[Back up plan]

I am in the same boat. Second time applying for fall 2015. First time i applied was in 2012 and I have worked as an SLPA in the home health setting in Texas ever since. I love my job, however home health can be pretty draining... luckily I don't have a family (husband or kids) or too many other commitments because my job takes up a lot of time and energy. there are some people at my work that have been there for 5-6 years that are married, have kids, etc. and i have no idea how they do it! we can make good money- but we only get paid per session, so if a lot of clients don't show up or cancel during the month, then you don't get paid... that being said, we rarely get time off unless you plan it out right, yet you still have to make up those visits so its just more work at a different time. I enjoy the kids I work with and my clients range from artic only, autism, non verbal, down syndrome, etc. so we get to see a little bit of everything. Yet, I am still trying to see what other options might be out there because I don't think I can be an SLPA forever.... I am willing to take classes/go to school for another degree/etc. but don't really know where to start and what other options are out there.. 

it makes me sad that i'm not "good enough" to make it into grad school when I am treating clients every single day and making a difference in their lives. most of the parents don't even realize that i am an "assistant". but the grades have to trump the experience and skills that WE have, which is just not fair. i believe there is something out there for all of us.... the process is just frustrating of figuring it all out.

Yes, it's sad. As a SLP assistant, you have been providing therapy and helping patients for years. You do almost the same thing as a licensed SLP except for "diagnosing", planning treatment plans, supervision, and signing on reports, etc iirc. It's indeed sad that the gatekeepers at the grad schools disqualify candidates based on their grades on courses taken years ago. It's analogous to disqualifying qualified candidates for college based on the grades they got long ago in grade school. Not everyone takes the same path in life. People can be late-boomers or were disadvantaged earlier in life.

[Didnt get accepted now what?]

I'm still waiting on 2 schools. 1 waitlist, 4 rejections (2/4 mentioned that my application was strong but they couldn't admit more than they're allowed to). One of the schools I just received a rejection for was near the top of my list. They sent me an email yesterday that my application wasn't included in the review with the other applicants because of a glitch in their system and this morning they sent me a rejection email. I'm a little upset because if they found out yesterday that my application wasn't reviewed yet, but they sent a rejection this morning, then how long did they really spend on my application? This was one of the schools that viewed the applicant as a whole so now I have mixed feelings about this school. I'm not sure I could reapply there after what happened this time.

 

It's really disheartening how competitive this field is! I wish they would expand their accepted pool of students so their acceptance rates are higher. For a field that's in need of SLPs, they should re-evaluate the admissions process and rates of acceptances in order to meet the needs of the communities.

 

As for "what's next?", I only hope that my last 2 schools will save me because I honestly don't know what to do (I do have an SLPA license but I'm ready to make the transition from SLPA to SLP). I'm an older applicant and have "placed all of my eggs into this basket." Another year of being in this boat is something I'm not sure I can handle once more (I'm sure many of you will say "if this is truly what you want stick with it", and I agree but this is my second year applying). 

Yes, it's ridiculous how the government and people lament about the lack of speech-language pathologists, but every year, the schools deny so many qualified applicants. (lack of sufficient funding, not enough instructors, insufficient medical placements, blah blah blah.)