SDSU SLP Current Students

[studygal]

Hello! I was recently accepted to SDSU's SLP MA program and was wondering whether there are any current grad students I could talk to about the program  Many thanks in advance!

[lifeispeachy]

I'd love to follow this thread! I was just accepted and I'm really considering going there ?

[jfgslp]

Hi all! Current 2nd year MA student at SDSU here - happy to answer any questions you have. Post them here or feel free to inbox for my email. Best of luck with your decisions!

[lifeispeachy]

59 minutes ago, jfgslp said:

Hi all! Current 2nd year MA student at SDSU here - happy to answer any questions you have. Post them here or feel free to inbox for my email. Best of luck with your decisions!

 

Hey! 

Thanks so much for responding? I have a few questions that seem pretty general so I figure posting them is best!

If you were in our shoes, would you do the program again?

Did you TA/GA during your program and if you did, was it manageable with the workload?

Did you feel like the department was supportive of you in your courses and in your clinical placements? 

 

Thank you so much! SDSU is one of my top choices right now, so I’d love any info/opinions that you have to share?

[jfgslp]

20 hours ago, lifeispeachy said:

 

Hey! 

Thanks so much for responding? I have a few questions that seem pretty general so I figure posting them is best!

If you were in our shoes, would you do the program again?

Did you TA/GA during your program and if you did, was it manageable with the workload?

Did you feel like the department was supportive of you in your courses and in your clinical placements? 

 

Thank you so much! SDSU is one of my top choices right now, so I’d love any info/opinions that you have to share?

If I were in your shoes, yes, I would do the program again. It was the perfect program for me, between the heavy emphasis on cultural and linguistic diversity (I'm finishing the bilingual certificate program) and the active research labs (I intend to pursue a PhD after my CF). I'm also from the northeast originally so southern CA was a big change but I've absolutely loved my time here (especially the weather). Made some amazing friends/future colleagues and have formed great relationships with colleagues. Can't say enough about this. Of course, this all depends on what your interests/goals/etc. are, but I suspect they're pretty in line with the program if you've made it this far (congrats on acceptance! no small feat!).

I did not TA/GA. There are relatively few GA/TA positions, for what it's worth (I think there are 3 or 4 in my cohort). I'm a scholar on one of the US Department of Education training grants the school has (there are currently two to my knowledge: https://education.sdsu.edu/sped/research-projects/project-mainsail; https://education.sdsu.edu/puede), which is an additional time commitment, somewhat comparable to an assistantship position. It definitely takes up a lot of my time (an additional seminar and a one-day school-based practicum). For example, the second year off-campus placements are typically 3-4 days per week (for me, I did 4 days both semester), so this entire second year I've had a full day of placement Monday through Friday (externship M-Th and grant practicum F), not to mention a full courseload on top of that. Compared to some of my classmates who only are at placement 3 days per week, this leaves me with a lot less time. Clearly, though, I'm surviving, so something extra is doable! And a good portion of my class either is on one of the grants, is a GA, or has a side gig (like babysitting). You've gotta do what you gotta do to live - just a matter of what you're willing to sacrifice and what proportion of effort you're putting into your responsibilities (which may certainly waver each week). For example, at first, I ended up spending a lot of my weekends reading articles, studying, and working on projects to catch up for my lack of time to do so during the week, but as the program has gone on... I've learned what I can get away with skimping out on, and be more efficient during the week, and so, have my weekends much more free! 

I was actually typing this in response to your first question before I read your third one - ha - so this is totally candid and honest, not forced at all. The faculty, generally speaking, are all very supportive. Some of my classmates and myself have had tough things in our personal lives that have interfered with our ability to give 100% to school, and in my experience and what I've heard/inferred from others, the faculty is so flexible and works with you. The program is super intense - especially at the beginning when you're being thrown into clinic - and it stays intense (and maybe even intensifies) as you begin off-campus placements (up to 32 hours per week on top of classes), but you totally get used to it. Most faculty, especially as you progress through the program, make the workload pretty manageable. Clinical placement wise, I've had great experiences. I've made sure to advocate for myself (pretty much just telling our clinic director what experiences I want and what I want my career to look like), and for the most part, I've gotten phenomenal experiences focused in the areas that I want.

I hope those answer your questions! I'm always happy to talk about these things so feel free to ask follow-ups  Best of luck!

[studygal]

@jfgslp I messaged you!