SLP2BNY

Nazareth college does have an autism specialty track!

Hi! I'm from 45 minutes east of the Rochester area and have visited naz's slp grad program a few times. It was my top choice but unfortunately I couldn't afford the private tuition and had to choose a school I could get in-state tuition. The program seems phenomenal and they have a brand new wellness center where occupational, physical, and speech therapy students treat patients and it's absolutely gorgeous! The campus is beautiful. And Nazareth is in Pittsford which is an extremely nice suburb of Rochester about 15 minutes outside the city. They also offer deafness and autism specialization tracks with an opportunity to study abroad in Ethiopia during a break if you do the deafnes specialization. Overall it's a fantastic area and program!

Hi! I'm a first year student at UB right now! There are 6 supervisors and they're all amazing. Very nice, supportive, helpful, and extremely knowledgable in their areas. Between them all they cover the scope really well. One specializes in AAC, one in autism/social pragmatic, one in voice, one in child artic/language, one in accent mod/fluency, and one in adult language/medical (aphasia,TBI, dysphagia,etc.) We do on campus clinic the first 4 semesters, and then you do 2 different 6 week externships in any areas of your choice for the last semester. (There are no classes the last semester so you have the choice to do the externships anywhere you like) We are one of the only schools that doesn't do comprehensive exams which is a huge plus. You have the option to do a thesis but they in no way push it on you and most choose not to. We also have no classes or clinic on Fridays (unless you do voice banking) because they give you that day to catch up which is awesome. The first semester you usually only have 1 client plus Kindergarten/PreK screenings in local schools, which is very manageable. You have 3-4 weeks of inservices to help prepare you for the population you'll be working with. You also have a 2nd year mentor to help you with clinic and classes which is extremely helpful. The following semesters you usually 3-4 clinical assignments (I.e. A diagnostic team and 2-3 clients) We have a wide range of clients that come in the clinic but a Few of the unique clinical opportunities we offer are LSVT voice therapy individual and group sessions for a group of men with Parkinson's which is an absolute blast. We also are the only clinic in the area that does voice banking (working with ALS patients and recording their voice for them when they are first diagnosed so if when/they eventually lose their voice we can download their voice onto a device & it will be their own voice coming out instead of a random computer voice). We also do enrichment services at boys and girls club, work with adults with developmental disabilities on life skills in the community, and do accent modification services at a seminary for priests who have moved here from other countries. In the summer we do a variety of camps such as a preschool language/artic camp in the summer and a social skills group for teens with autism. You will also participate on a diagnostic team at least once and do a variety of evals in the clinic (we just did a voice feminization eval for a transgender client which which was really cool). The clinic is old and fairly small, but it has everything you need (a materials closet, a preschool room, an adult/life skills room, 10 small therapy rooms, an audiology suite, and a computer lab). Some of the professors can be tough but the work is doable, but the best part about the program is the wonderful supervisors-which is great because in my opinion clinic is the most important part in grad school! Let me know if you have any other questions!

I am a first year graduate student and I know of many many people who got in off wait lists, in fact I think more than half of my class was put on the waitlist at first! Most people apply to around 5-8 schools, so everyone that gets accepted first round has until April 15th to decide, and then they have to turn down all the other offers at the other schools they applied to which opens many more spots after April 15th. So usually they send out a lot more acceptances after April 15th, and then then they keep sending out more and more acceptances until all the spots are filled. I know a girl who got waitlisted at all 5 schools she applied to, and ended up getting into all 5 after April 15th. I've heard of people getting off the waitlist as late as July. Good luck!

That's awesome! Her materials are all so great!

Hi all! If you want more info on how to get into grad school, what grad school is like once you're in, what to expect, etc. I follow an awesome SLPA/ slp grad students's instagram account (@thesocialspeechie) and YouTube account (the social speechie). She has a lot of really helpful videos with awesome information and is always open to answering any questions! Good luck to everyone who applied this cycle!

@Andrea6813If you follow @thesocialspeechie on instagram she goes to FSU's online distance program and would be able to answer any of your questions if you dm her! She also has a YouTube channel (the social speechie) and explains what the program is like in some of her videos!

Amazon has great speech language pathology clipboards that have a ton of useful information from all classes on the front and back (developmental norms, phonetics, swallowing phases, brain areas, etc.) https://www.amazon.com/speech-pathology-clipboard/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aspeech pathology clipboard Also Etsy has really great SLP mugs/wine glasses with phonetics and cute SLP sayings that you can get personalized!

