slptobe!

If anyone has any questions about the program and such, feel free to message me! 

If anyone has any questions about the program and such, feel free to message me! 

Hi y'all! 
I was wondering if anyone has heard from SJSU's program. I haven't heard from them since they sent out an email saying they had received my application, and I have been checking the portal everyday. 
Thank you in advance!! And good luck to everyone who applied!!

? How easy is it to sit behind a keyboard and anonymously tear someone down who is clearly overwhelmed and hurting? You must feel so great about yourself, congratulations on being a bully, just what our field needs! Another miserable SLP I see, I've met quite a few like you. 

i will disagree with you and say that there are many reasons why this program jumped in rankings from 130 to 92 in less than two years. Chapman offered me so many opportunities to get a wide range of experience to the best of their abilities. They took care of me at my lowest of lows and celebrated my success. The biggest impact on your education that isn't just affecting you at the moment is Covid. You have to figure out how to adjust your lifestyle to best fit how you learn and get your education during these difficult times. Maybe you lack ability to advocate for yourself and seek classmates or professors that you connect with for support? You're not a kid and dont need to be babied. Graduate programs are still trying to figure out how to best serve their students and I am sorry you got the short end of the stick during these difficult times, but instead of coming on here and shaming this graduate program. Figure out how to get the most of your education during challenging times that we are currently in. and sprinkle a little bit of empathy and perspective while you're at it.
 
CHAPMAN's CSD program is such a great program and I would highly recommend it to people.
 
Love,
a person who is not white

and quit being dramatic.... you probably just dont know how to handle grad school stress.

Thank you for your courage in speaking out about your experience. I do not believe that some of the replies that you've received are warranted, and I want to apologize to you on behalf of what is usually a wonderful group of future SLPs that are just looking out for one another. This forum is the future of the profession, and it is important that we listen to one another, affirm experiences and opinions, and offer the best advice possible.
There are students with positive experiences and others with negative experiences at every school. Just because your experience differs from someone else's doesn't make their experience any less valid. There is no room for that here; head on over to reddit.
Additionally, we can't expect that every program will be a good fit for every future SLP, especially with Covid-19 throwing a wrench in everything. That being said, here's the best advice that I have for you. You might find this helpful, you might not. It looks like you came here to commiserate and I told myself that I wasn't going to hop on this thread with a long-winded response for that exact reason. But, here I am on my soapbox anyway trying to make things better. I tend to try to be proactive and put out fires as quickly as possible, so my advice will not be to lie down and suffer in silence:
 
