SLP/Communication Disorders Masters Applicants

[eef9]

Has anyone not heard from Maryland yet? I've only seen a few acceptances on here so far (and a few were to the 3 year program) but someone in my class just heard today about the 2 year program. I checked my application status and I'm still only at the "application COMPLETE" stage. Is anyone else in the same situation? I'm starting to get a little bit unnerved by the seemingly random process they have in sending out their acceptances.

[Ivy1214]

Has anyone not heard from Maryland yet? I've only seen a few acceptances on here so far (and a few were to the 3 year program) but someone in my class just heard today about the 2 year program. I checked my application status and I'm still only at the "application COMPLETE" stage. Is anyone else in the same situation? I'm starting to get a little bit unnerved by the seemingly random process they have in sending out their acceptances.

My friend has not heard anything from Maryland either. I'm assuming her status still says "application COMPLETE" also.

[Hopeful SLP]

Called and couldn't get through to the person I needed to speak to. If anyone figures out how many applied to Rush, please let us know.

[caitlin5661]

My friend has not heard anything from Maryland either. I'm assuming her status still says "application COMPLETE" also.

I'm still at "application complete" for UMD as well -- not a fan of only some people getting notified! As more time goes by I get less hopeful -- I haven't seen any rejections yet, only acceptances, so I have to think that no news is not good news in this case, but maybe I'm being overly pessimistic!

[Kaitjg]

Hello,

Since some people seemed to have questions about UMD, I wanted to share my experience.

First of all, I applied to the 2-year program. I submitted my supplemental application on the last day it was due (01/15). Last saturday (02/11), my status on the website was updated to the anxiety producing 'a decision had been made....the decision letter should be available for viewing in 48-72 hours' message that some other people already posted about. Last night (02/14), after 72 horrible hours of waiting, my letter was finally available. It was a standard letter of acceptance from the University not from the Department. Today (02/15), I got an email from the Department containing a more detailed acceptance letter.

The letter basically said that they are behind on financial aid decisions because they have not received their budget for the next year. They also requested that I make a decision about whether I will attend or not within 30 days. They do offer an extension option which gives me until April 15th, which I will, unfortunately, be using. There is a $300 lab fee due when you accept your spot.

In the letter, they call their acceptance process a "rolling admissions process" so it seems to me that they do not send out one large batch of decisions but instead keep admitting people as spots become available.

I know this probably doesn’t help anyone’s nerves much, but I hope it is somewhat helpful. I don't know much more than what was in the letter but if you have any questions, please let me know.

[SomedaySLP]

Hello,

Since some people seemed to have questions about UMD, I wanted to share my experience.

First of all, I applied to the 2-year program. I submitted my supplemental application on the last day it was due (01/15). Last saturday (02/11), my status on the website was updated to the anxiety producing 'a decision had been made....the decision letter should be available for viewing in 48-72 hours' message that some other people already posted about. Last night (02/14), after 72 horrible hours of waiting, my letter was finally available. It was a standard letter of acceptance from the University not from the Department. Today (02/15), I got an email from the Department containing a more detailed acceptance letter.

The letter basically said that they are behind on financial aid decisions because they have not received their budget for the next year. They also requested that I make a decision about whether I will attend or not within 30 days. They do offer an extension option which gives me until April 15th, which I will, unfortunately, be using. There is a $300 lab fee due when you accept your spot.

In the letter, they call their acceptance process a "rolling admissions process" so it seems to me that they do not send out one large batch of decisions but instead keep admitting people as spots become available.

I know this probably doesn’t help anyone’s nerves much, but I hope it is somewhat helpful. I don't know much more than what was in the letter but if you have any questions, please let me know.

I also got accepted to Maryland's 2-year program, but on Feb. 9th. I submitted my application way back in October, was complete in early December (LORs took longer), not sure if that matters. They seem to send out acceptances in waves. I got the same news about funding and also extended my decision date to April 15th, as funding will probably play a huge role in my decision.

I never received a more specific department email though. Kaitjg, would you mind sending me a copy of what yours said (with any of your personal information removed, of course), so that I can see what it said? Is there an admitted student open house? I was hoping they'd send something, but I still haven't gotten anything and my acceptance was a week ago...

Don't lose hope yet, it's still only mid-February and last year they were still sending out acceptances in mid-March! It's still early

[SomedaySLP]

Congratulations on your 2 acceptances! What is your top pick? If it was between U Maryland - College Park and Towson, which one would you pick?

Thank you! My top pick seems to change all the time, haha. I visited Washington and Vanderbilt and loved both of them, but would need funding to realistically afford either one of them. Between UMCP and Towson, I have no idea! I'm flying out to Maryland in March to visit both, so hopefully I'll have a better idea then. I've never visited either school, but I'm from MD originally and have tons of family there so that's how the schools wound up on my list

Where are you applying? Do you have a top choice?

[kriskros]

It's so frustrating seeing everyone getting interviews at all of the schools I applied to and not hearing anything Definitely becoming much less optimistic.

