Southwestspeechie

Thank you so much for this helpful information!

If you have any experience with this, how common is it for a job to offer to pay your loans? Also, what types of things did you look for in your chosen place to complete your CFY?

I guess it depends on when you plan to take the GRE again. If you know you cannot put forth the needed time to study, then I really wouldn't waste your money and take it again. I studied for about 10 hours a week (only for quant) for 2 months before I took my GRE again and only raised my quant score by 3 points. Maybe focus on getting a third outstanding letter of rec and writing a great statement of purpose. It helps the schools look beyond your scores. Your other scores are great, and the quant score is least important so I think you would be fine without taking the GRE again. I know how awful the quant section can be, don't worry too much, I think the other portions of your application will make up for it!

Our scores and GPA are pretty similar, but I was an out of field candidate. My best advice to you is to really comb through edfind to look for programs that match your scores. Make a list of schools and try to have at least 2-3 safety schools, 2-3 in the middle, and 2-3 reach schools. I am not sure how many schools you are planning to apply to, but I would suggest at least 5. Make sure your SOP is really good and have it checked various times by multiple people. The quant score is the least important score, don't give up hope, you can definitely do it

All of the schools in my signature are 3-yr programs.

Schools will see all of your scores for any test, you can't pick and choose which sections from a particular tests to send them. However, I think most schools will focus on your highest score in each section from all tests.

Unless your writing score is below 4, do not stress yourself out about taking it again Make sure you get good letters of rec!

No, I took mine a second time at the beginning of December to apply for schools with deadlines in January and February. I would say leave at least 4 weeks between your test and your app's due date.

Yes, I would recommend visiting the program, but not just to put a face to the applicant. It is so important to see the area around the school. My advice would be to look at the school's faculty, and find a professor that matches your research interests or other academic interests, and then ask if they have some time to meet with you. Usually professors will be happy to do so. These may be the very people on the admissions committee. This also gives you someone to contact if you have questions about the program later on in the application process. I would ask about clinical placements, what populations do students work with after graduating/where do they work, and about any unique features of the program (bilingualism, autism, whatever interests you). Good luck!

I think most professors do not mind if someone records them. Maybe the professor you mentioned was angry because the recording was shared with another classmate, because she thought people will skip class and only use the recording. The worst they can say is no, and I think they would appreciate that you came to ask them first anyway. I recorded lectures in the past and never went back to listen to them. For me it's really easy to glaze over while listening to a recording of a lecture and in the end I found taking notes during class was best. I wasn't able to actively listen so that I could retain the information. Recordings might be good as a secondary tool though.

I think your GRE score is already good! Most schools rank the verbal and essay above the quant. I have heard that UT Dallas favors in state people so that is a positive for you It honestly sounds like you have a lot going for you since you are so well rounded.

I know the GRE is awful but I highly recommend taking it. Schools that do not require the GRE are often highly competitive and would really limit your options. As you can see my math score was less than stellar and I still received various acceptances. See if you can at least do well in the verbal and essay part. Once you get the GRE over with it feels great!

All of my schools asked for unofficial transcripts (except for the 2 that used CSDCAS) and they all asked or expected fall grades to be included. What I did was I started all of my applications months before the deadline and submitted them closer to the deadline once my unofficial transcript had my fall grades.

Could you ask if there is an ideal percentage of a loan to try and pay off each year (before graduation)? Thank you!

Definitely check out the schools on ASHA and see which schools your scores fit into. I applied to some reach schools and some that fit my scores and was pretty successful in doing that. As for the references, I would contact your prospective schools and ask them if you can provide work related letters instead of academic ones. I believe some schools will make exceptions if they understand your reasoning. Definitely highlight all of the experience you have in your statement of reference because that is really important! Good luck to you

I worked at a child development & schooling lab, so it was not directly related either! It's all about making connections between what experiences you have to the field of speech path. For example, I talked about how transcribing interviews related to me getting better at listening to people's speech more closely. A lot of schools will like to see research experience as well because it means you could possibly work in their labs. Most of the skills from psychology labs are useful in speech labs too! I was just an intern at an ABA place so I did not need any extra certification and only had to attend one orientation before starting. It probably depends on the place and what position you are going for. Hope that helps!

As long as you can include these experiences in your application, it is not too late I am also an out of field applicant and all of my LORs were from professors: 2 from Spanish classes, and 1 from a psychology lab. If you can, I highly recommend working in a research lab, as that's a great way to get a LOR and have an important experience in your SOP. While it is a great idea to get outside experience, I found that most schools want all of your LORs from professors, so try to establish relationships with them. One other tip is to get LORs from phD level faculty. I do not know how your school is, but at mine we had quite a few professors that were grad students or only had their master's degree. As for getting experience, it was really difficult for me to find some too! Does your area have ABA therapy places? I got over 25 hours of observation of speech therapy at an ABA place, where a speech pathologist also worked. It might be worth it to see if your area has one. Good luck to you and let me know if you have any other questions!

Why not take a free online full length practice test instead of spending $200 to see how you score? Best of luck to you!

Take at least 3 practice tests that are timed and set up like the real test. Timing was a big issue for me during the math section, so this will help you make sure you are answering questions quickly. I believe the ets website has free practice tests. Magoosh is also great.

Glad I could help you! Thank you :). I did not complete a post-bacc, instead I will be in their 3-year master's program, in which I will complete the prereqs during the first year.

There are four ASHA required courses. You can take physics or chemistry, but both are not required. Unless you want to take A&P, do not take it in place of a bio course. In your post-bacc or grad program you will be required to take A&P of the vocal mechanism, so I don't think it's necessary to take a general course on that. When I asked two of my schools for clarification on ASHA required courses, they said that as long as the course has Bio, chem, or physics in the course name, they will accept it. For example I took BIO123 and CHEM100 to fulfill my requirements (along with PSYC and STAT). There is no expiration date on courses, just the GRE. It is not necessary to get As in the courses, but of course that would be best. Good luck and hope that helps!

You could become an RBT (registered behavior technician) and work in a place that also has an SLP. You could also ask the place if you can work more with children who also have language disorders, that way your experience will be even more relevant. Getting certified is pretty easy and you will have a lot of experience with children. There are a lot of skills important for this job that are also useful for an SLP, like implementing new treatments and working with the parents to provide the best therapy for the child. Not sure if you are interested in working with clients on the autism spectrum, but of course this job would be an added bonus for that. Good luck

I am also an out of fielder! I got in to 6/7 of the schools I applied to, however I only applied to 3-yr programs and did not complete a post-bac. My stats are in my signature. If you do not get in, would you be interested in 3yr program? I think you have a really good chance of getting in, but I do not know much about online program's admissions. Good luck to you!

I believe George Washington has a lot of opportunities for this.

Why do you say they will not know that you are taking these courses? Most programs ask you to put courses you are currently taking/planned courses on your application, so I would assume the same would apply for post bacc people. I think leveling courses are absolutely worth it, as you will have more options if you already completed the pre reqs, whereas I could only apply to 3-year program (but that worked out for me anyway). I don't see why you couldn't apply at the same time, however I could be wrong. Best of luck to you!