lookwhoslp

Also, not all students are that low functioning... Some students might just have a stutter or have issues with pragmatics or verb tenses. So not all have as "big" of issues. It depends on the population you want to work with. Some go on to work in schools just for low-functioning kids, others go to schools for deaf children. If you still want to work with kids but not in the school you can consider private practice or outpatient centers. You'll see a wide range of kids in those settings, some in groups and others individually. I help out at an outpatient center and one group was just for pragmatics-- they would learn how to ask questions, infer and engage with others, another group was based on learning how to write in different styles. Some clinics only focus on stuttering, or accent reduction or what have you... so there's really a wide range of ways to work with kids without it begin as draining. (I'm guessing you might want to stay away from pediatric hospitals though, since many would have swallowing issues. That can be tough to see.) Although, I shadowed some SLPs in a pediatric cleft palate center in the local hospital and all were happy and upbeat. They do mostly diagnostics and not the actual therapy part, so if that part interests you then go for it.

Not really sure except for word of mouth, or for those who have 5-year/ accelerated programs, like Duquesne.

Thats what they say but its still very new so some universities might not take it unless you get lots of teaching experience while in it or maybe publish a paper.

It also looks as though in the CsCD you can choose a specialty area. She may be able to make her own with cleft palate, but if not they have faculty that specialize in swallowing and motor disorders, which are related to cleft palate issues.

Well the CscD is only available after getting a masters. For Pitt, she would do 2 years of a Masters (which the cleft class and placement is offered too, although hard to get in... but it might be hard to get in anywhere since it needs special knowledge, which she would get in the class)... after the 2 years of a Masters the CsCD starts and lasts 3 years. Generally, if she were to take the class and express avid interest and mention her past then she should have a decent shot at getting in, especially if she does an independent study or thesis with someone who studies cleft palate (if we wants to do research that is... although independent study wouldn't be much, probably just reading papers and writing a paper at the end). Here are the sites for the programs: Masters https://www.shrs.pitt.edu/macsd/ on this if you scroll down there are the handbooks which list the classes and clinical placement opportunities. One good thing about pitt (to me at least) is that there is no on-site clinic, so all the placements are in the community and many are medical CsCD https://www.shrs.pitt.edu/CScD/ again, there's the handbook. it says Years 3-5 because if she does it straight through from a masters (years 1 &2) then this takes an additional 3 years. They also have it so that you can do the clinical fellowship year (a mandatory externship after grad school to get your licensure) during year 3 while in the CsCD. Clinical doctorates are still very new and some companies aren't sure what to do with them. Most end up getting director positions, some/few universities take the clinical doctorates (SLPD and CsCD) for a professor position.

Are you mostly doing it for further learning and a pay bump? If you're doing it to try to teach it might not be worth it since most schools still require the PhD and not the clinical doctorate... unless they are looking for clinic directors who might teach a general class

I think some programs also take into account if you have a car or not so if you say you have limited transport or would like to stay close then they'll find places close by... If I remember correctly even though a school has a clinic it doesn't mean you're there every sinlge semester... usually you're only there the first 2-3 then go to other places or you're there for only the first 2 semesters then all the others you spend half the time there and half the time somewhere else

Oh, all the SLPD and CsCD are 'clinically' focused, whereas a regular PhD is research focused. But then the SLPDs are more for those in the school therapy setting (ie. elementary, middle, early intervention) whereas the CsCD is I think the only medical setting focused one. That's what I meant by that Although, in all of these clinically focused ones you might have to do some small research or like a independent study... but don't count me on that. I'd look at their handbooks to make sure, but I'm pretty sure you'll have to at least read some research in classes or do a independent study... but nothing like in a PhD format where thats the whole degree. They can't guarantee a pay bump since all these degrees are relatively new, but many of the people who do them do go on to get raises or get a higher position (ie. director of rehab, etc). I know the CsCD has info on what some recent grads have done and I'm sure you can find that info in the handbooks or by asking the programs.

