2013 SLP Admissions Thread!

[queenleblanc]

I turn 30 in May  I'm ok with it because I look like I'm 21 apparently, but I definitely don't feel 21!

 

I get mistaken for being younger a lot - everyone says its because of my skin.  My great grandma is 99 this year, and she has the skin of a 70 y.o., so I'm looking forward to having good skin when I'm much older.  :-)  I also choose not to wear much make-up in general, just eye make up and anti-redness cream, bb cream, and blush to even out my complexion a bit.  I'm freckled, so covering up all of my freckles makes me look over-done like a 12 y.o. playing in mom's make up.   You will appreciate looking 'young' when you are much older!!  

 

On a side note, I am reasonably sure I have 1 or 2 apartments or rental homes on the short list, for every city left on the list.  crazy.  Hopefully I'll find out about something soon!  

[badgerina]

I get mistaken for being younger a lot - everyone says its because of my skin.  My great grandma is 99 this year, and she has the skin of a 70 y.o., so I'm looking forward to having good skin when I'm much older.  :-)  I also choose not to wear much make-up in general, just eye make up and anti-redness cream, bb cream, and blush to even out my complexion a bit.  I'm freckled, so covering up all of my freckles makes me look over-done like a 12 y.o. playing in mom's make up.   You will appreciate looking 'young' when you are much older!!  

 

On a side note, I am reasonably sure I have 1 or 2 apartments or rental homes on the short list, for every city left on the list.  crazy.  Hopefully I'll find out about something soon!  

 

I do as well.  I'm 26, but look about 18-20. I'm built pretty small, which doesn't really help. People have actually started asking me and my sister when we're together which one of us is older.  She's 18, and doesn't look older.  We're planning on messing with the next person to do that, I mean I'm CLEARLY older than my sister.

 

A year or two ago I was out over winter break, and was accused of truancy by some lady.  I was like...say what?

 

To make it better, a few weeks ago I had taught one of the autistic kids I work with (age 9) that he can ask someone how old they are to start a conversation.  Well he didn't take that to mean just kids, but everyone, including middle aged women.  So then I had to teach him that you can only ask kids that, because some older people might be offended.  When asked why, I told him they don't like to feel old. 

Later on, we worked on complimenting others.  He informed me I look like I'm 12.  I asked why, and he said I dunno, I don't know how old you are, and I can't ask old ladies how old they are.  So then I wanted to give you a compliment and make you feel younger!

 

I had nothing to say to that.

[johns672]

I am in the exact same situation. I haven't heard a word and my status has not changed from Complete. Ready to Review. Hopefully, we will hear soon.

 

Glad to hear it's not just me. I wonder if they do decisions in waves like other programs?

[slpf13]

I took organic chem as well, got a C- and was SO HAPPY lol. I was a pre-med major, then switched to Psychology in my junior year. The math & science killed my GPA.

 

I was also a Pre-Med major! That did take quite a hit on my cumulative GPA.  I'm so glad I found SLP while volunteering at a rehab. facility. I was supposed to be observing a fetal/maternal med. doctor, but the volunteer coordinator put me in rehab instead and I fell in "love" with SLP....must be my destiny lol.

 

But, being pre-med helped with a lot of the ASHA pre-reqs (non CSD ones) like biology, chem, physics, stats, calc. & so I don't necessarily regret it.

[SLPjmar]

I'm so tempted to e-mail USF and ask what's going on with the decisions, but I'm scared to even know. 

[megeinstein]

Has anyone been in touch with SDSU or heard about when we're going to get answers from them? I think historically they've given out replies today or Monday...

[IDF_makinmoves]

Has anyone been in touch with SDSU or heard about when we're going to get answers from them? I think historically they've given out replies today or Monday...

 

The SDSU SLHS website says they make decisions mid-March and notify applicants via email early April. We still have a while til we hear back, but I hope this helps!

Edited March 8, 2013 by IDF_makinmoves

[katieliz456]

The "Results" board seems so quiet today :/ I was hoping for some more news before Spring Break...

[SLPjmar]

The "Results" board seems so quiet today :/ I was hoping for some more news before Spring Break...

 

The only things on there today seem to be rejections. Boo. 

