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Hi! I am a returned Peace Corps Volunteer and am now in AmeriCorps. I'm looking to pursue a Master's in speech-language pathology/communication sciences and disorders next fall. There is only one official grad program for this field covered by Coverdell (Bowling Green State of Ohio), but I'm here to see if any other RPCVs pursuing SLP found significant financial support at their grad schools. Thanks in advance!

My BA is in linguistics, so I'm trying to gain information on what kind of prerequisites I need in order to apply to a master's program in speech language pathology. Each school's individual requirements are pretty straightforward but, so far, every school has given me a different answer as to what exactly the ASHA requirements are. In terms of the general prerequisites (social science, statistics, sciences, etc) I'm good to go. However in terms of the SPA courses, some schools are telling me that Intro to Hearing Sciences (or similar) is an ASHA requirement but some schools are telling me that I don't need it, which obviously doesn't make sense because if it's an ASHA requirement, shouldn't all schools require it? Besides coursework, are there any other requirements besides 25 hours of clinical observation? I'm trying to figure out everything on my own and since every program is giving me different answers as to what is and is not required, I'm afraid I will find out too late that I am missing something and not have enough time to complete it before the program starts. (I am aiming for an August 2021 start date and am starting my prerequisite coursework this fall) I would so appreciate any information or tips, and to speak with someone who went into SLP from an out-of-field BA. Thanks!

I am very excited to start grad school in the fall. I often feel as though I’m “missing” something. There’s so much information out there on SLP that I haven’t seen. So I wanted to ask those who have already started their career as an SLP, what are some things you wish you had known before you graduated? Is there anything that would’ve made you reach your goals more efficiently or made the process easier? For example, my ultimate goal is to move to Boston and work in a children’s hospital, do you have any advice? Do you have any externship advice? Thanks!

Hi! I was just accepted into my top program for grad school, and I was so excited, but now I'm scared. I do not feel that my undergrad prepared me at all. I don't feel ready. I feel like undergrad was just memorizing the info to get an A on the exam and tossing it out of my head. I can't help but feel like I'm not good enough or feel like I know absolutely nothing. Does anyone else feel this way? Is it normal?

