Gap year & then application

[SRod2015]

Has anyone taken a gap year after completing their postbacc or undergrad classes and then applied? I took a gap year and worked as an Instructional Aide and started my own tutoring side hustle. I gained a significant amount of experience working with special needs students and children in general plus how to teach children!! How did you address that in your letter of intent? 

[AlwaysaFalcon]

I had unintended two years off between my undergraduate degree and pursing my masters degree. I discussed my continued interest in the field and my experience involved in populations related to speech language pathology. I volunteered at an integrated preschool where I observed an slp that worked with the preschoolers. I believe programs like varieties in their cohorts so for me I think the experience helped me stand out. 

[LaceySpeechie]

It depends on what your experience was. For me, I've worked as an English teaching assistant in Spain and I spoke in my letter of intent about how that has helped me gain a better understanding of how to work in the areas of pronunciation/grammar, and also how it ties into my Women's Studies double-major and my desire to learn more about how to work with multicultural populations in grad school. So depending on your work you could talk about it in relation to the direction you want to go in career-wise, the population(s) you want to work with, general grad school preparation, etc.

[BioCook]

I took 2 years off to work full time in speech research! In my letter of intent, I spoke about the work I did and how that solidified my interests in the field. I'd talk about how that experience will make you a successful candidate (i.e. working with children, dynamic environments, etc.). It seems like a fair amount of applicants come straight out of undergrad, so that already makes you stand out a bit!

[hopefulSLP2Be]

I took a year off and then got accepted to Teachers College, Columbia University. During my gap year I worked as an aide for a young man with ASD. In my SOPs i talked about how the experience further solidified my passion for the field and enabled me to strengthen my time management skills