Lyra1960

I went to USU and did a 2nd BS and also got into the University of Iowa and several other schools. It's entirely possible that some individual professors and departments look down on certain programs, but I think that is also not unique to online schools. I know that locally, some undergrad programs have better and worse reputations than others and you'd be surprised which ones, it doesn't always correlate to rank/format. I think it's also really important to remember to consider how your 1st undergrad looks. I'm pretty sure that that is what got me into grad school not my 2nd BS which just allowed me to be qualified to enter as a first year grad student. If you have a very strong overall profile, I doubt just going to USU alone would immediately bar you from entry. However, if everything is a little mediocre, it's probably valuable information to know so that you can carefully consider if you really want to apply to it. In terms of preparation, I'm just finishing up my second year and feel well prepared compared to my fellow classmates. First off, almost everyone has no idea what to do when clinic starts unless she is an exception and have been doing something prior like teaching preschool for five years. Sure, in some areas, others are more knowledgeable, and in others areas I am because I just took the courses and it has been close to three years since my fellow classmates took it. I hope that helps a little.

You should contact the USU COMD department first to find out if it is possible. It might be completely possible to set up, but also it might not be. Sometimes courses listed as independent study can be misleading and are specifically designated for a particular situation in mind (ie thesis credits or research credits). I'd recommend checking first.

I agree it is ethically questionable to say yes to two schools fully knowing that you will not go to one. However, I don't think it is at all unethical to say yes to one school and then find out you got off a waitlist and tell the original school you are not going. Also, if you "say yes" and do not give a deposit (when required) the school simple will not consider it an official yes and will not hold your spot. I do not think it is right to say yes to two school that do not require a deposit for the sole reason that you cannot make up your mind before the deadline. At some point you will have to and it's not fair to other students. However, I do think that everyone has the right to take up to the deadline to decide. It is courteous to turn down a school when you know for sure that you will not accept the offer before the deadline, but if you are really not sure, I think you deserve all the time up to the deadline to make an informed decision without feeling pressured from either the school or other students.

Speaking from experience with one school, I think the worst that can really happen is that you lose the deposit. If you say yes and don't give a deposit when one is required most likely when the deposit is due the school will just look to see who has sent in the money and if you have said yes but not given any money, they will give your seat away. Departments understand this happens all the time and really don't think too much about it. They expect a number of people who say yes to back out even right up to the first day of class, hence the deposit. If you decide not to go and have given money, you're just out of luck with getting your money back. Can't speak for every single school, but in general, I think this is what happens. If you are really worried, I'd just call the school and ask for clarification on their policies. Don't be shy, it's a legitimate question, and I doubt programs would be offended. You don't even have to state your name, just say I am an accepted student and was wondering about you policy on...

I don't think so, but you should double check with your graduate program. Here is what ASHA posts and it says nothing about a lab. http://www.asha.org/Certification/2014-Speech-Language-Pathology-Certification-Standards/#Standard_IV http://www.asha.org/Certification/Course-Content-Areas-for-SLP-Standards/ Here is an example from a school on what they consider to meet the standards which specifically states they do not require a lab to consider that the requirement is met. http://web.csulb.edu/colleges/chhs/departments/communicative-disorders/documents/StandardIV-AChangesandDeparmentRegulationsPDF.pdf ASHA ultimately grants your Cs but it is the graduate school who tells ASHA that you have met the requirements so it's really up to them and specific schools might vary in what they accept. For example this school states that it accepts AP credit for statistics, and I know that the school I am attending does not. So it's best to take each school on a case by case basis.

BIO 1010. Funny the COMD dept actually recommends it on their website for students to take, but I have found from personal experience that the COMD adviser for undergrads gives okay advice sometimes and very bad advice others. I double checked with my grad school and they said it would be accepted. If in doubt, I would double check with your graduate school since they are in charge of signing off on the ASHA requirement when you go to apply for your Cs, and USU really has nothing to do with it. Hope that helps!

I'm taking an online one at USU. It doesn't have a lab, but I was told it meets the ASHA requirements.

Agreed, not all programs are the same, but they do meet (haha or claim to meet during site visits) basic requirements. One example would be the number of clinical hours provided. ASHA requires 400 (25 obs and 375 clinical) hours. I know one very low ranked program (relative is a prof there) which can sometimes struggle to give students enough clinical hours (but they always manage to do so in the end) while many programs go well over (500-600 hours). This is NOT at all to say that every lower ranked program has trouble giving its students clinic time. Just one example of the point above. Another example of how programs differ could be how how supervises you on off site locations. Some schools have their own people supervise and some have the people at the site you are going do the supervision. I'm not arguing that there is direct correlation to such factors and ranking, but sometimes things like these can indirectly trickle down an impact opinion which is really all that the rankings seem to boil down to. I think its safe to say the rankings can mean something but not necessarily something good, bad, or even accurate. At the end of the day, any program that will lead to your C's should get you a job, so if that is ALL that you care about then they absolutely do not matter. However, when choosing a program they might be able to help you better approach how to ask questions relating to how much you will like the program/ how well you will fit in. For example, if a program is highly ranked then you know there is a higher probability it is more researched based and can ask about this aspect. If you like research this is great, but if you don't, you might be both more happy and successful at another program that is lower ranked.So, I think the rankings can be helpful not in telling you what program is better or worse, but by simple giving you a starting point from which you can delve deeper into a program to see if it is a good fit for your personally/learning style/personal goals within the SLP field. The one exception to this is indeed if you are thinking about pursuing a PhD. High rankings do tend to mean more research is being done and encouraged in students. Also, the academic world is vain and ranking (whether or not they should) matter. I think its worth noting too that at the graduate level, the overall school rankings / prestige mean pretty much nothing and are definitely weighed less in the field's eyes than program rankings. For example, if you are planning to pursue your PhD and you get into Columbia University and the University of Iowa, definitely go to Iowa unless there is some very very powerful outside factor drawing you away. And purely statistically, some very low programs can be much harder to get into due to numbers. For example, I applied to a higher ranked school which got around 250 apps and a local school with a much lower ranking had over 500 and both were looking for roughly the same class size. Of course you cannot calculate your odds based on number of apps and admits alone; you need factor in the strength of your own application. The overall types of applications received by the programs makes program competitiveness hard to compare among each other. However, no program is a safe bet these day, and I'm sure programs from number 1 to the bottom all admit some truly exceptional students. Hope that helps and I haven't ruffled too many feathers.

