How demanding and difficult is slp grad school?

[Speechstudent]

I have heard, repeatedly, that undergraduate slp classes are "kindergarten easy" compared to the demands of slp graduate school......and I am wondering how much truth there is to this. (I found my undergrad slp classes to be pretty challenging)

 

Are all the programs pretty much the same regarding difficulty and demands, or are some "easier" to manage? 

 

Do some programs require students to "critically read" and analyze, while others are more straightforward?

 

I am looking specifically at Boston MGH, Mercy College, Brooklyn College, and Adelphi Garden City.

 

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

[aucinema]

Hi speechstudent,

 

I am currently in my second semester of my master's. I can't speak to other programs necessarily, but I would say that most programs (or at least those programs worth their salt) will require you to "critically read and analyze" since this is a huge part of being a speech-language pathologist. You will not stop learning when you graduate and you will have to continue to critically read and analyze research articles in order to stay up to date and provide sound, evidence-based practice.

 

As far as difficulty in comparison to undergrad....Graduate programs in SLP are demanding - there is no denying it. In my opinion, the most difficult thing is time management. Coursework is certainly more demanding and this is compounded by the fact that you will also probably be managing your clinical work on top of a full course load. This may vary by program since some programs don't start clinical until after you are done with the majority of your academics, but I think many programs are designed like mine where you start clinical right off the bat.

 

I do believe that, in general, the undergraduate SLP major is relatively easy in comparison to the graduate work. This does not mean that you won't be successful in graduate school but it does mean that you will probably have to change the way you think and manage your time. Coursework will no longer be your only (or main) priority and you will have to shift away from simply memorizing everything to thinking analytically about things. This is the time when you start to apply what you have learned, which is a difficult transition sometimes. It's one thing to learn about dysphagia and another to actually use that knowledge perform a bedside swallow evaluation and make a recommendation. There is also the learning curve and stress that comes from adjusting to new environments such as hospitals and rehab facilities, which is something I didn't think about when I applied.

 

What did you find challenging about your undergrad SLP courses?

[ImpulsiveNixie]

So, as with any graduate program the difficulty is not in the classes but in the program itself.

 

Here is what you makes programs difficult:

 

Time. Grad programs (in general) are going to demand so much time from your life. You are going to have to balance clinic (session plans, sessions, session evaluation, clinic team meetings, etc) and school (tests, quizzes, homework, group projects, readings, etc). You must be capable of time-management.

 

Nothing goes according to plan. Sessions. Academics. Research. You much be flexible and just go with the flow.

 

Criticism. You are going to be receiving a lot of feedback. There is going to be good - you're awesome, you did perfect - feedback but there is also going to be a TON of bad - you shouldn't have done that, you might want to think about it this way - feedback. This is particularly hard because we all have been pretty much amazing through our undergrad. Grad programs tend to accumulate a ton of perfectionists and with good reason. We are the ones that realized that we wanted to go beyond undergrad and did everything in our power to do so. You must have the ability to accept criticism. 

 

Group projects. Your cohort in grad school will be with you from now until you retire. They are your peers. Each person you study will resemble a personality that you could potentially work later on down the road. You must be able to work around your differences in style (and not the fashion kind) and personality and work towards the common good. You are going to be working with these individuals in class, in clinic, with clients... You have to learn to rely on them for support. It was easy in undergrad to handle group projects because you knew that you would never have to deal with them again. That is not the case in grad school. 

 

We all will have strengths and weaknesses in grad school. You will succeed by learning your weaknesses and turning them into strengths. 

[autismadvocate]

All my friends are starting grad school right now and their hands down opinion no matter what program they're in is this; grad school is hard. Gruelingly so. Undergrad was easy.

 

My last semester of college I was taking 22 credits of classwork (in a major that I struggled in and should never have had, economics), had leadership roles in four different student orgs, AND I was starting up my website. And I'm expecting grad school to be more difficult than that (and believe you me, people, that was difficult).

 

But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Challenges are an opportunity to grow, to test and expand your boundaries. They're difficult, yes, but you come out the other end with so much more gained from the experience. So I'm hoping grad school is challenging, because if it wasn't I wouldn't feel like I was getting everything out of it that I have the potential to.

[portnut2014]

I'm not in grad school (yet--as long as I'm accepted this year *fingers crossed*) but I can tell you that the people I've met that are in grad school right now don't hate their lives. I'm the kind of person that feels stagnant and full of negativity when I'm not enjoying what I'm spending my time doing, so honestly, I asked tons of people a variant of "do you hate your life right now?" And the answer is always no. Yes, it's very tough but when you're challenged by a field you're passionate for, it doesn't feel quite as bad.

Also, I think everyone is guilty of over exaggerating the difficulty of situations to people who are below us (like grad students to undergrad students) Even now, when I hear students a year below me talk about classes I had to take last year or the year before, my classmates and I have the natural instinct to say "just wait until *insert name of higher level course*!"

I'm not trying to say that everyone is over exaggerating by saying it's hard. I just think that everyone deals with the difficulty of situations differently, so you won't really know how hard it is until you get there.

[ImpulsiveNixie]

Also, I think everyone is guilty of over exaggerating the difficulty of situations to people who are below us (like grad students to undergrad students) Even now, when I hear students a year below me talk about classes I had to take last year or the year before, my classmates and I have the natural instinct to say "just wait until *insert name of higher level course*!"

I'm not trying to say that everyone is over exaggerating by saying it's hard. I just think that everyone deals with the difficulty of situations differently, so you won't really know how hard it is until you get there.

 

I agree with this. I think this is why each year has levels and goals to meet. You know, to prepare you for the next level. 

[lisa19]

I also imagine our schedules will be very different when grad school comes around. I'll probably stop working all together, and I imagine my social life won't be as active either. While it will be harder, I expect to dedicate as much time as possible to my program.