It has been two years... Speech Language Pathology

[Ellie0987]

Hi everyone, it has been two years since my undergrad and I have finally been accepted into a speech language pathology grad school program. Yay!

I have been working in an unrelated field for two years, working as a cashier and now that I have been accepted, I am worried that I will have a hard time in grad school because my memory is fuzzy.

Does anyone have any tips to help me? 

Is grad school purely memory from undergrad or will I learn new things. I am most worried about my practicum.

Any help?

Thanks

[iwearflowers]

Congratulations on your acceptance! Since there will be students from all backgrounds, they likely won't throw you into the deep end right away. If you're really worried about it, you might contact someone in the program and ask about things you should do to prepare. They may have suggestions about what books to read or skills to brush up on. (Caveat: I am not in this field.)

[indiebb]

I'm a speech applicant too, straight out of undergrad. Congratulations on your acceptance, that's so exciting and I'm sure a huge relief!  A lot of the grad classes at my undergrad would have a quick review at the beginning of the semester as a refresher/ leveler since students were coming from many different schools and backgrounds. I'm sure this is different for each school though, so if you're able to get in contact with a current student or alum, they could give you the best insight. Good luck!

[CCCaffeinated-SLP]

Hello, current first year SLP grad student here

I think you will be fine going in after two years out.  It is expected that most everyone in your program will be from different universities, and have different backgrounds.  Also, I've learned this year that an undergraduate degree in CSD is honestly just the basics of the field.  In my experience, the undergraduate degree is the foundation for what you will learn in grad school.  In grad school you will learn a LOT of new things (but there will be some review from undergrad)!  Therefore, your professors and practicum supervisors will NOT be expecting you to know everything about the field, or be an expert clinician in any way shape or form.  Pretty much everyone in your cohort will feel like they have no idea what they are doing, especially in the beginning.

However, with that being said, it may be helpful to review your materials from undergrad.  I would especially focus on speech & language development, phonetics, clinical methods, and any disorder courses you may have taken (e.g., language disorders, articulation/phonology disorders).  I would also recommend watching videos on Master Clinician or Youtube or to go observe SLPs to develop some clinical skills.  I still use Master Clinician sometimes to help with lesson planning or when learning to interact with different clients!

Feel free to message me anytime if you have any questions