Low GPA--Plan B/Reapply?

[slpwannabe18]

Hi! So I'm incredibly disappointed, upset, and stressed right now. I applied to 6 schools, and I was very confident that at least one  was going to accept me with an assistantship (because the director had implied so). I have been rejected from all 6.. and I'm not sure what's next. My cumulative GPA is the sole reason (I've been told by directors) of being rejected; it's a 3.1. My last 60 hours and CSD GPA are both a 3.7, my minor GPA (psychology) is a 3.9, and my science GPA is a 3.5. My low cumulative is due to poor grades in math, and I have found out I likely have dyscalculia. During undergrad, I've been really sick, including having surgery. I was also sexually assaulted, which affected some of my prior grades. I explained all of this in my LOI and had a friend on an admissions panel read over it, who affirmed it was well-written and explained the situation well. I also included in the LOI that I'm passionate about CSD and changed to the major  because my younger brother is autistic and nonverbal. I had professors I know well write my LORs. GRE scores are 167V, 149Q, and 4AW. The problem is my GPA, but it can't be raised much because I have 160 credit hours, so even straight A's don't make much of a difference.

I thought about getting a different master's degree, but I can't seem to find many relevant degrees with deadlines that haven't yet passed. I found out through hands-on observations that M.Ed in SpEd isn't a good option for me because if I don't get in next year, I would not be happy as a SpEd teacher. I've considered dyslexia, psychology, ABA, and child development degrees. I have a background in ABA, but the program deadlines have passed. I have the ABA instructional hours required to be an RBT... but I don't think I like it enough for a career, anyway. Child Life would potentially be a good fit for me, but those jobs appear to be difficult to come by. Ideally, I would be in grad school and none of this would matter.  

I also looked into spring programs. The following schools offer spring admission: Valdosta State, UT Dallas, UT San Antonio, South Dakota, Central MO, Central Florida, TN State, TAMU Kingsville, Baylor, and Alabama A&M. Any insight here?

If applying to spring programs, should I spend the fall semester finishing my second bachelor's degree in psychology (including retaking stats for my CCC) or should I apply to a master's program and potentially leave for an SLP program after a semester?

What are your suggestions for 1) reapplying 2) alternate master's programs 3) alternate career paths Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Southwestspeechie]

53 minutes ago, slpwannabe18 said:

Hi! So I'm incredibly disappointed, upset, and stressed right now. I applied to 6 schools, and I was very confident that at least one  was going to accept me with an assistantship (because the director had implied so). I have been rejected from all 6.. and I'm not sure what's next. My cumulative GPA is the sole reason (I've been told by directors) of being rejected; it's a 3.1. My last 60 hours and CSD GPA are both a 3.7, my minor GPA (psychology) is a 3.9, and my science GPA is a 3.5. My low cumulative is due to poor grades in math, and I have found out I likely have dyscalculia. During undergrad, I've been really sick, including having surgery. I was also sexually assaulted, which affected some of my prior grades. I explained all of this in my LOI and had a friend on an admissions panel read over it, who affirmed it was well-written and explained the situation well. I also included in the LOI that I'm passionate about CSD and changed to the major  because my younger brother is autistic and nonverbal. I had professors I know well write my LORs. GRE scores are 167V, 149Q, and 4AW. The problem is my GPA, but it can't be raised much because I have 160 credit hours, so even straight A's don't make much of a difference.

I thought about getting a different master's degree, but I can't seem to find many relevant degrees with deadlines that haven't yet passed. I found out through hands-on observations that M.Ed in SpEd isn't a good option for me because if I don't get in next year, I would not be happy as a SpEd teacher. I've considered dyslexia, psychology, ABA, and child development degrees. I have a background in ABA, but the program deadlines have passed. I have the ABA instructional hours required to be an RBT... but I don't think I like it enough for a career, anyway. Child Life would potentially be a good fit for me, but those jobs appear to be difficult to come by. Ideally, I would be in grad school and none of this would matter.  

