Jolie717

As to the second portion of your question, from my experience and others' experiences, financial aid has more to do with what your financial need is, firstly, and what you bring to the table secondly, rather than the distance you travel to study. That said, look into schools that are known for multiple TA/GTF spots, or funding, or grants and scholarships. I did not do much research in this area, and regret it slightly. However, I had to stay on the West Coast, so my options were more limited. Hope this helps!

Congrats on graduating - what was your undergrad degree? If you are a CD undergrad, then yes, most would say you have a competitive edge as a male...as far as admissions to grad school goes, that is. In my experience, however, most of my male friends are insulted by the idea that they got where they are today strictly because of their gender. As they should be. Every single one of the guys I've sat in classes with, have studied with, and have given presentations with, are extremely hardworking and are deserving of the spot they earned in grad school. As for those I don't know personally that got into other programs and didn't work hard but merely were admitted due to the "competitive edge" factor - um, good luck to them collaborating well with their peers and completing grad school in the top of their class, passing PRAXIS on the first try, and becoming successful and effective SLPs. We all desire diversity in our field. But not at the expense of quality.

I don't think you should worry too much about specific semesters - instead you should focus on being a very well-rounded candidate. If your overall GPA is in the 3.7 range and current in the 3.9 range with CSD 4.0, you should be solid in the GPA dept. Now focus on acing the GRE, getting great letters of rec, and writing an amazing SOP that makes you stand out from others who may have very similar extracurricular experiences. Somewhere I read that if your first draft of your SOP looks a lot like your final draft, you are doing something wrong. So I took that to heart and got input from a LOT of people. Multiple PhDs in hard science fields (from Harvard and Stanford), along with an attorney from a top ten law school, and a finance guy from a top finance grad program. Use your resources - don't be afraid to ask people their opinion on your SOP as you will find many of them will be flattered and glad to help. I revised my SOP, and re-revised over and over again until it truly didn't mirror my first draft. If my schools had focused on a particular semester or two of mine, they would have seen a slew of dreaded "withdrawals" which would have been a major red flag to many. Fortunately my most recent experience overshadowed this.

As far as West Coast, here is my experience with my two Pacific Northwest schools. It appeared the University of Oregon did not necessarily show greater preference for their own graduates. My guess would be 25% or less were previous UO students. Conversely, based on my approximate count for UW, it appears the incoming graduate school class consists of 45% UW undergrads or postbaccs, and 55% students from other schools.

I would call each institution you are interested in to verify, as some of these threads might be outdated. I've heard that Cal State Long Beach and UW are two such schools, however if you look at the acceptance statistics the overall GPAs are still pretty high. I imagine this is because there are many individuals with a high last 60 as well as a high overall GPA, so you might want to search for schools that are more accepting of a low overall GPA. Here is one thread:

Thanks - it was nerve-racking only applying to three, but I was able to spend a lot of time on each application which made the process easier for me. I applied to Med and Core with a preference for Med. My background is in medicine, as I'm a Respiratory Therapist with a Neonatal/Pediatric specialty credential. That said, I now work primarily with adults! I don't have any insight into their research labs as of yet, but would love to get involved once I'm there. The many on-campus clinic opportunities combined with an additional four clinical placements the second year really appealed to me. I think the depth/breadth of experiences I will have are much greater than had I stayed at my undergrad school, as much as I love the students and professors. The curriculum is also incredibly comprehensive with many medical-based courses. I work closely with several SLPs at my hospital, and one in particular that I spoke to was impressed with the med emphasis and thought more programs should adapt this approach. I still feel the Core program will prepare SLPs to work in both medicine and with school-aged children, but because I am interested in a specific and very small niche in med SLP, I felt the med route was the best choice for me. (The MedSLP students also have priority when selecting the medical externships/placements, from what I've been told). Additionally, one of the comments from a student who visited the program really stood out to me. She mentioned that UW students are often actively recruited by employers for the CFY. This to me speaks volumes as to the quality of the program and the graduates they produce.

Wow - well, you have two of my three schools listed. Keep in mind that if you apply for and really want the MedSLP track at UW specifically, you won't qualify for WICHE/WRGP. The MedSLP program has different funding than Core, so less opportunity for scholarships, aid, TA positions etc. They have a tuition rate that lies right in between the in-state and out-of-state tuition. Yes, you can apply for both Med and Core at UW simultaneously, but you have to list in order of preference. And you never know which you will get, until you get your letter of acceptance. They want your grad app essay to specify which track you prefer and why. They have more openings for the MedSLP track than Core, so if your priority is the university over the track, select Med, as long as you feel confident you would do well w/ a Med emphasis. That's my two cents, lol!

Also, some online programs (like my undergrad, CSUN) are brick and mortar but also offer an online graduate program. Ours was the first in the US, from what I've read. And the diploma you receive from the CSUN online Master's is identical to the one you receive from the "regular" in-person program. Which means, unless you mention it intentionally, nobody would know whether you attended in person or online.

It really depends on the school. One of the schools I was accepted into had one class I hadn't taken as a pre-req. Had I accepted, I could have taken it this summer from another institution, or I could have taken the class on top of my winter quarter courseload which would have affected my clinic hours somehow, but it would have been doable. I accepted at UW though, so it ended up being a non-issue.

The GRE gives percentile scoring - not percentages. So for example, my verbal was in the 96th percentile, which meant I did the same or better than 96% of the test takers in my particular grouping, from what I understand. Percentiles - RegentsPrep www.regentsprep.org › algebra › quartiles A percentile rank is the percentage of scores that fall at or below a given score. Definition 2: A percentile is a measure that tells us what percent of the total frequency scored below that measure. A percentile rank is the percentage of scores that fall below a given score.

