MangoSmoothie

I'm in the same boat! I haven't started my program yet, but I'll be beginning this fall, and I've been petless since moving out of my parent's house 7 years ago. I love cats, and my childhood cats are still living with my parents, but it would be cruel to split them up and move them to a much smaller place, so this will be my first time as a pet-owner myself. I also don't want kittens but an adult cat, since they're a bit more mellow and can be more independent.
 
My concern is not with time, but with money. Monthly costs and annual vet bills are not too prohibitive, but I don't want to get my own cat now because if it falls seriously ill, I would be put through a lot of financial strain to afford vet costs. When I was 19, one of my cats suddenly became very ill, enough to warrant an emergency vet visit at 11pm on a Saturday night, and my parents didn't have the money to pay for treatment or even diagnostic procedures, so I ended up getting a CareCredit card for vet bills. This worked well, but the cost was high (almost a grand) for my guy and was creeping higher. Ultimately he had a very serious disease and didn't even make it to surgery. The vet at that point was not too optimistic it would have helped anyway. We were able to pay off the card within a year to avoid interest payments, but I'm not sure that's something I could do during grad school. Of course, I would do anything possible for a cat of mine that falls ill. Maybe a grand doesn't seem like a lot in bills for a cat, but it was for us, and I told myself that if I can't plan for a reasonable amount of unexpected vet costs (which to me would be at least a grand), I wouldn't get a cat of my own. I have many friends as well who have just not gotten care for their pets because of the expense, and I don't want to do that to an animal.
 
So, I have decided not to adopt because of this. It's not something I expect everyone to adhere too, but it's something I would think about.
However, like rising_star said, consider fostering! I actually applied to a local shelter and was accepted to foster! They're very excited to have me, because I want to foster older cats, and there's never too many foster "parents." I should be fostering senior cats that are having trouble finding homes because of their age (12-14+years old). Fostering is a great opportunity, because you're not responsible for vet costs, and you might not be responsible for food/litter. The center I'm going through will pay for food and litter costs, but ones I had considered in my current city only covered vet bills and asked fosters to pay for food/litter. Even if you think your apartment is small too, it's still much bigger than the cages they're housed in. All you need to do is provide a safe environment and socialize with the cat daily. I've seen at least an hour a day recommended, which I don't think is a problem. You may also need to transport the cat to adoption events. If you're nervous because of either the time/money of cat ownership, it could be a good start. If you end up falling in love with the cat you're fostering, you usually have first preference to adopt it as well. 
 
I'm in the same field as you, and between class and clinic, I'm planning on being out of the house for at least 10-12 hours a day. This is a lot of time for a cat to be alone, but older cats can be fine with it. If you adopt, the centers usually list bios, and you can see if there's a cat's bio that matches your lifestyle. And think of it this way too: cats sleep, a lot. But if you're really concerned about the cat being lonely, consider adopting an adult, bonded pair. They're typically harder to adopt out, because most adopters are not looking for two cats. I actually almost just adopted a bonded pair I came across recently, but knew my situation wasn't right for them right now (moving three times in a month, finances), so I didn't go for it. I think living alone with two cats is fine, if the cats get along; they'll keep each other company when you're gone. It's not crazy at all.
 
So short answer: yes, you can do it! It's not crazy, but I would look into fostering, and make sure you consider the financial costs (expected and unexpected) if you adopt a cat. I've lived alone for six years, and I'm excited to have a cat to keep me company in my apartment.

Where did you find a published overall acceptance rate for SLP? I've seen 41% thrown around for medical school, but never anything "overall" for SLP. That doesn't mean the schools are accepting 41% of applicants, either; it means 41% of applicants who apply get in somewhere.
 
Regardless, you can't really compare the two fields, so this doesn't really "put things into perspective." Med schools tend to have an acceptance rate of 1-10%. A "generous" acceptance rate would be around 7%, and I've read before the average is around 9%. The school with the highest acceptance rate was Oklahoma State University, with 19.8%. SLP Grad school's acceptances rates tend to be higher than 19.8%, somewhere in the 20-30%, and their average acceptance rate is nowhere near the average medical school acceptance rate. Some schools even have acceptance rates bordering on 45-50%.
 
