phaedra
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Posts posted by phaedra
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Personally, that would concern me. I would look at the number of students total that didn't graduate, whether it was a big batch one year or if there are consistently 3+ students failing to finish every year, etc. Definitely see what they have to say at the open house. While I do think that there are probably situations (family emergency, illness, etc) that a school can do little to prevent in terms of certain students failing to complete the program, a consistent number of students not finishing would be a red (or strong yellow) flag for me.
For the past 3 years, the graduation rate has been 81%, 82%, and 86% respectively... so it's a consistent number of people each year.
So yeah, seems like a red flag - thanks for sharing your opinion. -
First of all congrats on getting into the 2 programs @rickthesheriff and @phaedra! I just want to put my 2 cents in about grad programs/ schools in general. There is this big misconception that one program is better than the other or one program will get you better hospital jobs after school, etc. These are all just myths... every program is required to teach certain classes by ASHA and every program requires the ASHA 400 clock hours and every program has both a school and medical internship or externship for the most part. Unless it is a specific medical SLP like the school in Washington offers or some schools that are specifically only medical SLP geared, then they are pretty much all the same. Any SLP grad degree will get you a job in whatever setting you would like after grad school.
That being said, the choice is yours and for the most part I believe you have your minds made up but just wanted some feedback and to feel good about the way you are leaning. If your minds are not made up and you truly have no biases towards a program or school or city..... then...
Go to the cheaper school! It's a no brainer.
twinguy7, thank you for your insight! I know hospital SLP jobs are supposed to be pretty competitive... What do you think helps an SLP get this kind of job if the school doesn't really matter? Does it come down to personal characteristics and networking? I have always thought I wanted to be an elementary school SLP, but I have never shadowed an SLP in the hospital setting, so I think I could change my mind.
Another question, if you or anyone else has any thoughts - one of my possible schools only has an average Master's graduation rate of 85% or so over the past 3 years. All the other schools I've looked at have 100% or close to it. Do you think this is concerning? Is it a reflection on the students' personal circumstances or on the program itself? I plan to ask the school directly at the open house but wondering if anyone has thoughts.
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Congratulations to everyone!!! I just received the call a couple of hours ago and was offered a 50% tuition scholarship, worth $40,000 total over the two years - I'm beyond excited! Definitely my top choice now. The professor who called me said she was in charge of calling all scholarship recipients. The admitted students day is 3/28, and I will definitely be attending.
Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back! Looking at the results from last year, they called over a span of three days, so there's still time.
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Out of your two schools, I would definitely go with school B. 15-20 hours a week sounds like A LOT on top of clinical placements and classes. I don't know how manageable that would be. Plus you get 100% of tuition covered as opposed to 85%. Since you don't prefer school A *that* much more, I'd go with school B. Probably even over your dream schools if you get in, as you said you are already in debt.
I think it's also important to consider what area you think you want to go into. If you want to be a hospital SLP, I think the program you attend is more important, as those jobs are very competitive. If you want to be a school based or SNF SLP, I think you can choose any program and you'll be fine.
Right now I have one school that will cost $15,000 total for tuition, and another that will be $65,000 total and is considered better. Plus the cost of living would be lower at the first school. I need to visit both and hear back from other schools before I make my decision, but it's already weighing in my mind...
Good luck with your decision!
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I have a question for everyone. If I already submitted an application and had an interview for a school, but have received two grades since then (A's) should I try to submit my updated grades (and hopefully help my chances with a raised GPA) or is it too late for that? I'm contemplating asking an advisor but I don't want to bother them if this is a dumb question. Thanks!
I would say don't send them. At this point most schools are far along in the decision making process and I think it's too late. I don't think 2 As could raise your GPA enough for it to be worth it. You run the risk of bothering the school. That's just my opinion though, I don't think it'll be he end of the world if you do send them.
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I have been anxiously awaiting to hear from grad schools and heard from my first one today. I applied to 6 schools and was rejected by an in state University. I have a 3.8 overall GPA, am in the top 9% of my graduating class, have a 4.0 in CSD and my minor (French), and made a 308 on the GRE (and 4.5 in the writing, 80th percentile rank). I thought that I had a competitive application, but was not even chosen for the waitlist for this school. I am genuinely concerned and nervous for what is going to happen with other schools. Is anyone else as surprised as I am by this? Not a good way to start things off..I have so many questions?
Well what school was it? It depends on the school, some are super competitive and I have seen people with similar stats as you get rejected from schools. My stats are pretty high (you can see below), and I just got waitlisted at a school that accepted people with lower stats, including some much lower GRE scores. But there are multiple parts to an application and obviously other people's must have been stronger than mine... You can try to go over every part of your application in your head to figure out what was worse than other people's (I already have) but honestly you'll just never know.
You still have five other schools to hear from, so I know it's nervewracking, but try not to worry yet... As long as you applied to some less competitive schools, I think your stats are definitely good enough to get you into at least one! Good luck!
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I checked the portal today and got accepted!They sent email to me as well ! my first acceptance! so excited!!!!! Hope you all get good news soon!
