pbandj

I agree with everyone's suggestion to drill through practice questions, especially questions you're having trouble with. Magoosh is pretty great at pinpointing questions you should focus on. Magoosh predicted my range of scores to be about 153-160 for either section. Like many posters here, I was also doing worse in math. I ended up getting 163 in both sections. In my experience, Magoosh's quantitative section is harder than the actual GRE test. It may be frustrating now, but keep at it and the GRE may actually be so easy in comparison! Hang in there and remember the bigger picture when you start to feel dejected - grad school then being an SLP! The GRE is just one little part of that process. You will get through this before you know it. Good luck!

Many schools only require a majority but not all of the prereqs to be complete at the time of application. Some schools may require proof that you have registered for the remaining prereqs (I had to do that for one program). Check with each program's application process, but generally you should be good to go ahead and apply - especially if you only have one prereq to complete.

I think the difficulty of doing a CFY in another state can depend on the two states. For example, I'm going to school in Washington and asked them about how easy it was to go back to California. I was told it was really quite easy and they've had students go to California for their CFY a week after graduation! But to go to some other states, it's more difficult. Maybe the requirements between CA and WA are pretty similar or they have connections? I didn't ask too much at the time. I would ask your grad program if they have had students complete their CFY in the state you're interested in, or if they know how that would work.

How close were you with these professors? To jog their memory, you may want to first introduce yourself and which courses you took with them. Provide examples of your work in those courses if you still have them. Tell them if they are able and willing to write a letter, you will provide them with your personal statement, resume, and if you want you can also send them your unofficial transcript. That should cover most information they'll need. You can even just send those documents in the first email rather than in a follow-up, that way they can really judge if they'll be able to write a LOR, plus they'll have all your information in one convenient email. Also, let them know which schools you're applying to, how each school accepts LORs, and the deadlines for each program. Most programs now send an email invitation to that professor to complete the LOR online, but some do still require physical LORs. Make sure to follow up on whether they're receiving these invitations, especially since you won't be able to see them in person. One of my recommenders is in another state and we had to communicate strictly through email - it's totally possible! Just anticipate the information they might need and make the writing process as easy as possible for them. Good luck!

Your GRE scores seem fine to me, especially given your high GPA and other experiences. Most programs just want to see at least a 150 in each. I personally don't see a couple points making a noticeable difference in your application. You can check gradcafe's admission results page to see the stats of applicants who have been rejected or accepted from those schools, but remember there are other parts to an application. I suggest you focus on polishing your personal statement and getting great LORs now. Also, check out the speech-language pathology forum for more feedback! Most speech path students hang around there and maybe someone more familiar with UTD and Baylor can give you more advice. Best of luck with applications!

I second the above post. I had friends working as a para in special ed classes, and they had great experiences. If you work in a school I think your schedule will pretty naturally fit into the schedule of your children. I went the ABA route and worked part-time at a center providing ABA services to children with autism. I loved my job and the hours were extremely flexible, though that may vary a bit between agencies. Can't go wrong with either. Best of luck to you.

Firstly, I'm glad to hear you are doing well academically! But speech-language pathology is quite a different field from yours. While some people do pursue a PhD in speech-language pathology, most posters here (including the OP) are talking about pursuing their master's unless they have specified otherwise. A master's degree in speech-language pathology is necessary to become a licensed speech-language pathologist. Getting into a master's program is extremely competitive because of this, and can actually be seen as more competitive than the PhD level because there are just so many students and even a lot of career changers fighting for limited spots. If the poster wants to now pursue a master's in a less competitive field and think about a different career, I agree that that could potentially be a good idea; however, if he or she wants to become a speech-language pathologist, the only way is to pursue a master's in speech-language pathology, which is the current dilemma. @slpaneedzhelp Have you had other experiences besides being an SLPA? Are you applying to a variety of programs? Are you applying to the same programs every year? If you are applying to the same programs, you can ask for feedback on how you can strengthen your application. I also notice you're from CA (like me!) and I know basically all the CA programs are super competitive. If you have not already done so, apply outside of the state. There are a lot of great threads here discussing programs that are more relaxed with GPA/GRE.

I can share with you my personal statement in a PM. I used basically the same personal statement and tailored only the last paragraph or two for each school, reinforcing why I felt I was a good fit based on experiences I had described and mentioning specific programs or program goals that resonated with me. Pick just two to maybe three experiences and go really in depth about them and what you learned from each. If you find that certain experiences are more relevant for one program than another, definitely change up your personal statement! For me, I felt like the two experiences I highlighted were relevant to each program I chose, so I didn't feel the need to change the bulk of my personal statement between applications.

