combustiblecake

I just wanted to join in... Did any of you get a waitlist? If so, did you write a letter of continued interest? Thank you!

Hi everyone! I graduated in 2015 with a bachelors in Psychology from the University of Illinois. I've been pondering of what my field should be, as I'm still very interested in staying in Psychology. I worked abroad as an ESL teacher in the south of France, specifically primary schools. I had the opportunity to work closely with the equivalent of a school psychologist, as the schools I've worked in had many children with behavioral problems in part because of lack of support at home and low economic opportunities. They also had a huge immigrant population that also received little support. It sparked an interest in research on identifying educational/health disparities in culturally diverse students, advocacy and culturally responsive psychoeducational assessment. I thought that School Psychology would be the field for me to pursue those research interests, and I could probably practice as a specialist in the schools. I guess my worry (anxiety, really) is the fact that I may not be competitive enough for any field in Psychology. I have a cumulative GPA of 3.5, and a Psych GPA of 3.1. My story is that I had bouts of anxiety due to a bad relationship at the start of my undergraduate studies, which hit hard on the starting Psychology coursework. I did better on graduate-level courses, and I was able to do an Honors Thesis after 4 years as a Research assistant in a neurolinguistics laboratory. Is my GPA a deal breaker for a School Psychology EdS? My second worry is that I have a lot of psychology research experience (+Honors Thesis) but it's not too closely related to School Psychology. At some point I thought I wanted to work in language, but after reading research papers from this field I think this is a much better fit. Should I look for volunteer opportunities in research again out of school? Something closely related to school psyc? Finally, like I said earlier, I have teaching abroad experience. Before that, I volunteered at an early childhood center, a recreational special education camp (for special ed girls who were interested in STEM), and after school programs. Would there be any other experience I can look into to help my chances? I'm sorry to overwhelm people with a wall of text. I've asked some schools with related research and they tell me that my GPA (cum) falls within their range, but not much else. I just want an honest response, if I should pursue a similar field or stay in Psych. I still have time to decide, and I'm not too strict on location when it comes to graduate programs, as long as they have the research opportunities that I'm looking for!

Thanks, I'll look into those. I've never heard of Don Asher, but would the schools know about my previous scores? You can choose to send only the ones you want them to see, according to the ETS website.

Hi everyone, So today I took the GRE for the second time and after studying aggressively for one month, I somehow scored lower (V:148 Q:141) than my last attempt (V:150 Q:143 AW: 4.0). I'm pretty sure that I'm good at the content because I did well in questions level 160-170 during practice, I'm just really bad at standardized testing in a strictly timed environment. I'm not sure what to do, or if to even retake it a 3rd time in a few months in case I don't get in this year. It's discouraging, and I can't help but think that I'm destined to fail that test. The good news is my GPA bumped to 3.5 from the 3.4 I had before, and my last 60 units are still 3.8 since I last applied, and it still got me waitlisted at one school out of the two that I applied. I'm applying strictly to bilingual programs (except maybe one), since the schools have told me that being bilingual (well, trilingual since I left France?) was a strength in my application: University of Minnesota University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Arizona University of New Mexico Does anyone have any advice on standardized testing for the GRE? Or any other advice? It's such an expensive investment, and I can't tell what part of the test indicates that I'll be great/horrible bilingual SLP.

I'm an out-of-field Psych major with lower stats than yours and the first time I applied I was waitlisted at Indiana University, you have a shot there for sure. Bilingual programs tend to prefer bilingual candidates. I could've expressed further interest in Indiana if I wasn't accepted to teach English abroad in France, but I took the gig since it seemed like the only way I could ever use my third language in a practical setting while also helping my application for a second round.

@genyslp One was my alma matter and the other was in a state nearby (both Midwest-one was bilingual and other wasn't). It's very possible had I applied to more schools, I might've been accepted somewhere, but I had applied to few schools on purpose since my ESL gig was an option and a very possible one. I chose to teach abroad, and it has enriched my SOP quite a lot.

@genyslp I'm not sure if it's any comfort, but I applied to two schools with a 3.4 and was waitlisted at one (but accepted at their bilingual program, which may have worked in my favor). I probably would've gotten in if I had touched based with the program, but I was accepted to teach English abroad in the south of France and I thought that I simply couldn't pass up that opportunity! I'm trying again with a 3.5 - look for schools that match your interests and touch base with them to show interest.

