Fall 2014 Newbie Talk

[SLPeechHopeful]

@sayjo   thanks! I'll be sure to take a look at those and send it to the person that asked me.

 

@lululuna  have you looked at the results search on this page? you can search by school/ major (just put them in the search bar) and you can see some stats from ppl that were accepted or rejected over the past years. just look for the red diamond and hover over it. Not all people post their stats though, or they will in the comments.

[NCAR823]

Anyone with any insight on the UNC- CH program? It has caught my interest these last few weeks and would love further insight from anyone who knows the program well.

[erdestromp]

Hi all,

 

I'm applying to all Washington schools as well as PSU, Pacific, and Idaho State. (That's a lot, I know!) I picked them for their location, close to home, and also for their neurogenic areas of research. I hope to go into geriatrics someday. I'll be taking my GRE's mid September and studying for them like crazy to hopefully balance out my mediocre GPA (3.5 undergrad and major) I've never had poor grades, but have worked 1-3 jobs while in school as well as being a university athlete. My biggest worry for applications is the SOP! I am not a strong writer by any means but can sure nail an interview. I'm worried I can't get my personality and drive in an essay while still maintaining professionalism and staying in the general SOP boundaries. I've just been asking professors and admitted students questions left and right and hopefully I'll figure it out in the next few months

[lululuna]

@ SLPeechopeful- Thank you for the info. I have already checked out the results page and I must say....GOOD LORD IS IT ADDICTIVE! Haha. Good information, but I have to remind myself that it is not all encompassing. There is still hope! haha

[sayjo]

I just committed to a GRE date - August 9th.  Eeek!  The pressure is really on now!

 

@erdestromp,

Are you close with any professors in the English department at your school?  If you are, they would probably be a great resource to help you with your SOP.  I would write up a rough draft (or two) and set up an appointment to have them read over it with you.  They'll definitely make sure that your paper is concise an on-topic!

Edited July 22, 2013 by sayjo

[erdestromp]

@ sayjo,

 

I'm definitely not-I tried to avoid English encounters as much as possible :/

That being said, I know we have a great writing help center which I intend to take too much advantage of. All these ideas and somehow they have to be on paper and make sense! 

 

Good luck for the GRE's! 

[yumangous]

@erdestromp Hi! I'll be applying to Washington State University. Let's get in touch in the future especially while waiting for the results! That's gonna be nerve-wracking. Haha.  

 

@sayjo Mine is on the 16th! Best of luck to us!

 

@SLPeechHopeful Nice blog! Really informative Goodjob!

[SLPeechHopeful]

@lululuna    I knowww! It's extremely addictive... and some of the results are crazy. Some with 3.2 get in while others with 3.8 don't or that have like 100+ volunteer hours. But yeah, it's good to remember that those on the results page aren't all encompassing! 

 

@yumangous   Thanks! It's lots of work, but worth it, especially since I know it'll help others!

Edited July 24, 2013 by SLPeechHopeful

[justkeepsmiling]

 

Hi everyone!

I'm a current senior (eek!) at Iona College in New York and I'll be applying in the fall for grad school! I'm super nervous, as my GPA isn't the best and while I have lots of research, volunteer work, lots of club involvement and all those pretty resume boosters, my biggest concern is that there will be once glance at my numbers and that's it.  So currently, I'm studying like mad for the GRE and I'm hoping to score well on that to balance out the less-than-decent grades.

 

I eventually want to go on to work with swallowing disorders (I've a slight obsession with them, and I've no idea where it came from) so if anyone can offer any insight into schools that may have research or curricula in that area, I'd really appreciate the heads up!  I'm taking my final two classes for the summer, which will bring my total to five classes since May, so I've not had much time yet to start my school research.  That being said, I can't offer much as to where I plan on applying.  I will probably apply out of New York, since living so close to Manhattan makes this a more competitive area than other places, or so I've been told.  If anyone knows of any schools that have been known to accept those with lower GPAs, I'd take that direction, too!  I'm certainly not resigning myself to not getting in anywhere, but I am prepared that it's a possibility. 

