Louly

Grow a thick skin. --Your supervisors will critique you in every way possible, suck it up. It's a learning experience...even if they hurt your feelings, their opinions do not define who you are. Your laptop is your lifeline. Connect your school email to every technology you own especially your phone. Phonetics and speech-language development is worth knowing. Get used to not being "perfect" in graduate school. You won't get kicked out for getting a B ? Graduate school is not hard, it's just time consuming.  Prepping for an articulation session takes longer than two hours (until you know your kiddo quite well and/or perfected a few habits). Your classmates/professors/staff members are your colleagues. You do not have to like them but be respectful. Do not burn bridges. Treat this experience like a job because it is. Do not gossip. Research is so important in graduate school. Learn how to read articles. Be flexible. Everything you planned for in your session will most likely by altered by that little 5-year-old in front of you. Another clinician is currently using an item you needed? Find a different toy/activity that can still elicit what you want. Your client is having a bad day? you might end up tossing your lessons away and doing whatever to get them back on track. You will find yourself doing the most silliest things ever just for that speech production.  Even after a month of therapy, you'll still be nervous to see your clients and have NO clue what you are doing. LOL. That two minutes you have until your session starts is still a lot of time. You'll adjust to working under pressure. You're a natural, trust me. You know more than you think you do.  GOOD LUCK! 

2.8 overall, 3.8 last 60 credits, low GRE but great references, personal statement and experience. ---Accepted into 4 programs. Stats don't always represent a person as a whole. Good Luck!

2.8 overall, 3.8 last 60 credits, low GRE but great references, personal statement and experience. ---Accepted into 4 programs. Stats don't always represent a person as a whole. Good Luck!

Alice, 
I'll try answering your questions from above, being that I am bilingual and were accepted to a few bilingual programs/research labs.
1. Is this GPA really just hopeless? I have seen so many people who have their GPAs around 3.3 and do not get any offer. Would it be a better option if I just delay my graduation for another year, and re-take more classes and get more experience? (that will not help my GPA by too much though. My school does not take out my former grades after I re-take courses)
I had a GPA lower than a 1.0 when I first started college .... I took a break for 5years, gain some experiences in the medical field and came back swinging. I eventually earned a 3.8 in the major, 3.8 in my last 100 credits, and re-did about 6-8 courses that would jeopardize my chance of getting into grad school. Some classes were so old that they could not be redone and they're still sitting on my transcript. It eventually took me 7years to graduate from my undergrad but ...good news, I got into grad school on my first try! =) 
As I was reading your post, you stressed the fact that you are "not the hardest worker" and a "school person" ---to be honest, the people that make it into grad school are. I have friends in grad school that had a near perfect GPA, were some of the smartest classmates I know ....who literally cries in the hallway because its that hard. I'm not discouraging you in anyway but I do suggest rethinking a few things over because one of the reasons why this field is so competitive is because grad school IS extremely tough, like, mentally and physically draining tough. My grad friends describes our undergrad studies as a "kiddie playground".
2. I know bilingual SLPs are kind of in-demand in the United States now. how can I maximized this advantage/counter my disadvantage on my GPA when I'm applying?
 I suggest doing some research to show that you're making an effort in helping bilingual populations. Mandarin and Spanish speaking SLPs are in high demand both in the workforce and in research. During my interviews, every faculty member asked me if I knew how to speak Mandarin or Spanish, sadly, it's a no WHICH cost me a few rejections. If you can somehow make use of your talents, do it! because they need more bilingual speakers to help recruit and interpret data.
3. Are there any schools that I can specifically look at that provide bilingual research or clinical opportunities?
Bilingual labs are very popular in our field... I suggest looking down south where there are a higher populations of bilingual speakers. Some schools like Arizona and Texas are top schools for research in bilingual speakers.
4. What cities or states should I be aiming for to have contact with a bigger population of bilingual clients? The state I am in right now does NOT have a lot of diversity.
(read above)
5. I am debating if I want to get my permanent resident identity (the US green card) right now. If I do so I will lose my international student status. I know every school has a quota for international students. Does anybody have any idea or similar experiences on which identity I should be applying under to have a better chance to get in?
I'm not an international student or know any, I'm unable to answer this question.
6. What are some of the other things I can do to help counter my low GPA?
I knew my low GPA in the past was going to hurt my chances of getting into grad school so I did three years of research, got an article published and presented at 5 conferences (one of them being ASHA). I looked for volunteer opportunities everywhere! I volunteered at inclusion schools (working with children with special needs), volunteered at a rehabilitation center (working with AAC devices), became active on campus to build good rapport with faculty members so that I can have strong LOR. Also, by volunteering, I made sure I stayed there long enough so I can get a speech language pathologist to write a LOR for me. When you apply to graduate school, they typically want two letters from someone who knows your academic strive (so like, professors) and one from a clinical perspective (someone who knows your hands on experience). 
 
