Getting into a master's program without research or experience?

[Oceanfairy]

Hey everyone,

I'm a junior majoring in communication disorders and sciences, which means applying for grad school is right around the corner. However, I'm super stressed that no master's program will accept me! I keep hearing about the importance of internships and research experience, but I haven't had the chance to do these things, and I don't imagine I'll have enough time for them before it's time to apply in the fall. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of having an internship. However, I didn't decide on my major until about a year ago, and I'm also paying for college on my own...I just feel like I'm at a huge disadvantage. Any tips?

[VS-SLP2B]

14 minutes ago, Oceanfairy said:

Hey everyone,

I'm a junior majoring in communication disorders and sciences, which means applying for grad school is right around the corner. However, I'm super stressed that no master's program will accept me! I keep hearing about the importance of internships and research experience, but I haven't had the chance to do these things, and I don't imagine I'll have enough time for them before it's time to apply in the fall. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of having an internship. However, I didn't decide on my major until about a year ago, and I'm also paying for college on my own...I just feel like I'm at a huge disadvantage. Any tips?

Hi! While I think internships and research experience look good on your application I wouldn’t necessarily think they are make or break for getting into grad school. If your school has any research opportunities that you can take advantage of your senior year I would at least try to get in. It’s never too late! I would also say it doesn’t exclusively have to be in communication disorders. Even experience in a related field is still experience. (I did one semester in a psychology lab. Only one because I don’t exactly like the research aspect too much) An alternative: if you still feel you need to show some experience you might be to make up for it by doing more than the minimum 25 observation hours? I hope this helps! 

[bibliophile222]

I was an out-of-fielder and had ZERO related work or research experience and got in to two schools on my first try! I will say that my stats were quite good, so it can definitely be a balancing act. If you're weaker in any one area, make sure you compensate by strengthening all the other components of the application.

[Rezzy S.]

It can definitely help. See if you can shadow an SLP at your local hospital or at a private practice. I started shadowing in a hospital the month before I applied and I know it helped me get into a couple programs

It doesn’t have to be a strict internship. Shadowing/ volunteering are good too!

[ifslp]

Hi! I'm an out of field applicant and who had no research experience, but I got into every school I applied to. I did have an internship at a speech/physical/occupational therapy clinic two summers ago though. What I learned through this process is that related experience is also good experience! Schools want to see how invested you are in the field so whatever you can do, I'd say do it! I personally didn't have any opportunities to do research or time in my schedule to do so, so I say if you're already doing your best at showing grad schools your investment in the field (in whatever way that is) keep doing that and don't worry about the rest  

[kjack99]

I was an in-field applicant without any internships or research experience either and have been accepted to 2 schools so far. Those things look great but definitely not required! Many applicants both CSD majors and out of field dont have those experiences and get into school just fine. Just be sure to have some sort of volunteer experiences/student org involvement/good GPA and GRE or something to stand out, it definitely doesn't have to be an internship or research! 

[TeamNoSleep]

As long as you have any kind of valuable experience, you should be fine! I have a few friends who didn't do research as undergrads and got into some programs. Schools look at different things. I would encourage finding something to do this summer like volunteer, shadow, anything, as well as the start of your senior year prior to applying. I didn't start volunteering until my senior year and I think that helped me get in. 

[cef26]

On 4/11/2019 at 1:51 PM, Oceanfairy said:

Hey everyone,

I'm a junior majoring in communication disorders and sciences, which means applying for grad school is right around the corner. However, I'm super stressed that no master's program will accept me! I keep hearing about the importance of internships and research experience, but I haven't had the chance to do these things, and I don't imagine I'll have enough time for them before it's time to apply in the fall. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of having an internship. However, I didn't decide on my major until about a year ago, and I'm also paying for college on my own...I just feel like I'm at a huge disadvantage. Any tips?

I'm an out of field applicant, the only experience I had was shadowing a speech pathologist in a school and private setting as I was applying to schools. I was super worried about not having research or experience as well! I ended up getting into all 12 schools I applied to, I got into top programs like MGH & BU but will be attending Columbia! So don't worry about it, but I would try to see if you could shadow anyone because it will help for your essays, being able to talk about your experiences! I think my essays were stronger because I was able to tie in those experiences!