fromteachingtospeeching

I'm a CSD major who graduated with a 3.6 and had average GRE verbal 156 and writing scores 4.5 and a horrible quant score! I did come in with a Bachelor's degree in education and taught Pre-K for a public school system for 10 years. I had no problem getting into grad school with these scores. I believe it was because of my work experiences and the fact that I still pulled off a 3.6 CSD undergrad degree while raising a family of 3 children! I was accepted to 4 programs including my dream school! I even received a call today from a school that sent me a rejection letter that offered me a spot! So in the end I was accepted to 5 of the 6 schools I applied to. It helps that I had strong letters of rec from my advisor and other professors, including one who holds a position with ASHA. More schools are taking a holistic look at their applicants. Have a strong personal statement that clearly outlines your goals and passion for the field! Linguistics is no joke! Definitely a tough field of study as well and very compatible with communication disorders! I agree that ASHA Edfind is a great resource. Don't forget that a good martini helps calm the nerves! Pomegranate is the best! Good luck!

One thing to consider about gift giving. Some institutions have limits to the dollar amount a supervisor can accept as a gift. Some places don't allow for accepting of gifts at all. I would find a way to check into this before if you can. Just a thought!

This is the scary part right? I started my grad program this summer and had to quit my job. Yes I'm borrowing money for living expenses, but am happy with my decision. Grad school is a lot of work! You need your time to devote to your studies, believe me. If you were going to be a part time student you could make it work, but full time would be questionable. Good luck!

If your GPA is good overall and your GRE scores are good, then don't stress about the C in stats. I also got a C in stats and was accepted to 5 grad programs. The application process is stressful enough! I think a good way to look at it is if all of your other ASHA requirements are good, then they will overlook the stats. Not all SLP's are math people!

It's good that you have the ETS books for practice. I also used them and I ended up with a writing prompt that was verbatim from the book and a few math problems as well. Since they create the test, studying their materials makes sense. Practice as much as you can, but don't stress. I am the worst math student on the planet and bombed the quant section twice earning just 139 for my score. l was accepted into 5 graduate programs, because everything else was strong on my applications. Good luck, you can do this! ?

I applied in February for admission to the May start cohort and received an acceptance 2 weeks later. There may be more people applying for Fall 2018 so it may take them a bit longer. Good luck! ?

Hi I just started my first term in May and I really like it. The summer 7 week courses are intense, but this is grad school. There is so much support from professors and advising, I get phone check ins from my advisor every few weeks to see if I need any help, and the tech support staff is amazing. If you are a disciplined person you will succeed. I would take their advice about not working if you will be full time. I only have a week and a half left at my job and it's a struggle to work all day and get my course work done. The courses are set up so that you need to learn the material by the day of your class, so basically you are doing everything a week in advance. It's a bit different form listening to a lecture in class and then going home to study, but it is also a great way to learn. I actually like this model better. I like not having the stress of commuting to school, it gives me more time to study. Good luck, I hope you hear back soon!

Hi! I think a gap year can be a really good thing. I finished my undergrad in 3 1/2 years, and going straight to the graduate application cycle was stressful! This is a second career for me, so I'm too old to take a gap year! If your state uses SLPA's, this is also a great way to gain experience in the field while you are working. Enjoy your time off, and take advantage of learning about the application process at the schools you plan to apply to, so that you can take your time to prepare all the components! I know that west coast schools have a high number of applicants each year, and the extra time and attention to your applications will help you stand out! ?

It's crazy expensive, but I'm going to suck it up and work a full and a part time job after graduation to pay it off! Our professors are ridiculously accomplished. I did my undergraduate at a state school in Connecticut and I hated the clinic. It was disgustingly dirty , outdated, and they had some sketchy supervisors. I wanted the to the chance to experience a state of the art big city clinic. We get to do 4 day intensive sessions there before doing clinicals in our own state. I was going to apply to UOA but the application cycles didn't match up for me. I was afraid of the online format, but it works great if you're a mom!

You have a baby and now are taking on grad school. I have 3 kids and believe me it's hard to do it all. I've heard good things about UOA distance. I'm doing my program at NYU online and I love it! I don't think it would be that horrible to accept and then decline if you get into the distance program. The spot will not go unclaimed. I've read many happy stories of people getting last minute acceptances. The biggest advantage to distance learning is the ability to fit your work in when you can. If you are disciplined you will do great! This is your journey, it has to be the experience that you want it to be, and what would be best for your family! Good luck, I wish you much success no matter where you decide to go! ?

