autismadvocate

kbell, congratulations! *does a happy dance* On my front, though, your words are kind of nerve-wracking because I applied to UCF myself, but at the moment absolutely everything is coming up as incomplete on the status checker - even the things I attached directly to my application! Did you have any similar experience? And how long ago did you apply?

On my own front, I'm freaking out about what the application status checker told me, too. Absolutely everything is coming up as incomplete - even the essay and resume I attached directly to my application! I only submitted my application two days ago, so that's what I'm hoping the issue is, but it's still making me nervous!!! Has anyone else experienced this?

This might be the problem - I found this message on MyUCF: "Please Note: Please click on the Supporting Docs Tab to view the status of your application supporting documents. If your Bachelor's Degree Transcript shows Item status of "Preliminary documents received" then your overall application status above will remain incomplete until we receive you final transcripts upon graduation."

"We have received your official transcripts as well as your official GRE scores. Your application is complete and ready for review." Some of the happiest words I've ever heard! FSU sent this, so for anyone whose transcripts or scores were late getting in like mine, know that there is hope!!!! :) :)

An accelerated program will help you. Also take AP and dual-enrollment courses now, that way you don't have to spend as much time on undergraduate foundational classes.

In that case, I would send only your older scores. The writing section isn't given nearly as much weight by programs as the other two sections (or at least that's the impression I got).

Thanks so much for agreeing to do this! :) I don't want to overload you with questions, but I did have a couple of my own (I'm rather nervous about getting in). What were your stats (GPA, GRE, experience, etc) back when you were applying? How many schools did you apply for and how many did you get into (and what were they)?

In addition to what karita said, Texas State also has a bilingual track, and Florida International University (in Miami) either has a bilingual track or emphasis. I don't know of a single program that doesn't focus on Spanish, but I'm hoping that what I learn with Spanish will also apply to other bilingual children (I also speak Mandarin Chinese, but finding a program that focuses on that seemed pretty impossible). Bilingual speech pathologists can work with all kinds of ages, and once you're actually working you'll find that being multilingual is in high demand. You'll also be able to work with whatever bilingual students you want - what you learned about bilingual Spanish speakers should apply to your other languages as well. The types of bilingual students you get will probably depend on what location you're at and what type of immigrant population and/or border is nearby (North more likely to find French, etc). Good luck!

That makes so much more sense now! My school said not to take a GRE later than a certain date (some time in December) so they'd get the scores in time. I took their words literally and took the GRE prior to their listed date...but didn't send the scores until much later. Wow. 20-20 hindsight... Maybe try calling them? It took two emails and a phone call for me to get my answers... I would email them. It's not going to hurt you and it might help you, so do it. Who knows, maybe it'll turn out like my situation and they'll ask you to submit an unofficial copy of your scores? Heck, I'd go ahead and attach an unofficial copy (you can get one from the ETS website) to the email just in case. Good luck!

Good news! Someone finally responded to one of the emails I sent! Bad news: neither my transcripts NOR my GRE scores made it in time. I'm really shocked by the GRE scores bit because I sent those a week before the deadline and I thought they were electronic and sent rapidly. Maybe the back-up at the admissions office backed those up, too? On the good news side, the person who responded said that I should send in my unofficial transcripts and unofficial GRE report so that the admissions committee had something to review. This is doubly good news because 1) in saying this, she's implying I'm not automatically disqualified and 2) I actually had already attached one of my schools' unofficial transcripts and a copy of my GRE score report to my original application, in the interests of covering all my bases. So it sounds like (I really Really REALLY hope!) it's going to be okay. :) Good luck DeafAudi and flnjslp!

I feel for you flnjslp. My own situation is simultaneously looking better and worse. Worse because it looks like the odds my transcripts made it on time are lower, given the fact that FSU was apparently getting a backlog of admissions materials, particularly transcripts, at the time. Better because on the voicemail of the woman in charge of CSD admissions she specifically acknowledged this backlog, leading me to hope this will result in more flexibility surrounding late transcripts. She, of course, didn't actually say that would be the case, but I live in hope...

I wish I'd known that I wanted to become an SLP all the way through. If I had, I would've graduated with a Communication Sciences and Disorders major instead of having to go back and get a post-bacc now (and I would have saved a lot of money). That said, the way things are working out isn't that bad. I'm getting a lot of experience with kids on the spectrum this year and learning just how hard it is to be a caregiver for a child with autism, so I can relate better to parents now. And because of my extra year of schooling, I'm living at home with my parents and have developed a closer relationship with my stepdad. Would I trade my experiences of this year for having gotten my Communication Sciences and Disorders major right out of the gate and going straight to an SLP Masters? Yes, in a heartbeat. But this is a nice consolation prize...

