SLP2B111

Hi all, Can you tell me a little more about your backgrounds, where you went to undergrad, etc? Any portfolio or undergrad course tips? Like all of you, I am going into this field somewhat blind. I have an undergrad degree in visual arts, but did take a significant number of science courses as much of my family is in medicine. (Originally declared a science major, but switched to art.) However, I'm still a few science courses short, so before I take them I'm trying to determine if I am a strong candidate for acceptance into these programs. My ideal program is UIC, based mainly on location, but not sure how realistic that is. Any advice or suggestions or tips you could provide would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much!

Hi OP, Would be open to returning to your original program, if that was possible? If so, you may want to consider requesting to do so. My cousin withdrew from her Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) grad program due to stress/family responsibilities. After missing a semester (or two?) she petitioned to return and they accepted her back. She was a bit embarrassed to ask to return, but in the end it worked out as she didn't lose credits and is now done with school.

In addition to retaking the GRE, you might really want to take a look at your SOP. I'm an older student, already have a master's, and couldn't move, so I understand your predicament. My grades and GRE were all in the range for the schools to which I applied but I think what really got me accepted was my SOP. I did a TON of research on each school so really personalized the letters based on their programs. For example, one schools runs an autism camp in the summer. They don't list it anywhere on their SLP department page. During my research I noticed that one of the special ed school districts that participates in the camp mentioned it in their parent letter. I wouldn't have found it except that I was doing research on each professor in each program to find something unique to say in my letters. The professors name was the contact in the parent letter. In my essay for that school I wrote about my interest in the camp and tied that into a personal interest and experience with autism. (Side note: the autism society regularly offers free workshops/conferences. You may want to attend a few to add to your resume.) Also, look for ANY way your current experience lends itself to the field. If you're in a hospital, start making friends with all the SLPs and they will give you tips about the schools, the job, etc. I asked all my friends if they knew any SLPs they could put my in contact with and then I emailed all those SLPs for tips and for any contacts who graduated from schools to which I was applying. It was three to four degrees of separation between me and some of the people who I emailed, but I found out some great info and used all of that in my essays. I knew that the competition was tough and being non-traditional with online leveling I felt I was be a pretty average applicant. My research may have been a bit over the top, but I thought the essay was one of the few ways I could stand out in this crowded field.

I was an RA when I was an undergrad. My school was small so it was mostly undergrad RAs but there were a few grad student RAs. It really wasn't a ton of work but you were "on-call" a few nights a week. On those nights you couldn't leave the dorm and had to walk around the building every 90 minutes or so. It was perfect for studying. We did not get paid and still paid for our housing but got our own room for the same price as having a roommate.

You may also want to look at class size in comparison to applicants. I applied to two schools with similar numbers of applicants, but one program caps at 20 students per cohort and the other at 35. Usually schools post on-time graduation rates for the program, so from there you can determine how many students they take in a cohort.

I went to ENMU for online pre-reqs. The price was right, but let's just say you get what you pay for. There wasn't a ton of support and most of the classes didn't have lectures. Looking back, I wish I would have paid a bit more and done USU. They also have an online FB support group. However, I was accepted at all but one of the schools to which I applied. When I went for visit days, they all had some students in their cohorts who had done online leveling. Initially, I thought it would be frowned upon, and maybe it isn't the idea situation, but generally I think grad schools are used to it now. Provided you have strong LORs and a strong personal statement you should be fine. I really think my LORs and personal statement increased my acceptance rate. Also, if you don't have background experience that will lend itself to work as an SLP, you may want to look into volunteering, etc. I work in technology so worked to obtain a lot of background on AAC devices so I could parlay my tech background into something that relevant to work as an SLP.

ahirsh7, I just messaged you!

You might get more responses if you post this in either Reddit's SLP forum or on the FaceBook forum called IMAGES (Insight, Mentoring, And Guidance for Aspiring SLPs) or the Facebook SLP school forum. Also, chat with the SLPs at the school/district where you work because then you'll know what is common for the district/area where you live and work. One thing I will say is that if you are a teacher you'll have some very relevant experience to write about in your grad school applications. Good luck!

Hey TakeUWithme! Just wanted to respond to your comment about an online forum -- there is an online FB page that was originally created to help people navigate SLP2B education. Search FB for IMAGES (Insight, Mentoring and Guidance for Aspiring SLPs). It was started by an SLP in Illinois. I'm not sure where in Illinois you are, but College of DuPage also has a SLPA program. I know you need an online program, but in case you need some additional pre-reqs or want to speak with someone about Illinois licensing, CoD might be a good resource. As for the Science classes, this is generally more of an ASHA requirement for licensing than a school requirement. Check the ASHA website about this as I think they provide more specifics -- I think it is something like you need a biological science and a physical science but there are different classes that would fall under these categories. When you're ready for grad school, Governor's State has a part time program. It is not online, but is pretty reasonably priced but, from what I've heard the PT program is uber competitive as it is the only one in the area. I'm pretty sure there is a distance program in Idaho as well. If you contact ASHA they can give you a list of schools that are ASHA approved and provide online/distance programs. Some of them require some on-campus visits so you'll want to check on that. Arizona also has a summers only program that is specifically for SLPAs. So you'd work at a school during the school year and be there at during the summers. The one thing that makes distance programs difficult is that you do have to get in a certain number of clinical hours and those are a bit more difficult to obtain if you don't have a University clinic in which to do the hours. It is also a bit difficult if you are in Chicagoland b/c most of the SLP grad programs here cover different geographical regions so they already have agreements in place for their students to have the clinical hours. If you're an SLPA, though, you may be able to do some of your hours at your job site. If you're further outside Chicago, it will likely be a bit easier. IF you are planning on being a school based SLPA, you may want to call around to the districts near you to see what the job potential is like. I know a few of the larger districts, including Chicago Public Schools, no longer employ SLPAs.

I've taken all my leveling classes through Eastern New Mexico U. While it was fine for leveling, I did not apply for there for grad school, even though I need a part time or distance option. Many of the instructors only provided a course outline without any online lectures or even powerpoint presentations. Basically they gave a list of reading assignments and tests of your retention. I didn't mind this format, but if you aren't interested in teaching yourself then ENMU might not be a good fit. A few professors were non-responsive or a bit defensive when I asked questions clarifying their assignments or grading/grading rubrics. (I don't know how many of the undergrad professors teach grad classes.) Also, since there usually weren't video lectures, I often didn't know how to pronounce things that were content specific. There were times during my shadowing that the SLP would mention something and it would take me a bit to realize what she was referring to as I had been mispronouncing it in my head while I read the texts. (Examp: I didn't know the CASL was pronounced as a word. I had always thought it was the C-A-S-L test because I'd never heard anyone refer to it only saw it written.)

Hi there, I think you should look at the schools you would likely go to prior to making this decision and then decide if leveling is the way to go or not. Looking at two well known programs in the same city: For example, Northwestern saves about 25% of their slots for out-of-field applicants so you don't need to do the leveling prior to applying. It is actually much less competitive to get into NU if you are out-of-field. Once you have the leveling, you go into the generally pool with many, many more applicants. They have recently added an online leveling program. Rush, on the other hand, does not take people without the pre-reqs. They don't require a post-bacc, but do require some leveling work. They don't care if you do them online or in person, they even list some online schools on their website. CosmicMorgan, you might want to look at the online schools Rush mentions on their website. For the OP, ENMU often has three sessions per term (1st 8week, 2nd 8weeks, & 16 week). I'm not sure if they do that in the summer but if they do that might be a way to get in more classes in the summer.