bibliophile222

I'm a current grad student and I've really been staying in the Grad Cafe community. It is mostly applying undergrads, but if you check out some of the other forums (like coursework, research, etc) there are other current grads. I like the idea of paying it forward and being available to answer questions or provide advice, and it would be nice if more grad students did the same. I also look at reddit, but I like the format of Grad Cafe much more.

Not really a vent, I'm just so bummed about the Notre Dame cathedral fire. Such a beautiful, iconic piece of architecture, and we have no way of knowing just how much has been ruined until the fire's out. I'm glad that at least I've had a chance to go already and see it in all its glory.

Whoops, I was a little confused by the question, so I put the wrong number. I'm an out-of-fielder and I only have one prereq that wasn't covered by undergrad. I used my AP Bio credit for biology, took a stats course as an elective because I knew it was a requirement, and took several social science courses as part of my major. Still need to take chem this summer because my astronomy course doesn't count as physical science anymore.

They didn't even know until last October or November. They were fully prepared to accept my astronomy course until they found out about the new regilations.

Whoops, my bad. I was thinking LIU Brooklyn. Never mind!

No, unfortunately it's for everyone applying for their CCCs after 2020. Since you can't do that until after you graduate, you're stuck with the new regs. It applied to me, and I've already started grad school and now have to take a summer course I wasn't planning on.

One thing you might want to be wary of with Brooklyn is that they're currently accredited but on probation due to poor Praxis pass rates. The most recent figure was 75%, which is pretty low. The good news is that it looks like they're improving (a few years back the pass rate was only 52%), so hopefully they're changing some courses around so students get all the knowledge they need to do well, which is pretty important! I'm not saying not to go there, but there's a chance you may need to do some independent research in some areas that the curriculum might not cover in great enough detail.

It depends on the school, of course, but I don't think big-city schools are the only ones with rich research opportunities, it depends more on the faculty. I'm in a rural state in a town of 40,000 people, but there are many faculty members in my program involved in research-- I'm an RA and am participating in a couple projects. I was also just walking by the research labs the other day and someone with electrodes on their head! Faculty profiles will give you better information regarding what kind of research is being done and how involved it is. That being said, if research is really important to you and a school has the exact research experience you're looking for, take that opportunity unless the cost difference is astronomical. If you would regret not going there for the rest of your life, then do what you need to do to be happy and fulfilled.

I think this may have made a major difference in my decisions at different schools. For two of the three schools I was rejected at, they didn't specify anywhere in their writing prompt to write about why I wanted to go there specifically, so I foolishly neglected to do so and just submitted my generic SOP. In contrast, the school I ultimately ended up attending had that as part of the prompt, so fortunately I was covered! In hindsight it was really foolish of me to neglect this, but fortunately it all worked out okay.

I'm not at Texas State, but may be able to provide some insight on client load. In our program we typically have one client our first semester and 2-3 our second. I'm on the low end with one full-time client and one that's more sporadic. However, a couple people in our cohort have 4 and they've definitely been having a tougher time juggling class and clinic. I don't think having 2 versus 4 clients will make a huge difference in the long run, since I figure we're going to learn soooo much more out in the real world in our placements than we do in the structured setting of a school clinic.

I was an out-of-fielder and had ZERO related work or research experience and got in to two schools on my first try! I will say that my stats were quite good, so it can definitely be a balancing act. If you're weaker in any one area, make sure you compensate by strengthening all the other components of the application.

UMass definitely has a good program--I would have gone if they'd accepted me, both for quality and since it was 10 minutes from my house. ? I know Amherst doesn't have the allure of a big city, but I lived in the area for years and really enjoyed it. Northampton is a great art town, and the area has a ton of good restaurants (I'm a wannabe foodie, so that's all that really matters to me ? ). If you really need that big city vibe or are on the more conservative side of the political spectrum then you may not like it, but it may have more to offer than you think!

UVM has an online audiology course, and it looks like they still have some spots available. They might give preference to admitted students, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. However, I'm sure you could find cheaper courses elsewhere, since out of state tuition is pretty steep.

I got my last job via craigslist. I know there are a lot of potential scams, but I've found it to be fairly easy to tell the real jobs from the fake ones. Might be worth a shot.

I've been spending hours and hours over the last few days completing the testing portion of an online training that requires 80% correct to pass. So far everyone in my cohort who has passed it has taken at least 2-3 tries, so I thought I was screwed because in all of my practice I've been averaging 60%. But I just passed on the first try and now I can stop thinking about swallowing studies for the time being! AND I just found out my school store has a snack mix I adore and haven't had in a few years because I couldn't find it anywhere and thought they stopped making it. Life is good.

Maybe next time phrase it the way you just did? That does sound more supportive. As we know, the written medium can make it quite challenging to convey the paralinguistic features of language. It's very easy to read too much into something that is written bluntly, and to make it sound a certain way in our heads when it was not intended that way. I find myself writing extra carefully (and editing after I post and reread it) to make sure nothing can be construed weirdly. I wish we had diacritics we could use to show tone and emotion!