If the overall acceptance rate (again, "overall acceptance" meaning the percentage of applicants who applied that get in somewhere) even is higher for med schools than SLP, which I don't think it is, there isn't much you can directly infer; it could mean a lot of things. It could mean people applying to med schools apply more selectively and apply to schools they're more likely to get in to, maybe because med schools are more expensive to apply to and require more application work (most have secondary apps that cost money, as well as the interview process). It could mean there's not much overlap between where applicants apply (for example, at least 75% of the people in my program applied to at least 4 of the same schools). It could mean they're better prepared for the schools they do apply to, because unlike SLP, med school generally requires more undergrad prep work (not that I want to devalue the work it takes for SLP). It could mean they apply to more schools overall. Med school is still far more competitive than SLP will ever be, but the people applying to med school are also going to be much more prepared for the schools they're applying to because of the nature of the application process and prep work.
 
I'd also disagree you have to be "pretty darn close"  to a 4.0 to get in to many programs, unless our definition of "pretty darn close" is wildly different (I imagine pretty darn close as 3.9+). Look at the ranges on EdFind, and you'll find this to not be true at all, unless you're only looking at top 10 programs, and then yes, I think this is more true. If it was true across the board too, I'd probably be suspicious of grade inflation. Programs also sometimes publish acceptance statistics on their website, and you can again, find this to not be the case. You're right though, a higher CSD GPA is good,and the higher the better; it certainly will never hurt you.
 
Although I don't like the obsession with GPA and GRE, I think the ranges jmk gave are good, and I would second them especially if you're limited in your experiences both in and out of the SLP field. I've seen people with absolutely zero experience get in with a 3.8+, which makes sense. Then I've seen people, like myself, get admitted in the 3.2-3.4 range, with lots of relevant experience and great GRE scores, and not even just at "less well known" schools, which are still incredibly competitive, just in a different way.
 
For what it's worth, to get your application "seriously considered" you generally just have to make it past whatever arbitrary cut-off a school has. I know of one very well-ranked program that assigns points to GRE and GPA, and if you make it past their cut-off, they read the rest of your application. If you don't, they toss you out.
 
If you say you're almost able to pull off a 3.8, you seem to be in a good spot, and I bet you'll meet all cutoffs schools have to be fully considered. I would really put as much time as possible in the GRE, because it will not hurt your application to do well on it. Of course, it depends on what schools you apply to too, but you seem like you're in a good spot. Like Jolie said, you're at least aware, and I think that's what hurts applicants who have trouble getting accepted the most.
 
(About med school acceptance rates: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/the-short-list-grad-school/articles/2015/03/31/10-medical-schools-that-are-most-competitive-for-applicants )

The thing is, even "less competitive" schools are still insanely competitive. They still get way more applicants than they have space for and find ways to thin the pool. Maybe my experience can help though. I also applied mostly to schools in the midwest. As a disclaimer, I don't value the US News rankings, but I use them as a gauge sometimes because I know other people do.
 
I was in a somewhat similar situation as a less-competitive applicant based on GPA. However, I graduated 3 years before applying. My undergrad GPA was between 3.2 and 3.3, but I was out of major, came back to do post-bacc classes, and had great GRE scores. I've done really well in post-bacc classes as well so I have a high CSD GPA. A high CSD GPA is really important (I think) for people who have overall low GPAs.
 
In my experience as a student with a low GPA, experience and fit were really important, not necessarily a school being less competitive. You can apply to schools all ranked in the 200s that accept 30% of applicants, but if you're a bad fit, they're going to see that and are going to see what you're trying to do. I had a lot of experiences both in and out of the field (worked abroad for three years, experience working with special needs children and adults, ESL, etc). I applied to a variety of programs: reaches, good-fits, bad-fits. Nothing did I treat as a safety.
 
