PlieThenRose

Yes yes and yes! There is hope! My undergrad gpa was a 2.5 and I just completed my first year of grad school! I was a post-bacc (3.7 post bacc gpa). I raised my overall gpa to a 2.8 and my last 60 credits were above a 3.0. And you would think schools would see I didn’t have a degree in speech so they’d look at the post-bacc but nope. ? it took me 2 application cycles to get accepted but I made it. It IS possible!! If you can afford it, take some extra classes. I took a couple extra psych classes and sign language (and anatomy to raise my gpa and to use as my bio class for ASHA requirements instead of the C I got in genetics) during my year off at community college. I also took an aural rehab class online thru Utah state over the summer because some schools wanted that. Now I don’t have to take it this fall in school! Keep gaining experience. Work at a hospital or skilled nursing as a rehab tech. Work as a paraprofessional. Volunteer in a hospital. Anything! Check out Saint Ambrose in Iowa. Their minimum is a 2.8 overall gpa but they want B or higher in those ASHA requirements. Also, reach out to schools and find out what they will look at. Overall, don’t feel discouraged. It will happen when it’s meant to be. I was accepted the week before the semester started. Anything is possible ?

I agree with everyone here! I believe it will be very beneficial to have that understanding of the everyday life of these people with intellectual disabilities. Definitely try to do both. It'll open up some doors for you and better experience with different populations. That really will help you figure out what interests you in the field! Im actually kind of in the same boat right now. I work as a rehab tech in a hospital part time and 80% of the time I'm either helping my boss with tedious administrative tasks or waiting for someone to need my assistance. But I get to sit in on video swallows every week which is amazing. I'm looking at full time teaching assistant jobs, but wondering if instead do part time teaching assistant and keep the hospital job. part time doesn't always mean less than 15 hours because I used to work retail full time with an average of 30 hours each week lol. Life. So much fun, right?! ?

I took the GRE twice because I did awful on verbal the first time (134). I used Magoosh and had no idea how to learn all those words! What helped me the few days before taking it the second time was realizing I wasn't prepared and that reading comprehension was half of the verbal section. So I figured if I could ace those questions I should get a 150, right? Ha. I had the 5 pound manhattan prep book in addition to Magoosh and studied reading comp only the days before and ended up getting a 149! I'm not sure if that would be a good way for you to approach studying, but that helped me. And I also started with the reading comp first during the test to give me time to do the section I felt more comfortable doing. And if I didn't have time for the rest, I would just pick random answers for the awful vocab words!

Stories like all of yours give me hope that round 3 next year will *fingers crossed* be my year! I'm still kicking myself for not trying in undergrad!! Little did I know at 18/20 years old that GPA was almost more important than my Bachelors degree! Question about GRE .. I took it twice (1st: V134, Q148, AW4.0 2nd: V149, Q142, AW4.0) and raised Verbal 15 points. I've been posting BOTH sets of scores to all schools....being that all of us in this thread seem to be in similar situations, would you recommend that I continue to send both scores next year (to schools I haven't applied to yet)? I'm afraid they'll see that crap Verbal and the 142 quant score isn't awful. Thats also a question to ask when I contact all 200+ programs this summer haha!

I'm currently a rehab tech at a hospital (they also have a tech position at the outpatient clinic). I assist PT, OT, and SLPs. I've learned so much. I'm lucky because the SLPs know my interest and take time to teach me what they look for after the video swallows are done, etc. I'm also applying to be a teachers aide in a special ed school to gain more hands on experience..plus, I believe that's the population I really want. I started volunteering at a hospital and helping an SLP at a pediatric clinic before getting the hospital job. Any sort of experience in different populations will be great for an application! good luck!!

Of course, anytime! I second the feedback from the school that was also suggested! Also, one of my post-bacc professors advised not to take the GRE more than twice...I used Magoosh and raised my verbal score 15 points the second time. So taking that a second time wouldn't hurt. But see what these schools say about your score. Maybe they have some advice too!

I know people who have done this and have sent in deposits to a school but end up changing their mind after their top choice accepts them. If you get accepted to your top choice and want to go, I think it's totally worth losing that deposit to the other school if you are going to attend your top choice instead. It's all about you and your success as a grad student to prepare you for your career. Good luck!

Funny...about ten minutes ago I just stumbled upon a video about Lea Michele on Facebook talking about her failure before landing her role on Glee...she said, "the greatest success I had came from a door closing." She learned Spanish for a role that Broadway didn't want her for. She also said...it just takes one yes out of all the no's and said never to give up. As cheesy as it sounds coming from a celebrity, she's totally right. After being told I would have no problems as a post-bacc getting into grad school, I have been rejected 2 years in a row. All those not so good feelings.... I'm right there with you. But this is what we want for ourselves so take that time to reevaluate everything else but don't give up! I'm taking a bunch of classes in the upcoming months to raise my crap GPA so I can meet requirements at a small number of programs I contacted this week. Programs I had to stay away from due to numbers only. Also, these experiences I'm having now will make me a better grad student and better SLP than the new/younger grads. So keep going. Keep gaining experience and don't give up! Agreed..glad we have a community here that is so supportive!

