I am stuck....

[SRod2015]

I am stuck on the schools I should remove from the long list of schools I have.

My background:

I am a post-baccalaureate student. My undergrad GPA was 2.8 and my Communicative Disorders GPA is 3.6. My GRE scores are 150 for verbal, 149 for quantitative and 4.5 for analytical writing.

I have worked and voluteered at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center for a total of 7 1/2 years. I shadowed a group of SLPs at Rancho before I entered the field. As a student, I was active on campus in Communicative Disorders clubs like NSSHLA. I had a leadership position as an Outreach Representative for S.T.A.N.C.E which is a sub chapter of NSSHLA. I don't know if there are other chapters nationwide. I also was a Peer Mentor for the Communicative Disorders Peer Mentor center. I helped comm. disorders students with anything they needed help with.

I am currently an Instructional Aide for a local school district. I work with special education and general education students. I have been an aide for a year.
I also started my own tutoring business where I tutor children in 2nd to 8th grade in Math & English.

I am Asian Indian and have lived in India, Singapore and currently in CA. 

Here is the very long list of schools I have so far that I need to decrease to about 11 to 12 schools:

University of Texas, El Paso, Portland State University, Grand Valley State University, Yeshiva University, Concordia University, Lewis University, Saint Xavier University, University of Montana, Nova Southeastern, Northern Arizona University, Eastern Illinois University, Central Michigan University, Northern Illinois University, Adelphi University, George Washington, University of Toledo, University of South Carolina and Lewis University.

The schools I feel I would be denied from are University of Texas, El Paso, Saint Xavier, George Washington, University of Toledo and Portland State. I would love to get into Portland State because of their emphasis on diversity. Saint Xavier and Portland State look at the last 60 units.

I have applied to Nova, Eastern Illinois University, University of South Carolina and Central Michigan University before.

Which schools will I be denied from?
Any suggestions on where I should apply?
 

[MadisonMachelle]

Not much advice with the schools you listed, but why not any from California since you're a resident there?

[sleepyslp2be]

It sounds like you have a lot of well-rounded experience to support your applications. The only thing that might hold you back is your GPA. You have selected a wide variety of schools that differ in a lot of things (geographical location, size, cost, private/public, etc). So my question is, how did you narrow it down to this list?

I would re-evaluate every school on your list and pretend that that school is the only university that accepted you....would you be happy there? Hopefully that will help you narrow down your choices a little! By the way, I am an undergraduate at Concordia:) I can answer any questions about the school from a student perspective if you'd like. Good luck!

[KEIM]

21 hours ago, MadisonMachelle said:

Not much advice with the schools you listed, but why not any from California since you're a resident there?

I can't speak for him but I'm not applying to CA schools either. They are notoriously competitive and tend to accept their own undergraduates first. If you don't have a competitive GPA ...I'm not sure it's worth the money. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic...am I alone?

[SRod2015]

On 10/10/2019 at 8:07 PM, MadisonMachelle said:

Not much advice with the schools you listed, but why not any from California since you're a resident there?

Hi Madison. CA schools are very competitive. I don't think it would be worth the money. I might try CSU Chico but I am on the fence. I know they look at GPA the most. Maybe a 2nd opinion will change my mind. 

[SRod2015]

On 10/11/2019 at 4:17 PM, sleepyslp2be said:

It sounds like you have a lot of well-rounded experience to support your applications. The only thing that might hold you back is your GPA. You have selected a wide variety of schools that differ in a lot of things (geographical location, size, cost, private/public, etc). So my question is, how did you narrow it down to this list?

I would re-evaluate every school on your list and pretend that that school is the only university that accepted you....would you be happy there? Hopefully that will help you narrow down your choices a little! By the way, I am an undergraduate at Concordia:) I can answer any questions about the school from a student perspective if you'd like. Good luck!

I know my GPA... lol That's a good suggestion to re-evaluate every school. It's good to know you went to Concordia. What do you like best about that university? The tuition is a bit of a concern. 

Edited October 14, 2019 by SRod2015

[SRod2015]

On 10/11/2019 at 5:18 PM, KEIM said:

I can't speak for him but I'm not applying to CA schools either. They are notoriously competitive and tend to accept their own undergraduates first. If you don't have a competitive GPA ...I'm not sure it's worth the money. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic...am I alone?

You are not being pessimistic and you are not alone. I 100% agree. I know some of my fellow classmates are on the same boat. I was recommended by a Professor to try applying to CSU Chico or CSU San Marcos. I might try CSU Chico. Do you have any suggestions on schools I can remove from my list? 

[KEIM]

3 hours ago, SRod2015 said:

You are not being pessimistic and you are not alone. I 100% agree. I know some of my fellow classmates are on the same boat. I was recommended by a Professor to try applying to CSU Chico or CSU San Marcos. I might try CSU Chico. Do you have any suggestions on schools I can remove from my list? 

I don't have any suggestions because I've never gone through the application process. But I have heard of people being rejected multiple times from the southern California csd programs. Maybe northern california would be a better bet?I'm not entirely sure. 

[sleepyslp2be]

5 hours ago, SRod2015 said:

I know my GPA... lol That's a good suggestion to re-evaluate every school. It's good to know you went to Concordia. What do you like best about that university? The tuition is a bit of a concern. 

You can PM me and I'd be happy to talk about it there! In short, I like a lot of things. I have really enjoyed my experience there so far.

[SRod2015]

On 10/14/2019 at 5:58 PM, sleepyslp2be said:

You can PM me and I'd be happy to talk about it there! In short, I like a lot of things. I have really enjoyed my experience there so far.

