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SLP/Communication Disorders Masters Applicants


SJS

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That's awesome! Between MGH, Emerson and BU, you have a tough choice ahead of you!

I am deciding between BU and MGH too and it is so hard! I got offered money at both but a little bit more at MGH and it already has a cheaper tuition in general. I am not from the area so I haven't visited either school, know where they are in Boston or really gotten a feel for their programs. Both great schools on paper but I am very conflicted. Does anyone know these schools better and could offer any insights? I am planning on going to the open houses for them which are April 2nd but I wish I could find out more before then.

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That's awesome! Between MGH, Emerson and BU, you have a tough choice ahead of you!

Thanks! It feels really good! I'm 75% sure it's going to be MGH. Emerson is my second choice, and I planned to only accept BU (if I got into the other Boston schools) if they offered me money, which they didn't. Since they were my third choice (and also happen to be the most expensive), it doesn't make sense to go there without financial incentive.

I'm still not sure about the aid situation with Emerson and MGH, but a good package could sway me.

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Thanks! It feels really good! I'm 75% sure it's going to be MGH. Emerson is my second choice, and I planned to only accept BU (if I got into the other Boston schools) if they offered me money, which they didn't. Since they were my third choice (and also happen to be the most expensive), it doesn't make sense to go there without financial incentive.

I'm still not sure about the aid situation with Emerson and MGH, but a good package could sway me.

Have you visited MGH or BU? I'm kind of in the same boat but don't know why I have this gut reaction to want to go to MGH when BU has kind of been at the top of the list in my head the whole time...

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I am deciding between BU and MGH too and it is so hard! I got offered money at both but a little bit more at MGH and it already has a cheaper tuition in general. I am not from the area so I haven't visited either school, know where they are in Boston or really gotten a feel for their programs. Both great schools on paper but I am very conflicted. Does anyone know these schools better and could offer any insights? I am planning on going to the open houses for them which are April 2nd but I wish I could find out more before then.

I live in Boston and have taken courses at MGH and BU, and know their clinics pretty well. I'm happy to try and answer any questions you may have. Send me a message if you're interested!

A side note: MGH is cheaper tuition-per-credit wise, but is actually more expensive in the long run because they require more credits to complete their program. An MGH professor tipped me off on that one.

Edited by FutureSLP
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Got the big envelope from BU this morning. I'm in Oregon.

Congrats!!! I'm also stuck between Emerson and MGH. Emerson is significantly cheaper and I like what I hear about the program but it's hard up MGH. My friend's two cents were "If you're looking to work in the medical setting, placements don't get better than MGH."

I'm still waiting for my MGH envelope (I only got the phone call) to see if maybe, just maybe, I might get some financial help. Emerson hasn't offered anything yet.

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Have you visited MGH or BU? I'm kind of in the same boat but don't know why I have this gut reaction to want to go to MGH when BU has kind of been at the top of the list in my head the whole time...

Unfortunately, no. I haven't had the time or funds to make the trip from Oregon.

I like the idea of BU in theory, since it's certainly a very good program, but there's something about MGH that I'm really drawn to. The people I've spoken to there are very friendly and really helpful, and I always had much more trouble making contact with people at BU. I had some complicated issues with my application, and the MGH faculty were always willing to go out of their way to help me out, and I always got to speak with professors and not a secretary or a work study student. Also, this is just a personal thing, but I'm sick of being at a full university, since I've been working in a large university setting since I graduated in 2008, and I'm wanting to be in the the more professional, grad-student only, setting. Change of scenery.

The research being done at BU is really excited to me, but to be honest I'm really ready to bring the research chapter of my life to a close and focus on the clinic. The reason I switched to SLP was that I decided that I didn't want to do research anymore. From what I understand, MGH is great for medical placements, which is what I want.

Sorry for the ramble...

Edited by tayfray
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how many more are you waiting to hear from?

10 more schools. i know it's competitive-i'm not naive. but i have great GPAs, good GREs and great recommendations. just 1 acceptance would be nice to get soon haha...ugh hate being a downer.

