speech97

Speech@NYU is another one!

Sorry, all mine are specific to my college, but I think the reason you haven't gotten any responses is that people are trying to protect the scholarships they're applying to. You may have to track scholarships down on your own if people aren't willing to share.

Check your state’s ASHA branch! I know WSHA (Wisconsin) offers a few scholarships to students at Wisconsin schools.

Thank you! I just began my second semester and I would say that I study almost every day with the exception of some weekends. I would say about 6-10 hours per week on one class. It also depends on the material covered that week. The thing I love most about the program is that we are able to watch the asynch lectures as many times as we want which is so helpful! It really allows you to go back and grasp the material. The professors are honestly amazing.. I've loved every single one of them and they are always so helpful. As for more theory/research.. I do not really feel that's been the case. Who knows down the line! But we do read a lot of research and lots of it is cited, however many of the professors also work in the field and speak about their experiences/ relate it to the field during the live sessions. I am taking a research class this semester though which I do enjoy so far! Feel free to ask any other questions, happy to help! 
Cost is hefty but I believe it will be worth it in the end. NYU has many connections and its reputation speaks for itself. I don't really have anything negative to say other than cost! 

This is so helpful-- thank you for taking the time to answer! I've heard that from many NYU students-- that they LOVE the program, only complaint is cost. Which like you, many feel are worth it. Thanks again!

Thank you! I just began my second semester and I would say that I study almost every day with the exception of some weekends. I would say about 6-10 hours per week on one class. It also depends on the material covered that week. The thing I love most about the program is that we are able to watch the asynch lectures as many times as we want which is so helpful! It really allows you to go back and grasp the material. The professors are honestly amazing.. I've loved every single one of them and they are always so helpful. As for more theory/research.. I do not really feel that's been the case. Who knows down the line! But we do read a lot of research and lots of it is cited, however many of the professors also work in the field and speak about their experiences/ relate it to the field during the live sessions. I am taking a research class this semester though which I do enjoy so far! Feel free to ask any other questions, happy to help! 
Cost is hefty but I believe it will be worth it in the end. NYU has many connections and its reputation speaks for itself. I don't really have anything negative to say other than cost! 

@speech97Congrats on completing your first semester! Glad to hear it's been good for you so far.. I've heard great things about the professors and know one recent grad that felt her education was very high quality (her only complaint was cost). How many hours per week do you normally dedicate towards studying and classes? Also, I've read that NYU focuses more on theory/research than other programs.. do you feel that's true? That's kind of what draws me towards the program.. just so worried if the cost is actually worth it. THANK YOU responding and being willing to answer questions!

Hi there! I am currently a student at NYU's program and about to start my second semester next week. So far so good! I have enjoyed the professors and the coursework and feel that the first semester went well for the most part. I also live in New York so I do go on campus to study which is helpful. Feel free to ask me any other questions you have specifically about the school! 

Definitely apply! My score was slightly less than a 300 and I got into the programs I applied to except one. 

I have known so many outside-major post-baccs who have gone to a few of my dream schools for SLP (very outside majors, such as Art History)! I think it's less about your previous major and more about your involvement and volunteerism, which can be interpreted as the passion you have for this field. As long as you've taken all the necessary prerequisites, they will look at your academic portfolio the same as any other CSD major.

I am about to start my first semester so I am not sure if this website will work but I did find a lot of my speech textbooks for undergrad (and every other subject for that matter) on this: b-ok.org. It's free, you just need to download the book onto your laptop. Hopefully it has the books you're looking for on it- worth a try! Good luck! 
Also slugbooks.com compares prices of major sites like chegg, amazon, textbook rentals, etc, and shows you the cheapest place to buy or rent your books from. 

