Jordyn_M463

When I applied last year, I sent mine in without my official transcript and LORs. I would say send it with as much completed as you possibly can. But if it something that takes time, it should be fine. It didn't affect my acceptances.

Its definitely not weird! I gave mine little hand written notes thanking them and mugs full of candy.

I dont know where you are located but Edinboro University (Pennsylvania) gives all first year grad students a GA position. It covers 3/4 of your tuition and you get paid biweekly. 13.5 hrs of work a week. I am sure there are other programs that offer these positions as well. I just thought it was nice that all students get offered this their first year.

Agreed with above. As long as there is no identifying information about the client (name/DOB/address/etc) you are fine to talk about it.

I would agree with the above posts. You will probably have to just do some serious research. I would narrow it down to cost and distance you are willing to travel. Then look at schools you would be interested and their prerequisites. As for "safe environment", if you are meaning the area the school is located thats something that you can also research. As for toxicity in the actual program between cohorts/professors/faculty, that really isn't something that can be screened for unless you know people in the program. You could maybe ask people their opinions/experiences on specific programs. I am sure there are people out their willing to give you their honest opinions.

I ran out of willing professors to write my letters. I didn't have a huge connection with a lot of them because the classes were 100+ students. I asked my boss from my job. She had nothing to do with SLP or CSD but she knew me well and knew my work ethic. I know some people suggest not doing this, but I was accepted into almost all of the schools I applied to. In my case, it definitely did not hurt my chances. I just sent her a little bit about school and what the different schools were looking for. Then I sent her my statements of purpose and any essays I had written. I think that helped her formulate a letter that highlighted things I wanted to stand out in my application. Best of luck!

I know for my program our medical placements will be 4-5 days a week, working the same shifts as our supervisors. Depending on the hospital/facility we get placed in, we may also have to stay a few extra weeks because that is what the hospital requires. Unfortunately, I don't think the long hours are that uncommon, although it does suck he will be taking class on top of that. Another possibility could be, since he is in his second year he will be trying to complete the minimum number of clinical practicum hours needed for graduation and certification. I know that we were told that it would be like working a full time job, so that we were sure we would not be under the minimum or cutting it close. Best of luck to him and your family!

I was asked questions about my personality. Strengths, weaknesses, why would I be a good SLP/grad students. As well as questions about the importance of diversity and whether I had experienced diverse populations. It wasn't anything about "here is a scenario, what kind of treatment would you implement." They were all very broad questions trying to "get to know you as a person". I think the biggest thing is, can you interact with other people without it being awkward and uncomfortable. I wouldn't stress too much about it. I would also have a few questions to ask them about their program. They should give you an opportunity to ask them questions. I would ask about how many clinical placements you get and how they are assigned. Do you have to find them yourself or does the program help connect you to good sites? What does the class schedule look like? Are their GA positions available? Is the school research oriented or clinical based? Those are all questions you will probably want to know to help you make a final decision in the end. Your grad school experience will really differ depending on the answers to those questions. This is obviously all in my own experience. This could differ for other people. Good luck!

Here are some tips I was given in undergrad: Forget about everything you bragged about in high school. Only include what happened in your undergrad unless it was something so significant. It doesn't have to be "basic". It should match your personality and have some flare but should be easy to read and not cluttered. If something isn't relevant and doesn't fit, don't include it. Highlight skills you have learned through your experiences that would be what they are looking for in a grad program. All this being said, don't fret too much about it. Look up a template online and honestly just follow it. I would have a professor (I asked my English professor) look over it for you. They might be able to eliminate wordiness and give you additional tips to making your resume stand out. Your resume isn't the only thing. My resume was probably pretty lackluster compared to some but here I am, in my first year of grad school. You could always go to the career services (or something equivalent) if your school offers it. Professors are also a good resource considering they have probably updated their own resumes a million times! Best of luck! Don't stress too much about this one piece of paper!

I am in Western Pennsylvania. I applied to Clarion, IUP, Edinboro, Penn State, Cal U (all PA schools). I applied without any CSD professors as LORs (not from lack of trying) and was still accepted. My suggestion: if you can't get CSD professors, apply anyway. I honestly think it is a "strong suggestion". For out of field applicants especially, don't let it deter you from applying. Apply anyway.