As it turned out, all of the programs I was a really good fit for and truly wanted to go to, I got in to, or waitlisted for, and they were all in the Top 50. I had really good reasons for wanting to go to those programs, found from my research before, and I made that known in my SOPs. My visits (after applying) to these schools only confirmed this. I applied to some schools that were, in my mind, "less competitive." "Less competitive" because they were low-ranked (low 100s to 200s), in pretty rural areas (because who wants to live in the middle-of-nowhere Midwest, 2 hours by car from the nearest city?), and had slightly higher acceptance rates than other schools. I got rejected from all but one of those schools, and in my mind it made sense. A school in the middle-of-nowhere Midwest has merits that do appeal to students and there are students who want to go to those programs. I truly believe those programs know these applicants when they read their SOPs. I applied to those programs because I thought I was a great applicant other than my GPA, and thought that that maybe would get me in, but I knew I would only attend those schools as a last resort if I didn't get in to the schools that matched my interests and goals. Maybe that showed in my SOPs for those schools in some way (perhaps because I didn't spend as much time refining my SOP for those programs as I did my top-choices).
 
The schools I applied to offered things I really wanted. Research or labs doing work I wanted to get involved in, volunteer efforts organized by grad students I wanted to do, clinical experiences that appealed to me, other experiences I wanted, etc. I mentioned these things in my SOP, and not briefly, and my experiences connected nicely to my interests.
 
I can't suggest less competitive schools because (in my mind) there really is no such thing. You can use EdFind to find schools in the midwest, and comb through them to find programs you love. Know why you love them. You have a lot of time to find programs, and what might help is visiting them. I didn't have time to visit programs before I applied, but if you can find the time, I suggest you do. Those visits can make you realize why you want to go to a certain program, or that a certain program is not right for you at all. Other people might not agree with me, but I think fit is a really important thing to look for when looking for programs, especially as an applicant with less-than stellar stats.

If a school asks for all academic transcripts... then they want all academic transcripts. Not including some because the grades are lower could be viewed as dishonest. If the grades were A´s, I bet no one would assume you were hiding anything and it would be chalked up to an honest mistake. If you really want to avoid sending the transcripts, you´ll have to ask each school... but I´m guessing you´re still going to have to send them. 
Sort of a side note rant: I agree that sending transcripts is an expensive and stupid process that could be made much easier. I think the lesson is that when you´re an academic one day maybe working for a university or school, you should advocate to change the policy for a better one. I know I´m never going to forget how terribly inefficient (and even rude at times) ETS was when I was registering for the GRE. If one day I´m in a position to influence admissions policies, I´ll think about our institutionalized faith in ETS and its exams. 

What is your in-major GPA? Mine was 3.2 (after my second bachelor's) but in-major was 3.6 and I think that helped.
You really need to take the GRE again and get your writing score up to 4 or 4.5 at a minimum or else I'm afraid your chances of being admitted are pretty low. My scores were 165V 152Q and 5.5W and I still had a really hard time getting admitted, it took 2 application seasons after doing leveling courses and I was still only on waitlists at first. 
How are your LORs? Did you know your profs well and are confident they are saying good things about you? If not, maybe having one come from an employer in a related field would be helpful.
What work experience do you have? Anything related to the elderly, children, or special needs populations? If you don't have any experience with any of these populations, I would say take a year or two to work and volunteer with as many of these populations as you can. Summer camps, nursing homes, working in the school system (aide/para, substitute teaching), doing respite care, and doing ABA are all great options. SLPA is also great if you can do that in your state.
What was your undergrad degree in? Anything related? Did you do any research or work on special projects with profs or in any labs? Did you attend any conferences? Those things look really good applications.

This topic comes up frequently: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/search/?q=last+60&type=forums_topic&nodes=95

Business casual is the way to go from now on for anything you're uncertain about. As others said, it's definitely better to be overdressed than underdressed. The only thing I would say is that wearing a full suit or blazer with your slacks is probably over doing it. But can't go wrong with a professional dress!

And it's a great opportunity for people here who may not have had any luck yet, and are willing to relocate for grad school! Thanks for sharing! Exciting news!

How's GVSU's accreditation going? I know you finished up there, twinguy, so I bet you're a great resource for people who might be a little wary of a program that's newer.