You expressed that you aren't feeling supported by your administration. You might try finding someone in your program that has a positive relationship with a member of your administration, or another student that is feeling supported. Have a heart to heart with that person, and get to the root of what is troubling you. Maybe that individual has found, or knows of, supports like tutoring options, financial assistance, placement advice, resume builders, professional networking opportunities, etc. It might just be that you haven't heard of them yet or didn't know they were available to you. At my program, the official language on the website was that undergraduate research opportunities were not available to me in the track that I'm in. The application is sent mid-year to juniors that are admitted to the bachelor's degree program; not to those taking levelling courses. I had to self-advocate: I talked to the undergraduate advisor and several professors and ended up getting an exception. At least from what I've read in and around this forum, my school, and the reddit forums, quite a few of these sorts of programs and opportunities are spread almost entirely by word-of-mouth, and weren't broadcast effectively even before the pandemic hit. What I'm trying to get at is that having a conversation with someone who is happier in your program might make the situation clearer to you: what exactly could the program do for you that would make you feel supported? You're an SLP: be clinical about it. Find real opportunities for the program to improve and present them to administration from the perspective of someone trying to improve opportunities for future students at Chapman. You could ask the individual to be an intermediary, and see if it is something that can either be corrected by a couple of brave, respectful, and honest conversations with the administrator you are having trouble with or brought to the attention of someone higher up the food chain, so to speak.   
I recognize that having a heart to heart with someone that is feeling supported in your program could be a minefield if, for example, those that are feeling supported come from a different background than you. You mentioned a lack of diversity, and this is something that has been a given in this profession for far too long. Your graduate program, and everyone in it, should realize that this is an institutional and societal problem that should be corrected in material ways. We should not be accepting long speeches and statements of solidarity as change: demand real, proactive, and funded outreach programs and campaigns that advocate for a demographic shift within your program and this profession as a whole. This should be happening in every grad program in the entire U.S., as none of them are doing enough. None of them. It is up to those in privileged positions to fight for those voices that aren't able to be heard: maybe there aren't supports for those that are LGBTQ+, come from a lower socioeconomic status, are first-generation college students, have a different racial background, or are otherwise not white, wealthy, cis, and female. Find others that want to make real changes in your program, and organize. If the organizations already exist, get involved. I know you're busy, but get involved. The only way things get done is when a lot of people make a lot of noise. I'm not saying this is the best solution, but when I realized that no diversity trainings or cultural awareness courses were offered to undergraduates in my program I just got some people together and made a student organization that is attempting to confront that issue. It won't happen overnight, but I am in a place where I am privileged enough to speak out and advocate for others, and I won't be the person who sits here and maintains the status quo. To anyone reading this, I know it sounds cliche but it's true: you can be the one that makes the change. If you are not in a position to do so; disregard this, you're doing the work just by being here. But I hope that there are students in your program, mine, and others are able to see this and start getting more proactive.  
Even if it's too late to save this experience for yourself, there will be others in the future that you have the potential to help. You probably won't manage to warn everyone off the program and make it go under, there's too much competition in SLP for a comparatively small number of schools. The reality is that there will be more people like you, so make sure that they don't have the same experiences that you do in your program. I know you don't want to feel like you've completely thrown away $10,000 every trimester. You'll eventually be an alumna; make the place better than it was when you found it so that you can be proud of the institution you graduated from. At the very least, you'll know that you tried. 
 
Thank you for reading my book.
 

I know this is much past the original post, but just thought I'd share what I gave my supervisor last semester that she loved! A fun slp oriented mug and some fresh coffee from a local roaster (I knew she loved coffee) and of course a thank you card for everything. She loved it  
https://www.etsy.com/listing/735158696/speech-therapist-mug-speech-therapist?ref=yr_purchases
 

Hi! I majored in SLHS at my undergrad. But if you have any questions, don't be afraid to PM me with them! 

This is definitely hard to do in grad school, but try to maintain as much work-life balance as possible. Go to school every weekday (if you're in an on-campus program) and get as much work done as possible at school so that you have some time to decompress at home. It took me until my last semester to realize that when I don't do my work at home, it's easier to treat school like a job and work hard all day instead of procrastinating and taking lengthy breaks like I did. Of course, sometimes this isn't always possible (especially in a pandemic when we're all stuck at home) but it helps!

the most important thing for me: it's okay that you don't know everything. in fact, it's okay if it feels like forever since you've looked at your phonetics work or your memory of anatomy and physiology is a bit spotty. first of all, you will get plenty of review in all that stuff in grad school. second of all, if you're feeling like you must be the only one who doesn't know things, always remember that you're not! everyone is in the same boat at the beginning. and, as the semester continues, if you're in clinic or in classes and feeling a little bit (or a lot bit) lost and overwhelmed, it's still okay that you don't know everything. in fact, it's normal to not know most things. plus, if you see friends who look like they know what they're doing a more than you feel you do, remember that everyone learns differently and it's okay if it's taking you a little longer to grasp how to write clinical objectives or SOAP notes or whatever else you're struggling with- you will get there. also, what may come relatively easily for you may be harder for those you're seeing. two words of advice via my clinical supervisors, because they are words that i know live by. 1) from my first clinical supervisor: "it's often more important for you to know what information you don't know than knowing what you do know-- that's how you learn." 2) from my second, when I admitted to her that I didn't know how help my client with one language element which he was struggling with about a six weeks into the semester: "Well, how could you know how to treat all the specifics of that?! You've only been focusing on it for the past six weeks! You think anyone has a full grasp on anything after six weeks? Look at what you have learned during that time; that's pretty incredible." 
I will probably have imposter syndrome for the rest of my life (it's pretty much the SLP curse, let's be real) but i will always have those words to come back to. because you will struggle. there will be things that are hard for you. but it's okay if you don't know all the information or you feel like you're muddling through your intervention sessions for a bit. that's normal. it's okay. and you will get there.  

