Cece93

I plan on staying on campus. I lived at home for undergrad and my post bacc classes so I’m looking forward to staying on campus and immersing myself in the college experience. I also plan on finding an on campus job I can do around classes and clinical hours. Yeah it’ll be more expensive but for me it’ll help me focus. I noticed that when i’d sleep over at my friend’s dorm during undergrad. No matter what I’d have roomates and this way I can get to KNOW a group of people before I move off campus with them if I don’t end up in a single room.

I had an undergrad GPA of 3.0 and took my speech prerequisites as a post bacc. I was accepted into 4 programs. You don’t have to complete a second BA unless it’s something you really want to do.

This was one of the colleges that was on my list to apply but didn’t mostly because it was newer. Thank you for taking the time to write this. I’m sure it will help someone in the future!

That’s some good work experience!! I would say look for state schools when applying. NY out of state tuition for the SUNYs are like 10k a semester, Western Carolina university was 10k per semester, Eastern New Mexico university is cheap too.

Yeah they were for a special education teacher, SLP, and social worker. I also worked at a special needs preschool, special needs after school program and center based ABA. It sucks that ONE recommendation letter can hinder you. I wouldn’t have thought so.

That’s interesting. I didn’t get any recommendation letters from professors. I wonder if that hindered me. They were all professional.

Look into off campus housing through your school or an apartment/ house with roommates. There’s always people looking for young professionals or grad students and PhD students to share an apartment with. There’s literally off campus housing across the street from my school but I opted for on campus because I know I get distracted easily. It seems like you have a solid plan for What you need to do. Good luck and I’m glad I could help!!

With all that’s going on, I would like to think grad schools would understand especially if you have to start your program online. You could always talk about how the school you left wasn’t a right fit and what you learned from the experience. One of my coworkers has gotten into 2 OT programs and looking to get into a 3rd that’s closer to home and the family he wants to start. So, it’s possible.

I applied to 13 schools all over the country, but I think 10 is enough. I went overboard when applying but I had some reach schools and I figured I needed more chances. There honestly are a good amount of out of state schools with lower tuition than in state schools. So while people might not think they can afford out of state tuition you’d be surprised!! If you’re looking for GRE help Manhattan prep has great books. They helped me out (the ones i read). Some sites like eBay have them for cheap.

I was rejected from my top choices and chose not to go to any NYC private schools because of the cost. When I visited my intended school I loved what I saw but I still have my doubts. I had everything planned out for living in NYC and where I’d work, live, and what I’d experienced. It’s natural to have regrets. But give UWM a chance. You might actually enjoy the professors and people there. If you don’t like it you can always apply to another school next year. I’m not sure how that looks but if you’re really unhappy don’t sacrifice your mental health for it. Also don’t think about what you could’ve done differently. I honestly think it’s the luck of the draw sometimes. One school I was rejected from I thought I would get into and I was waitlisted. You were accepted into two programs because they saw something in you they liked. Out of all those who applied YOU got in! At the end of the day whatever choice you make will be right for you.

I also thought only those with perfect GPAs get into master’s programs in general. You do not need perfect experience or GPAs. I would say look for programs that care more about who you are as a person than just your GPA like SUNY Plattsburgh. That will come from people’s personal experiences with interviews. I see you were accepted into a program so congrats!!

I’d say retake the classes if they are below a B- but really focus on experience and those recommendation letters. in the time it took me to complete my leveling courses I made sure I built my resume. My last year of undergrad I started working in a special needs preschool (because they were hiring) and had done so for almost 3yrs. I was a one to one aide then teaching assistant. I also participated in an after school program for older children with special needs and then became a registered behavioral technician. I work with teenagers with severe emotional,mental and behavioral disturbances along with others who aren’t as severe. I also worked with the infants and toddlers at the daycare section of my preschool. So I have experience with people from infancy to 21. I didn’t have any professors write me recommendations. I wasn’t close to them in undergrad and I didn’t feel like those for my leveling courses truly knew me or I them. I received recommendations from an SLP, a special needs preschool teacher, and a social worker. I'm not sure about others, but I went into this new endeavor of SLP knowing my professional experiences would set me apart from others so I focused on them a lot. I made sure to get certifications and do training classes and work with as many special needs children as I could since that’s the group I want to work with. It also helped me on my personal statement. I came into SLP due to working at my first preschool so my love of speech is tied to the children I’ve had. I used grammarly to proofread it then got a few people to check over the template that I changed depending on the school. See if you can develop some type of relationship with some professors at your intended programs. Read their papers and ask questions ( they love that). See if there’s research opportunities with them. I’m not sure about research in general but it’s an option. The more you can put on your resume the better, in my opinion. Good luck!

