talkingcake

I was also wondering about this- I heard that certain states require bilingual certification to work as a bilingual SLP. Would it be possible to get bilingual certification after grad school and CCC's? I've been kinda hopeful about it, because bilingual certification *seems* to be a state-level instead of a national-level certificate... but I might be completely wrong :/

I think it's common. I saw a friend's waitlist notification that was worded along the lines of "Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate for additional students at this time, but we would like to offer acceptance should sufficient space become available. Please email so-and-so by some-date regarding whether or not you would like to opt in to the waitlist."

1. Why did you choose the program you're going to? What really sold it for you? CU Boulder! I want to say that the wonderful breakfast and lunch buffets didn't sway my opinion... My close friends know how impressionable I am when it comes to food, so they keep teasing that I chose the school that gave me food haha. Maybe that affected my subconscious, but I like to think I'm not so superficial! Jokes aside, they have a good working relationship with the children's hospital there (I'm interested in SLP work in children's hospitals), and they have an AAC summer camp (I'm interested in AAC). I'm almost certain that I want to work with kids, but I want to try out various settings before I commit to one. It's nice that they have on-campus clinics and labs, and they also have various off-campus practica supervised by faculty. In addition, the program requires two final internships, and you can do your last semester out-of-state. The Boulder area is also very nice. Lots of greenery, and everything you need- supermarkets, pharmacies, arts & crafts stores, etc are within a few blocks of campus. They also had a variety of financial aid opportunities within the department for Masters students, which gives me hope, even though they don't give financial aid information until after you accept. The students and faculty were very friendly and informative. Their open house addressed everything that I wanted to ask and more. 2. How many schools did you apply to? Six. My professors told me I only needed to apply to three or four, but I added one more just in case. I wanted to go out of state, but my family kept on trying to persuade me to stay in California. So I added a sixth California school.

Thanks! I don't think they have a concentration like SFSU does, but Boulder does have an AAC elective and an AAC summer camp in conjunction with the children's hospital there! I think it's a great way for kids to learn how to use their devices through continuous use

I got the same impression from the open house. Also, Core and Med have different practica classes from the first quarter. And by the second year, not only are Med and Core split up, some Core classes are split into the adult and peds tracks. And I agree with what many of you are saying here- it sounded like getting an internship site that fits you is not a problem, as long as you have an idea of what population or setting might want to work with, regardless of which program or track you're in. However, if you would rather have experience with a variety of different settings, this might be a problem.

I'm doing the same thing- turning down an offer with funding in favor of a program that is a better fit for me. I needed a couple weeks of reassurance from my friends before I finally let the program know that I would be declining. As a reminder, you can still look for other funding sources in the program! For many programs, lots of scholarships and work-study positions aren't available until after you start. You can try asking your advisor to see if there are any available. I'm also interested in AAC. Looking at your signature, is the program you're talking about SFSU? The AAC concentration tempted me to apply there, but applications were due so early :S And to top it off, after finishing the GRE, I was feeling too lazy and burnt out to take the CBEST lol I saw your post both here and in the UW vs UNC thread. My long answer is in the UW vs UNC one. Good luck with decisions!

Sorry for the late response! Been a bit busy lately, but I did go to the open house at UW! The professors from my undergrad were pushing students to apply to schools with on-campus clinics. That way, the clinics can easily serve as classrooms and there's less transportation involved. UW is beautiful- the campus is huge, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom! They have both ornate historical buildings and sleek modern buildings, and none of the rectangular concrete slabs I'm used to. They have many great facilities. They do have a reputation for being research-heavy, and it seems like many of their students are involved in research in some way. If I were going for a PhD, I'd *DEFINITELY* choose UW (especially since I'm interested in AAC, which UW has great research faculty for). I did get closer to a decision- I'm kinda surprised myself, but I'm actually leaning towards Boulder! Boulder does have an in-house clinic as well; however, they have practica that are off-campus in various places with professors acting as supervisors. They had a specific term for it, but I forgot what it was. Because I'm not completely sure about what setting to work in, I'd rather have more experience in as many settings as possible. As mentioned earlier, UW does indeed have only one internship. The pre-internship during the quarter prior is done at the same place as the internship. That being said, the advisor and faculty are very supportive in letting you choose where you want to do your internship as much as possible. Boulder also has research opportunities available, and it also seems like they have more funding opportunities too. Although you wouldn't have an official emphasis in adult or peds or things like that, the advisor will help tailor your various off-site experiences to your interests. I thought I would weigh student impressions and atmosphere more, but the students I met on both campuses were very friendly and helpful, and they all seemed to get along with each other very well! Both advisors are wonderful and informative, and the faculty members I met were very kind. I'm giving myself a few days to process everything after the UW open house, but I'm probably going with Boulder As for Seattle itself, I got mixed opinions on safety and whatnot. It's safe to say that Seattle has less gangs than LA (you don't have to worry about wearing certain colors in certain streets or anything like that), but I kept hearing about how aggressive the homeless population is over there. My shuttle driver talked about how his son got beat up and mugged by homeless people on 2 different occasions: one resulting in broken bones, and one resulting in a TBI serious enough to warrant SLP services. Actual students who live by the school say that it's not that bad. Both agree that it's normally okay as long as you keep some good ol' LA street smarts around you: put in no more than one earbud, be aware of your surroundings, don't flash fancy technology in shady streets, don't open your wallet too much in public etc. Edited to also add: I know us Southern Californians tend to think that any part of the US outside our region is extreme, but it's not like it's constantly raining all day all year in Seattle. There are rainy days and sunny days. It is chillier, but California residents are saying that it's not completely terrible. However, people who are more prone to having seasonal affective disorder should be careful of the frequent fog and rain.

