NorcalSLP

For some reason I can't edit the multitude of grammar and spelling mistakes in the above posts. Sorry, I know they are there

As WannabeSLP said, welcome! This process will feel like it is never ending but will be over before you know it (gosh I hope the same is true with grad school...). I agree with everything WannabeSLP said and have a bit of advise of my own: In terms of recommenders: YES they are very important. Most schools require that at least two be from professors you have had in your Comm Diss classes. If you have research experience your research supervisor is another great recommender because it will set you apart (so long as your two professors are guaranteed to be strong letters). The same is true for volunteer work. Some professors limit the number of schools they will write recs for so be prepared to have four or five people willing to write you recs, just in case one person says they will only write four. Also ask them ASAP to write the letters. As some professors limit the number of schools per student some also limit the number of students they will write for. If you are taking summer classes or are near/on campus this summer and you are in contact with the professors ask them now. You certainly can't (and shouldn't) expect them to write the letters now but at least they will have a heads up. In addition to everything they needed to write the letters (forms, due dates, addressed stamped envelops if necessary) I also gave my recommenders a copy of my transcript, my resume, and a copy of my personal statement (it was not in it's final draft and no professor expects it to be, but I gave a good overview of what I want to do with a masters). I second asking a trusted professor what your chances are at the schools you have on your list. You could also ask if you are missing any schools as there are a lot of schools out there that you may have never heard of that will be a great fit. Your resume and personal statement: Milk what you have done for all it is worth. I did not know this the first time around and it looked like I had NO experience. While my experience and background grew a TON during my postbacc year, looking back at my first resume I could have made it look better (without lying). If you volunteer one a month at a pre-school include it. If you work your local special olympics once a year for three days a year include it. As long as your resume is under a page, and you don't have one-time volunteer work (unless it is at something like ASHA convention) include all volunteer work/related paid work/awards on your resume. Your personal statement is similar. While it shouldn't be a list of accomplishments don't underestimate what you may view as trivial. If you went to an observation that really cemented why you want to be an SLP, write about it. If an interaction with a child you use to babysit made you understand the importance of our field and why you want to be a part of it, write about it. The personal statement is really your place to show who YOU are as a person instead of just a bunch of STATS. I also do not recommend writing a separate letter for every school. Unless one of your schools has a specific and different question (most just ask why you want to be and SLP and why you would make a good one), you can use the same basic essay for all of your schools. I added a paragraph at the end of each of mine (no more than 1/3 of a page) about why their school would be a good match for me. If I didn't know enough about the school to do so (and could not find out) I just cut out that paragraph. Visiting schools: If you have the chance and the finances visit your top 2-3 schools. Generally schools have perspective student days and if you can go to one of those you should. They are usually run by faculty, and sometimes even by the head of the department and/or admissions committee. This is a great chance for them to put a face to a name when they read your application. It is also a good time for you to really learn about the program and to include that in your personal statement. If you can't make (or they don't have) an information session email the head of the department (or whoever is listed as the point person on the departments website) and ask them if you can arrange a time to tour the facilities and speak to someone about they Masters Program. Showing interest is key, especially with CSDCASS (which if you use be prepared to rip your hair out....or just have a bottle of wine in the fridge ). If you can't go visit any schools be sure to get in contact with the point person in some way. If you have questions that are NOT answered on the website email them and ask. If there are professors who you know are doing research in a field you are interested in, email them and ask about what research projects they are currently working on/ have coming up (I am far to shy to do this but I know some people in my postbacc cohort did so and ended up at that school) Also if the graduate school itself has an online open house (many do) go to at least one of them. Sometimes they will have representatives from the departments to answer questions. And if nothing else it will likely raise questions that you can then send to the point person in the department. Basically, I always equate the departments to middle school girls, they want to be wanted. Most importantly: Try your hardest not to freak out. I know it is hard now and will be hard until March/April when you start to hear but a majority of us on these boards are starting graduate school in the fall. It is a second go-round for some of us (although mostly those of us who didn't have a background in CSD the first time from what I can tell) but we all are gong somewhere. You have a good list of schools (Go Huskies!) and pretty solid stats. Do well on your GRE (the most important thing is to take multiple practice tests and try your hardest not to freak out on test day) get good LORs, give yourself plenty of time to write your personal statement and be done with it. There really is SO little that is actually 100% in your control. The process is exhausting, and stressful but it ends. Once you submit your application it is out of your hands and you just have to hope for the best (I know that sounds scary and it is, but it is also strangely liberating). I would avoid going on the grad cafe results board until you have your first response (or better yet wait until your first acceptance). It will just cause you undo stress. I even blocked it on the internet server I use the most because I was causing myself too much stress. The message boards (here ) seem to be far less troublesome because everyone is commiserating together and offering suggestions instead of posing things like "I have a 4.0, six years of experience, GREs in the 85% V and 92% Q with a 5.0 W and it was rejected from University XYZ WTF? Their loss" It is important to keep in mind that those are just stats and say very little about everything else in their application. Yeah, just avoid the results page until you have good news. Best of luck! It really will be over sooner than you think.

