Missthang

All schools look at the whole picture.... Do you have a standout letter of intent/personal statement? Do you have a great GPA (especially last 60 hrs and are you getting As in your comd classes)? What kind of volunteering/research/clinical/work/etc. experience do you have on your resume? These are all the things that programs are looking for in applications. GRE scores are mainly used for weeding out people or providing assistantships. Maybe you have an "okay" GPA but your GRE scores are amazing or vice versa- they can sort of balance one another out. Look at the average GPA and GRE scores for the schools you are interested in. If you are near their numbers or above then that's great as long as you have other things to make your application standout like an awesome resume, personal statement, and especially letters of recommendation.

I absolutely agree with Sayjo! I hear over and over again (through professors, conferences, SLPs, employers, etc...) that the name on your degree really doesn't mean a thing unless you're going for a PhD or research and publication purposes. As long as you get your degree and everything in order to obtain your CCCs, then it shouldn't matter that you went to a smaller/lesser known school. I've also heard that ratings don't mean anything anymore unless your going the PhD route like I mentioned earlier. My advice is play it safe and apply to a few "dream schools" and a few schools that you believe could be "safety schools" (even though there is no such thing as safety in SLP programs unfortunately). It's pretty easy to find out a school's cohort averages from previous years. Make sure that your GPA and GRE scores match or exceed their averages and then get all of your other application documents completed and perfected

Thank you for the great response. I will definitely be checking out your page too!

Business casual or a more professional look is best. I don't think a suit is necessary but you definitely don't want your first impression being in tennis shoes and shorts or jeans lol My school has an open house each year and most prospective students wear dress slacks, flats and a nice blouse. It's also smart to bring a small notebook and pen to write down any info or questions. And of course make sure to introduce yourself and shake hands, don't be the person in the back of the group who never makes a peep. This is a little off topic but is good to know when thinking about how to dress and make a good impression: My clinical procedures professor told our class one day that she had an undergrad come to observe her one day in a skin tight dress and 5 inch heels. The girl could hardly walk and was constantly tugging and pulling to keep her cleavage and butt covered the entire time. My professor had to make the girl sit in a chair behind the desk rather than actually interacting with the kids, so that's definitely not a good impression haha! Make sure you have good footwear and nothing about your outfit could be questionable in any way.

Can you give examples of activities/games/etc. you used with particular clients and how they helped with your treatment goals? Adult & kid examples please

My regret was causing myself soooo much stress and worry over things I couldn't control. I knew I mailed everything in VERY early, but I still drove myself insane constantly checking my email and application portals for any updates for nearly 2 months. I also wish I would've given myself more credit instead of thinking that I didn't stand a chance anywhere and stressing about what my Plan B would be. I knew I had my resume and personal statement both written to perfection (thank you career services center counselors!) and also had good GRE scores and last 60 and major GPAs, but I let my low cumulative GPA make me believe that that would be the 1 thing to bring me down. Thankfully 1 not-so-great thing didn't ruin me and all of the other good things in my application helped me shine! Looking back I can only laugh at myself and tell senior undergrads who are about to endure the applications process my tips of advice on what I did and what I shouldn't have done to help ease their worry. I wish I had more people who would've given me advice, but I think I did pretty well for myself! I'm looking forward to starting school (even though I'm nervous as hell about clinic!!) and can't wait for these next 2 years to fly by...

I remember seeing a list floating around last admissions cycle. Try using control F and searching for it, hopefully that helps.

I agree with the above poster that you should check with people at your university to see what would be best. At my school we were required to take intro to communication disorders, phonetics, speech & language development and anatomy as the pre-req's before moving on to other courses. These 4 courses are basically the foundation classes for the other courses to come like neuro, aural rehab, speech science, etc... Undergrads were not allowed to take more than 1 comd course per semester until these 4 courses were completed.

