sayjo

I've played piano since I was 7 years old and flute since I was 12. I played flute in my university's band, as well. I've also briefly dabbled in clarinet, which I played in high school when my band teacher was short on clarinet players. I'm not sure if any of my instruments have directly contributed to my interest in SLP, though...

I haven't chosen yet! I'm starting to narrow things down now though...

I wanted to up vote you but I'm out of up votes for the day. So instead I'll just say thanks for your kind words and GOOD LUCK hearing from the rest of your schools and your wait list schools!

I used this book for vocab and just worked my way through it.

Hey kasey_co, This really isn't a reflection of you as a student. I feel like the Chicago area schools can be difficult to get into because so many people apply to them. Example: I heard that St. Xavier had around 500 applicants this year, whereas SIUC (where I also applied, not in Chicago) had between 100-200. I'm not trying to sound snotty or anything (because I really REALLY don't care about rankings), but I'll go ahead and type this anyway. I got rejected from Governor's State and Elmhurst BUT got into Purdue, UIUC, and Northwestern. How does that work?? Haha. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is don't get too discouraged. If you do have to reapply next year, maybe try to apply to some schools that don't get as many applicants. (I head Florida schools traditionally get a lot of applicants too.) And - two things to make you feel better: 1) I'll most likely be turning down my SXU acceptance (maybe you'll get it)!! 2) Chicago winters suck. I mean, seriously, they SUCK. You do NOT want to be here in the winter, ugh.

This will probably be a novel, just to warn you... I taught 5th self-contained for one year, and 5th & 6th grade reading and 5th language arts for four years following that. Grading student writing is the pits, IMO. I definitely feel like I am making the right decision to change careers because in teaching, I LOVED my relationships with my students (and reading aloud to them), but basically nothing else. I chose to work in a high-needs school, so that might have influenced my decision somewhat. But after years of grading, making my own materials, issues with parents, teacher cliques, pressure to put in tons of hours for after school activities (none of which I was compensated for), generally "boring" subject matter (I loved teaching reading, language arts not so much), and many, many weeks where I put in 60-70 hours a week, I just basically burnt out. I recently got married and knew that there was NO WAY I could ever have kids if I remained a teacher. I REFUSE to let myself become one of those lackadaisical teachers going through the motions. I also feel strongly that I would not want to work in schools with upper-middle class white kids (i.e. the "nice" schools). That left me with few options. I served on my school's RTI committee for several years and became interested in working with students that have special needs. Originally, I wanted to be a reading specialist, but the jobs for that are few and far between in my area. Speech had a lot of overlap with my interests, so I observed several speech pathologists, made my decision, and dove head-first into this whole field. Whew! What about you? What are your reasons for wanting to leave teaching? I have the utmost respect for teachers, but (from my experience), it is a career path that no one but a masochist would choose.

I swear that the reason I had such a good verbal score was because I memorized vocabulary. I'm a strong reader, so the only thing holding me back on the verbal section was the weird vocab words that they use. I'm not sure if memorizing vocab will work for everyone, but it sure worked for me.

You are crazy! I HATE grading. (One of the biggest reasons I'm getting out of teaching is the ridiculous amount of time I spend grading papers.) Do you teach young ones? It might not be so bad to grade their work...haha...

I think ASL can be very beneficial for SLPs. I used to work in a camp for children with special needs and we used signs all the time as another way of communicating. I especially remember using these signs with campers who had autism.

Hmmm...I saw several schools that wanted a degree in CSD (even applied to one) and would accept nothing less. Granted, those schools are few and far between. Most schools just require having their prereqs complete.

I know that a few of the schools I looked into would ONLY consider applicants that had a DEGREE in communication disorders. However, that doesn't seem to be the norm, so you should be fine.

I think in your case it will definitely help! Schools will care a lot more about you COMD GPA than some engineering classes that you took years ago. And (if I'm correct) I believe California uses SLPAs, so if for some reason you don't get into grad school on your first try, you can work as an SLPA since you've done the second bachelor's. Don't quote me on this, however. I only have a loose understanding of how the California system works and I may be wrong. Best of luck!

I don't think M.A. vs M.S. matters that much. UIUC is ranked #11 and they have an M.A. program.

Hi Nata25, I received an acceptance from SIUC (I got an email from them on March 4th) and from what I understand, they are waiting to notify the rest of the applicants until April 15th, when they know how many remaining slots they have available. It can't hurt to email SIUC and verify this information, though! I think it's so unfair that there are some schools out there that don't let you know where you stand. I'm having the same issue with Elmhurst. They have sent out acceptances and yet I haven't got any notice to let me know if I'm wait listed or rejected. You'd think they could send out an email! It's hard to make a decision when you don't have information from all your schools. Best of luck!

I would definitely recommend getting a 2nd Bachelor's degree before applying to schools. Here's my reasoning (copied and pasted from another thread): 1. There are a limited number schools that accept students without prereqs. Thus, getting a slot in an extended Master's program is VERY competitive and I don't think a 3.0 GPA will cut it. 2. Schools often have different requirements for prereqs. For example, three schools you apply to might want Aural Rehab and two schools don't care. Doing the 2nd Bachelors ensures that you cover all your bases and are able to apply to a wide range of schools that have different prereqs. 2. If you have a low undergrad GPA, showing that you can get an excellent GPA in a 2nd Bachelors program will help your chances. 3. Some schools require that you have a degree in Communication Disorders. Hope that helps! I'm sorry I don't have more information on California schools because I'm not from that area. Just so you know, I'm an out-of-fielder too and I've been doing prereqs at Utah State. I have LOVED my experience there. It's very well organized and seems to be well known throughout the SLP community as having a good reputation for an online school. It's also fairly inexpensive at only $275 a credit (everyone taking classes online gets in-state tuition).