I also looked into spring programs. The following schools offer spring admission: Valdosta State, UT Dallas, UT San Antonio, South Dakota, Central MO, Central Florida, TN State, TAMU Kingsville, Baylor, and Alabama A&M. Any insight here?

If applying to spring programs, should I spend the fall semester finishing my second bachelor's degree in psychology (including retaking stats for my CCC) or should I apply to a master's program and potentially leave for an SLP program after a semester?

What are your suggestions for 1) reapplying 2) alternate master's programs 3) alternate career paths Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

•  

I think some good options would be to gain some more hands experience in the field or work as a RBT for a year and reapply next cycle. It sounds like you already have some good experience with ABA, and I know some therapy places for that also have a speech pathologist working there, which could provide an excellent opportunity for you to gain more experience.

Have you already researched these schools on edfind to gather what kind of applicants they accept? 

I do not think this is the end for you in the field of speech pathology! I know many people who had to apply 2 or 3 cycles. If this is really what you are passionate about, keep going! 

[hellooo]

43 minutes ago, Felice said:

I think some good options would be to gain some more hands experience in the field or work as a RBT for a year and reapply next cycle. It sounds like you already have some good experience with ABA, and I know some therapy places for that also have a speech pathologist working there, which could provide an excellent opportunity for you to gain more experience.

Have you already researched these schools on edfind to gather what kind of applicants they accept? 

I agree with Felice.  I have pretty similar stats to you.  Cumulative GPA of 3.1 and my last 60 credit GPA was 3.7.  I knew my GPA was pretty bad so I didn't even bother applying my senior year and gained experience as an SLPA and worked at ASD summer camps.  I researched heavily which schools looked at the last 60 credits and applied to schools that catered to my bilingual/ASD background.  I applied for the first time this year to 8 schools and got 4 acceptances and 2 waitlists.  Don't give up hope!

[slpwannabe18]

15 minutes ago, hellooo said:

I agree with Felice.  I have pretty similar stats to you.  Cumulative GPA of 3.1 and my last 60 credit GPA was 3.7.  I knew my GPA was pretty bad so I didn't even bother applying my senior year and gained experience as an SLPA and worked at ASD summer camps.  I researched heavily which schools looked at the last 60 credits and applied to schools that catered to my bilingual/ASD background.  I applied for the first time this year to 8 schools and got 4 acceptances and 2 waitlists.  Don't give up hope!

Hi! I applied to one school that only uses last 60 credits, and after it seemed like everyone else had been accepted/waitlisted/rejected, I emailed the director and a got a rejection the next day. It was my top choice school, too, so I followed up to ask how I should strengthen my application for next year and didn't receive a response. Another of the schools I applied to admitted to only evaluating the major GPA. This is the same school that hinted at an assistantship, but I was also denied. 

[slpwannabe18]

1 hour ago, Felice said:

I think some good options would be to gain some more hands experience in the field or work as a RBT for a year and reapply next cycle. It sounds like you already have some good experience with ABA, and I know some therapy places for that also have a speech pathologist working there, which could provide an excellent opportunity for you to gain more experience.

Have you already researched these schools on edfind to gather what kind of applicants they accept? 

I do not think this is the end for you in the field of speech pathology! I know many people who had to apply 2 or 3 cycles. If this is really what you are passionate about, keep going! 

I was offered a job as an RBT, but I'm not sure if I should take it or find work an an SLP. While I'm good at ABA, it's not my cup of tea, and, while I like artic., I also don't feel qualified yet to be responsible for my own kiddos. I've shadowed my brother's therapist a lot in pediatric outpatient rehab and fell in love with that setting. I've also done hands-on observations in a middle school with self-contained kids. 

I basically live on EdFind and here on Grad Cafe! I thought I had a fair shot at most of the schools I applied to originally. In the case of my top two choices, I hit in the dead center of their accepted GPA range (last 60) and scored 10 points higher on the GRE than the mean. 

Do you think I should observe more while finishing my second degree -- and re-taking stats -- or work? 

Thank you for your help!