To add a few things to the original post, here's a few more things to help out anyone beginning the grad school applications process... Definitely figure out if there are specific things that your potential schools are looking for. I knew that I 100% wanted to get in to my current university's grad program so I talked to professors and current grad students about what they looked for when selecting applicants. My particular school (and a few others I applied to) did not put much emphasis on the GRE, just as long as you made a combined score of 300+ or they were in/around the average from previous cohorts (you can find these answers through ASHA's EdFind or even on many universities' websites- my school said something like "2013-2014 cohort's average on verbal section was 155, quan. avg 150, AW avg 4.0 or whatever the specific numbers were so you'd know the ballpark to get around). Many schools also put more emphasis on the last 60 credit hours and Comm Dis. class grades rather than those random math/chem classes you did not-so-great in during freshman year I think personal statements are one of the biggest parts of your application. There are so many other people out there fighting for a spot with equal or better grades, so what will make YOU stand out? I was at a total loss on what to write, until I discovered the career services center at my school. Who knew there was a specific person in that office that helps with finding schools, completing applications, revising personal statements, interview help among finding volunteer work and internships (he was my lifesaver!). Have a professional help you revise and edit your personal statement and most importantly... TRIPLE CHECK that everything is sent in the correct way and on time. Good luck "and may the odds be ever in your favor"!

Majority of the schools I applied to specifically said 2 of the 3 must be from professors. All 3 of mine were professors in our department, but I knew each of them outside of just being an A student in their class. 1 is also our NSSLHA adviser and undergraduate adviser, another is the department chair, and third I just knew very well personally because we met a lot outside of class to discuss papers, tests, etc. I don't think it would be a problem to ask your linguistics professor, however I'd make sure that 2 came from department faculty since they can speak the most about your ability to succeed in this program & field. Make sure that they can say a lot more than just "blah blah got an A in my class and attended all lectures". I was warned by several 1st year grads in my program to not ask certain professors bc that's all they would write unless they REALLY knew you outside of just being a student in their class.

I absolutely agree with everything Yancey said above. While it's not easy to say whether or not being an SLPA will improve your chances or not, it is important to use that year (or however along until you submit your next round applications) to improve each area of your application. I was friends with a girl who graduated in 2012 who was denied at all programs she applied to. For the next year she simply resubmitted almost the exact same application again (really didn't add or revise anything) and was denied again. The next year she began to work as a teacher at a school specifically for kids w/ hearing impairments and has done a lot to improve her work and related experiences, yet was denied again. While this is just my opinion, I really think she was still denied bc even though her resume has improved with more experience, she hasn't addressed any of the other areas in her application that may need some tweaking like personal statement/GRE/LOR... I think she's finally realized that redoing her personal statement, maybe retaking the GRE, switching up LOR writers, etc will enhance her overall application like how the relevant working/volunteering experience did. It definitely can't hurt you to become an SLPA, so I would definitely go for it!

I believe you have to apply to that program as if you're new. Some schools may allow you to transfer any classes already taken, but of course that's something that would need to be discussed. I believe I read somewhere on my school's website that they would only accept so many transferred hours from graduate studies but I'm sure that's different for every school.

Make sure that it is the correct class before taking it. I had already took a "math" statistics course, then a year later had to take psyc. stats because my adviser said that ASHA was requiring that type of course over the regular stats... Total bs but I did it anyways. I think there should be tons of universities that offer it online (I took mine online last spring semester and it was a somewhat easy A), but if you're looking to save some $ then you might need to do a little more research to find the lowest cost.

What I would do if sending an email is say something about thank you again for the offer of admission. However, I have recently been accepted at _____ university and would like to rescind my offer. _____ university is closer to home/more cost effective (whatever the reason) and I believe it is in my best interest to acceptance my seat there due to these reasons. Obviously reword to make it more professional but that's just my first thought of how I would put it. I'd also ask if you need to submit an actual letter or anything on your part to help out with the process.

I received a C in my general biology class and it counts. I also had a geology class from when I attended community college that counted as well. I think as long as you pass then it should be ok (just make sure that class counts towards the ASHA degree requirements first obviously). Not sure if this just a rule in our program at my school or if others do this as well but we must get a B- or better in all CSD classes but just passing for any others classes like math, science, electives...

