How can I prepare for the application process?

[thewonderingduck]

I'm a third year student at the University of Oregon, double majoring in Communication Disorders & Sciences and Sociology. My focus is CDS, but I had enough sociology credits to finish off the major so that's why it is my second major. I currently have a 3.9 CDS major GPA and 3.78 overall GPA, and I hope to keep both of those the same (if not improve them) in the time before I apply next year.

For experience, I worked at a retirement home all throughout high school and college, so I have spent lots of time working with elderly populations. While this job wasn't SLP related (I was a food server and activities coordinator) I did get a ton of knowledge as to how to generally interact with people who have dementia, aphasia, etc. I also spent one summer working as a "summer program coordinator" for elementary and middle school students. While the program was not for any specific population of kiddos, many of the students were very challenging to deal with as they had various behavioral issues/learning disabilities and unfortunately very little access to resources. Again, while neither of those jobs are exactly in the field, I learned A TON from both of them and feel like they could be applicable to CDS. 

For the past year I have been working as an administrative assistant at a private speech and language therapy clinic. While I don't work hands on with clients, I deal with all of the behind the scenes work. This includes contacting patients to schedule, collecting payments, general upkeep of the office, creating supplies for the SLPs, and TONS of work with insurance companies. I spend a lot of time working closely with the SLPs to help them in any way they can, and I have learned a lot about the profession.

I am also in a sorority and have held two big leadership positions. While I know sororities aren't always respected, being so involved with mine has given me great time management, teamwork, and professionalism skills.

I plan on studying for the GRE this summer and hopefully getting decent scores. I also hope to volunteer this summer in more CDS-specific programs, as my advisor told me it would be beneficial to have that on my resume in the application process. Sorry for the lengthy post, but with your knowledge how does it seem like I'm preparing myself to apply for grad school? Is there anything else I should be doing? Should I apply to more or less competitive schools? I have a decent list going right now of schools I want to apply to, and I'd say most of them are middle-tier schools in terms of average GPA and GRE scores. 

I am also happy to answer any questions you all might have about the University of Oregon, my experience, etc. I am new to this website but it seems like such a helpful community and I would like to give back in any way that I can!

[MadisonMachelle]

You'll be 100% fine applying to competitive schools if you get a decent GRE with all of the experiences and the high GPA you have.

[Gatech_ST]

Research Research Research, and network!

I would highly recommend doing research during the summer and at any opportunity you can.

Getting publication is not necessary but it will really help getting into good schools and with research hopefully you can collab with others and get them to recommend you!

 

As for GRE, I highly recommend Magoosh, it was my only resource and I got high grades from it

Edited February 19, 2020 by Gatech_ST

[thewonderingduck]

2 hours ago, MadisonMachelle said:

You'll be 100% fine applying to competitive schools if you get a decent GRE with all of the experiences and the high GPA you have.

Thank you so much for your reply! I worry because most of my experience is not directly related to the field. I sometimes come on this website and feel discouraged seeing how much experience some of the users have doing research, internships, volunteering, etc. in very CDS-specific fields.

Also, I see you have two interviews already - that is awesome! Congratulations and good luck ?

[thewonderingduck]

52 minutes ago, Gatech_ST said:

Research Research Research, and network!

I would highly recommend doing research during the summer and at any opportunity you can.

Getting publication is not necessary but it will really help getting into good schools and with research hopefully you can collab with others and get them to recommend you!

 

As for GRE, I highly recommend Magoosh, it was my only resource and I got high grades from it

Thank you so much for that tip! I had never thought of doing that but I will definitely explore my options for over the summer. And thanks for the GRE tip as well - I am VERY nervous as I haven't taken a math class since high school. 

[amanda_rensch]

I highly suggest doing research. I don't think the subject/topic of the research matters as much as doing it! I have done research and have a published article in the field of Neuroscience. Doing research is communication disorders is obviously great, but doing research in anything, I feel is just as valuable. It's good to be well rounded

[zach2sawc]

I have seen students with about 10% of your accomplishments get into great schools. Make sure to cast a wide net with grad schools, as much as you can afford. I applied to 10 and it cost me about $1200-$1500 but it was worth it. ASHA Ed Find is a great website to find schools with certain requirements and you'd be surprised how low some average GPA & GRE scores are. You are 100% fine and all of your qualifications would most certainly turn some heads. If you have any questions you can ask me! But relax, don't stress, & enjoy your senior year!

