AMKersh

I actually took the GREs twice - once before using Magoosh, and once after. There was a significant improvement in my scores after using Magoosh for several months, and I was much more confident when dealing with some of the trickier subjects. I found their study tools to be EXTREMELY helpful - including their smartphone app and vocabulary flashcards. I highly recommend it! (* I am NOT a paid representative of Magoosh - I promise! I wouldn't mind being one, though. )

I've also been seriously considering pursuing a PhD. I know that many students do not consider it because, if your primary goal is to work as a clinician, the PhD is simply not necessary and does require a lot of extra work (obviously). However, I do have a strong interest in research, and I love the idea of contributing to the field at large as well as on the client-by-client scale. Also, many professors and other SLPs with PhDs in the field are now retiring. (There was a huge spike in SLP studies in the 70s, followed by a bit of a decline, and the next big spike is happening now.) This may be why those faculty/student ratio is dropping. In other words - this might be a GREAT time to pursue a PhD, because the opportunities for research and employment will likely be available. As for conducting research and providing services - it depends what your research interests are! I think that in many cases, your clients/patients may actually serve as participants in studies. In other words, you may find that you have a great set of research participants as a service provider! Plus, there's always the option of providing services for a while, and then returning to research. I tend to be a big dreamer too with extremely high expectations of myself. I think that for now, I'm going to take things "one semester at a time." I'm planning to do a thesis project in graduate school which will help get my foot in the door in terms of research. We'll see where the road takes me, but for now I'm going to pursue the M.S. until I have some more experience as a student in the field, and I'll see what happens with the PhD later! Hope this was helpful!

Thank you guys for your input! I remember that car requirement as well, but I hadn't actually considered what that meant; it may be that, despite their location, many students get placements outside of Boston simply because there are fewer clinical affiliations and placements. I have recently been in contact with a student who attends Northeastern, and she said that she there are plenty of opportunities for extracurricular involvement, and it seems that she has time to do it, too! This too me seems like both a pro and a con - of course I'd love to continue with my extracurricular music passions, but I am also planning on dedicating my life to SLP. Other programs seems to really fill your schedule up academically/clinically, which gives me a stronger sense of commitment the career and studies in general. It's hard to tell what the "right" answer is - are my concerns legitimate or bogus? I don't know! As for administration, I definitely agree thus far, Ready42. Why is their response so late when 4/15 is a known deadline across MANY programs? What is with the minimal support and resources for accepted students? Even to find out my admission status, I had to check - no email or call! (That would be fine if it were't so late in the game.) I seemed to get some bizarre answers when I looked for ways to visit campus or get more info. Hmmm....

Time is dwindling down, but I'm faced with a bit of a dilemma because I just found out I was accepted to Northeastern! Any input you have would be most helpful. I did visit MGH most recently (I visited Northeastern about a year ago), so I fully accept that I may have a bit of a recency bias. Here are my thoughts: MGH is more expensive, and nearby housing seems a bit trickier to get. However, their full-time CSD faculty is about twice the size of Northeastern's, and there seem to be more opportunities for research (a big plus for me). MGH also has options for special concentration. MGH is just a graduate school, whereas Northeastern is large university with SLP undergrads as well. (There are pros and cons to each, and I'm not sure which is better!) Northeastern has an audiology program and clinic, whereas MGH does not much of an audiology/hearing focus. Finally, MGH had an admitted students event and a number of ways for me to get in touch for more information. I have found it a bit trickier to get post-acceptance information at Northeastern - everyone I've spoken to seems too busy to speak or meet with me. That said, I realize that my admission/acceptance experience will likely have little to do with my actual graduate experience. Again, any advice or experiences you can share would be EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Thanks!! TL;DR - see topic title. HELP!

WOW. We are pretty damn similar...except I'm a fiddle player (and some mando, guitar, and piano) and over the past several years I've been much more in the Celtic scene, though I love both traditional and contemporary Americana as well. I've been getting into some funky Scandinavian stuff as well. Any major influences or favorite groups/artists?

