Recommendations for Online SLP Prerequisite Programs? (Leveling/Bridge Program) Please!

[cjthax]

Hi,

I did not get my undergraduate major in Communication Sciences. Therefore I need to take the SLP prereqs, and they must be online. I have looked into a few programs, but I would like suggestions from people who have done these online classes. 

Did you have any trouble getting the credits transferred/did your grad school accept the classes you took online (typically they are with a different institution).

 

Thank you

[nejibrain]

I think ENMU is the cheapest (and most popular) online program, but I've heard Utah State is also a good option! Others include UW Eau Claire, Longwood, Idaho State, & SDSU! I'm currently doing mine through UH Manoa but I don't recommend it.

I haven't had any trouble so far with my school accepting my prereqs, but just be sure to keep copies of all your syllabi for your classes in case your grad school needs them! 

[jomyers.online]

21 hours ago, nejibrain said:

but just be sure to keep copies of all your syllabi for your classes in case your grad school needs them! 

This is great advice! I didn't do this in undergrad and wish I had. 

 

@cjthax: make sure that the courses you decide to take match the requirements of the schools you're planning on applying to as closely as possible!

Different programs are going to have different requirements - some as few as 3 or 4 courses, some as many as 9 or 10.  There's really not much consistency between programs as to what prerequisite courses are required, aside from the general ASHA pre-reqs (biological sciences, social sciences, physical sciences, stats). There are programs that might accept you conditionally if you don't have all of the required credits, but they'll likely have you complete the ones you still need before you start the program. Other programs will not consider students that do not have their prerequisites done.

My leveling program was 26 credits, and I feel that I'll be more prepared for graduate school than if I had a shorter prereq program. I don't think I'd have taken this entire leveling courseload if I wasn't absolutely sure that I wanted to attend KU. It was very expensive, so if I wasn't sure which grad program I wanted to attend I would have looked at others that required fewer credits, because it was very expensive. But, because I knew that KU was the place for me, it was worth the investment.

Another consideration is that financial aid can get a little tricky for non-degree seeking students. This can be even more of an expense than taking classes in undergrad if there isn't a degree/certificate awarded for your program, because some students are forced to pay out of pocket or take outside loans. Get in contact with the leveling programs you're considering and talk to them about what the financial aid situation would look like for you when you're making decisions!

The best advice that I can give leveling program students is to get VERY involved with your classes, because there are quite a few grad programs that specifically look for letters of recc from CSD professors. You'll probably be just fine asking for letters from your undergrad professors if you don't plan on attending a full year of leveling classes. If you'll be enrolled for a year or more, though: take multiple classes with the same professors, go to office hours, join (virtual) clubs that your profs are advisors for, and try to see if you can get involved with (remote) research opportunities.

 

-Jo

Edited April 9, 2021 by jomyers.online

[cjthax]

On 4/8/2021 at 3:05 PM, nejibrain said:

I think ENMU is the cheapest (and most popular) online program, but I've heard Utah State is also a good option! Others include UW Eau Claire, Longwood, Idaho State, & SDSU! I'm currently doing mine through UH Manoa but I don't recommend it.

I haven't had any trouble so far with my school accepting my prereqs, but just be sure to keep copies of all your syllabi for your classes in case your grad school needs them! 

 

Thank you so much, very helpful! 

4 hours ago, jomyers.online said:

You'll probably be just fine asking for letters from your undergrad professors if you don't plan on attending a full year of leveling classes. If you'll be enrolled for a year or more, though: take multiple classes with the same professors, go to office hours, join (virtual) clubs that your profs are advisors for, and try to see if you can get involved with (remote) research opportunities.

Hi Jo, thank you so much! I have seen the non-degree seeking classes at most universities are out of my price range. The San Diego State program looked the most affordable but I am still needing to research more and I'll check out the other programs suggested here. But my next question is, I don't think the San Diego leveling program is a year long. Do you think I will have trouble getting letters of rec if the program isn't a full year? My undergrad was too long ago to get letters of rec unfortunately. 

[jomyers.online]

22 hours ago, cjthax said:

I have seen the non-degree seeking classes at most universities are out of my price range. The San Diego State program looked the most affordable but I am still needing to research more and I'll check out the other programs suggested here.

@cjthax, don't rule out taking prereqs at community colleges, if they're offered! CC tends to charge less in tuition. You could also contact advisors for the more expensive prereq programs you're interested in to see if you can qualify for loans/scholarships/tuition assistance.

 

22 hours ago, cjthax said:

Do you think I will have trouble getting letters of rec if the program isn't a full year? My undergrad was too long ago to get letters of rec unfortunately. 

Not all of your letters need to be from professors, but the general rule of thumb is 2 out of 3. Just make sure that this is acceptable for the program you're applying to: there were at least two grad programs that I looked at that required all three letters to be from professors. If the grad programs you're interested in allow it, you could ask a manager or supervisor at your place of employment for one of your letters. Just make sure that this letter writer can speak to how successful they think you'll be as a graduate student and future SLP. You could ask them to write about your work ethic, ability to work with a wide range of clients effectively, effective interpersonal communication with people from a wide variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, etc.

Remember, you'll only want to take the prereqs that match the requirements of the grad programs you're applying to as closely as possible, so it doesn't really matter how long the program is! (i.e., if you're only applying to grad programs that require physics of speech, language development, anatomy&physiology, and phonetics, you're going to go into a lot of unnecessary debt taking a full year of full-time prereq classes.)

That being said, most professors won't even be willing to write a letter for a student that they don't know very well. Not only that, but you want to have strong, personal letters of recommendation, not just template letters. For that reason, I really suggest structuring your leveling program so that you can take multiple classes from one or two professors, even if they're both in the same semester.

I'm not sure if that makes sense, so I'll clarify: let's say you have class 1, 2, 3, and 4. Class 1 is taught by Dr. A or Dr. B, class 2 is taught by Dr. A or Dr. C, and classes 3 and 4 are taught by teaching assistants or grad students. You're really going to want to take class 1 & 2 with professor A, because then you'll have a better chance of making a good impression and getting to know that prof better. 

These are some things to try to improve your chances of receiving a high-quality letter of recommendation. If you want more of my personal opinions on asking for recommendations, this is a blog post I wrote (it's a work in progress but most of the important info is there): https://www.jomyers.online/post/_lors

• visit your professor's office hours regularly
• ask about professional organizations your professor is involved with 
• join student organizations that your professors are staff advisors for
• ask about your professors career trajectory: what steps did they take to get to where they are?
• ask about funding opportunities or scholarships that might be available to you
• this might be cliche, but ask about your professor's research: I'm sure they'd love to talk to you about it. Before you ask, read up on past projects they've been involved in. (You can usually find this information on google or your university's website)
• offer to be a note-taker for students with disabilities in your class
• be a leader and contribute in group work
• send quality and professional emails

 

This is an example of a packet I provided to my recommenders, so that they could speak clearly about me and my experiences (make a copy to make changes): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VOoUShxyVQVncnl2QArAMU8b6Fgb5NawAILsV1hOwG8/edit?usp=sharing

 

This is a really good thread on reddit to read if you want professors' perspectives on when they're willing to write a recommendation letter: https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/lq4pmc/professors_in_which_instances_do_you_agree_to/

 

I know that was a lot of info, so don't hesitate to reach out if you have any follow-up questions!

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by jomyers.online