tell me more about these

[OverCaffeinated]

these are choices... for now.... 

 

my choices university of nevada emerson hawaii st johns hunter CUNY SDSU ut dallas california state san diego state texas at austin vanderbilt dalhousie mgh nazareth mcgill western uoft st rose brooklyn cuny ithaca

 

and i was wondering if anyone has any pros and cons?

ive been doing crazy research, i have notes upon notes on SLP but i have a few issues

 

im from canada, so its really easy to tell when a university/college is private, but im having a hard time telling an american one apart. I will be applying to Canadian unis but my choices are american since my CGPA is in the toilet. like actually. they dont exactly advertise that they are private, how do you know?

 

out of these can someone tell me if theyre competitive vs less competitive. can someone tell me if maybe some of these arent that great?

 

im planning to do my communication disorders assistant next year after i finish my undergrad. would take make a difference to any of these schools?

Im volunteering with an SLP clinic so I will have reference from there and a ton of hours. Im hoping that will give me an edge along with my GRE scores.. (preparing for gre still)

[iphi]

The easiest way to tell public vs. private is to search for the school on Wikipedia. Otherwise, "[state Name] State University" and "University of [state Name]" are usually good clues that it's public. e.g. Ohio State University, University of New Mexico.

[kumapanda]

Wow, that's a lot of questions!  Ok, so if the university is called University of [state], it's usually public.  So Nevada and Hawaii are public.  If the school has the name CUNY or SUNY, it's also public because it's part of a group of public universities in New York state, so Brooklyn CUNY and Hunter CUNY are public schools.  If the school is called [state] State of [city], such as California State of San Diego State, it's public.  California State San Diego is public.  Schools in Texas that are called University of Texas at [city] are public.  So the schools you're looking at for Austin and Dallas are both public.  Schools that have the name St. in front of them are usually private schools, so St. John's and St. Rose are private.  Some private schools are religious, so keep that in mind when doing your research.  The rest of the programs on your list are private.      

 

SLP grad programs are competitive to get into like most other graduate programs.  You'll get varied answers from people on what competitive is.  It really depends on your gpa, extracurricular, and your interests in the program.  San Diego State is probably the hardest to get in from your list.  It's competitive because it's in California, so naturally a lot of people apply to it (both in state and out of state).  I believe San Diego is also popular because it has a good research program.  The warm weather probably helps too.  Vanderbilt is probably hard to get in too because it's ranked high, so it probably gets a lot of applicants.  I don't know what your interests are, so I can't tell you which programs wouldn't be as great for you. 

 

Each program has its pros and cons.  For me, pros and cons includes location, living costs, the students, the program itself, and the faculty.  If you're fine with warm to hot weather, then Nevada and Hawaii shouldn't be a problem.  Nevada gets cold dry weather in the winter.  Hawaii gets humid a lot and living price can get expensive.  It would take a long time to list out all the pros and cons of each school, so that is something you will need to research on your own.  I suggest you type in [school name, slp clinic] on google if you're interested to see what the school specializes in. 

 

Nevada has some medical based clinics for aphasia, autism, and cleft palates: http://medicine.nevada.edu/reno/spa/clinics.  Brooklyn and Hunter will both give you certificates that allow you to teach in New York state I believe and are expensive to live in since both are in New York City area.  SDSU (San Diego State) has a good research program I believe and has a bilingual track.  San Diego is close to the beach, but I guess it can be expensive to find housing if it's close to the beach (but amazing weather).  UT Dallas has a nice autism program (http://www.utdallas.edu/calliercenter/evaluation-and-treatment/autism/) and Texas state has cheaper housing than say...California.  For cons, Dallas can get hot.  Dallas also can have tornado and floods.  MGH is good for medical school because of its numerous tracks you can take, but it's very expensive (tuition) and Boston is an expensive city to live in.  Nazareth seems to like having its SLPs work closely with other health professions and they have many resources you should take advantage of.  However, Nazareth is located in Rochester, which seems to have a higher crime rate than nationally and by its state (someone correct me if I'm wrong).    