Super interesting answers!! @emmmyd - My sister is currently a musical theater major, and we've been talking about vocal health a lot lately! I firmly believe it should be a part of any singer/actor's education, because their voices are such an investment. Did you find that it was part of your education (i.e. a "musician's health" type of course, or unit within a course? @Love the Sun - Love the username! Yeah - music...education...linguistics...SLP. It all lines up!! For everyone - do you know of any good books regarding music and language connections? Here are some that are on my list for sure! Musicophilia - Dr. Oliver Saks This is Your Brain on Music - Daniel Levitin Music, Language, and the Brain - Anirrudh D. Patel The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body - Steven Mithen Also, some SUPER cool music/language research is happening at these places: http://www.musicianbrain.com/#index http://musictherapy.imnf.org/

I'm in the same boat - absolutely no word back, and I submitted my app on 12/1. I'm planning on calling sometime this week unless I hear back in the next couple of days. It's getting down to the wire and I have some decisions to make! Good luck!

These responses are all so interesting!! Thank you guys for responding!! @LuxAurorae - I love the guzheng (/goo-tzun)! It's a really beautiful instrument. Also - just to clarify for everyone - I wasn't necessarily implying that being interested in SLP is necessarily due to musical involvement, but rather that it might a natural choice for those who are particularly talented at or have specific training in paying attention to nuances of sound. Basically, I'm more interested in the correlation than any sort or directional causation (though for some, there may be causation!)! Hope this makes sense!

I incorporated melodic intonation therapy into some of my application essays (based on certain professors at the schools that use it/are researching it)! It's super interesting! And yes, I do imagine that musical experience does play a major role in whether a music-baed treatment would be effective for therapy. I imagine that rhythmic (as opposed to melodic) strategies might have a wider application in general. Do you know the name of the instrument your mom plays? Is it an erhu? Pipa? (I love traditional Chinese music. ) Seriously, if I weren't set on become a SLP, I would definitely be pursuing a career in ethnomusicology! Also, very interesting that you used to think in Chinese! I tend to think in English, but I'm also fluent in Hebrew and proficient in Spanish. Depends on the amount of exposure - if I'm in a Hebrew-speaking environment for a while, it definitely becomes more natural for me.

Hey everyone! This might seem like a random question, but from my own experience I have found that many people who are interested in speech and language are also somehow involved in music (vocal and/or instrumental). They are certainly related in a number of different ways! Practically speaking, both of them involve very specific attention to details of sound production and perception, both involve a somewhat arbitrary, rule-governed system with different types of conventions across styles/cultures, and I always felt there was a similarity between phonetic and musical transcription! This is definitely a research area that I'm very interested in, so I figured I'd start here and see how many of you were musically involved! I play mainly fiddle/violin, but also some cello, mandolin, guitar, piano. And I'm ALWAYS singing. I come from a very musical immediate family as well - we are all multi-instrumentalists. Also, additional question - how many of you are bilingual? Looking forward to hearing from you!

I'm actually very interested in this too, but I have a feeling that if/when I learn ASL, it's going to be on my own and not through my graduate program. Does anyone know of any good resources (online or Boston area) to get started? I've been doing a bit of my own preliminary research, but any recommendations would be most appreciated!

That is so late! I know they had a late deadline, but April 15th is the date that many schools require you to put down a deposit. I guess I'll be asking for an extension...

@Quinn - Thank you! I haven't had a lot of actual music lessons either, so my formal technique isn't that great. It's so cool that you studied abroad in Ireland! I went to Scotland with some friends, and I had a blast playing music at the pub sessions! @rainsonata - Thanks!! I actually mistyped the IPA, but by the time I noticed it was too late for me to edit it. (It should be /aɪjɛlɛt/. I know it probably doesn't matter but it's been driving me crazy!) It means "gazelle" in Hebrew (though it can also mean "morning star" in a more poetic context). As for the music - I truly believe that it's never too late to start composing. It doesn't have to always be a complex symphonic arrangement that comes to you instantaneously. Some of my favorite pieces came about by just literally poking around at the keys for a while. Also - I have to say - I love your username!!