[Southwestspeechie]

1 hour ago, slpwannabe18 said:

I was offered a job as an RBT, but I'm not sure if I should take it or find work an an SLP. While I'm good at ABA, it's not my cup of tea, and, while I like artic., I also don't feel qualified yet to be responsible for my own kiddos. I've shadowed my brother's therapist a lot in pediatric outpatient rehab and fell in love with that setting. I've also done hands-on observations in a middle school with self-contained kids. 

I basically live on EdFind and here on Grad Cafe! I thought I had a fair shot at most of the schools I applied to originally. In the case of my top two choices, I hit in the dead center of their accepted GPA range (last 60) and scored 10 points higher on the GRE than the mean. 

Do you think I should observe more while finishing my second degree -- and re-taking stats -- or work? 

Thank you for your help!

I completely understand your reasons to not jump in to ABA, I also shadowed a bit of it and did not enjoy it. It's so frustrating that you did your research on these schools on edfind and it didn't work out in the end! 

I empathize with you about the math difficulties, I also have dyscalculia and hate how much it can affect my career goals since we have to take standardized tests. 

I think doing anything that might boost up your GPA is a great idea, so I think finishing your second degree is a good choice. Observing is always great, but the main problem I ran into with just observing was I couldn't wasn't as engaged as I would be if I was actually working with kids. That might be specific to where I observed at though! Are there any summer camps or places that allow you to observe speech therapy but be a bit more involved besides only observation? 

 

[hellooo]

4 hours ago, slpwannabe18 said:

4 hours ago, hellooo said:

I agree with Felice.  I have pretty similar stats to you.  Cumulative GPA of 3.1 and my last 60 credit GPA was 3.7.  I knew my GPA was pretty bad so I didn't even bother applying my senior year and gained experience as an SLPA and worked at ASD summer camps.  I researched heavily which schools looked at the last 60 credits and applied to schools that catered to my bilingual/ASD background.  I applied for the first time this year to 8 schools and got 4 acceptances and 2 waitlists.  Don't give up hope!

Hi! I applied to one school that only uses last 60 credits, and after it seemed like everyone else had been accepted/waitlisted/rejected, I emailed the director and a got a rejection the next day. It was my top choice school, too, so I followed up to ask how I should strengthen my application for next year and didn't receive a response. Another of the schools I applied to admitted to only evaluating the major GPA. This is the same school that hinted at an assistantship, but I was also denied. 

Were your GREs above 150?  It helps to balance a lower GPA with a higher GRE.  Mine was 155V, 154Q, 4.5 Writing so not spectacular, but above average at least.  I also calculated # of students accepted against # of students who applied.  I applied to my dream schools of course, but also applied to some schools that had 30-50% acceptance rates in hopes of getting just one acceptance.

[slpwannabe18]

3 hours ago, hellooo said:

Were your GREs above 150?  It helps to balance a lower GPA with a higher GRE.  Mine was 155V, 154Q, 4.5 Writing so not spectacular, but above average at least.  I also calculated # of students accepted against # of students who applied.  I applied to my dream schools of course, but also applied to some schools that had 30-50% acceptance rates in hopes of getting just one acceptance.

167 Verbal, 149 Quantitative, 4 AW

[BeachySpeechy]

10 hours ago, slpwannabe18 said:

Hi! So I'm incredibly disappointed, upset, and stressed right now. I applied to 6 schools, and I was very confident that at least one  was going to accept me with an assistantship (because the director had implied so). I have been rejected from all 6.. and I'm not sure what's next. My cumulative GPA is the sole reason (I've been told by directors) of being rejected; it's a 3.1. My last 60 hours and CSD GPA are both a 3.7, my minor GPA (psychology) is a 3.9, and my science GPA is a 3.5. My low cumulative is due to poor grades in math, and I have found out I likely have dyscalculia. During undergrad, I've been really sick, including having surgery. I was also sexually assaulted, which affected some of my prior grades. I explained all of this in my LOI and had a friend on an admissions panel read over it, who affirmed it was well-written and explained the situation well. I also included in the LOI that I'm passionate about CSD and changed to the major  because my younger brother is autistic and nonverbal. I had professors I know well write my LORs. GRE scores are 167V, 149Q, and 4AW. The problem is my GPA, but it can't be raised much because I have 160 credit hours, so even straight A's don't make much of a difference.