Is one significantly cheaper than the other? If so, then seriously just pick that one. From what I've heard both are good programs, and to be honest most people (me included) will probably respectfully disagree with @Ecstatic!. I've seen this question a lot both here and in reddit, and 99% of current SLPs say that as long as the program is decent, ranking doesn't matter in the slightest.

Good question! I think this will depend A LOT on your study habits. It is possible to work part time, but I wouldn't recommend more than 10-15 hours a week if you want to stay sane or sleep. IF you don't procrastinate AND can work without being easily distracted, then you can have some time in the evenings and weekends. I'm the type that procrastinates beginning assignments AND gets distracted when there's conversation/TV/music on. I try to do a lot of work at school (I typically stay till 5 even when we don't have class). I then go home, procrastinate/watch TV/try to work and get distracted for a few hours, then buckle down and do more work for a couple hours. Because I stretch my work out, I don't usually have whole days without schoolwork, but other people work smarter than I do and are able to take weekend trips and work more than I do. On the other hand, one girl in my cohort puts way too much work into her assignments and regularly stays up till 3 am. Don't worry though, she is not typical. The latest I've stayed up doing work was 1 am, and that's because I was watching the World Series while trying to write a paper, which didn't work too well!

I've had a couple really laid-back, flexible work-study jobs. Last semester I was a TA for an intro course. Most weeks all I did was monitor the class email and either answer questions or forward them to the professor. There were five 1-2 page papers due throughout the semester, so on those weeks I had to grade 62 papers, which was kind of yucky, but the majority of the time I got paid 4 hours a week to do ~20 minutes of work. I didn't have to go to the class or teach, and I could grade whenever it was convenient. This semester I'm doing RA work with a professor I'm planning on doing a research project with next year. I'm transcribing speech samples (again, I make my own schedule, typically 3-5 hours a week) of toddlers with Williams Syndrome, which is tough but interesting, and it's really training my ear and my IPA abilities! I'm planning on continuing it over the summer too. Next year I'll be a tutor in the graduate writing center, which is cool because I can get certification as an academic writing tutor, which may look good on future job apps depending on the setting. That will be a bit more work and I can't work from home, but the pay is better and I think it will be interesting. One of the main reasons I've been so happy with my jobs this year is that I worked for years in retail and food service and was so horribly sick of it, and now it's hit me that I'll never have to work jobs like that ever again! Hurrah!!!

I live with my long-term partner. I love him, of course, but I do kind of fantasize about how wonderful it would be to live alone! It can definitely be hard to get reading done when the TV is on or if he's being talkative. I'm also a loner at heart and am pretty much never lonely or bored when I'm by myself. However, although I've had bad experiences with roommates in the past, some girls in my cohort live together and it's worked out really well for them. If you find someone who's also a grad student (aka someone who respects study time and quiet!) that you're compatible with it can be beneficial. If you live with someone else, DEFINITELY come up with a list of house rules that you can both agree on. There may still be drama regardless. I think it's just kind of a crap shoot!

Wow, that's a tough one! You might have more luck asking your professors or local SLPs than on this thread. Since English doesn't have uvular sounds I haven't learned very much about them!

I'm really happy that I ended up with a good cohort, since I've heard so many tales of cliques, back-stabbing, and competitiveness in many other programs. After seeing everyone day in, day out for ~7 months we don't have any bad vibes, work well together, and filmed an awesome video last night about thickened liquids. ? UVM CSD class of 2020 rocks!

Don't worry! Lots of people come in from out of field and have different experiences with prereqs (for instance, it can be hard to retain information if you take a 5-week class and have to cram everything in). There WILL be some review at the beginning of each class. If you are looking for specific things to review, I think IPA, basic anatomy of the larynx, and neuro would be most helpful--nothing too crazy, maybe just general stuff like what basic things happen in each lobe, basic structure of the larynx, etc. IPA is also super helpful but again, there will be some review, so don't waste your summer by cramming all day!

I would also recommend looking into observing at private practices, since they sometimes have evening/weekend hours. Master Clinician is pretty cool, but it's also worth sitting in on live sessions to really get a feel for it. Plus, you can ask the SLP about certain techniques, behavior management, etc.

It sounds like the only real reason you would have for picking Penn State is the AAC program. Since UNL still has an AAC department and some pretty amazing pros, I'd go for that one. I think as long as you have some sort of AAC training you'll be fine heading into schools. You might get to work with kids with AAC in your school placement anyways. The location and the fantastic funding sound too good to pass up. The only con I can see to UNL is the 20 hour a week work requirement. That is steep, but you also mention that Penn State seems pretty intensive, so I think either way you'll be pretty busy. If you have good time management skills I think you could handle it. Honestly, the idea of 20 hours a week would terrify me, but I also have some major procrastination issues and probably could fit 20 hours of work into my schedule if I actually started assignments when I said I would!