Grow a thick skin. --Your supervisors will critique you in every way possible, suck it up. It's a learning experience...even if they hurt your feelings, their opinions do not define who you are. Your laptop is your lifeline. Connect your school email to every technology you own especially your phone. Phonetics and speech-language development is worth knowing. Get used to not being "perfect" in graduate school. You won't get kicked out for getting a B ? Graduate school is not hard, it's just time consuming.  Prepping for an articulation session takes longer than two hours (until you know your kiddo quite well and/or perfected a few habits). Your classmates/professors/staff members are your colleagues. You do not have to like them but be respectful. Do not burn bridges. Treat this experience like a job because it is. Do not gossip. Research is so important in graduate school. Learn how to read articles. Be flexible. Everything you planned for in your session will most likely by altered by that little 5-year-old in front of you. Another clinician is currently using an item you needed? Find a different toy/activity that can still elicit what you want. Your client is having a bad day? you might end up tossing your lessons away and doing whatever to get them back on track. You will find yourself doing the most silliest things ever just for that speech production.  Even after a month of therapy, you'll still be nervous to see your clients and have NO clue what you are doing. LOL. That two minutes you have until your session starts is still a lot of time. You'll adjust to working under pressure. You're a natural, trust me. You know more than you think you do.  GOOD LUCK! 

1. Some sort of planning system, whether it's a physical planner or on your phone/computer. There are so many moving pieces in grad school that I can't imagine not using a planner--I'd probably forget about half my deadlines! And this is coming from someone who NEVER used a planner before grad school!
2. A working laptop. Pretty much everyone in my cohort brings their laptop to school every day to take notes or just do work.  It does NOT have to be fancy, just something that is fairly portable and not likely to break down anytime soon, ideally with a decent battery life. If you already have a nice computer, then that's fine, but don't feel like you have to get the latest MacBook Air or anything that will wreck your budget!
3. A clipboard with storage. Mine has enough room to hold miscellaneous papers for 2-3 clients at a time, my audio recorder, and a couple pens. 
4. An audio recorder that ISN'T your phone. Seriously. Most people just use their phone as an audio backup, but some people have had trouble with their phones stopping part-way through if they also decide to record video or use a phone app during the session. I have this audio recorder here:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XFTWCBJ/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and I absolutely adore it. The sound quality is excellent and it has a USB drive so I can download files onto my computer.
5. Nice pens! You'll be doing a lot of writing, so you might as well use pens that make you happy. I'm partial to Pentel Energels.
6. A lot of people will say a laminator. Honestly, so far I haven't seen the need for it. I've used self-adhesive laminating sheets for the few things I've needed laminated, so I don't think a laminator would have been worth it for me. Also, some schools have a laminator for student use, so I would double-check before you buy anything pricey.
7. I don't think it's worth buying a penlight unless your school/internships have a strict no-phone policy in sessions. I use my phone flashlight and it does just fine. But to each their own, I guess.
8. Maybe this should have been in the top five... Clinic-appropriate clothes! On-campus clinics tend to have stricter dress codes than your placement sites--for instance, I can wear sneakers at my placement, but not in our on-campus clinic. Get a good variety of business casual clothing: pants that aren't jeans, blouses, cardigans, skirts/dresses, close-toed shoes that aren't sneakers ? No cleavage, no exposed skin when you bend over or raise your arms, nothing really tight, and definitely wear pants if you're playing on the floor!
9. Miscellaneous office supplies! Our grad room has scissors and tape, but I've had to use my own post-it notes, paperclips, and index cards.
10. As far as any toys/games/materials go, I say skip it unless you're sure that you want to work in a school and need to start slowly accumulating materials. The school clinic and placements should have everything you need. If they don't, just do what your supervisor does and make do. Grad school is expensive enough as it is! Plus, if you're forced to make do with what you have, it makes you adaptable and hones your creativity!
11. A combo printer/scanner/copier (this should also have been in the top five). This one isn't essential, just super convenient. Your school will probably have a printer you can use for clinic stuff, but ours isn't in color, so I have to use mine at home if I want color. Also, some professors are better than others with going digital, so some of them may give you a lot of handouts, and once you scan them you can get rid of them. 
I'll add on if I think of anything else!

CUNY Lehman College. They have a really great program there!

Try taking out books from the library- I did that and it helped vs. actually paying for them. The Magoosh GRE vocab app is also helpful! 