I thought about getting a different master's degree, but I can't seem to find many relevant degrees with deadlines that haven't yet passed. I found out through hands-on observations that M.Ed in SpEd isn't a good option for me because if I don't get in next year, I would not be happy as a SpEd teacher. I've considered dyslexia, psychology, ABA, and child development degrees. I have a background in ABA, but the program deadlines have passed. I have the ABA instructional hours required to be an RBT... but I don't think I like it enough for a career, anyway. Child Life would potentially be a good fit for me, but those jobs appear to be difficult to come by. Ideally, I would be in grad school and none of this would matter.  

I also looked into spring programs. The following schools offer spring admission: Valdosta State, UT Dallas, UT San Antonio, South Dakota, Central MO, Central Florida, TN State, TAMU Kingsville, Baylor, and Alabama A&M. Any insight here?

If applying to spring programs, should I spend the fall semester finishing my second bachelor's degree in psychology (including retaking stats for my CCC) or should I apply to a master's program and potentially leave for an SLP program after a semester?

What are your suggestions for 1) reapplying 2) alternate master's programs 3) alternate career paths Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

•  

I think you might need to start applying to other schools. Some universities are super difficult to get into. You have great GREs that should offset your GPA. Would you be willing to apply to an online school? CSUN online’s application is open now (Spring start). I would say give that school a try with your other spring applications as a plan b. 

[SLP2018!!]

I don't know a whole lot about the schools you mentioned but I know a little about UT Health San Antonio. My friend is going there most likely and she really loved the facility and the faculty! It's a newer program and they will be getting fully accredited soon so I would definitely look into that program if you are serious about applying for the spring and moving to San Antonio! UT Dallas looks at GRE heavily so they might be worth looking into as well but they are very competitive (at least in the fall). I'm sorry you're in the situation you're in but I don't think you should give up!

[AGSpeechie1]

I’m not going to lie, my scores were overall lower than yours. This is my third round of applying, and I finally got accepted for this upcoming fall. My mentor advised me to reach out to the director of each program I was interested in, and discuss their admissions process (hierarchical, cumulative, etc). I was also advised to look for developing programs and schools that include interviews in their process. This helped me out, don’t give up! 

[slpmads]

On 09/04/2018 at 2:03 PM, hellooo said:

I agree with Felice.  I have pretty similar stats to you.  Cumulative GPA of 3.1 and my last 60 credit GPA was 3.7.  I knew my GPA was pretty bad so I didn't even bother applying my senior year and gained experience as an SLPA and worked at ASD summer camps.  I researched heavily which schools looked at the last 60 credits and applied to schools that catered to my bilingual/ASD background.  I applied for the first time this year to 8 schools and got 4 acceptances and 2 waitlists.  Don't give up hope!

Hey @hellooo where did you apply? If you don't mind me asking!

[hellooo]

3 hours ago, slpmads said:

Hey @hellooo where did you apply? If you don't mind me asking!

I applied to:  U of AZ, UMass Amherst, U of the Pacific, FL Atlantic U, San Diego State, NM State, U of Houston, and U of Redlands.  I got into the first 4 schools, waitlisted from SDSU and NM State, and rejected from UH and U of Redlands.  I considered LIU Post, Adelphi, and U of IL Urbana due to high acceptance rates but ran out of energy/money haha

[AlwaysaFalcon]

I would definitely reapply! Your statistics weren't that far off from mine. Just gain more experience between application rounds and expand your schools that you apply to. From personal experience, I had better results when I expanded the states and schools that I applied too and also gained the experience that I needed. Don't give up! It took me three application cycles before I was accepted!  

[SLPhopeful129]

Don't give up! I applied to about 13 schools, got wait listed for 4 and accepted into 2 programs. It was my first time applying BUT my stats didn't look too good. My overall GPA from undergrad was a 3.2 (last 60 was probably something like a 2.8), but my prerequisites were about a 3.7 or so. My GRE scores were 151V, 156Q and 4.0AW.