It is interesting to hear what kind of work your program has! So far, I have written 0 papers haha. We had to do a 2 page info/fact sheet on different special populations (Fragile X, Down Syndrome, ASD, cochlear implants, etc). Then we are going to take the entire cohorts populations and put them into binders so that we can have them to refer to when we are practicing clinicians. I found this specific project to be pretty helpful. My very first exam was an oral exam. We had to create a 3D model of the larynx and prove that we knew all the cartilages, bones, muscles, nerves and how they functioned by labeling, drawing and discussing in a one on one session with my professor. I stressed super hard over this but it was surprising how smooth it went and how thankful I was when it was over to know the fundamentals of the larynx, considering it is such a huge component of our practice. I have a few other pending projects and assignments, but I think because my school is not research oriented at all, we aren't really given many research papers. It is more practicum based. Get in there and play with assessment tools and therapy equipment, which I actually enjoy. I am absolutely terrible at anything research haha. I know that other programs have 30 page papers due in every class they take. So I think it really depends on the program. If this is something you are concerned about, I would maybe find some students who go there, or look to see if the school is research or practicum based. I would say a lot of larger schools with more money have the funds and people to do research but that is not always true.

So I would second the person above. The varied deadlines (ie. December, January, February) are when you need to pay that application fee for that school by. It would be safe to assume that everything else needed for your application, (LOR, letter of intent, transcripts, etc) should also be in by the time you pay that application fee. In your case, all of that important supplemental information would already be in there if you have a deadline of December. I would recommend then that is the deadline you give yourself. My advisor in undergrad said to aim for the end of Thanksgiving break. With that being said, my transcripts were not verified by my deadline on CSDCAS, but that did not hurt my acceptance chances. I was still accepted into the school. But, early is always best!

Also a first year grad student! I will give my experience so far, as everyone's experiences and programs seem to really differ. Classes: Monday/Wednesday: 8-9:15 & 9:30-10:45 Tuesday/Thursday:9:30-10:45 & 11-12:15 Fridays are free. Sometimes we have conferences and meetings and other things scheduled for that day but very rarely. All first year grad students are offered a graduate assistantship. If you choose to accept it, you create your own work schedule with your cohort. We are required to work 202.5 hours/semester (13.5hrs/week). We get paid $7.50/hr and get 3/4 tuition reduction. I personally do not have a second job, but many in my cohort do. They seem to be handling it well for now. We do not start clinic rotations until second semester. Their philosophy is that we should know the basic fundamentals for the broad areas first. Clinic is in the afternoons/evenings Monday-Thursday. Occasionally we will get special clients that will be different depending on the supervisor as our on-campus clinic does not bill for services. There is one special case where a client is coming in on Friday mornings for voice therapy for instance. Second semester we will have classes in the late mornings/early afternoons and then see our clients in the evening as well as work our GA positions so things are going to get more hectic. Right now, I feel like I have a lot of free time. I know that is not the case for a lot of programs, but it is actually pretty nice. I think it has helped me ease into grad school. We will be starting to do hearing screenings and speech/language screenings here in late October. We will also be attending meetings with the second year grad students to discuss their clients and their therapy techniques. Then we will be shadowing and working with a second-year to ease into seeing clients. At the end of the semester we will be attending "clinic bootcamp" to get us ready for clinic next semester. Some additional things to think about: My program pays the fee for all of us to get all of our clearances and our CPR certification. This is an expense that would otherwise come out of our pockets if we didn't already have these clearances. They also pay for our subscriptions to SimuCase and Praat and other databases that will be using. Which would be another expense we would have to pay for out of pocket. Our clinical rotations are as such: On-campus clinic second semester, external placement over the summer, on campus clinic 2nd fall, and 2 external placements in the 2nd spring semester. You get to pick your location and put down a preference as to where you might want to be. Then the program director pretty much finds you a place so you don't have to worry about it. That whole process is pretty stress free. That is something I like about my program. They worry about everything for you, and will let you know if there is ever a time you actually need to worry. As for social life: I would say in my program at least, the weekends are always free to go out and socialize. We always make sure we have everything we need to get done, done by Friday afternoon. Then a lot of us get together Sunday evenings at the clinic and finish up anything that hasn't been completed. Its been almost 2 months and I would say every weekend my cohort is together (or at least most of us). This is all subject to change. Things are bound to get more difficult and hectic when clinic starts. But I would honestly say, it is not as stressful as you may think. I went in thinking I would have no free time, no social life, and spend most of my time with my nose in a book. This is not the case for my program at least. We are slowly being eased into the life of grad school and I can honestly say things are pretty good so far! Please message me if you have any questions! Best of luck to all of those applying!

I would suggest retaking it if your quantitative score is very low. I can't say for sure that it would hinder you from being accepted but it is best to try to raise the score to be sure.

If it has been a long time, maybe call them. Mine took around a month to be finally entered on the CSDCAS application site. That being said, it was past the application deadlines as well. It didn't hinder my chances of getting into grad school. Everything else was on CSDCAS on time and I paid the fees before the deadline and I was fine.

