What should I be doing now/prepping now?

[mr479]

Hmmm so would you say you felt it was more similar to a job interview?  Did you consider the questions general get to know you questions or high profile job where you need to know the company statement type of thing?  Were there any specific speech related questions?  I'd actually be happier with general b/c I don't want to blank on something I can remember if I look at it 2 minutes but didn't think i'd need to recite in their interview.

 

I think that maybe the schools ask general questions to get a feel for your personality and people/talking skills.  My assumption with general questions is that they already know you are set academically with a 4.0 and great GRE scores so the interview is just assessing personality?  Which is also intimidating but I feel like that is much more my area than standardized tests ahaha. 

 

I can see how it would be annoying though after doing a ton of prep and then being blind-sided with questions you could be asked for at a fast-food restaurant.

Exactly. It felt like interviewing for a position in retail or other customer service job. Nothing specific to the program. 1 question related to field. Mine were, what do you expect from a clinical supervisor, which is more or less, what do you expect from a boss? in one interview, and something about assessing a child who tests within normal limits in another. Very general, nothing specific. 

[candynut]

If you send it ahead of time do they keep it for months?  Just because I plan to test at the beginning of summer.  Should I call the schools and ask?  Or what do you recommend?  Also if I re-take it for whatever reason would that be a disadvantage if I didn't do well, or would I know my score before sending it to them?

I took the GRE two years before I applied because that's when I had time. I sent the score to three schools back then and they all still had them when I applied.

[jmk]

candynut- that is AWESOME info to know! Do you recall if they were CSDCAS schools or not? 

 

I am starting my junior year of undergrad Fall 2015, but registered to take the GRE this summer. I was upset about losing out on sending my four free scores, haha. 

[CBG321]

Okay good since only a few of the schools I am looking at right now are CSDCAS I can save myself some major money!  I'm so glad to have this information!  And good to know @Bettercallsaul!  

[ImjBee]

All in one collection 

https://sellfy.com/p/Yrpo/

 

Extensive Collection of Books,Videos,Notes,Vocabulary and practice tests to prepare anyone for the GRE! Books by NOVA,Princeton Review,Kaplan,Magoosh,Manhattan Prep, ETS,Barron's,Gruber's,AWA. Must have for anyone planning to take the GRE and wants to be well prepared & well informed. Studying has never been so easy!

 

[candynut]

candynut- that is AWESOME info to know! Do you recall if they were CSDCAS schools or not? 

 

I am starting my junior year of undergrad Fall 2015, but registered to take the GRE this summer. I was upset about losing out on sending my four free scores, haha.

They were not CSDCAS schools. None of mine were, so I don't really know if that makes a difference with reporting GRE scores.

[CBG321]

Remember CSDCAS charges a $100 application fee. The graduate school of the university your'e applying to also charges a fee on top of that.

Ridiculous. I've also had CDCAS lose my transcript, twice, and had a very difficult time with them.

 

So strategy wise, would it save me more money to send the GRE to the CSDCAS schools or were you guys saying CSDCAS is a different process so it would be a waste of the 3 free schools I can send it to?  Will I save more money sending it to non-CSDCAS schools since they will accept it more easily?  Or same savings either way?

[ralysp]

So strategy wise, would it save me more money to send the GRE to the CSDCAS schools or were you guys saying CSDCAS is a different process so it would be a waste of the 3 free schools I can send it to?  Will I save more money sending it to non-CSDCAS schools since they will accept it more easily?  Or same savings either way?

 

Sorry, this got kind of confusing, lol! So if a school uses CSDCAS, the GRE code you need to use to send them your score will be different than that school's 'regular' GRE code - so every school that uses CSDCAS (or at least every school I applied to that used it, which was 4) has a special CSDCAS GRE code (so for example, JMU's regular GRE code is 5392, but their CSDCAS code, and the one you would have to use if you were applying to their program, is 1043). I didn't know that there were separate CSDCAS codes when I took the GRE, so when I chose the schools I wanted to send my scores to (for free) I just chose the regular GRE codes (not the CSDCAS ones) and unfortunately, 3 out of the 4 scores I sent were to CSDCAS schools. I later found out that there were different CSDCAS codes, and had to send my scores to those schools again, which is why I 'wasted' 3 of my schools. I don't really remember much about searching for schools when choosing which ones I wanted to send scores to (maybe someone else here does) but I imagine that you can send the scores to the correct CSDCAS codes for free before (or was it after?) the test. You can find the CSDCAS codes on most program's admission websites, and also on the CSDCAS website (if you have an account, I guess). So basically, as long as you send your scores to the right codes, it doesn't matter if the school is CSDCAS or not - it will cost the same and you won't be wasting any money).

