kumapanda

I'm not an applicant, but I would love to learn more about Radford as I'll be attending the university this year! Good luck to everyone on the 2017 cycle!

If I could go back and give myself advice, I would have told myself to look into location of the schools before applying. I was so sure I wasn't getting in anywhere and I would accept any place that I didn't really consider that at all. I would tell myself to stop undermining my own achievements and thinking that I couldn't apply to "higher rank" schools because I didn't think my grades or resume was enough.

I think a safe number of schools to apply for is probably somewhere between 6-10. I've seen people apply to as many as 15-20 programs, but it depends on your budget and time as well. Do you have the time and motivation to work on that many programs? I initially had 8 applications, but family pressured me to apply to 10 and it was a stressful and exhausting time for me because each school had different requirements and personal statement prompts. It definitely helps if you have a few CSDCAS programs so you won't overwhelm yourself with different application formats so you save yourself a little bit of money and time. Another factor you should be looking at are the deadlines. Be careful if you have a lot of schools that share an early deadline and to figure out which schools to prioritize first when completing them. I took off a school from my list because it shared an early deadline with another program and I realized I didn't have the energy to meet the deadline. If you have any schools on your list that have rolling admission or something among the line, you want to place those schools at the top of your list and finish those as quickly as possible.

It's great that you used asha's edfind to search up for schools! I think it would be good if you retook the gre test, ,email to the schools you're interested in with your stats/resume, then ask them if you would be considered a competitive applicant. I chose my schools based on the gre average scores taken from their websites or asha's and then narrowed my list from there. I would definitely brush up on studying for the gre if you're interested in retaking it. I downloaded a magoosh app for my phone because I knew verbal was my weakest subject after taking a practice exam (I think I got 143). Magoosh also offers apps for math and other sections of the exam, I believe, but you can also go to your library and borrow gre prep books to give you a better idea of how the test is formatted. I like getting the books that show you the answers with explanations because I do better working backwards. The gre is all about test taking strategies, so reading the techniques those prep books offer can be useful. Your extracurriculars look fine as they are. I hope you get into the TSS position. I'm sure you can get a strong LOR if you get in. Best of luck to you!

Would it be ok for me to necro this thread? I'm a California resident and I'll be moving out of state for 2 years in Virginia for grad school. I called the DMV for both Virginia and California and got conflicting answers on whether or not I should be changing my residence. The California DMV said I could still drive in Virginia with my CA driver's license, but the Virginia DMV said I'm supposed to change my driver's license and license plate within 30 days if I become a resident. Should I become a VA resident to pay for the in-state tuition at the program? Although it would save me money, would that mean I have to surrender my CA residency? I have intentions on coming back to CA when I'm gone with my graduate program and my impression is that it takes lots of work to regain CA residency. I'm also concern much these transitions could effect my right to vote in the upcoming elections.

Here's the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/168304830222688/ I got the email about a week ago, I believe. It showed up on my Radford email account (the Outlook one). It should be from the director of the department that has a list of courses you should sign up for.

I'll be attending Radford this fall too! Have you joined their facebook page for class 2018 yet? Here is a pdf file with a list of some realty companies you can look at for housing. Radford Area Property Management Companies PDF.pdf If you log onto your Radford account, check your email and there should be a letter from the director on what courses to register for. I haven't been to Radford yet either, so that makes two of us.

I got accepted into Radford's graduate program and I'm stuck on whether I should complete my degree with a thesis or a comprehensive exam. I never had research experience, so I'm not sure what to expect if I was to take the thesis route. What are some pros and cons for these? I would love to hear everyone's experiences/opinions on this.