I received an email and subsequent call from Dr. DePaul last week to set up an interview at Whitewater. She said they have a spot open. I don't know if anyone else was contacted for an interview but I did my post-bacc degree at whitewater and I think that I have a very good chance of being offered the spot if I sell myself well enough during the interview. And I would accept if I was offered the spot. I'm really sorry to say, because I know how much it sucks (this is my third year applying to grad schools), but if you weren't contacted for an interview, you probably won't be getting in this year :\

@Gabrielle, HGSE's masters acceptance rate was 53% a few years ago when I was admitted. I don't remember whether that was on the HGSE website or on US News & World report, but it was a credible source. Nevertheless, it's comparable to other top-tier schools of education. The fact of the matter is that there is less reason to pursue advanced degrees in education as compared to many other fields, making some of these programs less competitive. Moreover, often the masters programs are bulked up to fund doctoral work, resulting in a lot of acceptances. This, of course, means that many will look down their noses at the ed school, but if your goal was to gain prestige and feel superior to others, my guess is that you wouldn't have chosen this field either. So, I don't let those comments bother me. The PhD and EdD programs at Harvard have lower acceptance rates than many of Harvard's other schools, and there are plenty of people in them who have perfect GREs + amazing intellects. 
The last two quotes you shared don't actually seem derogatory to me. I'm glad we have gritty (as in, perseverant) 30 year olds trying to change the field of education, and OF COURSE professional experience is considered along with academics. By considering professional experience, HGSE admits many who were perhaps undermatched in undergrad, but have proven that they are tremendous leaders, genuine doers, as well as transcendent thinkers. ALL of the graduate programs at Harvard consider professional experience in tandem with academics. 
You will certainly find people who want to assuage their personal insecurity by belittling the ed school, but it is a great school, full of incredible people who do go on to change the field of education. Congratulations on your acceptance!

I applied as an out of fielder with a different MA. On CSDCAS both GPAs will combine to create your overall GPA. This is what they will look at. If a school doesn't use CSDCAS, they will evaluate all of your transcripts unless they have a policy to only look at a certain number of hours-like the last 60.

If you really want to know the department's expectations, call them and ask. It is better to be slightly overdressed than underdressed, in my opinion. My orientation was a mix, but the majority were in business/near-businesses casual (slacks/summer slacks and a nice top/blouse for the women and mostly sandals and flats) or a work-appropriate dress. A few also wore nice jeans with a nice top, which was a good in-the-middle look. I remember a few folks who just wore t-shirts and jeans or shorts, and all of them after the fact were a little sheepish because they felt really underdressed, especially as the department took our class photo that day.
It's honestly going to vary from program to program, so really, it won't hurt to call and ask. It's not that big of a deal, so try not to worry too much about it. I would still recommend dressing a little nicer/more professional than how you dress day to day (i.e., don't show up in short-shorts and a camisole). If you're really worried, I think nice jeans with a blouse/nice top is a good look, and you shouldn't feel too underdressed. You should feel comfortable with yourself during orientation. So ask yourself, if everyone was dressed in business casual and you showed up in jeans and a nice top, would you feel okay? If everyone was dressed in casual, daily clothing and you were in slacks and a blouse, would you feel okay? Which would make you feel more awkward? I personally wore business casual (slacks, blouse, flats, and a cardigan) because it was what I wore to my full-time job for three years prior to beginning my program. I personally would rather be overdressed, so I err on the side of caution that way, although it's never really happened that I've actually been overdressed.
(There are also multiple threads on this from the past, so you will find more answers if you utilize the search.)

Can you call the department secretary and ask? That's probably what I'd do. 