 

As for the cost of applying to CSDCAS schools, it is more expensive. The $100 mentioned above is for the first CSDCAS school you apply to. For every subsequent school, it's $45. But most CSDCAS schools also have supplemental applications, which comes with a separate fee also (although one of the four CSDCAS schools I applied to did not have a supplemental app) so that's where the extra expense comes in. That being said, there are a few perks to CSDCAS. It is much easier for recommenders (as far as I know) because they only have to send one letter to CSDCAS, no matter how many schools you applied to through it (so I applied to 7 total schools, 4 CSDCAS and 3 non-CSDCAS, and my recommenders only had to submit to 4 places, not 7). Similarly, you only have to submit your transcript to CSDCAS once, which can be helpful if you have taken classes in a lot of places, or if your school charges a fee to send transcripts. I did not run into any of the CSDCAS problems that a lot of people did (lost transcripts, etc.) so I can't attest much to that - but do make sure you are mindful of the fact that it does take a while for CSDCAS to verify your application, especially the later you complete it, and some schools have verified deadlines (not just completed) - but CSDCAS tells you all this, and it's nothing for you to get too concerned about now!

 

I hope this is helpful and clears up some confusion - let me know if it's still confusing! Good luck!!

[jpiccolo]

I think I sent 1-2 scores last year not to the CSDCAS code but the schools were able to find it. Obviously that's not always the case and now you can prepare in advance where to send them to avoid any mixups that way. And just a note, every school with CSDCAS is different. I only had 1 of 3 CSDCAS schools that had a supplemental app this year. Last year it might have been 2 of 3. I think the concept of CSDCAS is good, but they don't always process very well, it's confusing, schools have extra fees/apps, and schools don't understand how it works either. If you apply to any CSDCAS schools my advice is to E-submit EARLY. That way you don't have to worry about not being verified in time. I E-submitted before Christmas and was verified a couple days later whereas people who submitted around New Years or later were waiting for weeks. 

[CBG321]

This is probably a silly question but what is a good GRE score it seems like ppl post oh I did horrible and the number is still one within the school's accepted range of scores or very close to the score number.  Is 3 points away big?  I guess I just don't understand how to interpret the numbers.

 

I'm going to look into the GRE forum too but obviously in this field our target numbers are different than other programs.

[CBG321]

And thank you everyone for the advice!

[jmk]

Most schools I am looking at want either the 50th or 40th percentile for Quant/Verbal and use that as the cut off. I found that out by looking at programs online, and emailing. 

 

I have read multiple times on the forum that you want to aim for at least a 4 in AW. 

 

Obviously the higher your GRE score is, esp verbal/AW, the better place you are at. 

 

For myself, I am aiming for at least a 150 in Quant, and a 155 in Verbal, with 4 in AW. I am hoping to surpass my goals, but plan to retake the test until I reach those "minimum" standards if I score lower. 

[CBG321]

Most schools I am looking at want either the 50th or 40th percentile for Quant/Verbal and use that as the cut off. I found that out by looking at programs online, and emailing. 

 

I have read multiple times on the forum that you want to aim for at least a 4 in AW. 

 

Obviously the higher your GRE score is, esp verbal/AW, the better place you are at. 

 

For myself, I am aiming for at least a 150 in Quant, and a 155 in Verbal, with 4 in AW. I am hoping to surpass my goals, but plan to retake the test until I reach those "minimum" standards if I score lower. 

 

Thank you!  I'll have to get those numbers in my head and practice/study a lot more!

[clmogel]

Thank you!  I'll have to get those numbers in my head and practice/study a lot more!

 

Most schools I am looking at want either the 50th or 40th percentile for Quant/Verbal and use that as the cut off. I found that out by looking at programs online, and emailing. 

 

I have read multiple times on the forum that you want to aim for at least a 4 in AW. 

 

Obviously the higher your GRE score is, esp verbal/AW, the better place you are at. 

 

For myself, I am aiming for at least a 150 in Quant, and a 155 in Verbal, with 4 in AW. I am hoping to surpass my goals, but plan to retake the test until I reach those "minimum" standards if I score lower. 