I don't think the grades matter. I fulfilled the biology and physics/chem requirements through AP credits in high school and all the programs I applied to accepted them lol. They showed up as credit on my college transcript. I think SFSU did ask for the specific AP scores, though.

In my personal experience, Magoosh prepared me very well for the quantitative section but the verbal section was meh. I agree that a tutor may help. At least now you can focus specifically on the verbal section. Perhaps you can shadow an SLP to add on more experience in the field? There are other aspects of the application besides the GRE Don't give up! This forum may sometimes be intimidating, but I think you will also find many hopeful stories of people who have worked hard and gotten into programs with "low" stats. Find those stories, focus on improving your application, and take a break from this website. Good luck!

What Jolie717 said. Right now I am trying not to bank too much on loan forgiveness programs, though I suppose I should still look into them. I fear they will either be eliminated or look drastically different by the time I begin paying back my loans. Such a shame.

You're doing awesome! Good luck on your job applications. For the GRE, I would say the amount of time studying depends on how comfortable you are with standardized tests. I definitely think consistent, shorter study sessions of focused studying will beat cramming for hours. The maximum amount of time you should commit to really studying is about two months, maybe three; any longer and you might burn out and lose commitment, and may even forget what you worked on at the start of your studying. Do a couple of practice tests before the real one to practice your pacing. Good luck! I used Magoosh and the free online resources from ETS.

This may not be applicable everywhere, but at some universities, I believe you are allowed to take online courses without having to go through the entire program. I'm not really sure whether completing a whole post-bacc program is possible, or even really beneficial. I think you can do with retaking just some courses to boost your GPA a little. A higher GRE score can help offset a lower GPA, too. Also, I know programs generally like receiving at least 2 LORs from faculty, but don't forget you can branch out of CSD for that. For one of my programs, I asked a classics professor to write me a LOR and it worked out! Granted, she is now the associate dean of her college, has known me since my freshman year, and she is familiar with my work in both academics and extracurricular activities. There are a lot of factors that go into choosing a LOR and every case is different, but in general, I personally believe having a strong LOR from faculty outside of CSD beats a generic LOR from faculty within CSD. You mention helping start an on-campus organization - was there faculty involved from whom you can ask a LOR? If you really want another CSD professor for a LOR, again you may want to consider retaking a course online and making a connection with that professor. It may be more difficult to maintain contact with a professor online, but I've heard of it being done before. And ABA therapy is great! Does your state have SLPAs? That may be a good option.

Yay, I'm so glad you're enjoying it!! I've spent so much time going through that website lol it's awesome. I totally agree, there are so many resources out there we don't even know about yet! I only know about that one because the director of the autism center where I used to work recommended it to us lol. Professors/other professionals are pretty good "resources" ?

I second the response above! In terms of experience, it sounds like you're pretty solid in your plans moving forward! Make meaningful connections with the professionals you'll meet because they may be able to provide excellent LORs. To improve your GPA, I also agree that you can try searching for online classes if you are willing to do so. Some new suggestions to boost your application: For the GRE, I studied using Magoosh and it helped me a lot. I know others on this forum have recommended it as well. Begin your personal statement early and work on it continuously. The personal statement is how the admissions committee will really see your depth and passion, so you take your time on it. Get feedback from lots of people. If you can approach a CSD professor with your personal statement for suggestions, that would be even better - especially if the professor is part of an admissions committee! Also, compile a list of potential graduate programs if you have not already done so, and try to apply to a diverse set of programs if you can. There are fantastic threads here discussing programs that accept "lower stats." While some of these programs may be out-of-state for you, they may end up being relatively affordable because of lower cost of living, lower tuition, etc. If you are willing to apply to a broad set of programs, I think you would increase your chances of acceptance. You have fantastic experiences already and those will definitely help you! Good luck with your gap year. Hoping for the best

Also, there is a website called Autism Navigator and you can sign up for free to view videos regarding development and different treatment methods. It's not necessarily speech-language pathology oriented (though there are videos of SLPs included), but the videos are still interesting and useful for those interested in learning more about working with children with autism. I liked watching therapists use different intervention methods, from DTT to Floortime, and I think even the videos that do not feature an SLP demonstrate behavioral methods that are applicable to speech-language therapy. Here is the link to the free videos: http://resources.autismnavigator.com/

I highly recommend reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. It is a fantastic book that follows a Hmong family and their experience with Western medicine. Although oriented toward the medical setting, I think it is fantastic in exploring multicultural issues in all related human services. I bonded with one of my SLP professors because of our love for this book lol.