I visited. It was nice but too pricey for me. It's private, so in state and out of state tuition should be about the same unless I am mistaken. If you search northeastern in the search bar you can probably find a bunch of topics/comments relating to it. Also, I wouldn't let fear of moving to a different area hold me back. It's good to be practical (ie how will I acclimate to a new area given certain factors/ do I like cities?), but if it's just nerves I think you will find everyone welcoming almost any place you go as well as big adjustments to make even if you stay in state. Best of luck with your decision!

Yep, you must find your own proctor. USU has a website which should list all proctors in your area. If they do not have a proctor in your area or if they charge a fee then you can request a proctor you have found to be registered through USU. Usually they just have to be affiliated with some institution of learning (ex. library, school, university / just not a personal friend). Some people do say they have a hard time finding a proctor, but I never had any difficulty. Many libraries offer proctoring services for free or a marginal fee (5$), so I would start by searching the USU website to see if local librarians are listed or calling them if they are not and asking if they are willing become registered (it's quite an easy process for them). I also know a lot of students use proctorU. The upside is that you can schedule a test virtually whenever you want and don't have to worry about proctor availability. The downside is that they are pricey (around 25$ per test, depends on length of test and how far in advance you schedule). I have never used them, but it is another option.

You actually have a lot of flexibility with exams. I think all of mine have been open for a whole week during which time you can take them whenever you see fit (literally if you do it through proctorU you could take them on a Saturday at 4am if you wanted). I have a proctor through my local library, so I just email her a day or two ahead of time and drive right over when I'm ready.

Sorry, just wanted to check if you mean credits or classes? I think the usual credit load is if you want to finish in three semesters is 12,11, and 12 (4 classes each semester) not including any other classes you might want to take or need for ASHA. I agree, it's doable to work! I wouldn't recommend working full time honestly, but some people do. How much probably depends upon what type of work, how many credits you take, what type of learner you are.

Nope, haven't been to graduate school so can't speak from personal experience. This is coming from several family members who are professors in various fields, including one in SLP. Just to reiterate, I am not saying at all that masters PhD programs are superior to those without. All I am saying is, if one has a choice between two programs: one with and one without a PhD program AND is contemplating pursuing a PhD later, it is not a factor that should simply be ignored. I do agree that just knowing whether or not a program has a PhD program is pretty useless in itself. However, it is quite important when researching the program and should color the way one asks questions about it. For example, from everyone I have talked to in multiple fields the general consensus seems to be that departments with PhD programs TEND but, of course, do not always have more research going on, more fulltime (not adjunct) professors, a higher reputation, etc. These factors could be completely unimportant to someone who does not want to pursue a degree beyond a masters but can be very important to one who does and therefore should be looking into. If after one asks about these factors and finds them to be either untrue, not sufficient to outweigh the pros of the other school, or not relevant to their personal interest, then by all means choose the other school, but I feel that it is good to know all the same. One final comment. The family member who is a professor in an SLP program (lower ranked with no masters program) told me that over the years she has had many students apply to PhD programs. Some were successful and some were not. So it is entirely possible to be accepted into a PhD program without attending a school that has a PhD program. However, she also added that she felt like many of the students who did not get accepted deserved to be accepted and that the admissions committees were biased against them due to the low ranking program from which they came. Just food for thought. I am certainly not an expert and hope I haven't offended anyone. I just wanted to jump in because I felt like I was in a similar position as the original poster and wanted to add my two cents.

Respectfully, I disagree that not having a PhD program is unimportant. It certainly may not be a deal breaker, and you probably will be able to get into a PhD program without a going to a masters program that also has a PhD program, but it having a PhD program can have certain benefits (broader range of research opportunities, greater program quality not necessarily from a clinical perspective but from a research perspective especially for one who wants to pursue a PhD later on), so while it may not be a HUGE factor, it deserves at least some consideration. I am contemplating a pursuing a PhD (not completely decided, but leaning towards it). I also had to option of going to a much cheaper school if not free program versus a more expensive school with more research going on. In the end, I chose the more expensive school. I will try my hardest to get a graduate assistantship through the department or another if I can, but if not I will take out loans. I completely see how this might not be the right options for many people, but I felt like for me given the factors in play for me it was the right choice.

I think if you have the time to do volunteer/ field related work that it is great, but that it should not come at the cost of school work. Probably the number one most important things to focus on (just my opinion, other feel free to disagree) are getting good grades in your remaining classes and taking time to make sure you go into the GREs as prepared as possible. I honestly don't feel like it is essential to have speech related experience (of course it can help), but at almost all schools, it is essential to have good grades. I was also an English major and took the prereqs. I got two rejections, one waitlist, and eight acceptances. Just general tips, makes sure you start the application process early, be aware of all deadlines and leave room of other people's mistakes when planing to meet those deadlines (ie. a school forgets to send transcripts, not your fault but you still have to meet the deadlines), and asks for letters of rec early primarily from professors who can attest to you ability to succeed in graduate school.