Consistent Email Refresher

Hi, thanks so much for responding that would be extremely helpful! The main things that I am curious about are what the schedule is like (are your classes all stacked into one day or spread out along with clinic hours), what the environment is like between students/in your cohort (are people kinda competitive or supportive /get along well etc.), what living in Nashville is like (I’m Jewish and have lived in California my whole life, so I’ve only ever heard stereotypes of what “the south” is like and have no idea what it’s like in reality), and how realistic it is to pursue a master’s thesis with the rigor of the program (I’m really interested in neuroplasticity in aphasia and bilingual research). I’ve found answers to most of my other questions but these were a bit less tangible to research, thanks so much!:)

This is SUCH an old thread but I was searching for other people deciding between Emerson/MGH/BU/Vanderbilt and this is the only relevant thread I’ve seen pop up. If any of you are still around on here, where did you end up deciding? I got offered a fellowship from Emerson but due to Boston’s cost of living, Vanderbilt is actually almost the same price. However, I also was in love with BU when I visited and have had MGH as a top choice since I decided to apply, and I just can’t bring myself to decline any offers yet. I’m grateful for all this choice but it’s stressing me out to the point where I’ve honestly been losing sleep. Any advice would be super helpful!!

Not officially decided yet but looking out for this one too, let me know if you find one!

I was fortunate to get several acceptances but the deadline’s quickly approaching and I’m still really conflicted — I’m visiting Boulder and Vanderbilt this next week and am hoping that will help, but I also still love MGH and can’t bring myself to turn any of these three down yet. Anyone else deciding between similar places?

For just one year it is definitely possible to live without a car, but it can also be pretty difficult and depends on where you live. My first two years at UCSD I didn’t have a car but I lived on campus, so it just limited the amount of exploring I could do (e.g. trips to downtown etc.) and made grocery shopping and taking the bus back somewhat inconvenient. Living off campus, I was struggling without a car in part because I didn’t live very close to most bus stops, and so I ended up getting one. It is still possible to make do (but inconvenient), but also you can always rent if buying isn’t an option!

I can’t speak to your specific program but I did go to UCSD for undergrad and can confirm the location is amazing, if you have any questions about the school in general I’d be happy to answer them!

I was extremely lucky and got into most of the schools I applied to for SLP/CSD/SLHS (rejected from the PhDs but got into all the MS programs), but this now means way more decisions to make. Financial reasons have eliminated several of my top choices so far but I still have a couple remaining and I don’t know what to do. Vanderbilt, while expensive, is one of the cheapest of my top choices due to the cost of living in Nashville (the other schools were in Boston), even while being an alternate for funding. It is an MS and the top ranked program so it is the obvious choice, and while I know their clinical placements are top notch, I will be visiting to determine that their research and vibe is a good fit for what I’m looking for. On the other hand, CU Boulder is a similar price (I think — does anyone have exact numbers for this?? Their site was confusing) and has offered to put me in their joint MA-PhD program, which takes away the PhD application process and expedites receiving both degrees (from my understanding, ~5/6yrs instead of ~7/8). The research is also spot on for what I want to do, and from speaking with who my advisor would be, I got a really good gut feeling. So the problem is I know I want to get a PhD in the future, but I’d just become okay with the fact that I’d only gotten into MS programs and was happy I’d be spending a few years working as a clinician first instead. Additionally, with Vanderbilt as the #1 program and Boulder as #24, does this reduce PhD opportunities in the future if I decide on Boulder but then end up dropping the joint program and only doing the MS for now? And finally, would Boulder not accept me again if I choose Vanderbilt for the MS and later decide to reapply to their PhD directly again in the more-distant future? Sorry this was lengthy and thanks in advance for any and all advice, I’m so so conflicted.

Yup same exact boat -- the scholarship offer I got from Emerson would make them less than half the cost of Vanderbilt too... it's insane how expensive everything is! Hoping vandy pulls through with some offer of aid too, good luck to us both!

Anyone else in at Vanderbilt as of today? Didn't think I'd get in and so was pretty set on going to MGH/Emerson, anyone else in the same boat trying to decide?

Thanks! Yeah I have no idea how I'm going to end up choosing either, besides that financial reasons will have to play a role. :/ BU was personally my favorite when I was visiting -- I saw BU, Emerson, and Northeastern and loved the research at BU, the way they do clinical placements, and I meshed really well with current students and faculty -- but I didn't get a chance to see MGH so I'm going to try to get more information from current students. Were you able to do your interviews in person / what were your impressions?

Just got into MGH too, congrats!! (and I'm also waiting to hear back from BU & Emerson post-interview)

Hi everyone! So far I’ve been accepted at Northeastern, interviewed with BU and Emerson, and was rejected from the joint UCSD/SDSU PhD. Still waiting to hear back from Northwestern’s PhD, CO Boulder’s PhD, and MS from MGH IHP and Vanderbilt. Does anyone know when we hear back post-interview???

Hi everyone! I also applied to a mix of MS and PhD programs. Field/Program: Communication Sciences & Disorders / Speech-Language Pathology / Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences Schools: Vanderbilt, Northwestern, MGH, Boston University, Emerson, Northeastern, SDSU/UCSD joint PhD, Colorado-Boulder Status? Interviews with Emerson and Boston at the end of the month -- applied to so many programs because I was stressing that I wouldn't get in anywhere, hoping this is a good sign moving forward Is anyone else speech / knows what the timeline looks like here on out? For the MS, Emerson & BU are the only ones I applied to that do interviews, but the PhD programs were all pretty vague about if they interview etc.