Thanks so much you guys! I have tried to get in touch with them. I sent an email either Sunday or Monday, which was never answered, and called and left a voicemail today (which I fear will probably never be replied to). I'm just really upset and stressed, because this really isn't anything that reflects on me (I guess you could say poor planning ahead, but I honestly thought it wouldn't take this long to send a transcript) and I would hate to have that disqualify me. I guess I'll try calling again tomorrow - if I am, in fact, disqualified, I need to know so I apply to more schools. The application is directly through FSU, not through CSDCAS, but hopefully FSU has the same outlook. FSU as a whole seems more flexible about their dates (they actually just extended the deadline for undergrad apps because of glitches with the application fee payment system), but I don't know if that's reflective of the Communication Sciences and Disorders department... I'm just so upset right now.

So, it turns out that the online status checker doesn't even work for the SLP program (which would have been really nice to know!) so now I have no clue if my transcripts are or aren't there. Hoping the former, because I've been calling/emailing all week and I have yet to get in touch with anyone from the program... I attached an unofficial transcript to my application, so hopefully that improve the odds of a favorable outcome? Wishful thinking...I just don't know what else I can do. Btw, I do know they were sent from my schools. Apparently one was sent on Friday, but the other wasn't sent until Monday - do you guys think that's enough time for either to have gotten there? All schools are in the same state (and the one that was sent Monday is only a couple hours' drive from FSU), but that's still making me rather nervous... Should one of the transcripts not have made it in time, since I did send an unofficial transcript, do you think it would mean automatic disqualification or not?

I'm so nervous right now. Apps are due tomorrow for FSU, but the status checker isn't reporting that my transcripts have arrived yet (and doesn't say a thing one way or another about the GRE). Scaring me! I ordered the transcripts to get sent last week... One of the schools I need transcripts from is a partner school with FSU, so I ordered an additional electronic transcript (which I figure would get there more rapidly?) to be sent that way just now (the school actually requested snail mail, which is the way I sent it originally). I emailed the address FSU gave for applications yesterday about the transcript problem, but haven't heard back...It's just scary...

I think I did get them off of EdFind. Even if they're out of date, I think they're still a good indicator of the approximate competitiveness of a school. And thanks so much for your advice, flnjslp! The question was for anyone willing to answer it.

Okay, I feel better, then. Thanks guys! I know it might seem silly to be worrying with my stats, but I'd heard all these stories about people not getting in, and I grew up in an environment where anything short of perfection was treated as not good enough to succeed (I had a 4.1 GPA in high school and a 34 ACT and my dad told me repeatedly that I wouldn't be able to get into any college) and it kind of got in my head. Thanks for the reassurance, it really does help. twinguy7, wow, I'm really impressed with your dedication and forethought emailing so many schools! Very wise decision on your part. With so much planning, I'm sure you'll get into one of your schools! :)

I'd only been planning on applying to four schools. I chose them by whether or not they had autism programs, so their competitiveness varies (I didn't look at rankings at all). UCF admits 45%, Marshall admits 36%, FSU admits 22%, and Texas State admits a mere 8% (yikes!). So I guess I have a combo of reaches and safeties, even if it's on accident. I'm wondering if I shouldn't apply to more, just in case, but I don't want to apply to any more than necessary because I, too, am very, very ridiculously broke. With my stats (GPA: Undergrad: 3.9, Post-bacc: 3.91 | GRE: Verbal: 167; Quantitative: 155; Writing: 5.5 | Languages: Pretty Much Trilingual (Spanish and Mandarin Chinese) | Experience: Lots of volunteer, personal, and professional experience with people on the autism spectrum), do you think those four schools are enough, or should I apply to more?

Oh wow, it's stories like this of people who didn't get admitted that scare me. Caterpillar, may I ask your husband's stats and how many schools he applied to last app season? How many schools would you guys recommend applying to to have good odds of admittance to at least one?

At this point if I didn't get a reply to today's reminder, I was going to email, Facebook, AND call my recommenders...

I feel for you. I was in the same situation (with only two days remaining before the deadline), but today (we're talking within the past hour) the remaining two recommenders FINALLY submitted their recommendation letters and I feel SO very relieved. Turns out one of my recommenders hadn't been responding to my emails because she was in Bolivia. Hopefully you'll have a similar outcome!!!!

I also understand March. And I am also RIDICULOUSLY anxious to hear back, even though I haven't even applied to all my schools, yet!

It's so true. I just feel so bad because I know how much time and thought she put into the recommendation, and I'm not sure if I have the heart to tell her (the recommender) that she wrote something wrong. The website I did make is mentioned in my SOP? Should I wait and see if the adcomm brings it up, or email them and let them know in advance? Or should I go ahead and have the recommender tell them, as bad as I feel about that.

I'm also kind of concerned that what she said that's a false fact might discredit the true fact. I did, in fact, make the second website, but I didn't make the one she said right before it and it's really obvious to anyone who knows anything about autism that I didn't, so I'm worried it may make it seem like I didn't make the other website she mentioned either, even though I did, or like I was trying to lie or something. It's just a bad situation...

You're not supposed to know before they submit it - but I think it's okay that she showed it to me afterwards. That said, I'm questioning myself now...