So, I've truly never been a procrastinator...until grad school. Yup! I was the kid that finished their book report the day or day after it was assigned. And this past year, I've had to more actively attend to assignments and work harder to not procrastinate, so that was new for me.
I actively use a planner to keep everything together like due dates, meetings, study time. 
I have found that making a to do list of tasks (however big or small) has helped. If I have projects or big assignments on my list, I might work on one for a designated length of time, take a break then chip away at the next one. While I prioritize based on due dates, I try to chip away at the other assignments to avoid procrastinating one to the last minute. 
I also like to motivate myself by planning breaks (big or small). For example, if I work on this diligently on this project for the next 2 hours or so, I can take a break and watch an episode of a tv show and relax guilt free. Planning breaks helps me to look forward to something while I'm working so I don't get distracted as easily. 
I also think that being a reflective learner is helpful, to know things about yourself as a student. Like if you work better in the morning vs. night time, with background noise (TV, music) vs. total silence to be able to create a perfect study environment and not potentially dread studying as much that I've found can lead to procrastinating. 

I've been a horrible, chronic procrastinator since 3rd grade but managed to turn everything in on time during grad school! What helped me the most was using a planner. I would write down what needed to be done each day and then cross it off. Crossing things off was incredibly satisfying. There were plenty of times when I didn't get each day's tasks done, but seeing it there un-crossed-off would nag at me so that I still completed it before the deadline. 
Another thing that just naturally helped was when things were due. Generally, I would do my class readings during the week because they required less mental energy than writing. I therefore saved the bulk of my written work for the weekend, when I had two whole days to do nothing but schoolwork. Since things were generally due at the beginning of class, I always ended up finishing work a couple days before the due date. If something came up and I couldn't finish it on the weekend, I would still have a few days of wiggle room.
The third thing that really helped me was to break up tasks into smaller chunks. If you have to read 4 chapters, read one each day instead of putting off all of it. One day, do the research for a paper, the next day write an outline, and the third/fourth days write the paper itself. Write down each step in your planner so you can cross it off and feel motivated.
One of the good things about grad school is that a lot if your work will be practical: either clinic documentation or practical assignments. Theres more motivation to get the work done because it's less abstract and more meaningful. Also, this may vary by program, but we didn't have any long papers to write. All our teachers taught us to be succinct and enforced maximum page limits, so I hardly ever wrote anything longer than 4 or 5 pages, which made it easier to avoid procrastinating. 

I didn't get into my top choice school (in-state tuition, only 10 minutes from my house) and it was a huge bummer. I ended up picking an expensive school that required me to move a few hours a way over an even more expensive online program.
Do I still wish that I'd gotten into the in-state school and wonder what I could have done to get in? Absolutely. Have I been unhappy or unfulfilled with my current program? Absolutely not. It ended up being such a good program and experience with a really tight-knit cohort and supportive professors. I don't love everything about the area I'm now living, but I like it a lot and feel fine staying here at least through my CF.
I think you may always have regrets because, hey, that's life and hindsight is always 20/20. It doesn't mean you need to regret where you end up. Worst case scenario, two or so years of your life won't be great, but you'll still have decades of doing what you love. Best case scenario, it could end up being the perfect program for you and you'll make some great friends and connections. It's natural to get cold feet before a huge change in your life, but don't forget to be excited about all the possibilities life now has to offer!
And now, a philosophical note:
As I've progressed through grad school, struggled with money, etc, I've come to really appreciate the Rolling Stones' message that "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need". I haven't won the lottery or ended up at my top school, but time and again I've gotten what I need. It may not be as exciting as getting what I want, but it still allows me to be happy and fulfilled.
Sorry for the essay! I'm sleepy and procrastinating bedtime. ?

