1772

Hi, I am from MD and was accepted to UMD. I. went to an open house in December and liked the program. They are prestigious, and they are not afraid to say that about themselves. I found the two professors to be a little bit cold (as in other programs felt a lot more welcoming). The department is heavily involved in research, but I did not get the feeling that it was 100% research. I felt like they do assist you clinically as well. The campus is beautiful. My biggest issue with College Park is the safety.. College Park is not a great area, and I had difficulty finding places to live off campus that I would feel safe. I also have a dog, so I would need to take her out at night. The program also has a good amount of evening classes. Just something to think about if you are unfamiliar with the area!

Hi k1772,
 
Part of the reason I'm still looking at other schools is because I do feel that UMD is fairly research focused as students in their program are expected to be doing research, clinicals, and class each semester. My main concern was that UMD would focus more on their research than their students, however during the information session they continually stressed that they assist their students as much as possible and are focused to tailoring their second year clinical locations to their students personalities and learning styles. In general I am happy to say that the graduate students we talked to didn't have any complaints about the faculty and they said they felt supported by their professors. I'm also still looking into other schools because of the scholarship and graduate assistantship opportunities I've been offered and because I would have to take two classes over the summer as prereqs for UMD (I don't have to take these for other programs...).
 
UMD's Speech Program is in the basement floor (or first floor, hard to tell) of Lefrak Hall. It's directly across from South Campus Dining Hall and it's about a 5-6 minute walk to McKeldin Library and Stamp Student Union (I just like knowing where things are on campus, and it makes me happy to know Lefrak is near the heart of campus). Although almost all of our classes would be in Lefrak, it's possible that some graduate assistantships would be in other locations in other collaborating departments.
 
Graduate students live anywhere from a short drive from campus to about a 20-25 minute ride. Some people live in or near DC and take the metro to the stop on campus (convenient!). I grew up in an area about 25 minutes away from campus and half of my family went there themselves so I've been visiting UMD all of my life. I asked the graduate students about how safe they felt off campus and they stated they would not to walk alone at night on route 1 but that on campus they felt very safe.
 
UMD's program seems intense and they do recommend that a 1/2 (10 hour) graduate assistantship is best. One professor at the open house stated that students might not want to maintain another day job while attending grad school unless its on campus.
 
Hope this all helps.

A quick Google search for "Mandarin SLP" gave me a ton of results, so I would say there is a need and a market for non-Spanish speakers like you. Speech disorders are not unique to English and Spanish With your language skills, you could also easily work abroad. Good luck! 

Don't stress out too much! They definitely do it in batches, it's on their catalogue: "Emerson College follows a modified rolling admission process. Applications are reviewed as they become complete, and decisions are mailed on an ongoing basis. Most applicants will receive a decision six to eight weeks after the application deadline."

Don't stress out too much! They definitely do it in batches, it's on their catalogue: "Emerson College follows a modified rolling admission process. Applications are reviewed as they become complete, and decisions are mailed on an ongoing basis. Most applicants will receive a decision six to eight weeks after the application deadline."

While I would never apply to just one school, I am grateful that I happen to be single and have the funds available to relocate and study full time. If I had a family or was tied down due to a job, I would have to apply to one school (the nearest SLP school is 30 mins away, the second closest is 1 hr, more in traffic).