bettafish293

I'm planning to apply to a few schools in the UK (along with US schools) as I've found that the price is comparable and sometimes even less than out of state tuition costs in the US. It has been difficult trying to see where my stats compare, as I haven't been able to find something similar to ASHA EdFind for UK schools to compare program acceptance rates, numbers of applications etc. Going in completely blind is a bit daunting! Has anyone else considered applying to anywhere outside the US?

Hi everyone, I'll be applying for fall 2019. I have all my prereqs done except for chemistry/physics. I've taken chem twice now, and I just cannot do well in it. At my university, the intro class is taught by one professor who I do not learn well with in a subject I have always had trouble with. Unfortunately, I just dropped the class for a second time and do not want to take it again as I feel like no matter how much tutoring and outside studying I've done, it's just not a subject I'll do well in, and I don't want one class bringing my GPA down a ton. I was considering taking physics instead. My university offers a course titled "physical science" PSC 2121 that falls under the department of physics. Would this fill the ASHA physics prereq, or does the course need to say "physics"? If anyone has any insight I'd greatly appreciate it, as I am on a bit of a time crunch now ?

@pdxslp Thank you so much!

This may be a really dumb question, so bare with me.. I'm just wondering if anyone knows whether schools start accepting applications before their deadlines? Most of the schools I'm looking at have application deadlines in January, and I'm hoping to be able to send my applications in December after I get my final grades from this semester so they can bump up my GPA a smidge. I'm just worried if waiting too long/pushing it too close to the deadline would put me at a disadvantage because other applicants would already be getting accepted/waitlisted/etc.

Hi there! I'm finishing up a bachelors in Linguistics at Florida Atlantic. I'm planning to apply to most schools in Florida (not FAU; super limited seat availability and a large application pool according to professors in my speech pre-reqs). FIU, USF, UCF, Nova Southeastern. I'm starting to look into out of state schools as well because I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket even though in-state tuition sounds lovely. I've also recently been made aware that Florida specifically is a bit of a hotbed for this field ATM but I need to figure out where else would be good for my stats. I'm probably going to finish with a 3.3 or 3.4 and because I'm also out of field (pre-reqs completed, but still out of field) I'm S C A R E D. Also, I'm currently taking chem and it's NOT fun and I hate myself for waiting until senior year to take it ?

@jmk Thank you so much! Also, congrats on your recent acceptances!

That's great! How did you list your experiences in your resume? Did you just put _____ hours volunteering at ____ Hospital, ____ hours volunteering at ___ pediatric clinic, etc. or did you just use them for your SOP? Did you officially document the hours for your resume? Also, did you ask for letters of recommendation from the SLP's you worked with or any other staff at the hospital or pediatric clinics? I'm so sorry for all of the questions, but what you've done sounds exactly like what I'm hoping to do!

Hi everyone! Last semester, I did a small observation period with an SLP at a hospital and loved it. As much as I'd like to keep observing them, they only offer a certain number of hours to accommodate more students at my university interested in this field, as it is a learning/teaching hospital. I recently found out that I can volunteer within the outpatient/rehab center of the hospital, where the SLP's work. I'm not entirely sure what I'd be doing as a volunteer yet, and I don't know if I would even be working with the SLP's at all, but I have read on this forum that volunteer experience can look good on a resume. I am torn between volunteering with the hospital or finding another SLP--perhaps working in the schools, a private practice, or another hospital because I am really interested in working in a hospital setting--to observe/shadow. In terms of grad school resumes, does it look "better" to have a lot of shadowing/observation hours and no volunteer hours, more volunteer hours than shadowing hours, or 50/50? I don't have time to do both this semester. Thank you!

@mcamp Thank you! I will definitely be taking your advice moving forward.

Thank you @Crimson Wife and @Afternoonprogram those are great ideas!

Congrats on the acceptances in your signature! You have great stats. Can you tell me anything about your time in linguistics and education as an undergrad? I'm also considering education now. I just can't seem to make up my mind! Which major did you find was more related/beneficial to you for grad school? The easy answer I'm thinking is linguistics, but I can also see how acquiring the foundations of becoming a teacher could help a future SLP. I see applicants freaking out over not getting accepted with 3.8 GPA's and it's very daunting, so it's nice to see someone with a 3.54 get into so many schools! Side note -- it drives me crazy how competitive this field is! Non SLP majors think anything above a 3.0 is a competitive GPA, but we have people freaking out in fear of not getting in to grad school with GPA's in the 3.5's through .8's!

