JFFA

I went to the open house last year and the faculty explained. Basically, they send out an invite to everyone on their mailing list, so it is neither a good nor bad sign. They sound out rounds of acceptances even after they've had the open house. I think it's silly, but I was told there that there is not logical order to the date when you hear back if that puts you at ease (topic applicants are just as likely to hear back later as they are sooner).

I did a second bachelors at USU and currently attend a grad school. I found that the location/medium of my second bachelors (which just appears as any other bachelors, no indication of online or live) didn't really impact my applications. As long as you do well in your classes, the admissions commitee seems more interested in your first bachelors and just seeing that you have all the prereqs and did well in them.

Please don't limit yourself thinking there are only a handful of programs that accept three year track students. There are actually many. With your stats, you sound like a very competitive applicant to any program. Look into programs that interest you, and I suggest calling them because many schools have a three year track program but do not advertise it well (for example Iowa the currently number 1 ranked program). Best of luck!

Your stats are pretty impressive. Of course competition is high, but I wouldn't myself stress out too much especially when, in my opinion, taking the GREs and getting more in field experience would only marginally improve your already good looking profile. My main focus would be on just doing well in those last three courses and starting your graduate applications early (it's a really long and stressful process). My personal opinion (and I sure some will disagree with me) is that you really don't need a lot, if any, in field experience to be accepted. I didn't have any aside from observations (which I did through USU too!). Don't get me wrong, in field experience can't hurt you, and, especially for those with significant deficits in some other application aspects (ie GPA), I'm sure it can be very helpful in some cases. However, a strong academic record, which you appear to have, really seems to trump all the other components. I just don't think it would be worth putting yourself through trying to find and schedule opportunities if it is that case that it would cause you a lot of stress because the hardship just doesn't seem like it's proportional to the benefit it would give your application. If you want to take the GREs again, I wound't say you're crazy, but, again, it seems to me like you already have very strong scores for speech. Your verbal score is great and your quantitative and writing scores are both above average. If it helps, I had a 4.0 from USU, GREs scores of 166 verbal, 156 qaunt, 4.5 writing (pretty close to yours), and a 3.5 first BA (English major, math minor) and got into the majority of schools I applied to (some of them being considered at the top in terms of competitiveness). Not sure what you majored in or how competitive the range of schools is that you applied to, but it seems to me from the info you have given that you have a very good chance of being accepted. Wishing you the best of luck.

Yes. I used one in addition to two from my first BA (who knew me well in person). I got into the majority of the schools I applied to (9 out of 11, across a wide range of locations and rankings). My recommender was very organized and got the letters out quickly.I told her I got an A in two of her classes, and I asked if she could write a STRONG letter and she said yes (I really had no relationship with her besides taking and doing well in her class). I sent her things like my USU transcript, my previous transcript from my first undergrad, a sample of my undergrad thesis, and my SoP. Of course I cannot be sure, but I do believe she wrote me a strong letter of recommendation and, from my experience, it did not seem to hinder me at all (if anything it helped). Unless the program requires a different source, I strongly recommend going with three academic recommendations if you have the option as opposed to throwing in a one from a boss, etc. Just my personal opinion based on all programs I've communicated with (they want to see if you can succeed at grad level work and think that academic references are a good indicator).

NJ: Montclair State University note: At the open house they mentioned the three year track is actually easier (purely statistics wise) to get into because they have less students applying for a set number of seats they reserve for their three year track students

I ended up doing prereqs while applying, but didn't have them all completed by the time I applied. I also considered coming in no prereqs, so I looked into a lot of programs that didn't require any. There are really lots of programs (like the majority have some type of option) and many don't advertise well. I'd try an approach where you look into programs you might be interested in and then contact the program to see exactly what tracks they have. You will be surprised that many programs have either a three year track or prereqs that can be satisfied the summer prior to enrollment (and who require science, social science, stats, bio just to be completed prior to graduation).

