Plan B?

[GHW]

Hey folks, If I apply this year, it will be my 4th time applying. I am exhausted from the build up and rejection for 3 years in a row. I'm starting to wonder about a Plan B. But I am not sure what else I could do with a Linguistics degree. Anyone else in this position? What are you thinking of doing?

[meadymalarkey]

Hey @GHW, That's rough! Sorry to hear that it's taken longer than expected. I know a handful of people that have gone through similar things prior to getting into grad school, and it really wore on them over time. Most of them didn't complete prerequisites or had limited life experiences, or picked schools that were more competitive without realizing it. That said, I know at least one person that took 3 tries to get in despite doing well as a CSD undergrad, so sometimes the logic is just absent. It's also worth noting that Covid has changed many things, among them SLP grad programs for the time being. You may have dodged a bullet by being forced to wait it out a bit. 

I am currently in graduate school, but I'm responding because I did a lot of other jobs prior to pursuing speech pathology. Here are but some of the things I did with a linguistics-adjacent interests and a degree: 

• Managed an alternative healthcare clinic
• Web design (taught myself how to code after graduating, and then as needed on the job) and social media management
• Part time PA in an animation studio
• In-house e-commerce manager/UX researcher and designer
• Private tutoring
• Literacy intervention/case management

It was 8 years of confusion and falling ass-backwards into new opportunities between graduating from undergrad and enrolling. I have love/hate relationships with all of those experiences, but I can honestly say that every single one has helped me be a better therapist and collaborator. I can also say that even though people think certain degrees are "useless," every single one of my employers benefitted actively from work I did as an undergrad. In retrospect, I let fear and my imposter syndrome trick me into not negotiating for better situations. Sadly, most don't automatically recognize the economic worth of hiring those who actively explore their interests, and even fewer people seem to understand what linguistic anthropology is, no matter how many times you explain it to them. But I digress. 

While linguistics undergraduates are common in SLP grad programs, the degree of overlap isn't as high as one might anticipate. Depending on your focus, it can be about the same amount of overlap as one would expect going into programming/UX and mathematics, philosophy, sociology/anthropology/cultural studies, education (especially ESL and sp-ed), psychology, neurology, translation/technical writing, etc. Exploring those options may be worthwhile if considering "plan B." If the reason you're wanting to become an SLP is because you felt like it was the most logical next step by default, and you're not especially passionate about working closely with kids, the elderly, and/or people in crisis, I'd take time before committing to reapplying. Being an SLP can be a rewarding and relatively steady job with a lot of benefits, but it's also potentially a lot to carry. You can make more money in other fields with less emotional labor and education, but you'll probably have to spend some time leveling up. 

If you still really want to be an SLP, don't give up. There are definitely things you can do to make yourself more competitive in the meantime. As someone who has dealt with her fair share of grad school rejections and came from out of field, taking a more active approach in addressing the questions below was what ultimately worked: 

• Have you completed prerequisites with good grades (B+ or higher)?
  • Were they the specific prerequisites the schools you applied to asked for?
  • Are they recent (within the last 5 years)?
• Are your GRE scores competitive (if it's needed where you're applying)?
  • Typically 300 or above combined quant/verbal and a 4.5 or above in writing. 
• Do you have any relevant work experiences?
  • These can pertain to a lot of jobs, as long as they're person-centered. You just have to relate it to why it'll make you a good therapist. 
• Are there any populations you're especially interested in servicing that you can find work/volunteer opportunities with?

I'd also try to figure out where it makes sense for you to apply and expand that criteria as much as possible. Often people get in when they broaden their searches (after the aforementioned things are addressed) to out of state. 

Hopefully this helps! Best of luck. 

 

[GHW]

Thank you for your thoughtful answer. I appreciate the depth and breadth that you offer me in consideration of my question. You have given me more to chew on! I'm just about to complete my 4th year of my second BA. I was not going to do a second BA when I started, I expected SLP programs to pick me up! But that hasn't happened. This year I found out that some marks from 20 years ago are still haunting me, bringing down my GPA. Hopefully after this year, they will be history and my GPA will be improved.