 

Working as a SLPA is always a plus in my opinion.  I think that should impress the schools and it will give you a chance to have someone from the clinic write a recommendation letter for you.  As for GREs, if you're not confident in your test taking skills, then taking a course might help.  I took Kaplan for the GRE, which gave me books and online access to practice tests and tips on how to overcome the test.  I've seen people on the forums recommend Magoosh.  Kaplan is great because they have a math remedial class if your math skills concern you.  Of course, it means paying extra, but Kaplan lets you retake the courses if you're not satisfied with your GRE scores the first time you take it. 

 

If you have questions on grad schools, you can message me and I'll see what I can do?  I did a lot of crazy research too because I'm choosey on location and programs. 

Edited September 14, 2014 by rainsonata

[Missthang]

The 2 Texas schools you mentioned are extremely competitive. I only know about Texas schools so I can't speak for any of the others but I would assume the majority of the ones you posted are all VERY competitive so you may want to rethink some things and add some "safer" schools.

[kumapanda]

The 2 Texas schools you mentioned are extremely competitive. I only know about Texas schools so I can't speak for any of the others but I would assume the majority of the ones you posted are all VERY competitive so you may want to rethink some things and add some "safer" schools.

 

OP is Canadian, so I'm not sure how familiar they are on which schools are considered safer.  I've been told that Cal States in general are competitive due to their limited graduate class size.  I'm not too sure myself.  What is considered a safer school?  Schools that are lower ranked so that there are less applicants likely to apply to the program?

[OverCaffeinated]

Wow, that's a lot of questions!  Ok, so if the university is called University of [state], it's usually public.  So Nevada and Hawaii are public.  If the school has the name CUNY or SUNY, it's also public because it's part of a group of public universities in New York state, so Brooklyn CUNY and Hunter CUNY are public schools.  If the school is called [state] State of [city], such as California State of San Diego State, it's public.  California State San Diego is public.  Schools in Texas that are called University of Texas at [city] are public.  So the schools you're looking at for Austin and Dallas are both public.  Schools that have the name St. in front of them are usually private schools, so St. John's and St. Rose are private.  Some private schools are religious, so keep that in mind when doing your research.  The rest of the programs on your list are private.      

 

SLP grad programs are competitive to get into like most other graduate programs.  You'll get varied answers from people on what competitive is.  It really depends on your gpa, extracurricular, and your interests in the program.  San Diego State is probably the hardest to get in from your list.  It's competitive because it's in California, so naturally a lot of people apply to it (both in state and out of state).  I believe San Diego is also popular because it has a good research program.  The warm weather probably helps too.  Vanderbilt is probably hard to get in too because it's ranked high, so it probably gets a lot of applicants.  I don't know what your interests are, so I can't tell you which programs wouldn't be as great for you. 

 

Each program has its pros and cons.  For me, pros and cons includes location, living costs, the students, the program itself, and the faculty.  If you're fine with warm to hot weather, then Nevada and Hawaii shouldn't be a problem.  Nevada gets cold dry weather in the winter.  Hawaii gets humid a lot and living price can get expensive.  It would take a long time to list out all the pros and cons of each school, so that is something you will need to research on your own.  I suggest you type in [school name, slp clinic] on google if you're interested to see what the school specializes in. 

 

Nevada has some medical based clinics for aphasia, autism, and cleft palates: http://medicine.nevada.edu/reno/spa/clinics.  Brooklyn and Hunter will both give you certificates that allow you to teach in New York state I believe and are expensive to live in since both are in New York City area.  SDSU (San Diego State) has a good research program I believe and has a bilingual track.  San Diego is close to the beach, but I guess it can be expensive to find housing if it's close to the beach (but amazing weather).  UT Dallas has a nice autism program (http://www.utdallas.edu/calliercenter/evaluation-and-treatment/autism/) and Texas state has cheaper housing than say...California.  For cons, Dallas can get hot.  Dallas also can have tornado and floods.  MGH is good for medical school because of its numerous tracks you can take, but it's very expensive (tuition) and Boston is an expensive city to live in.  Nazareth seems to like having its SLPs work closely with other health professions and they have many resources you should take advantage of.  However, Nazareth is located in Rochester, which seems to have a higher crime rate than nationally and by its state (someone correct me if I'm wrong).    