(This post was way longer than I thought, sorry!)
The fortunate thing is that, like mentioned, you always have the option of trying this out for a semester, and if it doesn't work, you can find a place closer to campus. No doubt you'll be able to find an apartment someone is trying to sublet if you decide the long commute isn't working for you.
There are a few people in my program who commute by car, but I'd say the ones who commute the most drive about an hour each way. It's been working for them, and one in particular doesn't mind the commute because it forces her to stay on campus and finish things before going home. She doesn't even need to leave her place early since her schedule doesn't require her to be on campus until around 12:00 each day, so she avoids morning and evening rush hour. We have a bit of preference in our placements for the second year, and other second years have been able to request placements near to where they live, one reducing her commute from an hour to 5 minutes. She still had to make it back to campus two nights a week for class, but it's a big improvement. My program also tends not to have classes or clinic on Fridays, which makes the commute more bearable for them as it's only 4 days a week.
This is a lot of time to drive each day, but you might find it's a good time to decompress. You need to consider the cost of gas (nearly three hours of driving each day will add up very fast), maintenance, and car insurance too. Make sure you have very, very good coverage for your car, since if it's out of commission for some reason, how will you be getting to campus? And does parking cost on campus? I've never been to a university that had cheap parking for students. If you compare the cost of living somewhere for free versus an apartment near campus (possibly with a roommate), these are all things you need to consider. You might find the difference, while still in favor of living with a family member, is not as large as you think.
A thought that also just occurred to me was working. I don't know if you're planning on having a job or not, but I would think this type of commute is going to really impact your work availability during the week, since you will have fewer available hours. You can of course work near campus, but then you might find yourself driving an hour and a half home at 11pm. If it's more feasible to work if you live near campus, consider that cost, too. Most people in my cohort have a job or two (unless they're lucky enough to have parents who can afford to support them), so it is possible to work. Even if you spend only four days going to campus, that's 10 hours you spend driving. 10 hours that could be spent at a job making money to help offset the cost of living on campus.
Potentially the biggest concern, depending on your personality, is the impact this will have on your social life. If you're moving to an area where you don't know anyone, you might find yourself lonelier than your cohort members, or not connecting as well with them. You will definitely have to make more of an effort to connect with them. While the people who commute such distances in my program aren't ostracized, they don't socialize as much with the rest of the cohort. For some, that's choice, but for others it's been a struggle. You naturally miss out on a lot of "on the fly" plans and weekend plans, especially in the beginning weeks of the program, when relationships are being formed. I've found that my cohort doesn't like planning things far in advance, which means the people who commute are more likely to miss out on these plans. It might not be fair, but it's the reality. If you have another support group nearby, or don't really care if you're friends with your cohort or not, this might not matter that much to you. But if you are trying to befriend cohort members, be aware you might be spending late nights in the city or spending your weekends driving to campus to socialize with them too, especially early on. One of the women I know who commutes wishes she had a closer relationship to people in the program, but she has resigned herself to the situation, and she tries to be ready for impromptu plans.
If you live in most areas of the US, you're probably laughing at the suggestion of public transit. If a viable option exists in your area (that doesn't also double your commute), definitely consider it, but another option to consider are rideshares. My state has a state-run rideshare program, but it typically only serves the major metro areas and their surrounding counties. I personally can't read while in a car, but you might be able to, or you might be able to take the time for a nap on the way to/from school. I had a friend do this for four years in undergrad for an hour each way, and while she's thrilled to be done with it, it saved her a lot of money. It's something you can look in to, if your state/area has one.
So in short, yes, this commute can work, and you are lucky you are able to trial it. There are more things to consider than just the savings of not paying rent and utilities, but you might find yourself with better time management and in more command of your schedule.

Okay, so Oklahoma just is in a bit of a tight spot financially, and in response to this tightness, they've just passed legislation to remove the state EITC.
I'm probably in a minority here, but I'm poor, married, with a child. It's absurd, absolutely absurd that politicians think it's okay cut financial incentives from the poor. Did you know the federal EITC sometimes makes up 20% of my yearly income? If the federal one instantly vanished, I would no longer be able feed my family, and it's not even a question of me spending frivolously. I have no car payment, no credit card payments, and I live very frugally.
Subsistence living 2016, represent.
Rant, rant, rant. 

