speechb14

Funding is mentioned in my acceptance letter on the MGH IHP application portal, and I also received an email called "Financial Aid Information for Communication Sciences and Disorders Students". The program requires a minimum of 69 credits, so at $1,093 per credit hour, the program will cost at least $75,417. This is for all 6 semesters -- fall, spring, and summer (first year) and fall, spring, and summer (second year).

I sent in my deposit yesterday, so I suppose I should chime in! Here is a list of some things I saw and learned at the open house. Sorry for the list being so unorganized! - Even though many people assume that MGH is best for students interested in medical speech-language pathology, the program and faculty emphasize that graduates will have lots of training in both medical/acquired and educational/developmental speech-language pathology. For example, they showed us a graph of where students graduating in '12 and '13 did their clinical fellowship years, and one year it was pretty evenly split between medical and educational settings, while another year it was more educational than medical. They said it really depends on the year, and it's important to remember that there are more SLP jobs in school. - About 50% of students do a concentration, and about 10 students per year do a thesis. Even if you don't do a concentration, you can still take electives on a wide range of topics. - Students said that the program is supportive and friendly, not competitive. It sounds like the classes are tight-knit, and many people referred to the MGH IHP / the CSD department as a "family". Also, even though the program is larger than many other programs (about 50-60 students per year), professors get to know everyone really well. One student said she was amazed at how quickly one of her professors learned everyone's names. Also, since there are no undergrads, the professors are 100% committed to the graduate students. - I thought the classroom spaces and rest of the facilities looked very state-of-the-art and well-maintained. - The Charlestown Navy Yard is beautiful! I'm looking forward to seeing the water and the Boston skyline pretty much every day for the next 2 years! - In terms of housing, one student said that it's best to live near the Red Line so you can take the T to either the MGH main campus or to North Station and then take the Partners shuttle from there to the Navy Yard. The shuttle is reliable and quick. If you want to drive, parking costs ~$5 per day. Some students also bike from home. I hope this helped! If you have specific questions about anything I didn't just mention, let me know and I can try and remember what I saw!

Hi everyone! I'm about 95% sure I will be attending MGH in the fall. I've been speaking with a first-year student about the program, and she loves the program and has great things to say. Even though the class size is ~60, she said a lot of classes involve small group work and discussions, so they don't feel too big. Also, keep in mind that MGH does not have undergrads, so the faculty is completely committed to the graduate students. A lot of people on these forums have said they're worried about how intense the program is, but the student said the work itself isn't hard as long as you have good time management. It seems like students who struggle with the academics struggle because of time management, because they've been out of school for a while, or because their undergrad programs were easy and they haven't had to work hard before. Classes the first year are spread out during the week, but most classes during the second year are all on one day. Most importantly, the faculty and students are super helpful and collaborative with each other. Students aren't competitive with each other, and professors and supervisors constantly ask the students for feedback to improve the program and facilities. This is all from the perspective of just one student, but I hope some of this will be helpful in your decision making!

I was told I had funding during the phone call informing me of my acceptance. It sounds like other posters also heard about funding over the phone, so sadly, I think you would have known by now. =/ However, it's possible that they might reassign funding if people turn them down -- maybe someone reading this will know more about that.

Thanks, Shuca! It just seemed to me that, in the past, people on these forums almost always chose BU over MGH, and I don't see why that was the case so often since MGH's program is impressive. Of course, no one's decision should be influenced too much by what other people do, and you really can't go wrong with any Boston schools. I feel like I'm pretty set on MGH right now, and I'm excited for the open house!

Congrats to everyone on your Boston acceptances! I'm in a different situation as the previous posters and would love advice. I'm choosing between BU and MGH (with a scholarship), and I'm waiting on the other Boston schools. I think both programs are strong, and since I want to go into medical speech-language pathology, I think both would offer similar clinical placements and job opportunities. I feel like I should go to MGH because the funding is pretty hard to turn down, but I think I prefer BU to MGH slightly -- mostly due to reasons other than the actual strength of the programs (like the location and resources of a large university). Does anyone have input on BU vs. MGH, especially if you were in my situation with funding only from MGH? I know money isn't everything, but I don't think I could justify choosing BU over MGH when it would cost so much more, and I want to see what other speechies in my boat would do. (My family and friends aren't knowledgeable about these programs and would only see the $$$).