I am a first year, so I haven't gone through this yet myself. I think the title might be something to consider based on what setting you think you might want to work in, I am looking to go towards the education side so I viewed it as a plus. With that said, they do try to prepare you for both settings and take your interests into consideration when coordinating the internships/externships. If you want a hospital placement, when the time comes you make this known to faculty members and they do their best to get you into a setting that fits this or close to it. Because yes, the settings are very different and I've observed and/or volunteered at both as well so I think it's something to consider. Don't be afraid to PM me anytime for questions as well! 

Maybe a small gift card to one of their local coffee shops near them! They may not be able to use it right away, but it helps support small business too. I also liked the groceries idea!  

Absolutely! I loved living in Boulder, it's a small place, but has lots of things to do. The area itself is pretty easy to get around for this reason, the weather was one of my favorites to live in (the altitude does take getting used to if you're like me and are not from a place with altitude) it snows during winter but usually not every day. The weather can change throughout the day even, but it's pretty easy to get used to especially when walking around in such a beautiful place. A lot of people go hiking often, take day trips to Denver or Estes park, go to farmer's markets, etc. There was an article from the Washington Post (linked below) that I read while still in Boulder and found it pretty funny because it was fairly accurate in describing it's uniqueness of a place. 
The campus is gorgeous, the SLHS building is pretty small though. I did not spend a lot of time in the building myself besides going to class because there wasn't a lot of space to use. I can give more detail about anything if you want it (don't be afraid to PM me as well!). The faculty are all pretty great as well. Student life is very active because Boulder is a college town, there are lots of places to eat and go out at night. Let me know if you (or anyone else reading) have more questions!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/vacation-ideas/things-to-do-in-boulder/

Also congrats on CSULB!!! That is awesome! I have a friend that is a first year right now attending, let me know if you want me to put you in contact with her! 

Absolutely! I loved living in Boulder, it's a small place, but has lots of things to do. The area itself is pretty easy to get around for this reason, the weather was one of my favorites to live in (the altitude does take getting used to if you're like me and are not from a place with altitude) it snows during winter but usually not every day. The weather can change throughout the day even, but it's pretty easy to get used to especially when walking around in such a beautiful place. A lot of people go hiking often, take day trips to Denver or Estes park, go to farmer's markets, etc. There was an article from the Washington Post (linked below) that I read while still in Boulder and found it pretty funny because it was fairly accurate in describing it's uniqueness of a place. 
The campus is gorgeous, the SLHS building is pretty small though. I did not spend a lot of time in the building myself besides going to class because there wasn't a lot of space to use. I can give more detail about anything if you want it (don't be afraid to PM me as well!). The faculty are all pretty great as well. Student life is very active because Boulder is a college town, there are lots of places to eat and go out at night. Let me know if you (or anyone else reading) have more questions!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/vacation-ideas/things-to-do-in-boulder/

Just popping in to say I finished my undergrad at Boulder in December and I honestly loved the town and the department. If they had a bilingual focus, I would do my graduate degree there in a heart beat. 
The town is super bike friendly, outdoorsy, and quirky. Plus, if you get bored of Boulder (which is hard to do), CU gives you a regional bus pass that can take you to Denver, Eldora (for skiing), Longmont, or Fort Collins. The area is great for exploring and getting outdoors - hiking, biking, climbing etc. If you need any extra tips on where to eat (and get good deals on food) or where to live in town, feel free to reach out. I also know someone who will be in your cohort (one of my very best friends) and I'd be happy to put you guys in touch so you know someone in town. I'm sure you'll be very happy in Boulder!

