NorcalSLP

Have you looked at Nazareth college? I just did a quick google search of SLP programs with a focus on working with the D/deaf and CI population (you sparked my interest) and it came up. http://www.naz.edu/health-and-human-services/communication-sciences-disorders/graduate-program looks interesting..... But don't give up yet you still have schools to hear from and people get off wait-lists all the time (I'm under the impression that USCs moves quite a bit)

I shared this story last year when I was applying but I figured I would share it with y'all too. My father likes to tell this (totally true) story and told me it several times when I was applying to grad school, especially after I was wait listed at one of my top choice grad schools and rejected from another. My father did not get in to his top choice law school. He was wait listed. He did however, get into a school half way across the country. He never got off the wait list to his top choice school, so went to the school in a different state, 2 thousand miles away. While there, he worked as a dishwasher at a sorority house (making next to no money but getting 2 free meals a day which, let's face it is all a 23 year old guy needs). While there he met my mother and they still (over 30 years later) have a very happy life together. He has considered writing his top choice school a thank you note for "forever changing his life for the better." The point is, you never really know where life will take you. What seems like a roadblock (in this case a wait list or a rejection) may end up being the best thing that has ever happened to you.

Well if they told you not to worry about the postage then I wouldn't worry about it. And certainly don't reimburse them after they told you not to send them postage (save that money for textbooks....or library printer money which I have learned you go through very quickly haha).

I got most of my recommenders a $5 Starbucks gift card (there was a Starbucks across the street from the Speech and Hearing building and I went to school where it rains 200+ days a year...seriously) just enough for a coffee. One of my recommenders went above and beyond (when another one FORGOT to write a few of my letters) by sending letters (via the online portal thankfully) the day they were due (thankfully he was my research supervisor who was also applying to grad schools and had a similar situation). I got him a $20 gift card to a store I knew he liked. And I obviously wrote thank you notes. The professor who sent stuff from Europe is a bit harder to deal with. If you provided what would have been adequate postage then you should not have to pay for her forgetting to send it (especially if you gave her the appropriate amount of time to write/sent it). But obviously she tried to make up for it and I would mention that in your thank you note. Basically I think that a small gift (nothing more than a cup of coffee) and a letter is good for most recommenders unless you had one go above and beyond, then a little more (nothing more than $20) would be okay.

Two totally un-related points... Isn't it "help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ASK for it?" Doesn't change the general (good!) point you made but I too am a Harry Potter fan haha. Granted I haven't re-read it in a while so you may be right. Read the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman if you get through the thousands of HP pages and are still waiting Congrats on you Boston school acceptances. I'm in my first year of one of the Boston school grad programs. PM me if you'd like to chat.

I did my post bacc at UW. If you have any questions about the school/area feel free to PM me. Congrats on all your acceptances, and those still waiting, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I have to chime in on the ongoing computer conversation. I have a mac and have never had an issue with it (first year grad student). I don't (or have yet to) have to download SALT and while most of the computers at my school are PCs I have had no problems getting files to open from Mac to PC and vice vercia. My cohort is split about 50/50 with mac and pc users (maybe 60/40 mac/PC) and no one with a Mac has ever had trouble. My friend recently went from a PC to the MacBook air and seems to really like the switch. I am from norcal (obvi) so am a bit biased towards Mac but I had to point out that I am very happy with my computer and it has never been a problem (quite the contrary actually when I had a PC it broke several times a year). Just my two cents.

