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Those courses are very diverse! I haven't seen any school that offer those courses at the undergraduate level (AAC, Autism, Mono/Bilingual Client Mgmt, Counselling). I believe those specialized courses will help set you apart.

Which classes do you have left?

Hey y'all, Have you taken the Neurolinguistics online courses for UBC: http://www.audiospeech.ubc.ca/why-study-with-us/msc-speech-language/slp-criteria/audi-402-and-403/ What was your overall experience? How was the grading? Were they picky or fair? Were the prof or TA's responsive?

Thank you for sharing your experience Justin.

Those responses are not uncommon so don't feel discouraged. Sometimes, it's not just about privacy or lack availability to supervise a student observer, but some patients feel nervous or don't feel comfortable having a "new" person in the room. It could also be that some SLP's don't feel comfortable being observed. My advice is to continue to be aggressively persistent and keep calling until one says yes. Check out the ASHA directory for professionals in your city: http://www.asha.org/findpro/ Some other places you can also try: Local universities that have an on-campus speech and hearing clinic Summer speech camps Skilled nursing facility or a group home as some of those also staff SLP's year round Apply for a long-term volunteering at a hospital, school district or private practice

Definitely go for it and don't pass up that opportunity. Taking 1 week off of work is worth taking that leap so you can bring yourself closer to the field of your dreams!!!

Wow! Did they give a reason why? From my understanding, anyone who is a non-citizen or non-PR qualifies as international student. It's best to confirm your case with the director or admissions secretary. By the way, if you are Aboriginal, UfT has a spot reserved. I just found this out.

Catria, when your prospective POI "warned otherwise" what do you mean? Is it bad?

I'd also be interested on what others have to say.

From whom did you hear that claim you wouldn't be eligible to apply? The only school that is not accepting international students for SLP anymore is UBC because they prefer local British Columbians or Canadians who are willing to stay in the region. All of the others and including Western, they will consider anyone as long as you have completed the leveling courses they specify on their website: anatomy, statistics and some others. McGill has one or two American students per year. I also met a Canadian girl who studied at Hofstra NY and she got into UfT. Do try for other schools too. You can starting completing the required courses as part of your electives if you have space. Try to aim for at or equal to 4.0 for their leveling courses coz it's harder.

Occupational Therapy is not as competitive I heard, but you'd need full course in anatomy and physiology as one of the prerequisites.

Michigan State

twinguy7, which schools told you to apply but only wanted your funds? I'm trying to make sure I save my money.

How competitive is Sacred Heart? Do you guys know if they took students with a 3.0 GPA?

Cool! I've been eyeing it for a while. Do you mind sharing your stats? What they look for?

The job market in the big cities like Toronto, in the public sector (hospital, school districts) after speaking to UfT graduates, is poor at this time due to oversaturation. The hospital jobs (even for permanent PT) are also hard to come by since they are very stable and have a lot of variety. The number of available jobs in the hospitals are also determined by how much the patients need the services. Most nursing, lab and doctor services are needed 24/7 whereas the allied health are mostly during the day and so there's not a lot of staff that can be rotated. That could also contribute to the hospitals hiring smaller staff. Now, I've spoken to a few who graduated from the US and are working out west, up north and in the territories that they said there are jobs there. For me, I'm willing to make a sacrifice and move where the jobs are which is why I'd like to study in the US so I can get my CCC's easier and expand my job options.

I had to verify with admissions officers what they specifically wanted. For some schools, not only do they want the WES assessment BUT they also require you to send a separate transcript from your university. This is why it adds up and I personally find it very redundant. A WES assessment costs around $210 which calculates your GPA as well and each school is $30 plus courier fee of $12. Fortunately, the assessment is only one time fee and you'll have your record saved in their system. If you are requesting for additional schools to receive the assessment, you'd still have to pay another $30 plus the courier fee.

It's interesting we're all going to have our GRE's. The biggest challenge is juggling personal statement revisions, keeping up grades and budgeting. Add the fees to get transcripts assessed by WES. It's going to put a dent in my wallet. I finished mine in 2011 before they switched to the new test and it's good for another 2 years. Looking back, I think it was one of the most stressful test I have taken in my entire life after my driving test Sadly, my grades aren't that high for Ontario schools and Dal and I won't be able to finish the neuroscience prerequisite in time for UofA. Van Tech, where did you apply in New York?