Thank you so so much fir the advice! It means a lot! I am definitely thinking Boulder is gonna be my choice. You rock!

Just wanted to pop in here to say good luck to everyone! Try not to be too crazy nervous waiting, I know that sounds crazy, but I truly wish I didn't worry as much as I did. Because in the end, everything works itself out.  

if you can open yourself to the possibility of matriculating at other programs, I would apply more broadly. You seem to have a great profile, and if you can channel what you've written in your post into a coherent and thoughtful SOP, you are a shoo-in somewhere. As you already know, the programs you're applying to are, by the numbers, some most competitive in the country. Those programs receive hundreds of applications and accept ~10-20% of applicants, many of whom are admits from their undergradute program; however, if you aren't willing to compromise and are hellbent on an elite education, then don't. 
Let's go concern-by-concern:
I'm concerned I didn't apply to enough schools/should apply to more. See above. Maybe I should be aiming a little lower. See above. It never hurts to have safety schools. I'm in my early 30s. I mean, it's fine but I'm a little scared about being in a cohort with fresh-faced undergraduates and not measuring up. Cohorts are creeping up in age. Think of what you were like at 21. You are every bit as worthy. My GRE could be better. The first time I took it, I did worse on the multiple choice and better on the AW, so it could definitely be worse. Admittedly I'm a lot better with quantitative reasoning when I'm not a total ball of anxiety, which is why I haven't forked out another $200ish in an effort to earn back that 5.5 and push my quant up. Maybe if I fail this round again I'll revisit that. *shivers* It's solid enough that it shouldn't barr you from admission. My SOP was SO HARD to write. As you may have noticed, I'm not very good at being brief. I'm concerned I didn't say everything I should have, or what I said may not have illustrated what I wanted it to.  If there's still time, there are a handful of folk here who are willing to revise SOPs, myself included. Send me a PM if you're interested! My old GPA is still haunting me like Moaning Myrtle and looking at it in CSDCAS was like that part in "What Not to Wear" when you look in the 360 mirror, but not getting a $5,000 shopping spree afterward. ;_______; It's not a big deal; admissions committees don't harp on decisions made a decade ago. The idea of getting rejected from everywhere again after all of the work and sacrifice makes me more than a little sick to my stomach. Limbo is a mediocre game at best, but it's absolute murder when it becomes what your life looks like for too long.  Stay strong, admissions season is mentally exhausting. Make sure to take care of yourself.