[Hopeful SLP]

It's so frustrating seeing everyone getting interviews at all of the schools I applied to and not hearing anything Definitely becoming much less optimistic.

hang in there. this is a really tough process!

[lalabooks]

Don't worry kriskros...the same has been happening to me. I've seen people have correspondence from schools that I applied to and I haven't heard anything. Maybe it has something to do with when we sent our apps in? I definitely was close to the deadlines on most of mine!

[SomedaySLP]

Don't worry kriskros...the same has been happening to me. I've seen people have correspondence from schools that I applied to and I haven't heard anything. Maybe it has something to do with when we sent our apps in? I definitely was close to the deadlines on most of mine!

Don't worry too much at this point. Most results don't go out until March anyway.

Lalabooks, what schools are you waiting on?

[lalabooks]

TC Columbia, University of N. Colorado, Montclair, LaSalle, Long Island U, Mercy College, NY Medical College. I did what you said SLP-Allie and looked at the results page from last year and notifications didn't go out till end of March so I shouldn't worry. I feel less and less optimistic each day but I'm sick of even thinking about this process anymore.

How did you hear back from the Maryland schools so early?

[caitlin5661]

Anyone else applying to Chapman?

Totally wasn't aware that prospective students already had a Chapman Gmail... turns out they've been trying to contact me for an interview from a week ago for an interview yesterday! And they miswrote my original email address so I pretty much got nothing. Kinda freaking out because now they think I want to withdraw my application.

And also... boo to very unfriendly and unhappy admin assistants. Making an already stressful process more stressful!

leesta, I applied to Chapman and had an interview today (fingers crossed it went well!). I won't say too much considering this is a public forum and you never know who's reading, but let's just say I had a slightly similar experience... did you try emailing the program chair, Dr. Montgomery? Her email is on the Chapman website. She seems to be very helpful, maybe if you explain the situation she can help get things straightened out?

[SomedaySLP]

Both Maryland schools responded early last year too. Towson offered early admissions to people who applied early in the fall, so I submitted my application there in October and received early admissions. They send out the rest of their admissions based on the response they get from early admits I guess.

I don't expect to hear anything from the other schools I applied to for another three weeks or so. Two of the schools I applied to responded in the last couple of days of March last year. I feel like that's really late when we're supposed to make decisions by April 15th :/

[the_rain_in_spain]

How did you hear back from the Maryland schools so early?

Hi Lalabooks,

I haven't heard back from Towson yet, but I did hear from University of Maryland last week (good news, fortunately!). It seems like some schools respond on more of a rolling basis, and I know I had my applications in pretty early. I was really shocked to hear back so early. Like you, though, I still am sitting tight and waiting for the other schools I applied to...I think it's going to be a while yet, based on the results from previous years.

Good luck!

[redheadedasian]

UGH, I hate this. I start feeling good because I've made some sort of "cut" for Northwestern and Rush, which are probably more selective than most of my other schools. But then I realize I might not get into either, or maybe I'll make the "first cut" at all the other schools but never the final cut. I am really psyching myself out because I did this last year and got in nowhere (without the prerequisites), and in my undergrad applications I got waitlisted at every single one except my "safety school" (where I ended up going and was happy, but still). Actually, I think waitlisting would almost be worse news than rejection. If I have to do the applications again, I will honestly vomit.

RE: Rush, however, my somewhat uneducated opinion is that we're in a group of less than 100 students. I say this because when I called Northwestern to ask similar questions about being invited to the open house, they told me that there were 400 total applicants this year. I would assume way more people apply to Northwestern than Rush, even in a very competitive year. So even if there were also 400 Rush applicants, that leaves us a pretty good chance! I know Rush's current class is in the lower 40s, but at my visit they said it keeps getting bigger than they want. I hope this isn't the year they decide to cut back :/

Edited February 16, 2012 by redheadedasian

[Hopeful SLP]

UGH, I hate this. I start feeling good because I've made some sort of "cut" for Northwestern and Rush, which are probably more selective than most of my other schools. But then I realize I might not get into either, or maybe I'll make the "first cut" at all the other schools but never the final cut. I am really psyching myself out because I did this last year and got in nowhere (without the prerequisites), and in my undergrad applications I got waitlisted at every single one except my "safety school" (where I ended up going and was happy, but still). Actually, I think waitlisting would almost be worse news than rejection. If I have to do the applications again, I will honestly vomit.

RE: Rush, however, my somewhat uneducated opinion is that we're in a group of less than 100 students. I say this because when I called Northwestern to ask similar questions about being invited to the open house, they told me that there were 400 total applicants this year. I would assume way more people apply to Northwestern than Rush, even in a very competitive year. So even if there were also 400 Rush applicants, that leaves us a pretty good chance! I know Rush's current class is in the lower 40s, but at my visit they said it keeps getting bigger than they want. I hope this isn't the year they decide to cut back :/

I hear you. I want to get excited about both Northwestern and Rush, but in the end I know that the applicants we are up against are all amazing, so making it past the first cut just means we are now being compared to the best of the best.

