Speech Language Pathology graduate school

[chargeta]

Hello all,

So I am going to apply to graduate school for speech language pathology, except I am not sure about the whole process. I went to a liberal arts school and I graduated with a BA and I majored in psychology. Unfortunately, at my school I did not take any courses relatedto Speech Language Pathology (SLP). Was anyone in the same boat as me before they applied to graduate school?

I am thinking of taking USU's online pre-SLP program? Has anyone taken this program before getting accepted into a graduate program? If so, what did you think of the program? Is it manageable while holding down a full time job? What was it like having to take classes online?

Also, do you know of any programs that accept students who have not fulfilled the pre-requisites. I would like to apply to schools solely in NYC, so if anyone has any information about the grad programs at Columbia, NYU, LIU, St. John's, Lehman, Adelphi, etc that would be great!!

Thanks!

[sugarmilk]

Don't worry! Lots of people are in the same boat as you, myself included. Psychology is a related field and should not be a problem when you apply to a SLP program.

Some programs will accept applicants without the prerequisites or with only some (I know NYU and Columbia will for sure) and some require all (or most) of the prereqs to be completed before admission (though you may still be in the process of completing when you apply). You'll need to look at each program individually and see what they expect from you. The prereqs are not even the same across programs so take care to consider that when choosing a leveling program.

The online format seems typical of leveling courses. I don't know about USU in particular. The program I'm enrolled in is part time and the courses are scheduled at night so it is totally possible to maintain a full-time job during. The courses are rigorous but manageable and it is an overall enjoyable experience.

Edited December 17, 2012 by sugarmilk

[Carina25]

Hello,

 

Has anyone attended a Graduate Open House for the University of the Pacific? If so can you tell me about your experience  and is it worth attending if I have a 5hr drive ahead of me? on their website it says they give additional consideration to the applicant who attends so this is why I'm really considering going. But would love to hear from someone who has attended. 

[sunjinro]

Hi Carina25,

I attended the open house/info. session at UOP last December. One of the assistant profs presented some useful information about the 15 and 24 month accelerated programs. She said that they accept approx. 20 applicants for the 15-month, 10 applicants for the 24-month. It's a small program with 25-30 students in class. They have 2 different clinics on campus - one for children, one for adults. Last year's average GRE scores were 149 Verbal, 154 Quantitative, 4.2 Writing. Average GPA was 3.56. They received around 195 applicants. I would say there were about 3-4 attendees who are already undergraduate students at UOP. Applicants for the 15-month long program will most likely be competing with these students. Says you can contact them if you have any specific questions about the application process. At the end, she gave us a tour of the facility. They have a nicely stocked supply room where you can borrow assessments, materials, toys, games, etc. 5 hours is a long drive for this, but if you're going on your way up to UW, you can stop by the open house. It's nice to see their face, have them see your face, ask questions in person, let them know you're serious about grad school and slp. The assist prof definitely stayed later to answer some questions and have a chit chat.

[queenleblanc]

Univ of South Carolina, App State, and ECU accept without pre-reqs.  That usually extends your graduate program by up to 1 year, but you can get in out-of-field without pre-req's.  IF you want to go the pre-SLP coursework route, check Ohio State, USU, and others.  I'm doing mine through Longwood University in VA, all online.  Biggest thing is to check the tuition rates.  I missed the deadlines for OSU (which apparently has a really great tuition rate for out-of-state), so I had to find a program that I could get into, and Longwood had the opening I needed.  I am currently teaching full-time and that is definitely MORE than a full-time job, so you CAN do it.  I would not suggest more than 2 classes a semester unless you are working part-time, however.  I took 10 credit hours over the summer which really helped me out, but the month of May to early June was pure misery as far as the coursework AND working. 

 

There is a community college in NC that has the SLP-A courses (on campus) which actually fulfill some of the pre-SLP coursework (but not all), and if it was close enough for me to go to that comm college, it would have saved me a boat load of tuition money.  You might just get lucky and be close enough to one in your state.  

 

There are other universities that accept without pre-req's.  Some of them will make you take summer courses to catch up.  Beware, if you are taking undergrad level classes while enrolled in grad school, you may NOT be eligible for fed-assisted funding (subsidized stafford loans, etc).  Do check into that.  

 

By the way, I'm also out-of-field.  I'm coming from a music performance undergrad, a master's in teaching music, and 6 years of teaching ... so you're not the only out-of-field.  One program I visited had nearly half of their current SLP students as out-of-field, and they loved the varied experiences in a class like that.  

[scharpe1]

I did USU's post-bac program and was happy with what I learned there. Some classes don't require much time and others require a lot, so how many courses you could take at a time depends a lot on the specific courses. 

 

Also, I know this doesn't apply to you, but for anyone else out there looking for a program that takes students without prereqs, check out Vanderbilt. I'm in their program now and I highly recommend it. There are 17 students in my year and about 10 had no background or prereqs.  I think only maybe 4 of us actually did our undergrad in CSD. But the class above mine is reversed, with only 4 students without a background/prereqs. So the admissions committee seems to judge each applicant individually and not set quotas based on the student's background. 

 

Send me a PM if you have any questions about USU or Vanderbilt. 

[tacomatalks]

I received my postbac. from Utah State. I would strongly recommend the program. The instructors are excellent. I had a B.A in Communications Public Relations before I got my Comm. Disorders postbacc. Good luck! Whatever you do, strive for a 4.0 -- getting into speech pathology grad school is EXTREMELY competitive.  So far, I have not been accepted with my 3.5 postbacc. and 7 years of Speech Assistant experience.  I have applied to 7 different schools, and they all say get a 3.9 first, then apply. So now I am going back and retaking courses that I got a B in.  

[Anuradha Murti]

Hi! I took USU's online program, and I would definitely recommend it. The glasses cover pre-requisite subjects for most grad programs, and the professors and TAs are quite accessible and helpful (and willing to write recommendations for grad school applications). The courses are well-organized, which is a must for an online program to work well. And they are flexible about how long you can take to complete the program - you can take as many or as few courses as you think you can handle in a semester. It's a 2nd Bachelor's program, but they also have a non-degree option if you just need some leveling courses. Some courses have assignments that require you to do things like a phonological assessment of a young child, interview speech and hearing professionals, observe SLPs or audiologists at work, and do oral-peripheral exams on people; you'll need to arrange these yourself as you won't physically be on a campus with its own speech and hearing clinic.

 

Also, the advisor for the Online 2nd Bachelor's Program at USU is wonderful - very courteous, helpful and prompt about responding to emails.

 

I didn't have an undergrad background in speech, either - and my undergrad major was art history, so I'd say you're all right with psychology! I've applied to five colleges for grad school, and so far I have an interview scheduled with one of them.

 

Good luck!

[dtatev]

Hi, I was accepted to the online program in Speech Pathology through Nova. Anyone else is going to the orientation this December?