[thewonderingduck]

On 2/20/2020 at 6:35 AM, amanda_rensch said:

I highly suggest doing research. I don't think the subject/topic of the research matters as much as doing it! I have done research and have a published article in the field of Neuroscience. Doing research is communication disorders is obviously great, but doing research in anything, I feel is just as valuable. It's good to be well rounded

Thanks for the tip! Where can I find opportunities for research? I have never heard of any but I am also not actively looking.

[thewonderingduck]

On 2/20/2020 at 7:44 AM, zach2sawc said:

I have seen students with about 10% of your accomplishments get into great schools. Make sure to cast a wide net with grad schools, as much as you can afford. I applied to 10 and it cost me about $1200-$1500 but it was worth it. ASHA Ed Find is a great website to find schools with certain requirements and you'd be surprised how low some average GPA & GRE scores are. You are 100% fine and all of your qualifications would most certainly turn some heads. If you have any questions you can ask me! But relax, don't stress, & enjoy your senior year!

You just made me feel much better, so thank you! I met with my advisor last week and she made me feel like I was not at all prepared (why do advisors do that?!?) so I really appreciate more realistic feedback from you. 

 

I do have some questions. With my stats/accomplishments/etc. how many schools do you recommend applying to that are "reach" vs "safety"? I know you mentioned applying to as many schools as I can afford, so now I guess I'm just wondering what my ratio of the type of schools I apply to should be. 

[zach2sawc]

I actually had a conversation with my professor (who is also the undergraduate director @ SIUE) about this recently. He said that most people will apply to 7 or 8 schools with 1 or 2 (at most) reach schools. I was planning to apply to the University of Rhode Island in Kingston but after checking ASHA Ed Find and their website, I saw that they have some pretty high standards and are pretty prestigious. My professor assured me that prestige does not matter. I could graduate at the cheapest school that is ASHA certified and be on the same level as someone that graduated from the most expensive ASHA-certified school. While reach schools are fun, it is key to have a few schools that has GPA & GRE standards around your own. During the meeting he also told me "you would probably trade $100 for a spot in a graduate program any day, so might as well do it before it's too late". After this I added 5 more schools onto my list and I got into a few of them so it worked! My reach school is CU Boulder and I have yet to hear from them but my safety schools are really working out for me! To find good safety schools, I would look at non-popular states on ASHA Ed Find. The east coast, west coast, and southwest are super saturated with applicants from my experience & research so it might be beneficial to look at schools like Minot, North Dakota and Truman State University, Missouri. Boring areas mean easier entry! Sorry for the long response lol, but let me know if I can help in any other way!!

[amanda_rensch]

On 2/26/2020 at 5:57 PM, thewonderingduck said:

Thanks for the tip! Where can I find opportunities for research? I have never heard of any but I am also not actively looking.

One of my professors in Biology that I took classes from and was a TA for her in Anatomy & Physiology for Nursing students, reached out to me to join her research. Sometimes it just comes from a connection to a professor! Don't also hesitate to ask professors if they have anything available!

[amanda_rensch]

On 2/26/2020 at 5:59 PM, thewonderingduck said:

You just made me feel much better, so thank you! I met with my advisor last week and she made me feel like I was not at all prepared (why do advisors do that?!?) so I really appreciate more realistic feedback from you. 

 

I do have some questions. With my stats/accomplishments/etc. how many schools do you recommend applying to that are "reach" vs "safety"? I know you mentioned applying to as many schools as I can afford, so now I guess I'm just wondering what my ratio of the type of schools I apply to should be. 

I applied to 16 schools. Now, most of the schools I applied to are very large and not the easiest to get into, so I made sure to apply to a lot. If I were to do it again, I would narrow my list down a bit, maybe to like 10-12. I wanted to have choices for myself and not be limited in where I could go. Someone on my team applied to only a few grad schools (not for SLP) last year that were too hard and didn't get in anywhere. She spent an extra year in undergrad, just taking random classes.

Downsides to this, was that I probably spent over $1500 in application fees, sending GRE scores, sending transcripts, traveling for interviews, etc. In addition to this, I can't even tell you how many hours I spent doing applications and personal statements. My whole christmas break consisted of this, even Christmas day I was writing. I applied to about 2 safety schools where I knew I would get in and about 4 reach schools, where I think I may not get in. The rest, were just regular options.

I would suggest at least 2-3 safety schools, and like 3-4 reach schools! 

[lifeispeachy]

Sounds like you’ve got a lot of great experiences! I second what’s been said about research, especially if you can find a faculty member to work under that you get along well with. This can lead to a strong letter of recommendation from your faculty supervisor which is really helpful? Definitely start to think about who you’d like to ask for letters of rec as well, and if you are coming up short start building good relationships with professors (going to office hours, participating in class, etc.)