[kd0110]

I think if for whatever reason I can't get in this round, I will apply to UCF for spring admission. I'm not really sure about the competitiveness of that program specifically, and I'll probably have to research the school a little bit more. If anyone knows anything about it, please let me know

I just wanted to share what I can about UCF. I really wanted to go there and applied last year and this year. I have a strong GPA, my GRE isn't outstanding but it isn't terrible, I was on my undergrad NSSLHA board, worked during undergrad as a speech-language rehabilitation aide, I received a Bachelors of Health Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in education (from the University of Florida) and after getting my bachelor's degree I began working as a speech-language pathology assistant (for the same company that I was previously an aide). I got a lot of experience working with children and rotated between a private school that specializes in working with students with dyslexia, and I rotated to the private peds clinic and a preschool. I am not trying to ramble of stats or sound snobby...I just wish someone would have given me a realistic perspective. I mean I feel like I am qualified and I am so, SO passionate about this field. But, unfortunately I sit here and cry and can totally relate to what you are going through. I was rejected from all 6 schools I applied to last year. I have an interview tomorrow via Skype...and that is my first and only slight chance that I have had at getting in. I applied to UCF this year for the spring and was rejected...not even wait listed. I do not want to scare you and I know this is just one experience that I have had with that school. Obviously someone is getting in and after researching I really thought I had a better chance of getting in for spring. I recently ran into two girls who are at UCF for SLP grad, and they were sitting next to me at Starbucks stressing and studying for an exam. I realized they were studying artic and I asked them if they were in graduate school at UCF and how they liked it. They both complained the whole time...one was accepted with a business degree and the other had an education degree. So I'm sure the business student had an exceptional GRE and they education student had a flawless GPA. I am not trying to belittle that at all....obviously I wish I was in their position...but it's just completely frustrating and so confusing how and why they choose who they do.

[tlsstc]

anybody know of any online programs where I can take intro to audiology this summer without having prereqs? I just looked at utah states courses and it looks like you need two prerequisite courses before you can take their intro audiology

 

Hi - you could take a look at SUNY New Paltz, Ohio State, and CUNY Lehman is also starting to offer online classes... I think

[SLPjmar]

I just wanted to share what I can about UCF. I really wanted to go there and applied last year and this year. I have a strong GPA, my GRE isn't outstanding but it isn't terrible, I was on my undergrad NSSLHA board, worked during undergrad as a speech-language rehabilitation aide, I received a Bachelors of Health Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in education (from the University of Florida) and after getting my bachelor's degree I began working as a speech-language pathology assistant (for the same company that I was previously an aide). I got a lot of experience working with children and rotated between a private school that specializes in working with students with dyslexia, and I rotated to the private peds clinic and a preschool. I am not trying to ramble of stats or sound snobby...I just wish someone would have given me a realistic perspective. I mean I feel like I am qualified and I am so, SO passionate about this field. But, unfortunately I sit here and cry and can totally relate to what you are going through. I was rejected from all 6 schools I applied to last year. I have an interview tomorrow via Skype...and that is my first and only slight chance that I have had at getting in. I applied to UCF this year for the spring and was rejected...not even wait listed. I do not want to scare you and I know this is just one experience that I have had with that school. Obviously someone is getting in and after researching I really thought I had a better chance of getting in for spring. I recently ran into two girls who are at UCF for SLP grad, and they were sitting next to me at Starbucks stressing and studying for an exam. I realized they were studying artic and I asked them if they were in graduate school at UCF and how they liked it. They both complained the whole time...one was accepted with a business degree and the other had an education degree. So I'm sure the business student had an exceptional GRE and they education student had a flawless GPA. I am not trying to belittle that at all....obviously I wish I was in their position...but it's just completely frustrating and so confusing how and why they choose who they do.

 

I'm really irritated by this whole out-of-field thing. I know at many schools, they accept 35-40 students, and that number INCLUDES the out-of-field students. I don't feel like that's totally fair. Many of us struggled through 4 years of difficult classes (chemistry, 2 A&P classes, etc) for a speech-language pathology degree, and then that works AGAINST us during admissions? If I had majored in something like education, I'm sure my GPA could have been exceptional.

 

I know this is probably an unreasonable anger to have, but I have it. 

[katieliz456]

I'm really irritated by this whole out-of-field thing. I know at many schools, they accept 35-40 students, and that number INCLUDES the out-of-field students. I don't feel like that's totally fair. Many of us struggled through 4 years of difficult classes (chemistry, 2 A&P classes, etc) for a speech-language pathology degree, and then that works AGAINST us during admissions? If I had majored in something like education, I'm sure my GPA could have been exceptional.