The post bacc program at Portland State is not competitive. If you apply you get in (idk if they have a cap to how many they can accept though). At least it was when I applied there a few years ago. I didn't end up going but I know a few people who did and they all got into grad school. One of them is in my grad school cohort. The classes are in person and you take a ton of them so it would cover a lot of pre-recs for a lot of schools. If you are willing to move to Portland it is not a bad bet. They take applications through June (again, at least they did when I applied). http://www.pdx.edu/sphr/post-baccalaureate-program

Yeah UVA seems to admit/reject in waves and as far as I know they don't have a wait list (at least not one that they officially tell you you are on). Last year I didn't hear from them until April. I think I had already sent in my deposit to my current school. But you have good stats so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I wouldn't worry about the snow. Boston is pretty good at warning people of a snowstorm. Nemo hit us pretty hard but as no one is even talking about this weekends snow (I had to do a google search to find a snow advisory), it will probably just be regular snow. The wind speeds predicted are pretty mild, especially for Boston. Your flight will probably not get cancelled due to the snow and I wouldn't expect any significant delays due to it either. Honestly, avoid driving if you are not used to driving in snow, bring warm clothes and good shoes. Good luck with your interviews (if they haven't already happened).

The clinic at my grad program has a dress code. It's similar to the ones outlined here. Most people wear dress pants and a sweater/nice shirt. I had an adult client my semester in the clinic so I wore dresses sometimes. Leggings were only allowed when worn under a dress/skirt. I am now in a school and wear the same stuff. Whenever I don't have clients/have time to go home before class I change into more comfortable clothes. However to the OP the probability of you being in the clinic on day ONE is pretty slim. You will most likely at the very very least have a orientation before you start classes/clinic, and most likely you will have at least a week of classes before you are in the clinic. I wouldn't worry about it yet.

It's out of 6. I remember being SO disappointed in my AW score (a 5 so a good score) because I was a colligate debater and the writing was all about constructing and breaking down arguments (which is what one does in a debate). But the AW score doesn't matter much for SLP school so, it was just my ego that was bruised haha.

Many schools want to see you at or very close to the 50th percentile for both V and Q and at least a 3.5/4 for W. Obviously some schools don't even care about the GRE and some want to see scores higher than the 50th percentile (and some don't really care as long as you hit that 50th % mark). But when I was applying most schools said that they want 50% percentile at least and that once they get all of the applications they compare GRE scores within the application class (if that makes any sense). But GRE scores are only a small part of the application. And your GPA is good so I wouldn't worry too much about the other schools.

Do you have to take the pre-req(s) THERE during the summer or can you do it online? That way you could still work the full year.

FYI many of those numbers are likely old. I just checked what EdFind said about my Masters programs acceptance rates and newly enrolled students (today is my friday and I just got out of a mid term so I'm being lazy) and I know for a 100% fact that the newly enrolled students stat is incorrect (by quite a bit). As the math works out, it can be deduced the rest of the numbers are old as well. I assume, based on what I know about the size of the second year class, that they are the numbers for the incoming Fall 2011 class (so only a year behind). It doesn't change your over all point (that the schools are competitive but that schools accept more students than they expect to enroll so the acceptance rate is more like 13% instead of 5%), but as there were a few posts about the numbers on ASHA's edfind I thought it was worth pointing out the application season those numbers reflect.

Honestly you are kinda a number when you apply no matter what. Or at the very least (or most depending on how you see it) just a name on a piece of paper, at least initially. A visit will put a face to that name. Just be sure to make an impression. Perspective visit days can be really big so make sure you ask questions and introduce yourself to the faculty during any meet and greets. I applied to 10 schools and visited 6 (7 if you count an official interview after I submitted my application/made it to the interview round). Of the 6 I visited I applied to 5 (I visited one school b/c it was close to another school I was seeing and on my long list. I ended up really disliking it for reasons I won't go into on a public forum and decided the application was not worth my time or $). Best of luck. Where are you thinking of applying?

Just so you know, Northeastern didn't send emails last year telling us to check our portals. Some people thought they hadn't heard from them but had a letter sitting there in their online portal for weeks. Emerson seems to reject/accept in waves (some will hear in Feb some not till the end of March/start of April). Northeastern does not (or did not last year) put people on a wait list. It was either a rejection or a acceptance (some people did not hear anything and I assume that was their version of a "wait list"). Several other schools (St. Johns, UVA for ex) seem to have this method, so if you don't hear anything don't worry too much. Marquette sends out hard copy letters (old school style) for rejections, acceptances and wait lists and seems to send them all out at once (or at least within a few days of each other) so when you hear will be somewhat dictated by geography. Their wait list is ranked. I want to say I heard from Marquette, Emerson and Northeastern around the same time (early-mid March). Good luck!