Hmmm good point. I've only heard opinions of how on-campus clinics are better, but it is true that it could limit the variety of settings you'll observe. And only having 1 chance to try and get the placement you want is indeed unnerving. April 15th is coming up soon, but I'm gonna need to spend some time weighing out all of my options!

San Diego does seem to be a really nice place to live! I feel your pain- being a life-long SoCal beach city resident, anything below 40 degrees is difficult for me to gauge. After arriving in Boulder, I didn't think it was too bad during the day today, but my fingers turned into popsicles at night haha See you in the morning!

I'm going to the open house! I'm still trying to decide on UW, Boulder, and SDSU. I walked around SDSU this Monday, I'm going to the open house at Boulder this coming Monday, and going to the open house at UW the following Monday. Looking at the agenda Boulder sent us today, it definitely seems worth it to go to the open house! On an unrelated note, I was coincidentally eating sesame mochi earlier haha

After hearing about so many speech programs losing accreditation or closing down in recent years, it's nice to hear that there might be a new one opening up!

I asked Chrissie the same question a while ago, and she gave me the impression that they're usually able to accommodate Core students who want hospital placements, even though Med gets priority. I'm guessing Med gets first pick, but there's usually enough left over for interested Core students. But looking at this forum, maybe they have more Core students interested in hospital settings than they anticipated... And yep, I'm in the same boat as a lot of you here- MedSLP sounds really cool, but I want to try out hospitals, schools, clinics, and other places first. I was way more sure of the population I wanted to work with (pediatrics) than the setting. It's a bummer that Med students get priority in children's hospital placements, but oh well. :/ I'm also kinda worried that being the pediatric track would make it difficult for me to work with adults if I ever change my mind years down the road. Realistically speaking, I don't think I'd be able to run after rambunctious kiddos at age 80 lol. I'm having the same problem... Some of my classmates were shocked that I haven't committed yet, and they thought I was crazy for considering other programs over UW. I never thought I'd be in a position to have to decide between schools, but I really want to be sure that I make the right decision!

Thanks! I was accepted in CoreSLP, and I specified that I wanted to do the pediatric track in my statement. I considered applying for MedSLP, but I wasn't sure if I really wanted to commit to specializing in hospital settings. I am certain that I want to work with kids though! I was told that Med students have priority for placement at children's hospitals, but there are sometimes spaces left over for Core students- it would be cool if that happens. I'm actually eligible for WICHE/WRGP so out-of-state costs don't apply. Even then, tuition is still kinda high :/ I'm also a timid driver and I hate traffic, so that's gonna be a problem haha. You raise a good point. I'm also considering a PhD, but I'm not totally sure as of now. Either way, I'd like to contribute to research during my Master's. Now that I've been accepted, I'll try and contact professors to get more specifics on what research opportunities are available if I were to enroll. (At least, I will after I'm done with final exams next week... ugh, the timing of these decisions!!!) Wow, well that's pretty serious. I'll definitely look that up and take it into consideration.

It's probably not a submission date issue, because I submitted my application the day it was due and already heard back. I'm guessing it's either in stages or you're in the waitlist maybe?

Many people I know apply to 3 year programs, but apply to post-baccs at the same time as a fall back plan. I forgot to mention this earlier, but if you get accepted into a 3 year program, that means that you don't have to wait to hear back from grad schools again. And it's obvious what a huge perk that is after spending 5 minutes on this forum lol. I believe the 1 year post-bacc I'm in is roughly $10,000 total I think? I'm not paying as much, because I knocked out half my classes with my undergrad speech minor. There's also a two-year part-time option, for which you'd end up paying more tuition in the end, but you'd have more time to work or scout out other opportunities outside of class. From my understanding, there are also cheaper online post-bacc programs available as well. Also, keep in mind that even though most people call it a "post-baccalaureate program", other schools might list it as "master's preparatory" "leveling" or "second bachelor's" or something instead.