hopefulslp1

I just got finished matching my transcript with the prereqs for my schools on CSDCAS but realized that I don't have some of the prereqs that some schools require (i.e., sociology and artic & phonological disorders). I marked that I am not matching any courses to these prereqs. Will these deter my application in any way? My undergrad program didn't allow us to take an artic/phono disorders class bc it was only for grad students and I never took soc because I took psych instead. I know I can call the schools and ask which I plan on doing but I figured I would ask here as well! Has anyone else ran into this issue before and it ended up not being a problem? I just don't want it to cause the schools to not look at me because my undergrad didn't offer one or two of the classes that they require.

I did! I was put in touch with the principal of the school and we had a little meeting beforehand and then she introduced me to the slp. I would contact either the principal or assistant principal of the school!

I hope you have a shot because my stats are similar to yours, maybe slightly lower. I think you do! I know it gets scary on here seeing everyone with 3.8+ gpa's, amazing gre scores, and tons of extracurriculars but you can't let that stop you! I used to be super negative about not getting in and did not think I had a shot but I'm going to try my hardest to get into a program! I think if you're determined and apply smart you can get in! We both can get in!!

Were you able to get in somewhere? I'm kind of in the same boat as OP and you as well. I'm pretty worried about not getting in, but I'm hoping being a special ed assistant this year at an elementary school will help me improve my application. It's frustrating because a 3.4 is still a great gpa in the world of college! :/

I'm currently about to start my gap year now. I was in the same boat as you essentially and was actually in the process of applying but had to make the decision to do a gap year after one professor wouldn't get back to any of my emails about a recommendation (fingers crossed that doesn't happen this year). But I know what you mean, I felt very unprepared compared to my friends and in my opinion the stress wasn't worth it. I was also trying to work really hard my senior year to raise my gpa and the stress of applications would not have helped me. But I agree with what everyone else has said, make sure you are going to do something meaningful with that year off (more so 6 months bc you only really have the summer before you're going to have to start apps). I'm starting in 2 weeks as a special education assistant at an elementary school and might try and get a job as an aba therapist a little later on in the year. While not having the stress of not applying will be nice, fair warning that it does suck to see all your friends get accepted into places and that they will be starting school in September while you'll be stuck at home (but that is also just me). My advice is to try and think really hard about it and weigh the pros and cons, discuss with parents, teachers, etc. Whatever you do make sure that it's what you want to do and what you think is best for yourself! Good luck!!

Thanks! And not terribly close because I went to a large university and my graduating shs cohort had around 100 students in it. I'm mostly just sending these emails now so that I can try and get confirmations from them before the current seniors start asking them in the fall. But I have some drafts typed up so hopefully those will work!

Does anyone have any advice about how they went about getting letters of rec if they were already graduated/not on campus? I decided to take a gap year and will be applying this fall but I'm not sure what to say in my email to my professors. When I was on campus it was easy to add in that I could just come into their office hours to discuss the possibility of a letter but now I'm not quite sure what to say since I'm back at home and 2.5 hours from school plus I'll have a job in the fall. Should I just say that I can send them whatever materials they might need should they be able to and that I'm free to discuss anything else they might need to know?

I'm going to be starting as a special-ed assistant (parapro) at an elementary school this upcoming fall. Everyone I've seemed to talk to who works in the shs field says this will be great when it comes time for applications. It's also super easy to get your parapro license and the hours will match up with your kids most likely!

So do you have to add both grades into CSDCAS? Mine isn't in a CSD course thankfully but it definitely still brings that gpa way down

wow this is awesome! I was recently hired as a special education assistant at an elementary school so maybe after the school year is over and I do not get into grad school this round I will apply! Thank you!

wow thank you for taking the time to find this and respond! what is the exact location of the clinic? because on the website I believe it said northern suburbs of chicago and I live in the Naperville area so I want to know how the commute would be before I fill out their online application. Also how is the pay if you don't mind me asking? Not expecting it to be super grand but I'm trying to figure out what jobs I really want to apply for during my year off and I'm between a few and want to save as much money as possible before applications/possible admittance.

Wow thank you all so much! This was extremely helpful!!

Has anyone taken classes at ENMU online? I'm curious if I have to apply to the entire school to take one class, which I hope isn't the case.