Yes, post-bacc programs are designed for those who don't have a background. I'm not quite sure how it'll look if you retake speech classes unless you had Cs in them. You could always take classes at a community college or online in like sign language (if you haven't already), special ed, neuro or something to help boost your overall GPA. It sounds like a lot of the schools look at CSDCAS' overall calculated GPA so if it's your overall, that could help bring it up. How many times have you taken the GRE? and how "low" is your GPA? this might sound like a lot of work, but if you aren't tied down to your current location, see if there are schools that meet your GPA/GRE requirements. I've seen that people have contacted 200+ schools to find out exactly what they want/see if they are right fit. Doesn't hurt. Don't give up!! But definitely keep gaining experience in different populations!

Is sacred heart the only online program that offers clinical methods (aside from UW-eau Claire)? I can't seem to find any info.

No clue where my list went from last year...oops! But here is a list of programs I found with SPRING start (and the deadlines listed online) and keep in mind, some are online/distance programs, but always worth looking into! Hope this helps! Adelphi (couldn't find deadline) Alabama A&M (10/15) Baylor (9/15) College of Saint Rose (9/15) CSU Fullerton (8/1) CSU Northridge-distance (6/1) CUNY Lehman (10/1) Eastern New Mexico (9/1) NYU-distance (Rolling) Nova Southeastern (8/31) SUNY Cortland (12/1) Tennessee State-distance (7/1) Texas A&M, Kingsville (9/15) Univ. Central Florida (10/1) Univ. Central Missouri (9/1) Univ. Louisiana Monroe (9/25) Univ. Northern Iowa (9/15) Univ. South Dakota (9/15) UT Dallas (9/15) Valdosta State (7/1)

I'm going to follow this thread... i graduated in 2011..same undergrad GPA. unfortunately, many grad programs look only at my Bachelors GPA and not my post-bacc/slp GPA (which is a 3.7). I'm about to get rejected for the second year and it sucks. I did not get a 2nd Bachelors (just some post bacc classes) but I'm wondering if I should have to raise my GPA...? Im in the process of compiling a list of spring start schools and after that I will be researching schools that look at last 60 hours/will look past my low ug GPA from 6 (?time flies!!) years ago. Every class I've done as an adult/post-bacc equals a 3.74 GPA. So....big change....you'd think they would notice the big jump.. so, since we are in the same boat. I'd like to follow this thread, but also share what I find out as well. It's just not fair, especially to people like us who have been out of school and I'm pretty sure by now this is the career path we want and we are very ready for grad school!

If you are 21/22 and didn't get in right out of grad school, find a teachers aide/rehab aide/nursing assistant job or if your state allows, an SLPA. Something to expose you to the real world. If this is something you want, you will get it. Maybe not on your own time..but don't give up! It is insane how competitive this field is...which is why I didn't pursue a career or Bachelors in it. Little did I know how much worse it would be 5 years later after I decided this was always the field for me ? But if this is the field and career for you...keep exposing yourself to the field and don't give up applying...all the money spent on apps, etc will be worth it in the end when you are working the job you love (and have a decent salary that will help pay off those loans!). Good luck!!

See if you can volunteer at a hospital! I started doing that and now have a job as a rehab tech. I work with PT, OT, SLP, nursing, social work and radiology techs. I'm an out of field SLP grad applicant waitlisted for the second year. This hospital job has really helped me through this year. I know exactly what field I want and what population. A job or volunteer work might be a good place to start looking considering your wide range of interests stated above. Or even a job in a SNF, hospital or school as a receptionist while volunteering? It's a good way to get some experience in the field before "wasting your time" on classes in OT for example, and then you decide something else. I almost changed to nursing after not getting in to grad school for SLP. After working in the hospital I was reminded that nursing is not for me. And I'm glad I had that experience to tell me before i followed through with it. Good luck!! You are young. You have PLENTY of time to figure out what to do with your career!!!

If you haven't taken the GRE more than once, I'd say buy Magoosh and retake it. Ask some professors at your current program what they think you should do during the gap year to improve your application. They might have some good ideas especially if they are on the admissions committee for the grad program. My gap year was spent taking a couple classes to finish pre reqs and I also started taking ASL. I have been working part time in a hospital as a rehab tech assisting PT, OT and SLPs. I took my GRE twice, but don't think it's worth a third time considering a professor advised against it. I am approaching my second gap year/third year applying, as I am also waitlisted at 2 schools (and don't have a good feeling). I'm applying for my paraprofessional license and hoping to get a job for the school year. It'll be full time and more hands on with special ed/kids which I think is what I enjoy more. But before I do this, I'm definitely reaching out to my professors to see what they think. BEST OF LUCK! You never know what will happen with those waitlists and don't give up!!