 

Working as a SLPA is always a plus in my opinion.  I think that should impress the schools and it will give you a chance to have someone from the clinic write a recommendation letter for you.  As for GREs, if you're not confident in your test taking skills, then taking a course might help.  I took Kaplan for the GRE, which gave me books and online access to practice tests and tips on how to overcome the test.  I've seen people on the forums recommend Magoosh.  Kaplan is great because they have a math remedial class if your math skills concern you.  Of course, it means paying extra, but Kaplan lets you retake the courses if you're not satisfied with your GRE scores the first time you take it. 

 

If you have questions on grad schools, you can message me and I'll see what I can do?  I did a lot of crazy research too because I'm choosey on location and programs. 

 

that was comprehensive. thanks so much!

 

ive been lurking the forums and such, and my top choices are california for (youre right) the weather, NY - because its my favourite city on the planet, and honestly doing my slp there would be a dream. rush cause i heard good things about the graduates and the jobs they get. and boston because of the variety of choices i can take

 

honestly, i'll be taking a line of credit, so couple grand here and there wont make a difference, im already so much in debt its not even funny... im sure like most of us are. 

[OverCaffeinated]

OP is Canadian, so I'm not sure how familiar they are on which schools are considered safer.  I've been told that Cal States in general are competitive due to their limited graduate class size.  I'm not too sure myself.  What is considered a safer school?  Schools that are lower ranked so that there are less applicants likely to apply to the program?

i agree.. i dont know what a safe school would be... none of the canadian schools are safe at all cause there is only like 5-6 of them....

 

i thought texas was less competitive i read that somewhere on here... maybe i read wrong... :s

[kumapanda]

i agree.. i dont know what a safe school would be... none of the canadian schools are safe at all cause there is only like 5-6 of them....

 

i thought texas was less competitive i read that somewhere on here... maybe i read wrong... :s

 

Is there anything you have interested in the field of slp?  Medical?  School based?  Cleft palates?  AAC?  Autism?  I'm just curious.  I'm looking for schools that put emphasis on school school age children and it's hard for me since a lot of schools are early intervention based.

 

If you're interested in California, there are 15-16 programs to choose from. 

Edited September 14, 2014 by rainsonata

[OverCaffeinated]

Is there anything you have interested in the field of slp?  Medical?  School based?  Cleft palates?  AAC?  Autism?  I'm just curious.  I'm looking for schools that put emphasis on school school age children and it's hard for me since a lot of schools are early intervention based.

 

If you're interested in California, there are 15-16 programs to choose from. 

 

my real interest lies in rehab. so like teaching people how to speak again after car accidents and such. but research shows that autism disorders are growing world wide. so the smarter choice would be that. so im still on the fence ... but i think im leaning towards autism...

and if i do choose autism i think it would be younger kids or school aged kids. definitely not adults 

[Missthang]

Less competitive schools for the most part are the ones located in "less desirable places to live" (not meaning that you wouldn't want to go there/live there, but they're typically located in smaller cities like college towns rather than big urban cities with huge populations) and are also the ones who accept larger cohorts rather than having a small group each semester or year. Look at acceptance rates on programs' websites (for instance, I stuck with schools that accepted at least 15% of applicants.) There's so many things that can go into what I would consider a "safe" school, for example you need to know if your GPA is within the range of the previous cohort that was accepted. Same goes for GRE score averages as well. Of course there are other things that go into your application like personal statement, letters of rec (which need to be amazing), resume, etc. that could possibly outshine a low GPA/GRE, but those 2 things are usually what will decide if you get a second glance or if you immediately go in the rejection pile. I know for a fact that the school I'm attending first went through everyone's application and anyone below a certain average were automatically put aside so they could focus more time on the ones who met the minimum requirements and get a chance to review their letters, statement, resume and whatever else was included. Moral of the story: pick your schools wisely on if you stand a fair chance of being accepted so that you're not wasting time and money, because the application process is long and expensive!