Still nothing for me... I'm kind of assuming if I haven't heard by now it's a wait list/rejection... but congratulations to you!!
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As soon as I said that I found out I was waitlisted.
:( Sucks cause it's such a good program, but at least I have other choices now. I doubt I will keep myself on the waitlist for long because I'm assuming those wailisted would not get scholarships, and it's too expensive otherwise. Congrats to everyone else. -
Just got an email acceptance 20 mins ago! Woohoo! Good luck all, hope you get good news today!!
That's so exciting, congratulations! I hope to hear the same soon...
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This may be a long shot, but has anyone else been accepted to Worcester State? I was just accepted today and am super excited! Especially because of the tuition... by my calculations it's only $15,000 total for the two years which seems too good to be true (I'm in-state, but I can't find an out-of-state graduate tuition listed anyway).
However, it is the lowest-ranked program on my list, so not sure if it has any downsides compared to other schools. If anyone has any insights please let me know! I will definitely be attending the open house.
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Also, there is a rotation for the placements in Boston for all four programs. Each program has just as many students in hospitals and schools within the Boston area. The necessity for a car is just a precaution, since many of the school placements will not be accessible via public transportation. This information was explained by Dr. O'Neil at the recent Open House.
Thank you for clarifying!! I did not go to the open house so it is good to get that information.
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Also, phaedra- I'm surprised to hear that NU students would get preference for placements over students in other Boston programs. My feeling was (similar to yours) that NU was the lowest ranked of the 4 and not as highly esteemed. Obviously this could be wrong, but that's just the impression I've gotten from this forum.
Someone in a past thread also mentioned that NU is the only Boston school that requires students to have a car for placements. I was also pretty surprised to hear that so my gut says it's not true (not that they would specifically lie, but they're probably not calculating things right). I think one reason why the other schools get more applications (which may contribute to the high ranking/esteem) is that they are all on CSDCAS and Northeastern is not. I think some people apply solely to CSDCAS programs.
I've also seen that about the necessity of a car. My guess as to why is because if they are truly not as good as the other schools, they can't compete with them to give their students as many placements in Boston, so they have to send them further out of the city. Or, it could be possible that they're just covering all the bases, and most students get all their placements in Boston, but they're saying that just in case.
I don't know if you are from the area, but even though it's not as highly esteemed as the others in speech, I find that Northeastern in general is viewed as an excellent school by people around here.
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anybody heard recently?
Nope
and haven't seen anything on the results page since Thursday. I'm hoping this afternoon... -
Got my letter today.
I don't think you need to complete the science prereqs before matriculation, only the speech ones according to their website, but I'd contact them to make sure! I think you can do the hours once in the program but again I'm not really sure. Their website isn't the most detailed.
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Yes, I can post about Northeastern after I visit it for you and others visiting this forum!
I didn't get my acceptance online until 2/24 so hopefully that is why the letter is being slow in arriving. Mine is also "conditional," I'm assuming because I'm not graduating from undergrad until the spring.
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Hi Kathleen,
I'm going to PM you about contacting the grad student.
I also was at the interviews for BU and Emerson so couldn't attend the Northeastern open house. In their email they said they'd be hosting another one March 14th, which I'll probably go to, but looking on their website I'm not sure how SLP-specific it is.
I know Emerson has sent out some acceptances already, but hopefully there will be more coming out this week!
Did you receive the Northeastern letter in the mail yet? If so could you tell me what it says? I've only gotten the one online. Thanks!
To make your "signature" (stats at the bottom of your post), assuming you're on a desktop, click on your username on the top right of the screen, then the black box on the right that says "edit my profile," then "signature" on the left.
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Anybody have thoughts about open houses and whether to go, how to make decisions if you can't visit all the programs?
I plan to go to any open houses that I can, but it's easier for me because I live relatively near all my schools. I'm also considering looking on school's websites (lab pages in particular list members of the labs, some of which include Master's students) to find students I can email to ask about the programs. I don't want to be annoying though!
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I'm not entering grad school until the fall, but my opinion is any linguistics class, or psychology or cognitive science class related to language. I think having a deeper scientific understanding of language is really important. I've also taken a couple classes in children's cognitive development that I've found really cool and will be helpful knowledge to have when working with kids.
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RMott,
I may be wrong, but I don't think there is actually that much emphasis placed on extracurriculars. Several of my schools didn't even ask for resumes (though I sent them anyway). Many schools seem to go mostly by the numbers, which you seem to be all set with. Though I was super paranoid with my extracurriculars and tried to fit a million research/childcare/language things in just in case.
I think some exposure to the field is necessary to help you write your statement of purpose, because schools seem to value that. If you have nothing to back up why you want to be in the field, your SOP likely won't be as strong. Right now your extracurriculars seem to be about average, maybe a little weak on the volunteering side. I would do more teaching/tutoring/childcare if you're interested in the school-based or EI side of SLP. Or get some volunteering in a hospital if you're interested in medical.
