laurengreen1

Hi Everyone! I will be applying to grad schools for the second time this fall (made the mistake of only applying to one last year), and would love some advice on filling out the CSCAS application. (Yes, I realize it doesn't open til 9/17 but I want to be prepared). I remember doing it last year and having a hard time because of the formatting. ie the personal statement looks like one giant paragraph because the return/enter key is useless, and you can't really separate your employment descriptions, volunteer work descriptions, etc. for the same reason. So do you guys recommend writing complete sentences to describe these things or just copy what's in your resume, but without the bullets? Last year, the school I applied to suggested copying and pasting my resume in the application. I did that and just cleaned it up a bit. For example, on last year's application under one of the employment headings, my description looked something like this: Instructed Korean elementary and middle school students in English listening, reading, and speaking. Conducted pronunciation clinics for elementary school students; focused on discrimination and production of difficult sounds (/r/ and /l/, /f/ and /v/, etc). Is this appropriate or is it better to write complete sentences? Other ideas? As for the essay, is there ANY trick to formatting it so the school you're applying to can tell that you know how to make separate paragraphs? I called CSDCAS last year and they told me there wasn't. Maybe it'll improve this year. On an unrelated subject, did anyone else bomb the writing portion of the GRE? I have to take it again b/c my writing score is so low. Does anyone have suggestions for improving? I consider myself a good writer, but I think my problem is more of a content issue. It's been a long time since I studied history, philosophy, etc. so it makes it hard to back up the issue essay. (I think I'm ok on the argument essay). Anyhoo, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance! Lauren

Nova southeastern's online program is 2 yrs AND they don't ask for GREs. However, they have rolling admissions so there's a wait list to get in. I think if you apply now and get accepted, the earliest you'd start is Spring 2016. That's the only other FT program I know of.

Hi there! I am an ESL teacher (well, was). I taught kids in Korea for 3 yrs and multicultural adults in CA for a year. I loved it, and that's actually how I became interested in the SLP field. The fields are highly related, and you're right--you get some great experience working with diverse populations. However, it's tough to get an ESL teaching job stateside. Also, maintaining your credential requires ongoing courses, professional development, etc. However, I am referring to public schools in CA--don't know about CT. If you were like a year away from applying, I'd say go for it! But honestly, unless you're guaranteed a good job after the course, or you want to specialize in accent reduction or want to work overseas, I wouldn't recommend spending the time and money on certification. I'm working in a sped class now as an assistant, and it's also highly related AND most of the kids are ELLs anyway--so you can get similar experience, beef up your resume, and skip the hassles of getting certified. It's also pretty easy to find a job. Good luck!

CA laws for SLPA licensure are very annoying. Either you have a BA or BS where you did your fieldwork as part of the program, you get an AA in SLPA, or you have a BA/BS in the field, plus a post-grad SLPA fieldwork program (only offered by Northridge, UNLESS you graduated from Sac State or Chapman, in which case you can go through them to get your fieldwork). There's also the loophole of 9 mos full time work as a SLPA in a public school instead of going through the SLPA fieldwork program, but no school district will hire you without a certificate, so it's a catch-22. :/ I work as an Instructional Aide in a Special Ed preschool class--the pay is super low for having 2 Bachelors' degrees and being a former teacher, but the experience is invaluable. (Also the stress is a lot less than you have as a teacher--no work to take home). All of the kids have speech and language needs, so there's a big language focus throughout the day. I even started doing group speech lessons a couple times a week and the teacher and other staff love it. It's really great experience. Another plus is I have a new, STRONG reference from the SPED teacher. Since you can't really work specifically in Speech/Language without the license, I think IA jobs with SPED are the next best thing, unless you want to move to Oregon where you can be a SLPA with just the BA/BS. For me, I'm just hoping to get into Northridge's SLPA program in the fall so I can get licensed and paid as a SLPA until I get into and finish grad school. Good luck!

I taught ESL for 4 years, 3 years in Korea at public and private schools (K-9th) and 1 year in San Diego with adults (mostly refugees). Teaching in Korea is a pretty good gig if you're single/married but don't have kids. They pay for your housing and flight, plus your monthly salary and pension. Without a credential or certificate, you can't get that kind of paid teaching experience in the states (not in CA anyway)! There are so many parallels between teaching ESL and teaching speech/language, so it's really good experience. Unfortunately, I got waitlisted at the only school I applied to (UNCO-Online). Now I'm working as an assistant in a Special Ed pre-K classroom, and I just started doing unofficial speech therapy with the kids, so I'm building my experience. In the fall, I'll be starting the SLPA program at Northridge (assuming I get in), and I already have a job lined up for after I get the certificate. I'll be applying to Northridge in the summer and some other schools (don't know which yet) in the fall. Good luck to everyone!