SLP/Communication Disorders Masters Applicants

[badger]

I'm more active in a different community, but I occasionally read this thread and saw some Vanderbilt concerns. I did my undergrad at Vanderbilt and didn't like it which is why I didn't apply there for grad school. I toured the facilities and chatted with a couple of current students, so while I have some knowledge of the the program, my opinion of the school is based much more on my undergrad experience. If you have concerns or questions, I'll answer them the best I can. Feel free to PM me as well.

[leesta]

Ouch, got my rejection letter in the mail from Vandy today. Can't win them all I guess I'm pretty confident I'll be going to UW in the Fall, anyone else leaning that way at this point? I'd love to connect with some future classmates before September

Still haven't heard back from most of my schools yet, but as of now my heart is leaning pretty strongly towards UW. I'm sure once I get notifications from the state schools I might think differently, but as of now I'm already looking up places to live on Craigslist

[SomedaySLP]

Still haven't heard back from most of my schools yet, but as of now my heart is leaning pretty strongly towards UW. I'm sure once I get notifications from the state schools I might think differently, but as of now I'm already looking up places to live on Craigslist

Yay potential future classmate! I'm sure the in-state tuition for the CSU's will look lovely next to UW's, but if it doesn't sway you away you'll have to PM me! I'm not very familiar with Seattle, I've only visited once for about three days so any information we can all pull together on best neighborhoods, etc. would be amazing

[kriskros]

http://speechpathology.livejournal.com/600089.html

Not sure if this is where most people have been hearing bad things about Vanderbilt, but thought I'd share.

[jkathleen]

http://speechpatholo...com/600089.html

Not sure if this is where most people have been hearing bad things about Vanderbilt, but thought I'd share.

I think the system messed your link up. Can you maybe give us some keywords that we could use to find it via Google? What's the name of the site?

I'm more active in a different community, but I occasionally read this thread and saw some Vanderbilt concerns. I did my undergrad at Vanderbilt and didn't like it which is why I didn't apply there for grad school. I toured the facilities and chatted with a couple of current students, so while I have some knowledge of the the program, my opinion of the school is based much more on my undergrad experience. If you have concerns or questions, I'll answer them the best I can. Feel free to PM me as well.

Thank you for sharing. If you would feel comfortable stating some specifics about what you did not like, it might be very helpful. Was it the city? Other students? The academics? The level of support from school administration? I appreciate your willingness to share.

[kriskros]

http://speechpathology.livejournal.com/

It's on the speech pathology livejournal site. The thread is titled "Left my MS SLP program and now I regret it"

[pure titanium]

Hello, I’m not sure what type of information you are looking for but here is my take on GW. I am currently a senior in the Speech and Hearing Science department at GW and overall my experience with GW and the department has been great.

The program here is pretty small, I don’t know the exact number of graduate students but I do know I can tell you pretty much every first year grad student’s name, and the professors really take an interest in each of their students. If you are willing to put in the effort, they will do their best to help you succeed. The clinic supervisors are also really great about getting to know each of the clinicians and are very interactive with them, helping them to improve while also supporting their efforts.

Even though the program here is small, there is still some great research going on in a number of different areas. If you are interested in Cochlear Implants, Stuttering, or Autism, GW faculty is tackling some really interesting projects in these areas. There are other projects of course but these are the ones I am most familiar with. The department also has close ties to researchers working in neuroscience and there are ongoing joint projects between the departments.

Right now, the department is really focused on trying to make the program the best that it can be. They have recently expanded their externship program to try and make contacts with more places in the area to help students find a position that really interests them. They have reorganized their clinical tracks to better fit the needs of their clients. They also recently revamped their undergrad curriculum.

On to the downsides, first of all, GW tuition can be expensive and they cannot give everyone funding. Secondly, living in DC, especially around campus, is REALLY expensive in my option. A one-bedroom apartment can cost well over $2000/ month. Most graduate students live in Maryland and Virginia to save money but commuting on the Metro can be a hassle. I would not suggest driving as parking is expensive and the drivers can be crazy. GW doesn’t offer much in the way of graduate housing and what they do offer is not all that nice.

On the brightside, however, DC is a great place to live if you want the opportunities of living in a city but don’t want to live in a highly populated area.

Once again, I don’t know if this is the type of info you were looking for but hopefully it helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

Thank you so much for all that information. It sounds like a good program. The contacts with the staff thus far have been very positive, which seems to go along with your comments. Will be going to the open house in two weeks, but pretty certain this will be the place.

How easy is it to internship in GW Hospital? Do you know if there a voice clinic in the hospital?