@mcamp Perhaps I worded it wrong, but what I meant is because social work is easier than linguistics (in my opinion/experience) it might be beneficial for me to pursue that degree instead for a possibly higher GPA, thus giving me a better chance of getting into grad school. It's just a big hypothetical scenario I've cooked up in my head lol. However, my intro to communication disorders class has had two chapters on phonetics and linguistics so far and I did very well in those chapters and found them to be interesting as well. Also, I will be taking 6 CSD classes through my schools CSD department. My school doesn't offer an official major or minor, but they do have a grad program and a few undergrad classes, and you can also take some graduate level courses as an undergrad if you get permission from the department, so I'm hoping if I continue to get good grades, I might be able to take a couple more pre-reqs that way. I do not want to switch schools and wouldn't have the finances/support to move to another school either away. The only other option would be moving back home and commuting to the local university but I would 100% rather have to take more classes in grad school than do that because of personal reasons. I went into college thinking I wanted to study business (lol) and now I am trying to make the best out of the school I'm at now (which I actually love a lot despite it not offering an undergrad CSD degree) @Crimson Wife I hope she likes foreign languages! My university has an English linguistics major and it only requires two basic low level language courses in a foreign language to meet that requirement, which I think I'll be able to handle. @Afternoonprogram Thank you for your reply, I think it helped me realize that social work is not for me. You brought up a great point about having a plan B if I don't get into grad school (a scary, scary thought lol). I can't see myself being happy as a social worker, so I definitely need to do some soul searching and figure out what interests me the most besides SLP, but I think it might be linguistics. @maurmaur and @SpeechLaedy Thank you for showing me the similarities and strengths of working in both professions. I think my main unvoiced concern was that I've never heard of a social work major getting into an SLP program, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Also hopefully one day I'll be able to start trimming down my posts some more but that's a song for another time, like after I get into grad school and come back here to help undergrads in the same boat, lol.

Hi everyone! I'm currently a social work major with plans to go into grad school for SLP. If all goes as planned, I'll have 6 SLP pre-reqs completed by graduation as well. Lately, I've been feeling really out of place in my social work classes. Fortunately, I am only a sophomore credit wise and still have the option of changing my major to something else. I've been considering linguistics an awful lot because of its relation to speech therapy. I also have found through my research that it is one of the most common out of field applicant majors for SLP programs, along with psychology (please don't suggest psychology because no-no-no-no-no I can't nope-nope-nope bye.) Seems like an easy choice, right! Wrong. I'm capable of making a can with a pull tab difficult to open. Overall, I personally have found my social work classes to be very easy content wise. I understand that linguistics classes may be more demanding and content heavy with lots of memorization and phonetic-y fricative-y stuff, which I don't mind at all! But if social work is easier for me, should I pursue it in the interest of possibly obtaining a higher GPA since the graduate process is ultimately a game of numbers? In terms of graduate admissions, would majoring in linguistics look better on a transcript, or does it not matter at all what your major is if it's not CSD? Any suggestions besides these two you think would be a better fit? Etc. etc. etc. etc. why do I always have to make these posts so long Thanks!

Thank you all for your replies! @SpeechLaedy My school does have a CSD department and a full graduate program, they just don't offer an undergraduate degree. Also, good luck to you! @slpgrad620 I thought about taking physics but I'm scared because everyone tells me it's more math based than chemistry and I'm terrible at algebra! @Murr57 That's great news, I hope more schools are like that. Good luck! @Alicia124 That sounds PERFECT, I'm trying my hardest to find a chem without the lab component as I don't know much about physics other than what others have told me, but perhaps I should look into taking physics instead, lol.

Hello! I apologize in advance for the lengthy post that follows this sentence. After this semester I'll have 60 credit hours. I am planning on changing my major from social work to linguistics because my school doesn't offer an undergrad CSD degree, and I feel that linguistics is more in line with SLP than social work (and beyond that, I find the course work more interesting). However, my school does offer six undergraduate CSD courses that I am hoping are/will count as grad school pre reqs: intro to comm. disorders, anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing mechanisms, hearing and hearing problems, neural bases of speech language and hearing, speech/hearing science, and normal processes of speech and language development. Here's the problem: There are 45 more credit hours specific to obtaining an undergrad degree in linguistics and 15 more credits (I've already taken intro to comm. disorders) of SLP pre reqs, which totals 60. I already have 60 credit hours, and would really like to not go over the required 120 needed to graduate. Unfortunately, ASHA lists chemistry as a gen ed pre requisite for graduate school admission, and I have yet to take a chemistry course. In truth, this post could have been a lot shorter and I could have wasted a lot less of your time if I just led with "do I really have to take chemistry?" But, I've always had a flair for the dramatic, considering that my second greatest hobby--second only to worrying myself into a daily bout of existential dread over fear of not getting into grad school and failing to bring honor to my family, cue the Mulan soundtrack--is reading "what are my chances of getting into grad school?" posts on this very forum site. Thank you in advance to any replies!

