MBSLP

Also, another reply pointed out something great. If you live in a state such as California or Texas that has a sufficient amount of Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant jobs, you can get licensed after undergrad (just look up what additional requirements you need to meet) and work as an SLPA in a school or clinic. They make decent money too! Unfortunately I live in Washington and SLPA jobs are very scarce here.

It's great that you're looking for advice so here's my two cents: Most graduate schools have a 3.0 minimum GPA, but depending on the school that can be a 3.0 overall, 3.0 in the last 90 credits, or 3.0 in the last 60 credits. Some schools do conditional admission so if you don't meet the 3.0 cutoff, they can admit you with provisional conditions such as meeting a certain GPA within your first semester or you'll be dropped from the program. They will only do this though if you have stand out aspects of your application that show you are promising. I think the most important thing you can do is be realistic... if you're feeling like the core requirements for your major are too difficult and you're just passing, graduate school may not be a good idea since most graduate schools require their students to earn a minimum of a 3.0 in their classes. Many graduate schools will see a low major GPA as a red flag. There are quite a few schools who require a 3.5 MAJOR GPA, 3.2 major GPA, or at least a 3.0 major GPA. As for me, I will have a 3.5 overall GPA, 3.5 in the last 60 credits, 3.3 in the last 90 credits and a 3.2 in the major. Depending on the school, there are multiple aspects that they're looking at in your GPA. The unfortunate reality for this career path is that a decent GPA doesn't cut it since there are way too many applicants for the number of spots in graduate programs. I have a decent GPA for grad school in general, but with SLP grad school.... I have days where I feel like I won't get in anywhere when I apply. If you REALLY want to pursue SLP I recommend a few things: Retake the major classes you got below a B- in. I know this sounds terrible, but I had to really think about retaking one of my major classes and doing so would really help me with my chances for grad school admission so I'm biting the bullet and doing it. If you're really struggling with these classes, but you still want to be in the major, get help! Get lots of help! Study groups, office hours, extra online research on what you're studying, etc. Seriously! Some of these classes come naturally to others, but some of us have to put a lot of work in to do well. Be willing to do the extra work! Do lots of volunteer work related to the SLP field. It's as easy as signing up for Volunteermatch.com and looking through the list of volunteer opportunities. I personally chose to look through opportunities involving disabilities and senior citizens. If anything, volunteer in your department such as with NSSLHA. If your department has a speech and hearing clinic and you can sign up for observations, I HIGHLY recommend doing that. You need to have 25 observations hours by the end of your major anyway, but the more the better. If your class is focusing on stuttering, sign up for a fluency session. If your class is focusing on aphasia or apraxia, sign up for a neuro session. That way you can study the books and see a real therapy session using that information. Make sure the clinical supervisor signs your observation sheet at the end of the session so you get credit for it. Check in with yourself. Am I doing well on my tests/assignments? if not, why? Am I putting sufficient study hours in every day? Am I going to class every day? Am I taking good notes? Is my study time actually productive? (Not checking facebook periodically and texting). Are my study strategies helping me or hurting me? If you're taking a full load of credits (15 credits), you should be putting in five study hours per day for six days out of the week. I go to University of Washington and this is what is recommended by academic counseling. Structure your study time and be accountable. Most importantly, stay positive. You will feel inadequate at times and it really sucks. All of us feel like that at some point. What you have going for you though is that you're still a sophomore. You have time to fix a few mistakes and utilize the years left you have in your undergrad to get your GPA up and prove what you can do! This probably won't be the last time you may have a bad test score after endless hours of studying. But if you're determined, your academics will slowly improve and you will learn a lot about how far you can push yourself. Celebrate your successes. Did you do well on a pop quiz? Be proud. Did you go to class every day of the week? Be proud. Did you get a B+ on your test? Be proud! And when you fall short, have a good cry if you need, then pick yourself right back up and keep moving forward with new knowledge about what doesn't work. If you really want this, you CAN do it!

Does anyone have experience with WWU? I know that tons of people in Washington apply to it as a "safety school", but my advisor said that they're pretty suspicious about who actually wants to attend their program and who is just applying because they think it's less competitive. My fiance currently attends WWU so I'm in Bellingham quite a bit and I LOVE it. It's definitely my top choice, but I don't think I'm super competitive with my grades. I'll have a 3.5 overall, 3.3 last 90 credits, and a 3.2 major GPA. Yikes, right? My first year in the program was really difficult because of some medical challenges and circumstantial difficulties. I was always really motivated to learn the information, but getting to class was physically challenging. Well I have good volunteer experience that has really shaped my love for the field such as serving on a team a few times (3 weeks at a time) in the Philippines for the International Deaf Education Association, I'm going on 5 years as a counselor/adaptive arts and crafts leader at a camp for kids with physical disabilities, tutoring in phonetics/conversation partner for non-native speakers, free support tutor for kids with special needs, past fundraiser for Autism Awareness, volunteer time with Full Life for developmentally delayed adults, and a few other things here and there. I have yet to take the GRE, but I'm not too worried about that. I guess I just get anxious about my GPA, and it doesn't help that I can't really find very much information on Western besides ASHA's EDU find. One minute I'm like, "Yeah, I'll get into grad school. Don't stress!" then the next I'm like, "OMG OMG OMG I've ruined my life, I'll never get in!" Seems like the common internal dialogue in this major