autismadvocate

Asemooooooo, have you considered a post-bacc? When I was looking into them, a lot of people assumed the reason I was doing so was a low undergraduate GPA that I wanted to use the post-bacc to bring up. Of course, the real reason I was doing it was because I hadn't taken any of those classes, but it sounds like that's a legitimate thing people do and you may wish to consider it if this year doesn't work out.

I'm in an online program right now and I can say I would be just as comfortable having my profs through there give me LoRs as my in person classes. Actually, I think I'd like it better because even though we're only in month two I feel like I have formed tighter bondes with my online profs than my in person CSD profs (which, admittedly, were giant lecture halls). Online isn't as bad as you think.

Also as for what college you should be looking into, beyond whether or not they have a CSD major, I wouldn't put too much concern into prestige or anything like that. Grad school costs A LOT of money, and CSD grad schools don't tend to care about the prestige of the undergraduate institute you attended. So pick the undergraduate college that costs the least and apply for lots of scholarships and financial aid while you're at it. You can apply the money saved towards grad school, or at least have fewer loans to pay off when you graduate.

Fantastic! So happy for you!!!!! :) Also, I've heard on this forum that UCF's admissions is kind of mean - like they're getting a reputation for that. What you just said only further supported that. Glad you stuck with it despite what they said!

I noticed how different schools require different prereqs as well, and many schools, in fact, require a CSD major. For that reason, I decided to get my second bachelor's (post bacc) and I would recommend doing the same just so you have more options. Also, it's nice because now if I don't get into any schools next year (I don't think that will happen, but I'm a paranoid person who always likes to have a back up plan) I can go and be an SLPA.

^I only had one school require an LoR from CSD faculty, and even then it was only one letter. Maybe there's more of a range than we thought? Anyways, schools that accept students without prereqs (meaning they have three year programs) could hardly require an LoR from CSD faculty. That could actually be quite useful - don't apply to schools that require those LoRs, maybe?

I would recommend prereqs first. You can take online classes next year to get you started. USF has a distance learning program (CSD post bacc) that starts in the summer - you may wish to look into it. Personally online classes are pretty easy. I am also a psych major, btw, and I took my own advice so I can attest that it works.

My goodness, that is early! Congratulations you guys! May I ask when their application deadline was?

The only reason I could see it being bad is if in your app you make it sound as though having been an SLPA means you know everything about being an SLP and you're just getting the Master's so you qualify for more jobs. Or maybe if you talk about how you've done the exact same work as an SLP does (unless you're in a state where that's actually allowed) because that's against ASHA regulations and I can see it being taken as you not following ASHA rules...and even if you said that, you could probably get away with if you phrased it the right way in your essay. In short, it shouldn't hurt you, it should only help you. Your profs probably look down on SLPAs because of how they're being employed - all too often employers are trying to use SLPAs to do SLP work and that's not looked well upon.

jenbugg86: I cannot believe I didn't think of that. Here I am, worrying about not having a fall-back plan for if I don't get in to grad school...when I can just become an SLPA! Wow. *face palms* Anyways, I'm feeling a lot better now. Still very much hope I get in, mind you, but the stakes for not getting in just feel like they've become a little less high....a comforting thought.

They accept about 30% of applicants. I'd say that makes them less competitive (unfortunately that's a pretty high rate).

You know how they say a watched pot never boils? I'm beginning to think that could be applied to status checkers, too... Unfortunately, three of my schools don't even have status checkers, at least not ones that have spots to announce admissions decisions. So all I can do with them is wait... I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't just stop thinking about it altogether - then I'm sure the time prior to hearing back would pass quite quickly.

I would retake it, yes. When I retook the GRE my quantitative score went up five points, which is pretty nice, and if something similar happened for you it'd bring you closer to a school's average admit scores. Studying and taking timed practice tests is what helped me, as I said. You could also work on getting some shadowing experience; although your extracurriculars are already good, it can't hurt to beef them up even more as that's one of the few areas that we as applicants have complete control over and can actually improve. And maybe apply to some less competitive places - I'm not familiar with all the schools on your list, but many of them seem quite competitive.

Nvm, I see ASHA has updated its data since I last checked. Simultaneously feeling better and worse about my odds of admission to FSU now that I've finally tracked down firm GRE numbers. (Thanks!) I'm well within their range or at the upper end of it for all of the sections (feeling better). But, unfortunately I checked how many seats they have vs the number of acceptances they give, too, and only 12% of applicants get in. (Worse than I'd thought.) Yikes! For the sake of my sanity, I'm going to refrain from looking at the updated numbers for admission for my other schools, for fear that they, too, will be even more competitive than I thought.

smartypants14, I didn't get that impression of FSU having the lowest stats. That may, however, be because I couldn't find an average GRE for them (did you find anything?). Looking at when UCF sent out most of its acceptance letters in the past (which you can do on grad cafe via the result search button at the top of the page) it seems most people started hearing back about April.

