Rezzy S.

It came down to cost and location for me. I narrowed it down to two programs I loved and one was twice as expensive and in a different state. If the local program wasn't great, it would have been a harder decision.

Here are is my personal pro/con lists for medical. Full disclosure, I'm most interested in medical outpatient rehab, but a lot of this is based off of experiences in acute care. If I didn't do medical, I would want to work in a private clinic, but not a school (a little bit about that below). Sorry for the novel, I hope it helps! Medical Pros: Many different types of settings: acute care (hospital), outpatient rehab, skilled nursing facilities, pediatric hospitals, etc. Fast pace and on your feet: I've shadowed an acute care SLP, and as a restless person I love running all over the hospital to get to patients' rooms, talk to nurses, etc. Working with patients with acquired neurogenic disorders. Getting to conduct and analyze VFSS barium studies with a radiologist. Short prep time (for acute) and little/no standardized assessment: Unlike a school or outpatient setting, most patients will only be seen by the SLP once or twice, so things like a long standardized language test (which can be tedious to administer) aren't usually used. Assessment/treatment focuses on the most important things. Dysphagia: I wasn't all that interested in dysphagia before shadowing, but it's actually really exciting because it's so important for the patient's care. You're actually making a difference in helping keep this person safe. And again VFSS are fun! Counseling: If you really enjoy the counseling component, you will get ample opportunity for that with both patients and families (often in the midst of really intense situations). And on top of that it's been my experience that the other hospital professionals are a touch burnt out and because of SLP's/ASHA's emphasis on counseling, the SLP is often the brightest part of the day for these patients. Making a difference: Like the above, you may be a real light to patients. I once watched a man writhing in pain start singing because he found the SLPs oral care with the toothette so soothing. Had to stop myself from tearing up. Independence: It's probably true of most settings, but where I volunteer, the SLPs divvy up the patients on there own and spend as much or little time as needed with each patient. You appreciate what you have: I know this is weird, but working with people who are sick and usually 70+ makes you appreciate your youth and health and has inspired me to try to live life to the fullest and to eat healthier. It has also made me want to cherish the time I have with my older family members while they're still healthy. Potentially higher salary: generally medical SLPs are paid more (school SLPs have the opportunity for higher pay in areas with higher demand - definitely not a firm rule that medical SLPs make more, but common). Job security: As baby boomers continue to age, SLPs will be in higher and higher demand and there won't be enough. (Let's get some more qualified applicants into grad schools!!!) Medical Cons: Oral care: Oral care is so important because the bacteria in the mouth could eventually make its way into the lungs should the patient aspirate. Ideally this would be something the nursing staff manages, but that's often not the case. The other day an SLP showed me a picture of a mass of food she had pulled off a patient's hard palate. Sometimes patients have like a white crust or some other residue that the SLP works on with toothettes. Dysphagia: It's a pro, but also a con if you have a somewhat weak stomach. The other day a patient started hacking and the SLP took ample time examining the phlegm she coughed up. Sometimes there's anterior spillage, pocketing, etc. You do grow more accustomed to it, but things still get me sometimes. Playing off the last point, speech/language makes up a very small part of the job if in acute care. Cognition is a little more prevalent, but dysphagia is the big thing you will do because keeping the patients safe is the highest priority. Also, the patients are often in no place to begin working on language/speech. That being said in an outpatient setting, you would probably work much more on speech/language than dysphagia. Charting: Just like any SLP job, there is a lot of charting and often more time is spent on that than with patients. Life or death: If you're working primarily with dysphagia, it's so important you're present and thorough in assessment and charting since your patients' health/lives and your own liability are on the line. Working with families/doctors/nurses: Families are at an understandable low point and the SLP can be an easy target to receive their frustrations. Nurses do important work, but can also seem a bit burnt out and sometimes that can be felt. Though I haven't seen this where I volunteer, I've heard sometimes doctors can be really disrespectful to all other staff, including SLPs. Sometimes it's heartbreaking: Sometimes the intensity is what makes it so great, and sometimes it's just hard to see. For me, these moments have been with terminal cancer patients and their adult children. Not sure if this is a con, but if you're not in a pediatric setting, patients are usually geriatric, and you'll start referring to the 60-year-old as the "young guy." The youngest patient I've seen was in her late 40's. A little bit on schools: I didn't want to say much on schools, because I'm not passionate about working in one so you should hear from someone who is. However, my biggest turnoffs from working in schools are the overloaded case loads, IEP meetings, and working with parents. At least in the area I'm in, SLPs have massive case loads and much of the treatment is done by SLPAs (woot woot!), with SLPs doing a lot of assessment and documentation. (I have heard private schools can be less hectic). Parents are passionate about protecting and getting the best for their child, and sometimes that can be intense. That's completely understandable, but I don't think I have the right skill set to enjoy working with them on a regular basis (the same reason I never wanted to be a teacher!).

