Southwestspeechie

V- from Maryland, but they pronounce it with a W in Arizona

Hi everyone, hope you're all having a nice summer! I am a first year grad student and my school does not give us our clinical schedules until the first day of class. Another department is interested in giving me a TA position but they need to know my clinical schedule. I know my department has a solid idea of what are clinical schedules are but for some reason they wait to release them. I want to send an e-mail to my CI and politely ask for a better idea of what my schedule will be so that I can get this TA position. My CI in the past (I was a leveling student) has made it seem like I have to work everything around clinic. Could anyone offer any advice on what I should say/how I should handle the situation? Thanks!

I work part time as a Spanish tutor and it's doable. I only do about 12 hours a week. My job is nice because it's on campus and I get to make my schedule so it's pretty convenient.

I was also waitlisted and then accepted to my dream program and I have totally felt the same way. But, even people who weren't waitlisted also feel like this. Grad school is competitive and it's easy to feel like you don't belong when you compare yourselves to others. Don't listen to these negative thoughts, you are wanted in your program and will do great! Trust your own skills and keep pushing yourself to be better, but do this for you, not anyone else.

Hi! There are about 60 leveling programs according to edfind. Here's the link: https://www.asha.org/edfind/results.aspx?up=true

Look for free food wherever you go and try to limit how much you go out! The school I go to has a Campus Pantry for students where you can pick up some food twice a week, and it helps a lot.

Completely agree. OP, why not look into University of Arizona or Arizona State? UofA's out of state tuition is 34k a year, but they say that everyone will get some sort of financial help before they graduate. If you do apply to UofA, definitely talk about your experience in Japan ?

I am so happy that you have had a great experience in your program OP! I am not sure if these programs are actually overrated though. I go to a top 10 program and can say that it is absolutely amazing. We have top researches as our professors, but they don't only focus on incorporating research. They really emphasize client and parent expectations when crafting our treatment plans. I also don't find my program harsh; all of the faculty are incredibly supportive, as are my fellow classmates. While I do agree that actual practice facilitates learning, tests are necessary, especially since we all have to take COMPS to become SLPs. I think a lot of the information you are providing about these programs is based more on assumptions and doesn't match the actual experience of students who attend those programs. Each program is too unique to really make these broad generalizations anyway I hope this didn't come off as rude, I mean to only share my experience.

This happened to me! I was accepted to my dream school on April 13th, but my letter of commitment to another school was already in route by mail. I would have waited until the April 15th deadline to commit but unfortunately they wanted my decision by snail mail ?, so I had to send it a few days earlier to arrive on time. I lost the $300 deposit but it didn't matter at all since I am now at the best program for me. These things happen and programs will understand. Good luck to you, I know the waitlist process is really hard!

It is definitely true that programs look at more than your GPA. That being said, I would strongly suggest trying to boost your GPA during your last years of undergrad. You definitely have time, and having a stronger GPA will only benefit you, as some schools are pickier than others with GPA. You want to make yourself the best candidate possible in all areas so that you have many options. Good luck and keep up the good work!

PM'd you!

Have you thought about 3-year masters programs too? That's what I am doing and I absolutely love it. You enter as a graduate student but take some undergraduate level prerequisites your first year, then go into the normal two year program. I understand if that's not something you'd be interested in, but just thought I'd mention it as some people aren't aware they exist If you have any more questions, let me know!

Terrible that your professor told you that. He or she is not on the admissions committee to those other schools and simply does not know. You have a great GPA and great experiences in the field, so that will definitely help offset your Q and V scores. I don't think your Q and V scores will exactly help you, but I doubt they would ruin your application. You may not get offered a GA or TA position because of your more average scores, but most don't get offered that anyway Do any of these programs have a GRE cut off? That's the only way I could see them really hurting you as some programs use those cut offs to easily file through applications by not looking at applications with scores under the cutoff. Best of luck to you! Try to enjoy what's left of your senior year!

Look at the professors in your department and find one whose lab matches your interests (Aphasia, language acquisition, etc.). I was a research assistant in a Child Developmental lab in the psychology department and it was very rewarding. It gave me valuable experience giving standardized tests to children and helped me get to know a professor really well, which was great for an LOR.

There are actually many 3-year programs. Edfind has a whole frequently requested list search that includes about 60 different programs. Here is a link to it: https://www.asha.org/edfind/results.aspx?up=true OP if you have any questions about 3-year programs please let me know! I only applied to 3 year programs.