jpiccolo

Many people have breaks after undergrad for many reasons. I don't know that it'll be worth mentioning since it really doesn't pertain to how effective a clinician you will be. A year is really not a long time so I doubt they'll be questioning why you're applying now.

Some programs will absolutely want a faculty letter instead. I emailed a program when I was applying and the response was they wanted faculty to know what I was like as a student, above all else. Now I did not know my profs super well but I had 3 willing to write for me when I asked and they requested a transcript and a bio to talk about. A few other programs were okay with having an SLP write one for me.

Those look solid to me. Somewhere in 150s at least makes you more competitive generally. My first time I had 155s both and second time math stayed the same and verbal went up. It may have helped me get in my second time applying but I think it had more to do with the schools I chose to apply to.

This stuff is incredibly confusing and I may not be 100% right on this. As far as I can tell it isn't about reciprocity. It's listing which states have extra or specialized requirements for licensure in the schools. When you graduate you have a degree and then start a CF. At some point (possibly before the CF? Or when getting your CCCs?) you need to be licensed in the state you are working in and that license may have specific requirements besides the masters' to work in certain settings. When I went to an open house last year for a program they were adamant about completing certain teaching requirements or you could never work in a school in that state. So it's very dependent on the state and the type of facility. I don't understand fully the licensure stuff yet though my professional class should cover it soon. If you want details on reciprocity I would go to the state by state page on asha linked on your original page about credentials. They may mention whether the state considers reciprocity at all. Regardless to be in a school in many places you may need an additional license of sorts to practice.

I emailed mine which was totally fine. You can also offer to meet in person about a letter which I did for one but the others agreed via email. Every prof is different with LORs. My undergrad in general didn't seem to want people asking right away in early fall. One specifically said to wait until the ASHA convention was over in November. It also depends on when your apps are due. If December, then yeah don't wait til thanksgiving. If not til February, then I wouldn't ask right away. Most of mine were due in January or beginning of feb and I think I contacted profs around late October or November. Just give them at least a months notice that way they aren't rushed and you don't have to panic that the letter isn't in yet

I wore normal clothes like jeans to mine. Odds are orientation will go over clinic dress code but until you see clients I personally don't see the need to dress up more. Plus anytime we don't have a client my cohort will wear whatever.

As a 2-year applicant and current grad, I've never heard that applying earlier gets you any better shot at acceptance or GA positions, at least for our field. Just be sure to meet the deadline for applications. A lot of schools will not even decide financial stuff like assistantships until they make offers or even have a set cohort. I applied the first time around when I was still an undergrad with deadlines of Jan 1. For those schools Im pretty sure I sent an updated transcript with fall courses. That's pretty common because many people apply before graduating and have unfinished courses or grades that post later.

Ultimately I decided that 15-16 grand a semester was too much. Especially when my in state tuition could be 4 grand a semester. I'd rather not be paying student loans forever and eventually add a car payment or higher rent or a mortgage someday. So maybe think of cost of living where you might look for a job later. Not everybody makes the same decision regarding cost but now that I get consistent emails about interest on loans and how I don't have to pay back until graduation, I'm relieved my debt is considerably less. In the end, your degree is relatively the same.

I have no experience with this but from what I understand about the cfy is that a minimum number of weeks needs to be completed. Based on that I'd say if someone goes on maternity leave they'd have to finish their number of weeks the next year before they can apply for their cccs. I did a quick google search and found a thread confirming that the cf can be completed the next year. It said asha gives us three years to complete the Cfy. You'll just continue being supervised until the 36 weeks are finished.

yeah for university courses they require it to be proctored at a college or university testing center. They have a testing center locator on their website under support where you can search if there are any places near you that are already certified like even a community college could be I think if it meets testing standards. The money is sure something to think about. I'm over halfway through my program and would love to have any extra money right now. Even for basic living expenses since my loan from fafsa didn't cover everything during the year nor anything in the summer semester. But obviously you want to do well and if you think you might be more successful with the usu one then that's a factor to consider. You could test out one course from byu and see what you think. You can get most of your money refunded up until 60 days after enrolling. ( don't wait long to withdraw if you change your mind. Trust me they will stick to no refunds after 60 days.)

I used to work with an independent study program so I can tell you some pitfalls to watch out for if you choose that route. The info should still be accurate even though I left awhile ago. You do get a whole year but it is still only designed as a semesters worth of material like on campus. If you can motivate yourself to work on it consistently then it should not take all year. That's one of the toughest parts. The biggest problem I saw with students is them trying to hurry through it so fast (even shorter than 3-4 months) that they didn't really learn the info and struggled to pass the exams. I believe they do have a suggested outline of dates to follow to help you stay on track and you could change the end date to try sooner then the year. The dates aren't set in stone so you don't get penalized for missing. But it does help with the self pacing to give you recommended deadlines for assignments. My other tip off the top of my head is to realize that BYU does paper/proctored exams. So wherever you live you'd need it mailed to a university testing center certified with the program. That throws people off especially when they have to wait for it to get mailed or that they may have to pay for proctoring. But it'll still be cheaper than $2000. Oh and they do generally have free tutoring for science subjects during the weekdays by students on phone/email/possibly skype. I hope that gives you a better idea what they'd be like. They won't necessarily be easy but they are doable. Good luck!