Mcamp, I used a template from a friend going into OT and modified it with most of the information you gave me on this topic. The shadowing program I was in was for only one semester, so I will not continue observing them in the spring. I already had the SLP I had been shadowing fill out the form for me. Do you think this form will work this time around, and for future shadowing opportunities I can use the form in the link you posted above, or should I attempt to revisit the SLP and have her fill out the new form instead? My main concern is that it looks like the posted form specifically documents each individual observation session, as in 2 hours on Thursday, Oct. 14th, whereas mine just lists a total # of hours completed over the course of my observation period.

Thank you for your replies! I looked into it further and found some more information. This is the official course description for the class I took, which is listed under the Biological Sciences category on my university's course directory page. Life Science (BSC 1005) 2 credits A survey of life on earth for non-majors. Evolution, anatomy, physiology, genetics, reproduction, and ecology are stressed. Lectures and discussions also demonstrate how biological knowledge is relevant to social, economic environmental and philosophical problems. This is a General Education course. * Life Science Lab (BSC 1005L) 1 credit Pre or Corequisite: BSC 1005 Laboratory investigation of biological knowledge relevant to social, economic, environmental and philosophical problems. This is a General Education course. Half of me wants to take another biology course with the word biology explicitly in the title just to be safe, but the other half is overwhelmed with the knowledge of having to take chemistry and all of the SPA/CSD specific prereqs on top of my UG major coursework as well.

Embarrassingly enough, that was actually my thread! I completely forgot that someone (you) had already replied to me and given me this information because I have been so busy. Your advice, and the others who posted replies on that topic, helped me land this great SLP hospital shadowing gig! Thank you again for your kind words :)

Greetings! I am an out of field applicant in my sophomore year of undergrad. I recently began shadowing two speech pathologists at the local hospital near my university. The hospital takes record of the hours I observe the SLP's, but I have no official record myself. Is there a template or form I don't know about that I can use? I hate the idea of just putting "___ hours of observation" on my future grad school applications without any proof. If anyone has a template, or a suggestion, I'd greatly appreciate it! Also, I apologize if someone has asked this before, I couldn't find anything myself. Thank you in advance to anyone who provides some insight!

Hello! I was wondering if anyone knew whether or not Life Science would count towards the biological sciences undergraduate pre-req (One class in bio sciences, chemistry or physics, stats, one class in behavioral sciences like psych or sociology etc., I wanted to specify what I was referring to in case I'm using the word prerequisite improperly) for grad school? On the ASHA website, it says that acceptable courses in the biological sciences would be something like veterinary science, biology, neuroanatomy, etc. so I was unsure if my Life Science course would count towards filling that requirement. I took the course my freshman year, and although it is not specifically called "biology", it was basically a simple bio course. Ideally, I'd like to be done taking non-CSD science courses, so I really hope this class will count. Thank you!

Thank you SO much for your help!!!! You have helped ease my anxiety tremendously.

Thank you! I am definitely going to try that. When it comes to shadowing/observing, how would I actually document proof as an undergrad? I have found several resources about grad programs having specific requirements for logging hours, but nothing on the undergraduate level. Is it just a word of mouth thing, or is there something I can do to prove I have completed the observation hours, so I am able to put them on my grad school applications and resume? I'm sorry for all of the questions. Thank you for your help!

Thank you so much for your kind words! I took your advice about cold calling and I am now in the process of making a master list of names to call. I am hoping to try private practices, the local hospital, and possibly some school districts in the area. Every time I go to actually make a cold-call, I end up freaking out and realizing I don't know what to say! Do you have any suggestions on how to properly word my questions, or even just how to introduce the topic to them? Thank you again, and I apologize for the late reply!

These are AMAZING ideas! Thank you so much. I'm definitely interested in medical SLP so that's something I am going to look into.

Thank you SO much for your response! I am so sorry to be getting back to you so late. I had no idea there were so many options available! I'm also glad to see another out of fielder trying to make the best of their outsider status Thank you again!