Hopeful SLP

@caffeinerd, I did but then I deleted the info on here once I could send it privately through e-mail. the message you quoted was written before I created the group. sorry for the confusion!

Northwestern (which I see is on your list) especially loves out of field applicants. 1/2 of the students they take each year have a non-COMD background. with high GRE scores and a high GPA, you'd likely be a perfect candidate. they would place you on the 3 year track (so you'd be taking all prereqs at their school, which means more $$ for tuition), but I think you can defer acceptance for a year and take prereqs somewhere else (much cheaper). anyways, I'd give it a shot!

Sorry I totally forgot about checking back here - I assume you have housing figured out already. If you do not, I can try to help you with what questions you have but I am more familiar with the downtown area/north of the city. I could not make it to the preview day so I was bummed that I couldn't meet people from my class. I have met a few of the current SLP students from previous events/through my work but I do not know anyone from our cohort yet. I would love to join a FB group. I do not know of one yet!

Hi there! I am going to Rush, but I'm local. Can help with housing questions if you need it. :-)

I got mine as well - I'm about 1.5 hrs from campus. My CLAWS status hadn't changed when I checked earlier this evening.

@redheadedasian, we are classmates! I faxed my scholarship acceptance today and will mail the check in by the end of next week. I'm happy to open up a spot at Northwestern for someone on the wait list. :-)

that is what I am hoping for, but I don't actually know. either way, the $15k is awesome and something I did not plan on. congrats to you as well! agregory, it totally does stink, but that is life.

nada--but I did hear from Rush today! I think I'm going to accept tomorrow. I believe the largest scholarship Northwestern offers is ~$15k and their tuition is so much higher. I don't think I'm ready to sign up for that much debt.

I do actually want to get a zipcar to visit Ikea once! I just never get around to it. Does anyone know when Rush or Northwestern gave info on funding last year? Has anyone heard anything about this yet?

I am not personally familiar with the area, but a student I spoke to said that a car makes it easier.

yes! I forgot about the horror of ticketing. like I said before, we never had a car but at our old apartment (street parking) cars were tickets ALL.THE.TIME. also, redheadedasian I'd definitely look into what area you'll be living in and whether or not you'd actually want a car there. I know in most places near the city, there's no such thing as "parking" your car for the winter. street parking is first come, first serve and you need to move your car for snow plowing days. some areas also have "no parking tow zones" between 11pm and 6am if there was more than 2" of snow fall. personally, I used public transit to get me anywhere (and the grocery store is 1 mile away so I walk in the summer). during the winter, I pay $7 to have groceries delivered via peapod.

my boyfriend and I currently live in the loop, and we lived up in Lakeview for a year before this apartment. In two years, I've only had one problem when the train was rerouted, and I took a cab so I wasn't late. We now have walkable commutes, but for the year in Lakeview I relied on two buses to get me to work -- I was never once late, and I was able to read on my commute. we do not plan on buying a car any time soon, and we really enjoy putting that extra gas, insurance, and car payment $$ towards rent instead. it allows us to rent in a much nicer location. I plan on going to Rush without a car at all. parking and driving in the city is a PITA, and we haven't had an option for a parking space at either apartment (unless we want to buy a spot for $35k).

"un-ranked safety schools" don't want to waste an acceptance on someone who they know is using them as a safety school (high stats and applying to similar but better ranked programs).

also--to anyone who got accepted at Rush, did the packet go to your permanent or temporary address? I'm on spring break so if it's at my temporary address I won't see it for a few days, boo. if it's permanent I'm guessing it'll get here today (I moved and had my address forwarded so everything is delayed). thanks in advance!

thanks for everyone posting about Northwestern--I probably wouldn't have checked without grad cafe. Another acceptance! Yay

wow, Rush plummeted in the rankings (17 to 29) and the overall score went from 4.4 to 3.5. I wonder what happened.

if grad schools want anything, they want someone who will finish the program. it is REALLY hard to convince them of that unless you have stellar letters (from yourself and professors, etc.) ... coupled with the low GPA, you have a difficult road ahead. however, I don't necessarily think it is impossible. what have you been doing for the past year? can't you have whoever you've worked for/studied under write the letters instead of going back to your SLP program?

It is really, really nice to have that choice. Congrats! The debt is a huge thing to consider--good luck making your decision.

@trina - no $$ offer or anything-- just a call trying to get me to accept. Has anyone decided on Rush yet? I'm definitely going there - just curious to hear back from Northwestern at this point.

thanks trina! I tried calling but did not get through, so I'm drafting an e-mail now. so nervous!

Did anyone get a text from a professor at Rush? I just got a text congratulating me on my acceptance and asking to call.

the girl I met spoke highly of her experience. My dad's girlfriend also went there in the 90s for SLP and loved it. She worked at her dad's speech clinic at the time and paid tuition in full with her earnings. When I asked them what makes Saint Xavier stand out from other Chicago schools, they talked about their emphasis on school SLP. With that said, my dad's girlfriend works almost exclusively in dysphagia.

Students at Rush and Northwestern both told me it is not feasible to work. Northwestern gives some merit based scholarships (small-- nothing more than $15k a year) and rush provides need-based funding based on your parent info. The Saint Xavier student I spoke to said a lot of people work--including herself. I plan on just working after I finish the program, and I'll pay them off slowly--and hopefully utilize loan forgiveness programs for working SLPs.

I don't know. That would suck more though.

thanks! and yes, 1pm-4:10pm were the worst hours of my life. I just walked around zombie crying. call me dramatic, but I've had my heart set on rush for two years. I forgive them already, ha ha. she did apologize--and the first words out of my mouth were, "I don't even care anymore! Thank you!"