 

I know this is probably an unreasonable anger to have, but I have it. 

Yeah, it seems kind of unfair :/ I know that at my undergrad, Speech & Hearing students take some classes that are technically graduate level/500 level-- language acquisition, audiology, aural rehab, and speech science. These classes are combined with grad students who don't have the transfer credit.  I think they should at least recognize that we have already completed graduate level work successfully.

 

I'm also doing a double major in Family & Human Development, and while those classes are fascinating, they are ridiculously easy at my school. If i had just done an FHD major, my GPA would probably be a 4.0!

 

(Random poll: did y'all have to take physics for your undergrad requirements? We had to, and that darn class was even harder than my AP physics class from high school! )

[SLPjmar]

Yeah, it seems kind of unfair :/ I know that at my undergrad, Speech & Hearing students take some classes that are technically graduate level/500 level-- language acquisition, audiology, aural rehab, and speech science. These classes are combined with grad students who don't have the transfer credit.  I think they should at least recognize that we have already completed graduate level work successfully.

 

I'm also doing a double major in Family & Human Development, and while those classes are fascinating, they are ridiculously easy at my school. If i had just done an FHD major, my GPA would probably be a 4.0!

 

(Random poll: did y'all have to take physics for your undergrad requirements? We had to, and that darn class was even harder than my AP physics class from high school! )

 

We had the option of taking chemistry (it was a chem geared specifically towards nursing/pre-med) or physics. I chose chemistry because physics was a nightmare for me in high school. 

[johns672]

I'm really irritated by this whole out-of-field thing. I know at many schools, they accept 35-40 students, and that number INCLUDES the out-of-field students. I don't feel like that's totally fair. Many of us struggled through 4 years of difficult classes (chemistry, 2 A&P classes, etc) for a speech-language pathology degree, and then that works AGAINST us during admissions? If I had majored in something like education, I'm sure my GPA could have been exceptional.

 

I know this is probably an unreasonable anger to have, but I have it. 

 I agree completely. At my school there's such a thing as a 'special student' who just have to take the core SLP classes in order to be eligible for grad school in the field. Most of them that I have talked to have 4.0's in their Comsdis course work. They almost always get accepted to multiple programs. I'm sure that if I had a prior degree and was just taking 2 or 3 core classes a semester, my GPA would have been higher as well. I understand that they worked hard as well as the rest of us who have put in 4+ years on undergraduate work and I'm not negating that. It's just hard to sit back on my 2 rejections and wait around for more decisions while those that have less meaningful educational experience than me get acceptances.

[caterpillar]

The SDSU SLHS website says they make decisions mid-March and notify applicants via email early April. We still have a while til we hear back, but I hope this helps!

 

Well, that's pretty horrible, haha, I've been counting on today/Monday based off of their historical data on TGC, too. I guess I can stop refreshing the results board ... 

[megeinstein]

The SDSU SLHS website says they make decisions mid-March and notify applicants via email early April. We still have a while til we hear back, but I hope this helps!

 

Thanks. Ugh, I was hoping to get news today because that's when they told people last year 

 

On the bright side, apparently UoP is letting people know whether or not they were accepted today.

 

(I feel super not prepared because I only applied to two schools and a bunch of people on this board applied to like ten. My odds of getting into at least one school are lower than theirs.)

[mystiqueSLP]

I'm really irritated by this whole out-of-field thing. I know at many schools, they accept 35-40 students, and that number INCLUDES the out-of-field students. I don't feel like that's totally fair. Many of us struggled through 4 years of difficult classes (chemistry, 2 A&P classes, etc) for a speech-language pathology degree, and then that works AGAINST us during admissions? If I had majored in something like education, I'm sure my GPA could have been exceptional.

 

I know this is probably an unreasonable anger to have, but I have it. 

 

I don't think it's fair to be irritated by the out-of-field thing (I am one). I think you should be irritated by adcoms not looking at the whole picture like the difficulty of the classes you took.

 

I was majoring in biology for 1.5 years before changing to double major in Psych and French. All of the intro science classes at my school are known as the "weed-out" classes. They're designed for you to fail and it was exceptionally hard to do well. The best grade on an exam would be a C (with a curve!) and more than half of the organic chem class failed and had to retake it. Some classes would only give As to 5% of the class despite the fact that more than 5% of the class were deserving of As.

