sayjo

3500 and 5100 are both pretty easy since the tests are open book and aren't proctored. I know that some might disagree with me, but I actually found 3100 (anatomy) easy because the tests are so straightforward. 5900 (grad prep & observation) is easy but time consuming.

I think you just have to do what's best for you. A lot of people rave about Magoosh, but my understanding is that it is quite expensive and I personally did just fine with used copies of GRE books I bought on Amazon. I don't necessarily think that the format you choose matters, just that you study effectively and for a certain amount of time each day.

Ok, I caved and made a group for SIUE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SIUEspeechpath16/

It's so great to have choices, isn't it?! Congrats!!

Hey there! I was a teacher for five years before I decided to make the switch. While change is scary, it's definitely worth it if you feel like SLP is what you really want to do. I, like you, was nervous about the coursework when I first began SLP. My first degree was in English and education, so my undergrad work had lots of paper writing, but few tests and little memorization. I was extremely apprehensive about taking science classes for SLP (having somewhat of a bad track record in science as a high school student); however, I've found most of my science-y classes for SLP to be extremely interesting since they are applicable to my future career. While SLP classes definitely require more memorization than my previous coursework, I've found it easy to be successful. Honestly, the GREs just...suck. It's a completely stupid exam, but it is a necessary evil if you're going to get into grad school. The first time I took the GRE (many years ago), I barely studied since I tend to be a pretty good test taker. I thought, "Oh, I can wing this." DON'T WING IT. Everyone taking the GREs is smart. Your score will most likely not be good unless you study. Start studying 2-3 months ahead of time. Buy yourself a prep book, a math review book, and a GRE vocab book. My #1 piece of advice is to memorize tons of vocab. I swear that's the only reason I got such a high score on the verbal section. My one last piece of advice - consider double majoring so that you have something to fall back on if you don't get into grad school your first year applying. Or at least have a plan B on what you will do if you don't get in (i.e. work as a paraprofessional in a school for a year; get your ABA license). This will give you peace of mind as you begin on your journey. Best of luck to you!

Thanks! Hope you get into SIUE! I think you're the only other person on this board who applied there, so it would be cool to be classmates!

I think it's pretty safe to say that if you haven't seen a link for it on the results search, there probably isn't one. Go for it! P.S. Have you heard anything from SIUE yet?

Hey guys! I've recently seen a lot of posts on both the SLP forum and the results search that look a lot like this: "Has anyone started a Facebook group for ___ school?" "Here's a link to ___ school's Facebook group!" "Who else is going to __? We should start a Facebook group!" "I made a Facebook group for ___ university!" I thought it would be nice to compile a master list of Facebook groups for easy reference. I'm personally on the lookout for an SIUE Facebook group. So, if you'd like, post your school and a link to your Facebook group below!

I just made my big decision! I will be attending Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville in the fall. It was a really hard decision to make and I kept going back and forth (and back and forth and back and forth) between SIUE and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, but I feel that I've made the best possible choice for my husband and me. Here's my reasoning (most of which is financial, because I'm practical like that): 1. It will be much easier for my husband to get a job in the Edwardsville/ St. Louis area. I feel that he would have been able to find a job in Urbana-Champaign too, but it might have taken a lot longer and he probably just would have had to take the first job offered to him. 2. I have family in the Edwardsville area that I can live with if it takes my husband longer than expected to find a job. 3. SIUE seems to offer a greater chance of earning a tuition waiver and living stipend through a GA. 4. SIUE's tuition is cheaper and they have one fewer semester than UIUC. 5. SIUE is located near a big city (St. Louis), so I have somewhere I can go when I'm missing Chicago. 6. SIUE's faculty is smaller, and I do well in close-knit environments. 7. SIUE's campus is BEAUTIFUL! (I would be lying if I said this didn't matter to me...haha...) While I realize that I didn't write much about the content of the programs, I found them both to be quite similar, so I'm not worried about one program being better suited for my interests. Interestingly enough, when I sent in my applications, I almost didn't apply to SIUE. But now I'm glad I did!! I'm so relieved and excited to have made my decision!

I'm sorry to hear that, marina_ballerina. I always had my tests proctored at the library on Saturday mornings. Another option to consider is proctoru.com. I believe all of USU's professors allow students to use it. However, they do charge a fee for each test.

I'm not sure if this is entirely correct. I know a few people who applied around that time and it seemed just as competitive as now. Maybe it wasn't as bad closer to the new Millennium? I'm not meaning for this to be a commentary on you; rather, just a general "life lesson" I've come to realize in my old age...but, I think specialized (or job oriented) majors in undergrad are stupid. There. I said it. I got a teaching degree in undergrad. Did I need to? Nope. Plenty of one-year certification programs out there. Do you need to get a Bachelor's in SLP to get into grad school? Nope. Easy enough to complete the pre-reqs later. I realize this isn't the case for EVERYTHING (i.e. engineering), but it certainly the case for a lot of fields. You don't need a business degree to work in an office. You don't need a communications degree to work in P.R. If I was going to do my college experience all over again, I would have majored in English. The. End. I would have still been qualified to work in a multitude of fields. I just wish someone would have told me that earlier.

