Volunteer/Experience for Grad School?

[slpcommdis]

I am currently an undergraduate studying Communication Disorders and was wondering about different experiences in the field of speech pathology. I currently volunteer once a week at a hospital mainly with kids, but I also get exposure to other patients with communication disorders too. I volunteer once a week in a preschool for kids with communication disorders as well. I job shadowed an slp in a hospital once, and I am also a pharmacy technician. Should I get more volunteer/job shadowing/or other experience in the field for grad school?

[bibliophile222]

You said you shadowed an SLP once--do you have your 25 observation hours completed? If not, you will need to shadow an ASHA-certified SLP (or a grad student clinician with a certified supervisor) and have them sign off on a log. Most if not all schools will need this completed before you begin.

Otherwise, sounds like you're doing great!

Edited November 4, 2018 by bibliophile222

[pbandj]

I think you have great volunteer experiences already! I echo the above post about seeing if you can find a consistent shadowing opportunity. Additionally, rather than adding a new experience, I might suggest trying to see if you can increase your involvement or responsibility in one or more of those opportunities. Adding another volunteer site may add some lines to your resume, but more involved participation in an experience can really deepen your learning, personal statement, and potentially a LOR, which is where I think you can REALLY shine in an application. 

[smarieSLP2b]

I think everything you have so far is great, just on your resume really highlight/embelish any responsibilities in those roles.

[thespeechblog.com]

On 11/3/2018 at 5:09 PM, slpcommdis said:

I am currently an undergraduate studying Communication Disorders and was wondering about different experiences in the field of speech pathology. I currently volunteer once a week at a hospital mainly with kids, but I also get exposure to other patients with communication disorders too. I volunteer once a week in a preschool for kids with communication disorders as well. I job shadowed an slp in a hospital once, and I am also a pharmacy technician. Should I get more volunteer/job shadowing/or other experience in the field for grad school?

It depends - are you getting that experience to enrich your perspective on the field, become a better SLP one day, and generally improve yourself while also doing something to help others? Then yes. 

If you're doing it because you think it will boost your applications for grad school, it isn't that simple. Most grad schools look at GPA, GRE, Personal Statement, Letters of recommendation, and your resume/CV. If your volunteer experience is meaningful enough that it impacts your personal statement and/or earns you a letter of recommendation than that is huge! If your volunteer experiences appears on your resume as "Volunteered 100 hours at ABC Hospital conducting new born hearing screenings," that is awesome but probably going to get missed in the grand scheme of things. Does that make sense? 

So basically, yes! If you have the time, volunteer/shadowing experience is great if you know how to use it right when you apply. 

[AlwaysaFalcon]

In between my gap years between undergraduate and graduate school, I volunteered at an integrated preschool near my work. I went once a week for a few hours and was a preschool helper for the main teacher and also was able to observe with the SLP there. Not only did I gain experience working with younger children, but I also got to work with inter-disciplines and solidify that being an SLP was what I wanted to do.