I agree with the above poster that you need to add a school or two. Your stats are good but these days that is not enough. Unless you are willing to gamble you have to cast a wide net. I applied to ten schools and got into three was wait listed at two and was rejected from three (two of which I was rejected from after a wait that was long enough for me to think that I was in the second round of applications). I just turned down an interview for the last school. While my stats are not as good as yours I still only got into 3/10 of the schools I applied to. I think you need to figure out what you are willing to give up in order to add more schools to your list. Would you be willing to live somewhere other than the south/east coast for two years while you do your masters? Would you be willing to live in a smaller city or even small town while you did your masters? Or if there is a specific track/research interest you have are you willing to go to a school that has that track but may not be nationally recognized for it? You say that location is important to you and I can understand that but is it more important than the actual program? You also have a pretty large scope already covered in terms of geography. You can easily find other schools in that general location. Go to ASHA's edfind and select the states you are willing to live in and then go from there. New York for example has a TON of schools in the NYC area and Florida has a ton of schools too. You said you had a list of 20 schools but some of them weren't the right fit. I would advise looking at them again and figure out if they are REALLY not a good fit or if you are being unduly picky. If they are the wrong fit then absolutely don't waist the time or money it takes to apply. But if you are nit-picking than consider adding them back in. No grad school is perfect and you need to figure out what you are willing to deal with. Don't only look at the US World reports rankings because they are very deceiving (the CA schools for example are ranked pretty low but very hard to get into). I personally think that there are not really safety schools in this field, at least not in the same way that there are for undergrad, but there are ones that you may have an easier time getting into. I know that I lecturing you a bit but I honestly think that it will lower your stress level (at least a bit) if you have more schools, especially because the ones you are applying to are really tough tickets. Okay, off my soap box now.

haha I am so glad I am not the only one who thinks about that!! When looking at places to live in Boston I am always like "okay, if I live here I could live in this nice building with a great kitchen but....would I get killed on my way home from the T station?...hmmmmmmm" It would be nice to fast forward a few months when we have all of the nitty gritty settled. And I thought the stress would stop after we made our grad school decisions.

I think you answered your question (not that overthinking it one. Like the above poster, we all overthink this whole process). You say that if only the first three are read it will be "a disaster". Submit the "fourth" (the one you are worried would not be read) and not the other one. Does that make sense?

I assume you mean 2013 as the fall 2012 classes have already been filled. For the most part schools have generic forms that are used every year. You should be able to access them on the schools website. A lot of schools don't even have a form and just want a signed, sealed letter from the recommender. Some schools have entirely online applications and those may not open until the summer. If that is the case I would tell your recommenders that they are not available yet but that you will get the forms to them as soon as possible. If they do not become available by late July it would be appropriate to send an email to the department asking when the application process with be open for submissions. What you can do now is give your recommenders a list of the schools you want to attend and when the applications are due. That way they can begin to plan. If you are asking people who have written letters in previous years they should know what to expect. It is never to early to start planning but you have to understand that schools may not be ready to receive applications until a specific date. You should also give your recommenders copies of your transcripts, letter of intent (even if it is an edited (ie no gammer or spelling errors) first draft), and your resume. That should be enough to give them a head start. Good luck! The application process will feel endless but I promise there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Sorry for the double post but it made much more sense to start a new one rather than edit my above post. To those going to NEU, I have created a fb group for us (it was not as hard as I thought once I figured it out). Please join if you are attending. Looking forward to starting in the fall (although not to the sleepless nights that come with grad school

Thanks Tiffphany. I may PM you about places to live as I am a little lost when it comes to that. To other NEU students (if any of you are in fact reading this haha) I have created a fb group for us. https://www.facebook.com/groups/349511565106327/ Maybe it will be a little easier to get to know each other that way.

Have you contacted them? I only ask b/c when I applied two years ago they never told me anything and it was because they "never received" (I know for a FACT I sent it...express mail) my application. I didn't find this out until I called them. This also happened to two other people I know. It may be worth a phone call just to check. note: I honestly don't recall if my application portal ever said anything about whether or not my application was complete. Regardless of what yours says I would still call them.

again http://www.asha.org/edfind/search.aspx . I just don't know enough about the schools to help you more than that. I can tell you that the only schools I applied to that have spring entry are Marquette and Nova. Nova I already spoke on and Marquette only offers admission to people IF they have lost people from their cohort. Sorry that is not more helpful.

