2013 SLP Admissions Thread!

[hopefulslp88]

Sorry, no online status change . Hopefully you'll get a letter in the mail soon!

 

I hope soo! I feel like we've waited long enough,it's almost April already!

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

Good point--spring break is also a great time to take an impromptu trip out to visit schools.

 

This process is stressful and uncertain enough as it is. It's nice when schools seem a bit more considerate.

 

I do think some of the programs are still reeling from recent years' influx of applicants. I hope they all streamline their processes soon (I suppose CSDCAS is an attempt to do that, but many people have had issues with them; neither of my schools used them, though).

 

I had one school that used CSDCAS, and being in IT, I can totally get using it for transcripts/transcript verification and all of the other standard app stuff that would be the same for all schools. However, I didn't like that it separated me from the school and department for things like SOPs CVs and general communication. I could also see it being used to make MORE work for schools as students could just bombard programs. Maybe programs need to start having earlier deadline, or better yet use a tiered decision, notification, and requisite materials process?

 

Either way, it's rough... and I can't imagine being on wait-lists and putting things off till April, or even May/June!

 

Good luck to everyone out there still waiting, my heart goes out to you!

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

That's all I really hear from the program that I'm currently in. The field is growing rapidly, and there's always the influx of applicants. I think what that shows is they need to adapt a little bit and starting accepting a few more people, to get bigger classes every year. I'm not talking about ten+ people, but five more a year isn't much to ask for. Especially if they realize the growth rate. I hope they do something about this. I really do feel for the people in this forum who I can tell would be great SLPs but haven't heard anything yet.

 

I hope for the best for you! Even though it's 2-3 weeks, the waiting game still sucks. Best of luck!

 

I know this has been said, but I don't think rapidly expanding programs will turn out well. It's not even just about hiring more staff, but also expanding on-campus clinics, partners, placements, and research programs. For densely populated areas this may not be as much of a problem, but for more remote or rural schools there are natural limits before everyone's overall experience suffers.

 

It's also worth noting that in SLP, pharmacology, and other professional programs, a non-trivial amount of growth is purely a function of the current state of the economy. So putting serious money into expanding programs for what may be a temporary state could be a mistake. I was in Neurosci just as the giant NIH funding bubble hit around 2002, and my university had rapidly expanded and had nearly a whole building that they could not fill. 

[midnight]

I had one school that used CSDCAS, and being in IT, I can totally get using it for transcripts/transcript verification and all of the other standard app stuff that would be the same for all schools. However, I didn't like that it separated me from the school and department for things like SOPs CVs and general communication. I could also see it being used to make MORE work for schools as students could just bombard programs. Maybe programs need to start having earlier deadline, or better yet use a tiered decision, notification, and requisite materials process?

 

Either way, it's rough... and I can't imagine being on wait-lists and putting things off till April, or even May/June!

 

Good luck to everyone out there still waiting, my heart goes out to you!

 

Yeah, I think the deadline should be December 1 or December 15 like it is for most other grad programs.

 

I have to say that UVA notified accepted applicants really fast (the last week of February/first week of March after a February 1 deadline); however, they seem to keep everyone else on an unofficial waitlist, which isn't a great method IMO.

[midnight]

I know this has been said, but I don't think rapidly expanding programs will turn out well. It's not even just about hiring more staff, but also expanding on-campus clinics, partners, placements, and research programs. For densely populated areas this may not be as much of a problem, but for more remote or rural schools there are natural limits before everyone's overall experience suffers.

 

It's also worth noting that in SLP, pharmacology, and other professional programs, a non-trivial amount of growth is purely a function of the current state of the economy. So putting serious money into expanding programs for what may be a temporary state could be a mistake. I was in Neurosci just as the giant NIH funding bubble hit around 2002, and my university had rapidly expanded and had nearly a whole building that they could not fill. 

 

I have a feeling that the reasons you listed and more explain why both the schools and ASHA don't seem on board with expanding the programs.

 

And though this is a different scenario altogether, look at what happened to law school grads. The glut of new lawyers coupled with our terrible economy has been incredibly detrimental; there are many JDs who are getting paid next to nothing or who can't find any work at all...and they still have to contend with massive loan repayments.

 

It's rough out there.

[Nebraska19]

I agree with the earlier deadlines. My friends who all applied for grad programs in different fields all had their applications due in November and December. Yet the earliest I had was one school Jan. 15th with the rest having a deadline in February.  If schools know that they will receive a massive amount of applications then they should allow themselves more time to look them over in order to give their accepted students more time to decide where they want to go. I think it would also be a lot less stress for them because they do not have to deal with such a time crunch.