Does anyone have an idea or opinion about what would be better, paraprofessional or ABA therapy? I just graduated with my CSD degree and am currently in a gap year essentially, applying for grad programs this fall. Today I found out my paraprofessional license request was approved. In the case of a resume booster or upping my chances for getting accepted to grad school, which would be the better job to apply to? I would apply for both but I don't think I'll be able to have the time for two full-time jobs essentially. I also have a lower than average gpa and am very worried about getting accepted to a program so I want to do whatever would give me the best shot. Does anyone have any advice or opinions on what would be better? Thank you in advance!

Okay that's awesome! I was hoping to find some easier audiology classes because I just cannot grasp the topic for some reason so it's nice to hear that this is an easier course

Hi all, I'm planning on taking a gap year per say and instead of applying this past round I'm applying this upcoming Fall. I'm graduating in May and was maybe thinking of retaking some CSD courses I got a lower grade in to boost my gpa. Has anyone done this and if so where did you take the classes and were they online? I'm pretty sure my university doesn't offer any of our CSD courses online so I was wondering how I would go about taking these classes. If anyone has any suggestions on where they took them or know of anywhere that offers them online please let me know! Specifically audiology classes :/

I'm in the same boat as you so this thread is great. What I plan on doing is finding an ABA job, I've found a good amount on the website indeed.com. I also plan on becoming a paraprofessional and working at an elementary school or wherever I can get a job tbh. I know in my state it's pretty easy to get your para license. All you have to do is have either your high school or 2-year degree and just need to pass a background check and pay the $100 for the license. It doesn't pay much but it's experience, just like the ABA. I also plan on retaking the GRE and shadowing as much as I can.

Yeah I think I'll be applying once my midterms calm down so if they send me some info I would be happy to let you know!

Has anyone who looks at this forum worked for Chicago Speech Therapy or have gotten the chance to interview for them? I saw someone post about it on the results page and am curious about what you exactly did and how your experience was. I'm currently a senior in undergrad and am going to take a year off for multiple reasons but still am 100% about SLP. How was the interview process/is it competitive? How were the hours for it? I live in a surrounding suburb so I'm curious how the commute would be based on the hours. Just any info you can give about it would be great!

I was trying to use EdFind to search for these certain schools but there isn't a filter that applies to fall deadlines/spring admission. Do you know if they'll update it once all these current deadlines have passed for fall admission?

Does anyone know where you can search for programs that begin in the spring semester or programs that have deadlines that occur in September or around that time?

Is there anyone else still following this forum that has decided to take a "gap year"? Curious as to what you'll be doing in your off time and how you'll be trying to improve your stats! Or for those who didn't get in on your first try what did you do during those months off? I know what I have to essentially be doing during these off months but I want to make sure there aren't some things I'm missing or things I should be doing.

Out of curiosity, has anyone on this forum been an slpa? Specifically in Illinois? I'm a little confused on how to go about getting my license. I know in Illinois it said that if you have a bachelor's degree in CSD you are not qualified for the license. Does this mean I have to go through a whole other program to go about getting my license? Just looking for something to do to boost up my resume during my gap year.

Has anyone on this site taken a gap year after their undergrad? I'm not talking about applying to grad schools and then getting denied but deciding altogether to not apply this cycle and wait until the next cycle so you could build up your gpa, resume, retake gre, etc. I'm just very lost on what to do right not because I am not feeling all that confident about my chances of getting in. I have around a 3.2 gpa with gre scores in the 50th percentile for q and v and 93rd for aw. I'm just wondering if you think it would be worth my time and money to go ahead and apply now or take those months off so that I can get better lor's, boost my resume, etc? Or if you had similar stats to mine and ended up getting denied; what did you do after to raise your chances of getting accepted the next time?

Hello everyone! So far this forum has been great for me, although a bit discouraging at times. I'm basically making this post to see if I even have a shot at grad school right now or if I should just wait a year and boost up my resume. Essentially my problem is that I have a very low core gpa, around a 3.1. My overall is near a 3.3 and I'm hoping that my core and overall will rise after this current semester. My GRE is a combined 303 with a 5 on AW. Through looking at some of the potential grad schools I would like to apply, I can see that my GRE is within their range, if not towards the top of the range. I am just worried about my gpa. I understand how competitive grad school is and I believe I am a smart student, just not a very good test taker (darn audiology classes). I see that some of my schools have a range that goes as low as 2.75; so it seems that they've previously accepted students with lower gpa's. So is it worth it to apply and see what happens or should I save my time and money and wait until after next semester when I can have a higher gpa, better resume, more letters of rec options, etc? I know I cannot be the only senior in this position. Thank you in advance for your responses!