For GRE, I 100% recommend gregmat.com

His videos are free and awesome. The only prep I did for writing was watching his videos and I got a 5 on that section. Definitely a great resource before you go spending tons of money on GRE prep materials. 

Good luck in your senior year and I’m sure you’ll get into a lot of great programs!

[thewonderingduck]

4 hours ago, zach2sawc said:

I actually had a conversation with my professor (who is also the undergraduate director @ SIUE) about this recently. He said that most people will apply to 7 or 8 schools with 1 or 2 (at most) reach schools. I was planning to apply to the University of Rhode Island in Kingston but after checking ASHA Ed Find and their website, I saw that they have some pretty high standards and are pretty prestigious. My professor assured me that prestige does not matter. I could graduate at the cheapest school that is ASHA certified and be on the same level as someone that graduated from the most expensive ASHA-certified school. While reach schools are fun, it is key to have a few schools that has GPA & GRE standards around your own. During the meeting he also told me "you would probably trade $100 for a spot in a graduate program any day, so might as well do it before it's too late". After this I added 5 more schools onto my list and I got into a few of them so it worked! My reach school is CU Boulder and I have yet to hear from them but my safety schools are really working out for me! To find good safety schools, I would look at non-popular states on ASHA Ed Find. The east coast, west coast, and southwest are super saturated with applicants from my experience & research so it might be beneficial to look at schools like Minot, North Dakota and Truman State University, Missouri. Boring areas mean easier entry! Sorry for the long response lol, but let me know if I can help in any other way!!

No need to apologize at all for the long response - I really really appreciate all of the info you gave me! I definitely want to have a wide range of grad school options but I don't have too much room to break the bank in terms of application fees, etc. But that is also a good point from your professor about the "$100 for a spot." What does worry me about what you said is to look at non-popular states, I am from the West coast and not sure how far I want to stray from that, and I am also mainly looking at larger, state schools which I'm not sure if that's a bad idea or not. Below is a list of schools I am looking at apply to, I can obviously remove some or add some to this list before I start applying, but if you (or anyone else reading this) have any insight for these schools and can tell me if this seems like a good range of schools, I would greatly appreciate it!

University of Oregon, University of Montana, CU Boulder, Idaho State University, Washington State University, Western Washington University, University of Northern Colorado, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, University of Minnesota - Duluth, Minnesota State University - Mankato, Portland State University, Michigan State University, University of Utah

 

[thewonderingduck]

 

1 hour ago, amanda_rensch said:

I applied to 16 schools. Now, most of the schools I applied to are very large and not the easiest to get into, so I made sure to apply to a lot. If I were to do it again, I would narrow my list down a bit, maybe to like 10-12. I wanted to have choices for myself and not be limited in where I could go. Someone on my team applied to only a few grad schools (not for SLP) last year that were too hard and didn't get in anywhere. She spent an extra year in undergrad, just taking random classes.

Downsides to this, was that I probably spent over $1500 in application fees, sending GRE scores, sending transcripts, traveling for interviews, etc. In addition to this, I can't even tell you how many hours I spent doing applications and personal statements. My whole christmas break consisted of this, even Christmas day I was writing. I applied to about 2 safety schools where I knew I would get in and about 4 reach schools, where I think I may not get in. The rest, were just regular options.

I would suggest at least 2-3 safety schools, and like 3-4 reach schools! 

That is great, thanks for the insight! Ahh that is my biggest fear - not applying to enough schools and not getting in anywhere. I want to find a good balance of having lots of options but not totally breaking the bank either. I will definitely reserve my winter break for working on applications

[thewonderingduck]

10 minutes ago, lifeispeachy said:

Sounds like you’ve got a lot of great experiences! I second what’s been said about research, especially if you can find a faculty member to work under that you get along well with. This can lead to a strong letter of recommendation from your faculty supervisor which is really helpful? Definitely start to think about who you’d like to ask for letters of rec as well, and if you are coming up short start building good relationships with professors (going to office hours, participating in class, etc.)

For GRE, I 100% recommend gregmat.com

His videos are free and awesome. The only prep I did for writing was watching his videos and I got a 5 on that section. Definitely a great resource before you go spending tons of money on GRE prep materials. 

Good luck in your senior year and I’m sure you’ll get into a lot of great programs!

