Ok, time for the moment of truth...
Before I began considering SLP, I was in a master's program for education. I had an extremely negative experience where I was told I failed a placement during its last week, then kicked out of my grad program during my 2nd placement after my first observation. I looked into SLP initially because I think I do a lot better one-on-one (I work as a SPED aide to one kid, and this is my 2nd school year in this type of role) and in a more structured type of environment. But I am really, REALLY afraid of going back to school and failing again, and particularly of not getting the support I need to improve in my clinical as I go. TO CLARIFY: I did not get failed because I did some one-time horrible thing, just general poor performance.
Are speech pathology programs generally supportive and direct with you in terms of feedback? Do they help you improve rather than just telling you what are doing poorly? I'm considering U of I, Edinboro, Radford, and Longwood right now. And like I said, I'm very reluctant to go back to being in debt if it means I may fail out unexpectantly; I'm very seriously considering taking another year off to work.