SLPamy

Did anyone else get the e-mail from Portland State University right now, see the "CONGRATULATIONS" and automatically think it was a notification of acceptance? In reality, it was just to say they received the application and will notify in mid-to-late March. That was cruel!! Lol

Congrats MNIJ and kbell! I'm so happy we're hearing some good news to hold us over until March!

I also got accepted into U of I!! Notified by e-mail! I was not expecting them to notify us so soon! Congrats sayjo!!

Make sure to check your state's laws on SLPAs. In Illinois, you have to do an actual SLPA associate's program in order to become one. Students with BAs in speech-language pathology can no longer work as SLPAs. As long as you are following the law and not working outside of your scope of practice, I don't think it's a bad plan B.

I've been distracting myself by watching the Olympics non-stop lol. It's totally working!

I would totally recommend Magoosh (http://gre.magoosh.com)! For me it was SO much more helpful than just reading a prep book. Their practice problems and video explanations alone make it well worth the cost.

I actually did read that book! But it was so long ago that I barely remember anything about it. Maybe I should give it a re-read.

I wrote down the first week in March!

Interesting topic! I remember looking up some good speechie books and I found this list: 1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby 2. Where Is the Mango Princess?: A Journey Back From Brain Injury by Cathy Crimmins 3. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison 4. Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet 5. The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to Be a Better Husband by David Finch 6. Schuyler's Monster: A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter by Robert Rummel-Hudson 7. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine 8. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks 9. Paperboy by Vince Vawter I've never been much of a "read for fun" kind of person, but I really want to try it out again now that I have the time for it.

UT-Austin and Chapel Hill (that counts right??). I'm from Chicago so going to either one of those schools would definitely be somewhat of a culture shock, I think

Congrats to everyone who has heard back from a school!! I think I need to stay out of this post until I hear back some news - talk about anxiety-inducing! I actually went through all of my schools and made note of when they said they would start notifying. Based on that, I don't think I will hear anything until mid to late-February at the earliest. Eeeeeeeek!

When I called them, they told me they "mailed" applications on Mondays. Hmm... ETA: But they told me that doesn't really mean anything because the schools can still see your entire application even before it's mailed. So. Idk. Don't stress everyone!

So good to know I'm not the only one! I think I had an "oh my god I'm a real adult now" moment, haha. But I just have to get used to it... I'm so not used to NOT having to study, do homework, go to class, do therapy, etc. That is actually a great idea. My job at the special rec center is pretty related to SLP because I am working with individuals of all ages with disabilities. It really is a great job, it's just that I don't get that many hours. I have a care.com account because I dogsit (lol) so I really should try to use it to find nannying/babysitting jobs. Otherwise, I plan to start practicing my Spanish more and maybe doing some more volunteering just to keep me busy. Thank you for your suggestions!

Some schools start in the summer so you could finish school a semester early. I think University of Illinois offered that.

Congrats! Looks like you made it through the first wave of their application process!

So, when I said that I thought that I would be anxiety-free after submitting all of my applications... NOPE! Haha. I can't stop thinking about how the statements I sent in earlier on (November, December) were not as strong as the statements I sent in later on (January). It's making me think I won't get into any of the 5 schools I applied to in the beginning. Ugh. Also, this is kind of weird but I want to vent about it somewhere. I graduated school this December (a semester early) and now that I finished all of my applications, I think I'm having some kind of crisis. For the first time in my life, I have nothing to occupy my time. I only have a part-time job (working at a special rec center), and I'm making minimum wage. I originally wanted to apply for teaching aid jobs (more money + more hours) but I feel like I waited too long. I just feel like I should be doing something worthwhile with my time off but I don't know what. My plan was to save money working and then travel abroad in the summer but I don't know if I'll have enough $$. This whole thing is just making me so anxious despite the face that, logically, it shouldn't. I finally have time to relax. Why am I freaking out instead? Sorry if this whole post makes no sense haha. Like I said, I just wanted to vent!

Wow Love the Sun, I wish I thought about applying to a program in Hawaii. That would be a nice place to live for the next 2 years! It's so hard to know what the admissions committees are looking for. Hopefully you hear good news in February!

Lol this question would have pissed me off so badly. I think a good route would be to do what ImpulsiveNixie said... pick a time where you could have had an active role in a significant movement/event and use that to discuss the personal characteristics you want to showcase.

