RECENT graduate from Masters Level program

[SpeechieGeekie30]

The other night, I was surfing the web looking for a good SLP forum to join so that I could converse among my peers.  I happened upon the Grad Cafe.  I must say that I WISH I knew about this place while I was applying to graduate school and during the process.  Some of the posters here are awesome and give great advice about the field.  I will say this.  Even though I have made it through my SLP journey (Graduated in May 2013), I would be happy to assist anyone with help or questions that you may have.  I may not know every thing, but I can help you to the best of my abilities.

 

Stats:  Graduated from Jackson State University with a Masters in Communicative Disorders

           GPA: 3.7

           Currently in my CFY

           Living and working in a school district in Texas

 

 

 

 

[slpsammyb]

Hi,

 

I'm in my first semester of graduate school. I was just wondering once you graduated was it hard finding a job? Schools seems to be pretty available, but right now I am leaning toward the snf setting. I know its still a ways off for me, but it would just be nice to have some insight.

[flnjslp]

Was it possible for you or your classmates to work during the program? I plan to take out loans for tuition but I don't want to take out loans for living expenses.

[SpeechieGeekie30]

flnjslp - Out of a group of 21 (I was in a large class) 4 people had jobs.  They had part time/weekend jobs just to have some type of income coming in.  While it was possible, they all talked about how difficult it was, but it wasn't feasible for them to "not" work. (children, bills, and such).  A lot of it depends on you personally and the rigor of your program.  There is NO way that I would have been able to work and do the amount of studying I did, in order to do well.  I will also say that out of the 4 people who worked 2 of them had to re-take Comprehensive Exams.  There were a total of 5 people who had to re-take it.  So, you really need to get a feel of your course load and your ability to juggle the two.

 

slpsammyb - It wasn't hard to find a job at all.  Once you get that M.S. title, jobs are literally filling your email and voicemail.  However, it's mostly school positions.  Out of 21, 3 classmates work in a SNF and the rest work in school settings.  So, while it's not easy getting a SNF position for your CFY, it is possible.  I am in your same position.  I would have and still prefer a SNF over the school setting, but I figured 1 year in the school and then I'm on to bigger and better things.

[flnjslp]

flnjslp - Out of a group of 21 (I was in a large class) 4 people had jobs.  They had part time/weekend jobs just to have some type of income coming in.  While it was possible, they all talked about how difficult it was, but it wasn't feasible for them to "not" work. (children, bills, and such).  A lot of it depends on you personally and the rigor of your program.  There is NO way that I would have been able to work and do the amount of studying I did, in order to do well.  I will also say that out of the 4 people who worked 2 of them had to re-take Comprehensive Exams.  There were a total of 5 people who had to re-take it.  So, you really need to get a feel of your course load and your ability to juggle the two.

 

slpsammyb - It wasn't hard to find a job at all.  Once you get that M.S. title, jobs are literally filling your email and voicemail.  However, it's mostly school positions.  Out of 21, 3 classmates work in a SNF and the rest work in school settings.  So, while it's not easy getting a SNF position for your CFY, it is possible.  I am in your same position.  I would have and still prefer a SNF over the school setting, but I figured 1 year in the school and then I'm on to bigger and better things.

 

Thank you very much for your reply! I will definitely take that into consideration.

My fiancé doesn't make enough to support both of us so I will have to do something to supplement our income. But now I'm thinking that something may just have to be student loans. I did apply for a job that is very flexible (part time; work from home mostly with some Saturday work) so maybe that would work.

[SLPH2b]

While you were applying to grad school, did you get a sense that schools were just looking at numbers vs. the whole application? What did you do to set yourself apart from other applicants? 

[caterpillar]

The other night, I was surfing the web looking for a good SLP forum to join so that I could converse among my peers.  I happened upon the Grad Cafe.  I must say that I WISH I knew about this place while I was applying to graduate school and during the process.  Some of the posters here are awesome and give great advice about the field.  I will say this.  Even though I have made it through my SLP journey (Graduated in May 2013), I would be happy to assist anyone with help or questions that you may have.  I may not know every thing, but I can help you to the best of my abilities.

 

Stats:  Graduated from Jackson State University with a Masters in Communicative Disorders

           GPA: 3.7

           Currently in my CFY

           Living and working in a school district in Texas

 

Can you comment on Jackson State's program specifically? What you enjoyed about it, what you didn't, about Jackson (the city) itself?

[Arcanelady27]

The other night, I was surfing the web looking for a good SLP forum to join so that I could converse among my peers.  I happened upon the Grad Cafe.  I must say that I WISH I knew about this place while I was applying to graduate school and during the process.  Some of the posters here are awesome and give great advice about the field.  I will say this.  Even though I have made it through my SLP journey (Graduated in May 2013), I would be happy to assist anyone with help or questions that you may have.  I may not know every thing, but I can help you to the best of my abilities.

 

Stats:  Graduated from Jackson State University with a Masters in Communicative Disorders

           GPA: 3.7

           Currently in my CFY

           Living and working in a school district in Texas

 

SpeechieGeekie30, did you attend classes full time? 

I am applying to three school two allow me to attend part-time, while the third only allows full-time studies. 

My job offers tuition remission, so I need to take advantage of this benefit. How feasible, do you think, would it be to an overnight full time job and attend classes full time during the day? 

[SLPamy]

If you're looking for a forum for SLPs, I would recommend http://livejournal.com/community/speechpathology - it has more actual SLPS instead of prospective grad students!

[virginiarunninggirl]

We are hoping to go to Texas. How are you finding the schools? I taught in California, so imagine there are some similar demographics. Also, do you think research experience helps one's application? Does Ivy League research experience matter?

[autismadvocate]

Thanks so much for agreeing to do this! :) I don't want to overload you with questions, but I did have a couple of my own (I'm rather nervous about getting in).

 

What were your stats (GPA, GRE, experience, etc) back when you were applying? How many schools did you apply for and how many did you get into (and what were they)?

[karita]

I saw that you mentioned that some students had children. Do you know how those students did in the program? Did they find the workload + kids to be manageable?? I have two little ones, and I am doing a leveling year full-time right now. It is going fine, but I know grad school will likely be a lot more work. Definitely feeling anxious about being able to manage everything!