My professor seems to think that considering only 20% of applicants got letters today (if this is true) and the supplemental application seemed to be helpful for little more than a background check, the adcoms are probably hashing out the waitlist v. admit list right now. But this is all speculation--it really isn't helpful until we know what 20% actually comes down to.

Also, ~40 students are enrolled in the entire program. Class sizes are only 22-24, but they admit 50-60.

Edited February 16, 2012 by Hopeful SLP

[buttercupracer]

UGH, I hate this. I start feeling good because I've made some sort of "cut" for Northwestern and Rush, which are probably more selective than most of my other schools. But then I realize I might not get into either, or maybe I'll make the "first cut" at all the other schools but never the final cut. I am really psyching myself out because I did this last year and got in nowhere (without the prerequisites), and in my undergrad applications I got waitlisted at every single one except my "safety school" (where I ended up going and was happy, but still). Actually, I think waitlisting would almost be worse news than rejection. If I have to do the applications again, I will honestly vomit.

RE: Rush, however, my somewhat uneducated opinion is that we're in a group of less than 100 students. I say this because when I called Northwestern to ask similar questions about being invited to the open house, they told me that there were 400 total applicants this year. I would assume way more people apply to Northwestern than Rush, even in a very competitive year. So even if there were also 400 Rush applicants, that leaves us a pretty good chance! I know Rush's current class is in the lower 40s, but at my visit they said it keeps getting bigger than they want. I hope this isn't the year they decide to cut back :/

I don't know when these stats are from, but ASHA lists them as having 183 applications. I also tried calling them twice today but couldn't get through.

Edited to add: They must have more than 183 this year, because a 1/5 of that is 37 people (thanks GRE math!). Does anyone know if they had the two round application process last year?

Edited February 16, 2012 by buttercupracer

[jbw2815]

Did anyone else think the supplemental application for Rush was weird? I don't really get the point of us filling it out...

I was so happy to hear from them today, but now I am freaking out twice as much as before!

[redheadedasian]

I think the point was to let them know we're still interested, and maybe the basic info we provided makes it easier to reference our applications quickly?

[redheadedasian]

I don't know when these stats are from, but ASHA lists them as having 183 applications. I also tried calling them twice today but couldn't get through.

Edited to add: They must have more than 183 this year, because a 1/5 of that is 37 people (thanks GRE math!). Does anyone know if they had the two round application process last year?

I don't know if they had it last year, but they anticipated it this year. I remember referring to the Rush FAQs when I was working on my initial CSDCAS application, and it mentioned that we would be notified for a supplemental application.

[trina]

If I have to do the applications again, I will honestly vomit.

This. I just want to get into one school. I really don't want to apply all over again for the third time!

Also, I wonder why Northwestern didn't send out rejection letters to those who didn't make the first cut. I almost wish they did. I don't like being in limbo. And judging from last year's results, looks like Northwestern kept a lot of people in the dark for the longest time.

I think the only useful piece of information they collected on the supplemental application for Rush is our social security number for financial aid purposes. I was reading forum archives for SLP, and some people mentioned that they received an email from Rush asking for their social security number several weeks before they were accepted/waitlisted. Apparently, CSDCAS doesn't pass on this information.

Edited February 16, 2012 by trina

[Hopeful SLP]

OK, my boyfriend finally called me back with info on Rush--I went to their open house this December and took notes but left them at our apartment. Looks like last year the stats they gave us were 45-50 admits out of 250 applicants. This means 18-20% of students were admitted when they had 250 applicants apply, which means we would all be in (obviously not happening, because they need a wait list).

Northwestern's applicant pool almost doubled this year (225 to 400), so Rush could have had (and probably had) ~425 applicants. (425)(.2) = 85. If 85 were asked to fill out a supplemental application, and 45-50 were admitted, there would be 35-40 on the wait list or rejected. Gah.

Edited February 16, 2012 by Hopeful SLP

[leesta]

leesta, I applied to Chapman and had an interview today (fingers crossed it went well!). I won't say too much considering this is a public forum and you never know who's reading, but let's just say I had a slightly similar experience... did you try emailing the program chair, Dr. Montgomery? Her email is on the Chapman website. She seems to be very helpful, maybe if you explain the situation she can help get things straightened out?

Thanks Caitlin! If you don't mind, I pmed you with some q's about the interview.

[Theasaurus]

Does everyone here think the applicant pool has doubled at most schools this year? I didn't apply to Northwestern, but I'm hoping that school was just a fluke in its significant applicant increase. I can see how the # of apps would increase each year but double??? That's just frightening, especially since schools haven't increased their enrollment. Does anyone know the # of applicants other schools have received compared to the past?

Also, I totally understand the anxiety that comes with not hearing from schools when others have already received acceptances. I noticed someone heard from UGA-Athens in the results via post, and I've been racing home from work everyday since only to find an empty mailbox I guess it didn't help that they received a transcript after the deadline.