redheadedasian

The first time around, my GPA wasn't much different. It might have actually been a bit better (3.81ish). The big problem was that I had next to no prerequisites, and I hadn't done anything related to the field. No matter what your GPA is, you could be a perfect grad applicant for just about any program, but still not get into this one just because it's insanely competitive. Last year I applied to LSU Baton Rogue, Georgia State (I actually got an interview there, but so did about 100 other people - for about 20 slots), University of Florida (got waitlisted, never heard anything else), Boston University, Florida State (who basically sent me an email saying they just threw my application in the trash since I didn't have the prerequisites; I sent them a mean email back about wasting my time and application fee and didn't apply again ), UNC Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt (the last two are IMPOSSIBLE to get into for anyone, by the way). I think another problem was that I didn't really do much research, and ended up applying to programs that take 10% of their applicants or less. Word to the wise: apply to a TON, or at least have half of your schools accept somewhere around 50%. Apply to obscure programs (like Longwood, for me). Schedule visits to the schools and write about the visits in detail in your essays. Seriously, apply to schools that insult your intelligence with how easy it looks to get in. Assume they are all hard. Final note: again, this is a very competitive field, and the fact is, you may have to apply two or more times. If this isn't something you're willing to live with (repeatedly applying, making yourself a better candidate in between every application process, etc.), you may want to pick something else. Good luck!

I graduated from the University of Georgia in May with a degree in Linguistics/Theatre. Last year, I tried to apply for speech pathology without any prerequisites (except linguistics courses) and got rejected from all seven schools I applied to >.< Now, I'm taking prereqs through the online program at Longwood, and my post-bac GPA is 3.8-3.9ish. By the end of the spring, I'll have courses in phonology, syntax, semantics, and morphology (through my Bachelor's degree) as well as Intro to CSD, Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearing, Language Development, Intro to Audiology, Language Disorders, Speech Science, and Neurology of Communication. I'm trying again this time around, and my list can be seen in my signature (I'm only applying to one that I applied to last year). My stats can also be found there. (My AW score on the GRE was 4.5, but I got a 5.5 when I took it last year. Do they combine scores?) Besides academics, I had a summer internship at a surgical implantable company where I dealt with insurance claims and HIPAA, and now I work as a support companion with two women with autism who live in their own homes (mostly behavioral stuff, and I've dealt with a lot of state paperwork and ISPs). In my essays, I mention that during my full-time internship I was also taking 9 hours of classes. I'm getting recommendations from an online SLP professor I had twice (who also practices), a theatre professor I know really well and basically took a grad level class with (and who is the head of the department), a linguistics TA I've had for two classes as well as been in a class with him as a student, and my coordinator for my companion job (one of the teachers couldn't meet the CSDCAS deadline in time...) Do you think eleven schools is enough? (I'm a little gun-shy after last time.) Did I pick enough "safe" ones? Does anyone have experience applying to and being accepted/rejected from my schools? Anything to ease this wait would be wonderful!