I also don't mean to be condescending, but I do suggest you look into differentiating between CCC and the degrees granted by colleges/universities. Here's some info to help you start, but probably other websites will best explain it. No schools grant CCC-SLP or CCC-A. They are not degrees. As ASHA states, they mean you are "certified." They are certifications. CCC stands for "Certificate Clinical Competence" and is sometime referred to as your Cs. (So I would double check to see that you are understanding the program you mentioned correctly, because a school cannot grant you your Cs, only ASHA does that). A school, however, needs to help you apply for your Cs and one of several steps necessary to getting your Cs is gradating from an accredited institution and, therefore, getting a degree. If you go to a graduate program in SLP or audiology, the university will grant you a masters (M.A., M.S., and even M.Ed) in SLP or doctorate (Au.D) in audiology. It is very common that both programs in SLP and audiology are housed within the same department, so perhaps that is what you heard when the program was talking about CCC-A. Of course, theoretically you could get both degrees, but I, just personally, have never heard of a combined degree program. A fully fledged, so to speak, SLP or audiologist will have credentials such as: Jane Smith, M.S., CCC-SLP or Jane Smith, Au.D., CCC-A. This indicates they have both a graduate degree and are certified. I hope that helps. Again, don't mean to be condescending, but I think there are a few big misconceptions floating around. Hopefully this clears up some for you and others. Another big one that seems to be floating out there is that ASHA has one uniform set of guidelines as to what they accepted for their biological sciences, physical sciences, statistics, and the social/behavioral sciences requirements. It is the the graduate school who decides what to accept, and they sign off to ASHA when you apply for your Cs that you have fulfilled the requirement.

Some good topics to cover usually include regression, t-tests, and analysis of variance. I'm forgetting some other topics too, but my point it you most likely don't need to know the whole book, but definitely quite a bit more than just a bell curve if you want to be a good clinician because to be a good clinician you must be able to interpret research. In terms of understanding test results, percentiles and bell curves are key but in terms of research they won't do much good when trying to prove your argument. Basically, you want to understand statistics enough to determine if a methods/intervention/etc that was tested is really effective. Since evidence based practice is so stressed these days, it is vital to be able to analyze other's research and if conducting your own to determine if what you are trying is a valid practice (really effective).

http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/Demographic-Profile-Bilingual-Spanish-Service-Members.pdf From my understanding, it is a wonderful thing, but in actuality only a small percent of SLPs are bilingual (might very a little depending upon you definition) and an even smaller percent actually provide services in multiple languages. For those who do, the majority provide services in English and Spanish. I think it is a shame that more SLPs and people in general in the US do not speak multiple languages; however, in regards to your question I would say it absolutely not NECESSARY to speak multiple languages. Note, there is also a difference between identifying as speaking multiple languages and practicing/providing services in multiple languages. That is not to say that it does not help either in terms of admission, jobs, and other personal aspects of life to learn another language. It does, some schools have special bilingual focus and some area especially are looking for bilingual SLPs. I'd think of it more as something viewed as a bonus not a handicap, and not speaking another language does not means at all that you will have a particularly hard time getting into graduate school or getting a job. Bottom line is it's great, but not necessary and sadly the majority of clinicians are do not provide services in multiple languages.

Probably you will get a lot of different answers that all have their merits, but as a very very loose guideline, at or above a the 50th percentile is a good mark aim for if you are looking to be taken seriously (ie not thrown out simple due to your scores without any consideration) at a broad range of schools. Since the 50th percentile can be seen as the average, by scoring at it or above it you will be seen as scoring at the mid range of all students who took it or as better than the majority/ half the students who took it. To my understanding, the scaled score will not change since it reflects the number of correct answers, but the percentile might vary very slightly over a long period of time as more students take the test and at different times so the norms change a little.However, the change is so small I think it makes little difference (for example, I got a scaled score of 156 on the quantitative section and over the course of a year the percentile shifted from the 65th to the 64th.) 5 is a great score on the writing (actually the 93rd percentile), and I wouldn't be too concerned if you score below even if you want to be competitive at top schools. I had a 4.5 and got into schools that were ranked highly (not that that means anything in particular). Probably below a 4, the 56th percentile, (the next would be a 3.5 at the 38th percentile) would be worrisome, but still okay at certain schools if you had strong other components. If you are looking not just to be considered, but more competitive at more competitive schools, a good (but again very loose) rule is above the 75th percentile (in the top quarter of those who took the exam). And of course, year of application, individual school, other application strengths and weaknesses and certainly field/type of program all play a role in what is considered decent to very competitive to each individual.

