sayjo

Hi virginiarunninggirl, I'm an out-of-field applicant too and also have teaching experience. Re your question about including athletic achievements - I am not planning to put any on my CSDCAS application. I am a figure skater and have continued to skate into adulthood; however, I struggle to see how this would be relevant to my application. Others on here may disagree with me, but I feel that unless you address your athletic achievement (and your perception of its relationship to graduate school) in your personal statement, I don't think it should be included in your application at all. Also, I think that your novel would be best in your personal statement to speak about what sparked your interest in SLP. However, I would be cautious of devoting too much time to it - it sounds like you have some great concrete experiences relating to SLP, such as your work with children on the Autism spectrum. I would try to focus on these experiences, especially since you are out-of-field. You want the admissions committee to know that you have relevant experience since us out-of-fielders are competing with those who majored in this field of study for the past four years. Hope that helps! Good luck to you!

Thanks, CatSLP716. That helps a lot.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have a question about LOR as well. After my undergrad program, I completed a (pretty unique) volunteer teaching program where I taught two years in the inner-city and was able to get my Masters at Northwestern on scholarship. I had one of my supervisors write a LOR for me so that he could explain about the program and sing my praises. I wanted him to write me a letter because I feel like that experience sets me apart from other candidates; however, I also had two "normal" professors write me LORs as well. Do you think schools will look down on me having a non-academic recommender?

I noticed that CSDCAS just opened for our admission cycle! Has anyone else started filling out their application yet?

smccau3, Great stats! I'm currently planning to apply to seven schools, but that number is subject to change. My number is probably a little overkill; however, I just really want to make sure that I get in SOMEWHERE this year. Mostly this is because I don't want to be 30 and still in school - my husband and I would like to buy a house and start a family eventually, lol! Rush University has a great reputation for medical stuff. Their program is located in the Rush University Medical Center which is a highly regarded hospital. However, their program is super stressful - grad students have to take something like 108 credit hours in two years. Their website is here. I have heard of other programs that focus on the medical side of things, but I don't know any of them off the top of my head. Good luck!

yumangous - I guess it still depends on the school. You'd probably want to choose a school that has a hospital focus and is highly regarded. For instance, one of my family members went to Rush (which is actually in a hospital) and had a lot more hospital placements than students from St. Xavier, another school nearby. I imagine this would help immensely in interview situations because (1) the Rush student had a lot more hospital experience to draw from and (2) Rush has a great reputation for clinicians who wish to work in hospitals. I'm not saying this is always true; however, it certainly seems to be an advantage in the Chicago area where there are a lot of SLPs around. Pkcd - I wouldn't worry too much about your GRE score - it is only one part of your application. Just make sure you have a strong SOP and great LORs. That said, if you still wish to retake, I would definitely check out the GRE section of this forum. It's very helpful to read about how others have studied for the GRE and what materials they have used.

yumangous, I agree with you except for one thing - I have two family members that have recently become SLPs and they both stated that it is difficult to find a hospital CFY position. If you're looking to do your CF year in a hospital, it would probably be best to go to a school that has a strong reputation for hospital work so that you have a better chance of getting your CF in that field. However, as far as finding a job in general, I don't think it matters what grad school you go to as long as it's accredited.

Good luck, Pkcd!!

If you are really concerned, you can try to postpone your test date. You're able to do this up to four days before the test (which means you'd have to do it today). See here. Otherwise, just do what the above poster said. Don't stress, take the test, and if you don't like your scores, schedule a retake. Lots of people take the GRE more than once. An added bonus of this method is that you'll be able to gauge your strengths and weaknesses on your first test so that you can really target where you'd like to study for your second test. Also, if it makes you feel any better, I scored much lower on my PowerPrep practice tests than I did on my actual GRE. My GRE verbal score was 5 points higher than the PowerPrep and my quantitative score was 4 points higher than PowerPrep. You might surprise yourself!

Where are you planning to apply? Those GRE scores are super high for most programs. From what I've read around here, it seems that a lot people just try to break a 300 combined score and obviously you're way above that. If you're concerned about your GPA and other experience, I think it's a much better idea to NOT retake the GRE and instead spend that extra time making sure you are able to get stellar references and writing an outstanding SOP. The GRE is just one piece of the application puzzle. Hope that helps!

I agree with everything GandalfTheGrey said. Additionally, I would recommend finding meaningful volunteer experiences that you can participate in. If you intend to work in the schools as an SLP someday, you might want to find volunteer work at nearby schools (such as being a reading tutor). If you're more interested in the medical side of things, you may want to volunteer at a hospital. Not only can these types of volunteer experiences help your resume, they can also be fun, rewarding, and give you insight into your future career. Just my $0.02.