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Congrats!!! I'm also stuck between Emerson and MGH. Emerson is significantly cheaper and I like what I hear about the program but it's hard up MGH. My friend's two cents were "If you're looking to work in the medical setting, placements don't get better than MGH."

I'm still waiting for my MGH envelope (I only got the phone call) to see if maybe, just maybe, I might get some financial help. Emerson hasn't offered anything yet.

Yep, me too. I don't think the chances for me are good in either case, but that's okay. I read that Emerson gives their merit aid based only on numbers (GRE and GPA). My GRE is okay, and I don't have a real GPA, so I don't think I'm really in the running. ;)

I'm holding out hope for the MGH envelope... but so many people have reported finding out about the merit aid by phone that I'm just, you know, trying to stay positive.

-T

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Yep, me too. I don't think the chances for me are good in either case, but that's okay. I read that Emerson gives their merit aid based only on numbers (GRE and GPA). My GRE is okay, and I don't have a real GPA, so I don't think I'm really in the running. ;)

I'm holding out hope for the MGH envelope... but so many people have reported finding out about the merit aid by phone that I'm just, you know, trying to stay positive.

-T

Emerson might give merit aid based on numbers, but ALL of their faculty have the funds to take on grad students as either teaching or research assistants. So even if you don't get merit aid, it is easy to approach a professor about working with them for the semester. Friends of mine that went to Emerson all said it was pretty easy to get paid to work with a professor, and it alleviates some of the cost.

From what I have heard, MGH has limited types of options. Which is infortunate, because I would LOVE to go there, but am not willing to drown myself in student loan debt. :(

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Emerson might give merit aid based on numbers, but ALL of their faculty have the funds to take on grad students as either teaching or research assistants. So even if you don't get merit aid, it is easy to approach a professor about working with them for the semester. Friends of mine that went to Emerson all said it was pretty easy to get paid to work with a professor, and it alleviates some of the cost.

From what I have heard, MGH has limited types of options. Which is infortunate, because I would LOVE to go there, but am not willing to drown myself in student loan debt. :(

Wow, that's an interesting thing to consider...

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Unfortunately, no. I haven't had the time or funds to make the trip from Oregon.

I like the idea of BU in theory, since it's certainly a very good program, but there's something about MGH that I'm really drawn to. The people I've spoken to there are very friendly and really helpful, and I always had much more trouble making contact with people at BU. I had some complicated issues with my application, and the MGH faculty were always willing to go out of their way to help me out, and I always got to speak with professors and not a secretary or a work study student. Also, this is just a personal thing, but I'm sick of being at a full university, since I've been working in a large university setting since I graduated in 2008, and I'm wanting to be in the the more professional, grad-student only, setting. Change of scenery.

The research being done at BU is really excited to me, but to be honest I'm really ready to bring the research chapter of my life to a close and focus on the clinic. The reason I switched to SLP was that I decided that I didn't want to do research anymore. From what I understand, MGH is great for medical placements, which is what I want.

Sorry for the ramble...

Hey, no need to apologize for the ramble, that is exactly what we need to be doing to sort this all out in our heads! I haven't had the first hand experiences that you have with each school but have also heard the same thing about the helpfulness and approachability of MGH. And I think that is a great point about a change of scenery and getting away from the large university setting and into a more professional, graduate student one (although I have never had either so I guess I can only think which I would prefer). I also have felt the draw because of the research at BU since it aligns perfectly with my specific interest (bilingualism) but I also don't know if I really want to focus on research versus focus on working with bilingual clients and in multicultural settings.

The main thing that is stopping me from definitely thinking I want to go to MGH is that I know they have a reputation as "medically" and "clinically" focused and I am not sure I definitely want to follow that path. I would love to explore all options and clinical environments and have always had a draw to kids so I know that working in an educational setting would be a great fit for me at some point in my career. But that being said I also haven't even started grad school yet (I was a Linguistics, Education and Spanish under grad) and would love to have the chance of working in a medical setting. AH I am so confused and I think I should definitely get out there to visit the schools at their open houses but it is nice to talk it out with other people now too.... I am just so excited and want to get it figured out!

