MangoSmoothie

My advisor told me as well that the information on EdFind is all school reported, and said we can't be sure if the GPA is last 60, cumulative, or major becasue it depends on what the school wanted to report. I had always assumed it was generally cumulative though, since that's the easiest calculation. EdFind is good to get an idea of general admission stats, and to see if they admitted people in your range, even if you fall below the majority. I have a lower undergrad cumulative GPA, and while I realize the average GPA for admission is much higher than mine, seeing that I fall within the range of past applicants has helped give me a bit of hope when applying.

I also agree that it's not a bad thing to remind them, especially so close to the deadline! But one thing that might put your mind at ease is that schools are a litlte more lenient with letters of recommendation. It obviously depends on the schools, but the two schools I emailed said it was no problem. One of my letters of rec told me she wouldn't be able to make early Jan deadlines, but told me the schools wouldn't care anyway, and sure enough, I emailed these schools and they said they would look at the letters that were recieved late anyway. One even said that the 1st deadline is just when things have to be submitted on the applicant's end, and that because they don't look at applications right away (obviously), it was alright for a letter of rec to be a little late. They're all in now, thankfully, but two of them were late for the 1st deadline (I was not expecting two to be late, but such is life...), and one was late for the 5th. I'm not too worried about it. And a sidenote about Madison's program: It is super competitive! I did my undergrad there as well, and some friends in the field were flat-out told not to apply by the department advisors because their stats were too low.

So some people are pretty liberal with the downvoting... Sheesh. :\ Well, how much time was between the two tests? The knowledge from the second time you took it might have carried over to this time. I know when I took it, I did much worse on the quant section than I had been doing in practice tests because I had really poor time management on the actual test. In two different sections, I came across a question I'd never seen before and stared at it for a good 4 minutes before I realized I had quite a few questions left and time was almost out. If you had an issue like that, especially this third time around, then it might be a good idea to take it again because that is a factor you can control the next time you take it. I was going to retake it for that reason, but I didn't want to spend the $185 (now $195?) again. Still, if your deadlines are February or sooner for Fall 2015, by the time you take the test again and send the scores, they probably wouldn't make it on time, so it wouldn't be worth it to take the test again. You have a good verbal score this time around, and if your writing is decent, then that's where you need to be. I talked to an advisor who is on the admissions committee for the graduate program at my school (which is a very competitve school), and she said they weeded out applications based on their GPA and GRE scores before looking at other parts of their application. I don't think that's particulary fair, but they have a lot of applications for very few spots. This is a very competitive school, though, and it might even be a good thing, because if you make it past this weed-out process (assuming your schools have one), then it might mean they'll look more closely at your statement, letters, and experiences. If you are going to take it again and don't mind spending more money, a lot of people really recommend paying for all of what Magoosh has to offer. It's in the realm of $200 (last I checked), but I've only heard great things about it. I did the trial and really liked it, but decided against it because a friend gave me their old Manhattan prep books. But again, if you're not going to spend more time studying, I don't think your score will change that much, especially in quant. Plus, if you already took some grad classes in the field and did well in them, you seem to have other experiences you can really talk up in your SOP. Edit: Also, for what it's worth, I've looked at the ranges for GRE scores for quite a few schools on EdFind, and a range starting from the low 140's for quant was pretty common.