I hope that helps! Good luck in whatever decision you make =)
 
 

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.

Great job! I'm proud of your perseverance. --I had the same story, a cumulative of 2.8 and even lower GRE scores but worked my a$$ off to prove I've changed. Got accepted first round! 

I'm probably going to overlap with some of the good advice that others have already given, but here are my two cents. I also came to SLP Land from outside the field, so I had to decide between doing a postbac and applying for 3 year masters programs. Initially, 3 year masters programs were the obvious choice, because they come with a guarantee of a masters degree. Very shortly after I started researching those programs, though, I fell in love with a guy who was geographically bound to Seattle. It seemed against "the rules of feminism" (thanks, Gretchen Wieners) to make such an important life choice for a man, no matter how strongly I felt about him. Also, I was 30, divorced, and had been around the block enough to know that not every relationship works out. I felt really torn. It eventually occurred to me that a postbac year would buy me time to see how things unfolded in my personal life, while also allowing me to gain research and volunteer experience (being a total newbie to the field). I reasoned that I'd only have MORE options with a CSD degree under my belt -- the postbac could improve my odds for the UW grad program (in order to stay in Seattle) OR I could apply anywhere else I wanted (including the 2 year versions of the 3 year programs I'd been considering). It seemed like the postbac was a low risk, potentially high reward option... so I chose it.
That said, I'm more than halfway through the postbac, and I can admit that there have been pros and cons. Here are a few I can think of right now:
PROS
1) I formed solid relationships with the faculty. Since I'd been out of school for 7 years and was coming from a totally different field, I wouldn't have had strong LORs without that component.
2) I got research experience that is only available to current students.
3) There were student loans available for at least part of the tuition expenses, vs. presumably paying out of pocket for online courses.
4) I got a solid foundation in CSD. Since I will have clinic clients in my very first semester of grad school this fall, I am super grateful for that. I probably wouldn't have felt prepared for the clinic without the coursework I've taken over the past year.
CONS
1) There is no guarantee of UW grad admission. They definitely give you more consideration as a postbac, but some members of my cohort were waitlisted or straight up not accepted, and that sucks. You only get 2 quarters (~6 months) before your grad application is due, so I felt like I had to be PERFECT the entire time. If you're Type A, it's a relatively competitive, high pressure situation. After I applied, I was stressed out of my mind waiting for my admissions decision. 
2) You'll end up paying for a lot of classes that most schools don't require, especially on the audiology/hearing side of things. Since postbacs pay per credit, it can be very frustrating to consider that you're stuck paying $1700 for a class that isn't required anywhere else, but is required for your degree.
3) It's expensive to be in school full time, and student loans will only cover $12,500 of the tuition cost. If I had known that before I enrolled, I may have decided to keep working and go the online postbac/prereq route. Then again, I would have had to pay everything out of pocket, so... Who knows. I guess my point is, a 3 year grad program may give you more funding options than the postbac does.
 