Waitlisted at 5 schools?! You’re obviously impressing people and there is a lot of time for you to get off one of those waitlists still! Good for you for keeping a positive, enthusiastic attitude. That hard work will pay off!

I think most of the time students make them, but occasionally the program does. Here's a recent topic you can look through that might help you find if there's one for your program yet:

Agreed about the cost. And thanks, you too!

Here’s a reccent topic you might find helpful.

I'm not attending, but found the link https://www.facebook.com/groups/443034139775291/?ref=br_rs

Unfortunately, ASHA just recently updated the rules so now physics or chemistry is required. I do know that the party responsible for confirming your ASHA pre-reqs is your grad institution and some schools may interpret more broadly (though they probably aren't supposed to). I would definitely check in with the university you're planning to attend if you're beginning in Fall 2019. If you're applying past that, you may want to consider taking physics or chemistry so it doesn't hurt your chances of gaining admission. Sorry you're in this situation ?

Did not interview and no mention of "high," so I think that's a good sign for you!

Same. lol.

My gues is there will be a lot of waitlist action on 8/15 and the couple days after as students have made there final decisions and departments get organized. Good luck！

Declined my offer at UT Austin. Was a very hard decision. Hope this helps

Totally agree. For my reach school I actually looked up a few professor’s journal articles so I could give a more detailed sentence or two of why I’d be interested in working with them (and I got in ).

It can definitely help. See if you can shadow an SLP at your local hospital or at a private practice. I started shadowing in a hospital the month before I applied and I know it helped me get into a couple programs It doesn’t have to be a strict internship. Shadowing/ volunteering are good too!

Good question. You said you have a couple CSD courses - two, or a few more than that? Also is your CSD GPA also high? I think this will come down to a school by school basis. I would definitely recommend checking each school's website or emailing them to find out which/how many prerequisites they require. Some schools require you have so many CSD units, while others want you to have certain classes. Assuming you meet all the requirements for a program or they're on the more flexible side, the higher your CSD GPA the better. So, if you only had 2 or 3 classes, but your CSD GPA was under a 3.7 or so, you may want to hold off in order to bolster your GPA. That being said, you could always just go for it. The cons of that would be the cost of applications, time, and if you re-applied the next year, the school would be aware of that. Region and the competitiveness of the schools you're applying to are other factors to consider. For example, if you're applying in California, which is really competitive, you may want to consider holding off. I hope that helps Edit: For me personally I had done 7 CSD pre-reqs and the 4 ASHA pre-reqs at the time of my application. For my applications through CSDCAS, I was able to do an academic update for my Fall classes adding 4 more CSD classes for consideration. I'm finishing up 5 more now and will be starting this Fall.

I feel for both of you. I think @lasmith is right that you have to choose what’s right for you. For some, the best career choice is with their partner. It really just depends on your relationship. For me and my husband, we couldn’t have gone back to school if not for the flexibility and financial support we provided each other. Even when finances weren’t perfectly aligning to go back to school, he didn’t let me chicken out. As I’ve considered schools, him and his career have been a huge factor for me (despite his willingness to uproot and move halfway across the country if that’s what I needed) because we’re a team - an effective one You know your relationship and your goals. Make the decision you won’t regret (I know, easier said than done). Sidenote, I’m a big fan of CSU’s and their low tuition. That’s definitely been a decisive factor for me personally. Good luck!

Some of the confusion may be that last year on April 1st someone reported on the results page that they were waitlisted without an interview.

Portland State! Great medical program with strong relationships to the local hospitals, etc. They also specialize in transgender voice.

Good point. It's a tense time for everyone and I'm afraid this site is sometimes as unhelpful as it is helpful in fanning those flames. A genuine good luck to everybody, including you @hiimkhanh - sounds like you have some good grad school options.

I think you're smart to wait it out a little longer ? @hiimkhanh Confused by the downvote. Did I say something wrong? lol.

I emailed schools I was fairly certain I would be receiving rejections from, because the stakes were low. They had already sent out acceptances and I wasn't invited to interview - just wanted closure. However, for schools I knew I still had a shot at I didn't do it. Didn't want to risk it.

While I have not done it personally, I have met grad students who have. In fact, some schools, like CBU for example, prefer SLPAs.

You should be proud of yourself!!! You have good stats (especially those GRE scores - dang!). I am so hoping that SJSU comes through for you, but I get why you're looking at plan B. A couple things you could do are try to shadow a hospital-based SLP and see if you could get involved in research (maybe with your undergrad professors?). Have you considered becoming a SLPA? California is brutal and you seem like a great applicant. I'm sorry it's getting you down ?.

Right now I'm between UT Austin and a CSU. Still waiting to hear back from one more CSU though ??. What about you?

I haven't taken it, but heard it feels pretty easy after the GRE. There are also some exceptions for taking it if you got high enough SAT scores.