FutureAuD8

I’m a third year AuD student and let me say making a decision for where to go can be tough, but seriously don’t make a decision based on ranking. I personally had 7 schools to choose from. I went where the money and opportunities were. I had secured funding for one year, the opportunity to switch from out of state tuition to in state, and the possibility for future funding. This program was honestly the best decision for me, it also happened to be highly ranked and at the time I thought that was important, but now I know lower ranked programs have great curriculums too and where you get your externship can really set the stage for your first job. My biggest advice when considering schools is cost should always be the first factor. Next you should look at clinical opportunities before the externship, then you should find out if they require you to go to certain externship places and if anyone helps you find places to apply to. The externship process seems far but it will be here before you know it and you won’t want to be navigating it all on your own.

Is it a school with rolling admissions? For most schools you do not need to give an answer until the set deadline of April 15th, but a few schools have rolling admissions (I think Salus does this) so they sort of run on a different schedule.

I recommend to have cost as a significant factor in your decision. Paying off 100k+ of debt on an AuD salary won’t be fun. Another helpful thing to do is to ask the program coordinators at all your schools the same list of questions and compare the answers! Finally ask for contact information for a current student there and ask them questions.

Probably not for the first year. First year funding is usually given to students that have previous research experience, TA experience, or students have the highest test scores. Funding is a way to try to get those students to choose your program over another. You could probably get funding for subsequent years IF your school offers it. Funded positions for audiology can be scarce and it more limited with higher education budget cuts as a result of COVID

Rankings really don’t matter all too much. Go to the school that will provide you the best clinical opportunities and the program that really fits your interests! You’re about to spend 3 years at this program interacting with the faculty and other students you want to go to school somewhere that you fit in and feel comfortable.

Graduate school is VERY different than undergrad. Usually the only way to get a scholarship is from an outside source that you apply for. Some program have graduate assistantships (GAs) for students which usually provides a tuition waiver (various % of tuition) and sometimes a stipend. When I applied 2 years ago my funding offers were with my tuition, some schools do not fund first year students and many have very little funding right now due to covid budget cuts. There are no need based grants for grad school (ie. no pell grants). If you are not offered funding loans or savings are really your options, this is why it is SO important to go to the most affordable school. 100k+ in debt as an AuD can be difficult to pay off/can take a long time if you make low payments.

Hi all! Current AuD student. As more acceptances start to roll around I want to say congratulations to all. If you’ve been put on a waitlist and you’re really interested in that program reach out to the admissions coordinator and express your continued interest. If you have multiple admissions offers look at much more than just program rankings, because no matter where you graduate from if you graduate and pass the Praxis you will be a licensed audiologist. Look at clinical rotation information (when they start, if you find your own rotations, do you get help in finding externships), any special classes they may offer (tinnitus, multiple vestib courses, multiple pediatrics classes, interdisciplinary classes), if you’re interested in SAA find out about their SAA chapter, and most importantly if you are financing your own education look into tuition and if they offer graduate assistantships! You really don’t want to go into a ton of debt for your AuD and there are ways to avoid this, I highly recommend considering schools that offer funding for you or have lower tuition even if they are “ranked lower”, I know incredible audiologists who graduated from “lower ranked programs” so don’t let rankings guide your decisions. I remember the decisions process being very hard for me! Feel free to message me if you want to bounce a pros and cons list off a current AuD student!

When I was admitted 2 years ago I found out funding offers WITH my admission or at least some indication. With every admission I was told “we have no funding for students” “you were nominated for funding” “you received funding” “first year students do not receive funding” etc. Definitely reach out to the program coordinators and ask about funding. Most universities have had budget cuts this year and hiring freezes so there may be very limited funding.

No the program in St. Louis is Washington University (WashU). The program that closed is University of Washington (in the state of Washington). Definitely confusing when programs have very similar names. I'm in Ohio and a similar thing happens with Ohio State University (OSU) vs. Ohio University (OU).

This means that University of Washington closed their program, they did so voluntarily CAA did not tell them to close. I think they closed because the university no longer wanted to have an AuD program (A similar thing happened to Sanford University). Washington stopped admitting new students, they did not have a class start in 2018 so 2017 was their last starting class. You cannot apply for this program. They are remaining accredited through June 2021 so the class that entered in 2017 (class of 2021) can graduate from an accredited university to obtain licensure.

You must be a candidate for 5 years before you can be fully accredited. If you’re concerned I would go to the CAA accreditation website and you can read all about the accreditation process and see which schools are fully accredited, which are candidates, and which are on probation.

So Grand Valley is a new program and they were approved as a candidate for accreditation before their first class started. In order to be licensed and obtain certification (CCC’s or ABA) you just need to graduate from a university that is accredited by CAA or a candidate. All newly developed programs are candidates for their first 5 years before they are fully accredited. It is okay to attend a program that is a candidate as they are on track to be fully accredited and you will still be eligible for licensure. Dr. Halling the department chair at GVSU came from IU so I have faith the program is great and he is knowledgeable of the accreditation requirements. I’d definitely interview! I did my undergrad at GV and am an AuD student elsewhere (the AuD program was not a candidate yet when I graduated). Just know 3 year programs are very intensive, I’m currently in a 4 year program and some days were very overwhelming (I do work part time) I couldn’t imagine doing it all in 3 years.

Current AuD student. In the end as long as you pass the PRAXIS you will be eligible to have the same license as someone that went to Vanderbilt or Iowa or any other program. Those programs with more “reputation” may help a bit for your externship and first job due to name recognition, but after your first job and sometimes even after your externship people just care about your knowledge, work ethic, and personality (ability to exist as a member of a team). Where you go for your externship is going to open doors for your first job and is going to be one of the most important aspects on your resume, as it’s where you just spent a year working as an audiologist your externship is where about 75% of your hands on clinical experience before graduation will com from. One important thing to look at when comparing schools is when do clinical placements start, are you responsible for finding those clinical placements, and do you get any assistance in your externship search/are you required to go to certain places for your externship. You want to go to a program that is going to shape you into a well-rounded audiologist and give you the knowledge needed to be a critical thinker and there’s tons of “lower ranked” programs that do that, but some “higher ranked” programs do too. All in all rankings really don’t matter too much, it’s the opportunities you get at the school and what you do with the knowledge they provide you.

If the schools you’re thinking about offer you funded positions would you consider them? Are the other schools you’re looking at affordable? If the schools you’re considering withdrawing from were safeties there is a high chance you could get a graduate assistantship, which avoiding student loans is something I highly recommend.

Hello all! I’m a current AuD student and I know this time can be stressful waiting for admissions. For some reference I heard back from 1 school in January, 2 schools late February, and then 4 schools early March (I applied to too many schools). This is a nerve wracking time, but your applications are submitted so aside from interviews you’ve done all you can. If you get multiple admissions offers I recommend thoroughly researching the tuition at those programs, asking for contact information for a current student, and asking questions about when clinic starts, where your clinicals are, and if you’re responsible for finding all clinical placements! Best of luck to you all! I’m excited for you to join the profession.