You seem to be heading in a positive direction! Here are some things to consider. Graduate schools are interested in hearing people's stories. If you have over come diversity, that is not a slight against anyone, and usually seen as a strength. What is important to keep in mind is that there are a limited number of programs and an abundance of applicants at these schools. In my experience, what is important is the ability to convey yourself as someone that a program is willing to take a risk on. If they take someone who doesn't possess the qualities needed to be successful, then they have wasted everyone's time and lost money. Colleges are money making businesses, and they don't like being on the losing end. 2.8 will not be high enough for any programs. You will need to come in above a 3.0 to be competitive, many schools above 3.5. The GRE is also heavily weighted. Are you a good standardized test taker? If you are then this is a great way to make yourself competitive. I have heard of people with low 3's for a GPA be accepted to a program because they had a high GRE score. By high, I mean more than 300 total. Keep building experiences, but there is no way of getting around taking more courses. Perhaps retaking some CSD courses online could help, as would a second bachelors degree or a minor. Regret has no place in life, leave it in the rear view mirror and focus on what can be done. Nothing is impossible! If this is your calling, make it happen! Good luck ?

You can defer for a year and take your time to think this through. I'm going to NYU as well and I understand the fear of taking out loans to cover living expenses and tuition expenses. I left a teaching position to pursue this and going down to a one income family is terrifying. I have 3 kids to support. All total, I will have about 150,000 to pay off. Most people automatically say no way to an expensive school, but here is my take on this. The field is so wide open with opportunities right now.On the East coast there are many job opportunities. My plan is is to work a full time job when I graduate and pick up some part time or per diem work to help pay down my loans faster. I had cheaper options for schools, but I just couldn't give up my dream of attending NYU. I have been told by professionals in the field that many school based positions won't be picky about which grad program you attended. However, if you are going for a job at a major medical center, that more impressive school may edge out the competition. I would reflect on what your goals are and then compare how the other schools you may apply to stack up against NYU. This is a huge investment financially and of your time. You have to do what feels right. Having family close by to support you during this time may be a good thing. Grad school is a tough 2 years! Good luck with your decision. This process is crazy, but will all be worth it! ?

I totally agree with Mel.SLP.2018. I went to my phonetics professor distraught because my grade was only an -A. She just laughed and said "honey do you really think you'll be getting all A's in grad school?" She told me my goal will be to make sure I pass all my classes and keep that GPA over 3.0! There is so much pressure from day one in undergrad to score as high as possible so we could get accepted into a grad program. We all just need to do our best and ask for help where we need it! We need to support each other as students and get through these next two years! We can do this!

I think in some small way we all have those moments where we think people are judging us. Undergrad is cut throat no doubt, because we all want into grad school so badly. There is no need to compete with anyone once we reach grad school level. You are the only one who can throw up a road block on your self now. You earned your place just like everyone else, be proud and keep your head up high. Find a mentor, or an advisor who you can confide in, so you have a support person when you are feeling this way. My undergrad advisor was amazing to me and her guidance keep me focused. I think the fact that you are so concerned about under-performing is a sign that you are going to be a diligent student, who gives 110%! Remember that your first day will be everyone's first day. We're all in this together! Good Luck, you are going to be an excellent clinician one day!

Hi, I also tend to struggle with math and earned a dreaded "C" in my stats class, which is like the kiss of death for CSD students. What I found out after the fact is that many schools are preferring statistics for the social sciences fields. So if you took a stats course for psychology ( related to compiling stats for psych testing) you can use this grade instead of a traditional math. Wish I knew this going in because I have a minor in Psychology and my grade in that course was much higher. Experience and presenting yourself as a diverse candidate means more to some schools than others. It only takes one yes to make this dream a reality! My undergrad institution is heavily GRE dependent and although I graduated Cum Laud from the program, I was rejected from their grad program. I was a Pre-K teacher for 10 years in a public school district, am the mother of 3, and still completed my undergrad degree w/honors. Guess what my quant GRE was? 140! I applied to 6 programs and was accepted to 4 of them first round. I will be attending my dream school, NYU. The admissions counselor told me that the combination of all aspects of my application, in addition to to being a working Mom with a full time job made me stand out as someone who could handle the rigors of grad school. Your GRE scores are awesome! If you can find some relevant work while waiting to re-apply, and get a letter of rec from someone that speaks of your job performance and work ethic it would be a great addition. You will get in somewhere, don't give up! Also look for volunteer opportunities in your community, one question I was asked at interviews was what else are you passionate about in life other than Speech Language Pathology. Good luck, I know it's a long road, but you will get there.