Didn't want your question to go overlooked. Like I said, I took classes at USF so I have some experience living in FL. What you think of FL generally depends on how you feel about hot vs cold weather. If you hate the cold and don't mind some heat in between walking from your air conditioned car to an air conditioned building, you'll love it. If you love the cold and can't imagine any kind of heat, you'll probably hate it. FL's just one of those states that people tend to have very strong opinions about, and people who hate it are quite vocal about their hatred...

greeneryforests, sounds like you have a lot of experience, then! That's super awesome because SLPs we need to understand the perspective of people with disabilities, but most students don't have prior experience with that. I asked because I'm into disability advocacy myself. Not just autism, although autism was my gateway, if you will, and still is the community I'm most involved with. Your scores seem fine - generally my rule of thumb is to ask, are they 150+? If they are, then I wouldn't worry too much...and yours are. That, by the way, is the only information FSU gave that I could find about their GRE scores - that they prefer scores 150+. Congrats on making it into Wisconsin! I'm sure that has to feel awesome. :)

Also, does anyone know if it's true that FL schools are more competitive than most? I've heard it said before, because FL is a nice area that people would like to live in so they apply here, but I don't know if it's true...

My thoughts? Try a test prep book first, because it's relatively inexpensive. See what kind of scores you're getting by the end of it. If they're lower than you want, feel free to try a class or magoosh or whatever else you think might help. If they're at a level you're comfortable with, you've saved a bunch of money by not paying for a class/web subscription.

greeneryforests, you say the nicest things. Logically I know you're right (on my table I also included the average stats of all students admitted), but emotionally I go back and forth. For weeks I was super pessimistic, feeling like I'd be lucky to get into any school. Then for a week I was super optimistic, feeling like the schools I applied to would have to be crazy not to take me. And now I'm somewhere in between, having come to the conclusion that, while they would be crazy not to take me, schools can be crazy sometimes (and SLP apps are certainly quite crazy, too), so everything's still up in the air. Which is why I can't wait until I start hearing back from schools! I hate this up in the air feeling... You seem like a fantastic candidate yourself, btw - your academics are great and your extra curriculars are great and put together you're just a fantastic candidate. May I ask what kind of disability work you did? That's kind of an area of interest for me...

greeneryforests, with these lovely descriptions of the schools I just can't WAIT for March 1st, which is when I hear back from my first FL school. THREE MORE WEEKS! Gah! I can't wait...so nervous! To contribute my part to this discussion, from what I've researched online FSU does indeed have a wonderful autism program which is very exciting. I took CSD undergrad classes at USF and really liked the professors. Some of the graduate students from USF that work in swallowing came in and talked to one of my classes and it sounded 1) interesting and 2) like there's a lot of work being done in that area at USF. I'm also liking my professors for UF's CSD post bacc program now. Also, when I was deciding what schools to apply for I went a bit nerdy and made a table with facts about each school. I put the ones you guys might find interesting below. Areas of research came straight off of ASHA (and I don't think it's always a great reflection of the school, because I couldn't find anything about a multicultural or multilingual emphasis at UCF on UCF's own website but ASHA said they did). Estimated cost of attendance is for in-state tuition assuming no financial aid and done with my own calculations...therefore, use at your own risk. FSU: Areas of Research: AAC Language Fluency Apraxia, aphasia, dysarthria, cognitive Articulation Phonology Swallowing Voice disorders Literacy Can do online Cost per credit hour: $479.32; 60 hours classwork Total cost: $28,759 UCF: Study abroad in PR, Nicaragua Multicultural / Bilingual emphasis AAC Fluency Apraxia Aphasia Dysarthria Cognitive Articulation Phonology Voice disorders Literacy Autism 72 credit hours; Per credit: $367.94 Total: $26,491 UF: Fluency Apraxia Aphasia Dysarthria Cognitive Swallowing Voice disorders Literacy Physiology 57 credits; Cost per credit: $526.75 Total: $30,024 USF: Areas of Research: Language Fluency Swallowing Literacy ~70 credits; $431.43/hr Total: $30,200

Oops - actually, the movie's already out! As of 2007...oops!!! Here's the preview: You can actually watch the whole movie on YouTube, too. I love TED talks - watched all the ones you've mentioned and more. Temple Grandin has a good one called "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds" ...only ignore what she deflects about love at the end. Autistic people are quite capable of love (and, yes, empathy), that's just a stereotype that they're not... Temple's views on autism [and DEFINITELY her mother's - that was ridiculous] tend to be rather old and out of date even in our recent years, although they used to be more out of date which is why I asked you when the book was written.

You know, it's weird but I don't remember my schools asking for my CSD GPA, just the last sixty hours. So for my schools, at least, that would only be factored in on your overall GPA.

I applied just recently - made the deadline, but only just. But I didn't want to apply until I could show that I really am taking CSD classes (which is as of last semester), accepted to a post-bacc program (this semester), and built up some more SLP related work and shadowing (which I've done both semesters). So it made sense for me to wait. I'm a little nervous, though - I looked at when candidates heard back from UCF in the past and the Fall before last people didn't hear back until AFTER the national deadline. That's pretty bad... Makes me nervous! Also, the campus is very nice and pretty. It's really logically laid out, too, which I like. (I didn't look at the whole thing, but someone told me it was a circular layout instead of a square, which makes more sense and would reduce walking time.)

Buy a test prep book, that's what I did. Then work through the problems. When you know the material well, then take some full practice tests (that's right, all three hours), timed. That last part really messed me up - the first time I took it I knew the material but hadn't practiced with it timed and ran out of time on one math section, to the point that I just bubbled C for the last six or so questions in the section...