You're trying to talk yourself in to paying 30,000 more. Don't. I was in the exact same position as you last year. Of three schools it came down to, one's tuition was $25,000, one was $36,000, and one was $68,000. I loved the most expensive program. They had an excellent on campus clinic, amazing opportunities, and I truly wanted to go there. It fit my interests perfectly. Superficially I was excited because of their good ranking. (The rankings system is bs by the way.) The $25,000 had... limited clinical opportunities both on and off campus, and you had to travel an hour for your externships usually. Good for some, not for me. The 36,000 had most of want I wanted, and I knew I'd get great placements, but I still wanted to go to that 68K program because it just felt right. 
But it's truly not worth it, and for me it wasn't. I ended up going to the school that was 36K in tuition. I knew the cheapest option would provide the worst opportunities for me in grad school. If I had had nothing to compare them to, it would have been fine. I would have gladly gone to that school. After all, I knew grads from that program who have secured highly coveted and prestigious positions, and they loved the program because it suited them. They shined in that program, and that's more important than where they graduated from. I am loving my time at the 36K school. At times I wonder what it would be like if I'd gone to the 68K school, but I'm getting great opportunities, I have an awesome cohort, invested faculty, and I just got a placement I'm pumped about. We even have another SLP program in the city, and we don't "compete" for externships really, since we have an arrangement with the other school. Plus we have opportunities I didn't even know existed before I toured, and those opportunities matter a lot to me!
The ranking of your school will only matter if you want to do a PhD, and that's only if you're doing a thesis anyway. "Local prestige" is important, but like Norcal said, it's better to ask the students rather than rely on some arbitrary impression. Even you don't really know the "local prestige" of the programs because you're not placements that are hiring, so don't rely on that.
Can you visit the school you just got accepted to before you make your decision? That really helped me. I didn't want it to help! I wanted it to show me I'd be happier at the 68K school, but it did just the opposite. See if they'll arrange for some grad students for you to talk to as well.
And just to reiterate: the program you choose will not affect your job prospects significantly, and you won't be making more or less in the same position because of the program you graduated from.
Good luck making your decision. $30,000 is a lot, and I would not make this decision lightly or based on arbitrary rankings.

Again, I was literally in the exact same situation, almost to the day! I received an offer for the 36K school on May 7th last year. I emailed the program director at the expensive school to let her know of my decision, and she arranged for a phone conversation. She probed a little bit to figure out why exactly I was withdrawing, since I had been so excited during my visit, but she was very understanding when I told her it was because a school that was $30,000 cheaper accepted me. She agreed 100% with my decision, since this much money is not a small undertaking, and I will get a job no matter where I go. She actually tried to find me funding to get me to stay at that program, but unfortunately that didn't happen. The phone call really eased my mind about the whole thing, and I felt a lot better about withdrawing than I did after just an email.
So to repeat what others have said, don't fret too much about it! It's a little bit awkward, but they're understanding, as long as you're very polite and professional about it.
 

Again, I was literally in the exact same situation, almost to the day! I received an offer for the 36K school on May 7th last year. I emailed the program director at the expensive school to let her know of my decision, and she arranged for a phone conversation. She probed a little bit to figure out why exactly I was withdrawing, since I had been so excited during my visit, but she was very understanding when I told her it was because a school that was $30,000 cheaper accepted me. She agreed 100% with my decision, since this much money is not a small undertaking, and I will get a job no matter where I go. She actually tried to find me funding to get me to stay at that program, but unfortunately that didn't happen. The phone call really eased my mind about the whole thing, and I felt a lot better about withdrawing than I did after just an email.
So to repeat what others have said, don't fret too much about it! It's a little bit awkward, but they're understanding, as long as you're very polite and professional about it.
 

