Any SLP MA candidates heard from Temple?

[biffy4247]

Has anyone heard from Temple? I emailed today but didn't get a response. Also, does anyone know how people like the MA program at Temple?

Thanks!

[Daniela]

Has anyone heard from Temple? I emailed today but didn't get a response. Also, does anyone know how people like the MA program at Temple?

Thanks!

Hi biffy, if you look in the results search (under "temple") and go back a few pages, it shows last year's results and it looks like people weren't being rejected/accepted for the SLP program until April. Just thought maybe that would help you out a bit.

Edited March 31, 2010 by Daniela

[biffy4247]

Hi biffy, if you look in the results search (under "temple") and go back a few pages, it shows last year's results and it looks like people weren't being rejected/accepted for the SLP program until April. Just thought maybe that would help you out a bit.

Thanks, Daniela! They're killing me I already asked for an extension at another school.

[remixed486]

My friend is in the program and she says it's just okay. Never really said anything positive about it and anything negative normally concerns bureaucratic issues.

[remixed486]

I got a notification from the CSD dept yesterday via e-mail!

[biffy4247]

I got a notification from the CSD dept yesterday via e-mail!

Congrats! I got my acceptance today. I keep reading bad things about Temple in general so now I'm not sure if it should be my top choice. Does your friend say anything about the professors or clinical supervisors? I'm also going in without a background in SLP so wondering what people in that case think of that program. Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated!

[remixed486]

Congrats! I got my acceptance today. I keep reading bad things about Temple in general so now I'm not sure if it should be my top choice. Does your friend say anything about the professors or clinical supervisors? I'm also going in without a background in SLP so wondering what people in that case think of that program. Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! Congrats to you too! The two main problems with Temple is the fact that the administration can be disorganized and that it's location really sketchy. That's from both personal experience and from my friends who actually go there. I haven't heard anything bad about the program itself. My friend LOVES her clinical supervisor and in fact, asked me if I wanted to come with them and see what its like to work in the schools. One huge advantage of Temple's SLP program is that it's the only one located in the city of Philadelphia AND the city itself is in DIRE need of SLPs.

Out of curiosity, why is Temple your top choice?

[stardu5t]

biffy4247 - I'm also an accepted applicant who has a non-SLP background (psychology). I wish I knew more about the program so that I could share some info with you! I was visiting schools on the east coast several days ago, but on the day of my flight back home just so happened to be when Temple notified me of my acceptance haha, and I don't think I'll be able to make another visit that far away in time. Although I also heard negative things about the area, the campus itself seems to be kept safe and is very well-lit at night. I think you just have to take the general precautions like in any other city. Good luck deciding and update us!

remixed486 - Do you know if your friend needs a car to get to off-campus placements and how her medical clinical experiences are? The other schools I'm deciding between are actually ones you applied too--Boston University and San Diego State University. I'm interested in multicultural issues as well as getting strong clinical training in both educational and medical settings because I'm interested in early language development, but I'm also starting to develop an interest in pediatric feeding and swallowing. BU probably has less of the multicultural stuff compared to the other schools while I'm not sure how the medical training at SDSU is. It seems like Temple has both strong connections with nearby hospitals and a lot of opportunities to practice with diverse populations. However, SDSU would be cheapest for me. I'll be visiting SDSU soon, so I will get a better idea then, but I wanted to also give Temple some consideration. Thanks for any help or advice!

[biffy4247]

Thanks! Congrats to you too! The two main problems with Temple is the fact that the administration can be disorganized and that it's location really sketchy. That's from both personal experience and from my friends who actually go there. I haven't heard anything bad about the program itself. My friend LOVES her clinical supervisor and in fact, asked me if I wanted to come with them and see what its like to work in the schools. One huge advantage of Temple's SLP program is that it's the only one located in the city of Philadelphia AND the city itself is in DIRE need of SLPs.

Out of curiosity, why is Temple your top choice?

Thanks for your replies. I visited the school back in the fall and felt safe. I wouldn't want to live in the neighborhood but I think like you said, as long as you are smart, you should be fine. The disorganization part scares me a little bit since I'd have to deal with the financial aid office a lot I'm sure. I've also heard it's really research heavy as opposed to clinical. Does your friend see that? Great to hear she has a good supervisor. Seems like that can make a big difference. It was originally my first choice mainly for personal reasons. I'm from suburban Philadelphia so I'd be near family and if I want to live there in the future, I figure it'd be easiest to go to school there.

