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SLPgradstudent

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Everything posted by SLPgradstudent

  1. What's going on Maryland? Seriously, don't you know it's April?
  2. Congratulations @gingin6789 and everyone else who has made their final decisions! Isn't it a great feeling?
  3. Having worked in this type of setting, I agree 1000%. ABA works, but it's hard work.
  4. We have 2 cats, although one still acts like a kitten. We're not moving (yay!) for me to go to grad school, so it's a non-issue for us. I would add though, cats can be destructive too. Our "kitten" (2+ years old now) likes to chew on everything and anything he can and generally likes to knock things over. Probably still not as big of a problem as some dogs, but it's not a given that cats will be behavior free. I love our kitties though, and wouldn't give them up for anything! Great stress reliever.
  5. That's how I felt about it, but then again, I only applied to 2 schools. I knew going into the application process where I most wanted to go. I put the most time, energy, and consideration into that application, and it seems to have paid off.
  6. See, as far as I know, no one has received funding decisions yet for my program. At least that's the impression I was under, given the information provided in the various emails since I was accepted. We'll see, I guess!
  7. I wish I knew the answer to this. I really hope that accepting an offer before funding decisions doesn't affect the chances being offered funding. That seems unethical if you ask me. But whether or not this is in fact what actually happens, I have no idea. I would be curious to hear other's opinions though.
  8. Me too! University of Maryland! It was my top choice, and I only applied there and one other school (which was more expensive), so I didn't see any reason to wait. I'm still waiting to hear about funding, but hopefully that will come soon. Even if I'd gotten off the waitlist for my 2nd choice school, it would still have been much more expensive than UMD, even unfunded, so there was no reason to hold off. I'm a little surprised that more people haven't committed already, but I guess some people have to wait to see what they can afford.
  9. First of all, you are not too old to be entering this field. I am 29, turning 30 this year, and I'll be starting in the fall. So I've got a few years on you. Also, a lot of the people I did my 2nd bachelor's with are switching careers, have families, are in their 30s, 40s, or even 50s. If this is what you love, what you really want to do, then don't give up. Also, my stats are in my signature, I don't have a stellar cumulative GPA either. I agree with @Rorororosy & @SLPCeli, you're a competitive candidate with a good shot of getting in. If you don't get in this year for some reason, I would give it at least one more round of applications. Take a GRE prep class, spend the year boosting the aspects of your application that you aren't satisfied with yet. Also, I worked at a therapeutic riding camp too!
  10. This is the advice I have heard over and over again. I was pretty surprised when I saw on ASHA's website that some PhD offers are NOT funded. @esopha, agreed. If I were to do a PhD someday, it would be after getting my MA and then some clinical experience. At this point in my life, I don't think a 6-7 year combined MA/PhD makes sense for me. But the thesis option is certainly something to consider as we pursue our MA, if PhD might be in our futures.
  11. Great idea @esopha! There should absolutely be a program forgiving student loans of people who become professors. @racoomelon, I think that some people doing PhD's in SLP get funding, but not all. If you look at ASHA for any given school, it will say how many of their PhD spots are funded. Although I don't know how many years would be funded, out of the potential 4-7+ it generally takes to complete a PhD. It's expensive to run SLP graduate programs, so it doesn't really surprise me that some PhD students can't be funded. Sad though, when it seems like almost every other field funds their PhD students as a matter of practice.
  12. Great post @MangoSmoothie! This is exactly the information I was looking for, but couldn't find. It does seem like a big part of the problem is the shortage of PhDs in the field. The reasons for that are many, but it needs to be addressed regardless.
  13. I'm referring to GAs specifically (TAs fall under that). I know people are waiting for information about multiple sources of financial aid though, including FAFSA, scholarships, etc. I'm not expecting to get a scholarship, since they seem few and far between, but a GA would be great. I'd like to avoid taking out loans if possible. Yeah, so basically what @racoomelon said!
  14. It feels amazing! I wish everyone could have this experience, I really do. I was scared I wouldn't get in anywhere, because I could only apply to 2 schools this cycle. It was a huge relief to get in. Even better that I got into my top choice!
  15. Has anyone gotten funding information yet? When do you expect to hear something back? All I've gotten so far is the MCPS scholarship application. I hope we hear back this week!
