SLPgirl00

Finally all of my passion, hard work and dedication has paid off. After years of trying to get into graduate school, I'm accepted! I could not be more EXCITED!! It's a dream come true for me!! I just wanted to post and tell people to not give up on pursuing your dream! Do everything you can to make yourself stand out! Gain clinical experience, go back to school, talk to Professors, make yourself stand out in any way possible because I promise you a school will believe in you and want to accept you! I seriously don't know how these schools make all these decisions with 200-400+ applicants and only 20-40 spots. So for those of you still waiting it out or haven't been accepted yet....Don't Give Up on your Dream! Don't take "NO" for answer. I didn't and it paid off!! I wish you all the best in this field. You may have take a different path to get there, but it's worth it and in the end it will make you a better person, more experienced clinician, and an exceptional graduate student! Keep your head up and believe in yourself that you can make your dreams possible!!

Congrats!! I bet it was a really tough decision! Best of Luck at Purdue!! I'm sure you're going to LOVE IT!!!

Purdue is ranked #2 compared to UW, which is #5. The med program @ UW is about 45K, granted you were awarded 10K to help the cost and possibly another 10K the following year. Did you get a full ride to Purdue? or is it instate for you? To be honest, you're going to have an amazing opportunity at Purdue in the hospital setting as well. I think it's really important to have a really well rounded program so that you're able to have the experience and knowledge in all areas. You will have opportunities at Purdue to work in the hospital setting and great opportunities to do your internship and possible CFY somewhere different where you could learn even more. UW is a great school, but if I were you and I could go to Purdue for basically nothing, that would be my number 1 choice. You're going to come out of Purdue with an amazing education and become a very well rounded professional by going there. Even though at UW you would be in the MED program, you’re still going to be taking classes that aren’t just medical related. Obviously you’re going to have more of a emphasis on swallowing and all of your internships will be in the hospital, but at Purdue you’ll have that opportunity to work in the hospitals a ton and have other opportunities that maybe right now you’re not interested in, but once you start the program maybe you’ll really enjoy other areas of the field not just the medical side. I have had some friends go to UW and either they love it or hate it. It's very expensive to live in Seattle, the traffic is awful, it takes forever to get anywhere, the UW clinic is pretty old, The campus is gigantic and you're always having to walk in the rain b/c parking there is a pain. Depending on where you live, it can be very difficult to get to the grocery store or even a target. They have a bus system, but I wouldn’t want to ride on the bus for 2 hours a day, when I could be working on grad school stuff. I would like to be somewhere that it's much easier to access all of my necessities. Being in grad school you're not going to have the time to be running around or taking an hour to get to the grocery store. I heard that Purdue is a wonderful community. You're still close to the big city but your way of life seems like it'l just be so much stress free. I have heard of a few people that dropped out of UW's program or were very tempted to over the years because of the faculty and the program it's self. Granted you'll get that probably anywhere. Another good point that many have brought up to me about this process and the field of Speech Pathology is that it really it doesn’t matter where you go. You’re going to end up graduating with a degree. When it comes to getting a job even the person that graduated from a lower ranked school is going to be just as well educated and will get a job anywhere. Obviously if you’re interested in pursuing a PhD, you’d want to go to a bigger school and the best of the best if possible. Coming out of grad school you’ll be able to get a great job, basically name your price, b/c you’ll be in demand. Do you really want to have a ton of debt? Not only by going to UW you’ll be paying 25K-35K (which would include your awarded funding, but all of your living expenses on top of that, travel to wherever you’re from etc.You could easily be in75-100K in debt by going to UW for two years. If you can go to Purdue for almost nothing you should go. I’m sure you’ll be really happy at Purdue and knowing that you’re going to be able to save money and not have a huge student loans to pay back will be Amazing coming out of grad school. I wish you the best!! I know these decisions are really hard to make, but it’s not only about the program and what hospital experience you’re going to get, you have to happy where you're going to live too. Purdue is not ranked #2 for just focusing on the school setting, that would be a CA State school. It’s ranked up there for obvious reasons and when making your decision, you should really consider the financial piece to it. In the end you’re going to love wherever