[TulipOHare]

Hi folks, current Temple SLP student here

Not having a background in SLP is totally fine at Temple -- plenty of people come in needing to take some or all of the undergrad prereqs. If you need all the prereqs, you'll do them your first fall and spring terms, and start grad classes and clinic the following summer term. If you just need some of them (this was my case), you'll take a mix of grad and undergrad classes until you're done with your prereqs. The classes are thorough enough to prepare you and they're all bent toward filling ASHA's requirements, so there's not a lot of BS in them. A couple of the best profs in the department chiefly teach the undergrad classes. It is really NOT a big deal at all. (Actually, I'm kinda bewildered that it IS a big deal at other schools... don't they want another semester's worth of tuition money?)

Profs and clinical supervisors vary... some are outstanding, some are trash, some are in between.

It's true that Philly is in dire need of SLPs -- particularly in schools and early intervention -- but to be fair, I don't know what place is NOT in dire need of SLPs, particularly in schools and early intervention.

Campus itself feels very safe -- it's well lit, there's security guards at the entrance to every building, emergency call boxes are everywhere, and Temple has its own police department. Because Temple offers a lot of continuing-ed night classes, the campus is also busy from the early morning until around 9 at night, so unless you're here at 3 AM, you will not be the only person walking across campus or waiting for the subway or bus. However, it is true that the surrounding neighborhoods aren't the greatest.

You do not need a car to do off-campus clinical practica. If you don't have a car, you'll be sent somewhere that's reachable by public transportation. Most of the schools we work with are very close to campus, and Philly has a number of good hospitals and rehab centers within easy reach of the subway system. You won't be stuck with terrible options if you don't have a car. When you meet with your advisor, you can talk about any preferences or concerns you have, and they'll do their best to accommodate.

Disorganization... unfortunately true. Temple is a gigantic school with a ton of bureaucracy. Plan on anything official you do taking about twice as long as you think it should. However, it might reassure you guys that of all the Temple bureaucracies I've had to deal with, Student Financial Services is actually one of the nicer and more helpful ones. They might send terrifying letters, but they're very nice on the phone.

Research heavy? I don't think so. Almost all of the professors here are also researchers, but that's going to be true at any program that's worth a damn. Temple does put a lot of emphasis on evidence-based practice, and the profs also try hard to bridge the research-clinic divide. In other words, your profs want you to be able to read and understand research papers and see how a paper's evidence or ideas might be applied to clinical practice (you'll work on this in your classes), and your clinical supervisors are going to expect you to choose treatment strategies that have been backed up by research. Getting credit for the research methods prereq requirement seems to have been a headache for some people, maybe that's how it comes up. But you're not required to do any research at all, and it's not the case that the profs only care about research or don't know/don't care about what it's like working in the field.

Hope this helps some people. Feel free to reply or PM if you have more questions about Temple, and good luck making the decision!

Edited April 9, 2010 by TulipOHare

[remixed486]

remixed486 - Do you know if your friend needs a car to get to off-campus placements and how her medical clinical experiences are? The other schools I'm deciding between are actually ones you applied too--Boston University and San Diego State University. I'm interested in multicultural issues as well as getting strong clinical training in both educational and medical settings because I'm interested in early language development, but I'm also starting to develop an interest in pediatric feeding and swallowing. BU probably has less of the multicultural stuff compared to the other schools while I'm not sure how the medical training at SDSU is. It seems like Temple has both strong connections with nearby hospitals and a lot of opportunities to practice with diverse populations. However, SDSU would be cheapest for me. I'll be visiting SDSU soon, so I will get a better idea then, but I wanted to also give Temple some consideration. Thanks for any help or advice!

My friend does not have a car, so I think she just relies on public transportation to get to her off-campus placements. Haven't heard her complain about getting around. I don't know how all her clinical experiences have been, but she told me she was particularly surprised at working in schools. Her case load has been very interesting to say the least, working with children with head trauma, and she's found her experiences to be self-gratifying. I'm not sure what hospitals Temple has connections with (other than it's own), but moving here from SF, I was really amazed to see how many hospitals were in the area! If I remember correctly, they also have a bilingual track, no?

I wouldn't underestimate how many multicultural opportunities you'd get at Boston University. I was looking to do an MS/PhD program there with someone who specialized in bilingual aphasia. She doesn't seem to have problems with finding subjects for her studies, and I imagine finding bilinguals with stroke-induced language problems are much harder to find than other multicultural populations with speech or language problems.

Sounds like a tough decision for you to make and frankly, it looks like all these places will satisfy your interests!