Writing this because when I was applying for MU, there was very little information about it because the program was (and still is) so new. I think everyone that's considering attending there should know as much about it as possible, because the school you choose really does have an impact on the knowledge you enter the field with. Also, it's expensive, so I'd hate to see more people drop almost $80k and hate it, like a lot of my classmates, or regret it, like almost all of us. About the School: MU is a private university located in West Long Branch, NJ approximately one mile from the beach. Tuition for the 2 year, 6 semester program will run you about $77,000. Courses and clinic take place at the Graduate Center, located on a busy highway. You will see the beautiful, well maintained Main Campus only a handful of times during your two years, unless you go there on your own. The SLP program received accreditation in Winter 2019. About the Department: Overall, the department was great up until Spring 2019, which is when things started falling apart. It seemed like once they got accreditation, they just didn't care anymore. The Department Chair: She was more involved with the cohort below mine, as she didn't teach any of our classes that she normally does (Aphasia, Dysphagia). As a result, she barely knew us by name and openly admitted to not knowing us at all. Which isn't a big deal, but for a school that preaches about its small, close knit community, she sure didn't make it feel this way. Contacting the chair was hit or miss for a lot of my classmates, even in urgent matters. There was also an uncalled for attitude most of the time that we were never really sure why it existed. The Professors: FYI this might not pertain as much to future students because there are courses/professors I can no longer comment on because there have been such drastic faculty changes over the last year or so, but there are a few professors that might still be there when/if you apply. Fluency/ASD: this professor is SO passionate about all things SLP. It is very obvious he loves being an SLP and teaching future SLPs. He was available pretty much all the time via email and was always willing to set up office visits or phone calls. Aphasia/Dysphagia/TBI: when I took these courses, they used an adjunct professor because the chair, who usually teaches them, was unable to (maybe it was for the best though, because the first year I was paired with told me she gave two question exams and many people were struggling in the classes). Overall, she wasn't horrible at teaching. Her first semester teaching was rough, as expected, but her second semester she developed a more objective and fair way of grading. Our biggest issues with her were when she told her during the first semester she "never really wanted to teach" and trying to explain to us how we essentially came last on her list of things to do. I'm not asking to be number one, but 1) we're paying (A LOT) for an education and it shouldn't be negatively impacted because of the professor's inability to balance jobs (maybe don't do both then?!) and 2) why would you even say that?! Motor Speech Disorders: can't comment, new professor Voice Resonance Disorders: can't comment, new professor Introduction to Clinical Methods: taught by the clinic director, who is hot and cold and treats students like children Pediatric Language Disorders: can't comment (the professor I had taught it to the cohort below me but has left since then, so IDK who will be teaching it in the future) Research Methods/Speech Sound Disorders: I had a professor who left the program, but it is now taught by the professor who teaches Fluency and ASD AAC: professor is very passionate about AAC and is very knowledgable; however, once COVID-19 turned classes online, she didn't post any lectures except one Zoom meeting... The Secretary: Hands down the best member of the department. She's always so friendly and willing to help you out. She does A LOT for the program. What a gem. Issues: Cheating and Academic Dishonesty: If you want to go to a graduate school where you can cheat, go to Monmouth! There were SERIOUS cheating problems starting in summer 2018 (yes, the very first semester) which just increased as time passed because the department didn't do anything about it, so other students realized how easy it was to cheat. Of course, I was being facetious - don't go to a school because they don't care or do anything about cheating. It really sucks when you study your ass off and do everything you should to do well, but then you look around and see half of your classmates cheating. I know for a fact an advisor was made aware of the cheating situation in fall 2018 and nothing changed until our TBI final (fall 2019), when it was apparent that the professor was informed of the issue. People still cheated during that final though, because the professor remained on her computer (which is what all the professors do during exams), and cheated in our AAC midterm (spring 2020), too. Loss of A BUNCH of Faculty Members: Losing faculty meant the department had to scramble (literally, there were times we didn't know who'd be teaching the course until a week before) December 2018: lost the PhD professor that taught Motor Speech Disorders and Voice/Resonance Disorders AND the professor who was brought in to teach the aphasia course decided she was not going to return (she came back for TBI in fall 2019 after being asked - aka begged - because they had NO ONE to teach) May 2019: the adjunct professor who took over the chair's position for teaching dysphagia decided she was not going to return June-ish 2019: lost another PhD professor who did research and supervised students in clinic July-ish 2019: lost another professor who specializes in and teaches AAC. We have a Rett Syndrome program and she was an asset to clinic because of this. August 2019: lost the program's most valuable PhD professor. She taught one class each semester, was very knowledgable, and was always available to her students. Lack of Communication: There were issues with where to send praxis scores, because the department never told us all the places we needed to send scores to (not even during their praxis bootcamp), and when confronted about it, she insisted that the department has been communicating with us the entire time when they were NOT. Also, there were major communication issues about the comprehensive portfolio all graduating students must complete. We were given basic a Word document about it in fall 2019 during out Autism class and were never told anything else, and the document wasn't very detailed in regards to how they wanted things structured and written. This led to one of our professors getting swarmed with emails from my entire cohort and the chair did very little during this even though she was technically in charge of the portfolio. No additional information was ever shared with us, which made it difficult and VERY stressful to complete the portfolio. The lack of communication from a department whose education lies in communication is pathetic. External Practicum Placements: some students didn't get a medical placement at all (who wanted one) and some got two medical placements, some got the exact sites they wanted while others didn't at all. There was definitely unfairness occurring in giving out sites. Preparedness for Externships: there are quite a few sites that have not been happy with Monmouth students. as they feel they are not prepared well Class/Semester Structure: I'll share my schedule as a first and second year student, but this could change, especially with COVID-19 (I'll try to add notes to things I know changed) Summer 2018: 2 classes - Intro to Clinical Methods and Pediatric Language Disorders. Classes Monday - Thursday, one class was MW, the other TTH, for 3 hours each (I believe it was 9ish-12 ish and 12:30-3:45) Fall 2019: 4 classes + on campus clinic Mondays: clinic (differing time slots for each group of 4 students, anywhere from starting at 9:00 am to ending at 7:00 pm) Tuesdays: 2 classes (speech sound disorders & voice, we were there from about 11am to 6 pm bc of gaps b/w the classes) Wednesdays: clinic (same schedule as Monday) Thursdays: 2 classes (motor speech & aphasia, there from about 11am to 730 pm due to gaps) Fridays: Seminar and Group Therapy. Seminar occurred before group, group started at 1:00pm. Group consisted of small groups, so you'd be with your group of students with a group of adults/kids (kids group was cancelled after a few weeks because only 1 or 2 would show up for it). The rest of the group were mainly adults with aphasia, dysarthria, etc. Grand Rounds: near the end of the semester. you pick a client you have and present on them. Spring 2019: 3 classes + on campus clinic (we had too many in our cohort so our research class was separated into 2 groups) Mondays: clinic Tuesdays: research 1 & dysphagia (we were there from 12ish to 8:30ish, with about a 1 hour break in between) Wednesdays: clinic Thursdays: fluency & research 2 (about 9:30 to 4:30) Fridays: seminar (45 min - 1 hr) and group therapy (this was changed so that only one group would go per week, so everyone had to drive to campus for the 45 min seminar and then could leave unless they had group - this changed with the latest cohort, seminar was removed) Summer B 2019: 2 classes (assessment & audiology) Each class took place twice a week, but on the same day. We were there for approximately 7ish hours each day (2 days per week) Summer E 2019: Diagnostics (on campus clinic where you assess clients). Twice per week, for about 3.5 hours. Either MW or TTH. On Mondays/Tuesdays you'd assess the client, reports are due by the beginning of "class" on Wednesday or Thursday, then once it's edited and finalized, you use the rest of the 3 hours to plan for the upcoming week's assessment. (for summer 2020, diagnostics is utilizing simucase) Fall 2019: 2 classes + external practicum Tuesdays: ASD 6-9 Thursdays: TBI 6-9 Spring 2020: 2 classes + external practicum Wednesdays: AAC Online: Professional Issues External practicum for spring semesters have a "Clinical Expo" where you prepare a project/presentation (either pertaining to an on campus client if you're a first year or relating to your externship if you're a second year) My personal feelings towards the program: I loved the program until all the issues began. Once we started losing faculty, the professors that were brought in were questionable in regards to their teaching abilities. It was apparent they were good at their day job, but teaching SLP was a challenge for most. Many of my classmates, myself included, feel ill prepared to enter the field. We believe the department really did the bare minimum, which coincidentally began when they received accreditation status. There are some professors who are good at their jobs and truly care, but that doesn't make up for those that weren't so great, nor does it make up for the departments total disregard of major issues and their lack of communication. Many us of regret choosing Monmouth because the program is NOT worth the ridiculous cost of tuition. If it was an amazing program that provided a quality education and really "opened doors" after graduation, I could maybe justify the $75k for it. But for a lackluster, inadequate education? Nope, not worth it unless you have to or really want to go there.