Scores are self reported by the schools to ASHA. Remember the scores listed don't necessarily directly correlate to competitive but can give you a good idea. The scores listed (assuming the have been both reported and entered in correctly) should represent the range of scores of admitted students (so 148 is the lowest verbal reasoning score admitted and 157 is the highest). It is entirely possible and probable that many students with above a 148 were not accepted and perhaps on a different year someone with below a 148 was admitted. It is a great place to start to get a good idea of the type of applicants they accept, but don't get too caught up on the numbers because you have no idea about the other qualities that application had. 148 does seem on the low side, but remember that it is the lowest reported score of acceptance, the mean is likely far above and something about that applicant could really have stood out. So (again assuming 148 is correct) if you have around 148, you could probably take away from this data that your score does not automatically mean you will be rejected, but it would be a reach school. If you thought the other factors in your application were really strong (ie 4.0 gpa) it would probably be a good choice to apply to but by no means a sure thing. On the other hand, say you had a 160 and strong other components, this school would probably be a very good change for an acceptance (but, of course, nothing is certain). If you doubt the accuracy, I'd try checking the the program's information to see if they list stats or contact them directly. Stats also change each year and might not be updated accordingly.

Please, kindly disregard my post then. This is the first time I started a topic, and I was watching TV when writing it and not paying too much attention. Just wanted to share some advice and good news. However, I've clearly only pissed people off with my poor lazy grammar. Sadly, I'm too lazy to go back and edit it. While I completely agree that poor grammar is a pain, you might want to go back and edit some of your older posts, your poor manners are a pain to read.

Just wanted to share a bit of advice. If you haven't been offered an graduate assistantship from your own department, look to other departments. A lot of times they are looking for students and even know slp students are hard workers so may favor them. I see a lot of posts about choosing a dream school versus one that has offered you a scholarship/assistantship but is local/ not your top choice. I went through this debate myself and ended up choosing my dream school. I decided that even if I didn't get any money, for me, personally, it was worth it. However, I also I thought might as well apply to anything I could find (GAs, TAs, RAs, etc) because I had nothing to loose. I ended up getting an assistantship from another department which covers tuition and gives a stipend. Obviously it was a gamble, so I decided based on the assumption I would not get anything. But it my point it just that just if you don't originally get offered anything, there is a real chance you could get something substantial later. The department told me that they frequently hire SLP students because they have had good past experiences with them. Even if departments don't advertise, dig around, ask a lot of people because I the worse that you can hear is not and they you're just back were you started. Hope that helps someone.

Honestly, I think you would be better of simple being open with your professors. Something like "I am applying to graduate school. I had you a few years ago, enjoyed your class and got a grade of --, would you be willing to write me a good letter of recommendation? I don't know if you remember me but I can provide examples of my best work, cv, transcript, etc. Is there anything I could or should do to make the letter more personal?" Student are often very shy about asking for letter of rec but you situation is actually quite common and professors most likely are very familiar with it. It is part of their job to mentor and yes, provide letter of rec to students. However, if you are really set on retaking a course consider the following: 1. Can you audit it? (sit in and participate but not get credit nor pay tuition, maybe a small fee depending upon unveristy) 2. If you already graduated you will likely have to reapply/go through some process even if its not to become a fully matriculated undergrad 3. Often if you retake a course, you must petition and obtain written permission from an adviser to enroll, usually students argue why the will succeed the second time, arguing that you want to get to better know a prof for a letter of recommendation when you already graduated and got a B+ is likely not a great argument (but I'm not saying they won't allow you) 4. Considering the money/time do you think the time investment is equal to the pay off? I honestly think it would be better to start off by simple asking a prof for a letter of recommendation, you can follow up or in the original message ask if they think it would help them write one if you retook the class 5. Does your department have an advisor? Can you reach out to them with this question and see that he/she thinks? Just my input, hope it helps, best of luck and do what feel right for you