I think it just depends on the programs themselves because I got rejected form schools that were not highly ranked, but got wait listed into higher ranked schools (above 20th place overall). I just spread my hopes out and preparing myself to not get accepted. If you have the funds to do so, I would apply again and to a variety of schools (in state and out of state).

If you are interested in an online program, I know that NYU does 3 rounds of applications a year for their online program. Also, I've heard that it's easier to get into a program that starts in the summer (Florida has one) because people typically apply for the fall. Easier meaning a smaller application pool, but not less competitive. 

Best of luck!

[Jbslp95]

I would echo others here and say don’t give up on SLP if it’s what you really want to do. My GPA was below 3.0 and my GREs were very similar to yours, maybe a few points higher on math. This was my first application cycle and I got into one school I applied to (Emerson). But you only need one!

I wrote a LOI I’m very proud of. I focused on the things I was really proud of in undergrad (working full time, becoming a general manager of a restaurant, graduating early) and tried not to make excuses for my subpar grades, but instead said, “yeah, my grades weren’t great, I wish I’d known I wanted to go to grad school, but now that I do I’m not going to let a single thing stop me from succeeding and killing it at grad school”. In better words of course ? I struggle with mental health issues which contributed to my grades, but I read somewhere that it might not be a good idea to mention that in your LOI. The point of your essay is to show schools you are prepared for the difficulties of grad school. Don’t give them any doubts. 

I also had a really great interview. If you’re a good interviewer, try to look for places that do interview. I applied to several schools that offered interviews but only got an invitation at one (Emerson). Since you don’t know what the questions will be, try to think of all the things you want to talk about and work your answers around those points. I fit in my accomplishments and also made sure to acknowledge my not-so-great grades from the end of undergrad. 

Get some SLP related experience if you can. I volunteered at a private practice and I think that made a huge difference because it looked good on my resume, was something to talk about in my LOI and interview, and the director of the practice wrote me a glowing recommendation. If you don’t have 3 great academic recommendations, don’t use them. I only had 1 academic rec, one from my boss (which was very very kind, he let me read it), and one from the director. Many people told me that using professional recs over academic was a bad idea, but i think the most important thing is having 3 enthusiastic letters from people who genuinely like you and want to see you get into grad school. 

I’m sorry this is happening to you. Going into this app cycle I knew it was a very, very real possibility that I would not get in anywhere. Getting an interview to Emerson with the GPA I had was a huge break. But I truly believe that if you want to do this, you should stick with it and find a way. There are absolutely things you can do to improve your application without having to retake a million classes. If you want to be an SLP, believe in yourself and let that guide your next move!! I believe in you!!  

 

[slpwannabe18]

Hey, y'all have been so sweet! Thank you for the advice. 

I originally applied to all out of state schools: UNC Greensboro, Mizzou, Louisville, LSUHSC New Orleans, George Washington, Armstrong/Georgia Southern, Valdosta State. I ran out of money around $600 spent (+$205 for the GRE), and I had a verbal promise from a school I won't reveal, so I didn't think it was necessary to apply to more. I reached out to every program directly to ask if I was a strong applicant, and I kept in touch throughout the process, including visits. I had my 5-year out-of-department Ph.D mentor, a clinician I have observed and know incredibly well, a clinician professor, and a Ph.D professor write for me. All were kind and enthusiastic, and I feel like they presented a good overall picture of who I am. I feel confident about my LOI as well and have had numerous faculty from multiple schools read it. My extracurriculars include philanthropy work through my sorority, lots of work with RMHC, being a 4-H mentor, a member of the honors college, NSSLHA, my state organization, additional campus clubs and committees. 30 observation hours across all settings (mostly outpatient peds) and the real-life experience of living with a nonverbal autistic child for 8 years. 

I've gotten mixed feedback concerning rejections. Three programs cited my cumulative GPA, while the highest-ranked program said my grades were fine, and I needed more extracurriculars. One program said I didn't complete the optional (???) video supplement. One deferred my application after an administrative error, and I haven't heard back from the last one, but I'm expecting a no. Some of the schools had ~50% acceptance rate, others as low as 10%. I know many applicants don't get in the first time, and I mean this as humbly as possible... but I never truly, really thought I would be in the bottom half. At least not that many times. I did lots of research on typical admissions stats and agonized over which programs to pursue. 

