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Hi all, I am in my final semester of undergrad and my advisor has voiced her opinion to me multiple times that my senior capstone paper (not a thesis) is up to par for publishing. I have poked around the various forum posts with subjects similar to this and it seems as though it is mostly agreed upon that undergraduate journals are a waste of effort. I study International Studies and I will definitely be applying to graduate school (International Development or Forced Migration Studies) after a year and a half or so of work experience and I was hoping that being published could give me a leg up in this process. The paper is a literature review specific to the subject of unaccompanied minor refugees and covers a fairly niche topic so I think I could possibly send it to a more specific journal. I was wondering if anyone had any input on publishing in social sciences as an undergrad as well as any concerns I should have about attaching my name to a paper this early in my academic career. This is a prospect that I am fairly excited about but I want to make sure I have considered all aspects of it before jumping in head first. Thanks!!

I'm a third-year studying abroad for a year in Europe, and next year I'd like to apply for grad school, specifically funded MA programs. However, in order to have a strong application, I know I need strong letters and a strong writing sample. To those aims, I think it's important I do some undergraduate research this year -- and if not this year, beginning next year. However, I'm a bit unsure of how to approach this. In order to do independent research at my university, you have to get a faculty member to sponsor you. But I don't have any particularly close relationships with faculty. Yes, I've gone to office hours and done well in certain prof's classes, but beyond that I don't feel I have anyone I can count on to sponsor me as a mentor. It's a lot of extra work for no addtl. pay. As a result, the next step seems to be to propose a project to a faculty member, but the problem here is that A) it doesn't look like there are any professors interested in my prospective "field" (contemporary literature, postmodern literature) and B ) I'm not even sure how to develop a research question or topic. It seems to vast. So I feel I'm in a bind. Right now, I'm thinking of candidly emailing a professor whom I enjoyed and whom I found helpful, telling him that I'm interested in research, possibly in his field (tho it's not my favorite and I'm not really knowledgeable in it) -- what should I do? But I'm worried this might come off as unprofessional or too forward since myself don't have an idea; not to mention it's possible he won't remember me (tho I went to office hours two or three times and did quite well in his seminar). I probably would like a recommendation from this professor in the future, too. I'd go see him personally, but again, I'm studying abroad.

Hello all! Here's the deal: I graduate from the University of Montevallo in May 2018. I'm the former secretary and current VP of NSSLHA. I've done qualitative research in the area of aphasia as primary investigator, and am positive I will be able to get above average recommendation letters from professors. BUT, my GPA is on the low end. I took dual enrollment classes in high school and ended up with several B's and a couple of C's. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life then, and of course had no idea how competitive SLP programs are. Assuming I get all A's this fall, my GPA will end up being a 3.56. My current GRE score is 294 and 3.5 writing. I'm retaking it in the beginning of November. I'm applying to severallllll schools in the southeast. My top choices are University of Tennessee, University of Memphis, East Tennessee State University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (long shot, I know, but many of their faculty have done research in aphasia and I thought I might have a chance considering my background.) What kind of chances do I have? Any advice as far as personal statements, recommendation letters, etc would be much appreciated!

Hello all! Here's the deal: I graduate from the University of Montevallo in May 2018. I'm the former secretary and current VP of NSSLHA. I've done qualitative research in the area of aphasia as primary investigator, and am positive I will be able to get above average recommendation letters from professors. BUT, my GPA is on the low end. I took dual enrollment classes in high school and ended up with several B's and a couple of C's. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life then, and of course had no idea how competitive SLP programs are. Assuming I get all A's this fall, my GPA will end up being a 3.56. My current GRE score is 294 and 3.5 writing. I'm retaking it in the beginning of November. I'm applying to severallllll schools in the southeast. My top choices are University of Tennessee, University of Memphis, East Tennessee State University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (long shot, I know, but many of their faculty have done research in aphasia and I thought I might have a chance considering my background.) What kind of chances do I have? Any advice as far as personal statements, recommendation letters, etc would be much appreciated!