So... I've been a serial lurker here for the better part of 18 months and I've never posted or responded. Hi all!
Firstly, I just wanted to say - for those of you that have shared your experiences: thank you so much! You probably don't realize it, but your willingness to share has been very calming and helpful. Even though I've never met any of you, it's been reassuring to see others share their statistics and misadventures throughout the application process. I come from a linguistic anthropology background and found CSD later, so my connection to the community from an academic standpoint has been sorely lacking. This forum has helped me quell a lot of my concerns (and develop some new ones, but whachagonnado?).
Secondly, given that it has been useful for me to see, I've decided to share experiences and stats, in case anybody else might benefit from seeing more of them for another out-of-fielder. If that's not interesting to you but you want to judge my numbers, I've listed them further down.
In 2013, I graduated from with departmental honors for a thesis I wrote on gendered narratives and a 3.62 GPA. I transferred from a community college for my junior year. My GPA took a hit due to one very bad quarter in my first year, during which I dealt with an assault and fell off the map for a few weeks, leaving me with flat B's in 4 courses. Despite this, my research and overall performance gave me a leg up with potentially continuing in that field for PhD's. By that time, I recognized that I had qualms about academia. I didn't love the idea of working with populations in need without seeking to directly empower them in being able to advocate for themselves. I wanted to feel like my research had more potential to have direct impacts and have the ability to work with individuals long-term. Also, the job outlook for PhD's in the social sciences is less than stellar, and while I love teaching adults, I also love not always being in debt and things like food and roofs. 
I spent a few years trying to decide whether I saw myself going to graduate school for sociolinguistics or not. I ultimately found myself working in exceptional needs intensive reading interventions, which typically caters to the same youth populations as SLPs. Speech pathology had come up a number of times, but it didn't really click until I was working with kids from the academic side of things as something I saw myself doing. I now manage an instructional caseload of between 15-20 students at any given time, most often ages 5-14 (meaning that I'm responsible for assessing, pacing, and training/mentoring teachers, in addition to teaching). It's by far the best day-job I've ever had, 2 years strong. 
Last cycle I applied to 4 schools knowing that my background was insufficient. I was wait-listed at my top choice (U.W.) and rejected from the other 3. While disappointing, I found this hopeful, given that despite some applicable work experience, I'd completed a grand total of 0 prerequisites. What I had done in fall of 2018 was find a local program for SLPA and begin taking the courses it required at my local community college that I was able to enroll in and kept a 4.0. The following spring, I found an online program within my state that offered a bridge. So, as of this cycle, I've accrued 45 post-bac units (15 of which are SLP-specific, the rest which are in related areas like ECE, psych, linguistics, physics, etc), maintained a 3.91, and continued to work full time because, again, roofs etc. I have no idea what will happen this round, but the very least, I've become a walking encyclopedia for parents to lean on throughout the IEP process and I can tell when people are under-trained in those meetings (ANSWER: TOO MANY). So there's that. 
TLDR: 
Post-Bac GPA: 3.91 CSD GPA: 3.82 (likely to improve after this semester) UCLA - BA GPA (last 2 years): 3.62 Community College - AA GPA (first 2 years): 3.54 CSDCAS GPA: 3.56 GRE: Q151 (41st), V157 (75th), and AW 5.0 Experience: I'm currently an exceptional needs educator/case manager for a private company that does academic interventions - mostly see dx's of ASD, dyslexia, hyperlexia, ADHD, and cAPD. I also managed a healthcare clinic for 9 years and have a nonverbal sister with dx's of ASD and Downs Syndrome.  Current woes and oh noes:
I'm concerned I didn't apply to enough schools/should apply to more. Maybe I should be aiming a little lower.  I'm in my early 30s. I mean, it's fine but I'm a little scared about being in a cohort with fresh-faced undergraduates and not measuring up.  My GRE could be better. The first time I took it, I did worse on the multiple choice and better on the AW, so it could definitely be worse. Admittedly I'm a lot better with quantitative reasoning when I'm not a total ball of anxiety, which is why I haven't forked out another $200ish in an effort to earn back that 5.5 and push my quant up. Maybe if I fail this round again I'll revisit that. *shivers* My SOP was SO HARD to write. As you may have noticed, I'm not very good at being brief. I'm concerned I didn't say everything I should have, or what I said may not have illustrated what I wanted it to.  My old GPA is still haunting me like Moaning Myrtle and looking at it in CSDCAS was like that part in "What Not to Wear" when you look in the 360 mirror, but not getting a $5,000 shopping spree afterward. ;_______; The idea of getting rejected from everywhere again after all of the work and sacrifice makes me more than a little sick to my stomach. Limbo is a mediocre game at best, but it's absolute murder when it becomes what your life looks like for too long.  Anyway, thanks for reading and for your posts! If you have any insight I'd love to read it. 
---
University of Washington - Portland State University - Vanderbilt - Northwestern - Louisiana State University Health New Orleans - CSU Los Angeles - UT Dallas
Applied - Accepted - Wait-listed - Rejected

I took a gap year and when I asked each recommender for a recommendation I politely asked them in an email, included the course that I took with them, the grade that I got, and any identifying information that would help them put a face to a name. Hell! Even put a small photo of yourself if you think that would help. 
It will also make for a MUCH better letter of rec if you do the brute work and put together a folder including your resume/CV, your transcripts, and any projects that you worked on/research.
I hope that helps!