Yes, visit programs. Idk why people would say no (as long as you can afford it/take the time). It's best to go to a perspective student day (many are in the fall and don't include interviews), but if you can't make one try to arrange a visit on your own. It shows interest and initiative. Now, all that being said, you shouldn't feel the need to go totally crazy and see 20 schools, but visit your top 5(ish) if you can.

Depends on the school. Most schools will consider where you went for undergrad, but not as highly your actual GPA and GRE scores. I agree your lower overall GPA may be worth explaining in your SOP. Working as an SLPA will be helpful both in your application and once you get to grad school. I found myself fully prepared for the course work but the clinical aspect was far more challenging. Having some experience with treatment will give you a lot of confidence going into your clinical work in grad school. Good luck!

I agree with midnight streetlight, it all depends on where you want to live/work (granted I don't expect to live in Boston after I graduate, but I was/am perfectly happy to be here for two years (maybe three or four should a good job/life events present themselves)). After that you will probably still have a long list and from there you should be able to answer your first question. Some programs will require a bachelors degree in speech and hearing sciences (or a significant number of pre-recs), some will only require 4 or five classes and some will require none at all. In exploring the long list you will be left with after eliminating states/cites you don't want to live in, you will figure out more about the school including what the pre-rec requirements. If it is a school that you think is worth all the pre-recs. The qualifications of a "good" school obviously differ for everyone but for me it was (in no particular order): location, reputation (as I know I wanted to be back in CA I wanted it to have at least a decent reputation), graduation rate, PRAXIS pass rate, research interests of professors, types of placements, any specialized tracks). I know I want to work as a clinician so I wanted a school that would give me a strong clinical background, and a school where I would not feel like the only person NOT aiming for a PhD. It's a long process but as midnight streetlight pointed out, it is highly competitive so doing your homework will be beneficial. Oh! and if you haven't already, get documentation (a letter on institution letterhead with dates (at least months and years) signed by the SLP WITH his/her ASHA number should suffice) of those 100 hours. You can only use 25 of them for observation hours but it's one "pre-rec" you have already done.

UW's postbac program is pretty competitive. But it will prepare you well. I am a product of it and while grad school is very stressful, I feel like UWs program prepared me pretty well. The thing with UWs program is that a) it is well known (the grad program is ranked # 3 in the country) and you get a second bachelors degree out of it. While that sounds a bit (okay is a bit) insane it allows you to apply to ANY school in the country. It also means that you have a higher starting salary in a lot of school districts should you go that route (you will have almost 70 additional credits and many districts pay you more for that). When I applied the first time I applied to 3 year programs (including some SJSU and SFSU) and to postbac programs. I got in to all but one of the postbac programs and none of the extended masters programs. Granted I did not have as much experience as you. If you can afford it, applying to a few postbac programs is not a bad idea. Portland State's post bac is non-competitive (you apply you get in). Or at least it was when I applied in 2010. Good luck!

