How to be an amazing candidate?

[sliz1019]

Hi everyone!

So, I am currently an undergrad in NJ at Rutgers, who notoriously does not have a CSD major. I am a psych major and have a minor in linguistics. My current GPA is 3.866 and I have a 4.00 GPA in my CSD coursework. My experience so far includes: 1 yr research for a school psychologist; research involved creating a virtual simulation program for early career teachers in urban areas and required me to observe classrooms, 6 hours of shadowing at an early intervention and hospital setting (going to get the full 25 before applying), volunteering at the Adler Aphasia Center & a rehabilitation center and a fieldwork course with children with autism. I have yet to take the GRE but am aiming for about a 152, 152 & a 4. Currently also have 1 LOR but will get rest from 2 more from CSD professors. I wanted to know if you all found me to be competitive and had any advice on how to make myself a better applicant since I am an out of field applicant. Any comments/tips will help!

[MH13]

Make sure your shadowing includes school SLP, if possible. Don’t just shadow children with autism. I have several spectrum students on my caseload, but I also have 9 students of various ages who have Down’s syndrome. (My Down’s students are awesome but laaaawd working on articulation is challenging at times. It will never be perfect, but I will take highly intelligible to unfamiliar communication partners- I can only do so much and I’m battling with structural issues) One student has a rare genetic deletion disorder (we just want him to communicate), 3 fluency cases, 2 lateral lisp cases. I’m a school based SLP-A and just accepted to graduate school. Make sure you have a lot of experience shadowing SLPs who have a variety of disorders, etc. 

Edited December 15, 2018 by MH13
Clarify

[bibliophile222]

16 hours ago, sliz1019 said:

Hi everyone!

So, I am currently an undergrad in NJ at Rutgers, who notoriously does not have a CSD major. I am a psych major and have a minor in linguistics. My current GPA is 3.866 and I have a 4.00 GPA in my CSD coursework. My experience so far includes: 1 yr research for a school psychologist; research involved creating a virtual simulation program for early career teachers in urban areas and required me to observe classrooms, 6 hours of shadowing at an early intervention and hospital setting (going to get the full 25 before applying), volunteering at the Adler Aphasia Center & a rehabilitation center and a fieldwork course with children with autism. I have yet to take the GRE but am aiming for about a 152, 152 & a 4. Currently also have 1 LOR but will get rest from 2 more from CSD professors. I wanted to know if you all found me to be competitive and had any advice on how to make myself a better applicant since I am an out of field applicant. Any comments/tips will help!

You don't specify, so I'm hoping the CSD coursework you've taken is more than one or two courses and is equivalent to all the prereqs you would need to get in (which can vary by program).  There are also courses in the sciences which are mandated by ASHA. Try to get all of these done before grad school! If your school does not have many CSD courses, you may need to take others either piecemeal or as part of a post-bacc, or you can try a three-year program that includes any prereqs you haven't had.

On a side note, does your school not offer a CSD degree? If they do, it might be easier to just change minors and get all your prereqs done that way. 

[sliz1019]

12 minutes ago, bibliophile222 said:

You don't specify, so I'm hoping the CSD coursework you've taken is more than one or two courses and is equivalent to all the prereqs you would need to get in (which can vary by program).  There are also courses in the sciences which are mandated by ASHA. Try to get all of these done before grad school! If your school does not have many CSD courses, you may need to take others either piecemeal or as part of a post-bacc, or you can try a three-year program that includes any prereqs you haven't had.

On a side note, does your school not offer a CSD degree? If they do, it might be easier to just change minors and get all your prereqs done that way. 

Hi, thanks for replying! I have only speech and hearing science left as a requirement that I will be taking this summer before I apply Jan 2019. My school does not offer a CSD degree or a minor so that is why I choose Linguistics as my minor because they offer some of the prereqs through that minor.

 

I was also wondering if you thought that I was a competitive applicant?

[bibliophile222]

On paper, yes. Your GPA is excellent and you have some great experiences. It's hard to tell for sure until you take the GRE, and of course the content of your LORs and SOP is hugely important.

People post threads here all the time asking if they're competitive, but there's no easy answer. It depends on the schools you apply to and how all the pieces of your application come together as a whole package. Your fit within the program is important. You could have great stats but not mention a school in your SOP and get rejected because they feel slighted. Or you could be competitive at a higher-ranked school but get rejected at a lower-ranked school because they're in a good location and get deluged with applications (NY/NJ schools are notorious for this). As many others have said on here, check out ASHA EdFind to get at least a rough idea of the average accepted student.

And relax! You're doing great so far. Keep up the good work and do lots of research on potential programs!

Edited December 16, 2018 by bibliophile222

[sliz1019]

Thank you so much! I am pretty nervous about applying as an out of fielder so I really appreciate any feedback that I can get.

[bibliophile222]

I'm a Linguistics major myself, so you're in good company! There's a reason Psych and Linguistics are the two most common majors of non-CSD applicants, since there's a lot of overlap between subjects. Make sure you stress in your apps how your additional knowledge base will serve you well in your future career.