You need to give some more information before people can really comment on this. How much did you study beforehand? If you barely studied at all, all three times, then yeah, why not retake it. Dedicate a considerable amount of time (maybe 1 to 2 months) to solid studying with good materials. Do practice sets every day. But if you feel you studied as much as you could, did as much as possible, or can't dedicate more time to studying, you probably aren't going to do much better, so don't waste your money and time. Unless you had really poor time management or panicked during the test, nothing is going to change, is it? If you studied a lot, you could consider changing the materials you use and studying differently, but do you have the time to do that and can you commit to doing that? If you check out the GRE forum here you can see how much people do put into studying, and it does pay off. Magoosh is highly recommedned, as are Manhattan GRE prep materials. I do not recommmed Princeton or Barron's or Kapplan materials. They're incredibly basic, but good if you're only aiming for a 150. I used Princeton just to get a basic idea of the test, but largely studied with Manhattan Prep materials. For the last month of studying I mostly did practice questions, though, especially for quant. My verbal prep before was reading things and making flashcards of words I came across that I didn't know and also using Manhattan's flashcards. I made my own flashcards with the Anki Droid app, so I could study them anywhere. This field tends to have pretty low average GRE scores, but your quant is particulary low, and your verbal looks about lower average. You can see the ranges for GRE scores for schools on ASHA'S EdFind. Are you comfotable with your GPA, experiences, LOR and SOP? I have a lower undergrad GPA so I wanted to do really well on the GRE to make up for it (I did well enough, although I know I can do better on quant), but if you have a solid GPA, LOR and SOP, you can maybe get away with a lower GRE score, and you should feel confident about those other, more important parts of your application. Now, if you're applying for Fall 2015, unless your deadlines are March or later, I doubt the scores will reach on time. Even if they did, can you dedicate enough time to studying to make a considerable improvement? You might want to step back from the test for now, and hopefully you won't have to take it again for a Fall 2016 application cycle. Your verbal increased and is within the range of average for the field, so that's good. Some schools also take the highest score in each section from each time you took it, so look in to that too. But for Fall 2015, you should probably focus on other parts of your application now.

That's all there is. People posting PowerPrep 1 mean the first power prep practice test. You get two practice tests in Powerprep2, but I'm pretty sure people just mean the first practice test in PowerPrep2 and the second practice test in Powerprep2. Maybe that's confusing. lol

I took the GRE yesterday and took four practice tests before taking the real thing. Powerprep I: 156V, 159Q (taken two weeks before the test) Mahattan I: 158V, 158Q (taken one day after that) Powerprep II: 159V, 162Q (taken 4 days before the test) Manhattan II: 160V, 161Q (taken 2 days before the test) Real Test: 162V, 155Q, AW not received yet. I'm so bummed about my quant score. I flinch every time I see it. I like math, and I had fun studying for the quant portion of this test. (Yes, I said fun.) I was doing so well in quant in practice, and I had done so much quant practice that I was sure I could break 160, and I know I am totally capable of it. But on test day, in more than one quant section (which my extra section was also quant, blegh), I just had horrible time management, and froze on a few questions. I am pleased with my verbal. Overall, those scores aren't horrible. And for my field, which has a really low average GRE score for applicants (around 152 each section, maybe), my quant is still above average for almost every school I'll apply to. But I was hoping to help make up for my lower gpa (below 3.3), and the higher I scored on the GRE, the better. But it sucks knowing that you can do better than what you did. I want to take it again to bring up my quant score, because I know I can, but it's not worth the $185 and extra time, I feel. And for what it's worth, I used mostly Manhattan material for prepping. The 5lb book of problems was amazing.

Congrats! I think it's obvious that everyone here was really rooting for you! You deserve it! I'm lurking this year and applying next year, but every time I check the forum (which I'll admit, is basically every day), I always moseyed on over here to see when you'd get your first acceptance. Congratulations!