Oh and a side note, BU has many more prereqs (I only have 2 so far) and since MGH only has 3 that I have yet to complete I could do those this summer online (I can't go to Boston until the start of the fall semester) and then be right on tract to finish in 2 years.... which means less money over all.

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For those accepted to BU with funding... did your acceptance letter have the funding information in it?

Yes, right in the acceptance letter. Does anyone know anything about negotiation funding with grad schools? I know it is normal to do for undergrad but I have no idea about grad school. Would it be strange or presumptuous to ask a school is they would match my offer at another school?

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Hey, no need to apologize for the ramble, that is exactly what we need to be doing to sort this all out in our heads! I haven't had the first hand experiences that you have with each school but have also heard the same thing about the helpfulness and approachability of MGH. And I think that is a great point about a change of scenery and getting away from the large university setting and into a more professional, graduate student one (although I have never had either so I guess I can only think which I would prefer). I also have felt the draw because of the research at BU since it aligns perfectly with my specific interest (bilingualism) but I also don't know if I really want to focus on research versus focus on working with bilingual clients and in multicultural settings.

The main thing that is stopping me from definitely thinking I want to go to MGH is that I know they have a reputation as "medically" and "clinically" focused and I am not sure I definitely want to follow that path. I would love to explore all options and clinical environments and have always had a draw to kids so I know that working in an educational setting would be a great fit for me at some point in my career. But that being said I also haven't even started grad school yet (I was a Linguistics, Education and Spanish under grad) and would love to have the chance of working in a medical setting. AH I am so confused and I think I should definitely get out there to visit the schools at their open houses but it is nice to talk it out with other people now too.... I am just so excited and want to get it figured out!

Oh and a side note, BU has many more prereqs (I only have 2 so far) and since MGH only has 3 that I have yet to complete I could do those this summer online (I can't go to Boston until the start of the fall semester) and then be right on tract to finish in 2 years.... which means less money over all.

Yeah, I definitely know I want to be in the medical setting. I'm not that interested in peds, but I love adult neurogenics.

You're right about the pre-reqs. That's another thing that was kind of turning me off from BU. I had a problem with getting the Intro to CD requirement, and MGH and Emerson are willing to accept a combination of classes that I already have plus one extra, which I can take here before I move to Boston. I have a faculty tuition reduction since I work at a university, so I take classes for cheap. Plus, I was really looking forward to have the summer open to ease the transition, and it would be real bummer to be taking a class, especially since I've spent the last year and a half taking all these pre-reqs (9 of them).

Edited by tayfray
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Yes, right in the acceptance letter. Does anyone know anything about negotiation funding with grad schools? I know it is normal to do for undergrad but I have no idea about grad school. Would it be strange or presumptuous to ask a school is they would match my offer at another school?

I'm curious about this too. I'm wondering who to contact-- head of the department? Financial aid office?

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Damn, girl. You rocked the application season. Good job! Which are you looking at accepting?

Haha, thanks! I would have considered it slightly more successful if I had received funding from a couple more places, but I guess I will take what I can get.

Right now I'm seriously looking at Vandy, UNC, and Mizzou (simply because they gave me an assistantship, though I don't really have more details about it thus far). I'm going to go visit Nashville at the end of next week and I'll be at UNC's open house the weekend after so hopefully visiting those schools will help me decide which to accept.

PS Congratulations on BU :)

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Has anyone heard anything from Columbia TC yet? Or any news about when they are going to start sending decisions?

Someone posted this on the results board about TC:

Went to visit TC while I'm in the area for NYU Interview Day. Person at the front desk of Admissions said they'd release acceptances next week!
Edited by gretel
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Received my acceptance email to Rush today! Could not be happier.

Still have not heard from Emerson or MGH, but at least I can sleep at night now :).

Congrats! It's the biggests sigh of relief isn't it!

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