SLPsingballs

I think it depends on the professor. In my program, grading is not curved. However, I can recall professors from my undergrad in CSD who graded on a curve and those who did not.

Hi! My waitlist notification was from last year! Update: I was accepted off their waitlist and now attend their program. Best of luck to you!

@gianinainabottle I am currently attending a residential grad program in Washington (it was a huge move!) so I cannot personally answer your question about attending an online master's program. However, I know several people who are in CSUN's online program, and they are loving it. They are able to work in the field (!!!) while going to school, and can pay for their program outright. That seems like a major bonus, but at the same time the have a 3-year program. In the end, you do what is best for you. For me, a 2-year residential program fit the bill. If I hadn't been accepted to any schools the first round, I would definitely have applied to CSUN's online program. Best of luck to you!!

You may want to apply to CSUN's online program through their Tseng College. I know they have a spring start cohort, and your stats look competitive for them, depending on what prerequisite courses you have taken during your post-bacc. I'd say that #5 on the waitlist at CSULA is a pretty good place to be at, but you never know. If it gives you some hope, I was accepted off a waitlist last year, and am now in the program I was waitlisted at. I also had lower GRE scores than you and was accepted to CSUN's residential grad program (where I did my undergrad). I hear CSU Fresno may be a little less competitive than CSULA, so that may give you more hope. As for Fullerton, they usually choose their own undergrads and it is exceptionally competitive, but again, you never know! Hang in there a little bit longer, and best of luck to you!

It really depends on the school. I had something similar happen with one school last year, and they reopened their CSDCAS application for me (WOW), and another school I missed out on. Good luck! Definitely contact the school's department.

I think it would be important to make sure the programs you are applying to are accredited by ASHA, and aside from that, match your interests. If there are faith-based schools with ASHA accredited programs that you are interested in, go for it! I cannot vouch for any educational differences in applying to a faith-based institution, as I do not attend one. All ASHA accredited programs follow specific criteria and usually have some extras they teach. I would imagine they wouldn't stay accredited if the curriculum deviated too far from the outline of what a masters program should have for SLP. Good luck with your applications, wherever they are at!!

Each CSU should have their specific directions on where to submit the SOP. I applied to CSUF and CSUN last year, and CSUF had us use CSDCAS for the SOP while CSUN used it's own form for the SOP. I may be wrong with other schools, but I'm fairly certain none of them used the CSU application for SOP (I recommend checking with each specific department's instructions on how to apply to their SLP programs).

I was accepted off the waitlist from 2 out of the 4 schools I was waitlisted at, and am now attending one of them. There were also a few acceptances, and several rejections. Applying to grad school is rough- especially for SLP. Good luck through this process!

Hi, so I didn't do a post-bacc program and my undergrad was in CSD, but I had a very low cumulative GPA caused by school grades from about ten+ years ago. However, I had a 4.0 in all my CSD classes. Basically, my cumulative GPA was about a 3.03 when I applied to schools last year, my last 60 units GPA was a 3.96, and my CSD GPA was 4.0. I was so scared of applying to schools and having them look at my cumulative GPA and not my CSD GPA. In the end, I was accepted to 4 schools, and waitlisted at a few schools too. My suggestion for you is to apply to programs that look at the last 60 units and ones that parallel your interests. Mention your previous grades in your SOP if you feel it is warranted, but gloss over them quickly and bring it around to how much you have grown and it has helped you to be an amazing student/clinician now. Try to get a good score on the GRE, if you have not already, and just focus on how far you've come. Good luck!!

Hi, I did my undergrad at CSUN, and was accepted to their residential grad program (I am going elsewhere though). As the previous poster stated, they are very picky about which prerequisites they prefer you to have. They say to shoot for at least a 300 total with GRE, and a 4 or above is preferable for the writing portion. They do look at the whole student, but if they only see a few of their specific prerequisites then they aren't as inclined to admit students (or if you are admitted then you do have to take the undergrad classes they feel you're lacking). It is just about as competitive as other CSU schools, but maybe just a bit less so. They also have a distance ed program that might be even less competitive if you are interested in that. Good luck!! Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions about their program.

I think you have a solid shot at getting into grad school for SLP. What is your CSD GPA vs your cumulative GPA? I had a much worse cumulative GPA, but a 4.0 in CSD and about a 3.96 for the last 60 units. For some schools, it affected their decision, but I still was accepted into 4 SLP grad programs. I did not have any research background, nor was I a member of NSSLHA, but I did have LOTs of experience working with children and focusing on their unique needs. My GRE was similar, 154 V/146 Q/4.0 AW. I feel like if you get a chance to retake the GRE and raise it a tad bit, that would be incredibly beneficial for your situation. Write an amazing LOR, and I bet you'll get into several schools too. Now, if your CSD GPA isn't very high, then it makes faculty wonder why and that'll be another annoying hurtle. Keep rocking it, and you'll be past the stressful and scary stage of getting into grad school.

Honestly, I would ask both the Spanish professor and the CSD professor you are currently taking a class from for a LOR. You never know if one professor might procrastinate too long (I had this happen and had to find a LOR writer at the last minute last year), or which letter would be better in the long run. By the end of the semester, you'll probably have a much better report with the second professor and they'll be able to assess your most current work ethics. Good luck!

You GRE scores are almost the same as mine (154 V, 146 Q, and 4.0 AW), and I graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 (but when I applied to schools, the cumulative GPA was a 3.1, and CSDCAS lowered it with their weird calculations to a 2.97). BUT my CD GPA was a 4.0, and that REALLY helped me. I applied to about 10 or 11 schools. I don't really remember as it seemed like an application frenzy. In the end, I was accepted to Radford U, CSUN (where I did my undergrad), Western Washington U (where I'll be starting grad school this month), and Idaho State U. I was waitlisted at a couple other schools too and rejected by several. I spent a lot of time on ASHA searching for schools that I might have a chance with, and emailed them to see which ones focused more on cumulative GPA vs the GPA of the last 60 units. (My last 60 GPA was about a 3.96). Some didn't even look at me, which hurt, as the student I was 10 years ago is not the student I am today (hence the GPA difference). I think that what helped me in the end was that I built up my application in other places. I had a decent SOP and my LORs were pretty good too (I am assuming there). My personality and passion shined through my writing, and because of that I am now getting ready for grad school. Good luck!! If you have time, it might help to try to raise your GRE (but if not, it might be good enough for some schools).

Ugh. I think you're making a good decision, as painful as it may seem. You're two years away from your dream job. Forget the years that you'll spend paying it all back off. At least you'll be doing something you love (I'm assuming here).

Does this mean you're turning down the school you've been accepted to in hopes of getting in another year? Debt is such a scary thing, I can relate. It all boils down to what you can live with. Good luck with either decision! I know I get sick every time I think about the amount of debt I'll be in after I'm done with grad school.