Thanks again for all the information. Super exciting!

Edited March 16, 2012 by pure titanium

[jkathleen]

http://speechpatholo...ivejournal.com/

It's on the speech pathology livejournal site. The thread is titled "Left my MS SLP program and now I regret it"

Thank you,

[Kaitjg]

Thank you so much for all that information. It sounds like a good program. The contacts with the staff thus far have been very positive, which seems to go along with your comments. Will be going to the open house in two weeks, but pretty certain this will be the place.

How easy is it to internship in GW Hospital? Do you know if there a voice clinic in the hospital?

Thanks again for all the information. Super exciting!

I hope you enjoy the open house!

I don't know about getting an internship at the hospital but I'm sure it can be done. The faculty in charge of setting up externships work really hard to find a setting for everyone. I do know that the hospital does offer speech and language services as part of their outpatient rehab center and they do work on voice disorders. The GW Speech and Hearing Clinic also has a voice track and the supervisor, Prof.Siegfriedt, is great. Let me know if you have any more questions before or after the open house.

[blondebomb]

Has anyone out there applied to the University of Montana program?

[SLP1129]

Has anyone out there applied to the University of Montana program?

I called yesterday and the secretary said decisions should be out by the end of next week

[honeybee]

Woah! I just read a post in the Speech Pathology Livejournal about the UW-Seattle MedSLP Program. Someone anonymously posted a comment and said to avoid the program at all costs because "this program is way too expensive and the money is truly not worth the BS and the lack of clinical preparation"

Eek! Any thoughts anyone? I really wanna get ahold of a former student from this program now...

Here's the link: http://speechpathology.livejournal.com/603697.html

[NorcalSLP]

Woah! I just read a post in the Speech Pathology Livejournal about the UW-Seattle MedSLP Program. Someone anonymously posted a comment and said to avoid the program at all costs because "this program is way too expensive and the money is truly not worth the BS and the lack of clinical preparation"

Eek! Any thoughts anyone? I really wanna get ahold of a former student from this program now...

Here's the link: http://speechpatholo...com/603697.html

I was a post bacc there and I don't know of anyone who had THAT strong of a reaction to it. I also have friends from my cohort who are in the program now and they seem to enjoy it. I would be careful about trusting anonymous posters. Contact Dr. Spencer and see if she can put you in touch with a current student. That way you will actually know who you are talking to.

[SomedaySLP]

I think the system messed your link up. Can you maybe give us some keywords that we could use to find it via Google? What's the name of the site?

Thank you for sharing. If you would feel comfortable stating some specifics about what you did not like, it might be very helpful. Was it the city? Other students? The academics? The level of support from school administration? I appreciate your willingness to share.

I read those comments on the thread (there used to be more, but looks like a couple were deleted) and they made me worried so I contacted a couple of other people who had gone through the program in recent years (one current student, one former) and they all confirmed the same things: the program clinically is great but they all had problems with classmates, supervisors, and the community in general because they felt they were very closed-minded and "cliquey", among other things. Take that for what it's worth, as all cohorts will be a bit different and it's possible that some people wouldn't have any issue with the social aspect. Congrats to everyone who got in, some potential social issues aside, it seems like an amazing program and the facilities are hard to beat!

[SomedaySLP]

Woah! I just read a post in the Speech Pathology Livejournal about the UW-Seattle MedSLP Program. Someone anonymously posted a comment and said to avoid the program at all costs because "this program is way too expensive and the money is truly not worth the BS and the lack of clinical preparation"

Eek! Any thoughts anyone? I really wanna get ahold of a former student from this program now...

Here's the link: http://speechpatholo...com/603697.html

I started that thread on the livejournal community. I hadn't unscreened the positive comments yet, because I was away from my computer. There are more now, and know that I've received more than one positive private message from current students in the program and am being connected to others to get more feedback, so if you want me to keep updating you on their opinions, let me know and I can try to do that.

One thing that I put on there that I feel is worth repeating here is something one of the clinical instructors explained to me during my department visit late last year. I asked her what kinds of students typically do well in the Med-SLP program and she explained that there have been some students that have NOT done well and insinuated that there may have even been some who didn't complete the program. She said it requires a high level of independence and someone who is a self-starter and self-advocate, as after the first year you have very little connection to the on-campus supervisors and are working with off-site supervisors who might not know your experience level, so you have to be comfortable finding out information on your own through your own research and/or asking lots of questions along the way. She said the Core-SLP program maintains more connection to the on-campus supervisors throughout the two years so people who prefer more guidance and direction in their clinical supervision tend to like that program more. That's not to say supervisors are unavailable to the Med students after the first year, but they are no longer your primary point of contact, I guess.

