SLP/Communication Disorders Masters Applicants

[schneida]

Gendodge, thank goodness I read your post because I just checked and I also need an "Anatomy of Speech and Hearing" class and the one at USU is called "Anatomy for Speech and Language." The idea of possibly throwing $800 down the toilet makes me really upset. I just emailed the adviser at IU to ask whether that class would fulfill their "Anatomy of Speech and Hearing" pre-requisite course. Let's see what they say...

I've just checked USU's syllabus and even though the book we'd be using seems to cover the hearing system, it is not mentioned in the learning outcomes of the class at all, so maybe it's not covered. Why don't you email Dr. Child and see what he says?

I think that sending them that description would be rude, especially since the syllabus doesn't mention anything about hearing at all and they already told you it wouldn't fulfill that pre-requisite. But if Dr. Child says that hearing is covered, then I'd send them that portion of the syllabus and tell them what he said.

That's exactly what I thought! However, when I sent the syllabus, the program director said it didn't satisfy the anatomy of hearing requirement. Would it be out of place to send her that portion of the syllabus? My first instinct is that that's rude, but it does seem to cover anatomy of hearing, especially in addition to the audiology course I'd be taking! I just do not know.

I'm currently in the USU 2nd bachelors program. I took COMD 3100 last semester and it doesn't cover anatomy of hearing at all (there may have been a few sentences said about hearing, but it definitely did not go in any kind of detail about the ear). I'm in COMD 3400 now. It's called Acoustics and Anatomy and Physiology of Hearing. They use the same book, but 3100 doesn't go over the parts on hearing.

I hope you're able to find a course that combines the two, @gendodge. Good luck!

[NorcalSLP]

Now I'm really worried about my pre-recs. I still haven't received my official letter from NEU so I don't know what the conditions are. I had originally assumed that it was just paying the fee and filling out paperwork but now I'm not so sure. As I mentioned I have a second bachelors in Speech and Hearing Sciences (just got my diploma framed to prove it) with something 65 credits on the subject at least 16 of which were purely audiology classes and at least five more that went in depth into other aspects of audiology. But none that specifically say "anatomy of hearing". I am planning on calling NEU tomorrow to see if I have met all the pre-recs and if not can I send them multiple syllabi. I am probably getting WAY ahead of myself but still....I spent a lot of time, money, and many sleepless nights on my post bacc degree and don't really have the time this summer (I'll be out of the country) to take yet another class. I know I have anatomy of hearing it's just not explicitly stated. Sigh just when I thought all this stress was over.

[Ivy1214]

I'd love to hear how other people are going through the process of making decisions. I feel like everyday I change my mind about where I want to go. What factors play a role in making your decision? Any advice on how to choose without regretting it? Thanks!

Hey SLP1129,

Have you visited the programs you're considering? I've kind of been going crazy this week telling all of my friends they NEED to go visit the schools. A week ago I was 99% sure I was going to a school...I even drove around looking for apartments. Then I attended their open house and it didn't feel right at all! I am SO GLAD I visited instead of packing up and moving halfway around the country just to find out their program was a complete disappointment. So if you can, go visit!!!!

[Amy Phelps]

Not totally online! WKU does have a required on-campus summer bootcamp, before you can complete your externships.

True, but NAU would be every summer for the next 3 years. It'd be nice to have the ability to continue working this summer, but I am excited for either one

[leelan10]

Finally sent my deposit in... I will officially be attending loyola md in the fall!

[snl1472]

Eastern New Mexico decided to not even consider my application because they didn't like the titles of my pre-req courses. None of the other programs I applied to seemed to have any issues with them, so I'm not sure why eastern new mexico is being so picky. I took 30 credits, but some of my coursework fell under an SLPA program so they didn't want to count them at all. I even offered to send my syllabus's but they didn't want it and said I should take an additional 15 credits. So frustrating. Thank goodness I was accepted elsewhere! Beware of those pre-req course titles!

They called me at MIDNIGHT when I was in Mexico rambling about pre-recs too... I called them back when I got home with no answer. Seemed kind of ridiculous to me as well...

[kriskros]

Just received my admittance to Texas Tech via email. I sent in my confirmation to NAU yesterday though. I was pretty surprised! I felt like I bombed the interview with them.