Just a warning, it might reflect bad if you ask what they focus on considering the information is usually listed on their website. I'd research the schools more and see if they either have (1) concentrations for students to specialize in, (2) have a special population in their clinic (ie. many with Autism or brain injury, etc), as well as look up the faculty and what they research... sometimes the school will either list classes under 'curriculum' on their site, or you'll have to find their Master's Handbook which will list your courses and possible clinic placements, which can also give you insight if they have more of a medical vs educational focus and what populations there might be a high prevalence of in the area. You can also use this information in your essay to stand out, as they like knowing people actually looked up the program and know more information than the basics as it shows you really are interested. For example, I'm interested in the medical side so I mentioned that I saw X school has placements in a VA clinic, pediatric cleft clinic and a local hospital which I hoped to gain more knowledge from, as well as a class in Cleft Palate, which I only knew about from looking at the Handbook. Hope this didn't sound rude or anything, just saying what I've heard/read many times on this thread and from teachers on the application committee!

Question-- there's a part for an essay about why you want to do SLP, but then each school has a slot for uploading a personal statement. I thought that you just wrote a different essay per school, but not a general one for all of CSDCAS as well. What's the deal-- one for CSDCAS and one for each school.... or only one per school (since many have the same essay prompt as 'why SLP')? I just want to make sure cause the program I'm applying to asks other questions but is on CSDCAS so I'm not sure if I need to do one or two essays?!

Pitt's is slightly more medically focused since there's many hospitals in the area. I wouldn't say it's less research focused though. I believe you have to do some presentations or teach a class or something at one point. The SLPD and CsCD are still very brand new to the field so some places aren't sure what to do with them (at least if you want to go the professor/ academia route)... The SLPD is more education-setting focused while the CsCD is medically focused I believe. The professors are known, some are ASHA fellows and they know their stuff. The ones who have graduated from the CsCD do have more leadership roles in their work places now I believe, since you gain many leadership skills int eh program. I think you also do mini rotations following different types of physicians to gain more knowledge about their fields (neurology, etc). If you go to the page and download the manual it'll give you lots of info on classes, extra things and outcomes of past students I believe.

The University of Pittsburgh offers a class in it and has access to many medical centers, including a pediatric cleft-palate unit. Not many get into that placement (I'd assume it's the same for most schools since it requires lots of background knowledge)... but if she takes the course and shows interest and mentions her past experiences she might be able to get a placement there. As with most placements, if you have a specific population in mind then you have to keep voicing it to try to get it.

I agree with the poster above... American schools are just as focused on GPA and GRE (they say they aren't, but they do use them as rough cut-offs. When we say MGH is competitive it's because they say they accept those with low GPAs but they get tons of applicants and are getting more recognized so the entrant pool is big. It says they have 144 students... buts thats total between both years and possibly post baccs. They do let in a good amount but they also get lots of applicants. Basically if it's a well known school in America then it's competitive and getting lots of applicants.

I know MGH IHP, Vanderbilt, Univ. of South Carolina and I think Univ. of New Hampshire do. You can also look into programs with faculty that focus on it so that you can do independent studies related to literacy. You'll also want to look for programs based in the school of Education (maybe even ones that end in a MEd and not MA of SLP.