Maybe NOVA but I think that is getting more competitive. Plus the wait is really long. I submitted my application in January (for the on campus program) and have yet to have my interview. Had I decided to go there I would have not been able to start until Jan 2013. In some ways I think that online programs are more competitive because they are just as small as traditional programs (if not smaller) and there are significantly fewer of them. Your best bet is to go to ASHA's ed find website to see what schools offer online programs then email the programs and ask about the stats for this years incoming class. Good luck!

I don't know if y'all will receive this as some of these posts were weeks ago but I am also going to Northeastern in the fall. I have started a NEU board on this site and am trying to figure out how to make a facebook group for us (for someone who lives two miles from facebook headquarters I am shockingly facebook challenged). I would love to "chat" with some of my fellow cohorts before we start in September.

Marquette just emailed us remaining wait listers to tell us the program is full. At number 12 on the wait list I knew it was beyond a long shot that I would get in, but I am still slightly disappointed. At least I know for sure where I'll be going next year. Hard to imagine this time last year I was narrowing down my list of schools to apply to. I have started a NEU post on this site but have not had many responses. If you plan to attend Northeastern please join the discussion. ps- anyone else not heard anything from St. Johns? I have not heard a word. I have a feeling my application was never registered as complete as I received multiple confusing emails from them and was never able to nail down if they got everything. Part of me is tempted to call them and part of me thinks it would be a waste of time (they were very hard to get in touch with and not all that helpful when I did).

I didn't apply for a number of reasons. I, unlike you, was not looking for a major research institution. I wanted to attend a more clinically based program. I don't see myself getting a PhD so didn't see the lure of a major research school. I also really dislike the quarter system and didn't really want to apply to any schools that used it (although I can't tell by looking at NEU's calendar if the grad schools uses a semester or a psudo-quarter system so I may have to deal with it again...). UW students tend to be....intense and very type A while I am more of an A-/B+ personality (that sounded odd haha). I know that wherever I go to grad school it will be intense and hard but, in the UW postbacc program a 93 on a test was the END OF THE WORLD. Being around that was just far too stressful for me (it may be different in the grad school as they are no longer trying to get into grad school). I also hated the weather in Seattle. I thought I would be able to deal with it but when it was still dark, dreary and wet (it does not pour rain all that much in Seattle but it will easily drizzle all day) in May I started to go a little crazy. I apparently moved there during the "wettest winter on record" but I have a sneaky feeling most winters are the "wettest on record". Granted I am moving to Boston where it will be far colder than my weather weak CA blood is used to but I'll deal with that then All that being said I really did enjoy my time at UW. The way i always describe it (and this is totally cheesy/embarrassing) is that it is like on the bachelor (or I guess any real life non-scripted relationship) where the girl who is not getting the rose/getting dumped is told "I really wanted to like you because you are for so many people perfect, but I just don't see us working out in the long term". Basically it is a wonderful program with very nice, intelligent people who truly want the best for you. It provides a fantastic education and wonderful connections not only in Seattle but all over the country. The professors are kind and helpful and the students, while type a, are very willing to form study groups and help each other out. Seattle is a great city (I think you said you were from the PNW right?) and if the weather was better would probably be as expensive as the bay area (if not more). UW is a really great program for some people, it just was not right for me. Hope that was helpful! Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Don't forget Stanford and Santa Clara. Just because a school does not have a SLP program does not mean they won't have useful research opportunities. My research is Autism related (at UW not a local school sorry) and it seemed to have helped. I don't know of any research opportunities around here off the top of my head but with so many big schools there are bound to be some.

CSUN doesn't require a deposit right? Why not say yes to them and take the time before you would start to think over your options? I find it odd that UW said it already sent out all its wait list offers because I know that people got off from well before the April 15th deadline through at least June of last year. UW is not cheap, especially if you are out of state so I wouldn't be shocked if people turned down their wait list offers. You never know what could happen later on in the spring/summer.

As far as I know it isn't ranked. Are you waiting for med or core? It moved pretty fast last year and into June. However I don't know the ratio of non-UW students to UW students who are admitted from the wait list (does that make sense?). When I was a post bacc there everyone in my cohort who decided to remain on the wait list (several people removed themselves for other schools) was admitted. UW does tend to take a lot of their own post baccs (more so than their own undergrads) which is difficult if you are not one of them. Dr. Spencer is super nice and is very understanding about how people are waiting on pins and needles. She truly feels really horrible that people have to wait for so long. If you want more info I'm sure she would be happy to give it to you if you shoot her an email. If you do get off UWs wait list and decide to go there feel free to PM me I am happy to talk Seattle, especially with a fellow Californian.