[NorcalSLP]

I finally got my official letter form NEU (they sent it to my old address) and they said I still had to complete pre-recs. I emailed the head of the department but I doubt I'll hear from her before monday. I have a feeling they think I never took anatomy of hearing and that I will have to send them the 4+ syllabi/course descriptions for the classes that covered that. I don't understand how they can think someone who is applying with a bachelors in the subject (especially one that has "hearing" in the title) has not completed all the pre-recs. This is turning out to be a very frustrating process even after all of the heavy lifting is supposedly "done" . Glad I'm not the only one dealing with this pre-rec mumbo jumbo. Although it would be nice if none of us had to deal with it.

[hopeful1234]

Anyone have an idea of when Chapman will let the rest of us know!? It's the last school that I am waiting to hear back from...I'm pretty sure I won't get in but I'd just like to know already. Thanks! <3

[niccig]

Couldn't stand it, called a couple of those oh-so-elusive CSUs today.

• SFSU: "within a couple of weeks"
  
• CSUN: "end of March, early April"
  
• CSULA: will go out by mail starting mid-April
  
• SDSU: "within a week," bless your soul!!
  

Couldn't reach CSUF, I'll try again later.

CSULA sent me an acceptance letter on Monday, so they got them out earlier than mid-April. They want an answer April 15.

I'm at CSUN for pre-CDS program and they told us we should hear week of April 2-7, it's their Spring Break. Grad. students have told me they send an email.

HTH

[MesaSLP]

Just found out I got in to Teachers College. I will be rejecting the offer. Hope this helps someone!

[Klsr2thedge]

I'm currently in the USU 2nd bachelors program. I took COMD 3100 last semester and it doesn't cover anatomy of hearing at all (there may have been a few sentences said about hearing, but it definitely did not go in any kind of detail about the ear). I'm in COMD 3400 now. It's called Acoustics and Anatomy and Physiology of Hearing. They use the same book, but 3100 doesn't go over the parts on hearing.

I hope you're able to find a course that combines the two, @gendodge. Good luck!

Thanks so much for this information, schneida. Hopefully they are more lenient at IU and accept that class as a prerequisite...

[leesta]

Anyone have an idea of when Chapman will let the rest of us know!? It's the last school that I am waiting to hear back from...I'm pretty sure I won't get in but I'd just like to know already. Thanks! <3

I've heard back from them already, but from what I hear they're STILL doing interviews up til April 15th. It seems like they're doing a kind of rolling admissions, which I can imagine makes an already difficult process even more anxiety-inducing. Don't give up hope!

CSULA sent me an acceptance letter on Monday, so they got them out earlier than mid-April. They want an answer April 15.

I'm at CSUN for pre-CDS program and they told us we should hear week of April 2-7, it's their Spring Break. Grad. students have told me they send an email.

HTH

Thanks for the info! I saw on the results board that people have been getting responses, which is great. Makes much more sense instead of having them sent mid-April and requiring applicants to decide by then too.

[the_rain_in_spain]

Hi all!! I wonder if anyone who went to the MGH and/or BU open houses might be willing to share a little bit when they have a chance...I'm very interested to hear what other people's perceptions were! Thanks all!

[Ebeth]

Hi all!! I wonder if anyone who went to the MGH and/or BU open houses might be willing to share a little bit when they have a chance...I'm very interested to hear what other people's perceptions were! Thanks all!

I’m glad you asked this because I am wondering the same thing about BU and MGH!

I went to both open houses yesterday and am happy to share my opinions, but I should say that I walked in a bit biased towards BU to begin with. It is financially better for me and I spent more time at their open house due to time constraints.

They both seem to be great programs – I think there is no bad decision. MGH is a really rigorous program. In addition to the four semesters, you have to complete 2 summer semesters. You can also specialize by taking some extra credits, which is cool. They really emphasize the quality of their clinical placements as they are well connected through the Partner’s Healthcare System. Additionally, the faculty is incredibly distinguished. MGH has a large program, with about 50-55 students, but students said that their program felt smaller and that faculty was always easily available for help and support.

What I like about BU is that as a university with a campus, it offers some resources that MGH doesn’t. For example, there is a library, gym, and on-campus graduate housing. The open house included an extensive tour where different faculty members talked their specialty and/or research, which was really interesting. The students seemed really happy and offered us information and reassurance on everything from prerequisites to finding housing and roommates to clinical placements. Although MGH bragged about their clinical placements, BU had a lot of the same ones. BU’s program is also a lot smaller (usually 25-30 students, although by accident they had 40 last year). BU’s location is also better than MGH’s. It’s pretty centrally located and easily accessible, while MGH is out in the Navy Yard and you have to take the T and then a shuttle. It doesn’t sound too bad and I though it was a nice area, but it definitely takes longer to get there.

