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Hi @maurmaur - hopefully my response isn't too late. I was really pleased with the quality of education and the availability of courses through the UFL post-bacc program. They're also one of the more affordable options. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. I would recommend supplementing with in-person classes if you're able to. It's much easier to get quality recommendation letters from professors that you interact with in a normal classroom setting. It can certainly be done through online courses as well, it will just take much more effort on your part and still may not be viewed as highly by an admissions committee. Of course your rec letters may come from non-CSD professors as well if you studied a related field in undergrad and completed your degree somewhat recently.

I completed most of my pre-requisites through the University of Florida online program and Marymount Manhattan College's (MMC) post-bacc program (in person), but I am taking my last course through SUNY New Paltz (speech science). I've been exposed to a lot of the material in the course I'm taking through SUNY New Paltz through the other courses I had taken previously, so I have been dedicating a bit less time to the class. There are typically three homework assignments per week, each which can take 1-2 hours. If you were watching the audio powerpoints, that would be another 3-6 hours. We have a test every two weeks, so if you figure you're doing the readings and studying for that an additional 3 hours per week, that gets you to a total of 7 to 15. I have never spent 15 hours on any single course (including those at UFL and MMC) in a week, but there were probably weeks that demanded 10 to 12 hours of my time for a class (not every week though). I knew someone who did half her pre-requisites through SUNY New Paltz and she said she had more work for those courses than she did for our in-person course at MMC. It sounded like she had to do a lot of writing. The speech science course has more labs than writing, which I personally find less time consuming. Each course is definitely different, and you will find some require much more time than others. If it helps, I worked full time while doing my prerequisites, and I was able to comfortably handle 2 classes at a time (with short periods of extreme stress thrown in). I usually reserved my entire Saturday to school work (up until about 5:00pm). Sometimes, I had to use a portion of Sunday as well. And I read / studied / attended class for about two hours per day during the work week. If I wanted to push myself to squeeze in 3, I probably could have, but I definitely would have had to sacrifice sleep, exercise, and even more social time. I hope this helps.

Are you referring to your EFC or to your financial aid award? The EFC is the only thing that FAFSA will determine, and you should have that immediately upon filiing. The school will determine your ultimate financial aid award package. The timing of the award letter depends on the school. Hope that helps!

I'm just posting this for anyone who has the same issue and stumbles across this post. I did speak with the financial aid office. It wasn't a mistake as much as just how their process works. I am indeed eligible for the maximum federal direct loan and PLUS loans to bridge the gap between that maximum amount and the total cost of attendance. At UW, they first award you the minimal amount of loans based on your FAFSA EFC and put it on you to request more. I personally think they should explain that in the award letter, but there it is.

Regarding the class size, I had the same concern and asked the student that I was speaking with about it. She said all cohorts can of course be different, but she didn't think the size prevented the group from being close. She said that her cohort is really close and very supportive.

@hkates I'd really like to hear more of your thoughts on PSU. I had noted several electives that interested me - do you know how many electives can be fit into the program? I'd also be interested to hear what in particular swayed you toward PSU over the UO? I am honestly worried about the program size - it seems so large. How do they accommodate that many students? What is their clinical training model like? Did you get any quantitative data on the students' workload? The one student I had been speaking with at the UO said that the first quarter of her first year wasn't too difficult but that she had 60+ hours of clinic and coursework per week during winter quarter.

This school didn't even offer me PLUS loans as an option! I don't know how I'm supposed to invent money. I'm hoping this was all just a mistake. I thought schools would only use what was reported on the FAFSA in determining aid, so that's good to know I can reach out to inform them my income will be SIGNIFICANTLY different. I had already come to terms with the fact that my 2015 income would prohibit me from receiving any aid except for loans (like work study), so maybe if they understand I won't be making that during the academic year I could become eligible for other types of aid too? I'm really stressing about this.

I apologize for posting yet another financial aid question, but I am really perplexed. Before yesterday, I'd received financial aid award letters from two schools, each with a 2016-2017 cost of attendance of about $40,000. Both schools had given me the maximum $20,500 in Federal Direct Loans and then the remainder of the cost of attendance was covered by Graduate PLUS Loans. So both award letters would have allowed me to take out full cost of attendance in federal student loans. However, I received an award letter yesterday from one of my top school choices that only allotted me $9,000 in Federal Direct Loans for the year. Nothing else. The cost of attendance is comparable to the other two schools. I'm really confused because I thought graduate students were guaranteed $20,500 in Federal Direct Loans. Does anyone know why the amount would be so different? I do currently work full time (and did curing CY 2014), so my expected family contribution on the FAFSA is greater than $0, but that clearly wasn't an issue with the other two schools. I had intended to cover most of my expenses with student loans...now I'm worried that I won't be able to at all schools.

Yes, I interviewed on March 11th.

I'd been waiting to reach out to the program director at Queens College with all of my questions until I knew for sure I'd been accepted. Everyone tells me that QC has a great reputation (at least within New York). I'm wondering, however, whether that reputation extends outside of New York and also how many graduates end up working in the medical setting. When I search LinkedIn (I don't have premium access right now, so my searches are curtailed), I am really not seeing many people working in hospitals or rehab clinics. Does anyone have any feedback on these two questions? I'd rather poll the outside world first to see if it jives with what the program tells me.

No worries - thank you for following up! I haven't seen any apartment listings in Mercer Island but will keep my eyes open. That's too bad Gig Harbor is so far from campus.

Of those schools, I only have some familiarity with the University of Oregon (through my own research and conversations with current students and professors). What are you interested in knowing? Where do your interests lie within the field?

@Gingiestrong This apparently depends on your state of residence (https://fafsa.ed.gov/deadlines.htm#). I can't imagine most states would have a deadline that preceded the tax filing deadline. Do you plan to file an extension or are you sticking with April 18? Also, you can submit your FAFSA before your taxes are finalized and then update it once your taxes are filed (it's just your responsibility to remember to update it - I'm not sure reminders are sent). If you do this, just make sure you select "going to file" in the FAFSA when it asks about your tax return status and use your best estimate on the figures (wages, taxes, etc.). If your earnings aren't significantly different from calendar year 2014 to calendar year 2015 (and you didn't get married or have a child in 2015), you can just use your 2014 income tax return information and then update it with your 2015 income tax information once you've filed.

@amc91 Jolie717 is correct - you must fill out a FAFSA to receive any federal aid, including federal direct loans and PLUS loans. As far as institutional aid (funds from the school rather than the federal government), there are two types: merit-based and need-based. Need-based aid is awarded based on your expected family contribution and the cost of attendance. The FAFSA determines your expected family contribution, so you must have a FAFSA to be eligible for need-based institutional aid. However, need-based aid is reserved for undergraduate students at most institutions. Each school may also have merit aid that they award, and it depends on the school whether or not they require a FAFSA on file for you to be eligible for that aid. Chances are, a school's institutional aid will not cover your cost of attendance. Student loans would be used to cover the shortfall (unless you are receiving help from family or otherwise). You should complete the FAFSA to cover all bases (it's free - make sure you go to www.fafsa.gov to file). You can still file your FAFSA after the priority deadline and be eligible for aid. I hope that helps!

@CMD2494 That's what I'm hoping to do as well. I've spoken to students at each school except Temple. I'm attending Temple's orientation next week, so I should be able to speak to students there. I did something similar on LinkedIn (also to see whether there was mobility from state to state after completing a grad program). It sounds like the girl you spoke with has had amazing experiences very early in the program.