you are, it’s going to be the toughest 2 years of your life and making sure that everything else in your life is not stressful is important. Purdue is one of the top of the top schools, granted UW is #5 and it's a great school as well. Just be sure to take all aspects into consideration. You may love UW, but you're not going to love the huge student loan you have to pay back, especially when you graduate and you'll want ot buy a house or travel, you'll have to spend it on your student loans. \ Here is some info on Purdue and the community! This alone makes it a no brainer for me!! I'd be Purdue all the way!!!! Purdue University is proud of its hometown of West Lafayette, Indiana. West Lafayette and the neighboring city of Lafayette, also known as Greater Lafayette, combine big city arts and entertainment with small town charm, convenience, and affordability. Purdue University is located near several major metropolitan cities: One hour from Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana. Two hours from Chicago, Illinois. Three hours from Cincinnati, Ohio. Four hours from St. Louis, Missouri and Detroit, Michigan. Lafayette and West Lafayette Housing Local Media Local Schools Transportation Child Care Local Weather Visit Greater Lafayette Lafayette and West Lafayette - Two great cities one great university! Home to four distinct seasons, the climate of Greater Lafayette includes a gorgeous summer, colorful fall, white winter, and vibrant spring. Residents enjoy year-round cultural events as well as many other activities. This combination of big city activity and small-town charm is one of the reasons Greater Lafayette is consistently ranked nationally as a great place to live, work, and raise a family. The area is filled with beautiful turn of the century architecture. Lafayette's historic downtown is filled with antique, art, and other eclectic shops. During the summer, the Historic Lafayette Farmers Market fills the streets. The dining scene is as varied as a big city's with Arabic, Cajun, French, Greek, Hawaiian, Indian, Irish, Italian, Mexican, and Russian cuisine. The nightlife is fun and inviting with pubs, clubs, and even a local brewery. Whether you are looking for local music, a place to hang out with friends, or a place to dance, the nightlife offers excitement and variety. Farmers Market visitors browse items for sale from local vendors. Throughout the summer, both West Lafayette and Lafayette host Farmers Markets. Many Purdue students take advantage of the free CityBus system. ****Seattle, parking and transportation costs a lot!!!**** You can also fill your calendar with a variety of festivals and sporting events. As a member of the Big Ten Conference, Purdue University's numerous athletic teams provide exciting sporting events throughout the year. Purdue also offers a number of plays and shows each year, from Shakespeare to STOMP, for the whole family. The community provides one of the best bus systems in the country, offering free local transportation to Purdue faculty, staff, and students. For bus schedules and maps, visit the Greater Lafayette CityBus Web site. The Greater Lafayette area also offers a cost-of-living below the national average, an advantage for graduate students on a limited budget. This means you may purchase more for your money, and enjoy a better standard of living compared to other areas. Visit the cost of living Web page to compare Greater Lafayette's cost-of-living to other university locations in the United States. ****In Seattle, all of this is so expensive!! I think Purdue would be a wonderful opportunity for a wonderful graduate education and it seems like it's really an area welcoming to college students. I really think that you would be happy at Purdue over UW!!! **** Best of luck! Only you can really decide what school is going to be best suited for you, but i hope this helps in some way to get a bigger picture of your graduate school experience! Keep us updated on what you decide!!!

I really don't see any harm in committing to a few schools. Especially if they haven't offered you funding yet. Many times once people accept their offer of admissions, schools will offer funding. Most schools know that people get offered acceptances to many schools and the process is very difficult. I don't think you're ruining your reputation with the school if you say you're going to commit and then you decide that a different school is better suited for you. Many programs have people decline all the way up till the start date and the university just pulls off the wait list. It's not like you're doing it maliciously and I'm sure when you decide to back out of one of the schools, the university completely understands. If you narrow it down to two or 3 it'll give you a chance to really decide which school is best for you. As far as the people on the wait list. I can only speak for myself...I'm currently wait listed, but seriously I don't blame an applicant for wanting to be thorough in their decision making. I'll wait as long as possible and will hold out for my number one all the way up till the starting date of grad school. I'm sure you will go all about it in a very professional way to not burn any bridges. Best of luck to you ROM!!!