Hope this clarifies things a little better. It should be very simple to look up each program and find their averages for acceptance and any min. requirements. And if you don't find it, email/call them and ask.

[lookwhoslp]

I don't think private vs state would make a difference in the education. There are many great state schools that have better placements than some private schools, so I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor... plus most private schools cost a lot more. 

 

First, narrow it down by your interests. See if they have classes or concentrations in something you're interested in and definitely make sure they have placements in your interest. After college placements are what matter most since thats where you got your experience. So, if you know the population you want it helps to go to a school that has lots of placements available (ie. literacy,Autism, medical, voice...).  

 

After that I'd check ASHA's EdFind and look at each program and the 'average' scores of the people they admit to give you an idea if you fit their criteria. I think in Canada you guys don't have an SLP undergrad you just focus on something else, correct? If that's the case you'll most likely have to be a post-bacc first to get the SLP classes that you need before even starting a program. (So this narrows them down even more.) Many that have post-baccs don't give you automatic admission into their Masters program... so check into that. Those that do are maybe like 5% of the programs, so still apply to those that don't guarantee admission. You just have to reapply next fall to Masters Programs while taking post-bacc classes.

 

You say your CGPA is bad. What exactly is that.. your general GPA, your major GPA, your CSD GPA or your last 60 credits? If it's your CSD GPA then definitely think about retaking some SLP classes depending on how bad the scores are. 

 

They are all very competitive cause theres so many applicants and so few spots. At this point there isn't really a "non competitive" school, cause those that get less applicants are just more picky about who they choose then. At least you are shadowing/volunteering, that is good. Just keep that up and do the SLPA program if you want to help boost things. Like I said, depending on which classes you did bad in you might have to retake them.  With that said, Vanderbilt is EXTREMELY hard to get into. MGH is getting hard to get into as well. Like I said, check ASHA's EdFind to see if your scores are similar to accepted students. You can even go to the menu on this page and click on "results search"  then search for like 'Vanderbilt Speech' (or '[school name] Speech' ). This will give you a list of people that tells you if they are rejected, wait listed, or accepted... sometimes theres a red diamond in their entry... if you hover over it then it'll tell you their scores.

[QS05]

CUNY Brooklyn and CUNY Hunter are extremely competitive, as are many NY speech grad programs. CUNY schools are extremely competitive because of the number of applications they receive. I believe that this year each CUNY program received about 600 applicants for 30-40 spots. I don't mean to discourage you from applying here because I've heard great things about the programs! I'm also currently enrolled in a CUNY program and personally love it. Also keep in mind that CUNY programs conduct interviews before making a final decision of who to accept. Therefore, if you're selected to be interviewed you are given a date and time to be at the interview. From my experience, if you cannot make the date and interview time then you will no longer be considered.

Feel free to message me with any questions!

[OverCaffeinated]

u guys keep saying that MGH is competative, edfind says 

 

GPA: 2.46-3.99 Number of Applications Received: Full-time Students: 458 Part-time Students: 0 Total: 458 Number of Admission Offers: Full time: 144 Part time: 0 Total: 144   that doesnt seem that bad to me...

[OverCaffeinated]

I don't think private vs state would make a difference in the education. There are many great state schools that have better placements than some private schools, so I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor... plus most private schools cost a lot more. 

 

First, narrow it down by your interests. See if they have classes or concentrations in something you're interested in and definitely make sure they have placements in your interest. After college placements are what matter most since thats where you got your experience. So, if you know the population you want it helps to go to a school that has lots of placements available (ie. literacy,Autism, medical, voice...).  