I PMed you! Thank you. 

[futurespeechpath1]

SXU only denies if your CSD GPA is below a 3.2! If it's above the worst is a waitlist. NIU is pretty competitive tbh but it's worth a shot! My friend got in off the waitlist but declined last year and chose to attend SXU. 

SIU isn't very competitive I know that's not on your list but just throwing it out there!

[CorazonDeSLP]

I had a 3.0 almost 3.1.. ish undergrad gpa and made it into a program. But, my major GPA was 3.7ish & my CSD gpa was 3.97 and I worked 5 yrs in the schools. Depends on the applicant's experiences in speech too! @KEIM

Hm... I used to have a list like that until I had to pay so much.. keeping track of all your transcripts, recommendations apps  in itself felt like a full-time job. Please reconsider reducing to schools you REALLY want to attend. And don't knock yourself from Cali schools. It is possible. 

Edited November 17, 2019 by CorazonDeSLP

[KEIM]

1 minute ago, CorazonDeSLP said:

I had a 3.0 almost 3.1.. ish undergrad gpa and made it into a program. However my CSD gpa was 3.97 and I worked 5 yrs in a school. Depends on the applicant's experiences in speech too! @KEIM

Hm... I used to have a list like that until I had to pay so much.. keeping track of all your transcripts, recommendations apps  in itself felt like a full-time job. Please reconsider reducing to schools you REALLY want to attend. And don't knock yourself from Cali schools. It is possible. 

Depending on my GRE scores, I will probably end up applying to only 2 schools. Right now, my GRE practice scores are super low. I'm not very hopeful. Thanks for all the advice. 

As a stay at home, I'm only looking to attend online programs so I can still take care of my kids during the day. My husband has a good job here in california but we can't move around. I would only be able to apply to CSU schools in southern CA. I'm not deluded enough to think I have a chance at CSUF. lol. 

Edited November 17, 2019 by KEIM

[CorazonDeSLP]

@keim I can relate to the GRE concerns. Writing was my only strength can you share any numbers? or is there any experience or professors who would recommend you as a stellar academic?

[CorazonDeSLP]

@KEIM a well thought out personal statement made a huge difference

[KEIM]

1 minute ago, CorazonDeSLP said:

@keim I can relate to the GRE concerns. Writing was my only strength can you share any numbers? or is there any experience or professors who would recommend you as a stellar academic?

I haven't taken the REAL test. I'm embarrassed to post my practice test scores from ETS (powerprep) publicly. HAHA. Just know that they are abysmal, I have two weeks to at least get my verbal score up a bit. Magoosh was scoring my verbal much higher than I got on the practice test. I have a high GPA from my online 2nd BA in Communicative Disorders. I have secured 3 LORS but it was hard to make amazing connections with online professors.  eeek. 

[KEIM]

Just now, CorazonDeSLP said:

@KEIM a well thought out personal statement made a huge difference

Yeah, that's really the only part I have control of.... I've had a handful of people give me feedback. I'm hoping that it's strong enough to warrant interest in me as an applicant. But there a lot of programs that won't look at your application if you don't meet certain cutoffs. 

[CorazonDeSLP]

@keim I would have applied to Eastern New Mexico & it's online. Call the school and ask if there's a direct cut off! CBU in Cali has no direct cut off or requirement. I've attended their info sessions. They're holistic. BUT still competitive and expensive but they have a ton of resources. The faculty really want you to succeed there and they don't require you to be of a specific religion. I was very set on going there until I got accepted for spring 2020.

Edited November 17, 2019 by CorazonDeSLP

[CorazonDeSLP]

@KEIM I've spoken w Baylor online students who are happy and I have a close contact w someone in Emerson's program (which records your interview through a zoom call). At the end of the day it depends on your interests.. they need to align w the school's. Don't worry about the numbers. Go with what you want and apply. CSUN's faculty is amazing however it is a three year program and I wanted a 2 yr.

[KEIM]

1 hour ago, CorazonDeSLP said:

@KEIM I've spoken w Baylor online students who are happy and I have a close contact w someone in Emerson's program (which records your interview through a zoom call). At the end of the day it depends on your interests.. they need to align w the school's. Don't worry about the numbers. Go with what you want and apply. CSUN's faculty is amazing however it is a three year program and I wanted a 2 yr.

I've heard a lot of applicants that were accepted to Baylor had low gpa/gre scores and still got in. It seems like they look at applicants holistically. I really wanted to apply to CSULA but I missed the application deadline for this year.  thanks so much for all the info. Congrats on getting into Fresno! That's awesome. 

[CorazonDeSLP]

@KEIM I know of some Baylor students w high GPA who also couldn't get in... its all about preference. CSULA has alot of pre-reqs so I did not get in... message the director of the program. She's kind, helpful and very prompt w email responses. 

 

Also-- THANK YOU!!! It means a ton!! 

[MadisonMachelle]

On 11/16/2019 at 7:36 PM, KEIM said:

I've heard a lot of applicants that were accepted to Baylor had low gpa/gre scores and still got in. It seems like they look at applicants holistically. I really wanted to apply to CSULA but I missed the application deadline for this year.  thanks so much for all the info. Congrats on getting into Fresno! That's awesome. 

Hi! The application deadline is January 15! You definitely have time!

[KEIM]

1 minute ago, MadisonMachelle said:

Hi! The application deadline is January 15! You definitely have time!

Ooops I meant CSUN's distance program. My brain might have been jumbled. lol