Rzilby, I'm sorry you're having such a tough time :/ I can completely empathize with all the "other stuff" you had to to do make it through college.
Those "Waitlistings" should be encouraging though! That means professors have looked at your application and said, "She is capable of being a good clinician." If they didn't think you were, they wouldn't have given you that status. I know it sucks hardcore to be in limbo, but keep the faith!
Have you tried to visit or call any of your waitlisted schools? That extra step could bump you up on the list! Express you renewed interest in the program. Explain that you're honored that they viewed your application as strong enough for admission if space opens up. Find a professor with similar research/population interests and try to talk about them with him/her (maybe read one of his/her articles first).
I interviewed a now SLP named Treasyri who applied four cycles before getting in. She had to make sacrifices and fight hard, but now she is a licensed SLP helping change clients lives. The full interview is on my blog, but I attached this little graphic I made to show her process.
Don't get discouraged yet! It's not over until you stop trying.
Great! First of all, congratulations on your interviews!
I chose Georgia State out of the 8 schools I was accepted to because I felt that it would be the best fit for me. Georgia State was far away from home for me, but it feels like my home now. The faculty here are absolutely amazing and truly care about each person in the program. Even though they lead crazy busy lives with supervising in the clinic and volunteering for ASHA, they are always available to you and want to help you succeed. We students have an incredible bond. I have met some of my best friends here and everyone in my cohort is very friendly (you spend literally ALL your time together, so you get to know one another really well). I love that GSU is in Atlanta, which offers a very diverse client base in our on-campus clinic and also a wide variety of internship placements. GSU also offered me an assistantship, so I am not paying for tuition, which is awesome. Anyway, I could go on and on about why I picked GSU over my other schools and if you want to know more, I'll be working at the interviews on Friday!
Course load: It is a LOT of work, but many students, including myself, have a 10-20 hour assistantship or outside job. It's very do-able, although I suggest finding an assistantship because they tend to be more flexible around student schedules.
Financial aid: As I mentioned, there are many assistantships available. I feel like I emailed the entire GSU faculty to find an assistantship and I was offered four of them. So while it can be a lot of work finding one, they are definitely possible to find. I actually emailed the director of our CSD program and told her I would not be able to afford GSU if I didn't have an assistantship and she took the time out of her schedule to secure one for me. I was amazed that a program director cared so much about one student and that's a big reason why I'm here today.
Cost of living: There are a lot of different areas in and around Atlanta where you can live. No one in our cohort lives on campus, so you won't have to resort to that! Living in Atlanta can be expensive. I pay $1000 a month and I take Marta (subway system) into school. It's about a 15 minute commute for me. There are definitely areas further away from the school where you could pay less.
Interview: Be yourself! They will not quiz you on any speech pathology terms (or at least they didn't last year). They want to hear about why you're interested in GSU and what brought you to speech pathology. Basically they asked information that you probably included in your personal statement. I can't remember specific questions, but they were general interview questions and nothing that was too hard to answer. Again, they really just want to hear from you and get to know you better, so I'd say being yourself is most important.
Advice for your visit: Talk to everyone. Really meet the current students and faculty as much as you can. Get a feel for the school. You'll get a tour of the clinic while you're here, but definitely check out the area around the school. It's a very urban campus, but getting a feel of the place is important. I'm sure current students will be more than happy to walk you around campus if you'd like.
I hope I answered all of your questions! If there's anything else, please let me know. Good luck! I will see you guys on Friday!
*Sorry for the late response...it's almost midterms here and it is a bit crazy haha