You're trying to talk yourself in to paying 30,000 more. Don't. I was in the exact same position as you last year. Of three schools it came down to, one's tuition was $25,000, one was $36,000, and one was $68,000. I loved the most expensive program. They had an excellent on campus clinic, amazing opportunities, and I truly wanted to go there. It fit my interests perfectly. Superficially I was excited because of their good ranking. (The rankings system is bs by the way.) The $25,000 had... limited clinical opportunities both on and off campus, and you had to travel an hour for your externships usually. Good for some, not for me. The 36,000 had most of want I wanted, and I knew I'd get great placements, but I still wanted to go to that 68K program because it just felt right. 
But it's truly not worth it, and for me it wasn't. I ended up going to the school that was 36K in tuition. I knew the cheapest option would provide the worst opportunities for me in grad school. If I had had nothing to compare them to, it would have been fine. I would have gladly gone to that school. After all, I knew grads from that program who have secured highly coveted and prestigious positions, and they loved the program because it suited them. They shined in that program, and that's more important than where they graduated from. I am loving my time at the 36K school. At times I wonder what it would be like if I'd gone to the 68K school, but I'm getting great opportunities, I have an awesome cohort, invested faculty, and I just got a placement I'm pumped about. We even have another SLP program in the city, and we don't "compete" for externships really, since we have an arrangement with the other school. Plus we have opportunities I didn't even know existed before I toured, and those opportunities matter a lot to me!
The ranking of your school will only matter if you want to do a PhD, and that's only if you're doing a thesis anyway. "Local prestige" is important, but like Norcal said, it's better to ask the students rather than rely on some arbitrary impression. Even you don't really know the "local prestige" of the programs because you're not placements that are hiring, so don't rely on that.
Can you visit the school you just got accepted to before you make your decision? That really helped me. I didn't want it to help! I wanted it to show me I'd be happier at the 68K school, but it did just the opposite. See if they'll arrange for some grad students for you to talk to as well.
And just to reiterate: the program you choose will not affect your job prospects significantly, and you won't be making more or less in the same position because of the program you graduated from.
Good luck making your decision. $30,000 is a lot, and I would not make this decision lightly or based on arbitrary rankings.

You're trying to talk yourself in to paying 30,000 more. Don't. I was in the exact same position as you last year. Of three schools it came down to, one's tuition was $25,000, one was $36,000, and one was $68,000. I loved the most expensive program. They had an excellent on campus clinic, amazing opportunities, and I truly wanted to go there. It fit my interests perfectly. Superficially I was excited because of their good ranking. (The rankings system is bs by the way.) The $25,000 had... limited clinical opportunities both on and off campus, and you had to travel an hour for your externships usually. Good for some, not for me. The 36,000 had most of want I wanted, and I knew I'd get great placements, but I still wanted to go to that 68K program because it just felt right. 
But it's truly not worth it, and for me it wasn't. I ended up going to the school that was 36K in tuition. I knew the cheapest option would provide the worst opportunities for me in grad school. If I had had nothing to compare them to, it would have been fine. I would have gladly gone to that school. After all, I knew grads from that program who have secured highly coveted and prestigious positions, and they loved the program because it suited them. They shined in that program, and that's more important than where they graduated from. I am loving my time at the 36K school. At times I wonder what it would be like if I'd gone to the 68K school, but I'm getting great opportunities, I have an awesome cohort, invested faculty, and I just got a placement I'm pumped about. We even have another SLP program in the city, and we don't "compete" for externships really, since we have an arrangement with the other school. Plus we have opportunities I didn't even know existed before I toured, and those opportunities matter a lot to me!
The ranking of your school will only matter if you want to do a PhD, and that's only if you're doing a thesis anyway. "Local prestige" is important, but like Norcal said, it's better to ask the students rather than rely on some arbitrary impression. Even you don't really know the "local prestige" of the programs because you're not placements that are hiring, so don't rely on that.
Can you visit the school you just got accepted to before you make your decision? That really helped me. I didn't want it to help! I wanted it to show me I'd be happier at the 68K school, but it did just the opposite. See if they'll arrange for some grad students for you to talk to as well.
And just to reiterate: the program you choose will not affect your job prospects significantly, and you won't be making more or less in the same position because of the program you graduated from.
Good luck making your decision. $30,000 is a lot, and I would not make this decision lightly or based on arbitrary rankings.

Not necessarily! My school was the "lowest" ranked of all the schools in my area and of the competitive, prestigious medical placements that take 1 student (and interview students from all area programs)? 100% went to girls in my cohort in my second year (and several went to girls in the cohort above me the year before). It's best to ask the schools what kind of placements students have received in the past rather than rely on the notion that the name of the school will get you further. Because yes, some schools do have a harder time placeing students in medical placements that are more significant and prestigious than a snf (nothing wrong with snfs but if you want to work in acute or sub-acute care you'll need the internship to prove you have what it takes). But that's a school to scho thing and has little to do with the rankings.