UTD encouraged me to apply for spring, but I take everything with a grain of salt nowadays. 

[slpwannabe18]

On 4/11/2018 at 3:27 PM, SLPhopeful129 said:

Don't give up! I applied to about 13 schools, got wait listed for 4 and accepted into 2 programs. It was my first time applying BUT my stats didn't look too good. My overall GPA from undergrad was a 3.2 (last 60 was probably something like a 2.8), but my prerequisites were about a 3.7 or so. My GRE scores were 151V, 156Q and 4.0AW.

I think it just depends on the programs themselves because I got rejected form schools that were not highly ranked, but got wait listed into higher ranked schools (above 20th place overall). I just spread my hopes out and preparing myself to not get accepted. If you have the funds to do so, I would apply again and to a variety of schools (in state and out of state).

If you are interested in an online program, I know that NYU does 3 rounds of applications a year for their online program. Also, I've heard that it's easier to get into a program that starts in the summer (Florida has one) because people typically apply for the fall. Easier meaning a smaller application pool, but not less competitive. 

Best of luck!

Hey! NYU has been in contact, but, if we're being honest, I can't afford their program. It's $102,000 and there is no funding, I'm told. 

[slpwannabe18]

On 4/9/2018 at 10:17 PM, SLP2018!! said:

I don't know a whole lot about the schools you mentioned but I know a little about UT Health San Antonio. My friend is going there most likely and she really loved the facility and the faculty! It's a newer program and they will be getting fully accredited soon so I would definitely look into that program if you are serious about applying for the spring and moving to San Antonio! UT Dallas looks at GRE heavily so they might be worth looking into as well but they are very competitive (at least in the fall). I'm sorry you're in the situation you're in but I don't think you should give up!

I wanted to apply to UTSA! They use CSDCAS and my GPA is below a 3.0 through CSDCAS because it's calculated differently than my university does it. 

[tunami56]

Have you looked into schools that only look at your last 60 hours GPA? I know that Texas State takes your GPA from just your last 60 hours and also doesn't accept GRE scores (although yours seem good!). 

[purplefuzz2]

On 4/9/2018 at 11:16 AM, slpwannabe18 said:

Hi! So I'm incredibly disappointed, upset, and stressed right now. I applied to 6 schools, and I was very confident that at least one  was going to accept me with an assistantship (because the director had implied so). I have been rejected from all 6.. and I'm not sure what's next. My cumulative GPA is the sole reason (I've been told by directors) of being rejected; it's a 3.1. My last 60 hours and CSD GPA are both a 3.7, my minor GPA (psychology) is a 3.9, and my science GPA is a 3.5. My low cumulative is due to poor grades in math, and I have found out I likely have dyscalculia. During undergrad, I've been really sick, including having surgery. I was also sexually assaulted, which affected some of my prior grades. I explained all of this in my LOI and had a friend on an admissions panel read over it, who affirmed it was well-written and explained the situation well. I also included in the LOI that I'm passionate about CSD and changed to the major  because my younger brother is autistic and nonverbal. I had professors I know well write my LORs. GRE scores are 167V, 149Q, and 4AW. The problem is my GPA, but it can't be raised much because I have 160 credit hours, so even straight A's don't make much of a difference.

I thought about getting a different master's degree, but I can't seem to find many relevant degrees with deadlines that haven't yet passed. I found out through hands-on observations that M.Ed in SpEd isn't a good option for me because if I don't get in next year, I would not be happy as a SpEd teacher. I've considered dyslexia, psychology, ABA, and child development degrees. I have a background in ABA, but the program deadlines have passed. I have the ABA instructional hours required to be an RBT... but I don't think I like it enough for a career, anyway. Child Life would potentially be a good fit for me, but those jobs appear to be difficult to come by. Ideally, I would be in grad school and none of this would matter.  