Best of luck to everyone!  It's so nice to see such a friendly crowd!

[Sophia Petrillo]

Good Morning everyone

I'm starting my last year at West Chester University and getting ready to start the application process. I'm a "non-traditional" student at 36 and married with 2 children. Because of my family situation I am limited to local universities or online for graduate school. I will be applying to West Chester, Temple and LaSalle. I have been obsessively checking and comparing admission stats, lol. Praying I get in somewhere!!

Nice to "meet" everyone

[LlamaMama]

Hi! I am hoping to apply to SLP programs for fall 2014. I am a non traditional student--I worked in book publishing in NYC for my first career, then took time off to stay at home with my three children. Now my youngest is turning two, and I'm hoping to get my Masters and go back to work by the time he starts kindergarten. I took two prerequisite classes at Montclair State last fall and really enjoyed it. My undergrad GPA is pretty good (3.7) and I got an A- in both classes I took last year. But these programs seem so competitive! The stats are very daunting! But then again I do know people with a similar background to mine who have been admitted to Montclair State, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I am studying for the GRE and hope to take it this fall. I am planning to apply to Montclair State (the SLP program is about 5 minutes from my house), plus Kean and Patterson, and maybe Seton Hall. I am having trouble figuring out who to ask for references, probably will be one professor from last year, plus a work supervisor. My experience with SLP comes mainly from negotiating therapy with my oldest son (he had apraxia as a toddler and continues to have some other issues). I also have a younger brother with autism. Good luck to everyone, nice to find this message board to compare notes.

[clenative]

Hello everybody!

I have been lurking on this site for a few weeks now and man, is it overwhelming! All of you are so on top of everything I feel so far behind. But I like reading how you are all preparing because it is helping to guide me along the application process.

 

A little about me, I graduated from OU in 2011 with a Major in Linguistics and have a TEFL certificate. My overall GPA was 3.788, major GPA 3.896, and CSD classes was 3.89. I thought about getting a minor in Hearing Speech and Language Science (now, CSD) so I do have some CSD classes but I will be taking the pre-requisites for most schools over the next two semesters, at least, I hope I am taking the right ones. I was taking Nursing pre-reqs for the past 2 years, but realized SLP is really where I belong and so now I am back to that original plan. I'm really excited but I just feel like I've wasted so much time straying. I do not have any volunteer work, I work full-time at The Cleveland Clinic and hope to shadow a couple of their SLPs in the next few months even though I'm pretty sure I would rather work in a school setting. My work is totally unrelated as well.

 

I am applying to schools in many locations because I would ideally like to do my CFY in the city I attend school, and so I want the city to be a good fit for me and somewhere I could see myself staying for awhile. I am just hoping I do well enough on my GRE - which I hope to take in October because I have yet to study for it. Please tell me I am not totally screwed and there is still time for me! Good luck to you all!

 

For Fall '14 I am planning on applying to: The Ohio State University, UNC- Chapel Hill, SDSU, University of Pittsburgh, Northwestern or Rush, Saint Louis University, University of Texas, and Cleveland State University

[flnjslp]

Hey everyone!

 

I'm going into my senior year at the University of South Florida (go Bulls!) studying Communication Sciences and Disorders. I'm obsessed with this field and am definitely going to get obsessed with this website!

 

My brother has cerebral palsy which affects his cognition (mental age is about 5; he's 22) and his speech. He has seen his speech therapist for almost 20 years. She got him from being completely non-verbal and relying on sign language to talking in almost full sentences. It is because of her that I fell in love with this field. I really want to work with elementary age children in the school system to start but eventually I want to transition to private practice.

 

I have a 3.97 overall GPA and a 4.0 major GPA. I work as a research assistant at USF. My mentor and I are working on a project concerning linguistic feature patterns in misspellings of children grades 1-7. We have been working on it since Fall 2012. I'm in the Honors College at USF which requires you to do a honors thesis. So that project is going to be mine. I'm taking the GRE in September and I'm really nervous! I generally test well if the SAT is any indicator but I'm still really nervous.