Regardless of the drawbacks, I'm really glad I did the postbac. I was accepted to the Core program, which means I can keep living with my incredible boyfriend (still head over heels!) here in the Emerald City. It also means in-state tuition, ongoing research opportunities, continued relationships with faculty members, and hopefully the opportunity to make connections that will lead to a future job in the city I intend to continue calling home. It's perfectly acceptable to consider your whole life when you're making a choice like this, and that includes your relationship. (I love love love that 'Lean In' tidbit that @schwastressed shared. I would have lost my mind without my boyfriend's support.)
TL;DR: Personally, I think the postbac is low risk. It will probably only make your application stronger, and it may give you time to see how your long distance relationship unfolds. BUT if the idea of applying for grad schools again next year is going to stress you out, or if you will be haunted by letting go of a sure thing now.... go with the sure thing. 

Sure!
Social scenes: It’s not as oppressed as how the rest of the states view Utah. I arrived thinking everyone will be extremely religious, with no cultural diversity, and everyone walked around covered up. Really ignorant thoughts. I mean, of course, it’s nothing like bigger cities ( LA, Chicago, etc.) but it’s definitely influenced by the neighboring states and growing. There are social scenes but you won’t have any time, so it should be your least concern. 
Professors: They care. Bonus points are given  (something you probably didn’t see as an undergrad, LOL) because they want to see students succeed. Professors at big institutes like the U are invested in research so you’ll find yourself reading A LOT of research articles and/or they’ll cite their work and others. 
Research: There are multiple research labs (childhood language, bilingualism, cleft palate, voice...a wide variety). If you’re interested, you should email the professors to see if they’re looking for graduate assistants. 
Classes: The first semester focuses mostly on children language and development (if you’re going to early childhood or schools, you might enjoy this semester). You’ll also shadow a second year and their client (this client becomes yours in the spring). I highly recommend brushing up on phonetics and language development before starting. The professors will not spend time reviewing, especially for students who hasn’t taken CSD courses or been out of school for a while. Second semester is when you’ll receive clients and you’ll get a variety of courses (Autism, Stuttering, Voice, Research). Which, I preferred and enjoyed as a graduate student. Although it was intensed, I learned more during spring than the first fall. If you’re wondering, classes are not hard. It’s basically a review of your undergraduate courses. The hard part? Time management and the number of clients you have. The more clients in the clinic, the more work you’ll have (treatment reports, progress reports, soap notes, prepping for sessions, etc.) versus classmates who were assigned groups or off campus assignments. Classmates who had adult clients and/or were assigned to groups, had easier semesters than those assigned to kids or individual clients. 
I hope that helps. If you want further information, feel free to inbox me. 

Congrats on the acceptance. I'm currently a student there. 

