mimblewimble

I went to open houses only after I was accepted to schools; however, I ran into two problems by doing this that could've been avoided by visiting beforehand: 1) For schools that notified later (late March/early April) and were far away from me, it was much harder to visit because the April 15 decision deadline was so close. 2) When I visited some schools after I was accepted, I realized were not a very good fit in the first place for me. My application list may have looked different had I visited beforehand. That being said, as far as acceptances go, it is not crucial to attend. I would argue though that if you can, it is worth attending an open house for personal reasons. For example, if you have a school far away that you are very interested in and know they notify students late (check the results search on this forum), attend the open house prior to applying. That way you can personalize your statement better and do not have to worry about cramming in a visit if you are accepted. Hope this helps!

Hi guys! Just popping in to re-post this here so people are aware of the rules (mainly not posting requests, please!) in case anyone misses it on the first page

Something also to consider: you need to send all transcripts, so the more places, the more transcripts, the higher probability of a problem. I wouldn't say this is a major concern, but sometimes those transcripts can get lost in the process (this would be something out of your hands, but nonetheless still frustrating if it happens).

On the East Coast, I received funding from JMU (GA position and tuition remission) and Radford (GA position). I also received a GA position from Loyola, but it was not enough to offset any major costs. West Chester also provides 8-10 students funding through GA positions for 10 hours per week in the department, but they do not notify you until after you would accept your offer of admission. You can also seek GA positions elsewhere at West Chester if not awarded one in the department.

Awesome. Thanks so much again!

Thanks, Chandru1! 1. Did they talk about how the schedule works? i.e. seeing clients in the clinic at the same time as getting your academic education? 2. How did the relationship between faculty and students seem? How about students in the cohort, are they close? 3. In doing your externships, if doing one in Hawaii for example, do you have to a) find it and apply yourself? and b ) need to return to Redlands at all for classes or exams? I'm confused how this would work. I appreciate your help. You rock!

@Chandru1 - I will probably not have time to get out to see Redlands because it is so far away from where I live. Since you went to the info session, could you possibly share some details (either here or PM)? I am seriously considering this school. Thanks!

Hi guys, I declined their offer of admisson recently, so hopefully this helps some of you out! Good luck!

Thanks, MonicaSLP!

I am starting to make some decisions and trying to respond as early as possible to help others on wait lists, but does anyone know the proper etiquette or way to phrase an email declining admission? Thanks! Best of luck to everyone

I just use my trusted (and old) L.L. Bean backpack! Although I'm more of a fan of comfort than fashion.

I was just at the open house! When you accept your offer of admission, they invite you to the Facebook page. You will also be receiving information about orientation and everything else through an email in July.

Hey, I think it's great that you are starting early! Definitely don't discredit the experiences you could have in the future that could change the course your statement I think my two cents would be: a ) Think about the essay prompts: why you want to be a speech pathologist, what your skill set/experiences are that you can bring to the field, and why you want to go to that specific school. Think about this as you continue to go through these next few years. b ) Write around cliches; make them original. Many people will have stories where either they, a sibling, or family member had speech therapy and will be writing about that. That doesn't mean avoid it completely, but think about how you can present it in a refreshing, clear, concise way, because the committee sees a lot of the same essays. Along the same lines, consider other experiences/leadership positions/activities outside of speech or NSSLHA. Surprisingly, many of these experiences can directly relate to speech and they generally are not as universally shared "When I was little..." speech essay/experience. c ) Remember it's not an undergraduate college essay, where they can be creative and very open, but a strong statement. I did include a short anecdote in my essay, but the anecdote had a clear purpose (e.g. gaining perspective of the field, highlighting applicable experience) and then transitioned for the rest of the essay into a straight up "this is what I can offer and what I want to do" format. d ) I had a few ideas running around in my mind like you; try outlining all of them and go from there That might make your decision easier/help be able to see the strengths and weaknesses of each potential statement. e) Have a professor or professional/career adviser read it! Hope this helps!

It looks like people stay for a few hours longer at the Open House to take a tour of the whole campus, ask questions, and explore the area/housing options.

Thanks! I applied for the on campus program.