You don't say whether you've actually done the research you've presented at conferences, though I'm assuming you did, and if so, that is great! (assuming it's in psychology, English is less relevant). I focused on writing about my undergrad honors thesis in my SOP and the fact that I'd done independent research as an undergrad was favorably commented on in one of my interviews.
I know my response was a little contradictory, mainly because I guess I don't really know how important it is! I think you should use this summer to add a really good job/volunteering/research experience to your resume. In addition, maybe take a couple classes to get some prereqs out of the way and show you have some knowledge about/commitment to the field (online ones through Utah State are really good and cheap. But given your GPA, you'll probably be just fine whatever you decide to do!
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I did not attend the open house, but was accepted and got in touch with a current Master's student via a mutual acquaintance to ask her some questions. Overall, she was very positive about the program. She said the classroom and clinic facilities are very nice, recently updated. In her opinion, the biggest strength of the program is the clinical experiences. She loves the program director, Dr. O'Neil; finds her to be very friendly and supportive. She also thinks the placement coordinator, Susan Fine is great and says she takes students' preferences into account when assigning them placements.
Some details she gave about the clinical placements: those without the ComD background (half of the 40 students in each class) take a clinical procedures course in the fall and start clinic in the spring. Those with the background participate in a Language Literacy Program at a local elementary school (or preschool? can't remember) as well as on campus clinic in the fall and then a school-based placement in the spring. She really loves the clinical placements.
She said (though I would take this with a grain of salt as I think every school is naturally biased toward themselves) that the placement coordinator said that Northeastern students are tops for placement interviews: the Northeastern student will get a placement 90% of the time over someone from another Boston school.
I asked specifically if she thought the program had any weaknesses, and she said that some of the professors are more focused on their own research than on teaching, but she still thinks she is getting a great educational experience.
I'm still waiting to hear from a lot of places but I'm strongly considering Northeastern. I don't know if I'm accepted at the other Boston schools, but I wonder why they (MGH, BU, Emerson) are all seen as better (ranks in the 20s vs. Northeastern's rank #52, and people on here seem more interested in them). If anyone as any insight into this I'd appreciate it. Northeastern seems like an excellent school regardless.
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Oh yeah I did...I applied to Western Michigan University and got accepted, but about a week before I was accepted I got an email from the Office of Graduate admissions reminding me my application was incomplete. I wasn't bothered by this, since a few schools who use CSDCAS and have you submit their own graduate application at the time of initial application say that their graduate school might say you have an incomplete app when it's not.
I don't know how I missed it, but turns out, they require you to submit official transcripts to their office of graduate admissions at the time of application. And I hadn't. I checked the department page and yep, indeed it said something like "Official transcripts need to be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions before January 15th." I was panicking and emailed the department, and thought for sure it would hurt my application. They told me it should be okay to send them still, even though they were over a month late. WMU uses CSDCAS and they have their own application where you submit unofficial transcripts, so it still seems weird to me they'd want official transcripts at the application stage, but I was convinced I had ruined my chances at admission!
Nice to hear you still got accepted! I applied to 10 schools and they all had such different procedures. Most annoying is when you have to send the same item separately to the Communication Disorders department and the general grad school; it gets hard to keep track. One school even required me to pay the CSDCAS app fee AND their own grad school app fee...
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Just for kicks, did anyone else do something really stupid on an application? Or am I the only one? Haha. For University of Connecticut, the instructions explicitly say "Observation hours are NOT to be submitted as part of your application." I swear I read the instructions ten times, but apparently did not notice this and uploaded my signed observation hours form, thinking it would add to my application! No idea why they are so adamant about not submitting it, or whether it'll jeopardize my chances. I can laugh about it now that I've already gotten in elsewhere, but if I'd realized I'd done this sooner, I would be stressing out right now!
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I still haven't heard anything from Northeastern..
I don't know if you've been checking the results page as religiously as I have, but didn't all go out on the same day... They started lastt Friday but I didn't get mine until Tuesday. I can't see how you wouldn't get in with your stats. I am in the same boat, but vice-versa, with Emerson... No word yet.
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Mohammadsalehiyan, you'd find better luck in another forum for engineering, this one is just for speech-language pathology!
- bindlestiff and Shayy_Dee
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cheaper program vs. better program
in Speech-Language Pathology Forum
Posted
Thanks for the support everyone! I guess it's a bigger deal than I thought. I don't know how I missed this when I was researching where to apply. This is Worcester State for anyone who can't guess based off my signature, haha. I am wondering if the explanation is that these students finished the program later than expected, rather than just dropping out. Some schools include those students separately when they list their stats, but Worcester didn't have a column for that. The Praxis pass rates and employment rates are all spot-on, 100%.
What I also find strange is that the program is super-competitive numbers-wise, accepting only around 16% of people. So they get a fair number of applicants. Probably because it's super inexpensive. But I have not been able to find any chatter about it on here. Where are all the Worcester applicants??
I will report on what I here from the open house, for those who are curious and for any prospective applicants reading this forum.