I have pretty much decided that BU is a better fit for me, but one thing is throwing me off. Before I even heard back from BU, I told someone who is very knowledgeable that I got into MGH, and she said that if I got into MGH I should definitely go there because it is a GREAT program that really prepares its students well. It was an offhand conversation, so I didn’t get to ask her any specifics and I didn’t mention BU because MGH was much more on my radar at that point. Does anybody have any insight as to the reputation of the programs in this regard? I know they are both wonderful, but Ihave this last nagging question about how people outside of the graduate school setting see them.

Overall, students at both programs said they felt really well prepared, and that the supervisors at their clinical placements were impressed with their knowledge and background. The professors at both also seem friendly, accessible, and distinguished.

I tried to talk to some other prospective students that I noticed had been at both open houses, and everybody seemed conflicted. Some were leaning towards BU and others towards MGH, and some had no idea. It really seems like both programs are excellent and we can’t go wrong!

[the_rain_in_spain]

I’m glad you asked this because I am wondering the same thing about BU and MGH!

I went to both open houses yesterday and am happy to share my opinions, but I should say that I walked in a bit biased towards BU to begin with. It is financially better for me and I spent more time at their open house due to time constraints.

They both seem to be great programs – I think there is no bad decision. MGH is a really rigorous program. In addition to the four semesters, you have to complete 2 summer semesters. You can also specialize by taking some extra credits, which is cool. They really emphasize the quality of their clinical placements as they are well connected through the Partner’s Healthcare System. Additionally, the faculty is incredibly distinguished. MGH has a large program, with about 50-55 students, but students said that their program felt smaller and that faculty was always easily available for help and support.

What I like about BU is that as a university with a campus, it offers some resources that MGH doesn’t. For example, there is a library, gym, and on-campus graduate housing. The open house included an extensive tour where different faculty members talked their specialty and/or research, which was really interesting. The students seemed really happy and offered us information and reassurance on everything from prerequisites to finding housing and roommates to clinical placements. Although MGH bragged about their clinical placements, BU had a lot of the same ones. BU’s program is also a lot smaller (usually 25-30 students, although by accident they had 40 last year). BU’s location is also better than MGH’s. It’s pretty centrally located and easily accessible, while MGH is out in the Navy Yard and you have to take the T and then a shuttle. It doesn’t sound too bad and I though it was a nice area, but it definitely takes longer to get there.

I have pretty much decided that BU is a better fit for me, but one thing is throwing me off. Before I even heard back from BU, I told someone who is very knowledgeable that I got into MGH, and she said that if I got into MGH I should definitely go there because it is a GREAT program that really prepares its students well. It was an offhand conversation, so I didn’t get to ask her any specifics and I didn’t mention BU because MGH was much more on my radar at that point. Does anybody have any insight as to the reputation of the programs in this regard? I know they are both wonderful, but Ihave this last nagging question about how people outside of the graduate school setting see them.

Overall, students at both programs said they felt really well prepared, and that the supervisors at their clinical placements were impressed with their knowledge and background. The professors at both also seem friendly, accessible, and distinguished.

I tried to talk to some other prospective students that I noticed had been at both open houses, and everybody seemed conflicted. Some were leaning towards BU and others towards MGH, and some had no idea. It really seems like both programs are excellent and we can’t go wrong!

Thanks so much! I wasn't able to go to the open houses, so I visited a few weeks ago. I actually loved MGH, but there are many incentives about BU, as you mentioned...smaller class size, the resources of a large university, the location... I also received more funding from BU, so that's a big incentive as well! MGH is definitely really special, though...faculty seems amazing and very invested in the success of the students. I think that you are right in that we can't go wrong! I am also seriously leaning toward BU...

[NorcalSLP]

Dr. O'Neil from NEU got back to me over the weekend (which I didn't expect but appreciated) and confirmed that looking at my transcript it seems like I haven't taken an anatomy of hearing class yet. I plan to send her three syllabi but I am worried about one of them. Unfortunately it is the class that covered the anatomy and physiology of hearing in the most detail. The issue is that the professor who taught this is not all that great with words so the syllabus does not really describe the class (the course description/objectives is a paragraph long). The class schedule is also no help as it makes it seem like we only spent three days on anatomy when in reality anatomy was covered in increasingly complicated detail and the three days were more of an "introduction" (one that we had after already taking four other audiology classes).