Thank you sayjo and Gandalf for those great tips! I am happy to hear that studying aloud works well for speech science. I have always studied this way and it has economized my studying for all classes. I do however, prefer to talk infront of a wall or scribbling on scrap like I'm lecturing. I start to lose my voice so drawing things out helps. I never thought about manipulating the softwares. I will try that. Hope y'all rock grad school

Hi sayjo! I'll be taking Articulatin Disorders and Speech Science at USU. I'm wondering if you took them and what you thought of it? Any tips on how to succeed? Thanks!

Yes, there are Asian SLP's here in Canada and in the US. I know of 4, two of whom work in hospitals and the other two work at a local school district. One is also a clinical supervisor for the local university. The high rates of stroke and bi-/multilinguals in this population and those who wish to transition to the participate in schools and the workforce but may have underlying cognitive and communication difficulties is also pervasive and as such, knowing how to competently provide speech-language services in the Asian-Pacific language will be very helpful. It will also alleviate the need for translators during assessment. In some areas such as southern Ontario, Vancouver and California where there are significant Asian populations, you'll definitely in demand. The reality is there is racism in this field. The racism can be covert or explicitly blunt BUT do not let that detract you from pursuing it. As an example of the discrmination, I know one African-American whose clinical supervisor told her she should not work in the field because of her accent EVEN though she was from the US, spoke with an American accent and has been a teacher in the US for many years before switching to SLP. Unfortunately, it was either pass or fail so she prodded on to make sure she passed that externship so she can move on and complete her hours. The student was very resolute in her goals and she is now practising as a medical SLP. If this is what you wish to pursue, go for it. I know I am. Here is ASHA's stance on certified professionals who wish to work with an accent: It is the position of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) that students and professionals in communication sciences and disorders who speak with accents and/or dialects can effectively provide speech, language, and audiological services to persons with communication disorders as long as they have the expected level of knowledge in normal and disordered communication, the expected level of diagnostic and clinical case management skills, and if modeling is necessary, are able to model the target phoneme, grammatical feature, or other aspect of speech and language that characterizes the client's particular problem. All individuals speak with an accent and/or dialect; thus, the nonacceptance of individuals into higher education programs or into the professions solely on the basis of the presence of an accent or dialect is discriminatory. Members of ASHA must not discriminate against persons who speak with an accent and/or dialect in educational programs, employment, or service delivery, and should encourage an understanding of linguistic differences among consumers and the general population. - See more at: http://www.asha.org/policy/PS1998-00117/#sthash.ponpjx7L.dpuf As long as you are competent in the language that you providing the S-L service, you can work.

It seems they were placed on probation because of in-sufficient faculty with full-time tenure which is getting more and more challenging. The second was misrepresentation of the actual completion rate: "When completing the program completion rates in the narrative report, the program reported for the 2012-13 academic year 24 students completed the program on time, 24 students completed the program later than expected, and that no students failed to complete the program. The program completion rate calculated by the program was 100%; however, using these data, the program completion rate should be 50%. Thus, there appears to be an error in the calculation used to determine the percentage of students who completed the program on time." I wonder what happened?

I get mailing lists from these 2: http://www.home-speech-home.com/ http://www.erikxraj.com/blog

These are 2 that I like to read: http://speechdudes.wordpress.com http://dysphagiacafe.com/

Absolutely. Know your limits so you don't burn out. Since you mentioned online, if you haven't taken any before, the material is a lot heavier since you have the advantage of replaying the lectures unlike on campus students so it's good to pace yourself. If you're a visual learner, try to rally up some of your classmates if they're interested in transcribing lectures to save time and support each other. It can get pretty isolating. Remember to ask lots and lots of questions to your Prof or TA's. Also, if you can, try to find a SLP or an ENT or your PCP (for anatomy) who you can consult as a resource if you're not sure of anything relating to your courses (speech anatomy, articulation, procedures etc.).