Thank you so much!! And hang in there! Try to distract yourself, even though it's not that easy lol, and hopefully you get good news soon. Good luck!

Was this message sent to all applicants waiting for a decision, or a response to an email you sent? I don't think it's a sign in either direction for yourself or for anyone in particular. Sounds like they're just trying to be transparent with their admission process. I hope you hear good news soon! ?

Hi there! You have a lot of great options available to you. I hope I can help a little bit, though I only know really know about nursing - my family is full of nurses. Firstly, I don't think it's a bad idea at all to go back and get an associate's in nursing if that's what you want to do! Nursing is a great profession, and RNs make a decent amount of money. You can go from ADN to RN, and then if there are additional options you want within a hospital, you can pursue a BSN and then potentially beyond to MSN or MPH, etc. However, another thing to remember is that nursing, unlike speech-language pathology, doesn't require a masters degree, which is something that may be beneficial if it becomes financially difficult to continue schooling. You can hold a very solid, well-paying job with an RN, and a BSN opens up a lot of doors! Many nurses in my family stopped at BSN because they already have so many options that they will never get bored. That being said, nursing is a lot of commitment and quite different from speech path. If you are set on it, it will be hard work but you can get it done and you will have a great career! I'm sorry I could not help in OTA, but I hope you are able to get all the information you need! Best of luck to you in your future endeavors!

Definitely doesn't hurt, but as others have said, it is a big time commitment. Make sure it's really how you want to spend your time, then go for it and give it your all! If it's not how you want to spend your time, or if it will be too difficult to balance the position on top of other responsibilities, you can either find something else to do or increase your involvement in other activities. Don't spread yourself too thin! I think committing to something you're passionate about is what will sway the committee the most, but that doesn't necessarily HAVE to be NSSLHA. I wasn't on my school's NSSLHA board, nor was I a member, and I was accepted into my top choices. Leadership in NSSLHA looks great and they do awesome things, but I personally wanted to focus on my involvement in other activities and didn't have time to commit to the NSSLHA board. There are only so many hours in a day! If leadership in NSSLHA is how you want to dedicate those hours, you will benefit so much from the connections and experience, and it will look great on your applications - but don't sweat it if you would rather do something else instead. Good luck! PS love the username ?

I'm so sorry to hear you're having difficulty finding a position. I was actually working part-time while in school! However, I assume you're looking for a full-time position after graduation. I was qualified enough for part-time, but I'm not sure I was qualified back then for full-time. ? If you're interested, I would definitely encourage you to try going into it through part-time work if you're financially able and if you're unable to go straight into full-time. Where I currently live there is quite a shortage of ABA therapists/services, so it was easy to get a part-time position. There are lot of kids to serve here, and not many people to do it. A lot of part-time therapists in my area are people who came in with limited to no background in ABA, and they are then trained and supervised by BCBAs and graduate ABA students. Perhaps it's the same where you live? Maybe you can start part-time then move up to full-time after having gained some experience - a lot of my coworkers got their full-time positions that way. You can also try calling agencies you're interested in working for and explaining whatever experience you have with kids and/or ASD, your degree in communicative disorders, your interest in working with children with ASD, etc. and seeing if those experiences, despite not being ABA therapy, are solid enough to land you a position. I do hope you're able to provide ABA therapy! It can be really tough, but it is so rewarding! And our fields go together so nicely ? Good luck!

Perhaps the personal letter can come from a coworker or, if you are in any clubs, a fellow club member - not someone you have worked under, but someone you have worked with and who can attest to your character. And if that person is a friend too, that's an added bonus because they will really talk you up!

Haha that's so awesome! When I was first told that advice, I thought it was kinda ridiculous to make such a big decision that way. But it really helped me accept that I was already leaning a certain way and that I should just go for it! Just visited my future campus today and no regrets with my choice

The price difference is certainly quite a gap; however, you know your financial position and interests best. The most helpful advice I was given while making my decision was to simplify the choices as much as I could, no pros and cons list, and just think about what I would regret. Which one would you regret more: taking out over $60k of loans, or missing the internship opportunities at Pitt? I know it's not the most thorough advice lol, but it helped me make a decision and feel good about it, so I hope it helps you a bit! Good luck on your decision!