I'm out of field and only had two COMD courses completed at the time of applying. You can see my signature for my stats and admitted schools. I think the following are three things helped me get in: 1. I had great LOR writers. 2. I was an English major, which I think gave me an advantage when writing the SOP. 3. I've got really unique experiences. I did a program a lot like Teach for America out of undergrad. At my school, I had a lot of experience working on the RTI committee, writing instructional goals, and updating IEPs. I also got my M.S.Ed. from Northwestern. nata25, I'm actually thinking about declining my offer at UIUC, so maybe you'll get it...?

The proctored exams are usually multiple choice format. From what I remember, 3100 has 5 exams, 3400 has 4 exams, 3120 has 3 exams, and 2500 has 3 exams. I'm not sure about other classes because I haven't taken them yet. The exams have been pretty easy in my opinion, with the exception of 3400. It's definitely undergrad-level coursework. Hope that helps!

It definitely works! Did you try posting the link on the results page? I feel like some people look there more than on the forums...

What I did was I began by registering for classes that I knew all my schools wanted. Standard classes seem to be things like a language development class, anatomy, intro to audiology, etc. When I applied to schools, I explained that I would have all pre-reqs done by the fall. Now that I've been accepted, I'm able to cherry-pick my final classes based on my grad school. For example, if I go to UIUC, they told me that I would just have to take 3 classes over the summer. I was originally planning on taking five classes, so that's pretty awesome. Hope that helps!

What I did was add my husband (haha) and then as soon as the group was created, I deleted him. It worked out great.

I think this just varies so much from school to school! My professor at USU wanted everything done in blue ink. He said that all students at the USU clinic had to use blue ink. So...I guess buy both black and blue just to be safe? (Or wait until the semester starts...)

Well, I'll be living with my husband... . But, I spent 8 years living with roommates in my past. Luckily, I only had one "bad" one during my freshman year of college. I will say that I disagree with the amount of people voting to get a "nice" apartment. I certainly wouldn't want to live anywhere unsafe; however, I lived in crappy apartments almost all of my 8 years living with roommates and I'm no worse off for it. In my opinion, if you're not using your own money to pay for the apartment, you should keep it as cheap as possible. Rent adds up over two years!! That's more money you'll have to be paying back later. You can have a nice apartment once you have a job.

I was a teacher also and my school was very intense (I worked about 50-60 hours per week). There was NO WAY I would have been able to take four classes at a time while teaching, because (to me) teaching is so exhausting. When I was working full time, I only took two classes a semester. That said, you know yourself and your job best. If you're not very stressed in your job and you have a lot of extra free time, you might be able to handle the four classes. If you feel like you're busy/stressed all the time now, I would advise against four classes and aim for a smaller number. You can always take more in the summer when you're off. Hope that helps!

I think normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but I've heard New York has really funky requirements. Unfortunately, I'm not from NY so I'm not 100% sure what those requirements are. I think there's something called a TSSLD involved... Edited to add: last year has a lot of info - it might help you! Also, here's NY's SLP requirements.

Ok, I am going to preface this by saying that I do not know much about Northwestern's SLP program; however, from what I have heard, there is no special focus on the medical side of things - especially compared to schools nearby like Rush. I personally do NOT feel like it is worth it to put yourself $100,000 in debt to go there - that's INSANE! I got my first Master's from Northwestern (on scholarship) and while I did like my classes and the campus, it didn't feel like a different or "special" education. It's a school, just like anywhere else. In sum, my advice would be DON'T do it. Go to a cheaper, local school. In my opinion, your education will be just as good and you won't have crazy loans to pay back after graduate school is over.

I just want to say I LOVE this post. I think more people should take a break from school instead of going straight through. You learn so much about yourself just by going out into the "real world" and working for a year (or two!). For me, working helped me figure out what I really want out of life - and in a job, what are my "must haves" and what things I'll be willing to compromise on. I'm honestly very happy I didn't know about speech pathology earlier in my life, because I wouldn't trade my first five years working as a teacher for anything.

Here's the webpage. They employ a lot of SLPs too, so you might be able to observe some of them if you work there!

My husband and I were just talking about this the other day. He is an SLP and commented that he didn't think that Illinois allowed SLPAs (he's never seen one and he's worked in a lot of different SLP facilities in the Chicago area). They do, but it seems like jobs are few and far between. You might want to think of an additional Plan B in case you have trouble finding work as an SLPA in the Chicago area. Remember, there are a lot of SLP schools around here and many recent grads stick around for a few years after graduation, leading to a high number of qualified SLPs in the region. Another idea might be to work in a special education setting in a school. For example, in Chicago, there is a school run by Easter Seals, exclusively for children with autism. Since most children at the school require their own aide, they are constantly employing people to work there. That would definitely look good if you have to reapply next year, and I feel like a job as an aide is a lot easier to acquire than an SLPA job. This is just my opinion though, and I could be wrong about SLPA job availability.

I feel very blessed to have options, but you should be optimistic top! You're also on two waiting lists, and I know that those move a LOT after April 15th. Keep thinking positively!