My first round I applied to 5 and my second round 10. My second round if I were to go back there's probably two schools I wouldn't have bothered with and they were ones I got wait listed at and I wasn't as interested in attending. My reasoning behind so many schools was to avoid applying a third time. If you've got the time and funds then it might be worth it to apply to a lot. But look seriously at whether your scores have been in the accepted range at those schools and whether you'd really consider those programs based on cost or the program itself. If not, then it's probably not worth the application. I also thought a couple schools on my list were safety schools and yet I didn't get into those. Moral of that story, there's no guarantee but hey you might get into schools you thought were a reach.

Grad school is definitely a full time job but it's all about time management. I did not work this past year and relied on loans and I'm glad I could just focus on school. However it's doable for some people if you can find a TA job or something on the evenings or weekends. I wouldn't try much more than 10 hours though. It just is too much with classes and surviving clinic. One other thing that would help is trying to minimize time planning for sessions. You don't need to spend hours creating crafty things. If your clinic had a good materials room take advantage of anything ready made or games/toys so you can save time on session planning.

Don't worry about taking the time. At least half if not more of my program has 1+ years between undergrad and starting school. It shouldn't have any bearing on your application, especially if you spend it doing worthwhile experiences. It's better for you to be well prepared in your apps and give it your best shot.

I think the only harm is the cost and preparation to take it multiple times. I took it twice to get the scores I wanted. I haven't heard that ETS informs schools how many times you've taken it. But when you are sitting there at the computer choosing scores you don't have the option to choose your verbal score from attempt #1 and math score from attempt #3. It's all from one or the other. The applications might allow you to input your own scores but you'd have to send the scores from both times to the school which is $$. Otherwise take a look at the schools you want to apply to and compare your scores with the averages of accepted applicants. Ideally you want to be at least above 150 in each and a 4.0 minimum for writing. Verbal is most important for SLP schools so work hard on that one. And writing as well since our profession is writing heavy. Math is less important usually but don't ignore it completely. If the rest of your app is solid I wouldn't try to shoot for 160s in each. Again, $$$.

Ours was totally casual. We had a brief orientation the same day class started and then a longer orientation for clinic a month later. I don't see any reason to dress up. It is a professional program but you only need to dress nicely for days you have clients. The rest of the time our cohort is in jeans although few people had the luxury of a day or two without clients.

I probably could. I'm a current student and applied two years in a row. Msg me and I'll try to review it

I had a classmate do an hourish drive during our summer term. She managed it but knew she wouldn't handle fall and spring semesters with a commute. On the weekends she went to her home an hour away but during the week she rented a place near school. Honestly it would have added so much stress for her to commute daily for that long. I know it's expensive but will saving the money be worth it? Classes and therapy plans get tiring and intense and a daily drive may just worsen that. But maybe try a semester and see if you can handle it. Otherwise I recommend finding cheap housing over spending gas money daily.

I wish. I'm sure there may be some but they would be a huge exception to the norm. But if you are trying to apply to schools next cycle I think it would be worth it if you had another form of income. Same with grad students. No one in my cohort has a paid one and we have three externships to do. And of course we have to pay tuition for the credits. Lucky places getting free labor by us paying students.

Take advantage of your cohort. Mine has relied on each other so much and it has really helped. I don't think we would've made it without each other. Hopefully you won't have a super competitive or cliquey cohort. We help with studying, therapy ideas, ranting, etc. You might not be best friends with everybody but if y'all can avoid drama and get along then that'll be huge. 2 years is a long time! Try to schedule in some breaks. For awhile a few of us did movie nights on Saturdays just to stop doing school for a couple hours and hang out. Im not sure I have much I wish I knew. grad school is tough but it's more time consuming than academically challenging. Balancing clinic and class has been hard but doable. I started last June and now the first year is finally over and by far it'll be the worst year. If you can survive the first couple of semesters you'll be fine! Just gotta stay motivated and keep going because it's so easy to get burned out. Highly recommend making a paper chain near the last couple weeks of a semester to count down how many clinic days were left haha. we put ours in our materials room. I can't think of much else. It'll be intense but you can do it! Soon you'll wonder where the time went as you head off to an externship and then you can give advice to the new grads. Good luck!

The girls doing a thesis in my program just have the added pressure of working on it in addition to clinic and class. It's very time consuming. The comps are more of a one time headache and since you have to take the praxis anyway you'll be studying for both. Thesis is really good for phd route or if you have a specific interest you'd like to study more. But there's also the possibility of grad assistantships or helping out professors with research without having the stress of a thesis.

Can you look into SNFs instead? They may still need a background check but usually you need that anyway for school. And often SNFs are easier to acquire (less formal application, etc).

Mine is typically 11-12 credits a semester except summers.

For the record, many people do advanced degrees at 30 or later. And I can say this as at least 3-4 of my cohort are in their 30s and two are in their 40s! And they have some of the best background and experience to bring to the table, often as teachers, nurses, etc. We are pretty widespread from early, mid, and late 20s too but we all get along super well. I wish I had some magic advice for you but I hope things work out for you!

It's usually 5-6. Most programs include one or two summer terms either for classes or externships.