Papaya91

Aside from loans, I think scholarships and TA positions are your best options. Those are highly competitive, though. Your application (stats, LORs, SOP) needs to be one of the best in the applicant pool. I'd be cautious about going for the cheapest school, though. I think it's really important to make sure you're getting what you want out of your education. Maybe that's a particular location, the opportunity to work with a particular professor, or the chance to get experience with a rare disorder. As for scholarships, sometimes there are scholarships geared towards people who want to work in schools, or kids with autism, or in a nursing facility, etc. Just search for them. One recommendation I have is the Scottish Rite Foundation - they're big supporters of speech language pathology. I got a scholarship through them as an undergrad. Worst case scenario, you have to take out loans to cover the entire thing. If you live frugally and budget well (a.k.a. live like a college student for just a few more years), you'll be able to pay them off really quickly. $40,000 student loans paid back in 2 years would cost an extra $3,000 in interest. Over 20 years, you'd be paying $33,000 in interest. I know that loans can be really scary, but they're not a bad deal if you can pay them back quickly.

I just want to chime in that everyone has different learning styles. I know that the people above weren't saying that you don't need to memorize things, but here's my $0.02... Some people learn well from memorization (me), while others need to be able to apply things to real life situations. You absolutely need to be able to memorize info, synthesize it with stuff from other classes, and apply it to therapy. I think the end goal of being able to apply what you've learned is obviously the most important thing, but memorization is the first step in that process, and you won't always have the opportunity to apply what you've learned to a client. Sometimes memorization is all you get, but you still need to know your material like you know the alphabet, or like you know how to count to 10. As for what to expect, I think it really depends on your teachers... My graduating class had one teacher for a certain course, and the next year's class had another teacher (because the first was on sabbatical). My class - we were lucky to get B's, and learn anything at all. The next class all got easy A's. I think I only got out okay because I taught myself the material, haha. That sequence of classes (language development, language disorders) was the only part of undergrad that I had trouble with, because none of what the teacher taught had anything to do with milestones or disorders of any kind... for example, I literally don't think the word 'aphasia' was even mentioned once. Other classes I noticed my peers had trouble with were: speech science, and neuroanatomy. Other advice - start getting to know your professors early on. Go in to office hours even if you don't need help; try to get to know them a little bit on a personal level. A lackluster LOR is like the scarlet letter to the admissions committee. Also gain some relevant experience outside of the classroom. This is a very competitive field, and sometimes the difference between getting in and getting waitlisted or rejected is literally just a few hours of job shadowing. So don't just do your minimum observation hours. Do extra observations on a population that interests you. Shadow SLPs in different settings. You need to be able to tell the admissions committee what you think you want to do, where you think you want to work, and why. Good luck!

It's not just grad students, haha. A lot of schools push high schoolers to take it as part of career advising/college advising. And a lot of psychology classes do it. One of my jobs even required me to take it - not to discriminate or anything, but to try to show us what our strengths and weaknesses were. So I don't think it's just grad students. Everybody and their grandmother has probably taken it at some point.

Hello everyone, In the (limited) searching I've done to find an easy, cheap online physics class, I came across something called Straighterline. Has anybody here used them? Do you know if those courses would work for ASHA prereqs? It looks almost too good to be true, so I just want to check. It's only $99/month, and if I work really hard I imagine I could finish the class in a month, maybe two at most, and that looks like it would be much, much cheaper than paying for a class anywhere else. Thanks.

Back in high school, I was an INFJ. In college I took that test again and I was an ENFP, but it showed that my scores were on the fence for nearly everything, though, so tomorrow I might be an ISTJ, who knows... Specifically with the I/E, I think it depends on the situation. I don't enjoy humongous groups of people (like at concerts, or at the annual local fair, etc.). I do enjoy small to large(ish) groups of people, though, and I also enjoy one-on-one time. Sometimes I want to be out dancing and having fun with friends on a Friday night, other times I'm content to read a book with my cat. But we seem to have an INFJ theme going on so far. Three of the five of us so far have mentioned being an INFJ (at least at some point)!

Ditto to what everyone else said. AP credits are great if you're still in high school. AP Stats, AP Physics or chemistry, and AP psychology would knock out 3 ASHA prereqs before you've even started college. Also, only take one AP English class if you choose to take one at all. Most schools will not give you credit for both (as I unfortunately found out). Take the maximum credits that you can each quarter, even if it's just a 1-credit PE class. 12 credits cost as much as 18 at some schools, and there's no reason to waste them. More classes each quarter = more credits = earlier access to upper division classes = earlier graduation. Also take summer classes if you can. Lastly - talk to the CSD department in college early on. And don't let the advisor for the program intimidate or discourage you! I met with the advisor at the end of my freshman year, because I wanted to start the CSD major during my second year, rather than waiting unti lthe 3rd year. To her I looked like a freshman, but I had sophomore status. Even so, she actually told me not to start the program until my 3rd year, because I wouldn't be able to handle the 'depth and intensity' otherwise... I went ahead with it anyway, and proved her wrong. I got 100% on her first test, and finished her final in just 19 minutes... when I turned it in, she was like, "Do you need something?" and I was like, "Nope, I'm done. Have a good break." I didn't stick around long enough to see, but my classmates said her face was priceless. I ended up getting a departmental scholarship that year because I did so well! So anyway, my point there... don't let anybody scare you or try to hold you back from something that you know you can do. If they try to tell you you can't do it, prove 'em wrong. The sooner you finish, the more money you save. If you have what it takes and are prepared to do the work, you can pull it off!