 

After that I'd check ASHA's EdFind and look at each program and the 'average' scores of the people they admit to give you an idea if you fit their criteria. I think in Canada you guys don't have an SLP undergrad you just focus on something else, correct? If that's the case you'll most likely have to be a post-bacc first to get the SLP classes that you need before even starting a program. (So this narrows them down even more.) Many that have post-baccs don't give you automatic admission into their Masters program... so check into that. Those that do are maybe like 5% of the programs, so still apply to those that don't guarantee admission. You just have to reapply next fall to Masters Programs while taking post-bacc classes.

 

You say your CGPA is bad. What exactly is that.. your general GPA, your major GPA, your CSD GPA or your last 60 credits? If it's your CSD GPA then definitely think about retaking some SLP classes depending on how bad the scores are. 

 

They are all very competitive cause theres so many applicants and so few spots. At this point there isn't really a "non competitive" school, cause those that get less applicants are just more picky about who they choose then. At least you are shadowing/volunteering, that is good. Just keep that up and do the SLPA program if you want to help boost things. Like I said, depending on which classes you did bad in you might have to retake them.  With that said, Vanderbilt is EXTREMELY hard to get into. MGH is getting hard to get into as well. Like I said, check ASHA's EdFind to see if your scores are similar to accepted students. You can even go to the menu on this page and click on "results search"  then search for like 'Vanderbilt Speech' (or '[school name] Speech' ). This will give you a list of people that tells you if they are rejected, wait listed, or accepted... sometimes theres a red diamond in their entry... if you hover over it then it'll tell you their scores.

 

my CSD is gonna be great

my last 60 is also gonna be great

 

my CGPA is garbage.... so ive tried looking at some of the unis that focus mostly on the last 60 credits. and honestly none of them are the ones im interested in but i guess i will have to apply to them anyway

[DeafAudi]

Be careful. I also thought it was easier getting into American programs because Canada is very GPA focussed and there are so few schools here, but that wasn't the case at all. I ended up getting into a Canadian school and was accepted to only one American school (wait listed at 3/8). Granted, I did apply for the Au.D. which is a different program and probably has different standards but I think a large part of it was because I was applying internationally. It is much more competitive applying as an international student than as a resident, as you are also competing with other international students for even more limited spots. 

 

My advice to you would be to look at programs that accept applicants in your GPA/GRE range and then message each of those programs specifically asking how many international students they accept and if they have a quota. Have you looked into Minot University or Maine University? I have heard that these two programs accept a lot of Canadians for SLP. There is also Pacific University, although it is a private university. 

 

Also, if you are willing to pay the international tuition, you should look into Australian schools. This website :http://www.oztrekk.com is fantastic and the rehabilitation sciences represenatives are very helpful. I actually applied to and was accepted to one with a similar GPA as you. The only thing is that they are on a different school system than we are so you can't apply to both American/Canadian and Australian schools. Just an idea! It sounds like your sGPA is good so I think you definitely have a chance at American programs. Good luck! If you have any other questions about applying internationally, feel free to message me as I did lots of research back in the day (of applications) . 

Edited September 15, 2014 by DeafAudi

[OverCaffeinated]

Be careful. I also thought it was easier getting into American programs because Canada is very GPA focussed and there are so few schools here, but that wasn't the case at all. I ended up getting into a Canadian school and was accepted to only one American school (wait listed at 3/8). Granted, I did apply for the Au.D. which is a different program and probably has different standards but I think a large part of it was because I was applying internationally. It is much more competitive applying as an international student than as a resident, as you are also competing with other international students for even more limited spots. 

 

My advice to you would be to look at programs that accept applicants in your GPA/GRE range and then message each of those programs specifically asking how many international students they accept and if they have a quota. Have you looked into Minot University or Maine University? I have heard that these two programs accept a lot of Canadians for SLP. There is also Pacific University, although it is a private university. 