Alice, 
I'll try answering your questions from above, being that I am bilingual and were accepted to a few bilingual programs/research labs.
1. Is this GPA really just hopeless? I have seen so many people who have their GPAs around 3.3 and do not get any offer. Would it be a better option if I just delay my graduation for another year, and re-take more classes and get more experience? (that will not help my GPA by too much though. My school does not take out my former grades after I re-take courses)
I had a GPA lower than a 1.0 when I first started college .... I took a break for 5years, gain some experiences in the medical field and came back swinging. I eventually earned a 3.8 in the major, 3.8 in my last 100 credits, and re-did about 6-8 courses that would jeopardize my chance of getting into grad school. Some classes were so old that they could not be redone and they're still sitting on my transcript. It eventually took me 7years to graduate from my undergrad but ...good news, I got into grad school on my first try! =) 
As I was reading your post, you stressed the fact that you are "not the hardest worker" and a "school person" ---to be honest, the people that make it into grad school are. I have friends in grad school that had a near perfect GPA, were some of the smartest classmates I know ....who literally cries in the hallway because its that hard. I'm not discouraging you in anyway but I do suggest rethinking a few things over because one of the reasons why this field is so competitive is because grad school IS extremely tough, like, mentally and physically draining tough. My grad friends describes our undergrad studies as a "kiddie playground".
2. I know bilingual SLPs are kind of in-demand in the United States now. how can I maximized this advantage/counter my disadvantage on my GPA when I'm applying?
 I suggest doing some research to show that you're making an effort in helping bilingual populations. Mandarin and Spanish speaking SLPs are in high demand both in the workforce and in research. During my interviews, every faculty member asked me if I knew how to speak Mandarin or Spanish, sadly, it's a no WHICH cost me a few rejections. If you can somehow make use of your talents, do it! because they need more bilingual speakers to help recruit and interpret data.
3. Are there any schools that I can specifically look at that provide bilingual research or clinical opportunities?
Bilingual labs are very popular in our field... I suggest looking down south where there are a higher populations of bilingual speakers. Some schools like Arizona and Texas are top schools for research in bilingual speakers.
4. What cities or states should I be aiming for to have contact with a bigger population of bilingual clients? The state I am in right now does NOT have a lot of diversity.
(read above)
5. I am debating if I want to get my permanent resident identity (the US green card) right now. If I do so I will lose my international student status. I know every school has a quota for international students. Does anybody have any idea or similar experiences on which identity I should be applying under to have a better chance to get in?
I'm not an international student or know any, I'm unable to answer this question.
6. What are some of the other things I can do to help counter my low GPA?
I knew my low GPA in the past was going to hurt my chances of getting into grad school so I did three years of research, got an article published and presented at 5 conferences (one of them being ASHA). I looked for volunteer opportunities everywhere! I volunteered at inclusion schools (working with children with special needs), volunteered at a rehabilitation center (working with AAC devices), became active on campus to build good rapport with faculty members so that I can have strong LOR. Also, by volunteering, I made sure I stayed there long enough so I can get a speech language pathologist to write a LOR for me. When you apply to graduate school, they typically want two letters from someone who knows your academic strive (so like, professors) and one from a clinical perspective (someone who knows your hands on experience). 
 
I hope that helps! Good luck in whatever decision you make =)
 
 

Thank you for your response. After I read your response almost a year ago and consulted many people along with a great amount of soul searching, I made the decision to stay in college for 1 more year to work on my GPA as well as to gain more experience. I am looking to graduate in fall 2018 with all As except one B in my major classes and a GPA of nearly 3.6. I have truly stepped up my game academically, and was honored with a leadership award by ASHA during last semester. I have started my process of obtaining a green card and I will be helping a professor with his research project starting this summer. Needless to say things are looking up a bit for me and I hope I will have a better chance of getting into graduate school after all my hard work. Thank you again for your advise 

My cumulative GPA was a 2.8, got completely denied by one school with a 3.0 GPA requirement. Even after having one of my references from a prestige school write to explain my situation (the bad grades were from 12 years ago & my last 100 credits, I maintained a 3.8), the director still said no. I just said screw it! on to the next school. A month later, I got accepted into five other programs that are actually some of the top 20 schools for SLP training. If they deny you even after a pretty good explanation, you obviously do not want to be with a program like that anyways. Good luck! 

@futureSLPhopefullylol I actually got accepted to University of Oregon, University of Missouri, University of Utah, and Florida State University. Our grades and GRE are a great predictor of how we’ll do in our future graduate program but it’s also the extracurricular activities that would make us an even better clinician. 
@TammyTams you’re too kind. Thank you! 
@Felice of course & good luck! 

Yikes, I can't tell if that was shade or not but people do get into programs with low GRE scores. My scores were a little higher than the previous poster but I side stepped my way into a Masters Psych program at a school people say "Wow!" to every time I mention it. I think a lot of people get into Graduate school with low GREs, people just don't talk about it as much because of the shaming that comes with it. Try to be nice to your fellow posters...we all have different stories getting to where we are!