I also looked into spring programs. The following schools offer spring admission: Valdosta State, UT Dallas, UT San Antonio, South Dakota, Central MO, Central Florida, TN State, TAMU Kingsville, Baylor, and Alabama A&M. Any insight here?

If applying to spring programs, should I spend the fall semester finishing my second bachelor's degree in psychology (including retaking stats for my CCC) or should I apply to a master's program and potentially leave for an SLP program after a semester?

What are your suggestions for 1) reapplying 2) alternate master's programs 3) alternate career paths Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

•  

Hi, I am pretty sure that UT Health SA will not be offering spring admission next year (spring 2019). I have heard that UT Dallas and TAMU are easier in the Spring! Baylor and UT Dallas also offer summer admissions.

[fromteachingtospeeching]

Hi, I also tend to struggle with math and earned a dreaded "C" in my stats class, which is like the kiss of death for CSD students. What I found out after the fact is that many schools are preferring statistics for the social sciences fields. So if you took a stats course for psychology ( related to compiling stats for psych testing)  you can use this grade instead of a traditional math. Wish I knew this going in because I have a minor in Psychology and my grade in that course was much higher. Experience and presenting yourself as a diverse candidate means more to some schools than others. It only takes one yes to make this dream a reality! My undergrad institution is heavily GRE dependent and although I graduated Cum Laud from the program, I was rejected from their grad program. I was a Pre-K teacher for 10 years in a public school district, am the mother of 3, and still completed my undergrad degree w/honors. Guess what my quant GRE was? 140! I applied to 6 programs and was accepted to 4 of them first round. I will be attending my dream school, NYU. The admissions counselor told me that the combination of all aspects of my application, in addition to to being a working Mom with a full time job made me stand out as someone who could handle the rigors of grad school. Your GRE scores are awesome! If you can find some relevant work while waiting to re-apply, and get a letter of rec from someone that speaks of your job performance and work ethic it would be a great addition. You will get in somewhere, don't give up! Also look for volunteer opportunities in your community, one question I was asked at interviews was what else are you passionate about in life other than Speech Language Pathology. Good luck, I know it's a long road, but you will get there.

[kpittman]

Hello,  

I just wanted to offer some encouragement, I reapplied. I applied to all of these schools leaving my senior year and got rejected from all of the schools, but I was patient and just got a job and worked a year. This year I reapplied to six schools, got waitlisted at two and rejected from 4. But I just got in to one today! There's nothing wrong with taking a break and getting things together. I also had a pretty low overall GPA (3.2) in comparison to my classmates and fellow applicants but had similar GRE scores. One thing that made me stand out was the fact that I did take a year off and explained to them that I knew I wanted to pursue this career no matter what it took. This was a very stressful and wild road, but you can do it. Trust me, It's worth it!

 

[ChicagoGirl]

If you just missed getting into grad school, there is still hope! The same thing happened to me last year and I've worked as a Speech Therapy Practice Associate at Chicago Speech Therapy during my year off. I've gained amazing experience at a multidisciplinary practice and I am happy to say I was admitted into multiple programs for Fall 2018. This experience also reaffirmed my passion for the field and the grad schools I applied to this year were very impressed with the experience I've gained prior to starting a grad program. If you are interested in this position, here is a link to find out more and apply. 

https://vimeo.com/229331763

https://www.chicagospeechtherapy.com/stpa/

Above all, don't lose hope! If you are really passionate about this field, taking a year off to gain experience and re-apply the next term is a wonderful back-up plan. Stay positive and spend time enhancing your resume. Take it from me that it can be done and is totally worth it

[sauntare]

On 4/13/2018 at 12:54 AM, slpwannabe18 said:

Hey! NYU has been in contact, but, if we're being honest, I can't afford their program. It's $102,000 and there is no funding, I'm told. 

I've applied there 3 times.  They will not let you know what you need to change on your application.  Is it my gpa, gre scores, essays, etc. They do keep in contact but I have had 4 different admission counslers since I started this process with them.  Since I was in Americorps I don't have to pay the fee so I will just keep applying.  :-)