SLP grad school dilemma

[fsustar83]

Ok, so I've been taking my SLP pre-reqs at FAU for the past year now, I've taken 5 so far (gotten straight A's) and I'm taking the last 2 right now. I have an undergrad degree in psych from FSU, and my upper level gpa is like a 2.8 (bleh). I also got an AS degree in radiologic technology (x-ray school) after my bachelors, and had a 3.4 gpa. So now that I'm trying to apply to grad school I'm seeing that my undergrad gpa sucks pretty bad in regards to getting in somewhere, my x-ray school gpa doesn't matter in the slightest, and the school i'm taking my pre-reqs at doesn't offer an undergrad degree in SLP so these credits are kind of useless if I don't get into grad school. My options at this point seem to be to: 1. get a second bachelors degree in interdisciplinary studies so that i can use the SLP credits towards a second bachelors degree (in which i'll have a much more competitive gpa, but will have to take 21 credits of other stuff I dont really care about) OR 2. enroll in the online second bachelors degree in SLP program at USF and re-take all the classes I've already taken and got A's in (aside from 2 that they'll transfer). The BA in interdisciplinary studies would take me 2 more semesters to finish, the SLP 2nd bachelors would start next summer and take me 3 semesters to finish. It seems like it would be a good idea to have a bachelors in communication disorders as opposed to a random one, but it seems like grad schools just care more about numbers (gpa & gre scores). I'm just really confused about this, and would appreciate any feedback whatsoever!!!

[caterpillar]

Hmmm. Are you geographically bound to the USF/FSU region? It is not unheard-of for people to move to be able to complete prereqs, if possible. Other options include Utah State's online program (http://comd.usu.edu/) which offers either a bachelors or a post-bacc program. A bachelors in ComD won't do you a whole lot of industry-specific good unless you're in a state that allows SLP assistants, and unless you're independently wealthy (or have someone else footing the bill), doing a whole bunch of non-ComD courses just to fulfill the interdisciplinary degree seems like a waste of money, imo. :/

[fsustar83]

Hmmm. Are you geographically bound to the USF/FSU region? It is not unheard-of for people to move to be able to complete prereqs, if possible. Other options include Utah State's online program (http://comd.usu.edu/) which offers either a bachelors or a post-bacc program. A bachelors in ComD won't do you a whole lot of industry-specific good unless you're in a state that allows SLP assistants, and unless you're independently wealthy (or have someone else footing the bill), doing a whole bunch of non-ComD courses just to fulfill the interdisciplinary degree seems like a waste of money, imo. :/

I'm in south FL now, i'm pretty bound here at the moment. I really don't want another bachelors to be honest, but my undergrad gpa of 2.8 is what all the grad schools will be looking at unless I get a second bachelors or a masters. I wish they'd look at my SLP classes alone, but it doesnt seem to be the way they do things. I am paying for my classes out of pocket... I need a sugar daddy or something to help me out haha.

[caterpillar]

From my understanding, they look at your pre-req grades / weight them more heavily than your non-SLP classes, particularly if you're a student returning after time off from school. Also, as they'll be requiring all of your transcripts, the 3.4 you got in your second degree will help boost your overall GPA. You could pretty easily calculate what your overall GPA is now. Is there an option 3 where you could enroll as a non-degree-seeking student at USF and take the classes that fill in the holes in your pre-reqs? If the online second bachelors' registration isn't solely limited to students enrolled in the program, I imagine that would work.

[fsustar83]

From my understanding, they look at your pre-req grades / weight them more heavily than your non-SLP classes, particularly if you're a student returning after time off from school. Also, as they'll be requiring all of your transcripts, the 3.4 you got in your second degree will help boost your overall GPA. You could pretty easily calculate what your overall GPA is now. Is there an option 3 where you could enroll as a non-degree-seeking student at USF and take the classes that fill in the holes in your pre-reqs? If the online second bachelors' registration isn't solely limited to students enrolled in the program, I imagine that would work.

Thats actually a really good idea, I'll definitely look into that! Maybe its just FAU that wont consider my other GPA's. I just think its crazy b/c FAU is where I'm getting my prereqs from so you'd think they'd weigh theyre own classes heavily. I'm definitely going to apply to other programs and hope they take all of my education into account! The worst that could happen is I get rejected and then end up getting the BA online anyway. Thanks for the advice!!