It’s hard to say about schools and GPAs. I was accepted into 4 NY (2 state and 2 private) schools and waitlisted at most of the out of state schools and outright rejected from all the public NYC/CUNY schools. My undergrad GPA was a 3.0 (which I had to scrape up from a 2.5 with a new major in psych and a minor over 2yrs ). The only interview I did, the head of the program saw how much my grades improved with my post BA courses and they liked that. I’d say a good post BA GPA and personal statement could be enough. You could always do your stats course at a community college, that’s where I initially took mine. Also, reach out to your top schools and show interest. Read the books and papers the professors published. I wish I had reached out more before applying. Where I’m from we consider NYU as a “prestigious” college just like Colombia so I honestly didn’t consider applying. Cost was a major factor too. Some others who were accepted into your intended programs would be best to tell you about grades and their experience with getting in. I’ve seen some people on this forum who were accepted into their top choices and didn’t have a degree in communication sciences and had a lower undergrad GPA so it’s possible. Save yourself time and money and show them what you did after undergrad is what matters. Show growth!

I was accepted and will be attending!

I was just informed by SUNY Buffalo state college that I was accepted. I didn’t finish part two of their application that was required. I wasn’t on a waitlist nor did I receive anything about them considering me....I’ll be declining. I’m happy where I’ve chosen especially since I received a scholarship.

When I took my leveling courses online at longwood university, I was given financial aid in the form of loans if I wanted them. I’m not sure if all programs do that but it’s an option for them. The only course they didn’t offer was aural rehabilitation but I didn’t have a problem with getting into and applying for programs without it. Worse comes to worse I was just going to take it online at another college. All the rest of the prerequisites like a science class I had taken in undergrad. What extra classes might you have to take? I applied to 13 school (YIKES!!) and all their requirements were pretty much the same.

I took all my speech classes online at longwood. They are cheaper than some of the others I was considering but I know eastern New Mexico is even cheaper.

This is something I’ve been thinking about. I start in August so my school hasn’t said anything about courses yet. I take my speech prerequisites online right now and I KNOW I am a face to face learner. Because I’ve done it for 2yrs already I’d probably just do remote courses until hopefully the spring when everything is better. Also hopefully the classes will be on zoom so I get some type of interaction with the professors. Could you see yourself doing remote courses?

Congrats!! It feels good getting into grad school! My advice is to go with your dream. You’ve come this far. I was thinking about social work and even a BCBA because I wouldn’t have needed to take prerequisites but everyone in my life pushed me to and I was accepted into a Speech masters program. It’s what I can see myself doing in the long run. What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now? Social work or speech? You honestly can’t go wrong with either one.

Congrats!!! I’m more scared of not doing well in my classes. I always reach a part in the semester where my brain turns off and I struggle to stay on track. Working as a training RBT I struggle a lot with application and remembering what I’m supposed to do and say but I’ve gotten a lot better with proper help. My advice is don’t be afraid to make mistakes over and over again. The professors in your program are there to help you and even your cohort. When I interviewed for my college the current students said we could always go to them and I’m so excited about that and to see what tips they can give me. You should see if current grad students could help you out. Maybe do mock clinicals and stuff. That would be kind of cool!

I also applied later than other people and I found that my choices were limited. I did apply to a lot of places still because I just wanted to get in and as I got into private colleges I realized HOW expensive their tuition was. I was lucky to get into a state school I literally applied to at the last minute. It turned out that I loved it. Even planning for state school living and tuition plus my undergrad loans is stressful. One program I really wanted to get into was 100k just for tuition. I don’t understand how colleges can charge that much.

Off campus housing is usually cheaper so 20k might be enough for both years. I’m not sure about the housing situation for your school but for mine it was like $2,500 per semester. I did pick on campus housing for at least the first year just to find my footing and less distractions. Also I’d say a small part time job should help out with minor expenses if you can. I’m hoping to work just to pay off as much as I can but with clinical hours who knows.

Are you planning on moving to the Boston or NYC area after school? Is the reach of those schools broad? I know my undergrad holds some prestige where I live so maybe it’s beneficial if you move to those areas after school.

For me most of the programs I was deciding on were really similar. The only real difference was location and rank. For rank I looked at Praxis pass rate above all and didn’t really pay attention to rank. The higher ranking schools were places out of NY state and that brings me into the most important part, debt. Debt was my BIGGEST defining factor. I was accepted into one SUNY far away, but some NYC private schools close. At the end of the day I wasn’t willing to pay over 60k for only tuition when a SUNY education was right there and people had nothing but good things to say about the program. Cohort size was also important. I do horrible in bigger classes. Also, they have externship opportunities all over America even Canada. I’m excited! I only have to be away for 1 1/2 years and do my externship my final semester. I did my prerequisites online and only have experience with speech in schools and center based ABA so I wanted a place with wide opportunities and research. The school I picked has experience with transgender voice modification which is an interest of mine right now.

That’s what I figured. I honestly wasn’t holding onto hope since I didn’t get into Brooklyn college. Good luck!!