 

What schools did you find that had those GRE score cut offs?

[cdawson92]

I'll be applying next Fall but like most people will be taking a full load of classes and also commuting is going to take up a LOT of my time.  

 

I wanted advice on a timeline of things I may not be thinking of and anything people in the past have experience neglecting and wish they had done earlier.  Little details or questions I should be asking that i'm not thinking of...

 

I'll be taking the GRE this summer and just want to finish anything early that I can to try to reduce a little stress.

 

Thanks

My advice is to definitely to get things done as early as possible - ask professors for recommendations as early as possible so they can write you the best recommendation possible, prepare for your GRE well in advance, TAKE your GRE well in advance (so you can have time to retake it if you feel the need to do so), get your personal statement written and edited by as many people as possible as early as possible (so you can make changes to it and perfect it) and start your applications as early as you possibly can. Don't put anything off. It all seems pretty doable until the deadlines start creeping up on you while you're busy with a full course load, etc. 

[clmogel]

My best advice is to screen schools by emailing or calling directors to ask these important questions below. This is considering the fact that the program websites and ASHA ed find stats are not up to date. The program requirements can also be misleading, when they say minimum G.P.A. is 3.25. However, average G.P.A. accpetance is 3.7. Huge disparity. Therefore, us students have a hard time deciding which schools are actually a good fit, so we apply everywhere and they get 600 applications to review for 55 spots. Here are the questions you should ask below!

 

Could you please tell me what I can do, specifically, to make myself a good candidate for your program?

1. What exactly is your criteria for accepting students?

2. Do you mainly accept your own undergrad. students?

3. How many students applied this year? 

4. What were the average GRE and GPA scores for the class of 2015?  Will these averages be the cutoff scores for next fall 2016?

5. To build my resume, would you suggest research experience, becoming a Speech Language Pathology Assistant, and/or additional volunteer hours?

 

You can throw in questions on graduate assistantships available and numbe rof part-time and full-time awarded.

 

Honestly, if you don't meet average GRE and GPA scores and there were 600 applications last year, you know this is a reach school.

[clmogel]

If anyone is still interested in testing their luck with one more school, I confirmed Jacksonville University is still accepting applications until May 15th for this Fall!! They still have spots! They have only recieved over 200 applications, average combined GRE scores 290, with an average writing of 3.5.  ASHA  says they accept students 2.44-3.75 GPA. They seem to be a newer program, next Accrediation Review is February 2018. Tuition is $47,080 without doing an optional semester. There seem to be a few graduate assistantships available in other departments but, can't find them on the website yet. Hope this helps!

[CBG321]

Thank you! Now I'm getting nervous because I feel the need to pre-ask for letters of recommendation. One of my professors only writes 25 and I really need one from her! Just have to take it one day at a time though.

[ImHis]

Thank you! Now I'm getting nervous because I feel the need to pre-ask for letters of recommendation. One of my professors only writes 25 and I really need one from her! Just have to take it one day at a time though.

 

I would definitely ask now so you can give them time and avoid or anticipate unforeseen events. In my case, my LOR did not respond for 5 months after agreeing to write. I ended up having to go to visit in person to see what's happening and low and behold, LOR was buried in projects. It was sent 3 weeks before the deadline :S My second LOR finished/sent it 1 day before the deadline. So, the earlier the better.

Edited April 27, 2015 by ImHis

[CBG321]

I would definitely ask now so you can give them time and avoid or anticipate unforeseen events. In my case, my LOR did not respond for 5 months after agreeing to write. I ended up having to go to visit in person to see what's happening and low and behold, LOR was buried in projects. It was sent 3 weeks before the deadline :S My second LOR finished/sent it 1 day before the deadline. So, the earlier the better.

 

Thank you!  The two I asked said yes and my last pick offered in the past when we thought my timeline was different so i'm thinking i've got my 3, I just need to re-ask the one.  It was such good advice to go get it over with!  I feel so relieved to know who i've got and it gives me the time to prepare exactly what they want and need in their packets so hopefully I can be one of the first to have that information sent to them. 

 

I am a little nervous because one was saying she finishes at least a week before they are due.  Which is cutting it close in my do it early mindset but beggars can't be choosers and she has a good track record for writing thoughtful letters so as long as it's in that's what i'll focus on!  Plus I heard of other people being told a polite no or ask in the Fall so I am counting my blessings!