La Salle or Salus?

[km783416]

I have sent in a deposit to La Salle's graduate program but was just accepted into Salus's SLP graduate program. Does anyone have any opinions on these schools that may help me decide? Salus is a farther commute (40 min vs. 60 min) and it would mean losing my La Salle deposit and paying a new deposit to Salus. 

 

Any info on either program would be helpful! Thanks! 

[pebble]

Hi! Congrats on getting into La Salle!! That's a huge achievement in and of itself since I know that La Salle's program is actually quite difficult to get into. To answer your question, both programs are wonderful, but there are obviously distinctions that might make one program more appealing over the other. 

La Salle is an accredited program whereas Salus is still up for accreditation. That's not to say that La Salle is better, but it is definitely a very important thing to consider in terms of job prospects. You're not at a disadvantage if you attend a non-accredited school, but graduating from an accredited program does help bolster your resume as well as solidifies your standing as a competent SLP. Salus' SLP-MA was established in 2014, so it's still relatively new in comparison to La Salle's program, which is more well-established. This means that your opportunities for placements/externships/CFs/training is more extensive than Salus.

La Salle's program focuses on the clinical aspects of SLP so you'd be very prepared to work in a hospital setting. Their curriculum actually contains a lot of courses dedicated to clinical practice so if that’s what you’re interested in, La Salle might be the better choice. Salus' program emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach so if you find that to be more appealing, Salus would be the right program for you.

Both programs have on-site clinics, but I can't speak for the quality of either one--at least not well enough to discern which one is 'better'. Since Salus’ program is newer, perhaps their facilities might reflect its infancy? Or I could be wrong and their clinic looks more up to date than La Salle’s.

And then, as you've mentioned, the distance is something to consider. Keep in mind that you’re already going to be dealing with the difficulty and sacrifices of grad school... would you also be okay with adding the stress of rush hour traffic into that equation as well? I would suggest that you look at each program’s curriculum to see which school is worth the commute, time, and money. 

I hope this info was helpful to you in anyway! Good luck with making your decision :)