Hi all, I am interested in knowing if any of you have taken A&P for speech pathology online through MGH IHP with Professor Rohter. The class is setup where there are NO video lectures but rather you have to teach yourself via the ebook and PowerPoints. As a career changer, I am feeling overwhelmed with the thought of teaching anatomy and physiology to myself. Does anyone have any study tips or suggestions? Any good links, videos, books, worksheets, anatomy coloring books, etc. would be great. I am worried that I will not be able to understand all of this information when teaching myself. Thanks in advance!

I received an email from Arizona State University admitting me into the 2019 Speech Pathology program! I was wondering about scholarships and the PEP program. Did anyone receive any information on that as of yet? Will they be sending that information in the official letter? Any info would be appreciated! Audrey

People who have been accepted to emerson distance. How long did it take to hear back? Also share your stats! Thanks

Applying for grad school has always been in the back of my mind, BUT with the time coming up to apply, I don't know if I should take a break... The thing is, my grades aren't so bad but not the strongest. I know experience also plays a huge role with acceptance but since I've been concentrating on school, I haven't had much job opportunities relating with child care or with speech. I do not have much experience, so applying and believing in myself has been pretty difficult. I am just terrified that this won't be enough to be accepted to a school. Would taking a year off to work and build my experience be a good or bad idea? I would appreciate any advice or stories anyone has to share!! help a stressful girl ouuuut ?