Hi ludenaa, If you look through this forum, you'll notice that many have similar backgrounds to you. What you need to do is to either take pre-reqs or complete a second bachelor's program (Utah State has a great and affordable online program) and make sure that you get as close to a 4.0 as possible. Most schools will only care about your GPA for your SLP pre-req work. You also need to get a good GRE score and find people who can write you amazing letters of recommendation. If you are bilingual (it sounds like you are), you might want to consider applying for a bilingual SLP program. Bilingual SLPs are in VERY high demand as few people are qualified for this field. Also - just a note - you will find that many (though not all) SLP programs REQUIRE a degree in communication disorders or a certain amount of pre-req classes in order to even be CONSIDERED for the program. I would suggest looking at schools that you are interested in and finding out what they require for admission. Hope that helps!

Everything you are doing sounds great!! (Obviously - since your scores are improving so much - WOW!!!) I think the ETS rules state that I can't tell you what my essay questions were, but if you go here and here, you will find a complete pool of the topics you might get for the writing section. I think it's great that you're memorizing math formulas! I did a little of that (about 50 flash cards) but I wish I had done more since there were some area and volume formulas that I didn't know on the test. Actually, I sucked at a lot of the geometry stuff because I really only memorized info about triangles since I remembered the last time I took the GRE (5+ years ago) that they had lots of questions about triangles. Have you tried taking the tests on the ETS's PowerPrep software? I did find that these practice tests were the closest to the actual test (since they are made by the same company) and I would recommend trying at least one before you go in to take your test.

Hi NCAR823, I actually scored much better on the actual test than I did on the PowerPrep practice tests. My best verbal score on PowerPrep was 156 and my best quantitative score was 149 so I was shocked when my actual scores popped up. There were two things that I think really helped me. First, I studied vocabulary like crazy - I learned something insane like 800 words (I used this book) - so when it came to the actual GRE test there were very few words I didn't know. Second, about three weeks out from the test I began doing lots of practice tests (I used this book). I did one verbal and one quantitative section a day and I timed myself. I found this really important to me because at first I was having a hard time managing the short amount of time available for each section. I often wouldn't get to every problem. By timing myself, I was able to increase my speed and complete each section of the test. Also, the practice tests gave me all sorts of math problems and since I'm not very strong in math, it helped me to read through the explanation for each problem once I finished with the test. My final piece of advice is that if you've been studying diligently (and it sounds like you have), be confident in your abilities on test day! You already put in the hard work, so breathe, relax, take it one problem at a time and you'll do fine! Hope that helps! Best of luck on the GRE!!

Hey guys! I'm reporting in because I took the GRE today - I got a 161 V and a 153 Q. I wanted a 160 V and a 153 Q (I knew I wouldn't do too well in math, hehe - just wanted to get in the 50th percentile range) so I am extremely happy! Yay! One more thing to cross off the list. Good luck to everyone who still needs to take it!

Hi SmartyPants14! Regarding your GRE - have you tried to study vocabulary at all for the verbal section? I found that really helped bring my score up. There's all sorts of vocabulary lists online and books that you can buy that have lists of vocabulary words frequently used on the GRE. I'm still struggling with the quantitative section too; however, I worked my way through this book and found that it really helped me brush up on a lot of my skills. Hope that helps!

I think it is important to memorize vocab because the GRE uses words that you don't usually encounter in everyday life. I'm memorizing vocab and I noticed when I took the PowerPrep practice test that many of the words I memorized were on the test. You should look for a GRE specific vocab list or book. I've been using StudyBlue to help me in addition to Barron's Essential Words for the GRE. Hope that helps!

I just committed to a GRE date - August 9th. Eeek! The pressure is really on now! @erdestromp, Are you close with any professors in the English department at your school? If you are, they would probably be a great resource to help you with your SOP. I would write up a rough draft (or two) and set up an appointment to have them read over it with you. They'll definitely make sure that your paper is concise an on-topic!

@SLPeechHopeful I found an old thread on this forum that has some great info about post-bacc options both online and in-person. Here is the link: Scroll down to Midnight's post. Hope that helps!

Hi NCAR823! Sounds like you've got some great experience and have got things really planned out! The "Fall 2014 Newbie Talk" thread has a bunch of us who are looking to apply to grad school this year - you should check it out! My stats are as follows: -3.9 undergrad GPA (English and Secondary Education - my English major GPA was 4.0) + Honors Program -Masters from Northwestern in Advanced Education (Literacy focus - my thesis related to struggling readers and steps that can be taken to help them improve their literacy) - Had an A average for GPA but don't remember exactly what it was -5 years teaching experience all in an inner-city school -At my school, I've served on the RTI committee for 3 years which is what helped me become interested in SLP -Numerous other unrelated volunteer experiences I'm also currently studying like crazy for the GRE and will be taking it in August too! Good luck!

