jkathleen

I would definitely agree with this, and have to say that which school each individual chooses is a personal question that has to be only the individual can answer. I have done undergrad, graduate, and post-bac work at the Cal State system. I would venture to say that each campus will have its own pros and cons, and even different departments within a single campus would probably be affected differently by the budget difficulties we have seen. My personal experience has lead me to desire a change to see whether I can obtain a higher quality education in a different system, and a large part of the reason I want to do that is because I want to increase my chances of working in medical settings (which may not be an issue for students who want to work in the school setting). I don't want to seem overly critical of the Cal State system, but after my experiences with it, I have decided that I will most likely move to a different system for my SLP degree. I honestly feel a tinge of regret saying that because I love my professors and feel very grateful for all they have done for me.

So it is. I don't know what others have experienced in the Cal State system, but I personally have had many difficulties over the past years with changing tuition rates and changing availability of classes and professors. I have always been proud of my alma mater and very thankful to the professors who have enriched my life greatly, but I am sad to say that I personally do not feel the CSU system is very stable or reliable at this time. These are only my opinions and I hope others will do their own research and draw their own conclusions.

I should have been more clear. I can only speak for the Cal State system. I didn't mean to cause you concern. I did both my undergrad and post-bac work at a Cal State, and also did some grad work at a Cal State. I have seen things change drastically in the Cal State system from 2002 to now. I have zero experience with SDSU, so please don't take my comments to reflect on that school. The little I know about SDSU tells me that it is in a far better position than any of the Cal States. Sorry to be unclear.

I don't know anything about UNC, but... here's my two cents on the MGH and UTA: MGH is geared towards those of us who want to work in medical settings and with adults. UTA is geared towards working in school settings and especially bilingual school settings. That said, you can technically work in either setting after licensure, but the question becomes, how easy will it be to get a job in X setting, and how prepared will I feel? I got in to MGH and UTA last week, too. I'm struggling with the idea of massive debt after grad school, and wondering whether I will be able to work in my dream setting after school. I really want to work with aphasia and other cognitive language problems, and I want to work with adults... but I'm not sure if taking out $80K in loans to go to MGH is a financially sound idea.

Does anybody have any info on availability of assistantships at University of Texas at Austin? I have been accepted there, but I am from California and would be paying out-of-state tuition unless I can get an assistantship where I put in 10 hours/week or more. The Department states that assistantship applications will be accepted in May, which is after the deadline to decide which program you'll be attending. In other words, I am supposed to decide whether to go UTA without knowing whether it will cost me $25K or $48K. All this money stuff is hurting my brain O_o I was accepted at MGH, but with no offer for funding (sad face). I'm crunching numbers and trying to decide how much debt is too much. I'm still waiting to hear from Vandy, and hoping against hope that I not only get in but am offered some financial assistance. I don't want to stay in California! The schools here are being crushed by our state budget woes and our professors are worked to the bone!

I have been accepted into the University of Texas at Austin master's SLP program. I am interested in the UTA program mainly because of the opportunity to get a bilingual certificate. However, I am from California, so I would need to find some way to avoid out-of-state tuition in order to make going to UTA instead of a Cal State affordable. Students who are offered certain assistantships receive a waiver for in-state tuition. I have contacted the Department to request additional info on assistantships, and learned that applications for assistantships are accepted in May. This is well after the deadline to choose a program, which makes my decision all the more difficult. Does anyone out there have any information on UTA assistantships in the SLP program? How hard are they to get (especially the ones that afford in-state tuition)? What might an assistantship entail (research, teaching, clerical assistance in the department)? Any information would be useful.