to apply to grad school or take a break?!

[divinelyn]

Applying for grad school has always been in the back of my mind, BUT with the time coming up to apply, I don't know if I should take a break... 
The thing is, my grades aren't so bad but not the strongest. I know experience also plays a huge role with acceptance but since I've been concentrating on school, I haven't had much job opportunities relating with child care or with speech. I do not have much experience, so applying and believing in myself has been pretty difficult. I am just terrified that this won't be enough to be accepted to a school. Would taking a year off to work and build my experience be a good or bad idea? I would appreciate any advice or stories anyone has to share!! help a stressful girl ouuuut ?    

[samiamslp]

I took a year off-- graduated from undergrad in May and am applying to grad school now-- and I am so glad I did! While I initially was disappointed that I would have to take a gap year for personal reasons, I realize that I saved myself so much stress, not to mention that I would probably be feeling tons of burnout if I had gone straight to grad school. It is totally up to you what you decide to do, but it looks great to show that you had experience outside of school, whether it's clinical experience or observations, working with kids or in a hospital, etc. I will say that my experience after graduation also helped confirm that speech was what I wanted to do, and I gained so much confidence in myself and my abilities that I will be using as a speech pathologist. However, if you decide to go straight to grad school, that's great too! Maybe try to fit some observations in before submitting apps and solidify that this is what you want to do, so you have an idea of what kind of setting you might want to work in? It definitely helps to have some experience, but not everyone does who gets in-- I think you should think about how experience would help *you* in your decision, instead of how it would look on your application, if that makes sense. Basically, do what feels right to you! Feel free to message me if you have questions.

[BlackGirlSpeechie]

Hi! Personally, I took a year off as well! I am a SLP-Assistant in the schools and this is my 2nd year. I LOVE IT!! I decided to apply to one program that I've been eyeing for a while now since it's distance and will allow me the opportunity to continue to work while earning my masters degree. I didn't go straight to grad school for a few reasons: low GPA/GRE, financial, and uncertainty if I wanted to stay in the field. After gaining experience and talking with SLPs who have became mentors to me, I finally decided to apply! I'm nervous, but I'm sure everything is going to work out! It's subjective as the previous person said about what you want to do! You know yourself and what will be best for you! Best wishes to you and your endeavors!

[LaceySpeechie]

I took a year off (actually, two) and I have no regrets about it! Most of my undergrad class applied to start grad school straight after graduating but I personally wanted to gain some experience, both to get additional credentials to help me when applying (which I'm doing now for 2019) and to actually have some real-world experience in a full-time job before getting a Masters degree. I've been a teaching assistant in Spain for the past two years, and for me it's been a great way to travel, get more experience with different cultures and languages, and get enough experience to actually feel ready for grad school. I think taking a gap year can be great, IF it's what you want to do. If you think you want to start grad school next year, then I honestly think it would be worthwhile to apply and just have a backup plan for what you can do in case you don't get in.

[slpcandidate]

I also took a year off from school after graduating (graduated in 17'). Currently I am a first year graduate student at East Tennessee State University! Looking back I'm very glad I took the time off from school to help build my resume and gain related SLP experience. I worked as a paraprofessional in an elementary school with a student who had a dual vision and hearing loss. Because of my low undergraduate gpa (3.4) I truly believe this experience directly helped me get accepted into the competitive graduate program. Last year, I also applied to over 20 different programs (I was terrified of not getting accepted anywhere because of my low gpa) and since I wasn't in school at the time, I had more time to complete and focus on creating the best applications I could. Overall, I truly believe taking the year off was beneficial for gaining related experience, creating stronger personal applications and it's helped me now as a first year graduate student, especially in regards to clinical work. Do whatever you feel is best for you, however I'm proof that even if you take a year (or two) off from school you can still get accepted and may even have better success and experience in your graduate classes and clinical's than your classmates who went straight into graduate school. Finally, just know it's not the end of the world if you apply and don't get accepted your first time. Sometimes taking a break from school is healthy for you mentally to recharge and regain that passion for the great field of speech language pathology! Good luck with everything and I know it'll all turn out the way it should in the end!