Hi! I had another person ask me a similar question, so I'll place it here. I'll give you an abridged summary of it in this message because that document hasn't updated since 2014. CSULB - has 6 specialized clinics (including an autism clinic); offers an autism course; more clinical based; has a hospital next door; good reputation for multilingual and multicultural experience; Long Beach city has great diversity SFSU - has many clinics that specialize in working with children; offers specialized programs in autism and AAC; SF is known for its diversity in population; more diversity and experience in client population; statistics says high acceptance rate SJSU - many specialized clinics (including autism I think); diversity in population; more diversity and experience in client population; clients focus on children AND adults; not as expensive as SF in living costs; has a bigger class of 40 Redlands - has several specialized clinics (including autism); outdoor playground (good for clinic sessions); has a bilingual emphasis (especially Spanish) UT Dallas - very diverse; good autism program; accepts more students TX Tech - have summer programs for kids with autism (https://www.ttuhsc.edu/shp/patient/speech_language_clinic.aspx); autism network Stephen F Austin - autism clinic (http://www.sfasu.edu/humanservices/146.asp); independent living skills model apartment (http://www.sfasu.edu/humanservices/245.asp) Kean - social skills program (http://grad.kean.edu/slp/ccd), wide range of specialized/elective courses (http://grad.kean.edu/slp) UVA - Speech Lang Articulation Summer Help for preschoolers and children with Autism (http://curry.virginia.edu/about/curry-foundation/splish-splash); autism course U of AZ - adult and children clinic; Autism Clinic Extension

I was taken off UNCO's waitlist! I already made my decision for Radford, so I'll be declining UNCO.

I emailed the director of the graduate programs or the graduate coordinators, although if you emailed it to the wrong person, they're usually nice and will redirect your email to the correct person who can answer your questions. Not all the schools will reply back, so having a big list of schools to email to can be a nice thing if you worry your list will be too small.

I just got off the waitlist for University of Northern Colorado and was accepted for their Fall 2016 program. I already made my decision for Radford a couple of weeks ago, but now I'm debating which school I should attend. I'm interested in working in the school setting with clients that have ASD or learning disabilities. Both programs have on-campus clinics, so I'm looking for a program that has a fair balance between clinical and research. I would love to hear everyone's opinions on these two programs on what you like/dislike about them, practicum placement experiences, was it easy to find a job after graduation if applicable, and your overall experience.

I used ASHA's edfind to get a list of all the certified graduate programs in the country and create a spreadsheet to compare them side by side. I chose schools based on my own self interest, which in this case were schools with on-campus clinics. My spreadsheet included information on where the schools were located, the GRE/GPA requirements, if they had an on-campus clinic or not, and etc. I took notes on my first impression of the school's program by going on their websites and if I had any interest in what I saw. This narrowed my search from roughly 300 programs down to 50-60. From there, I composed a list of questions to learn more about the programs and sent them to the faculty of those programs. The questions I sent to those schools can be found here: I liked programs that had some sort of emphasis on autism or at least had an autism course because I'm interested in learning more about it and I have had personal experience with people that have ASD. Programs that are located in diverse cities/states or had courses that talk about diversity also stood out to me because I think it's important to learn how to work with clients of different backgrounds and my undergraduate program had some emphasis on that as well. You said you had experience of working with children of deaf and hard of hearing, so maybe choose a school that also has an audiology program? I know some schools in the D.C. area have programs that have some focus on working with the deaf and hard of hearing population. I also had the impression that UNCO had some emphasis on working with the deaf and hard of hearing population, so maybe you can look into that and see if you like it. I kept the number of Cal State applications to a minimal since I graduated from a CSU myself and my impression was that they favored their undergraduate students. I only applied to one NY school because I know New York is competitive and they get a lot of applicants every year. I took out a map of the United States and started crossing out states I knew I wouldn't be able to bear living in for 2-3 years (For example, Arizona and Nevada because I don't do well in heat.). If location doesn't matter to you, that's a bonus because you have more options to choose from. I also avoided religious schools in general because I not religious, although Loyola was the exception because I liked that the structure of their on-campus clinic based on the school website. If you're concern which schools accept their own residents first, I recommend emailing the schools you're interested in and ask them because many schools will be straightforward in their answers. For GRE and GPAs, I say compare your scores to the ones ASHA gives you (or you can ask the schools for their average scores) and weed out the schools with scores that are out of your range. If your scores are off by a few points, I don't think it's too bad because you can still retake the GRE or hope that a strong personal statement/LOR will help you.