  16. I'm going to UMD! GWU is a wonderful program, but more expensive than UMD since I have in-state tuition. I accepted my offer to UMD right away. It's my dream school, and I am so excited to start this fall!
  17. I'm really hoping that we'll hear back about funding this week! It doesn't affect my decision, but I know a lot of people won't be able to make a decision until they know what the funding offer is. I hope you get a great funding package from Dallas so you can have an easy decision!
  18. Congratulations @BamaBelle!!! Do you know where you are going to go yet?
  19. I'm really excited that we've actually engaged in a conversation about this! I'm proud of us too. Nursing is a field that seems comparable to SLP in terms of the shortage. Not surprising, given that the demand for both fields is increasing in part due to the aging baby boomer population. We definitely do not want to lower the standard of the education or the care we provide. But I think that it is possible to increase the number of people entering the field who are well qualified. There are people who apply to grad programs every year that the schools know are well qualified, but they just don't have enough spots. These are the people that we need to get into the field somehow. I think there's a long way to go between the current shortage and over-saturation. I mean we can at least find a way to get more people into the teaching side of things. 28% of full-time faculty positions unfilled? That's over a quarter. We gotta do something.
  20. You make a good point @Jolie717. But I think we're far from becoming oversaturated. It's nice for us now, since we've gotten into grad school and are on the way to those widely available jobs. But I've heard many stories about way too heavy caseloads, and I think it's important to consider the needs of the populations we serve. If they don't have access to services because there weren't enough SLPs to hire one for that area, they miss out. Don't you think that's unfair to that child, or that stroke patient, etc.? I think we can find a balance, and there's a way to let more SLPs enter the field without becoming completely oversaturated. Because of the circumstances that have created this problem, I think we're a long ways off from creating the opposite problem. There are too many factors involved. What do you think?
  21. Yes, part of the problem is certainly the small number of SLP programs. And I'm not talking about teaching undergrad/pre-reqs, I'm talking about teaching at the graduate level. To my knowledge, many graduate programs require their professors to be PhD level researchers, in addition to teaching (see above article). You can also read more on ASHA's website: http://www.asha.org/Students/faq-pursuing-phd/#1 http://www.asha.org/Students/Planning-Your-Education-in-CSD/ I can't actually find anything that says that professors must have a PhD, but that's the sense that I get. If you want to teach at the graduate level, you have to have a PhD. And you often can't just teach, you also have to be a researcher. That's not by any means unique to the field of speech pathology, but it is a problem for the field, due to the shortage of SLPs currently.
  22. Haha! $1000? Try $1500 for a 1BR in the DC area (not including utilities). Cost of living (and housing) definitely varies dramatically depending on what part of the country you're in. Coasts are going to be much more expensive, generally than anywhere in between. And cities are generally more than rural areas. But at least the pay is a little higher to compensate generally.
  23. @racoomelon, this is not a new problem. There a too few grad school spots to fill the current need for speech pathologists. Part of the problem has to do with the shortage of professors, but another aspect is the clinical placements available. Mostly, SLP's are supervised in a one-to-one model, which means the supervising SLP is only teaching one grad student at a time. Also, the professors who are already teaching often are "mostly a researcher, but teach some too." Not to mention that it takes at least 4-7 years to complete the doctorate generally required of professors, without any pay compensation for the extra time spent in school. And yes, @EESpeechie, they often don't pay as well as other SLP opportunities. About 28% of full-time faculty openings go unfilled. This is a systemic problem, not just something a few schools are struggling with. So that horrendous and obscenely competitive application process we all just went through? Yeah, that's basically why.
  24. Per my previous post: https://slpecho.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/just-open-more-slp-programs-ok/
  25. It's crazy how every year, grad school entrance is so insanely competitive and schools know that, and yet, the next year, they're overwhelmed/unprepared by how many applications they receive. This year doesn't seem to be the exception, it seems to be the trend. I think we should all commit, once we're all SLPs, to working to solve this problem we have of such a tiny bottleneck, for such an important field. The need exists, the jobs exist, the grad school spots do not. If we don't change things, who will, right? (Or is this just my lack of sleep talking?)
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