BamaBelle

I'm at UTD now and I think it's great. The facilities here are decent enough and there are plenty of great research opportunities. I think it is closer to 90 students each year, which can be overwhelming, but it's nice to be able to meet new people all the time. Like Kelly said, you get a lot of freedom in choosing your classes, and I am avoiding neuro classes like the plague. However, you do end up taking at least two each of ped and adult focused classes. I feel like I am getting a pretty general degree here. The clinical director specializes in fluency and voice, and those classes are wonderful. I'm sure she would be excited to find really good placements for someone who shares her passions. The program does have less one-on-one supervision, but I think that has helped me become more independent as a clinician. The first two semesters are core experiences, and there have been about 15 students in each of those, with one or two supervisors. My current supervisor is always accessible and spends quite a bit of time working with us with our clients. As you start to move off campus, supervision becomes more individual. And, like you said, Dallas offers a wealth of clinical placement opportunities. I know Vandy is a very highly ranked school, but UTD is as well, so I don't think you should really let name recognition be a factor in this decision. Personal biases aside, I think 56k is entirely too much to pay for a degree. I am already stressed enough about the ~30k that I'm spending, so I couldn't imagine spending any more. I did end up picking the most expensive of my options, though, because I felt the school was the best fit for me. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the program!

I am in my second semester and I took 14 last semester and 13 this semester. Summer will probably be around 9 and then the last two will probably be around 9 each, including practicum.

I think assistantships are only for PhD students, so the FAFSA should be all you need.

I toured there, and it wasn't for me. The facilities are on two floors of a renovated dorm from the 70s and it shows. Therapy is done individually in tiny dorm rooms. The students said it's not uncommon to have 12-14 hour days, I think because a lot of the students have GA positions as research assistants. That said, everyone there was very friendly and they seemed to love it there. It's a small tight-knit program, which seems really nice (and is very different from UTD). It's a cute campus and a cute college town.

I actually don't know anything about interviews and I'm not sure if that was a thing at all last year. I wish I knew more.

Yeah, I think Dr. Stillman said that last year, all of the out of state students (27) were offered in state tuition, but this year, the school has taken away a lot of that funding and there are only 6 scholarships to offer. I think they are still working to find more funding for that, but I don't know if they'll get it. It's definitely a bummer for out of state students this year. @sardothi3n

So this semester I am completely at CD. Last semester I had practicum at CR twice a week, and some of my friends are up there now 4 days a week. Your first semester, you'll just get assigned to a practicum, either the adult core or one of the pediatric ones, so you could be at CR a bunch or not at all. Depending on traffic, it takes me 15-30 minutes (probably around 20 most days) to get to CD and about 20-30 to get to CR. I don't know any specific conplexes, but there are a whole bunch in the Uptown area that I might check out. I'll ask around a bit and see what other people say. Sorry I'm not more helpful in that area!

I would avoid West End, but I think those would be too expensive, anyway. Honestly though, my house shopping experience was so long ago, it's kind of a blur. Oak Lawn and the Village would definitely be good. Uptown is pretty popular, too, and I think that would be a fun area to live. Some people live really close to Callier Dallas, but if you ever have a class/practicum on the main campus in Richardson, that would really be a pain, so I would look for somewhere sort of in the middle. I ended up near SMU and there are a bunch of pretty decent complexes in this area (which is also very close to the Village). If this is where you end up coming and you're looking for a roommate, I would also email Jan Lougeay, because she'll send out a list of people looking for roommates.

It's essentially half of out of state. Here are the tuition tables. http://www.utdallas.edu/bursar/tuition/tables/

I am sitting at a table with 2 people who didn't have any research in undergrad and the other 3 of has had very little! Your stats are fantastic, so I think you are in really good shape. I think the most helpful thing you could do would be to start developing some kind of relationship with Dr. Stillman. Like k_kismet said, he loves talking to students, and he's so kind. You've got this! Good luck!

Wow that is great funding! I got the in state tuition, too. Dr. Stillman just mentioned that they have lost a lot of funding for those in state scholarships. As of right now, they will only be able to offer 6, versus the 27 offered last year. He is petitioning for more funding though, so hopefully the university comes through! I also got the TPEG and I think it's based on the FAFSA!

I just talked to Dr. Stillman, and he said they are just starting the admissions process!

Oh awesome! Seriously, there is no need to be nervous, Dr. Stillman is the nicest guy, and I think he really loves meeting new students! I made a point to ask about funding when I visited, so that might help you out. I bet you'll get to come visit us in Preverbal when you go on your tour. I'll be on the lookout for you

I submitted my application in early-mid December, and I found out I was accepted and January 26. The deadline was the same, 2/15. UTD has rolling admissions, so I think they just look at them as they come in. I think it can only help that you have interacted with Dr. Stillman. Good luck!

@k_kismet So I actually got a scholarship which gives me in-state tuition, but I think oos is about 13-16,000/semester, depending on how many credits you take.