I would not consider Baylor any easier to get in to. I'm in Texas and applied to 7 schools all in-state. I was advised by one of my LOR writers who was also one of my professors and she strongly encouraged me to apply possibly in Louisiana or another nearby state for safety reasons. I didn't listen and told her I'm a Texas girl and can't see my self anywhere else...Anyways! I applied to the following: Lamar University, Texas State, Abilene Christian, University of Houston, Texas Woman's (Denton), University of North Texas, Stephen F. Austin State. Not sure what your stats are but here's a general idea of mine. GRE: "low" verbal score compared to averages for schools current cohort, higher than avg. on quantitative and writing sections. Cumulative GPA of 3.4-3.5, major GPA 3.7-3.8, NSSLHA officer, research assistant outside of my university, tons and tons of volunteering, 4 yrs work experience with children, and so on. I knew that I really couldn't apply to any schools that only accept outstanding GRE and GPA bc that's not me. However, I believe that my application was overall really good and showed my well roundedness (not just about awesome scores & grades). I was accepted to Lamar, Texas State, U of H. Waitlisted at UNT & ACU (later accepted to ACU). Decline at TWU and still haven't heard from SFA (this application process was a nightmare... not sure if they even officially received everything of mine). I did not apply to places like Baylor or other Texas schools bc I was either told they were too competitive and I didn't stand a chance & a few bc the deadline dates were too early (all of the ones I applied to had a 2/1 deadline date). Really research your schools using the ASHA website to see stats, requirements and averages for students admitted to see where you fall among what they're looking for. Like I said, I don't know your stats but apply to "safety" schools that you know won't automatically toss your application incase you don't meet their minimum requirements.

The only time I took my parents with me to visit a school was when I attended the grad program open house. I told the program manager in advance that I was in undergrad and looking to transfer to the school and complete my B.S., not to actually apply to the program for grad entry. All other open house, visitations, meetings, etc. I go alone. I think it's more professional that way. I'll never forget how embarrassed I was when my parents would ask questions about random things, yet it's awkward if you tell them to just be quiet and smile the whole time too. Personally I would leave everyone at home because that would probably make the best impression (you'd hate to be known as the student who's mom asked goofy questions or something lol). As far as emails, I continued to use my same email that I've had forever. It's my 3 initials and 4 numbers (ex: ngk8723... ). I think something like that is fine or if you want to make a new one it's ok too. As long as it's not something like onedirectionlover or hotmomma123 then I think you're ok!

Take your most current unofficial transcript and count back 60 hours. You'll probably get a little over, I think I went back and it was a funky number like 61 or 62 hours. And like the poster above said there's websites with gpa calculators that can help you. Since I applied and didn't know my grades for this current semester, I just put N/A and didn't count them but they were still listed on the form.

I addressed mine in about 2 sentences in my 2nd paragraph. I figured short and sweet to show that it's in the past and it's all about moving forward and what I'm doing currently, not dwelling on the negatives from the past. Basically this was the jist of it: I was unmotivated in my classes bc I had no idea what I wanted to do and was overwhelmed with attending school full time and working full time. However, it was working that made me find the field of speech pathology. I quickly transferred to ____ university and the rest is history. Then in my 2nd to last paragraph where I talk about my current happenings I said something about I went from unmotivated and just going thru the motions to Dean's List plus other accomplishments/awards. I wouldn't go in to a lot of detail. Let the numbers talk on your transcript & resume. LI/PS should be about getting to know you as a whole person. Low GPA and improving it is just a part of your story so don't over emphasize it.

In my last 60 hours I think I had 3 B's and 1 B-. All the others were A or A-. I think they mostly look at the actual GPA of those hours rather than specifically each individual grade. I had a couple of C's that are the reason my GPA is pulled back and obviously that didn't directly affect me overall. My C's were in biology and a few classes I transferred from community college when I wasn't truly focused on school and what I wanted to do so I think they let it slide. They should mostly be looking at the grades of your major classes (hopefully B or better in CSD classes) and the different GPAs though. I discussed this a little in my personal statement and basically said I know that I may have a few lower grades in these random classes, but my CSD classes are all A's or A- with the exception of 1 B which was a terrible semester for me personally. Hope that answered your question.