I don't think private vs state would make a difference in the education. There are many great state schools that have better placements than some private schools, so I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor... plus most private schools cost a lot more. First, narrow it down by your interests. See if they have classes or concentrations in something you're interested in and definitely make sure they have placements in your interest. After college placements are what matter most since thats where you got your experience. So, if you know the population you want it helps to go to a school that has lots of placements available (ie. literacy,Autism, medical, voice...). After that I'd check ASHA's EdFind and look at each program and the 'average' scores of the people they admit to give you an idea if you fit their criteria. I think in Canada you guys don't have an SLP undergrad you just focus on something else, correct? If that's the case you'll most likely have to be a post-bacc first to get the SLP classes that you need before even starting a program. (So this narrows them down even more.) Many that have post-baccs don't give you automatic admission into their Masters program... so check into that. Those that do are maybe like 5% of the programs, so still apply to those that don't guarantee admission. You just have to reapply next fall to Masters Programs while taking post-bacc classes. You say your CGPA is bad. What exactly is that.. your general GPA, your major GPA, your CSD GPA or your last 60 credits? If it's your CSD GPA then definitely think about retaking some SLP classes depending on how bad the scores are. They are all very competitive cause theres so many applicants and so few spots. At this point there isn't really a "non competitive" school, cause those that get less applicants are just more picky about who they choose then. At least you are shadowing/volunteering, that is good. Just keep that up and do the SLPA program if you want to help boost things. Like I said, depending on which classes you did bad in you might have to retake them. With that said, Vanderbilt is EXTREMELY hard to get into. MGH is getting hard to get into as well. Like I said, check ASHA's EdFind to see if your scores are similar to accepted students. You can even go to the menu on this page and click on "results search" then search for like 'Vanderbilt Speech' (or '[school name] Speech' ). This will give you a list of people that tells you if they are rejected, wait listed, or accepted... sometimes theres a red diamond in their entry... if you hover over it then it'll tell you their scores.

This is fairly late, but depending on what your research interests were you might not have gotten accepted because 2 faculty left. We were supposed to get two new ones, but one deferred til next year. Both that left we big on Morphology and a couple other things. The one new guy does some morphology but mostly socioling/ dialectology type stuff.

The other reason it could matter is for the setting you want to work in... If you're certain you'd prefer an educational setting then go to one that offers more pediatric clinical practicum sites, or perhaps even has certificates in Education, Multiple Disabilities, Autism, or Literacy (depending on your interests). If you know you'd like to work with multicultural or bilingual clients, then find those that have placements and certification in that, as to be a bilingual SLP you need special certification and some practicum hours in the other language. If you want a medical setting as you future, then find one with close ties to local hospitals and VA clinics, or that have an Aphasia/ TBI type clinic on-site or near by... also check their classes (often you have to download the handbook or go on their site) to see if they have electives that you may like for your preferred setting. or example, Pitt has one on Cleft Palate; MGH has several on Literacy; etc. These are mostly based on your interests, but for some settings, especially bilingual and medical, you'll want a strong background in those to help you in the future.

They do like people with outside experience, especially when it's with other cultures. It's good that you're also volunteering. I'd just say try to keep your GPA up in the post-bacc classes and get the 25 hours of shadowing (your program might have a class where you watch videos and get some hours that way, so I'd ask if they do). A lot of schools don't care all too much about the quantitative score, but it also varies from each application reviewer. If you go to the results page on this site and type in "Speech" you'll get all the entries from ppl who applied, where they applied and if they got in... sometimes in the comments section (or if you hover over the red diamond, if they supplied the info) you can see their scores. ASHA's EdFind also lets you search programs and they usually list average scores of ppl that got in... Keep in mind some ppl with lower and some with higher get in each time. I'd say your best bet is to aim for a total of 300+ (quant + verbal) and/or above 50th percentile for both. But ask I've said, I've seen people on here get in with lower. If you have time, get involved with a professor's research (if you find that interesting) or go to office hours sometimes so they know your face. You at least have experience with other cultures and know some stuff from learning TEFL. Your best bet is to check the results page and ASHA's edfind to find schools that your stats fit. There are a couple schools out there that take like 3.2 or 3.4 and above rather than the usual 3.5 and above... I forget which ones though. :/ If application season comes around and you feel like you still need help, contact the programs you are interested in. State that you are interested in their program and have lots of experience with ESL and have done XYZ to improve your application but want to know if there's anything you can to do improve or if it'd be more helpful to just mention certain things in your essay. If you really love the school, then keep in contact with them and remind them of your interest. i've seen people get of the wait list because they showed more interest than others. Good luck!

I agree with the above. I haven't had any luck with private practice; try contacting local speech departments in hospitals and also contact those in schools. Your best bet is calling and saying that you're a student interested in shadowing to gain experience. I wouldn't necessarily ask to do it for long-term, as that might get less answers; Just say that you are up to doing it for when is best for their schedules-- whether it's for several hours one day or over several days/a week. Good luck!

