Zimaleah501

You are absolutely correct - it is one of those artificial feelings of oldness, because a LOT of my friends from college who went straight to grad school are finishing up Doctorates, getting their first "real" lawyer and doctor jobs, etc. This feeling is the sister of the feeling one sometimes gets when every friend from high school they have gets married in one summer, and I am nowhere near ready. I am a little less worried about my age, but a lot more worried at how much time and money I will be throwing at this. If I don't get in next year's round, I am considering getting certified to teach special ed, working for a couple years, then trying again.

I am also one who did not get accepted anywhere, had a 2.67 undergrad gpa (also with a MUCH better postgrad gpa), and cannot be certified as an slpa. I am praying to find a speech internship, another job so I can actually support myself, more classes to hopefully raise my gpa even more, and retaking the gre. I am 26 in a couple weeks, and like you, I am really discouraged. I will be applying EVERYWHERE this fall. Seriously, everywhere that it looks like I could have a chance. I've already begun reworking my SOP and studying for the GRE. I don't know what I'll do if I am rejected twice, in all seriousness. If nothing else, you're not alone!

Thank you, I certainly hope it pays off. I also plan on applying EVERYWHERE I can afford to this next year (I don't care if it means 25 places - I don't know that I could handle all rejections AGAIN and still pick myself up and try again) to statistically increase the likelihood that SOMEWHERE would take a chance on me. I was thinking about cold-calling/emailing places that have speech pathologists and asking if they would take someone willing to file/answer phones in exchange for some extra observation time. With this fall looking like it will be truly insane, I am thinking I also might just take the old GRE in July before it changes. I have some time now to work on the SOP (anyone willing to help edit?! ) and GRE study, and then it will be overwith by the time I can submit new applications. Plus, there is always that chance that with the new GRE (as with any new test) the schools won't know how to compare them quite as well as the old one. And my undergrad gpa being a 2.7 (my gpa in my postbac speech courses is 3.5) puts me as a fairly shaky candidate...and my 1160 5W wasn't quite enough to convince them. But as I said, if I try the GRE again, and hopefully improve my gpa even more, I will have a better chance this fall. I suspect organization will be key, though, so making a schedule is distracting/comforting me right now!

Congrats to everyone making final decisions/receiving acceptances! It makes me glad to see other people do well, keeps me motivated to try again. Because today, I received another (and final) rejection, meaning I have to pick myself up, work on improving my overall application, and do this process again next fall. I am really bummed, but I also know a lot of ways I could do better. Retaking GRE, I'll have 7 more subject-specific classes (and hopefully good grades) under my belt, and I have begun looking for internships. Does anyone have any advice regarding good resources for GRE studying (I've already plowed through a few of the books) and/or finding an internship?

Nope, not yet. But this waiting is kind of killing me slowly lol.

I am hoping for just one school this year, partially because I am not 100% ready to move out of state, partially due to funds, and partially due to really shaky stats. I had a 2.7 undergrad gpa in Animal Behavior, but my postbac work (8 classes) was 3.1. 1160 GRE, 5.0W. Some volunteer experience and solid recs but clearly with stats like that I am far from a shoe-in. East Stroudsburg is a program I like in a location I love, and is most importantly in state. If I don't get in (which is clearly a reasonable scenario) I will be applying to WAY more next year, all over the country. 15-20 if I can manage it. But I will be done school then (and my GPA will be closer to 3.5 then), retaking the GRE, and trying to do more shadowing and volunteering. But my fingers are crossed!

I suppose I have been spoiled, as I have seen professors let students retake in class exams AND online things on many occasions when they had a reason the professor sympathized with. I have never missed a due date before this but I've known students who have taken make-up exams (for at least partial credit) for everything from oversleeping to illness (sans doctors note). This is particularly true when the end result is a grade that seriously misrepresents the quality of the other work the student has done. This is the first time I have had experience with this myself, but I have on more than a few occasions (at least 6 times in my undergraduate period) known specific professors that would say "well, turn in the next paper topic during the next paper time, I will grade this one on time" for little to no penalty for people in my classes. Some of this was at my original undergrad institution, once at the school I take speech prereqs at, and once in a different community college class. I really thought this was a fairly common practice, although at the discretion of the professor to use it and judge the validity of the reason the student gives. I'd like to remind anyone reading this that this is an anonymous online forum, and as a previous poster put, how I speak here does not necessarily mean I am speaking that way to my professor. In fact, I did not blame him for anything in my interactions with him. I did not ask him for a B in exchange for nothing. I did not ask him to just ignore my lack of exam grade. My overall interaction (which answers your question, risingstar) included me discovering my mistake, and emailing him. In this email I apologized for not coming to him sooner, but I had just discovered my mistake upon trying to complete the other exam. I described my situation, said that a C is very undesirable in my situation, and said that with this missed exam I had zero chance of getting anything above a middle-low C average in the class. And given this information, is there anything I could do (re:retaking, extra credit) to raise this to a B average, because I should very seriously consider dropping the class. His response email told me not to worry, that he does not allow retakes or extra credit, but that it would not make sense to drop the class because he can consider the rest of my body of work when he calculates final grades if my work is good enough. When I discovered my grade was a C, I sent him an email, and he gave me a one line email about 73% not being good enough to be lenient with and that if I wanted to, I should contest the grade and submit the form and we would work it out next semester when he gets back from the holidays. My work was A+/middle A afterwards. I did not drop the class because he advised me not to. I believed him when he implied that me not having to worry and advising me not to drop the class meant that if my grades stayed stellar, he would give me a B. While I am sure I sounded particularly complain-y in my posts, it's because I was (and am a little) very worried and very angry. Not that he didn't think my grade was a B, but that he ADVISED ME BADLY when I gave him all of the information he needed. I calculated my grade, I knew the highest average I could attain was a 74.5% if I got 100 on everything. I put this in my email. Since I did not get a 100% on my final exam, just a lowly A-, I had a 73% at the end. I understood the entire time that he did not owe me the B - I thought as a professor he did owe me good advice on ANYTHING regarding his class. I still do. Which is why I am petitioning for a W, not the B. And it is not just me who thinks this is justified, though I understand why some of you feel I am an entitled-feeling gradegrubber who needs to grow up. You don't know me, so I don't blame you or hold it against you.

