flowerbloom

I agree that taking out loans seems to be the best option. I personally wouldn't want to take the risk of denying my admissions this year in the hopes of getting an offer with funding the following year. I wouldn't do this simply because there's no guarantee that I would even get an offer next year, let alone an offer with funding. Most of us are concerned about debt and loans and from what I've been hearing from current grad students is they took out loans and got a part-time job. Hope this helps!

This is a hard question to answer because I think it really just depends. As others have said, connections that you make are important in getting a good CF and future job. As @glueear mentioned, externships are very important, especially if you are placed in a facility that often hires their new staff from their extern pool. However, I think it's good to keep in mind that, just like with undergrad, sometimes it pays off to go to a top-ranked school with a big name that is well-known in the field. While it may very well be true that employers do not pay as much attention to the News&World rankings specifically, they most likely have experience with students from a variety of schools and will have some preconceived notions about which schools produce better SLPs than others. In the end, do what feels right for you, choose the school that you think will benefit you the most in terms of concentration areas and future career opportunities.

I think I got a better feeling of the program when we split off into groups and the 1st year Master's students talked about their experiences and answered questions. Iowa City is a lot bigger than I expected, and seems to have good restaurants and whatnot. Also the 7 to 1 ratio of pigs to humans......lol

I was impressed with their facilities. The environment and program seemed really nurturing in general. I also liked how we have the opportunity to complete our externships anywhere we want.

So how was the open house for you?

I'll be interested in meeting people too. I feel like undergrad is more competitive because there's still grad school positions to contend for. We've come past that point so I'd like to think it'd be a bit more relaxed.

Yes, I have. I got my offer of admissions on February 10th. However, since they do rolling admissions, they seem to evaluate the applications in the order that they came in and then render decisions, rather than all at once. I submitted my application at the beginning of January and I heard back about a month later, whereas my friend who submitted her application at the beginning of February has not heard back yet. I think it really depends on when you submitted your application.

Definitely not showing up in jeans that's for sure. I agree, from what I've seen it's a lot more affordable than many other places I've applied to. It's a smaller city though too. Will definitely still want a roommate though, makes it way more fun and way more affordable!

I think I'm going to go for business casual. Like a nice dress shirt and black pants. I definitely want to ask about funding, but I'm looking forward to being able to ask current Master's students where the good/reasonably priced apartments are.....

Hello all, I thought I'd start a thread for people that have gotten into Iowa and know they are or are considering attending the University of Iowa for Fall 2016. It would be nice to see who is going to the open house, get some recommendations for housing/information about neighborhoods and management companies, etc.

Totally! Maybe shoot me a private message closer to the open house date so we can have a buddy to sit with during the presentations!

Sure! First, it was ranked as the #1 SLP program in the country (US News & World). I don't know how much stock to put in that, but it's interesting that it was. Second, I have heard they have good clinical placements. Third, they have an ASL program, which is important to me as I'd like to continue taking ASL classes. I've also heard the city is nice too. I'll be going to the open house so I'll get to check it out for myself.

I was just as surprised as you when I found out that I got accepted. I'm not sure if I will go yet, as I still have quite a few places to hear back from. But I've heard awesome things about the program so it is definitely one of my top choices. How about you?

You should check your spam/junk folder. My acceptance from Iowa was in there.

Thank you! I see that you applied as well. Hope you get good news! I applied to a lot of places because I wanted options in terms of programs and also funding.

I also had to decide between Gallaudet and GW. I ended up applying to GW because I was worried about this as well. I've heard good things about the ASL classes at GW so I am excited about that too. My advice would be showing your willingness to learn ASL and about Deaf culture, and not being afraid to make mistakes (when learning to sign). I think you are on the right track!

I really want to hear back from the University of Washington, Twin Cities, and the University of Iowa. Has anyone heard from anything from these places?

Through a friend who goes there, I heard that last year (a year in which not as many people denied first acceptances) they made offers to 6 people from the waitlist....Whether or not that number goes up or down is anyone's game at this point. Hoping it's more though!

If you find out how many are on the waitlist please let us know. I know that currently the waitlist is unranked. I also know (through a friend who goes to Madison) that they accepted six people off of the waitlist last year.

Thanks for responding! I'm still wondering if this is standard procedure or if its a tentative good sign.....

Hello! I've applied to the University of Iowa and got an e-mail from the coordinator asking for my pre-reqs and and in-progress courses. Did anyone else get this e-mail? Or is this someone they just send out to everyone?