Most schools will be honest if you ask them if you're competitive. I typically take off the programs that aren't straightforward or won't provide me with enough answers. Some questions I asked the schools or acquired from their website: 1. Requirements/pre-reqs to apply to the program (Bachelor's degree, classes required, etc.) 2. Application seasons (some schools will offer spring or summer application cycles) 2. How many students were accepted last year and how many of them chose to attend it? How many of those seats are from CD majors and out of field? 4. How many students applied to last year's application cycle and how many were accepted total? (To calculate the acceptance rate. Note some some schools will be kind enough to offer you this information on their website.) 5. Are GREs and any other standardized testing required? Does the school have a minimum GRE requirement? What is the average GRE score of accepted applicants? 6. How does the school calculate your GPA? Do they only look at your overall GPA or your major GPA? Do they look at all your units or the last 60-90 units? What is the average GPA of accepted applicants? 7. How many out of state students did you accept last year? 8. I didn't ask this question, but you can always ask for more information regarding their scholarships and how they fund their students. This is great if you want to attend a school that may be out of reach for you because of financial reasons. Since I'm more interested in clinic work than research, I looked for any specialized programs or clinics by going through the schools' clinic websites and reading the forums. I made little notes to myself on my excel spreadsheet on my first impressions of the schools according to their websites, although if you can personally visit those schools I highly recommend that you do so. I was able to visit many of the schools in my home state, but sadly couldn't do the same for my out of state schools. I hope that helps!

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. I got into a program and was even offered interviews at two programs that are known for having high expectations for GPAs and GRE scores. You can have the high statistics, but you still need to stand out among the other candidates and I think that makes up for it when schools look at your extracurriculars, LORs, and personal statements. To OP, I know going on this forum makes it feel like it's only possible to get into your dream school with high GPAs and GRE scores, but having an average statistic is more common than you think. I've met people, not necessarily from this field but still applying to competitive fields, and some of them have managed to get into programs despite having a less than perfect score. Your GPA is higher than mine and I think you can do well on the GREs if you study hard for it. I would narrow down your choices on applying to programs though because 18 schools will cost a lot of time and won't be cheap. As others before me said, it's better to have quality over quantity. I applied to 10 programs and I felt that was exhausting because I had to personalize 10 personal statements and it took a toll on me emotionally and even physically. It's possible to get into a program with a lower than ideal GPA and even GRE scores if you learn to smartly choose the schools you want to apply to. I could have applied to 15 programs have I not talked to one of the members of this forum 2 years ago. He offered me the advice of narrowing down my list by contacting the faculty with questions and that definitely helped me make my decision on which schools to apply for. I composed a list of schools I had interest in, their contact information, and prepared a list of questions to ask the schools before compiling all of the information I needed onto a google doc excel spreadsheet. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more about this topic since this can get lengthy if I was to post it here. Good luck on applying!

Got rejected off the third tier waitlist for Portland. Eh, I'm okay with that. Wasn't expecting much out of it.

I went to CSULB as an undergrad and I've worked with some of the grad students there, so I could answer a few questions.

CSULB and Chapman. I checked CSULB's status but nothing has changed.

1. Why did you choose the program you're going to? What really sold it for you? I chose Radford because it's the only school that accepted me, but also because I liked that they have an on-campus clinic and are part of the RiteCare program. It's located in Virginia and that's exciting for me because I've never been to the east coast, so that will be an adventure of its own. 2. How many schools did you apply to? 10. Still waiting on 2 schools to reply back. 3. If you haven't decided, what is going to be the factor that pushes you to decide? I'm pretty much decided on Radford since I'm pretty sure the last 2 schools that haven't responded back are going to reject me.

Still no word from CSULB or Chapman. Has anyone heard from them?

This is the first time I heard of this and you can see all the schools that waitlisted me on my signature. It seems unfair that you're expected to respond within 24 hours before you may not always have instant access to wifi or perhaps you need time to go over your options before making a final decision. Update: I checked my phone and it says I'm waitlisted too.

Perhaps OP can create a google spreadsheet that will update every time there's a new facebook page for a grad school and allow viewers to access to view it?

I think I saw it coming since I only see acceptances on the result page and not a single peep from Redlands. I guess I'll know by the end of the day if I get in or not if this year's cycle is anything like last year's. I hate how some schools send out replies in waves. Why can't they just send all the results in one day?

I'm seeing people reporting on Redlands and Loyola, but I have yet to receive any emails from them. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Already? Omg...I'm so nervous. I wonder how long it'll take for me to get an email from them.