Spring Admission v. Fall Admission: Tips for Re-Applying

[colormespeech]

Hi everyone, 

It will be my second time applying for graduate programs. Since I applied for the Summer and Fall 2018 terms, would it be advised to apply for programs in Spring 2019? Or should I wait to apply for Fall/Summer 2019?

My first time applying during this past application season, CSDCAS had lowered my already low GPA from 3.11 to 2.97. This is below the minimum GPA of 3.0 that most schools require. I am currently taking an online course at USU and another course in the fall to raise my GPA up to above 3.0 to at least be considered. The GRE was a horrible experience for me since I am terrible at standardized tests. My second time taking the GRE, I received a 155 Verbal, 142 Quantitative, and 5.0 AW. My resume and experience, on the other hand, are really strong. I work very closely with SLPs as a paraprofessional in a therapeutic day school. I also tutor children ages 3-6 in reading and math. I hope to work as a school-based SLP in the future, and I have a huge interest in working with children with disabilities (autism in particular) and AAC. My first time applying, I really had no sense of direction. I was out of school and was not close enough to any of my professors to be able to ask for guidance. 

I am in search of any advice to hopefully make this next application cycle more successful than the first. I want to find better ways to research graduate programs based on my stats, learn how to write a letter of purpose that an admissions committee would like to read, etc. Any resources, links, or advice on which topics in this forum to look at would be great. I hope this topic will also assist those in the same boat as me. Any and all help is welcome! 

[Jordyn_M463]

As for applying for Spring, I think that is really up to you. If you have the money to apply, then it would be worth a shot because you never know! 

As for better ways to research programs, I used EdFind on ASHA. It is really tedious but I narrowed it down to states and distances I was willing to travel and then started doing research on those particular schools to find ones that would best fit my stats. There are probably threads on here if you do some digging, but I have found that this forum doesn't necessarily cover all of the programs that exist in rural areas with less applications and smaller cohorts. I am not sure what state you live in, but if you live in or near Pennsylvania, or are willing to move I have found that, Edinboro: Cal U: Clarion were schools in the western Pennsylvania region that didn't have as high of requirements as some other schools. 

As for writing a letter of intent, my undergrad advisor told us to follow this prompt: Why do you want to be an SLP/How did you decide on this career? What cohort and setting do you want to work in and why? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why this school? (As long as the school doesn't have their own specific prompt)

I was advised that you should tell a brief story about why you chose SLP. When you write about why you want to go to that specific school, it is best to look up that school's program and the work they do. What is the schools motto? What kind of research do they do? Who are their professors and alumni? You can say how maybe their research and alumni have accomplished great things for the field and you need to learn from those individuals. If you use specific names and facts about the school that proves you have looked into the school and have a genuine interest in them, that stands out a lot. I had an English professor who was also a journalist review my essays and she said to use "demanding statements". Rather than saying "I hope to work with children with Autism", she said to say "I aim/strive to work with children with Autism because..." It will tell the admissions committee that you know what you want and that you are willing to work for it. Read, reread and reread again. Cut out any wordiness. Make everything short and to the point. You don't need to be overly descriptive. You can still write passionately without talking around a topic. You don't have to write about everything you have done in relation to the field. That will show on your resume. 

My own personal tip for writing personal statements: Write a "common app essay" that answers all the general questions about why you want to be an SLP, where you want to be and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Finalize that portion and make sure it is exactly what you want. Have others read it and edit. Then save that draft. Now do your research on the schools. You can write 1-2 small paragraphs about "why this school" and then just add it to the end of your "common app" that way you aren't writing a bunch of 1-3 page essays every time you need to submit an application. Writing all of that can get tiring and I found myself not caring as much by the end of my applications because I was tired of trying to be creative. You can individualize each essay to each individual school by talking specifically about their program. 

My last tip is to not worry too much about what is going on in this forum when it comes to applications and who has what stats. No one is the same. Everyone's stats are different and sometimes people with "better stats" are not admitted due to other circumstances. You can only make your application the best it can be for you. I panicked a lot during the application process because my "stats" were a bit lower than my friends and I didn't have any research, work or specific volunteer experience. But I was admitted into 3/5 schools I applied to. Don't be discouraged!

Best of luck!

[colormespeech]

On 6/13/2018 at 8:26 PM, Jordyn_M463 said:

As for applying for Spring, I think that is really up to you. If you have the money to apply, then it would be worth a shot because you never know! 

As for better ways to research programs, I used EdFind on ASHA. It is really tedious but I narrowed it down to states and distances I was willing to travel and then started doing research on those particular schools to find ones that would best fit my stats. There are probably threads on here if you do some digging, but I have found that this forum doesn't necessarily cover all of the programs that exist in rural areas with less applications and smaller cohorts. I am not sure what state you live in, but if you live in or near Pennsylvania, or are willing to move I have found that, Edinboro: Cal U: Clarion were schools in the western Pennsylvania region that didn't have as high of requirements as some other schools. 