Hi! I am a student at UNC Chapel Hill and only started taking SLP pre-reqs my junior year, and in the years before this I was a nursing/PA student with a low GPA. My GPA in pre-reqs is a 3.7/3.8, and my overall GPA is a 3.1. My GRE scores are alright... 159 V, 153 Q, 5.5 W. I have lots of experience working with my desired community (children) and am looking to participate in research this coming semester (I will be a senior in Fall 2018.) I am also going abroad this summer to Belize and volunteering at a clinic there. I guess what I'm wondering is.. do I have a chance anywhere? With that low of a GPA, but good LOR, experience, and what not, can I still get into my desired programs? Programs I know I'll be applying to are UNC, UNCG, ECU, App State, U of Tenn, U of Memphis, FSU, U of Florida. Programs I may be applying to are UCF, Jacksonville, Radford, NC Central, Western, GWU, etc. Thanks for any help, I am very worried lol

Hi! I was accepted to UNH the beginning of February. In the acceptance letter they explain how they will be making decisions for assistantships within the month. So I'm assuming that could include the month of March too since they accepted people throughout the month of February. Anyways, I've been anxiously awaiting to hear back since I think that would be an amazing opportunity. Obviously, they only have so many spots so I was thinking to make this forum to see if people have been offered such a position/if they accepted it. I'm hoping I have a shot! Thanks! Good luck to everyone applying to grad schools!!

I wanted to start this post so we can track the speech pathology programs in the south. There are so many threads regarding the northern schools, it gets tiring sorting through all of the different posts. This thread is for southern school programs ONLY (ex. schools states like Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the Carolinas).

Hello! I am in the process of making my graduate school decision and cost is a huge factor for me. Has anyone received any news of funding from UNCG?

I have both my bachelor's and master's in speech & hearing science (also known as communication sciences and disorders, or speech-language pathology). I plan on working for this field for a little while, but it is not sustainable for me. I realized I like this field in an academic sense but nothing more. I recently discovered public health and have been reading up on it a lot, and it sounds perfect! Especially epidemiology, biostatistics, and urban design. I regret not doing something that was more closely related to math and science, although my programs did require a lot of neuroscience and anatomy courses. Do you think it would reflect poorly on my application to already have an MA in an unrelated field? GRE: V 161, Q 159, W 4.5 (that's an old score - I would have to retake it). GPA 3.98 in undergrad and grad.

I just found out I have been offered a summer internship position at a private practice. The dress code is business casual. I’m from the south where the summers are hot and humid. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of what I should wear. Also, do you consider jeans to be business casual (assuming they’re dark wash with no holes)?

This is my first year applying for SLP grad programs. I have heard back from one school (rejected) and haven’t heard back from anyone else. I keep seeing in the thread of decisions for this year that people are getting accepted to programs I applied to. But I haven’t heard anything from the rest of my programs. So I’m assuming I’m waitlisted/rejected. I’m starting to lose hope. I applied to 5 programs and spent all my money during the process (GRE, transcripts,fees). I’m worried I’ll either get waitlisted and not get a spot or just get rejected everywhere. How do you handle seeing others get accepted to your programs when you haven’t heard anything. Just feeling discouraged and don’t want to disappoint anyone close to me if I don’t get into a program.

This doesn't technically fall under the 'jobs' category but it's that was the most relevant category. I am wondering how to go about setting up my own externship for my second year in the SLP master's program. I would prefer not to do my externship in the city where my school is. All of my classes for the second year will be online and I would love to not have to be in this town for my externship. I have heard rumors from several people that it's possible to make your own externship. Operating under the theory that my program director will approve of this idea, how do I find places that will take me on as an extern? I've already emailed ASHA about this. They and the ASHA Career Center were of absolutely no help. Any input will be immensely helpful.