Thank you so much for the advice! How many letters of rec do schools typically require? I have a decent relationship with one of my CDS professors so I can ask her. I also have the option to ask the SLPs at my work (I'm assuming it would be beneficial to get letters of rec from practicing SLPs?) who I have built great relationships with. 

My next big focuses are the GRE and finding research opportunities, thanks to the advice from everyone on here! This community is awesome

[slptobe!]

Everyone here has great tips!! If I were to add anything (maybe someone mentioned this), when you're writing your PS, ask lots and lots of people to read it. Have people in and out of the field read it and just keep revising, it helped me a lot. I asked people on here, friends, professors/mentors, etc. I would also say in regards to writing the PS, try to add to what you put on your experiences list/resume instead of listing it again. This is one of the most helpful tips a professor told me, because a lot of times they read all these essays and it's just restating everything on the resume that they also have when reading your application. So for the experience(s) you have, talk about what you learned, what you want to learn more about, how it has influenced you to move forward in the profession, etc. 

[thewonderingduck]

26 minutes ago, slptobe! said:

Everyone here has great tips!! If I were to add anything (maybe someone mentioned this), when you're writing your PS, ask lots and lots of people to read it. Have people in and out of the field read it and just keep revising, it helped me a lot. I asked people on here, friends, professors/mentors, etc. I would also say in regards to writing the PS, try to add to what you put on your experiences list/resume instead of listing it again. This is one of the most helpful tips a professor told me, because a lot of times they read all these essays and it's just restating everything on the resume that they also have when reading your application. So for the experience(s) you have, talk about what you learned, what you want to learn more about, how it has influenced you to move forward in the profession, etc. 

Oh awesome, thanks for the extra tip! I will definitely make sure to get lots of eyes looking over my personal statement. That's also great advice to not just restate your resume, I'll make sure I don't do that. thanks again!

[lifeispeachy]

3 hours ago, thewonderingduck said:

Thank you so much for the advice! How many letters of rec do schools typically require? I have a decent relationship with one of my CDS professors so I can ask her. I also have the option to ask the SLPs at my work (I'm assuming it would be beneficial to get letters of rec from practicing SLPs?) who I have built great relationships with. 

My next big focuses are the GRE and finding research opportunities, thanks to the advice from everyone on here! This community is awesome

Almost all schools require three letters of rec. Usually programs look for a minimum of two academic references (PhD level professors, not grad student lecturers) and then the third can be from anyone. CU (my undergrad institution) requires four, and I think a few others might as well. I think it would be great to ask a practicing SLP for a letter, as long as you have at least two professors as well ?

[squirrel_threats]

I think you're good! Your experience is really similar to mine, funnily enough (also a double major with some relevant professional experience). The other extra things I did are volunteering in roles that both are and aren't related to speech pathology. This shows you care about the field and care about helping your community in any capacity. The most valuable advice I've received is to be busy in undergrad. If you didn't work or volunteer 20+ hours, then the programs you apply to have no reason to believe you can stand how hard ave busy grad school will be (this came from the chair of the department at my undergrad school). Also, get a hobby that is totally unrelated. They don't want speech to be your entire life, and neither do you. It's very valuable to say "I love knitting/kayaking/painting/fixing cars/reading/whatever and this hobby kept me grounded through undergrad and I promise to bring it to grad school to keep me grounded then too so I don't burn out and leave."

 

Other, miscellaneous advice based on some of the discussion above:

You need 3 letters. Some schools accept or require a 4th (so, an SLP from your work, a supervisor you've worked for, or a professor from your other program) but don't stress about it. You should do all you can to find your 3 references from your professors - I did 2 SLPs and 1 audiologist. The letters are about your performance in CSD classes thus far and what they know about you that makes them think you'll be successful in even more advanced courses. So it is important that they be your professors. You could maybe do 2 professors and 1 slp from your work, but this might not help you as much as 3 professors. Definitely do not do less than 2 professors. Some schools may even say all 3 need to be professors.

Also, now is the time to start saving money. Applications are brutally expensive. I applied to 6 programs and spent over $1000 on application fees, transcripts, and GRE scores (the cost of actually sending your GRE scores to schools is separate from the cost of the test).

It was around now that I made a google doc and created a page for each school I was interested in. Then added information about tuition costs, scholarship opportunities, application requirements, and any other information. It's impossible to keep it all in your head without mixing up schools. This way, i knew what GRE scores all my schools required before I took the test during the summer, which was so helpful. When you ask for letters at the start of fall, you can have all your schools chosen thanks to your research, start the applications, and send out notifications to your recommendors right after they agree in person to write your letters.

