Male SLP Graduate Students

[Rmed14]

Hi, I am currently and Undergrad at UMass pursuing my bachelors degree in communication disorders and then hopefully onto my masters in SLP. I am only a sophomore and simply curious, I was wondering if males are at any advantage of getting accepted into graduate school. I have pretty good grades so far but I have heard rumors. If you are a male who has been admitted could you comment on this? Any comments are welcome. Thanks!

[Papaya91]

Hello,

I'm a male applying to grad schools this year. I don't know if my gender has had anything to do with my 1 acceptance and 1 waitlist so far, but I think it's important to strive to be the most competetive applicant that you can be. After all, I think it's better to be admitted because you're good enough to be in a program than it is to be admitted because a school needs to meet a diversity quota. So keep your grades up and try to get to know some professors who can give you great LORs.

That being said, I know that some schools do want more guys. I've heard that un-ranked waitlists are often un-ranked because the admissions committee wants to be able to replace the applicant who declined their offer of admission with someone who is similar regarding diversity and background. So if they need a certain number of guys, and you're a guy on the waitlist, you're more likely to be accepted if another guy drops. But if a Spanish-speaking applicant drops, they'll try to find a bilingual replacement, etc.

I wouldn't count on your gender being an advantage. Best of luck with the rest of your undergrad, and grad school afterwards!

[MaxSLP]

I'm almost certain it's a factor but none of us will be able to tell you how big of a factor, so you really can't bank on it.

[caterpillar]

My husband is the one applying, and what he's heard through the grapevine is that it's not any more advantageous than being a woman. They're not going to overrepresent men in admissions so at best you find that the proportion of men accepted out of the pool of men applying is the same proportion as the amount of women accepted out of the pool of women applying. Again, not science, only hearsay, but it made sense to me.

Edited March 11, 2014 by caterpillar

[PsycD]

The best way to increase your chances of being accepted is to do so well in undergrad that they'll be excited to have you join their program, regardless of any demographic factors...I would neither want to be denied nor accepted due to such considerations.    

 

That's the the only thing I would rely on.    

[lexical_gap]

I'm a male and a first-year SLP grad student. When I applied, I was told, "It's something [they] consider, but don't bank on it."

Basically, you need to have the grades and clinical/research potential to be a successful grad student. If you have the grades, the LORs, and a great personal statement; it's possible you may have an advantage because you are more memorable. The admissions process is subjective. That said, if your application is just average and you blend in with the other 500 applicants, being a male won't help.