láadan

Congrats!! Oh, I just meant I got the call and was accepted into the program! I think I'm going with NYU, since it's more established.

Just got a call from Emerson too, accepted! Hopefully everyone's decisions are coming out soon!

Yep, I need all of the prereqs. If I don't do it through my MS, it's a two year post bacc... so a full term isn't really that scary to me, haha. You have all of yours already? I did attend their online info session! I agree, it seems pretty solid, especially given how new it is.

More or less, across the Bay over in Berkeley... It's a bit better here than it is in the city, but still very, very expensive. Living with roommates, you can still expect to pay well over 1k in rent. I hear LA is pretty bad too...

Totally, I have the same thing. I remember even in undergrad, at an admitted students day, this guy came up, I think he was an adcom, and started off with something along the lines of, "Congratulations. And no, don't worry, you really were admitted to Berkeley--no one will come yank you out of your English class. There was no mistake, I promise--you deserve to be here." The whole room burst our in laughter. I think a lot of people feel this way, especially when getting into higher-ranking schools. I feel like I've had it throughout the process... like, I felt like my GRE was a fluke and I got lucky with easy questions, and that my undergrad GPA was a fluke because I wasn't doing a more difficult major, and that I got my way into a lab for research experience by sheer luck, etc. etc. It's so easy to feel that. And I've had it at work and other things too. It's definitely a pervasive problem, especially for women and minorities...

I'm wondering about this too. I live in one of the most expensive areas in the country, and it's very nerve-wracking thinking about how to make due without some sort of work. And I don't really have any skillsets that would let me make a lot for minimal hours, sadly. I'm thinking about trying to work part-time--but if school is really a full-time commitment, I'm worried I'll burn out trying to do both...

Yeah, that's right, I just learned that on their webinar recently--that didn't bother me too much since I still need the foundational courses anyway, but it's still worth noting. They really are brand new. I was assuming two years for NYU, since it's 6 terms. That's interesting with the course breakdown... It's also a quicker process with Emerson for the foundational coursework, actually. So they're faster overall. Where did you see that the term lengths fluctuate?

Do folks here have any thoughts on NYU versus Emerson? Pros and cons you've weighed? The programs seem fairly comparable to me for the most part, save for NYU being more established as an online program, having a more known brand name, and offering the Sweden study abroad option... but, of course, costing more.

I applied to Emerson a day after NYU and had my interview two weeks ago. I haven't heard back from Emerson either. Yeah, NYU offered me a 5k scholarship that requires me committing to them by the end of next week- I think they do want to hear back fast.

I submitted May 25, I believe it was--the last day for the early submission period. Also- I should add, check your spam! That's where my acceptance email went. Fingers crossed for you!

I just got in!! Anyone else?

Hah, well, we'll see, I'm waiting to hear back--I can say that the admissions counsellors I talked to seemed positive about it, but that's all I can say definitively.

I worked in home and school settings mainly, though some places will have the children come on-site. It depends on where you work. Also, I worked at one place where I was an employee, and then at another where I was a contractor. It really varies from place to place. There is a bit of overlap in the scope of practice between ABA and SLP, but they are very different fields. At the same time though, it's still 1-on-1 clinical work and there is some focus on communication (as a social behavior), and that makes it good prep. It teaches you a lot about working clinically with kids- how to get kids working toward some target goal/how to motivate them, troubleshooting behavioral issues/thinking critically on the spot, multitasking (like, somehow, you DO learn to give out praise/tokens, arrange the next trial, and note down what happened simultaneously), dealing with parents/teachers, etc. And you will learn a lot about autism, which is relevant. Also, another major plus for me is that I was able to have a clinical LoR. I would do a quick search on YouTube for ABA and see some examples! Then you can really see what sessions look like!

An anecdote, but when I was in undergrad, I had a graduate student instructor who had a somewhat lower GPA and (IIRC) a near-perfect GRE score, with about five years of great research experience. She had a 3.4-3.5, but she was mainly applying to top 10 programs. She said there were a couple Ivy League schools that flat out refused to accept her despite the department and a specific advisor wanting her, but many schools overlooked her GPA (including Berkeley, which is where she ended up). She applied to a lot of schools, always contacted the professors she wanted to study under so they knew her name, and it worked out. I believe she got into a number of other top programs too. So, just an anecdote, but it's definitely possible!

The advice I got when I took a class: Structure is key. They want to see an obvious thesis, easy transitional words in your paragraphs, an obvious conclusion, etc. and strong logical arguments. Take prep time. I took 5-8 minutes to just brainstorm arguments for/against or unstated assumptions + to make an outline, and it helped me a lot. Quality > quantity. ARGUMENT: Introduction: restate argument, with some more info, and a thesis (in this argument, x relies on unstated assumptions, more info is needed to decide, etc. etc.) and possibly list an overview of your points, if you want and time allows. Body, 2-3 paragraphs, each with: topic sentence (an assumption that needs to be examined), why it matters, what information is needed/how to get it, and how that info would strengthen and weaken the argument depending on what the info could tell us. Conclusion: restate thesis, summarize points, nice concluding thought if you can. ISSUE: Intro: rephrase issue in your own words, so they see you understand it. State a thesis with a clear position. Body, 2-3 paragraphs, each with: a reason that supports your position, with evidence!! You can include a, "some people might say [opposite of your topic sentence] but that argument is specious b/c..." here, or make a separate paragraph at the end with rebuttals. I found the former to be easier, but either works. Conclusion, same deal. Try to find some examples- write your essay, and then compare to the perfect 6 essay example! It really helped me- I also went through and actually underlined the structure of it, so I could really see what they were doing. Also, just practice brainstorming too, so you get the hang of what kinds of arguments they tend to open up for you for the argument essay. It's often the same kind of logical fallacies in each one, from what I saw in the practice questions and my one real exam- the faster you can generate a LOT of ideas, the more you'll be able to pick the very best arguments on your GRE. Good luck!