Hello all, I am starting this this topic for anyone else who is planning to attend NEU in Boston this fall. I would love to "meet" with fellow classmates and discuss moving to Boston (I'm from NorCal) and anything else that may come up.

Got rejected from UVA today and while it would have been nice (psychologically speaking) to only have one rejection I'm not super bothered by it. I have a feeling that UVA is one of those schools who don't officially wait list people but that those of us who are hearing now were basically wait listed. Either that, or they are super disorganized and didn't make decisions until the day before the deadline to tell other schools. Eight down, two to go and a decision already made - life is pretty good.

Turned down Touro (although their deadline passed a while ago...oops) and Georgia State University today. I have already been removed from Northern Colorado 's wait list and will remove myself from Redlands's tomorrow. Still waiting to hear from St. Johns and UVA (and NOVA but I don't expect to hear from them anytime soon). Hopefully my actions will help people on the wait list. If anyone else is going to Northeastern or knows anything about apartments in the area (I really want to live w/in walking distance if possible) please PM me.

It depends on when I get off (if I do which given my place I doubt). They said that once they have gone through acceptances and if necessary onto the wait list they will email those of us still on the wait list to ask if we want to stay on the "emergency wait list" in case there is any more movement. I don't think I would stay on the emergency wait list as I would assume at that point I would get off well into the summer and by then I'll already have a place to live, be mentally ready to move to Boston etc. But that is a decision I would have to make when I get that email. If I were to be admitted off the wait list in their first cycle then I will say yes (as they will likely fill it by the beginning of May). Hard to still sit on a wait list but glad to have somewhere to go. One of my dad's favorite stories is about how he (a native midwestener) was wait listed at University of Michigan (his top choice) for law school and ended up not getting off. He attended UCLA where he met my mom who nearly 30 years later he is still married to today. Point is you never know where life will take you and going to a "second or third choice" grad school may make all the difference in the world.

Just officially accepted NEU and received conformation that I am an admitted student!!! Now I have to tell other schools to remove me from their wait/acceptance lists . I have already been removed from Northern Colorado (I didn't confirm that I wanted to stay on) and Touro's deadline has passed (although I will still email them) so that just leaves Redlands and Georgia State (I'm staying on Marquette's for now). Ugh! I don't like rejecting people it feels so mean haha. And I didn't think I would be doing so before hearing from St. Johns and UVA. No idea what is going on with those schools but for my own peace of mind I would like to know what my status is...Good luck to everyone else in their decision making process.

to the above poster, I don't know enough about rush vs. mgh to weigh in but I did want to give you my two cents on the quarter system. I don't want this to completely turn you off of going to Rush but it is something to consider. I personally really didn't like it at UW. It is one of the reasons I didn't apply there, or to any quarter school. I felt that the quarter system is a little like a never ending race that leaves you utterly exhausted and in no way fulfilled. Information is thrust at you at lightening speed and you are given very little time to absorb it, let alone fully learn and understand it. Midterms usually come two weeks into class and again two weeks later before a small break in testing and then finals. For me it just didn't work all that well. However, everyones learning style is different and the factory style learn and regurgitate that seemed to come with the quarter system just isn't my style. I learn better in a semester system where things may be covered more in depth but they are also approached from various angles. Grad school is going to be enough of a learn and repeat system for me I knew I needed to go somewhere that had longer blocks of class. Again this is just my opinion and clearly the quarter system works really well for some I just wish I had been prepared for the style of studying/learning it required before I got to UW. Your own personal learning style is another thing that you may want to consider. Good luck!

Haha thanks. I'm 12th on the wait list so I'm not holding my breath (I did rough calculations and over 30 people will have to turn down the offer or take themselves off the wait list for me to get in). I'm pretty excited about Northeastern though. My mom won't stop taking about how much she wants to go see a Bruins game (she's a big hockey fan). Where did you decide to go? Are you waiting on SXU?

sorry for the double post but since this is totally unrelated to my above rant... That's horrible!! A similar thing happened to me with SJSU last go round but they never admitted fault. I would certainly take them up on their offer, especially since it sounds like they are taking the blame. You never know what could happen, especially if they were going to admit you had they been organized. If that was the case you would likely be towards the top of the wait list. Unless you have your heart set on another school and are more comfortable with applying again than attending UN-R it's worth a shot. Good luck and sorry you have to go through that.