Undergrad transfer best options?

[lalaslp]

Hi!

Long story short, I spent two years in pursuit of a completely unrelated degree before I realized I wanted to switch my major to speech pathology. This decision also required me to transfer schools. This fall I am taking classes locally, and I will not be at my new school until the spring (so I have to wait until then to begin my SLP coursework). I need some advice from people who have been through the process of applying to grad schools! Here's my dilemma:

 

1) I could finish my degree in three regular semesters (and one summer session) after arriving at my new school. This would allow me to graduate "on time," save money, and start graduate school in the fall. However, that's only if I am accepted to graduate school for the fall. Would this be too rushed and crammed? Would graduate schools be wary of accepting someone who completed their undergrad in such a short time?  I am not too worried about my GPS--I am a very hard worker and a good student. However, I know how competitive it is, and I'm worried that other students will have had much more time to build their resume.

 

2) If I do not take a summer session, I will finish my degree four semesters after arriving at my new school. This means I would graduate in December, and my class schedule would be a little more flexible and roomy (I could take a few extra classes, etc.). However, from what I've seen, most graduate schools begin in the fall. Is this true? If that is correct, then this plan of action would delay me a full year, because I wouldn't be able to start grad school for another semester. I'm mostly worried about time and money here. If plan #1 is feasible, does it make sense to delay myself another year and pay for an extra semester? On the other hand, this would allow me a semester off, which I'm assuming I could use to build my resume.

 

I welcome any advice!

[Missthang]

The main thing to think about is what kind of course load you can handle that will still allow you to ace your classes (shoot for A's!!), while still getting a ton of volunteer experience, observation hours and of course dealing with everything that comes with the application process itself. I don't see why grad schools would look down on someone completing their degree or program more quickly or slower than the average plan that is setup. I had a weird undergrad experience and it didn't affect my chances at all, in fact I feel like it might've helped me personally as well showed my perseverance and drive to achieve my ultimate goal of going to grad school. Here's my story... I spent 2 1/2 yrs in community college obtaining an associates because I had no idea what I wanted to do. It wasn't until I started working while attending school that I found this field and saw that it would be perfect for me. I waited to finish my associates then transferred to my university that offers a BA/BS and also a post bacc program, plus the graduate program. It took me 3 1/2 yrs to get my bachelors because of the weird schedules we have for our courses. For example, some courses are only offered in spring or fall and there is a specific order to take them in which held me back an entire year bc of when I transferred here. Anyways... My senior year (this past year) I only took 2 classes a semester because I had already finished everything. I of course aced those classes and had lots of free time to study for the gre and get everything in order for applications. This didn't affect me at all because while my peers were busting their tails taking 4 or 5 classes and trying to get A's along with applications, I spent the extra time that I wasn't in class to work on a research project, volunteer, work and so on. It was a great thing to talk about in my PS/LoI and also beefed up my resume because I could say I have A's in almost all of my classes and hundreds of volunteer hours among other things related to the field.

It's all about what you know you can handle and what's the best way to use your time. Some people like to rush and get things over with and others like to take their time to make sure everything runs a little more smoothly. I really don't think there's a right or wrong way, it's just all up to you and what is most comfortable. Good luck!