I think everyone's given good advice so far. At one info session I attended, a girl asked what to do in your SOP about "bad" things like a low GPA. The presenters there were all on the admissions committee, and they actually recommend leaving it out entirely. When you draw attention to it, it makes them notice it more. That being said, if you feel like you need to explain something, make it quick and talk about how you became better from the experience. soAZ - I would try to stay as far away from that in your essay as you can! If you tell them that you couldn't connect to your undergrad courses because they were too theoretical, or even imply anything remotely near it, it dosn't speak well to your ability to succeed in grad school. Your GPA doesn't seem very low to me, but even if you consider it low, I would avoid saying that it's a result of being unable to connect to your classes. There'll be several classes in grad school that are theoretical rather than practical, because you won't have the opportunity to work with every type of client. There will be classes that you might find uninteresting. There are any number of reasons for why you may not be able to connect to a class, but as an SLP you have to learn the material well, and be able to apply it later down the road. Your SOP needs to show the admissions committee that you have what it takes.

Send me a private message if you still need people to take a peek.

So you chose NYU? Best of luck with whatever you do - if you think it's the right fit for you, and you'll be happiest there, then you made the right choice. LMZ - just my $0.02 about the UW cost of attendance - when I was adding it up in my head, I was figuring the total cost would come to about $100,000, not just $80,000. Tuition's about $30,000/year (once you add textbooks), and I was estimating $20,000/year for living expenses (rent at about $1,000/month, utilities (more if you have internet/cable), food, gas, car insurance, cell phone bill, small entertainment budget, etc.). It sounds like you chose the less expensive school of your two choices, but I just don't want you to be surprised if it costs an extra $10,000/year.

You should go to ASHA's website and look up the Mutual Recognition Agreement. It's an agreement between the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand (I think I got those right?). I'm not exactly sure what the requirements are, but there's a lot of info on there! I'd like to possibly work abroad someday, too. Edit: Here. http://www.asha.org/Certification/Mutual-Recognition-Agreement-FAQs--General-Information/

I wish they would accept my astronomy or geology class, lol. But nope, all of mine told me, "Physics or chemistry only, kthxbai." I feel like people who graduated before a certain point should be grandfathered into the old requirements.

The UA really is a great program. I don't know much about the New York program, but the UA has many really great externship opportunities, and lots of cool research to work on. If you're going for your PhD, I think the UA might be the better choice, but otherwise I've heard that rankings don't really matter. As far as whether you'll get a better education - I think it really depends on your interests. All programs are required to give you the basic foundation, so you'll learn all that you need to know wherever you go. Certain schools have special interest areas as well, though, if you want to learn more about a certain disorder. The UA, for example, has some great aphasia research, a bilingual certification program, and some really cool voice research going on. And those are just the ones I remember because they interest me - there are a few others, as well. Does New York have any research going on that interests you, or any classes on certain disorders that interest you?

Congrats on getting in! I'm going to the University of Arizona, so I'm biased (I think you should go to the UA!). But my thoughts are that you should go wherever is the best fit for you personally, and the other important things in your life. If seeing family is important to you, then I think that's a huge factor. For me, climate and musical opportunities were other factors that I weighed heavily. Wherever you go, you'll get the necessary education to become an SLP. Where do you want to work after graduation? If you want to work in New York, or closer to your family, it might make sense to go to school closer to home, because there will be better networking opportunities there. Best of luck in your decision!

I'm just gonna throw in my two cents, although I haven't been offered anything like that (yet). The grad programs know that your primary job is to be a student, and they want you to do well. They're not going to give you too much to handle. However, if in the end you think your academic performance is suffering because of the job, you can always ask them to give it to someone else the next quarter or semester. I personally think it would be absolutely crazy to refuse one of those offers, depending on the compensation. They typically knock out part of your tuition, and give you a stipend as well. That'll bring your cost of attendance down sooooo much, and you'll graduate with less debt. Or no debt. It could be free in the end! It might be overwhelming at first, but your first job after grad school will be, too. You may not have to study for tests anymore, but you'll have a full client load and have to prep for and document each session. My opinion is that you should take it, but only you know what you can handle.

I'm just making up silly numbers, but I want to try to make a point. Let's say you defer for a year (if they'll allow it), and work to save up $10,000 to put towards tuition for your program. If it costs $70,000 for two years, then your program might cost you $60,000 total after you contribute your $10,000, but you won't be done until 3 years from now. Let's say you work ($10,000) for a year, and go to a less expensive program. My cheapest, in-state school has a total cost (including rent and food, etc.) of about $42,000. You still won't be done until 3 years from now, but perhaps your total cost would be $32,000 after you've contributed your $10,000. If you start the expensive program now, you'll finish two years from now and be $70,000 in debt. However, you'll have a higher earning potential after grad school, and if you live frugally (like if you stick to the same cost of living from grad school), you can put a significant portion of your salary towards your loans. Let's say you put $30,000 towards paying off your loans - you'll be in roughly $40,000 of debt one year after you graduate, three years total. Just a few scenarios to think about. Sorry for the silly numbers. If you take another year to save money or go to a cheaper school, while your program may cost less, you're paying with time instead. Can you do something else with that time to make it worthwhile, in addition to working? Perhaps volunteering, or retaking the GRE to make yourself a more competitive TA candidate? Of course, if you get a TA position, or scholarships somewhere, that would help a lot.