I have heard they care more about verbal than Q. I only got a 149 on verbal and a 152 on Q and got accepted to every school I applied to so you should be fine!

@jpiccolo @Chai Tea Latte Thank you both for replying! Do you mind if I ask how many clients you currently have? Or are you on a diagnostic team/screening team? And does your program do on campus clinic all of the semesters leading up to externships or do yo do off campus placements?

@Blue J I would be happy to update you around finals time! During undergrad I also often heard that it was the worst 2 years of your life and you just need to get through it so I went in expecting the worst, and have been pleasantly surprised at how much I'm enjoying myself. As it nears the end of the semester and due dates for final presentations/papers near I definitely am feeling more overwhelmed with work, but since I enjoy all the topics it is work I don't mind doing. The amount of valuable information/experience I have gained the past 2 months is definitely worth the workload! You'll look back after a few months and be shocked at how much you've grown in such a short time, and you'll be happy that you've been assigned the workload you have because you know it is making you a better clinician in the long run. I also expected to have no time for a life whatsoever based on what I had heard but have been pleasantly surprised that if you manage your time well there is still time to do things you enjoy!

@chloslp I came in feeling incredibly unprepared. I went to a different school for undergrad, so I was nervous that I didn't learn the same things those that went to my current grad school for undergrad did, and I felt like I hadn't had as much shadowing/outside experience as others, plus my undergrad program didn't offer clinic practicum while others did, so I was worried I would be behind. However, when I started I was pleasantly surprised that it seemed like most of my cohort was all on the same page. Many of my classes (aside from neuro lol) overlapped with many things I learned in undergrad but just went into more detail. As far as clinic, I was nervous I would be thrown in and have no idea what I was doing, but the supervisors offered a lot of support because they want you to succeed and they know what level of support students need to do that. They offered many "inservices" the first few weeks to help you figure out how to do paperwork, logs, etc. and work with the population you were assigned. I also have a class just for clinic procedures to practice writing goals, SOAP notes, plan of cares, etc. I also have a 2nd year mentor who has been extremely helpful in figuring out the ropes. I came in with the mindset that it was going to be extremely difficult. Overall in regards to classes I have felt much more prepared than I thought I would. Even though I didn't feel prepared for clinic coming in, all of the support given through my clinic class, inservices, and mentor helped me feel very prepared for my first clinic session once I started!

@futureSLPhopefullylol I was in the same exact boat! I felt I didn't have a very inspiring reason why I chose the field or any major struggles I've had to overcome that would make me stand out. Many of my professors told me to focus more on why I think I would succeed in their graduate program/ what qualities I have to offer to make myself an appealing candidate. So I wrote about relevant past work/ volunteer/ extracurricular experience that I thought would help me succeed in clinic (internship as a co-ESL teacher showed I am able to collaborate well with other professionals, 1:1 autism aide, experience working in special needs school, etc.) and then that I believed my undergraduate grades showed I am committed to academic achievement so I believe I would be successful in their classes,and that I possess time management/organizational skills to balance clinic and coursework, etc. I also tailored my personal statement to each school I was applying to. I looked up what research/specialty clinics each school offered. I then wrote about what areas of the field I was most interested in/what kind of setting I hope to work in and how I thought the research/unique opportunities that school provides would help me be successful in those areas. Hope that helps!

Hi all! I am a current slp graduate student in my first semester. I remember being incredibly scared and anxious during the application process and months leading up to graduate school after hearing many horror stories about stress level/lack of time and not knowing what to expect and being so nervous to start clinic for the first time. I remember reading through this forum and trying to soak up any and all information I could find about what to expect when I started. I am now 2 months in and loving every second! Yes it is a lot of work, but it is so exciting to be able to apply the knowledge you've spent 4 years learning and getting to connect with clients and see their progress. If you are anything like I was and and feeling anxious/curious about what to expect please feel free to ask me any questions!

To any current of former graduate student: (or any future student that has insight on this matter) i am currently in my first semester of graduate school and will have about 45 clinical hours by the end of my first semester. How many did you all have after your first semester of graduate school? I am not sure if this is a decent amount or if I will have catching up to do in coming semesters. Thanks! ?