As for writing a letter of intent, my undergrad advisor told us to follow this prompt: Why do you want to be an SLP/How did you decide on this career? What cohort and setting do you want to work in and why? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why this school? (As long as the school doesn't have their own specific prompt)

I was advised that you should tell a brief story about why you chose SLP. When you write about why you want to go to that specific school, it is best to look up that school's program and the work they do. What is the schools motto? What kind of research do they do? Who are their professors and alumni? You can say how maybe their research and alumni have accomplished great things for the field and you need to learn from those individuals. If you use specific names and facts about the school that proves you have looked into the school and have a genuine interest in them, that stands out a lot. I had an English professor who was also a journalist review my essays and she said to use "demanding statements". Rather than saying "I hope to work with children with Autism", she said to say "I aim/strive to work with children with Autism because..." It will tell the admissions committee that you know what you want and that you are willing to work for it. Read, reread and reread again. Cut out any wordiness. Make everything short and to the point. You don't need to be overly descriptive. You can still write passionately without talking around a topic. You don't have to write about everything you have done in relation to the field. That will show on your resume. 

My own personal tip for writing personal statements: Write a "common app essay" that answers all the general questions about why you want to be an SLP, where you want to be and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Finalize that portion and make sure it is exactly what you want. Have others read it and edit. Then save that draft. Now do your research on the schools. You can write 1-2 small paragraphs about "why this school" and then just add it to the end of your "common app" that way you aren't writing a bunch of 1-3 page essays every time you need to submit an application. Writing all of that can get tiring and I found myself not caring as much by the end of my applications because I was tired of trying to be creative. You can individualize each essay to each individual school by talking specifically about their program. 

My last tip is to not worry too much about what is going on in this forum when it comes to applications and who has what stats. No one is the same. Everyone's stats are different and sometimes people with "better stats" are not admitted due to other circumstances. You can only make your application the best it can be for you. I panicked a lot during the application process because my "stats" were a bit lower than my friends and I didn't have any research, work or specific volunteer experience. But I was admitted into 3/5 schools I applied to. Don't be discouraged!

Best of luck!

This was extremely helpful. Thank you so much!

[CBG321]

I second everything the above poster said with some additional steps.  As much as it will suck study with Magoosh or take a prep class and attempt to improve your scores.  Even if you don't it shows that you were willing to make an effort.  I would see reappliers apply to my program without changing a single thing on their application.  The appearance of a lack of effort I feel is more impactful than the lower scores when reapplying.  Have something to show tangibly how much you want this.  This is just from an admissions viewpoint, I'm sure you're working really hard towards this goal it just needs to show on their end.  Also I've heard of worse scores your writing was fantastic and verbal was also good my math was lower as well maybe you could bump the verbal up just enough to clear a combined 300!

Lastly I'd make some attempt at explaining why your GPA was so low did you make an effort to be tutored?  Were you working 40 hours a week, etc etc.. Grad school is academically rigorous and most programs cannot let you graduate without a 3.0-3.5 GPA average.  So if you think you can earn that GPA in the more difficult grad classes I'd explain how bc they are taking the risk that you won't academically be able to graduate so I would address that and be able to explain why that won't be an issue.  This is not to discourage you but to help you prove to schools you can succeed whereas your academic stats might paint a different picture.

Goodluck!

Edited June 15, 2018 by CBG321

[colormespeech]

On 6/15/2018 at 11:38 AM, CBG321 said:

I second everything the above poster said with some additional steps.  As much as it will suck study with Magoosh or take a prep class and attempt to improve your scores.  Even if you don't it shows that you were willing to make an effort.  I would see reappliers apply to my program without changing a single thing on their application.  The appearance of a lack of effort I feel is more impactful than the lower scores when reapplying.  Have something to show tangibly how much you want this.  This is just from an admissions viewpoint, I'm sure you're working really hard towards this goal it just needs to show on their end.  Also I've heard of worse scores your writing was fantastic and verbal was also good my math was lower as well maybe you could bump the verbal up just enough to clear a combined 300!

Lastly I'd make some attempt at explaining why your GPA was so low did you make an effort to be tutored?  Were you working 40 hours a week, etc etc.. Grad school is academically rigorous and most programs cannot let you graduate without a 3.0-3.5 GPA average.  So if you think you can earn that GPA in the more difficult grad classes I'd explain how bc they are taking the risk that you won't academically be able to graduate so I would address that and be able to explain why that won't be an issue.  This is not to discourage you but to help you prove to schools you can succeed whereas your academic stats might paint a different picture.

Goodluck!

Thank you for your response! I was unsure about whether to take the GRE again since the programs I will be applying to this next season have Verbal and AW scores that I exceed. Only my Quant score would be low by a couple points. According to EdFind at least. You have a good point about obtaining a score of at least 300!

Since submitting applications I also picked up a part-time job on top of my full-time job to tutor in reading and math. Since GPA was my weakest area, I am currently enrolled in an online course in CSD (and am doing very well). I plan to take another course in the fall while applying for the next round. My time management has definitely improved, which I struggled with in undergrad. I was also very introverted (in class) and hesitant to ask help, but I have established good relationships with my professor and mentors now.

Would academic performance be worth mentioning in my personal statement, or should I reserve it for the "anything else we should know" part of the application? I will be applying to a new batch of schools this time, so I am not sure if all applications have a designated space for this. 

[CBG321]

I would talk to the school's you are interested in and ask if they look for a certain amount with your combined scores on the GRE if they don't care about the quant section then skip it.  

I would also ask if classes taken post grad are counted into your GPA some programs don't add any additional classes.  Whatever your GPA is for your bachelors is what they use they don't calculate additional classes into it.  I think it would be worth it to call and check before spending the time & money on more classes.

I think if there is another spot for it put it there but if not very briefly address it in your SOP.  Bc that's  a concern they will have so if you can give them some peace of mind that you can succeed academically it might help your chances!

[Jess3863]

Hey! This is a little old but I was wondering if you made it!!!