Autismadvocate, Some schools have special bilingual training tracks that culminate with a bilingual or multicultural certification. In most cases, you take a few extra classes and are assigned Spanish-speaking clients or placements. I have never seen a program offer a bilingual program that focuses on any other language besides Spanish. You must first apply to the bilingual program, which typically requires a separate personal statement and interview. Of the 8 schools I'm applying to, 6 have bilingual/multicultural programs that I am also applying to. Three of the programs require you to apply to the bilingual program at the same time as applying to the general program, while 3 do not let you apply to the bilingual program until you are admitted into the general program. I talked to one of my profs, who is a bilingual SLP in Spanish and English, about whether a bilingual track was necessary for native speakers (just out of curiosity, because I'm not a native speaker). She said it is very helpful, because just knowing the language doesn't mean you know about Spanish phonetics or language development in bilinguals (and other stuff you would learn in classes). She talked about how she once hired a native Spanish speaker who did not attend a bilingual program to work with Spanish-speaking clients, and it was very difficult for her because she did not have the training/education. However, there is such a demand for bilingual SLPs that employers will likely jump to hire anyone who speaks Spanish proficiently, even with out a bilingual certificate. At least, that's how it is in the Chicagoland area where I am from. Also, even if your program does not have a true bilingual program, you can likely indicate that you would like to work with Spanish-speaking clients in your placements or even do an elective or independent study on a topic dealing with bilingualism.

I just submitted my last app, so I am officially done applying to graduate school!! I cannot believe it. Best feeling ever.

I wouldn't contact the schools to tell them about the new opportunity, especially if you won't be doing it until the summer.

I think it's just a personal preference. Some of my statements were more story-ish (mainly in the intros) while others were more straightforward. I would definitely try to make it relevant to speech though, or at least just make sure everything in there serves a purpose (showcasing a quality or trait, showing why you chose SLP, etc).

Autismadvocate, Thank you so much for your comforting words and advice. I am definitely going to try working on my statements in the company of my boyfriend and dog... I really think that would help lessen my anxiety. It sounds so dumb/pathetic, but when I do feel extra stressed, it helps to stop what I'm doing and hug my pup for a while. And you're right, by telling myself I have to write the whole thing at once I make the task seem so much more daunting. I know that I work better when I take lots of breaks, or at least give myself the option to take a break. I will have to keep reminding myself of this. Thank you for offering to look over my statement! That is so kind of you. Fortunately, my sister is a writer so she's been so helpful with editing my statements. I'm also lucky enough to have a wonderful woman at my school who looks over personal statements as part of her job. She works very closely with the speech-language pathology department, so she helps me a lot with making changes to the content of my statements. I have a meeting with her on Tuesday, and I have to send my finished statement to her by Monday which is partly why I'm trying so hard to finish it today or tomorrow. I would love to have you look over my statement too, but I don't want to take away any of your time that could be spent working on your apps. But If you wanted to swap statements, I would totally be up for that. Thanks again for your comment and for making this post! It really helps!

I think the main source of my anxiety is that I'm not done with my applications yet! I am forcing myself to spend the next 2 days writing my final statement since my last app is due Feb 1 (exactly one week from today!!!). I have no idea what it is - and I've talked about it on here before - but I completely and utterly DREAD the whole process of writing statements. This is also why I have waited until the last possible minute to start my last one. I over-analyze and second-guess everything, and I feel so much anxiety until the moment I hit submit on my app. I can't even go back and reread previous statements because it makes me feel so anxious. When I was writing/editing my last statement, I literally bit off all of my nails to the point that they were bleeding. Before that, I hadn't bit my nails for like 3 years. Now I'm sad because I can't paint them, haha. I really think that after I finish my last app, I will feel a huge weight off of my shoulders and I will be able to put graduate school out of my mind for a while. But I'm sure come March, I will be freaking out once the notifications start coming in.

If you don't do an accelerated program, then I have some tips for graduating early at a regular undergrad program! I graduated a semester early with a major in speech path and a minor in Spanish. I definitely could have graduated an entire year early, but I did the Spanish minor and I also took a few electives. I came in with a lot of AP credit (32 credits according to CSDCAS - Bio, US history, Euro history, English comp, and Literature). I got out of a ton of gen eds thanks to this. If you can take AP classes and pass your AP tests, this will definitely help you. I also took the maximum amount of credits/classes almost every semester. At my school, a full caseload was 3.5 credits, but they allowed you to take a maximum of 4.5 credits. So while most students took 4 classes, I took 5. It was hard at times, but doable. Taking classes in the summer either at your university or a community college is also helpful, especially if you don't come in with much AP credit. I only took 1 class over the summer, but if I had taken 2 or 3 I would have definitely been able to graduate a year early even with my minor and electives. I also tried to be smart about which classes I took first - I saved classes that were offered every semester at multiple times for my later semesters when my schedule was less flexible. For example, certain required classes at my school like Voice Disorders were only offered during the fall semester. So, I made sure to take that class over a class like Learners with Disabilities, which met 3+ times every semester. My freshman year of college, I made a word document that pretty much mapped out every semester. I kept track of all my gen eds, major requirements, minor requirements, and a tentative plan for when to take each. This was SO helpful because I could make sure that every semester I was taking the maximum number of credits and that I was on-track to graduate early.