I would say its up to you! I did some general quantitative studying for a month. Maybe an hour a day or a month. I refreshed myself on everything I should know but haven't practiced since high school. I will be honest, it was very minimal studying. I didn't put in nearly as much effort as I should have but I raised my score 8 points.. So in my case, all I needed was a brush up on all the things I haven't really thought of. I used a Kaplan book! You know yourself though! If you think you would really need to study to raise your score, and you can't commit to that, don't waste your money!

I would seriously ask yourself if it is the difficulty adjusting or if it speech pathology that is effecting you. I say this because I would hate for you to "struggle through" and waste money and time on something you don't truly enjoy. If it is an adjustment issue, you could look into transferring or seek out opportunities to hang out with other people in your program! I know for me, I knew no one in my program when it started a month ago. About half of the program commutes from home! But my cohort started a GroupMe and when someone wanted to go out for drinks or to get dinner, they extended the invites to everyone else. When I got one of these invites, I made a huge effort to try to go and talk to everyone. It was difficult for me because I don't generally go out of my comfort zone and do things alone, but it was something I told myself I had to do! Maybe you could suggest a GroupMe chat! Chances are, there are other individuals who want to hangout with other people but are nervous to initiate it. You can always start small. Drinks? Studying? Working on any homework? Extend the invite to everyone so you can get to know everyone and start building relationships. As for not feeling challenged, to be honest I wouldn't worry too much right now. My schedule is also pretty slow right now. It will pick up and things will start to get hectic. That is what everyone has guaranteed me. I would say maybe you are just more prepared and have a wider knowledge of the field due to your undergrad. There are probably individuals in your program that are feeling challenged! Don't worry if you aren't too busy! That is honestly probably a good thing! Ultimately, you should probably talk to family and friends about what the best option for you is! I wouldn't give up if you genuinely love speech pathology! Best of luck to you!

I agree with the person above. I came in with 0 research experience. Although, I do go to a school that does very little research. My program focuses more heavily on clinical practicum rather than the research aspect.

Like the post above, you have pretty similar stats to what I applied with! (152V, 150Q and 4.0AW). I also had a 3.7 GPA. I applied to 5 schools in Pennsylvania and was accepted into 3, waitlisted to 1 and rejected to my "reach" school. My advice would be to find schools that have smaller programs that don't receive a lot of applicants. Look at their stats on edFind. Look for schools that have an interview process. It is always good to talk face to face. I feel like you make a better impression in person rather than on paper. Then just pad the rest of your application. Volunteer, work, unique experiences on your resume are something to include. Write a really strong letter of intent and try to find people who know you well for your letters of recommendation. I know in my case, I didn't have a single LOR that was SLP or CSD related even though I was an "in field applicant". I just felt like other professors and employers knew me better. Ultimately, your GRE scores are not bad. If you are that concerned you could maybe take them again, but if I were you I wouldn't worry about it. The rest of your resume and application materials are a good way to show who you are and how you will perform as a grad student and future SLP. Good luck!

So I was given this structure from the department head of the SLP masters program of my undergrad school: Intro: I said "Why grad school" What will grad school do for you? What population do you want to work with? What setting? "What is your dream job" Why? (This is where I put some of my background experience that helped influence my decisions) What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Why this particular program? What about this school fits you? For this I would suggest "name dropping". Do some research about their professors and alumni that have been doing big things in the fields. Talk about research done at their school that interests you. Talk about the programs "goals and morals" and why they are important to you as well. Just make it seem like you are genuinely interested in their program. Good luck! Message me if you have questions!

Hi! To start off, if you read threads on this forum, you will find people who have had similar GPAs as you, and were accepted into programs. So I would encourage you to apply! When you are sending transcripts, you will probably need to send both (even from the first school as an education major) to show that you have taken all the prerequisite classes that ASHA and your grad program require. I know I took 4 college credits in calculus in high school and had to send that "transcript" to each school/CSDCAS even though it wasn't a CSD course or anything. Because of this, I think they will see your GPA from both schools and probably take into consideration how high it was at your old school. (I don't know for sure though.) I think it is wise to take your GREs one more time to try to at least raise your quantitative scores! I would also suggest, if possible, maybe retake some of the classes that you didn't do very well in. (If you received a C in any of them) Then, just focus on making the rest of your application as strong as it can. Include all of your involvement, work/volunteer experience, etc on your resume. Try to get very strong letters of recommendation from people that know you well and can vouch for you as a person and for your work ethic. Then in you letter of intent, talk about why you fell in love with the field. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why do you want to attend the particular program you are applying to? This is where you could use specific names of alum and professors from the program. Talk about the research they do. Talk about the values of the school and the program and why they are also important to you. I was always told that programs will appreciate that you took the time to look deeper into the program. As for what schools to apply to, do some intense searching on ASHA EdFind. I would start geographically, where you are willing to move to and then look for programs in those areas. Then start looking at how much the programs are (if price is important) and what kind of stats accepted students usually have. I might suggest smaller schools in more rural areas. If you are anywhere close to Western Pennsylvania, I would suggest looking into Edinboro University, Clarion University and Cal U. Ultimately, grad programs are all competitive. You could always apply to online programs as well, I have read on these threads they are a little easier to get into. It might also be worth applying to schools that have interview processes as well. In my opinion, I think you have a pretty good shot at being accepted. GPA isn't everything! Best of luck!