Good for you for trusting your gut - "vibes" and the indescribable feelings are how we know who we like, don't like, or fear in a subconscious way. And even more than this, good for you for recognizing the need to get some input and think of ways to take care of this now, before it potentially does get worse! Even if it never would have gotten inappropriate, it would absolutely make you feel better knowing you made sure they knew you were married or something, if that made the vibes go away. And in the end, you are trying to solve a situation where you are feeling uncomfortable. And you never know, the person might be trying to flirt in a very subtle way because they do not know you, and you saying/doing these things to let them know you are taken in a subtle way might be just what they were looking for as well. I second the idea that a previous poster gave in asking some people you know within the department - I learned some pretty scary things about a guy who was giving me weird vibes in my undergrad department by doing so.

I would definitely find other reasons you like the place to discuss than just liking the area, though that to me is a pretty valid reason to give a place a go, particularly if you are unsure of whether or not you will get in the other places. But during that research, you might find that there is something about that department that really means that it is not a good fit for you! Doing the extra legwork can only help you. You will either grow to appreciate a place even more, or you will realize you are wasting time and money applying to that school. Good luck!!

I have an old supervisor (and dear friend) of mine writing a letter for me - she has not worked in over a year and a half at all. I do not think it will affect things, particularly since her reason is being at a stage in her Stage IV breast cancer that she is hurting and sick all of the time. She mentioned briefly in the letter that she no longer worked there and why, in the beginning and then just wrote a really great letter about the time (2 years) that we did work together, and when she trained me. Being sick now doesn't change what happened in the past for her, so I doubt your person's circumstances should change yours, and the efficacy of the letter she writes you!

I empathize with your situation, as that is exactly what I did myself. And I agree with the poster who said that your main problem is the fear at this point. It will be more difficult for you to study if you do so out of panic, (for me the information will magically not stick in my brain ) so you should make a serious effort to stay relaxed. This is also important during the test. You are more likely to rush and make mistakes if you are nervous during the exam. I was not able to fend off the nerves while studying, but was able to during the exam, and I turned out with average, but acceptable scores (for my program). Part of me really thinks that the test scores are only there to make sure you aren't completely incompetent, or can help if they are really stellar. But most people are in the middle, and that just means writing a great statement of purpose (and writing sample, if your program needs it), and getting great letters of rec! Try not to worry, you can do it!

Everything you say makes sense, though I do feel like I should remind (or tell, if I did not do so in an earlier post) that I did not forget to submit an exam. In a situation nearly entirely unique to online classes, I took Exam 3 and submitted it on time for Exam 2 by accident. There is a fair amount of material overlap so I figured it was just a tough exam. I did not realize my mistake until I went to take (and subsequently submit) the next exam (which would have been not just on time, but 5 days early) and realized that I had missed Exam 2. The most similar situation I can apply this to for an in-person class would be if a student completed the wrong paper topic by doing a future one, and turned it in on time. The only difference there is that a person grades those, and a computer grades my exams, so it was not caught sooner than 3 weeks later for the next exam.

I am in a similar situation, although I am seeking a Masters, not PhD. 2.6 in undergrad. Since then I have improved it with other undergrad classes, I have a 3.4 in those. But they overall average out to barely a 3.0. Unlike you I do not have stellar GREs, mine are more average with a 540Q, 580V, 5.0AW. I have some great LoRs. I think at this point, it is now a crapshoot. But make sure you spend a lot of time and effort on your statement of purpose, as it is one of the only things you can really control for amping up your overall application!

Due to a fairly rocky academic past I had contacted the graduate directors at my future schools and asked for advice as to how I could enhance my application. They recommended providing the minimum number of academic recommendations, but also adding one or two from job supervisors to give myself a bit more of a cheering section. Now, one of my professors has not submitted her recommendation, but I now at the very least fulfill the minimum requirement for # of LoRs. Maybe ask for one from a supervisor, cross your fingers, and hope that it ends up just being extra?

I second the other poster's idea, that maybe your stress and anxiety negatively affected you during the exam. Did you feel confident after? I felt panicked beforehand, but during the exam itself was able to calm down a lot and just take it question by question. My scores were extremely average, but pretty good, and I attribute a lot of that to being able to remain calm during the exam.