 

Also, if you are willing to pay the international tuition, you should look into Australian schools. This website :http://www.oztrekk.com is fantastic and the rehabilitation sciences represenatives are very helpful. I actually applied to and was accepted to one with a similar GPA as you. The only thing is that they are on a different school system than we are so you can't apply to both American/Canadian and Australian schools. Just an idea! It sounds like your sGPA is good so I think you definitely have a chance at American programs. Good luck! If you have any other questions about applying internationally, feel free to message me as I did lots of research back in the day (of applications) . 

 

awesome thanks thats funny, cause just yesterday i was like oh new zealand... :0

 

if i wanna email the schools, i'll ask them about international students, is there anything else i can ask? i kinda wanna ask what theyre focused on.. but i am not sure how to go about doing that... it seems so weird asking them any of that stuff...

[lookwhoslp]

I agree with the poster above... American schools are just as focused on GPA and GRE (they say they aren't, but they do use them as rough cut-offs. When we say MGH is competitive it's because they say they accept those with low GPAs but they get tons of applicants and are getting more recognized so the entrant pool is big. It says they have 144 students... buts thats total between both years and possibly post baccs. They do let in a good amount but they also get lots of applicants. Basically if it's a well known school in America then it's competitive and getting lots of applicants. 

[hopefulspeechie16]

awesome thanks thats funny, cause just yesterday i was like oh new zealand... :0

 

if i wanna email the schools, i'll ask them about international students, is there anything else i can ask? i kinda wanna ask what theyre focused on.. but i am not sure how to go about doing that... it seems so weird asking them any of that stuff...

 

Does U of T have a COMD major? I know they have a few courses in SLP but idk if that counts. Also I heard SDSU has a lot of crime not sure if that's true...

[OverCaffeinated]

Does U of T have a COMD major? I know they have a few courses in SLP but idk if that counts. Also I heard SDSU has a lot of crime not sure if that's true...

 

nope, its pretty much a choice of psych/ling etc

mine is mental health and ling

 

canada doesnt have a comd undergrad at all

Edited September 16, 2014 by alissavar

[Persis]

nope, its pretty much a choice of psych/ling etc

mine is mental health and ling

 

canada doesnt have a comd undergrad at all

Canada has a Comm undergrad at Brock University and Laurentian University (French only)

[OverCaffeinated]

Canada has a Comm undergrad at Brock University and Laurentian University (French only)

 

cool. didnt know that theyre both god knows where... major universities dont have these. 

[VanTech]

nope, its pretty much a choice of psych/ling etc

mine is mental health and ling

 

canada doesnt have a comd undergrad at all

Canada has a few options, I did my undergrad degree at Brock University in Speech & Language Sciences, Applied Linguistics.

[VanTech]

cool. didnt know that theyre both god knows where... major universities dont have these. 

These universities are well reputable actually, and are major universities. I am just clearing this up so that others are not misinformed.

[OverCaffeinated]

These universities are well reputable actually, and are major universities. I am just clearing this up so that others are not misinformed.

 

its a matter of opinion... i didnt even know about brock until like first year into uoft... but again just opinions... 

 

its like saying lakehead is a good university. some people including me might disagree. 

[Yancey]

 

u guys keep saying that MGH is competative, edfind says 

 

GPA: 2.46-3.99 Number of Applications Received: Full-time Students: 458 Part-time Students: 0 Total: 458 Number of Admission Offers: Full time: 144 Part time: 0 Total: 144   that doesnt seem that bad to me...

 

MGH tends to look at students more holistically, which is why there is a large GPA range. They take out of field, post-baccs, and CSD undergraduates leading to a diverse cohort. The number of applicants on ASHA EDFind is not perfectly accurate as they do not consistently update it. The school's website may have more updated information. But when applying to school, private schools can/do sometimes have a higher acceptance rate because of different factors such as cost (are the first round applicants offered funding? Will those that are not want to pay full price?) and many who are accepted to one school may also be accepted to many others (and cannot go to more than one). Does not mean that a higher acceptance rate will mean they do not look and select their applicants carefully. With that being said you never know what kind of background/experience a school is looking for. The only way to know for sure is to apply!