 

My transcript definitely reflects why my GPA is low and I hope these grad programs really read it (especially since I paid $7 for each of those things!) before eliminating anyone with a less than stellar GPA.

 

 

 

Well, that's pretty horrible, haha, I've been counting on today/Monday based off of their historical data on TGC, too. I guess I can stop refreshing the results board ... 

 

I was hoping for some news this week because of the results page as well :/ 

[Nebraska19]

Although I am an out of field leveler, I can completely understand the frustration some of you have with out of field students being admitted. The problem is that the CDS undergrad (at least at my school) is full of required courses that do not have any application to any other job or field besides speech pathology. Also, the CDS undergrad is basically useless because it is full of courses that have no use unless you want to be a speech pathologist, and not a lot of people outside the speech pathology field really knows what communication disorders are. Usually people assume that it is when the radio or television stops working. I'm not even joking. 

 

I had to switch to psychology because I was torn between occupational therapy, school psychology and speech pathology. Each had vastly different pre-req requirements to enter graduate school. A psychology degree would be flexible enough to allow me to fill the requirements for school psychology and occupational therapy and a CDS degree would not. I knew it could still be possible to enter speech pathology, but it may be more difficult and I could not be as flexible with the schools I applied to. I also didn't want to be stuck with a useless degree that nobody had any idea what it was. Through my research I thought that having a 3.8+ GPA would allow me to enter as a leveler without having to complete a post-bac and then try to apply to graduate school and figure out which pre-reqs were required for each school. It doesn't help that I live in Illinois, which seems to be the most complicated state to try and be certified in anything because each school seems to have completely different pre-reqs they need and you need every single freaking one completed before you can apply.

 

Anyway, I thought that I may luck out with my high GPA, but with the 3 wait lists and all the people posting 3.9+ GPA with extremely high GRE scores that are in-field students posting their acceptances I don't know. If I don't get accepted I may have to consider if this is even worth trying to complete a 2nd degree and going through this all again. Maybe I completely screwed up and should switch to school psychology next year because the field is less competitive, ignoring the fact that with the school system being messed up I may not have a job or get quickly laid off...

 

Okay my crazy rant is over. Sorry guys. I am going to clean my apartment to get my mind of this

[travelnguy]

I don't think it's fair to be irritated by the out-of-field thing (I am one). I think you should be irritated by adcoms not looking at the whole picture like the difficulty of the classes you took.

 

I was majoring in biology for 1.5 years before changing to double major in Psych and French. All of the intro science classes at my school are known as the "weed-out" classes. They're designed for you to fail and it was exceptionally hard to do well. The best grade on an exam would be a C (with a curve!) and more than half of the organic chem class failed and had to retake it. Some classes would only give As to 5% of the class despite the fact that more than 5% of the class were deserving of As.

 

My transcript definitely reflects why my GPA is low and I hope these grad programs really read it (especially since I paid $7 for each of those things!) before eliminating anyone with a less than stellar GPA.

 

 

 

 

I was hoping for some news this week because of the results page as well :/ 

I have to agree with MystiqueSLP on this one. I am out of field, well kind of (taking pre-reqs now) and I majored in finance at a top business school as well as London School of Economics. I don't think that those with lower GPAs are any less qualified that those with higher GPAs. I also don't think that it is possible to expect the graduate committees to know how difficult certain programs are at certain schools.

 

I really feel that is why the SOP, GRE, and Rec letters are so important. What I wish is that all Grad programs would do interviews. Many of us are so passionate and knowledgeable about the field beyond what mere grades and scores say. But, it is sometimes hard to show that passion and knowledge when one can only write a one or two page SOP.

 

I feel that those writing on this board are the ones that really want to be SLPs. You all are the ones that I hope to work with one day (assuming someone accepts me into their program) as I am sure that the passion for the profession will go beyond graduation.

 

I wish you all good luck and positive thoughts.

[la912]

I'm really irritated by this whole out-of-field thing. I know at many schools, they accept 35-40 students, and that number INCLUDES the out-of-field students. I don't feel like that's totally fair. Many of us struggled through 4 years of difficult classes (chemistry, 2 A&P classes, etc) for a speech-language pathology degree, and then that works AGAINST us during admissions? If I had majored in something like education, I'm sure my GPA could have been exceptional.