Hi lorenzojojo! Good luck on your GRE! I'll be crossing my fingers for you. I'm doing post-bacc this year. Originally the plan was for me to quit my job and go full time; however, my husband and I have had some recent changes in our lives that have made it nearly impossible to do so. So my new plan is to take online courses from USU while working full time (I'm totally bummed about this but - hey, what can you do? Being an adult stinks sometimes). I've made a giant spreadsheet to help me decide what classes to take. On my spreadsheet, I've listed my possible schools and then I've marked which pre-reqs each school requires. I've found that every school lists their required pre-reqs on their website. I'm currently trying to decide which classes I want to start with at USU. If you want to make sure that you're meeting the requirements of the school you're applying to, you should really try to obtain a second bachelor's in communication disorders. That is what I was originally going to do, but it would take me a lot longer to complete all the classes instead of just fulfilling the pre-reqs. Hope this helps! Edited to add: I just noticed you're a teacher. I am too! Are you worried about taking classes while teaching this year? Since getting into grad school is so competitive, I want to get really good grades, but I'm scared I won't be able to do my best in my classes since I will be working full time and teaching is EXHAUSTING. How many classes are you planning to take per semester? I'm thinking two but I'm not sure...

That info about observation hours is helpful, thanks! I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the number of hours I was putting in but I sure will now! That's what I think must be nice about having your undergrad in CSD - you seem to know a lot more about what to expect for grad school and the application process! Super jealous! This is actually my second time taking the GRE. I took the old version back when I was in undergrad - but just my luck, I hit the five year mark where I can no longer use my old scores. I've been studying using CliffsNotes Math Review for Standardized Tests (it's been so long since I've done any kind of math and I've found this book to be really easy to follow), Barron's Essential Words for the GRE, and Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE 2013. I remember there being a lot of really difficult vocabulary on the test the last time I took it, so I'm trying to memorize a bunch of vocabulary words. After I go through my prep books, I'm planning to work through the ETS stuff. As a teacher, I'm very fortunate to have the summer off and I'm trying to study between 2-3 hours a day - although that doesn't work out so well when my fellow teacher friends want to go out and have fun. Haha.

Hi lululuna, Unfortunately, I can't remember any other reasons for the bad review. My family member mostly spoke about the number of credit hours. I looked it up today and Rush requires 108 hours which does sound like a lot, especially considering the fact that my family member did clinical placements every quarter (I think) on top of the full course load. It sounds like the program just wasn't a good fit for them, although it might be for someone else. They did say that they are happy to have Rush's "name" on their resume since they are looking for hospital jobs that can be quite competitive to get. Having a degree from Rush definitely is a bonus in that way. Also, they scored in the 90th percentile on the Praxis exam, which I would attribute to Rush as well. I think they also weren't happy that they spent so much $$ on Rush and could have had just as good of an experience (if not better) at another nearby school. They've got a TON of debt now even though they received a large scholarship. It definitely makes me think twice about going to a big name school unless I'm offered funding. Hope that helps! I've been blessed to have two family members complete SLP grad school before me so I've been hounding them for advice! On a different topic, your list of schools is quite extensive; however, I'm starting to lean toward applying to a large number of schools too! As an out-of-field applicant, I know I need to cover all my bases to make sure I am able to keep up with the stellar in-field applicants. I've got some observation hours in with a local SLP in an attempt to beef up my application and learn more about the profession. I've also been studying non-stop for the GRE this summer and am hoping to take it in August. Has anyone else here taken it yet?

Hi everyone! I am also planning on applying for the 2014-2015 school year. I am an out-of-field applicant and have spent my past four years teaching language arts in an inner-city school. I've also recently earned my Master's in education from Northwestern, so I'm hoping my previous life experience & degrees will give me a good shot to get into school. I saw someone on this thread mentioned they were planning to apply to Rush. A family member of mine recently completed the program at Rush and HATED it. Rush is on the quarter system and my family member thought that they tried to jam too many classes into their program which made it difficult to retain information. I think Rush requires a lot more credit hours than "normal" programs. This family member is a VERY strong student (who I know got good grades during grad school) so I was surprised to hear them complain. That said, I'm sure that every university has former students who disliked their program. At the moment, I've only got a loose idea on where I'd like to apply. I'd like to attend Northwestern, but their tuition is outrageous (I earned my previous Master's on scholarship). I'm also intrigued by Vanderbilt's program; however, I'm unsure whether my husband would be willing to move that far. I might need to stick to schools in the Illinois & Wisconsin area. How many schools is everyone planning to apply to? One seems like too few where as upwards of five seems too many... Maybe I'm a dork, but I'm excited to begin this whole process! Can't wait to follow everyone on their journeys to grad school!