I'll preface this with the fact that I haven't applied yet, but will be for Fall 2015, so you can dismiss what I have to say if you want to. I agree 100% with this. It's a little frustrating to see all the focus people here put on numbers. You don't apply to a school and give only your GPA/GRE; why would you think that's all that matters? Especially when you're getting into a highly competitive field like SLP grad programs. As someone who considers themself a "less competitive applicant" due to my lower GPA (in my major and overall) I'm going to (try to) make my personal statements the best writing I've done in my life. "Putting your soul" into your statement sounds like a great start. The only reason we care so much about numbers here is because it's the only thing we can share so easily with each other, and it's an easy, albeit inaccurate, gauge. I'm not going to post my resume or post my personal statement in my signature, but I can easily post numbers. But those numbers alone don't define me or my application, and they don't define any one else's, either. They are important, of course. After all, I even call myself a "less competitive applicant" because I know they do matter and because the average GPA for most programs is high, and much higher than mine. But that statement of purpose and those letters of rec are important too. This is something I think is especially true for those of us who consider ourselves "less competitive" because our numbers are lower, or even if your experience is limited. But don't forget there is more to an application than your GPA and GRE, and it's worthwhile to put as much time as possible and then some into your SOP. Let me also add that I do not think the GRE is the end of your application alone, but it's good to do well on it. I'm taking it on Sunday, and I have studied a lot for it, so I do think it is important. But it's not the only important thing. However, if you can improve it, it wouldn't hurt to take it again. The average GRE for SLP admissions is actually fairly low, so if you can shoot to be in the range or above depending on your school, it can't hurt. But remember that the GRE only tests how well you can take the GRE and nothing more, so if you really can't hit those ranges, don't feel bad.

Mmm I can't agree with that. That's a strong blanket statement to make. Not all students need a prep course (or can afford it... the test itself is $185 plus the cost of a course?). Plenty of people can do just fine on the GRE without a prep course, with the proper study tecniques and study time. And Manhattan prep books. Those are gold. The point is, you should prepare for it well and actively. How you do that, and how you do that best is up to you. It depends on the student. Don't feel like you NEED to take an expensive prep course, and they do get expensive, especially when the cost of education is already so prohibitive. I haven't taken it yet, but I am confident in my ability. I just have general testing nerves because it doesn't seem like there's ever enough time to study, but that'll go away test day. But still, you should prep for it well.

This is something I am actively considering for next year, because to go to school at some schools in the UK is still cheaper than fees for out of state schools, and I have lots of friends there. Sad, isn't it? The price of education in America. >.< I think my mother might kill me though if I go spend another 3 years (or probably more!) abroad, though. lol But there is obviously paperwork for getting the license offically recognized, but I haven't read up on it. Has anyone around here, or does anyone know anyone who went abroad for their Masters and came back to the US to work?

I'm glad someone said something, because I'm a little put off of these forums sometimes by people's obsessions with numbers. People who say "Oh you have a 3.9 GPA you'll get in anywhere!" or "I can't believe I got rejected with a 3.9..." or "This school was my safety. How could I get rejected! My stats are great!" There is no such thing as a safety school at the graduate level, at least in this field, and I firmly people personal statements have MUCH more importance than many people here give them credit for. It might only be 500 words sometimes (or less!) but you need to make that the best 500 words you've ever written about yourself. You might have a 3.9 GPA and an awful SoP! That's a bit telling. I do think people need to take this with a grain of salt though because we are still not the adcoms and not all adcoms at every university are the same, but the point is it's not just a numbers game, and it's nice to have confirmation that that may be true! Yet we all focus on the numbers so much. I mean, we even have a results page where people will just list Accepted/Rejected/Waitlisted with their GPA/GRE scores, or people list only those in their signatures with their results, which is not representative of how the system works at all and is just encouraging this way of thinking. They don't have us get those letters of reference and write that personal statement for nothing. Of course GPA and GRE are a factor, but they're not the only ones. Even so, I'm taking the GRE in a few weeks, and I'm still panicking because I want a good score, because it won't hurt. And I know my GPA is on the lower side of typically admitted candidates, but I also know it's not the end of my application before I even started it. I also think showing interest in the school is important, and schools ask you to say "why this school" in your SoP but I'm still struggling on how to do that sometimes. lol Anyway, thanks for the reminder that it's not just a game of GPA and GRE. I think it's something we need to hear more often.