Thanks for your replies. I visited the school back in the fall and felt safe. I wouldn't want to live in the neighborhood but I think like you said, as long as you are smart, you should be fine. The disorganization part scares me a little bit since I'd have to deal with the financial aid office a lot I'm sure. I've also heard it's really research heavy as opposed to clinical. Does your friend see that? Great to hear she has a good supervisor. Seems like that can make a big difference. It was originally my first choice mainly for personal reasons. I'm from suburban Philadelphia so I'd be near family and if I want to live there in the future, I figure it'd be easiest to go to school there.

The area within the campus feels pretty safe to me too. It's just once you step outside, it can feel kind of dangerous. My boyfriend lives in South Philly and he loves it down there. It's a lot safer community and he just takes the Broad Street Line or the bus to school. I honestly cannot say where their department puts more emphasis in their graduate program -- clinical or research. My friend already has her PhD and came to Temple originally to do research. I also know their faculty is very active in research since I work at a research institute that collaborates with some of the people there. With that said, I also know that the Philadelphia has a lot of hospitals around for a reason -- the demand for more clinicians to meet the needs of the community. And my friend *does* always talk about how she needs to meet with clients and is always busy with her clinical practicum. My guess is that they encourage their students to do research, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to do it.

Anyway, best of luck to you both in your decisions! Hope I'm of some help

[stardu5t]

Both of you were VERY helpful. Thank you so much!!

TulipOHare, I do have another question for you. I would have to pay out-of-state tuition if I were to attend Temple, so I'm wondering how competitive it is to get a departmental assistantship (if they offer any that is). Thanks again!

[stardu5t]

By the way biffy4247, the acceptance email said we'd get instructions from the College of Health Professions and Social Work on how to accept or decline our offer. Did you get an email from them yet?

[biffy4247]

By the way biffy4247, the acceptance email said we'd get instructions from the College of Health Professions and Social Work on how to accept or decline our offer. Did you get an email from them yet?

Hi Stardu5t,

I didn't get anything from them yet on how to go about making the deposit. I was wondering if maybe you don't get that information until after you reply that you want to attend (which you need to do before 4/15). Will let you know if I hear anything

[TulipOHare]

Both of you were VERY helpful. Thank you so much!!

TulipOHare, I do have another question for you. I would have to pay out-of-state tuition if I were to attend Temple, so I'm wondering how competitive it is to get a departmental assistantship (if they offer any that is). Thanks again!

Pretty competitive -- it will help you out tremendously if you have relevant experience. By "relevant" I mean the best thing would be any kind of previous research or teaching experience (even if in a different field), and the next best thing would be any kind of data entry or kid-wrangling or medical-patient-wrangling experience.

There's not a formal application process -- your best way of getting an RAship is to e-mail profs and ask directly if they have any openings (of course, describe any skills or experience you have that you think they might find interesting). Next best way is to find a prof or lab you like once you're here and volunteer for them until they have an opening. People graduate in fall, spring, and summer, so you may not be waiting long.

I'm not actually sure how you'd go about getting a TAship, since there were no openings for that this year. I'd e-mail whichever faculty member you've been hearing from in official communications and ask.

[stardu5t]

Hi Stardu5t,

I didn't get anything from them yet on how to go about making the deposit. I was wondering if maybe you don't get that information until after you reply that you want to attend (which you need to do before 4/15). Will let you know if I hear anything

Hey there, I didn't reply if I wanted to attend or not yet, but I received a letter in the mail yesterday with the information. To reserve a spot they want us to send in a deposit by April 15 though, which would mean I'd have to actually send it today for it to make it there in time. Yikes, I haven't made a decision yet, but I guess that's my own fault heh.

Pretty competitive -- it will help you out tremendously if you have relevant experience. By "relevant" I mean the best thing would be any kind of previous research or teaching experience (even if in a different field), and the next best thing would be any kind of data entry or kid-wrangling or medical-patient-wrangling experience.

There's not a formal application process -- your best way of getting an RAship is to e-mail profs and ask directly if they have any openings (of course, describe any skills or experience you have that you think they might find interesting). Next best way is to find a prof or lab you like once you're here and volunteer for them until they have an opening. People graduate in fall, spring, and summer, so you may not be waiting long.

I'm not actually sure how you'd go about getting a TAship, since there were no openings for that this year. I'd e-mail whichever faculty member you've been hearing from in official communications and ask.

Oh, I do have relevant research experience, so it's nice to know that it will be helpful. Thank you the info!

Edited April 13, 2010 by stardu5t