You could connect it saying that working with those children was the deciding factor for wanting to work with children. (assuming that is the population you are hoping to work with). I don't think you need to say "I learned x,y/z about the SLP field while working this job". You could always say you learned characteristics/skills such as patience, empathy, organization, multi-tasking, etc. Then you could explain why maybe those characteristics make a good grad student and SLP. Just a suggestion: I wouldn't discuss every single thing you have done in your letter of intent. Maybe just highlight the important ones, or begin your letter with the most salient one being your "calling" to the field. Your resume will show all the experience you have gained. I would focus more on these questions: What setting/population would you like to work in? Why? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Why this school? I suggest focusing 1/3 of your essay on this portion. You can use real names of professors/alum that have attended the program. Talk about their research and the schools motto/focus. Say you strive to learn from the best in the field and their program can provide that. Be specific and prove that you have researched and took the time to learn about their school/program. This was just what I was told by an advisor when applying last year. He was on the application/acceptance board of the schools SLP masters program. He told me those are things they really looked for. Best of luck!

I would say retake the classes and work on every other aspect of your application. I have seen on these feeds, people who had low GPAs and were accepted into programs. You can enhance your application in other areas. I would focus on this fall semester as well as working to get the best GRE score possible. Extracurriculars, volunteer work, etc can help. Have a strong letter of intent that shows you are dedicated to the field. Try to get very strong letters of recommendation. Lastly, do some research on ASHA EdFind. Look for schools that best match your stats. I would say don't be discouraged if you really want to be an SLP. Worst comes to worst, you could always take a year off and do a post-bacc program while gaining more work/volunteer experience that could help your resume. I would definitely try this round though! GPA isn't everything!

I agree with the above poster. I would say go now! My undergrad was also extremely expensive and I that was my fault. It was my dream school and I wanted desperately to experience it. I knew that one day, with an SLP salary I would be able to pay it off however the piling debt also scares me. I however decided to continue to keep going. I couldn't find and careers that I was qualified for that I would absolutely love and would help me pay back my loans in a decent amount of time. I also wasn't a huge fan of the idea of taking time off if it wasn't absolutely necessary. I understand that other people's situations are different and things happen and time is what some people need before pursuing their graduate degrees! Some people don't even decide until later in life that they want a graduate degree! However, I knew this is what I wanted to do since I applied to colleges my senior year of high school. I just jumped right in and will do my best to pay my loans back as fast as I can. I applied to cheaper schools, who still had highly rated programs but were maybe just less heard of. My program actually offers a 3/4 time GA position to all first year SLP grad students. Thats 6.75 credits a semester that is paid for as well as approximately $2,000 in work stipends each semester. We are just required to work 13.5 hours a week at wherever our placement is. In the end, 2 years of grad school here will be around the same price as a year at my undergrad school. It was too good of an offer to pass up in my opinion. Now I am just hoping that when I graduate I can find jobs that will offer loan forgiveness if I sign contracts to work for a certain number of years. I would 100% work somewhere for 4-6 years if they would pay back my loans. If not, it will be a struggle but, just know that eventually they will be paid off. It will take time and a lot of work hours, but thats the good thing about an SLP salary. It all comes down to your situation though! If it is best for you to pay off your loans and then go back, then there is definitely nothing wrong with that either! I just like to think "The sooner I get my masters degree, the sooner I can start my career and the faster I can pay off my loans!" Best of luck!

I would also suggest visiting because you may think you would enjoy their program until you get there and see and ask questions for yourself. I know that I ended up choosing the school I knew the least about just because I visited and fell in love with their program and their people. My top choice ended up being the school I liked the least when I compared it to the other schools I had applied to. My thoughts and perspectives completely changed. I would ask about clinic placements, when you are working in internships at outside placements can you go wherever you want or does it have to be close to the school?, what are the class schedules like, are there GA options to help pay tuition, graduation rates, national exam passing rates, how many students get jobs within the first year of graduation, are there research opportunities (if you are interested), where do most students live, anything that may be of concern to you. No question is a dumb question. It is your time, effort and money that is being put into these programs so it is best that you know everything you want to know before you commit somewhere.