrow schools down. For example, if you were to go to Rush University, the courses you would take would be much more geared toward medical SLP (there is an entire class on head and neck cancer, for example). A different university might put more emphasis on child-based coursework. Some universities even let you pick and choose coursework based on your interests as long as you are still meeting the ASHA requirements. Also look at clinical placements. Will you be expected to do most of your clinicals in the university clinic? Are there opportunities to get externships in hospitals? Do you have clinicals first semester? By focusing on coursework and clinical placements, you're able to find schools that will fit your particular interests and needs. Don't hesitate to contact program directors with any questions! In my experience, they've been more than happy to tell me about their graduate programs.

I think the consensus on this board is that it doesn't matter where you go to school, UNLESS you really want to work with a certain professor OR if you eventually want to get your Ph.D. As long as the school is accredited by ASHA (and isn't on probation), you should be fine. Excuse me for a moment while I ramble about my personal "big name" school philosophy. I went to a "no-name" school for undergrad, followed by a "big name" school for my M.S.Ed. There was NO difference in the quality of my programs. NONE. In fact, I liked my "no-name" undergrad school better because the professors were more invested in teaching. Many times, when you go to a "big name" school or a highly ranked school, the school is highly ranked based on the quality of its RESEARCH, not the quality of the actual classes you will be taking. Obviously, this matters a lot in some fields, but if your career goal is to be an SLP in a school district or nursing home, it really shouldn't matter to you how highly the school is ranked. When I applied last year, I applied to several programs ranked in the top 15 for SLP (UIUC, Purdue, Northwestern, Vanderbilt). I got into most, but turned them down. My decision was largely based on tuition, but other factors helped me decide as well. I'm very happy with my choice to go to a lesser-known school. You need to go somewhere that will be a good fit for YOU. This means you need to consider tuition, coursework, CLINICAL PLACEMENTS, location, etc. Don't go somewhere just based on the name alone. Sorry for the long post, but I'm very passionate when it comes to "big name" or highly ranked universities. Nine times out of ten, I don't believe the tuition you end up paying is worth it for the "name brand" degree. Hope I didn't offend anyone - feel free to disagree!