Edited March 2, 2020 by squirrel_threats

[squirrel_threats]

On 2/28/2020 at 1:00 PM, thewonderingduck said:

University of Oregon, University of Montana, CU Boulder, Idaho State University, Washington State University, Western Washington University, University of Northern Colorado, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, University of Minnesota - Duluth, Minnesota State University - Mankato, Portland State University, Michigan State University, University of Utah

 

4 of my 6 schools are on your list above, plus my undergrad school as well! I would say that if you apply to WSU, then apply to EWU as well. The 2 schools share the entire program (professors, clinic, cohort, etc.).

[zach2sawc]

On 2/28/2020 at 3:00 PM, thewonderingduck said:

University of Oregon, University of Montana, CU Boulder, Idaho State University, Washington State University, Western Washington University, University of Northern Colorado, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, University of Minnesota - Duluth, Minnesota State University - Mankato, Portland State University, Michigan State University, University of Utah

 

Unfortunately I do not know much about those schools other than CU Boulder which did (as someone else mentioned) require 4 letters of rec rather than the standard 3. I visited that uni over the summer and I fell in love with it and the area. Unfortunately the out-of-state tuition is murderous so even if I am accepted, I will not attend which is unfortunate. But that list of schools seems very solid! I'm sure some of those are less known (I've personally never heard of Duluth or Mankato), so I do not think you would have a problem getting into most of those!

[lifeispeachy]

Worth mentioning that if you are an Oregon resident, you should qualify for the Western Graduate Exchange Program at CU, which would give you in state tuition there. Boulder is a great town to live in for a while, and the graduate students there seemed pretty happy with the program! 

[thewonderingduck]

17 hours ago, squirrel_threats said:

I think you're good! Your experience is really similar to mine, funnily enough (also a double major with some relevant professional experience). The other extra things I did are volunteering in roles that both are and aren't related to speech pathology. This shows you care about the field and care about helping your community in any capacity. The most valuable advice I've received is to be busy in undergrad. If you didn't work or volunteer 20+ hours, then the programs you apply to have no reason to believe you can stand how hard ave busy grad school will be (this came from the chair of the department at my undergrad school). Also, get a hobby that is totally unrelated. They don't want speech to be your entire life, and neither do you. It's very valuable to say "I love knitting/kayaking/painting/fixing cars/reading/whatever and this hobby kept me grounded through undergrad and I promise to bring it to grad school to keep me grounded then too so I don't burn out and leave."

 

Other, miscellaneous advice based on some of the discussion above:

You need 3 letters. Some schools accept or require a 4th (so, an SLP from your work, a supervisor you've worked for, or a professor from your other program) but don't stress about it. You should do all you can to find your 3 references from your professors - I did 2 SLPs and 1 audiologist. The letters are about your performance in CSD classes thus far and what they know about you that makes them think you'll be successful in even more advanced courses. So it is important that they be your professors. You could maybe do 2 professors and 1 slp from your work, but this might not help you as much as 3 professors. Definitely do not do less than 2 professors. Some schools may even say all 3 need to be professors.

Also, now is the time to start saving money. Applications are brutally expensive. I applied to 6 programs and spent over $1000 on application fees, transcripts, and GRE scores (the cost of actually sending your GRE scores to schools is separate from the cost of the test).

It was around now that I made a google doc and created a page for each school I was interested in. Then added information about tuition costs, scholarship opportunities, application requirements, and any other information. It's impossible to keep it all in your head without mixing up schools. This way, i knew what GRE scores all my schools required before I took the test during the summer, which was so helpful. When you ask for letters at the start of fall, you can have all your schools chosen thanks to your research, start the applications, and send out notifications to your recommendors right after they agree in person to write your letters.

Thanks so much for the advice! I already have a google doc going but I could definitely work on it some more I will keep that in mind about letters of rec as well and saving money to gear up for the application process!

[thewonderingduck]

2 hours ago, zach2sawc said:

Unfortunately I do not know much about those schools other than CU Boulder which did (as someone else mentioned) require 4 letters of rec rather than the standard 3. I visited that uni over the summer and I fell in love with it and the area. Unfortunately the out-of-state tuition is murderous so even if I am accepted, I will not attend which is unfortunate. But that list of schools seems very solid! I'm sure some of those are less known (I've personally never heard of Duluth or Mankato), so I do not think you would have a problem getting into most of those!

That is great to hear about my list, thank you! That is very unfortunate about CU Boulder, I have a feeling I would fall in love with the area as well. I hope the application process is going well for you!