I am wondering how to approach this issue should my course work be deemed unacceptable. I honestly think it would dissuade me from attending NEU because A- Taking a class, even an online one this summer will prove difficult as I will be traveling out of the country and B - I chose to go to UW and worked really hard on my post bacc so I would have all of my pre recs done for any school in the country so if they don't accept them it will feel a bit like a slap in the face. Which would be a shame because NEU was one of my top choice programs while applying and I do want to attend. I know I am getting ahead of myself and am a bit of a basket case (it's a really good thing I didn't find this board till after I had heard from schools because if I did y'all would think I was crazy) but I can't help it, I am really worried. Any ideas about what I should do should Dr.O'Neil reject my syllabi?

just to add, the course description for the Hearing Science (the one I am worried about) class is as follows:

This course is a survey of basic concepts related to hearing. The topics covered will include the anatomy and response properties of the ear and auditory nervous system, and fundamental aspects of auditory sensation and perception. The format is lecture with weekly lab. We will be using TurningPoint during lectures to deliver questions on the lecture topic and for pop quizzes. There will be 6 lab sessions.

Would you deem that acceptable?

Edited April 2, 2012 by NorcalSLP

[GandalfTheGrey]

Hi NorcalSLP,

that's a bummer that NEU won't recognize your anatomy of hearing prereq. Will they let you take an undergrad class as a grad student? The only other thing I can think of would be to ask your Hearing Science professor to email Dr. O'Neil so he can hear directly from your professor about the anatomy covered in the course. I'm in a similar situation waiting to hear back from Northwestern about whether my Introduction to Audiology class will fulfill their "Aural Rehabilitation" requirement. Good luck and I hope NEU works out!

[NorcalSLP]

Thanks GandalfTheGrey,

I just heard back from my professors at UW and have all of the syllabi ready to send to Dr. O'Neil (although one of them is the syllabi from this years class (I took it last year) as she keeps only her most recent syllabi online and never gave us a paper copy) so hopefully they will work. I have one class that is a basic audiology class (which covered an intro to ear/cochlea anatomy) one class that was very in depth concerning anatomy and physiology of hearing (the one whose course description I posted above...also the one that is an online syllabi) and one that dealt with the neural basis of hearing. I would have to take the anatomy class before starting graduate work and honestly I know I have the necessary course work so I'd be pretty upset if Dr. O'Neil reject it. I may ask my Hearing Science teacher to email Dr. O'Neil but as she (Dr. Werner) is not really a people person (probably why she is an audiologist who works with 7 month olds...they sleep a lot haha) and I don't want to seem rude or desperate. I may add a "feel free to contact me should you want to get in touch with any of the professors" to my email.

Good luck with your Aural rehab requirement. UW had a separate class for that. It's kinda crazy that course titles mean so much. You would think that the world of SLP is small enough that schools would have a general idea of what is covered in postbacc/undergrad programs at other schools. I hope Northwestern works out for you!!

[snl1472]

Anybody know ANYTHING about Eastern New Mexico??

[speechly]

I just finished notifying schools of my decision to decline admission...whew! I've heard people mention that it's difficult to do, but I hadn't really thought about it until I had to sit down and do it. It was rough! I do hope I've been able to make a couple waitlisted people happy, though!

And now I get to look forward and officially feel excited about grad school this fall! Will anyone else be attending Pacific University's program?

[FutureSLP8]

I received an email today asking for an interview for Cal State Long Beach's special cohort program. Has anyone else interviewed for this program? Any tips or advice for interviewing in general???

[SLP1129]

Is anyone else feeling the stress of having to come up with a way to afford an expensive school? I'm trying to make my decision but it is hard to choose when finances play such a key role. How are you justifying your decision to go to a spendy school?

[jhollyberry]

I just finished notifying schools of my decision to decline admission...whew! I've heard people mention that it's difficult to do, but I hadn't really thought about it until I had to sit down and do it. It was rough! I do hope I've been able to make a couple waitlisted people happy, though!

And now I get to look forward and officially feel excited about grad school this fall! Will anyone else be attending Pacific University's program?

Hi there, I found this board a couple of weeks looking for info about Pacific. I'm headed there too. I'm pretty excited about the program. I think it's going to be great!

[leesta]

Finally got something in the mail from UMass Amherst today!

....it was a $5 refund check, no explanation. I'm guessing they overcharged for their application fee?