Missthang

My graduate program offers services for accent modification (all services provided by graduate clinicians for university employees/family members are reduced rate and even free if you're a student in the department!). I think if you know this is something that you could benefit from definitely try it out. The added bonus if you do seek services for reducing your accent is you have the added benefit of knowing what it's like to be the clinician AND what it feels like being the client as well. Hope this helps!

Those are very competitive schools in Texas. I would look into other options that are more "looking at the applicant overall rather than GPA/GRE" friendly if that is something you're wanting to consider. Look up University of Houston, Lamar University, SFASU and Texas State to name a few off the top of my head.

Yes, that would be extremely helpful too! I guess my only option is to poll professors and clinical supervisors on their opinions about this topic.

Hey everyone! I have a couple questions for those who are currently a grad student or a recent grad. I was looking into completing some kind of certification before graduating, just to have some additional credential besides my degree when looking for a CF position. I'm very interested in the adult medical population, and seeing as it's a difficult area to get into especially for a CFY, I was thinking some extra credential may make me more competitive after graduation. I'm definitely interested in becoming certified in LSVT Loud and have heard of a few brain injury certifications as well. Just not sure if now is the right time for these things or if I should wait until I'm employed (and possibly have my employer pay for certifications!). Has anyone done this/know someone who has? Thanks in advance!

I had around a 3.2 overall GPA but a 3.7-3.8 CSD GPA and got in to half of the schools I applied to in Texas. If you're in the midwest or north, your GPA will probably need to be quite a bit higher than this since southern schools aren't as competitive as schools in those areas.

As far as clinic, I would wait and see what type of clients you receive before downloading any apps or buying any materials unless you come across free/inexpensive things that you know could be good for anybody. For classes, same advice. Basically just get the essentials that you know you will need, like binders, paper, spirals, pens/pencils, dividers, laptop, printer, ink cartridges, etc. I definitely recommend a good recorder that has the ability to upload the recordings to your computer (wish I would've done this my first semester!) and also an awesome planner because that will be your lifesaver when you're trying to manage your time and stay organized. I wouldn't get too hung up on the idea that you need to go out and buy a bunch of stuff prior to starting (besides getting the basic essentials), because I did the same thing last year and got a ton of stuff that I still haven't used. Also, your school may even provide some things for you. For instance ours has free laminating, black & white printing, and basic office supplies on top of a giant materials closet for clinic. Hope this helps!

I did not attend either school, however I do know people who attended both. From what I've heard, I would choose Tech over Texas State but ultimately it is your decision based on where youbelieve will be the best fit and what each program has to offer.

I googled part time SLP graduate programs and a ton of schools came up. Not sure if you're wanting online or not or if you're looking for a specific area of the country, but quite a few came up.

My short version of a long story: I graduated high school with no idea of what I wanted to do in life. I enrolled at my local community college to get all of my basics done to transfer to a university at a later time. I found a job at a daycare center and found the field through working with the school aged kids in my class. Many of them received services at their school and I found it fascinating that one person was responsible for helping children with a range of disorders and disabilities. The principal and vice principal had their children enrolled at the center so one day I briefly discussed my interest in the field and asked how I could contact their SLP. I was put in contact with her and I also worked with adviser at the college to find my current university and applied for their undergrad program. The rest is history: graduated with associate's, continued working part time and attending my university, quit my job eventually, became more involved with NSSLHA/volunteering/etc., graduated with two B.S., and now I'm in grad school! Without my job, I don't think that I would've ever discovered this field on my own because it seems to be a hidden gem that not too many people are familiar with.

Don't hesitate to call/stop by/email! Being a little more direct by personally calling or stopping by their office may be better since emails may go unseen. I had a friend whose LOR writer didn't check her email often and she missed the deadline. Luckily the program was forgiving after she called them explaining what happened and they allowed her to submit the letter after the deadline. Contact them in a different way if what you've done to previously remind them hasn't seemed to work and don't forget to remain professional and show gratitude that they completed it(basically don't appear panicky even though you totally are... application season is the worst, but it's almost over!). Good luck with everything!

While I'm not a "mature" student, I have several people in my cohort who are. All of them were like you and could only apply to the same school that they did undergrad/post bacc at. We have about 8 or so who all except 3 are doing our program part time so that they can work as SLPAs, other jobs that they previously had (full and part time work), spend time with family and continue to raise their kids (who range from babies to current grads). I highly commend them for everything they have going on with school and outside of school. However, several of them wish they could've completed the program full time since it will end up costing them more money to stay an extra year in the program and our program didn't do the best job at working with their schedules outside of school (there were 2 who were required to be on campus everyday which I find ridiculous if you're a part timer!). If working, raising kids, or outside priorities are a must then I would choose part time (assuming that your programs are setup is similar to mine). But if you can bite the bullet and get it done full time, then I would do that so you can be done quicker and making $ sooner! Hope this helps!

If you want to discuss Texas schools, feel free to pm and I can give you a lot of info since that's all that I applied to. If you do some serious digging on this website (contro+F is your best bet with helping find things) you can find some topics from last year or even earlier where people listed schools that did not require GRE.

... or maybe I'm the lucky one who has had 2 awesome ones! haha Sorry about the bad luck with Dells! When I graduated high school my parents bought me a HP laptop which was great the first 2 years and then it just went nuts. Finally ditched it and ended up with my Dell and then recently purchased my smaller one during my 1st month of grad school. All is good so far (fingers crossed).

While I don't have too much advice as far as studying or taking the GRE, you may want to look at schools that don't require it or schools that look at the whole application rather than focusing on GPA and GRE scores. That's what I did when applying last yr since my GRE scores were average at best and my overall GPA wasn't very stellar. I ended up being accepted/waitlisted at 4 of the 7 schools I applied to. You can find these stats on programs' websites and through ASHA as well.

I struggled in one of my undergraduate SLP classes during my sophomore year. I knew that I was the only one who could make the adjustment, but I was also the person afraid of admitting my mistakes and saying that I was struggling. I set up office hours with the TA and professor almost weekly to review notes, discuss topics that were unclear and to review my quizzes and exams. On my first test in that course, I received a 78 but after all of the effort I put in to studying and showing my professor that I was determined to complete the course, I received a 99 on the final and passed with a B. It can be done with the right amount of effort and being proactive, so seek out those all of the available opportunities! I was amazed at what all was available for undergrads at my university and wished that I would've taken advantage of it sooner.