I had an adviser at the career services center look at mine. Not sure if your school has something like that or not but I am forever grateful for his help! It's great to get an outsider's opinion on it because any one who personally knows you might not give you a good critique (like my mom thought my rough draft was perfect and he scratched through half of it and said "try again!"). I met with this graduate adviser (not sure of his actual title, but he helps with writing personal statements, interviewing, resume building, and of course finding programs and their requirements) 3 times over the Fall semester and once he finally gave his stamp of approval, I then took it to the writing center to make sure any grammar, punctuation, etc. was caught before sending it off. Our university has a specific graduate school person who only works with graduate students so I asked if I could use her rather than a fellow student who works in the main writing center. She helped me with a few sentences that needed a little revamping to get rid of the "I believe.... I think.... I want...." sentences. It was fine to have a few start out that way but of course I didn't want so many of them starting off with "I". Definitely get someone who has read tons because they know what will catch your reader and what they want to hear.

Well at some of the schools I applied to it is considered low. It's slowly gone up so when I turned in my applications it was slightly lower, maybe .1 or so under that. My current university (where I accepted my seat for grad school at) gives us the averages of the previous year. Their cumulative average was 3.85 and major GPA is 4.0, so of course everyone expects they need to hit that number or be above it. I think what really saved me was the personal statement, letters of rec, being a NSSLHA officer and very active in the department and volunteering. While most schools do put more emphasis on the major GPA and your last 60 hours, they'll still look at your overall too. There are some schools that specifically state you must have a 3.xx or they have a formula of adding/multiplying GPA and GRE, so you have to have great numbers to hit above their minimum requirement.

I have a friend in one of my classes who should be graduating in a year. We were just discussing this because I was told I'm fine with transferring in a geology class and I took a general biology class when I was a sophomore (will graduate this May), yet my friend was told that she would have to take a chem or physics class even though she already has a geology or biology class that should have filled the requirement. Does it mean that the 9/1/14 affects only people just starting this degree plan and those who haven't signed and locked in their degree plan or can it affect anyone that hasn't already received their bachelors yet? I'm trying to clearly understand who exactly that part will affect. I wouldn't think someone like myself should have to worry about it since I'm already "signed and sealed" to graduate in a couple weeks, but I mostly am trying to get a clearer answer for a friend. This same thing happened last year when I had already taken a math stats class and ended up having to take psyc stats to fill that new requirement... total BS in my opinion! Lol

My undergrad adviser scared me into thinking I would not be accepted to any schools due to my low cumulative GPA. I transferred from community college to my undergrad university with a 2.8 and will graduate in a couple weeks with an overall of 3.4 or 3.5 if I'm lucky. What I was told is if there is the slightest chance that a school would frown at any part of your application (like low cumulative GPA or low GRE score, etc.), then you need to do something to make up for that. Basically say "ok my cumulative GPA might be a disadvantage, BUT I have this, this and this which are advantages that the schools should know about me"... something that can sell you as an applicant in case there is something that could potentially hold your application back. If there's a low point that you really can't fix, then do something else to make you and your application shine to sort of gloss over anything that may not be a high selling point in your application. I know for me it was my low cumulative GPA and 1 slightly below avg. GRE score out of the 3 that were my negatives. Since I can't do anything about GPA and didn't want to retake the GRE, I made sure that my personal statement addressed the GPA issue. I also received awesome letters of rec, perfected my resume, did tons of observations and volunteering, etc. so that all of these things would sell my application. Don't be afraid to address it in your statement because it'll allow you to tell the admissions committee who you are and explain anything that would need clarification. I think it's smart to address why your GPA is low rather than them just seeing the number alone on your transcript. Hope that helps!

I took a couple of the free online bootcamp sessions they offer. It was really helpful to watch the instructor work out different problems and you're allowed to use a chat area to ask them questions. I also bought several different gre prep books thru amazon (they ended up basically being the same thing). Definitely go thru them because it's all about knowing strategies for each section.