Browsing these forums will easily show you otherwise. Personally, I believe if you're coming right from an SLP undergrad, it is more likely to be true that you need to have very high grades; your undergrad experience has been the bulk of your related experiences in life to SLP, and you need those grades to show you will be competent in graduate school. I do not fault schools for this process, because they need something to show them you will succeed, and there aren't many ways a 22-year-old can truly show that. However, out-of-fielders and non-traditional applicants can boost their applications with related life experiences that often span longer periods of time than the traditional 4 year B.A./B.S. to master's SLP student. I was both out-of-field and nontraditional, with a 3.25 in my undergrad when I applied and accepted to five programs. My friends in my post-bacc, some straight from undergrad, others like me who'd done other things for a few years, also had around 3.3 GPAs, and they're all in grad programs now. I can count just as many people I know in an SLP master's program now who don't fit your criteria as those who do, although I admit, most of the ones who don't have perfect scores and GPAs are out-of-field and some are non-traditional, and their SLP grades were excellent. Sometimes, it just takes time and experience to make yourself a better applicant and to make up for less-than-stellar grades.
I'm sorry you and those around you have had this experience. But myself and many others have had just the opposite. I'm starting to digress, but I don't want anyone to be discouraged from applying because of this post, because it's blatantly not true. There is no universal formula for admission, and by the time of application, some things are out of your control, so control the things you can (like your SOP, GRE, etc)., and truly learn about the programs you're applying to. Some schools might only care about numbers, but there's far more that (I believe) don't value only GPA and GRE.

Mine is also around 11-13, and summers are around 8. I don't know about other programs, but I didn't really get to decide my schedule, since the first years take classes together, and there's only one offering of all the classes. We have a little bit of flexibility between when to take two different courses, and a few elective offerings in the second year, but most semesters require at least 11 credits in my program. I wouldn't worry about overwhelming yourself; they lay it out nicely for you, and unless you're considering moving to part-time, there may not be much in the way of what you can change.

Mine is also around 11-13, and summers are around 8. I don't know about other programs, but I didn't really get to decide my schedule, since the first years take classes together, and there's only one offering of all the classes. We have a little bit of flexibility between when to take two different courses, and a few elective offerings in the second year, but most semesters require at least 11 credits in my program. I wouldn't worry about overwhelming yourself; they lay it out nicely for you, and unless you're considering moving to part-time, there may not be much in the way of what you can change.

Hey! I've been active in the global lindy hop scene for a while now, and all I can say is try not to worry, and try not to internalize it when you are not asked to dance or when someone turns you down. In my experience, lindy hop scenes can be pretty tight-knit and can seem cliquey or judgmental, but usually the regular dancers are not intentionally trying to shut anyone out. They're just focused on their own good time: they're trying to dance with their friends, or that person visiting from out of town that they haven't seen in months, or to just chill and unwind. It's not being selfish or self-centered or anything, it's exactly what you're trying to do too! If they turn you down or don't think to ask you, it is almost never ever personal. As a follow, I tend to turn down a lot of leads that I don't know or that I haven't seen dance yet, and that's my choice to protect myself. While I believe social dancing is a give-and-take, I ain't got time to manage a jerky leader's energy flow so that my rotator cuff stays in one piece and so we don't end up playing bumper cars with every other dancing partnership out on the floor! 
I know your friend was trying to help, but I don't love the "just smile and look happy!" advice either. I would suggest trying to get to know some people - chat with folks in the dance lessons, or other people waiting to dance along the sidelines of the social dance floor. Is there a bar at your dance venue? Even if you don't drink, buy a soda or a coffee or a seltzer water, and get to know the bartender or the people who hang out by the bar. I love lindy hop, but as I come from a modern dance and ballet background, I forget sometimes about the social part of social dancing, and forget that I have to be a friend to make a friend, as my dear auntie says.
Also, if I can be just a liiiiiiiittle bit catty... if your friends are young, pretty, fit, dancing in the follower's role (which is what I'm getting from the context of your post??? please correct me if I'm wrong!), and getting asked to dance all the time, the odds are pretty good that you don't want to be dancing with most of those leads and that, in the end, your friends didn't want to be dancing with them either. I love my scene and my community, but where there are young women, creeps tend to appear out of the woodwork, and they go for the pretty, young newbies. 
Hope this helps and hope you keep dancing!