Once you're a clinician you can always dabble in those other places like doing advocacy or educating the community, or being a clinical supervisor for a university (some even allow those with a MS to teach a class if you specialize), or do some research on the side by yourself or in a hospital/university/ veteran affairs setting. Then later you can decide to get a PhD if you find you like the research/professor stuff more. But at least you can dabble in these things while you are working

Ohh, I've been searching in Spain as well. There are a few ASHA certified SLPs in Spain. I haven't contacted them but there is one in Barcelona and Madrid. Here's ASHA's contact info for some http://www.asha.org/proserv and choose "Spain" as the country. Don't worry about state/zipcode... just choose Spain then search. I think the first two have their own websites with contact info, just google their names and like 'speech pathologist Spain' and they should pop up. If you're near the France or Portugal border you can try searching for professionals in those countries too. Even though these countries don't have the mututal agreement these are ASHA certified people living/working in those countries, so they should count since it's the person's license that counts. (On the hour log you just write the date, then list each client's disorder and time seen separately, then have the person sign for them and write their ASHA number.) What are you doing in Spain?

That's tough, are you able to visit any nearby countries that might have other ASHA certified SLPs? You can search on ASHA find a professional page; there's quite a number abroad! So if you're near the border of another country and it's not hard going between them, maybe you can do that?... You did say you have found and shadowed one already... I'd say definitely stick with that one and then just use others as "extra". You only really need the hours by the time you are enrolled/in the program... so try to get as many now and then maybe once you're back in the States/Canada you can shadow a couple more? Since you're abroad I think most schools understand it's difficult to find hours, and at least you already had some hours! So for now, just stick with the person you have (make sure to record their ASHA number and signature in your log), and maybe find others close by. I think it's generally easier to get placements in adult settings as those with children require child criminal history checks and such... not sure if it's the same abroad, but adult settings might also help. Or see if there is an ASHA professional that does some support groups or works in an international school. Try searching on the organizations with an agreement with ASHA to see if you can search for professionals searching abroad as well. This way you don't have to travel to the USA, UK, Australia, etc but just have to find a certified professional that's near you. Where are you at right now??

I agree with the person above, only add if you can tie it in or elaborate on it. Plus they should see it on your transcript, so if you can't elaborate they will at least see it that way.

Yeah I'd say that there aren't really any less competitive "cycles". Most spots for Spring (and maybe summer) are only available because of students dropping out, unless the school states it's an entire new cohort of like 20 people. If it's not a new cohort, then chances are there are few spots open, which might make it even more competitive depending on how many apply in the spring.

I think that's a great example for weaknesses. They want to know that you can acknowledge something that you aren't strong in but that you are willing to fix that and are possibly already working to fix that. Research is definitely not a strong point for many undergrads, so I feel that they would understand this and like that you want to have better research skills, especially since evidence-based practices are becoming more of a big deal. I just wouldn't do something like "I have horrible communication skills with people that annoy me." That just shows you don't value other's opinions and stuff, so that'd be a bad weakness, but the one you listed is good. As long as you twist it and write something positive like you're willing to learn more about X (like Autism, research, etc) in grad school and are trying to do something already (like reading research on that topic or want to do so in the program) then it's all good. I'm not necessarily sure about being grandfathered in without those classes though. Maybe it depends on how long you've been out, but I know those who are coming in from other majors doing post-bacc have to take those classes. I'd ask your advisors and also contact the schools you're interested in and tell them your situation. As you know, these classes aren't just for the degree but required by ASHA. So any new people graduating with a Masters after like 2014 will need these, so I'm not sure if you can be grandfathered in when beginning a program past this point. I would contact the schools you are interested in and ask if they will let you take it during the program or the semester before the program starts and still be accepted. Some schools accept students that don't have all the pre-reqs with the notion that they take them the summer/semester before classes begin (a number of post-baccs that just need a few requirements do this then begin in the fall). It doesn't hurt to ask your potential schools, so I'd say go for it. Are you possibly able to take them online/ nearby this fall? Then you can send the transcript showing you are taking them.