I actually hated CSDCAS, but perhaps that's because I only needed it for one of the three schools I applied to. The two schools that didn't use CSDCAS had fairly simple and streamlined app processes. I think it was the tedious entering by hand of every class I have ever taken that really did me in. As a non-traditional student with another degree, I had a LOT to enter and it was time-consuming and worrisome as they make you feel if you make one mistake, your app might not get validated. Start the process early so you have time to call and ask questions. Alternately, you can pay extra ($50 I think) and CSDCAS will enter everything for you if you elect for this early enough.

That's too bad about your parents - maybe they will change their minds. But if not, I'm sure you'll be fine with a profession as in demand as ours. I'll be leaving school with a bunch of debt too, but I'm not dwelling on it. It is what it is, and I'm good at living happily with very little overhead, despite having a family already. It will be even easier for you young ones with no kiddos to support! You've probably already thought of this, but definitely scope out TA/GTF positions and scholarships for next year if you weren't able to secure any this year.

For the computer format GRE you see your verbal and quant scores immediately after finishing the test, and you can decide then to send your scores to (I believe) three schools for free. I was happy enough with mine that I sent my scores to two local schools. The only risk you take here is if you bomb the written portion. At a later date when I was filling out CSDCAS (and had my written scores already), I paid to have scores sent to CSDCAS and another school. I'm not sure if you can select CSDCAS as a recipient when you first take the exam, but I don't see why not. I just didn't want to risk sending my scores with an unknown written to the schools I felt were more competitive. Edited to add: You can send multiple scores to schools, but I personally wouldn't recommend it. Sending the scores wasn't too expensive, no more than transcripts, as I recall. And again, I wouldn't send to CSDCAS (or any ultra-competitive schools) until you have your full score. To me, it was worth the extra cost of sending later, as I would have retaken the exam if I wasn't happy enough w/ written.

You'll be fine then - sounds like you have a great background (and an unusual one) so that will make you stand out.

I just reread your initial post and remembered you were a music major. Have you taken any previous anatomy or physiology courses? If not, you may find A&P Speech Production challenging. I thought it was easy, but I had already taken anatomy and physiology classes in the past whereas some classmates hadn't and found it very difficult. Since you are just starting out, I would recommend you take the easiest course possible due to the condensed format of a summer course.

I personally have always avoided the sciences during summer and winter sessions, as I feel the faster pace doesn't do the subject matter any justice. I assume you've taken summer and/or winter courses previously? Which SHS were you thinking of taking during the summer? BTW, I highly recommend the free Magoosh vocabulary app - I pulled it out and practiced and took timed quizzes etc every time I had a spare minute, and it definitely helped. Take as many timed/scored practice GRE exams as you can - I used the Manhattan series. Even if you only buy one book in their series, you get access to 6 online practice exams that are scored.

I know someone who did a post bacc at CSULA and she also loved it, in particular, the professors. Best of luck to you all!

If you do a member search for "mcamp" you could message him for help. He has a blog that has a lot of useful advice, and he has offered to read SOPs and give critique. His site and advice was very helpful for me! I'm in the middle of finals, but if he doesn't chime in I'll find his blog link later on...

There are still people getting in off of wait lists, so I'm not sure why you would want to remove yourself unless you really don't want to go to these programs. If it were me, I'd probably rather work on improving all aspects of my application rather than go through another grueling app cycle so soon (Spring). I also would never recommend applying to more than 12 schools, tops, as you will spread yourself (and your letter writers) way too thin. My original list included six schools, but I was getting overwhelmed (I'm a working mom of two) and so I cut it down to three and really worked hard on those essays and apps. Try to do more research and be very selective in the programs you pick. You may want to focus on programs that look at the last 60 rather than cumulative, as it sounds like it may be your undergrad that is weighing you down, GPA wise.

How many miles? Could you cut your commute time by leaving earlier to avoid traffic, and perhaps leaving school later to do the same? Could you commute by bus/train? I think an hour twenty is a bit much, especially if you are driving yourself and can't use the time to study. I don't have much of a commute time to my undergrad surprisingly, but I may have more of one in grad school, so I would likely leave very early (530am) to avoid traffic and get decent parking, or I might use public transportation so I can study on the way.

Don't forget that the sticker price of a school may be very deceiving! It's good to research schools to assess their capacity for funding - many students have turned down "cheaper" programs for more expensive ones that offered assistantships/TA positions/GTFs. Also some out-of-state schools offer in-state tuition for various reasons. WGRP is one such program: http://www.wiche.edu/wrgp ?

They don't know, because you only send the set of scores that you specifically choose to CSDCAS. Just make sure NOT to select the sending scores option to the schools each time you actually sit down and take the GRE. If you do that, they will know.

I would say yes, unless your boss for the camp has some really impressive credentials that have something to do with our field. Yes, you will gain experience with kids, but most if not all applicants have this already. Your shadowing the SLP speaks more to your interest in the field, especially if you got to help in therapy sessions, etc.

I asked all of my professors via email, didn't have my GRE yet or SOP. They asked for a bio from me highlighting things that they didn't already know, and that was that! Good luck to you!

Personally I would ask #1 and #2. At least that way if your Psych professor couldn't do it you will have a back up. She must think highly of you otherwise I imagine you wouldn't be involved in her research, right? I think she likely has more relevant info about you than the others, and would be well-received by the letter of rec readers.