 

I know this is probably an unreasonable anger to have, but I have it. 

i totally agree. If I hadn't had to take Speech science, hearing science, chemistry, and neuro I would have a 4.0 too. And at a few of the schools I applied to, they seem to give priority to out of field applicants. I think it's all about the money. The out of field applicants will have to take a bunch of leveling courses required for the KASA requirements, so the schools will get more money out of them.

[SLPjmar]

To be clear, it's not the out-of-field APPLICANTS that are upsetting me. It's the entire process, and it seems to be a little backwards to me.

[aucinema]

 I agree completely. At my school there's such a thing as a 'special student' who just have to take the core SLP classes in order to be eligible for grad school in the field. Most of them that I have talked to have 4.0's in their Comsdis course work. They almost always get accepted to multiple programs. I'm sure that if I had a prior degree and was just taking 2 or 3 core classes a semester, my GPA would have been higher as well. I understand that they worked hard as well as the rest of us who have put in 4+ years on undergraduate work and I'm not negating that. It's just hard to sit back on my 2 rejections and wait around for more decisions while those that have less meaningful educational experience than me get acceptances.

 

I don't think it's really fair to say that their educational experiences are less "meaningful" than yours, they're just different. Also, in speaking with professors on the admissions committee at my undergrad, I learned that most adcomms certainly DO take into account your major when looking at a GPA and even consider the rigor of your undergrad institution itself. And honestly, while speech and hearing science is a challenging major, it's certainly not the toughest out there by any means and I think many students come to speech from even more challenging majors like pre-med or bio or neuro. I applaud them and am happy to see students from those fields show interest in our field. 

 

Anyway, long story short, you can make guesses about other people's applications, but you never get to actually see them so you don't know what else it is that makes them appealing. Maybe their SOPs are better, maybe they have stellar GREs, maybe their letters are even more glowing than yours, maybe they have other life experiences that make them better candidates. You really just don't know and it's unfair to make assumptions. 

[Nebraska19]

It just doesn't make sense to me that it is still required to have a certain degree to enter most grad programs in speech pathology when not all schools offer the degree. It would make more sense to make it more like occupational therapy where you can major in anything you want (within reason) and take the pre-reqs of Psychology, Biology and other social/hard sciences needed to enter the grad program. OT is basically three years and SLP is that too if you do not have any pre-reqs done. It just does not make any sense to me to have an entire major devoted to taking a bunch of classes that only will help you if you become a SLP and if you don't get into grad school or want to change career paths when it is too late to change majors, what can you do with the degree? Also what about a person who has a 4 year scholarship at a school or is stuck at a school where the CDS degree is not offered, they are in an unfair position. Not to mention the fact that Illinois has two schools that offer a CDS undergrad, but not a graduate program. As an Illinois resident that really ticks me off because it just floods the market and makes it even harder to get a grad spot in the state. I like the people in SLP but the school administration and profs. are ticking me off with the attitude that only a person with a 4.0 GPA and extremely high GRE scores can be speech paths. Nothing else seems to matter to them. At least that is the attitude most schools seem to have...

 

Or maybe it's just me...

[SLPjmar]

It just doesn't make sense to me that it is still required to have a certain degree to enter most grad programs in speech pathology when not all schools offer the degree. It would make more sense to make it more like occupational therapy where you can major in anything you want (within reason) and take the pre-reqs of Psychology, Biology and other social/hard sciences needed to enter the grad program. OT is basically three years and SLP is that too if you do not have any pre-reqs done. It just does not make any sense to me to have an entire major devoted to taking a bunch of classes that only will help you if you become a SLP and if you don't get into grad school or want to change career paths when it is too late to change majors, what can you do with the degree? Also what about a person who has a 4 year scholarship at a school or is stuck at a school where the CDS degree is not offered, they are in an unfair position. Not to mention the fact that Illinois has two schools that offer a CDS undergrad, but not a graduate program. As an Illinois resident that really ticks me off because it just floods the market and makes it even harder to get a grad spot in the state. I like the people in SLP but the school administration and profs. are ticking me off with the attitude that only a person with a 4.0 GPA and extremely high GRE scores can be speech paths. Nothing else seems to matter to them. At least that is the attitude most schools seem to have...

Or maybe it's just me...

I completely agree with this. If for whatever reason I am not accepted to grad school, what am I supposed to do with a degree in SLP? I think having a more broad spectrum of degrees and classes makes sense.