 

During the summers and breaks I work as a child care worker for children with difficult family situations. My coworker and I watch the children and play games and such with them while their parents receive parenting classes. I also work as a cook but that is not as interesting.

 

I'm applying for the 2014-2015 school year. My current list is William Paterson University, Seton Hall University, Montclair State University, Kean University, East Stroudsburg University, and USF. I'm mostly looking at NJ/PA schools - I'm getting married in May 2014 right after undergrad graduation and my fiancé and I plan to stay in our home state of NJ. But we will see!

[sayjo]

Hey guys!  I'm reporting in because I took the GRE today - I got a 161 V and a 153 Q.  I wanted a 160 V and a 153 Q (I knew I wouldn't do too well in math, hehe - just wanted to get in the 50th percentile range) so I am extremely happy!  Yay!  One more thing to cross off the list.  Good luck to everyone who still needs to take it!

Edited August 9, 2013 by sayjo

[NCAR823]

Congrats Sayjo! I am taking mine in 2 weeks from Monday. I've been practicing and studying diligently and have goal scores right about the same level as yours. Did you find the practice tests were a pretty good reflection of your knowledge? Any study suggestions that you feel helped?

[sayjo]

Hi NCAR823,

 

I actually scored much better on the actual test than I did on the PowerPrep practice tests.  My best verbal score on PowerPrep was 156 and my best quantitative score was 149 so I was shocked when my actual scores popped up.  

 

There were two things that I think really helped me.  First, I studied vocabulary like crazy - I learned something insane like 800 words (I used this book) - so when it came to the actual GRE test there were very few words I didn't know.  Second, about three weeks out from the test I began doing lots of practice tests (I used this book).  I did one verbal and one quantitative section a day and I timed myself.  I found this really important to me because at first I was having a hard time managing the short amount of time available for each section.  I often wouldn't get to every problem.  By timing myself, I was able to increase my speed and complete each section of the test.  Also, the practice tests gave me all sorts of math problems and since I'm not very strong in math, it helped me to read through the explanation for each problem once I finished with the test.

 

My final piece of advice is that if you've been studying diligently (and it sounds like you have), be confident in your abilities on test day!  You already put in the hard work, so breathe, relax, take it one problem at a time and you'll do fine!

 

Hope that helps!  Best of luck on the GRE!!

[NCAR823]

Haha that's great news. I've been taking the Kaplan class, which provides an entire online section that includes endless questions and a timing option. My math scores in practice are above 150 and my verbal has been stagnant the last few times I've taken a full practice test so I'm really trying to embrace root-word studies and vocabulary. It surprised me at first, considering I was an English Honors major with no math practice since high school, but that should indicate how simple the math is for those who haven't started looking into it use. I've spent the last 4-6 weeks studying by quizzing myself and wondering why my scores weren't improving until I realized I wasn't LEARNing any new information, just continuing to practice with the pressure of the clock. So, the last few weeks, I have created probably 400 flash cards with vocabulary, math formulas, and even some of the less discernible example problems with a formula to apply. Figure the more i can know At first glance, the more familiar questions will be to solve. I have probably 400-600 more to make, so hopefully by early next week I can transition fully into memorization-mode.

After beginning this method a week ago, I took a practice quiz on just geometry, arithmetic, and algebra and my score jumped 20 percent. I also took a verbal Reading Comp quiz and my score also jumped even more (I attribute that change more to my willingness to focus, haha)..

I'm excited to see if my scores improve on Monday when I take another full practice test.

P.S. Do you remember what your essay questions were? I've been practicing essay writing with some of the questions I have in my workbook and wonder if the language and phrasing is much different on the real thing. Thanks!

[sayjo]

Everything you are doing sounds great!!  (Obviously - since your scores are improving so much - WOW!!!)  