I just don't know anymore guys. I have applied for the last 3 years and continue to be rejected.. IT SUCKS. I have a low GPA (2.86) took 4 post bacc classes did well, post bacc gpa is 3.6. I did ok on my GRES but am retaking to get in the 50th percentile. I have worked as an SLP-A for 2 years.. WHAT DO I DO? HOW CAN I GET IN? can anyone recommend schools that do not only look at numbers/ have a GPA/GRE cutoff?! please anything helps. I honestly don't know what else I can do! I basically missed my last year during undergrad due to sickness but there is nothing I can do I AM SO STRESSED OUT PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME! advice would be awesome

HIII everyone! So a bit of me.... I graduated a year ago and got rejected from 8 schools, so I decided to get my SLP-A license and I've been working for a year in Texas. I have a overall GPA of 3.1, CSD 3.2, upper CSD 3.46, last 60 3.4 and upper division gen is 3.5. MY gre scores are 144V and 145Q and I'm retaking it in a month, cause I know they are terrible!! I have a list of schools that I may potentially fit in their ranges and I need advise! or even suggestions ASU UNM-albq Portland state Nova Southestern San fran state TWU UTEP Idaho state wash state witchita state Case western Cal State Un - chico Cal State Un- east bay

Hi All! I'm a senior about to graduate in my undergrad in Exercise Science however I want to go into SLP! I've been thinking about it for quite some time but I'm getting anxious as graduation comes because I know I am going to have to start to figure out how exactly i'm going to go about this - and if it's even realistic! Was anyone in this position.. where their undergrad was not in communication disorders but they still wanted to do SLP? I was told I should get a second BS, which would be such a pain, but I was also told I should just take the pre reqs and then apply .... but how would I get in? I would be up against communication disorder students! I work as a therapy aide right now at a rehabilitation hospital so I do help the SLP's and work with their patients to an extent. That's it for experience though. Should I do an SLPA program and work for a bit to broaden my chances to get into grad school??? Help!

Hey everyone! Same as last year's thread: now that the interview season is upon us, lets post the following: when you got the invite to the interview where one could find the invite, portal, etc any tips from previous interviews questions that were asked on the interview that can help us good luck to everyone!!

I am not a very good student over all, GRE scores were in the mid 140's and got a 4 in writing. My cumulative GPA is 3.48 but in my speech courses it's only a 3.0. I am desperately trying to find Speech Pathology masters programs that are not ridiculous to get into. I'm asking about NYU because I spoke to an advisor there who was VERY optimistic about my getting in. Compared to everyone else I've spoken to, this was a major relief and is even making me consider paying the stunning $76,000 for the degree!! Anyways, this advisor told me that NYU does not have a cap on how many students they accept into the online program, and do not even list their GPA and GRE requirements online because they want to encourage all students to apply even if they do not think they have very good scores. I would like to hear from someone who has gotten into the program or knows any information about it whether or not this is true. I am strongly considering the online option, but would also like to know whether the in person MS program is more difficult/competitive?

Hey guys! I see lots of people have landed an interview at Emerson! just curious who got an interview for the regular program and who got an interview for the low residency program?! also, anyone know what states hire SLP-A's?

I recently applied to 10 schools for my masters in Speech Language Pathology. My GPA is a 3.78 and my CSD major GPA is a 3.8. I have solid recommendations, research and work experiences, great extracurriculars BUT my GRE score is awful. I took it twice and I even took a Kaplan course. V- 149 (39th percentile) Q-150 (39th percentile) AW- 4.5 (87th percentile) Are grad schools going to throw out my application because of my low GRE? I'm starting to worry, I hear most programs don't even bother to look at your application if you have under a 300 GRE.

Hello- Any advice is appreciated first off. So i took the GRE's and it went pretty subpar Quant: 147 Qual: 152 and AWA:4.5 so now im trying to figure out how to remain a strong applicant. I was thinking of mentioning in a quick sentence or two in my SOP about my Quant score in particular being mediocre, something along the lines of asking them to look at classes such as Research Methods, Intro to Audiology, and Phonetics and Acoustics all which include math in their courses and ones i received A's in. How these classes more accurately represent the set of math skills required to be a successful SLP and that i performed proficiently in these classes. Is it worth mentioning? should i not draw attention to it? just trying to figure out how to sell myself. thanks!