Is there really such a thing as a less competitive program? lol They're all still very selective, and "lower-ranked" does not mean less competitive. The way they calculate the rankings is pretty silly to be honest. I think though when you get to the so-called "less competitive" programs, really proving your interest in the school and the program can be more important to your admittance. That's what it seems like! Of course all schools look at that, but I think these "less competitive" programs are looking for applicants that really did their research on the program and school. I'm not applying this year, but I'll be applying to "less competitive" as well as more competitive dream programs next year, for Fall 2015, so I hope to learn from all of your experiences. I'm planning on getting into contact with all the programs I want to apply to and visiting schools before applying, as a lot I want to apply to are clustered in certain areas. And especially to make sure I even meet their prereqs! That said, I don't believe in a less competitive program at all. Truly less competitive speech pathology programs stopped existing in about 2007. But I will apply to the programs I am because of cost (they tend to be cheaper), and I feel I'm a less competitive applicant. My GPA is on the lower end (3.25), I haven't taken the GRE yet though (in April!), and I don't have any letters of rec from my undergrad days. I will do a post-bacc in fall, so I hope to get some letters from those classes, but I don't think they'll be as strong as from professors who I've had for more than 2-3 months. But all of the schools I'm eventually applying to I will apply to because I like the program and location and cost. My mother's health isn't that great, my niece and nephew are growing up too fast, and I've been out of the country for three years, so I'd like to go somewhere nearby my family. Relatively nearby.

I'm bumping this thread because I'd like to hear more people's experiences. It seems that in the SLP field, lots of people visit schools or recommend visiting them before you get notified of acceptance (on this forum at least). Did people who applied this year (for fall 2014) visit their prospective schools? Did it affect your decisions on where to apply? Does it help on the application process, do you think? Did you visit during a scheduled prospective student day, or did you arrange with the department a special visit? I'm planning on visiting quite a few of the schools I'd like to apply to, partly because a lot of them are only a day's trip away from where I will be come fall and I'd like to see the areas and meet with the faculty to discuss the departments at them and some of my questions. Of course, I don't want to visit because I think it will help me get in (I question that), but if it helps to prove my interest in the university, that's a nice benefit! Mostly I can see no negatives of visiting other than cost.

I'm going to send you a PM about this. But to everyone in general, you should not be discouraged about people being younger than you! When I was an undergrad, there were quite a few non-traditional students in my classes, and the younger undergrads plus older students had no problems mingling. Speech path students in my situation tended to be very focused, which makes sense given that the major and choice is so specific. Plus, the benefit of recommendations if you're pressed for them is a really attractive benefit of on-site courses.

I guess the mystery is solved. But I'll be doing a post-bacc starting in fall for the basically the same reason as above. I need to finish some prerequisite courses before applying to graduate school, which seems to be the most common reason. Post-bacc programs seem to be becoming more and more common in the field I want (speech pathology). My specific reason is when I graduated 3 years ago, I had no more money for school, and was confused about what exactly I wanted to do, so I cut my double major down to one plus a minor and graduated undergrad in three years, and have been working abroad since. And now I've got a much better idea of what I want to do, so I'll do a post-bacc while I apply to graduate school. I'd have to take the courses anyway, either before grad school or do a three year masters, so might as well. And I don't think I could get into a master's program now, so doing the post-bacc is a chance to show-off better grades than my undergrad GPA. If I wasn't doing the post-bacc, I'd just... take the courses by themselves anyway without the title. It's nice to have the structure and support, I guess? Feel more like part of the university. And yeah, have to fund yourself. I'll be eligible for FAFSA loans, though. Yaay debt. And clearly I fall into the two c's camp. lol

Hey all, good luck on your applications! I hope you hear good news come spring. I'll be applying next year. I finished my undergrad a few years ago and will do a post bacc next year, so I'm wondering when you all sent your transcripts in to your schools. I would like to wait until fall semester grades come in next year to send my transcripts in, because my undergrad GPA was not THAT great, and I want to show I'm committed to and can do well in the field by showing good fall grades, but a few schools I'm interested in applying to seem to historically have early January deadlines. It might be cutting it close since my uni doesn't tend to be very prompt finalizing fall grades... So did a lot of you who are still in school send in transcripts that included this fall semester's grades, or did you go ahead and send in transcripts without them?