[midnight]

Tay, did you visit Radford? If so, how was it?

[Nebraska19]

Tay, did you visit Radford? If so, how was it?

Yes, I made a last minute road trip to Radford for my spring break last week. I was a little bit hesitant about the school before going as I just did not know much about it, but as soon as I walked on the campus I fell in love with it. The buildings look fairly new and the campus is kept neat and clean. Which is unfortunately quite different from my undergrad institution. It was also spring break there so most of the faculty was gone when we toured the building most of the slp classes are held, but I did meet a few faculty members that were VERY nice. I also really like the Radford area because it is a small town with enough things to do to keep you busy, but with bigger towns close by with even more opportunities  Which is both great for me and my clinical experiences and employment after grad school and my boyfriend as he is a recent college grad and will be looking for a job. Basically, it was a great trip and I feel much better about going there in the fall if I do decide on it (and it looks very likely that I will).

[mystiqueSLP]

Boulder accepted me! OMG, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off of my shoulders.

 

Congrats!!! Super excited for you!   It was your top choice, right?

[midnight]

Congrats!!! Super excited for you!   It was your top choice, right?

 

Thank you!

 

Yes, it's my top choice. It's very likely that I'm going to attend Boulder.

[midnight]

Yes, I made a last minute road trip to Radford for my spring break last week. I was a little bit hesitant about the school before going as I just did not know much about it, but as soon as I walked on the campus I fell in love with it. The buildings look fairly new and the campus is kept neat and clean. Which is unfortunately quite different from my undergrad institution. It was also spring break there so most of the faculty was gone when we toured the building most of the slp classes are held, but I did meet a few faculty members that were VERY nice. I also really like the Radford area because it is a small town with enough things to do to keep you busy, but with bigger towns close by with even more opportunities  Which is both great for me and my clinical experiences and employment after grad school and my boyfriend as he is a recent college grad and will be looking for a job. Basically, it was a great trip and I feel much better about going there in the fall if I do decide on it (and it looks very likely that I will).

 

That's wonderful! I'm so glad you had the chance to check it out.

 

I think it's a good location. You won't be far from Roanoke.

[lele]

Seems a lot of people are hearing from Penn State.. Praying my letter comes soon! Has anyone here heard from them?

 

I just got a letter from them yesterday. I saw that people started getting acceptances on Friday, and I kind of started to worry, but I'm in Boston, so I'm sure that's why it took an extra couple of days. I hope you hear soon! I won't be attending since I want to stay in Boston, but I've heard they have a great program.

[SLPjmar]

Yeah, I think the deadline should be December 1 or December 15 like it is for most other grad programs.

I have to say that UVA notified accepted applicants really fast (the last week of February/first week of March after a February 1 deadline); however, they seem to keep everyone else on an unofficial waitlist, which isn't a great method IMO.

I'm still not convinced that UVA has notified in field applicants. There is a poster on here who attends UVA currently for undergrad, and she has said that she and her classmates have not heard back yet. Very strange.

[obsessedwithSLP]

I just got a letter from them yesterday. I saw that people started getting acceptances on Friday, and I kind of started to worry, but I'm in Boston, so I'm sure that's why it took an extra couple of days. I hope you hear soon! I won't be attending since I want to stay in Boston, but I've heard they have a great program.

 

Congrats & thanks so much! I would love to go there and take their AAC courses. Keeping my fingers crossed. 

[SLPzs91]

I know this has been said, but I don't think rapidly expanding programs will turn out well. It's not even just about hiring more staff, but also expanding on-campus clinics, partners, placements, and research programs. For densely populated areas this may not be as much of a problem, but for more remote or rural schools there are natural limits before everyone's overall experience suffers.

 

It's also worth noting that in SLP, pharmacology, and other professional programs, a non-trivial amount of growth is purely a function of the current state of the economy. So putting serious money into expanding programs for what may be a temporary state could be a mistake. I was in Neurosci just as the giant NIH funding bubble hit around 2002, and my university had rapidly expanded and had nearly a whole building that they could not fill. 

That is a good point. I think I should clarify that I didn't mean keep adding a few people every year. I meant going from, say 25 to 30 people in each program, and keeping it that way. In talking with current professors, that small of a number would not make too much of a difference in most programs because there's room for flexibility based on the amount of people they accept yearly.

 

But I do agree with you that rapid expansion would cause a lot of problem monetarily, research, and training wise. I still do hope they do something about the rapid growth in the field at some point in the near future. Especially with the hypothesized influx of clients that we're going to be seeing shortly.