I think you're projecting... it wasn't shade at all. I'm genuinely curious. 

I think I read it in the wrong tone of voice lol Woops!

Thank you, it means a lot to hear that from a successful applicant . 

I ran into the same problem, so I researched the professors of each school and found at least one from each school who published research or developed a program that matched or were similar to my own interests and discussed why working/learning with/from that professor would further my own learning and future goals. 

Great job! I'm proud of your perseverance. --I had the same story, a cumulative of 2.8 and even lower GRE scores but worked my a$$ off to prove I've changed. Got accepted first round! 

It is hard to answer "will i get into grad school" because each application is different. One person may have a high GPA and very little experience in the field and another may have a low GPA and a ton of experiences in the field. This question very much depends on what schools you are applying to, and what the focus of those schools are. For example, if the focus of a school is being billingual, and you don't have billingual experience you may not be as competitive. But if the focus is on working with children, and you have alot of experience working with children, then you could be a definite yes for that school. It all depends on the context.
Generally speaking, I would say that you have met the expectations for most grad schools and that you are a strong applicant.
Best of luck to you!

You'll end up having to take the prerequisites as leveling courses in grad school..so grad school is going to take longer for you to complete and end up being more expensive. Why not take your  prerequsites some place like USU or ENMU (cheaper than leveling courses in grad school) then applying to grad school. 
I'm also curious as to why you have picked speech pathology? You definitely want to make sure this is what you really want to do because it can end up being a very expensive life lesson if you end up not really enjoying it. 

It isn't necessary to go back and get a second Bachelor's degree, however not getting a post-baccalaureate limits the number of schools you can apply to as an out of field student.  Before considering pursuing Speech Pathology keep in mind it is an extremely competitive field.  Take a look at your GPA and take the GRE if your GPA was below 3.6 getting in will be difficult.  Just as hard if not harder than the job with the BA in Psychology.  You'll need 3 letters of recommendation as well, most schools prefer from Professors.
What got you interested in Speech Pathology?  It's a great field but if you are wanting something that is more of a guarantee another field might be easier to get into and gain a job quicker.  You can apply to other Master's programs without prerequisites in the field.  
I'd say at this point it would take at least 4 years since Fall semester has already started so you'd be looking at  start date of Fall 2018 for most programs and then 2-3 years depending on the program IF you get in your first try.  Then 9 months for your CF which you get paid for then regular career.  If you are comfortable with that timeline and have the grades go for it!

Some schools accept "out of field" applicants without any pre-reqs. It's an expensive route to go since you'll be paying graduate level tuition for the "leveling" classes rather than UG tuition. The benefit is that you will have guaranteed acceptance to a master's program whereas not everyone who finishes a 2nd bachelor's or post-bacc leveling program will win acceptance to grad school.
CSDCAS (like the Common App but for grad school in SLP) has a place for you to list in-progress and future planned courses.

Is there anything you can do to make your applications more personal? Can you email professors and express interest in their work, specifically? Have you met with deans? It sounds like the numbers are not necessarily working in your favor, so go for the personal element. Meet people in the field and make an impression. Make sure your letters of recommendation are strong, too. What does your personal statement look like? Have you addressed your low GPA in your personal statement?
Just ideas -- I would also study for the GRE and retake it. Consider programs with more relaxed GPA/GRE cutoffs. In the end, we are all SLPs, and its been my experience that people don't really care where you got your degree once you're in the workforce. Best of luck! 
 
 
 

Don't waste your time or money. I got into many schools, some with scholarships, with the almost the exact same score and breakdown (4.5 writing score). That's a solid score, now make sure other areas of your application are strong and present you as a unique candidate. GRE scores are not often the 'make or break' factor once you MEET the threshold many schools want (e.g. Combined 300 with around 150 in each and at least 4 writing).