 

I think the ETS rules state that I can't tell you what my essay questions were, but if you go here and here, you will find a complete pool of the topics you might get for the writing section.  

 

I think it's great that you're memorizing math formulas!  I did a little of that (about 50 flash cards) but I wish I had done more since there were some area and volume formulas that I didn't know on the test.  Actually, I sucked at a lot of the geometry stuff because I really only memorized info about triangles since I remembered the last time I took the GRE (5+ years ago) that they had lots of questions about triangles.

 

Have you tried taking the tests on the ETS's PowerPrep software?  I did find that these practice tests were the closest to the actual test (since they are made by the same company) and I would recommend trying at least one before you go in to take your test.

[NCAR823]

When I signed up for my test date they emailed me the information for the ETS practice test so I plan on taking it either this or next week. It makes sense that it all has to be confidential, and thanks for the links! My trouble in math is the property problems so I'm doing a lot of review. I'm really counting on the GRE and my post-bacc GPA to qualify for some of the programs I am considering, so I figure this is my opportunity to make it happen, or to consider other programs

[flnjslp]

Just updating because I took my GRE today! 161 V, 155 Q. I'm very happy with those scores.

 

 

Edited to make my scores easier to read.

Edited September 3, 2013 by flnjslp

[smccau3]

Hi guys! 

I didn't see this thread before I posted in the other one, so I'm going to repost my info over here.

My name is Stacey. I am a senior at Towson University and am freaking out about this whole application process! It is so overwhelming.

 

My Stats

Undergrad- Speech Pathology and Audiology major at Towson University

GRE- 156 (VR), 155 (QR), 4.5 (AW)

GPA- 3.83 (cum) 3.8 (major)

 

My Experience

Summer 2010- Teacher at Special Needs Daycare

Summer 2013- Summer Camp Counselor 

Fall 2011-present- Nanny for 2 year old and 5 year old

Spring 2011-present- 5th grade Sunday School teacher

Fall 2011-present- Volunteer Youth Group Advisor (teens)

 

My Interests

I'm looking to go into the medical field, specifically pediatric dysphagia. My ultimate goal would be to work in the NICU.

 

Schools

This is the part that's stressing me out! I've been working really hard to narrow my list down. My adviser and all of my professors told me I shouldn't ask for a professor for more than 5 LORs. Unfortunately, I only have strong relationships with 3 of my professors. I have officially decided to apply to 5 (possibly 6) schools.

 

So far my list is: UNC-Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, Rush, MGH, Towson

[smccau3]

flnjslp Those are great scores! Very close to what I got. The nerve wracking part is waiting for your Analytical Writing score!

[flnjslp]

flnjslp Those are great scores! Very close to what I got. The nerve wracking part is waiting for your Analytical Writing score!

 

Thank you! Your stats look great too! How long did it take for you to get your writing score?

[Lingchick]

Very impressed with the stats here   I am in a different boat though!! I am applying for Fall 2014 and feel a little pessimistic.

 

Here's what I got....

 

BA in Psych-3.1 GPA overall & 3.5 in the major

18 credits of pre-req's in SLP-3.75 GPA

 

1 semester TA

2 semesters Research Asst

Nsshla member 

 

-4 month internship doing cognitive therapy with Alzheimers patients

-3 months volunteering at a Rehab Facility & observing SLP's

-50 volunteer hours at a hospital

-Just began volunteering in an after school program for children with Autism

-25 clinic hours 

-Over 10 years experience as a office manager (I'm a career changer).

 

Overall, I know that I have to really nail the GRE and my SOP. I have some great letters of rec as well, but I am still feeling like my Undergrad GPA is going to really hold me back. I'd appreciate any feedback or recommendations on how to strengthen my application. Does anyone have any advice or study tips for the GRE, as well? Thanks and good luck to all 

[Lingchick]

Just updating because I took my GRE today! 161 V, 155 Q. I'm very happy with those scores.

 

 

Edited to make my scores easier to read.

Awesome scores, how did you study for the verbal section? I'm having such an issue with getting the vocab words to stick!