I have a friend taking a full load of classes online from Utah State University and she lives in Ireland. She hasn't had a problem. I think the biggest thing is making sure you have a place that can proctor tests for you. USU's anatomy class requires five proctored tests. Hope that helps!

I went to the open house and was pretty impressed. The program definitely seems more geared to those who want to work in schools or with children vs. in medical settings or with adults. There are LOTS of professors conducting research and a seriously nice clinic (it looks brand new but I think they said it was built six years ago). They said that they start you off by seeing just one or two clients your first semester and it builds from there. First externships occur during the summer between your 1st and 2nd year. The program is 6 semesters (fall-spring-summer; fall-spring-summer) and you complete your medical externship during your 2nd summer. There aren't any comprehensive exams at the end of the program - you just need to pass the Praxis. I think that's about all I remember. Sorry it's not more specific! Everyone that I spoke to at UIUC was soooo nice. It's currently my first choice...I'm just trying to figure out what will be best for me financially before I commit. Edited: There's also a Facebook group for UIUC students here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/256880691152813/ Not all of us have committed to attending - some (like me) are still trying to decide. Hope that helps!

If you're wanting to work in a medical setting in Chicago when you're done with grad school, I definitely think Rush would be worth it. Chicago has a ton of SLPs and many want to work in the medical setting. People know Rush's name around here, and it's very highly regarded. In fact, your future interviewers may be Rush alumni themselves! Just something to think about...

Utah State has an online version of Aural Rehab (COMD 5330). The cost for their classes is fairly reasonable - I believe it's $275 per credit hour. Also, I think all their summer courses are over by the end of July, so that should hopefully leave you a couple weeks to relax!

Has anyone heard anything from St. Xavier BESIDES a wait list? Looking at the results search, it appears they have only sent out wait list notices so far. They're my only school I'm waiting to hear from (besides Elmhurst, but I'm 99% sure that's a rejection) and I'd like to know where I stand so I can start making my final decision on where to go to school. Thanks!

If anyone wants one of those planners soon, I think I figured out a way to get you the $10.00 coupon. If you private message me your email, I can send you a referral invite from Erin Condren that includes the $10.00 off coupon. Let me know. I'm a former teacher and used to LIVE in Crocs during the "hot months" of school (August, September, May, June). They are soooo comfortable. My favorite was the Kadee style in brown. The Clarks brand of shoes are also really comfortable in any profession where you're going to be on your feet a lot. IMO, some of the styles look like old lady shoes, but some of them aren't that bad!! You just have to look around (your feet will thank you.) On a different note, my favorite office supply right now is this pack of Post-It tabs. They are really heavy duty and are great for tabbing up books, planners, or anything else! I also like to make my own tab dividers for my binders and use card stock for the paper part and Post-It tabs for the tabs. They stick well, but come off easily if you ever need to take them off! Love this thread. I can never get enough of school and/or organizing supplies! Being a teacher made my obsession 10x worse, haha. Edited: Just thought of one more thing!! A lot of SLPs that I know also really like the clipboards that have storage compartments in them (like this one) because it's easy to keep things that you will need during your session in the storage part (i.e. articulation cards, data collection forms, assessments, etc.).

It's seriously the best planner I've EVER had. They make awesome teacher lesson planners too, and I LOVED mine (not that I'll be needing it anymore as an SLP, lol). Be warned that once you order, they can take a long time to get your planner to you because of the personalization, so be sure to order early! They're coming out with new designs in June (that's when I'll be ordering mine for the 2014-2015 school year ). Oh, and also they sometimes have a $10.00 off coupon for new customers!!

OMG yes!! I love my planner. Have you all heard of Erin Condren planners? It's where my current planner is from and I LOVE it!! You can customize the cover & it's super heavy duty. Here's the website.

I'll echo the response for a digital recorder. My SLP family members use them all the time. They also use pen lights a lot. As far as school supplies, I love organizing things in binders, so I'll probably go that route. I also feel like I'll need a school bag again (I don't think my giant canvas teaching bags will cut it, lol). I'm thinking about getting a messenger bag from LL Bean. Don't forget to have plenty of "professional" clothes to wear for placements!

I agree that there are some men that work in elementary schools - I've been a teacher for five years and we usually have 1-2 teachers at our school who are men. HOWEVER, I do somewhat feel that the men that work in elementary schools tend to be a "special breed" of man lol. I also feel like the men in elementary schools (that I've encountered) are in special fields such as SPED or gym/computers etc. There as not as many male general education classroom teachers. In general, it seems to be difficult to get a 50-50 balance of men and women in elementary schools. Thus, you end up with teaching and SLP programs at the university level that are much more female dominated. I do think it's sad that medical setting positions aren't more readily available because I think it would diversity the type of students (both male and female) that are interested in the field. Medical settings are out there, but are harder to obtain. Hopefully someday more medical positions will be available!