1) Sorry to say, it won't look good. In fact, some schools require that at least two of your letters be from professors (preferably in your speech/audiology classes if that is your background). Exceptions are obviously made for people who have been out of school for a long time (and aren't doing leveling classes) but usually you have to have been out of school for at least 5 or 6 years. Even schools that don't explicitly state they want more than one academic letter tend to want to see at least two. You want recommendations that can speak to your abilities in the classroom. You are going to grad school after all, and the academic demands are rigorous. You really need to find another professor to write you recs, especially because your undergrad is IN SLP. You don't want it to seem like you are a weak student, especially because it does not sound like you are. That being said, using your supervisor for your third rec is a great idea! Having unique experiences is a huge plus when applying to graduate school. If you are helping the SLP you shadow (rather than just observing extensively) she would be a good rec too (for your third letter). If you are just shadowing her then I wouldn't use her. Again, you have a background in SLP so schools are going to expect more of you in terms of your related experience. You can talk about your experiences shadowing in your SOP but if it is simply observational (something almost everyone with a background in SLP will have) I wouldn't use her as a recommender. Keep in mind that schools don't only look at what your recommendations say but they also consider who wrote them. 2) I understand not wanting to ask a professor you had awhile ago, and that they have a lot of people asking for recs. The reasons for that are the ones I listed above. They expect to receive recommendation requests from you. Now would it be a good idea to go all the way back to freshman year? Probably not, but if you can't find a professor from this year you may have to go back to junior year to find worthy recommenders. You can certainly apply with the recommenders you have but your application will be significantly stronger if you find another academic recommender. And absolutely look at the schools requirements to see if they state how many letters must be from professors. There is no point in waisting time or money applying to a school that requires two if you only have one. This should go without saying but if you have not yet asked people to write you recommendations do so now. You are correct in saying that professors/supervisors etc. gets asked to write a lot of letters. I'm sorry if this freaked you out. That was not my intention. But you seem to have a strong background, and while recommendations are only a part of your application, most schools will tell you they are an important part. You want to really make sure you sell your best self. That is something I learned the hard way. Best of luck in your applications!

If you are able to I would add more NON Cal State schools. The Cal States are a mess and a half right now (which I am assuming you kinda know as you are from CA). Your GPA is not bad but because the CSUs are SO competitive you may find it hard to get in. If you have to stay in CA for family or financial reasons look at some of the private schools there (Redlands, Chapman, UoP) if not look outside of CA (I understand wanting to stay there as I intend to return post graduation but there are some wonderful programs just a few states over). I don't want to be mean but I think by only applying to four Cal States you are setting yourself up for disappointment (note: I would say the exact same thing to someone applying with a 4.0 and GREs in the 90th percentile). As far as SJSU goes if you decide to apply there you need to be on them like crazy. I (and two of people in my post bacc cohort) had serious issues with them loosing/misplacing my application. It was never read and they claim the "never received it". Sorry if I seem harsh but the Cal States are a really tough ticket and you have time to add more schools to your list. Best of luck! And the application process does end...I promise.

There was a women in my post bacc cohort who I think was in her 50's (she didn't say but this was a third career and she has an adult daughter). So it has been done before. It would be illegal for them to not hire you based on your age, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. Plus SLPs are in such demand that having one for 10-15 years is pretty good (if you think about it many of your younger classmates won't stay at the same job for 10-15 years and whoever hires you is really only worried about how long you will work for them). I think the most valid point you make is that you would have student loans into your late 50's. Not because of the age so much but because you may have them well into the span of your career. But a lot of people will have to deal with loans for years into their working life so again, you won't be alone in that. I think what you need to figure out is if this is something you want? Regardless of the age-related cons is this something you think you want to do for the rest of your working life?

I really don't understand why it is one or the other. Is there something stopping you from doing more pre-recs through USU or some online/cheaper forum and then re-applying to cheaper schools next year? Transferring is hard and often times a waste of time because most schools will only accept a limited amount of credits. That is not to say you can't try but you may find it frustrating. Is there a legitimate reason why it HAS to be now or never? If NYU is your dream school and you are willing to take out loans than do so. If you want to be an SLP but can't finance NYU than take some time to make your application stronger (pre-recs, volunteer experience, higher GREs), save some money and apply again next year. While SLP schools are hard to get into, applying a second time with a stronger resume is often considered a good thing. Plus the job market for SLPs is going to continue to grow for years to come. But figure out if this is what you want to do. I am not trying to sound mean, or like a mom/therapist but you seem to have a defeatist attitude about your situation when in reality, you have options. Are you just frustrated about your situation or are you viewing this as a "way out"? Again, not trying to go all shrink-like on you, it is just something I noticed in the tone (as well as one can "read" a tone on a message board) of your post.