[SLP1990]

Update for UF applicants, I have confirmed with one of my undergraduate professors that we will be notified this week but she did not indicate whether or not it would be via email or snail mail. Good luck!

[Dutt0058]

Same here. I emailed Dr. Odom asking that question. I'll post the reply when I find out. Another month of waiting...ugh.

Did you ever hear back from Dr Odom?

[powellg2]

I feel like undergrad institutions have to have some responsibility.  As a whole, they graduate way more students than there are seats for graduate school and it's only getting worse.

[SLPtoBEweee]

OMG. Waiting to hear from my undergrad school that is notifying this week, and they keep emailing me about random alumni things. Gah!!!! It's like torture!

[clydeyo12]

OMG. Waiting to hear from my undergrad school that is notifying this week, and they keep emailing me about random alumni things. Gah!!!! It's like torture!

 

Same here! At this point I really don't care about national volunteer day, spring open houses, or my complimentary student access to the NY Times. Give me a decision!! =p

[Nebraska19]

I feel like undergrad institutions have to have some responsibility.  As a whole, they graduate way more students than there are seats for graduate school and it's only getting worse.

That's true. I live in Illinois and there (at least according to ASHA ed find) are two schools that have an undergrad program in speech pathology but do not have a masters degree program. I have said this before, but that just floods the grad market in Illinois and probably the surrounding states, which is why undergrad programs in Illinois are especially pressured to weed out students to the point where they will pressure people who do not have a 4.0 GPA to major in a degree that is "beneath them". At least this is the attitude that my undergrad institution has, and other schools in Illinois from what I have heard. It also doesn't help that undergraduate degrees, and not graduate degrees, is how colleges get their money. Because of that they want to graduate as many undergrads as possible but keep their grad student graduates the same number. While I know that not all people with a CDS degree will go on to speech pathology (there is still Audiology and other career paths people may choose) something really needs to be done about the massive amounts of CDS undergrads schools are churning out. Especially when you factor in people like me, who don't have a CDS degree, are getting admitted into three year leveling programs and taking spots away from CDS undergrads. But that is a whole other issue.

[SLP1990]

Did anyone waiting to hear back from UNC-Greensboro get the email from financial aid? It assigned me a University ID and said that I had outstanding requirements before my aid could be awarded. I freaked out and set up my PIN number and logged in only to find out that the "outstanding requirement" is an acceptance to the school.... my heart can't handle these games anymore!

[Anuradha Murti]

Hi everyone - I've posted this in "Decisions", but it occurred to me that this thread might be a better place for my question. Does anyone know the deadline for accepting an offer from Hunter College? I got an email from the clinic director saying that I'd been accepted (and I'm very relieved and grateful to have one acceptance!). However, he didn't specify a deadline by which accepted students should respond, only asking whether we planned on attending an orientation session. He did say that we would be getting an email from Graduate Admissions. I haven't gotten that email yet, so I called the Admissions office this morning, and was told that my acceptance wouldn't be official until I'd heard from them, and that wouldn't be for another few weeks. They weren't able to give me any info about deadlines.

 

Getting back to my question, I interviewed at Lehman last week and they said that they would send their decisions by the end of the first week of April. I'm happy about Hunter, but I'd like to hear from Lehman before I confirm - in the meantime, I'd like to get back to the professor who emailed me in a timely manner. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I should handle this - should I just ask the professor about the deadline for acceptance?

 

Sorry to sound so clueless. I'm probably making this more complicated than it is, but I'd like to avoid making any missteps, like offending a professor before I've even started school! Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

[queenleblanc]

Did anyone waiting to hear back from UNC-Greensboro get the email from financial aid? It assigned me a University ID and said that I had outstanding requirements before my aid could be awarded. I freaked out and set up my PIN number and logged in only to find out that the "outstanding requirement" is an acceptance to the school.... my heart can't handle these games anymore!

Yah, I got that message to. I am assuming that I am wait-listed at this point since I have heard nothing. The message you're talking about is triggered by filing the FAFSa with the school. My login stuff also says the pending requirement is acceptance. Kind of plays with us, ya know!!!

[SLP1990]

Yah, I got that message to. I am assuming that I am wait-listed at this point since I have heard nothing. The message you're talking about is triggered by filing the FAFSa with the school. My login stuff also says the pending requirement is acceptance. Kind of plays with us, ya know!!!

Definitely brought my heart rate up for a second! These anxiety attacks I have about once a day are almost as good as a cardio workout