This was my understanding after the visit, anyone with experience in the program, please feel free to jump in if you agree/disagree with any of that. With all of these opinions coming out about programs, I think it's important that no one base their opinions off of one person's experiences. If you're worried about a certain aspect of a program, ask around and get a variety of opinions. If you can speak with current students, I've found that most helpful. A large part of people's opinions and reactions to different programs will stem from their own personalities, values, and learning styles so what one person hates, you might love, or the other way around. Finding the best fit for you and your own skills/needs/values is most important. Just my 2cents anyway...

[jkathleen]

I read those comments on the thread (there used to be more, but looks like a couple were deleted) and they made me worried so I contacted a couple of other people who had gone through the program in recent years (one current student, one former) and they all confirmed the same things: the program clinically is great but they all had problems with classmates, supervisors, and the community in general because they felt they were very closed-minded and "cliquey", among other things. Take that for what it's worth, as all cohorts will be a bit different and it's possible that some people wouldn't have any issue with the social aspect. Congrats to everyone who got in, some potential social issues aside, it seems like an amazing program and the facilities are hard to beat!

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Congrats on all the great acceptances and best wishes!

[SLP33]

I just discovered this forum yesteday and really appreciate it. I ended up staying in last night and catching up on all these posts. Very informative.

I am still waiting to hear from Vanderbilt! If I don't find anything in Monday's mail, do you think I should contact them?

Edited March 17, 2012 by SLP33

[waldocat]

I'm still waiting to hear from Vandy, too. The email on Wednesday said to contact Lyn Smith if we hadn't heard anything by the end of this week. My mail has come today and still nothing. So should I email Ms. Smith?

[pangea]

I am still waiting to hear from Vanderbilt! If I don't find anything in Monday's mail, do you think I should contact them?

I haven't heard anything either (and I just checked today's mail). I am definitely calling on Monday to check my status. Hey, that's what the e-mail said to do if we didn't hear by the end of this week, right? Although I do feel sorry for them in that they are probably going to get a million calls on Monday

[SLP33]

I read those comments on the thread (there used to be more, but looks like a couple were deleted) and they made me worried so I contacted a couple of other people who had gone through the program in recent years (one current student, one former) and they all confirmed the same things: the program clinically is great but they all had problems with classmates, supervisors, and the community in general because they felt they were very closed-minded and "cliquey", among other things. Take that for what it's worth, as all cohorts will be a bit different and it's possible that some people wouldn't have any issue with the social aspect. Congrats to everyone who got in, some potential social issues aside, it seems like an amazing program and the facilities are hard to beat!

When you say "close-minded" and mention "social issues," I have to ask this question. From what you have heard, do you think it would be difficult to be in the program as one who is openly gay?

[SLP33]

I haven't heard anything either (and I just checked today's mail). I am definitely calling on Monday to check my status. Hey, that's what the e-mail said to do if we didn't hear by the end of this week, right? Although I do feel sorry for them in that they are probably going to get a million calls on Monday

Agreed, I think they are going to kick themselves for that email! I didn't want to annoy them on Friday, but they did say to contact them if we hadn't heard!

[pangea]

Agreed, I think they are going to kick themselves for that email! I didn't want to annoy them on Friday, but they did say to contact them if we hadn't heard!

Yes, I wouldn't want to face the phone and e-mail onslaught from 400+ anxious, overachieveing, type-A SLP students! But the suspense is killing me...so I have to call.

[21starbucks]

I PMed you about the open house.

Yeahh, I laughed when I opened the rejection letter. It came as the same day I heard from Northwestern. My theory is I was either overqualified or didn't have enough prerequisites for their program since it's smaller (I'm a non-major).

Eastern only takes 15 students who did not attend UG there, maybe you just weren't what they were looking for. Its kind of rude to say you laughed because I know a lot of people were upset about not getting in there.

[mscongeniality1]

When you say "close-minded" and mention "social issues," I have to ask this question. From what you have heard, do you think it would be difficult to be in the program as one who is openly gay?

PMed you.

[sonowwewait?]

I was rejected by Vanderbilt, broke my heart. I visited last year, Loved the school, program, and city.

I know SLP's who have attended Vandy they have only glowing reports and comments of their time there.

We never understand why we get accepted at some while rejected by others.

I applied to numerous schools and was accepted at several so I am happy.

Best of luck to everyone. Looks like many of the schools are now sending replies out.

April 15th is my reply date at most of the schools I was accepted at.

Waiting on funding decisions and a open house, before deciding.