I have been working as a behavior therapist in ABA services for children with autism for close to three years. I have been an RBT for over a year. ABA is about increasing positive behaviors and reducing or redirecting interfering behaviors. With that we work on a lot of different types of programs such as fine motor, gross motor, language skills, self-help skills, academic skills. It's been a super interesting and overall positive experience. I have gained experience in time management, working with and talking with families, working with and talking with follow therapists, and  writing reports and updating graphs. However, this field  is known for burning a lot of people out. It's a lot of hard work in dealing with maladaptive behaviors. However, like I said I gained amazing experience and learned a lot about clinical setting that I know I will be able to use in the SLP field. 
Feel free to message me if you have specific questions.
 

I have been working as a behaviour technician in ABA services for children with autism for about three and a half years. I work for The children's Center in Michigan and they are pretty amazing and supportive especially in a job with high burnout rate. You can find jobs on indeed.com and there are many companies I see on there. I would be careful though and make sure you check out the company. You want to make sure they are providing ethical and high standard services. The experience is definitely life changing and you learn alot that you can use both at work and outside of work. I cannot speak to how good this looks on your resume but I do know that alot of companies that  provide ABA services also have SLPs that you can shadow to get hours. 

I just recently trained for a job as an RBT. I started with my first two clients just this month - and I have been loving it so far. Before working I had to complete a 40-hour training course ($100 online), submit background checks/fingerprints , complete an oral exam with my supervising BCBA and pass a written mandated exam (I live in Florida). This entire process took about three months before I could actually start working in the field. I also have a B.S. in psychology. I paid out of pocket for everything except the insurance credentialing - $60 - which will be taken out of my first three paychecks. It was A LOT to get started and I doubted it at first, but I am so thankful I followed through!! I can definitely tell already that a lot of the RBT skills will come in handy as an SLP/SLPA/professional. 
I met my supervising BCBA at the elementary school I was working in - I actually introduced myself because I'd been looking for an RBT position - you could probably find job listings for your area online! Luckily the woman I met is expanding her company to my city and was willing to guide me through training and other newbie-RBT stuff, but other employers may want you to have it all completed beforehand. She also is aware that I am going to school for SLP, so she lets me hoard the clients with communication challenges / functional communication skills.  

Also going on three year ABA therapist here ?. It's certainly challenging at times, but totally worth it. I would agree to make sure your company is ethical! As an RBT, five percent of your hours need to be supervised by a BCBA. If you are not meeting this, your liscense can be revoked. Also, I would recommend to look for another company if they are asking you to sign a non compete clause (speaking from experience). The experience is invaluable, as I have seen several SLP's come through who have no idea how to manage behaviors. 
Good Luck!

I have no idea who in our cohort got in off the waitlist, so if you don't volunteer that information, they'll never know! Professors will either not know or not care--they're not going to treat you any differently, and they will all be rooting for you to succeed.

think of it this way: in a few years, when you're an slp, NO ONE will care whether or not you got in right away or off the waitlist. all that matters is you're in! they simply didn't have space before, and now that they do, they want YOU. you're gonna rock it!

That's awesome! Thank you so much for your post! 

I’m not an RBT but I do have almost two years experience as a Behavior Therapist working with kids with Autism and other developmental disabilities. For my company, you need to have a BA or pursuing a BA related to psychology, communicative disorders, child development, etc.
I think it’s about as close as you can get to the field without being a SLPA. It definitely gives you insight because you’ll be working with populations that also go to speech therapy (most if not all of my clients receive speech services too). My clients all have receptive and expressive target goals which are often targeted in speech too. With that, you are likely to get more challenging behaviors and it can be exhausting but totally worth it. I was able to weave my experience into my LOR and talked a lot about it in my interviews!

Hi! I see a lot of people on forums talk about RBT’s so I was wondering if anyone can talk about their experience working as one. How do you get this kind of job? Does it give you any insight on speech pathology in any way? Is it good to have on your resume for grad school? Any information is appreciated! I haven’t heard of it prior and I’m intrigued. 

That’s a pretty decent rate to receive and the flexibility is a huge plus. I would stick with it if I were you but you shouldn’t be miserable doing one thing just for the money! Definitely look for something around the same pay and flexibility and if you can’t then at least you can say that you tried! Good luck!  
Additionally- I work at a Sunday respite program for children with developmental disabilities and that’s all I do. (Not in grad school yet) It’s the same pay. If it isn’t about the money for you I’d maybe look for something similar like that!