[Any SLP MA candidates heard from Temple?]

Hi Stardu5t,

I didn't get anything from them yet on how to go about making the deposit. I was wondering if maybe you don't get that information until after you reply that you want to attend (which you need to do before 4/15). Will let you know if I hear anything

Hey there, I didn't reply if I wanted to attend or not yet, but I received a letter in the mail yesterday with the information. To reserve a spot they want us to send in a deposit by April 15 though, which would mean I'd have to actually send it today for it to make it there in time. Yikes, I haven't made a decision yet, but I guess that's my own fault heh.

Pretty competitive -- it will help you out tremendously if you have relevant experience. By "relevant" I mean the best thing would be any kind of previous research or teaching experience (even if in a different field), and the next best thing would be any kind of data entry or kid-wrangling or medical-patient-wrangling experience.

There's not a formal application process -- your best way of getting an RAship is to e-mail profs and ask directly if they have any openings (of course, describe any skills or experience you have that you think they might find interesting). Next best way is to find a prof or lab you like once you're here and volunteer for them until they have an opening. People graduate in fall, spring, and summer, so you may not be waiting long.

I'm not actually sure how you'd go about getting a TAship, since there were no openings for that this year. I'd e-mail whichever faculty member you've been hearing from in official communications and ask.

Oh, I do have relevant research experience, so it's nice to know that it will be helpful. Thank you the info!

[Calling All SLP's!]

Do tell about SDSU! I want to know all the details of your trip! I won't be able to get the time off to visit before decisions are due, so any opinions/descriptions would be super helpful!! Feel free to PM me but there must be others who are considering SDSU who would benefit from your take on it also.

I know several grads from the SF State program who work in public districts or are in private practice now, and they all loved it.

I'd go with your gut. San Francisco's a much more fun/interesting city than San Diego, in my opinion, but you can't really swim in the water in the Bay unless you're insane, with a thick wetsuit

I also visited SDSU. The staff and students I talked to were so down-to-earth and tried to help me the best they could, so I felt comfortable during my whole visit. I didn't talk to any faculty members, but the former/current students I've talked to have all commented that the majority of the faculty are very knowledgeable and approachable. While I wouldn't use the word "amazing" to describe the clinic, it was still nice, clean, and organized. This is good enough for me, but I totally understand that each person may be looking for different things in a clinic. Also, the diverse kinds of clients I can work with IS pretty amazing in my opinion and not an opportunity necessarily offered in every school, so I knew I would be able to gain a lot of valuable clinical experiences in that way. This is just my perspective, but I hope it's helpful in some way since you can't visit! Oh and I'm deciding between SDSU and out-of-state schools (SDSU is the only CA school I applied to), so I can't make a comparison with the other CA schools. Best of luck deciding!!

[Any SLP MA candidates heard from Temple?]

By the way biffy4247, the acceptance email said we'd get instructions from the College of Health Professions and Social Work on how to accept or decline our offer. Did you get an email from them yet?

[Any SLP MA candidates heard from Temple?]

Both of you were VERY helpful. Thank you so much!!

TulipOHare, I do have another question for you. I would have to pay out-of-state tuition if I were to attend Temple, so I'm wondering how competitive it is to get a departmental assistantship (if they offer any that is). Thanks again!

[Any SLP MA candidates heard from Temple?]

biffy4247 - I'm also an accepted applicant who has a non-SLP background (psychology). I wish I knew more about the program so that I could share some info with you! I was visiting schools on the east coast several days ago, but on the day of my flight back home just so happened to be when Temple notified me of my acceptance haha, and I don't think I'll be able to make another visit that far away in time. Although I also heard negative things about the area, the campus itself seems to be kept safe and is very well-lit at night. I think you just have to take the general precautions like in any other city. Good luck deciding and update us!

remixed486 - Do you know if your friend needs a car to get to off-campus placements and how her medical clinical experiences are? The other schools I'm deciding between are actually ones you applied too--Boston University and San Diego State University. I'm interested in multicultural issues as well as getting strong clinical training in both educational and medical settings because I'm interested in early language development, but I'm also starting to develop an interest in pediatric feeding and swallowing. BU probably has less of the multicultural stuff compared to the other schools while I'm not sure how the medical training at SDSU is. It seems like Temple has both strong connections with nearby hospitals and a lot of opportunities to practice with diverse populations. However, SDSU would be cheapest for me. I'll be visiting SDSU soon, so I will get a better idea then, but I wanted to also give Temple some consideration. Thanks for any help or advice!

[California Speech Pathology Programs]

Hi fellow CA SLP program applicants! I have an undergrad major in psychology and 0 prereqs done, but I plan to start on some at Utah State Online during the summer semester. I was accepted to SDSU (the only CA school I applied to).

jessca - I've heard only positive things about SDSU and CSU - East Bay. Sorry, I don't know anything about SFSU.

SDorUWslp - I'm in a similar dilemma. I'm mainly deciding between Boston University and SDSU right now.

When I went to the CSU - East Bay info session, I remember that the professor holding it said something along the lines of...their faculty didn't feel that GRE scores was an accurate predictor of the student's future performance in the program. I'm not sure if that's the reason the other CSUs don't require the GRE though.

From what I heard, rankings matter more if you're interested in research, and they don't necessarily reflect the rankings of the teaching quality/clinical experience. With that said, I'm not looking at rankings at all and basing my choices more on other factors.

I also had concerns about the influence of budget cuts on the program, so I emailed the director who was very thorough and understanding in answering all my questions, so I suggest you email her with any specific concerns. It seems like the cuts are not affecting the program/students as much as I thought, and I can see that they're really dedicated in doing everything they can to overcome any obstacles.

keepthefaith - The SJSU students I've talked to seem to enjoy their program overall, but if you're interested in research it may not be as good of a fit for you.

JayF - I observed a SLP who went to SDSU, and I think she did her undergrad in the Midwest. I'm not sure where she is from originally though, nor am I sure if it's harder for out-of-staters to get accepted to CA state schools (at the grad level that is. I've heard something about them preferring in-state residents for undergrad, but I'm not sure how true that is either). Either way, you'll be adding some diversity to the class, which is awesome! I'm also very interested in second language acquisition, but probably not fluent enough in my 2nd language to do bilingual therapy haha.

Best of luck to everyone trying to make a decision! I feel like there's a high chance that I'll choose SDSU. I actually applied to mostly out-of-state schools because I wanted a new experience, but now cost is playing more of a factor than I thought. Well, everyone keep us updated on where you end up choosing! Maybe some of will become future SDSU classmates - then we could start getting to know each other before school starts and maybe even see if we could fit well as roommates.