I would also like to add the University of Minnesota and Indiana University - Bloomington. They both accept 3-year candidates. Indiana has a Spanish-specific bilingual program, whereas Minnesota has a Bilingual Extension that is more flexible in terms of the languages covered.

If you're looking for shadowing/observation hours, you could search for SLPs through ASHA's site. For the GRE, Magoosh is excellent (although I find the math problems more challenging than they'll be on the actual test). Try their 6-month study plan. If you want to buy books, I have found Kaplan to be pretty good and the Manhattan Prep Books are extensive. As for internships, I have found those to be hard to come by as an out-of field candidate. You could work as an ABA Therapist part-time, and most companies will train you to provide this kind of therapy. I also believe social work internships could also be transferable, and could enrich your statement of purpose. I've done my B.S. in Psychology, and considering both ABA and In Home Therapy positions. Finally, if you could study/teach ESL abroad that could also enrich your resumé. Bilingual therapists are very in demand. I did TAPIF (in France). However, I chose France because I already am a native Spanish speaker. Spain, Korea and Japan have similar programs.

So... 2-3 years ago, I had a GPA of 3.3 and I managed to raise that to a 3.5. I've been told my GPA is "below the average", which I find frustrating considering all the hardships of coming from a low-income family. I had pretty mediocre GRE scores because my semesters were tough and didn't invest in studying for the GRE (I think it was... V150/Q143/AW4.5) I applied to two schools and was waitlisted at Indiana University, but was accepted to their STEPs program (I'm a Spanish native speaker) and at the moment I had a 3.4 GPA. Right now, I'm studying for the GRE and taking prereqs because there's not much I can do about raising a 3.5 to a 4.0 The idea is to find something within Speech Path that you truly enjoy and have aptitude/experience on, then find a program that matches those skills. In my case, I'm multilingual and would probably apply mostly to bilingual/multicultural programs. They seem to be more interested in a candidate like me, considering my background.

Hi everyone, I'm applying for programs right after I complete prerequisites, and I have a GPA of 3.5 I've taken this forum's advice to e-mail the programs and ask them how to improve my chances since my GPA might be considered on the "lower" end. When I read about top programs, I learn from several forums that they either only care about numbers or it's too competitive to get in. When I look on ASHA Edfind, either the information seems off or not updated. If I contact the programs, they tell me that they consider all factors and that they take a 'holistic' approach- even though I keep reading numbers are the only factor from applicants in the past. Its starting to look like they're just giving this answer to get application money. So how can I trust any information given to me? Who do I trust? I'm building my strongest application but I'd like to be realistic about my chances in a graduate school, considering it's very expensive to apply.

I'm looking for ABA Therapy positions while I apply for schools this year. However, you can look over at your local park district's website and see if they have a Special Recreation program. I worked as part of an inclusion team for a year and during the summers, basically hanging out with children with developmental disabilities and making sure they're having a good time with their peers.

@alexagrace Tbh, I honestly thought nobody would ever get the reference... there's very few geeky SLPs out there! How's the bilingual program? Are the clinical placements good, do you have both young and old bilingual clients? Is it only Spanish? Neurolinguistics is actually one of the research topics I'm wanting to follow! (I've even considered eventually doing a PhD). May I ask, what topics within that field are available? Bilingual neurolinguistics would be like a dream for me :3 Yeah, I mean creating apps that would be useful for therapy. SLPs, in my view, should be involved in that process especially when children are so involved in technology. I've also read about the communication benefits of Minecraft and how there are servers for autism populations to play/communicate in. I find this really interesting as well I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with questions!

Hi everyone, I used to be a frequent member of these boards during my last two years of college. I graduated in May 2015, and a lot has happened since then. I'm currently in the south of France, studying for the GRE, as my scores weren't hot (V:150, Q: 143, AW: 4.0). To be fair, I didn't study due to my heavy course load. My main interest is bilingual programs (mostly Spanish, but can also confidently work with French clients!) since this is the population I would like to work on. It looks like more and more schools are looking into opening bilingual programs, so the list seems to change every year. I'm applying during the 2016-2017 cycle. Any other users here interested in this field? What bilingual programs are you applying to? I'm thinking: Indiana University, University of Minnesota, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Arizona & University of New Mexico. I'm also curious for those who are interested in technology integration in therapy sessions. Anybody here also does coding? Or made any apps for SLPs/clients with language disorders?

Applicants of UC-Boulder, Did you include in-major GPA and hours earned on your Resume submission? If you were out-of-field, did you also include your out-of-field GPA?