Northern Arizona University vs. University of Arizona

[CBG321]

Does anyone have any personal experience with these schools?  Tours, faculty communication, attended their Graduate/Undergraduate programs, applied and had a good experience or bad experience?  Just any tidbits that may help me pick which school is a better fit (narrowing down my grad school list before application season).  I know a lot of people recently applied so am hoping for some feedback now that most of you guys know where you're going  .

[CBG321]

Oh and for out of staters if one is blatantly more expensive!  Those financial pages can be deceptive so i'm not sure i'm looking at the right numbers seems like our program likes to jack up already expensive program fees.

 

Thanks

[ImHis]

If you're working full-time, save all your vacation salary and use it to visit all your schools in person. I had an amazing road trip doing that Also, you can go to LinkedIn and call up some former graduates for schools you're planning to apply. They were very honest about the pros/cons of schools I applied.

[CBG321]

I'm not sure I'll have the money or time to road trip to them I would LOVE to do it and will certainly do so for the 3 closest but right now I'm less than part time and my money is toward the $200 GRE and a just in case I need to take it again fund! I just don't have the funds i'm trying to put any extra into savings for tuition. It really is the best way though, maybe I'll come up with a get rich quick plan that works haha. LinkedIn is a fantastic idea I never thought of I'm definitely going to do that asap. Does it tell when they graduated b/c I know programs can change dramatically within a couple years.
Ty!

 

P.S- I'm really not a fan of LinkedIn in general (for this purpose it is perfect though) so I was wondering is it okay to make a profile just to email people and then delete it after I get the information?  Not sure if that would appear odd?

Edited May 24, 2015 by CBG321

[ImHis]

I'm not sure I'll have the money or time to road trip to them I would LOVE to do it and will certainly do so for the 3 closest but right now I'm less than part time and my money is toward the $200 GRE and a just in case I need to take it again fund! I just don't have the funds i'm trying to put any extra into savings for tuition. It really is the best way though, maybe I'll come up with a get rich quick plan that works haha. LinkedIn is a fantastic idea I never thought of I'm definitely going to do that asap. Does it tell when they graduated b/c I know programs can change dramatically within a couple years.

Ty!

 

P.S- I'm really not a fan of LinkedIn in general (for this purpose it is perfect though) so I was wondering is it okay to make a profile just to email people and then delete it after I get the information?  Not sure if that would appear odd?

 

Definitely visit since it will makes your application more personal and you can talk ask professors about their latest research. That visit is something you can also reference in your personal statement which shows how committed you are to attending the program and your efforts to get to know their values, mission and vision for their department and community that they serve.

 

I hear you about that GRE. I took it years ago and I'm surprised how expensive it has become. The ETS practice tests are the best predictors of your performance so it should be a good way to boost your confidence if you score well on them. Also, do mindfulness stress reduction (guided) meditation on the floor or bed as little as 20 minutes a day before you practice questions. It helped me focus and increased my clarity and memory during my review and on the test. Jon Kabat-Zinn' videos (who pioneered it) has a few videos available.They're wonderful:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vgKzXdwtRE

 

LinkedIn definitely is a good tool to reach out to former students. You can create one to make yourself more authentic. I didn't just because I was going to use the money ($30) for my groceries Instead, I just look up the person's current employer and called their company's 1-800 or the secretary (if they work in private practice). When you finally get a hold of them, let them know that you are exploring schools and you found out that they graduated from the same school that you are prospecting on LinkedIn.Otherwise, it may sound like you're stalking them    I had one who was out on lunch break and the secretary ssaid to try in another hour but she took my number. 10 minutes later, I get a call back from the SLP who gave some very juicey information about the application process. The SLP gave some insight on how they ran the interview process, how not to behave in them and what turns the adcoms off when it comes to applicants' personality. It was quite hilarious.

 

I have to say that current students were harder to get a hold of just because they are trying to protect their reputation so it's understandable. Still, the former students are 2-4 years post-graduation are still likely to have the same professors who currently teach present cohorts. Overall, I earned very informative details about how well organized the courses were, teaching styles, clinical placement assignment process, the overall class climate and how well prepared they came out from the program.

Edited May 25, 2015 by ImHis

[CBG321]

Awesome information!  Thank you.  About LinkedIn perfect b/c I really don't wanna waste time making yet another account i'll never use haha.  I'm okay with recent graduates just someone within a couple years so I know the information is accurate.  Where'd you apply if you don't mind my asking, if there is some overlap maybe I can get some of those details haha.

 

And yeesh nice to have that inside information about that interview process how intimidating to not know what their agenda/choice applicant is ahead of time.  Yeah I would be scared to do so while currently attending either so I understand.  But organization is so important in a Graduate program.  At least for me I would feel so frustrated with anything preventable like poor leadership or a lack of organization that may hinder my ability to get a good education.  B/c #1 we worked hard to get there, #2 it's not cheap and #3 most importantly they are our foundation for real world clients.  I want to be as prepared as possible!  

 

Great advice thank you!

[ImHis]

SUNY Plattsburgh, Syracuse, Macquarie University. SUNY Plattsburgh alumni had a high response rate.

[delete-account]

 

Oh and for out of staters if one is blatantly more expensive!  Those financial pages can be deceptive so i'm not sure i'm looking at the right numbers seems like our program likes to jack up already expensive program fees.

 

Thanks

 

U of A is around $27k for out of state applicants and financial aid is ONLY loans for grad students, unless you get a fellowship or assistantship of some sort. I got in to U of A and couldn't go because of the money. They are also very research oriented and "highly encourage" completing a thesis. Faculty are nice and helpful, and will definitely answer if you email them before you apply (I did!). 

[CBG321]

U of A is around $27k for out of state applicants and financial aid is ONLY loans for grad students, unless you get a fellowship or assistantship of some sort. I got in to U of A and couldn't go because of the money. They are also very research oriented and "highly encourage" completing a thesis. Faculty are nice and helpful, and will definitely answer if you email them before you apply (I did!). 

 

Thank you so much for the pricing!  For the research aspect do you happen to know if their program leans more towards the medical or school based side?  I feel like i'd have a much easier time coming up with something interesting from the school-based/children area since that's where my interests lie.  Do you recommend the head of the department for emails or was there a particular contact person that seemed especially helpful?  I'm trying to keep track of who i've asked what and where.  The research period of the application process isn't exactly hard but it is time consuming lol.

 

Edit: is the 27K per year or for the entire program?

Edited May 28, 2015 by CBG321

[CBG321]

SUNY Plattsburgh, Syracuse, Macquarie University. SUNY Plattsburgh alumni had a high response rate.

Darn i'm not applying in New York or Wisconsin.  Oh well!

[delete-account]

Thank you so much for the pricing!  For the research aspect do you happen to know if their program leans more towards the medical or school based side?  I feel like i'd have a much easier time coming up with something interesting from the school-based/children area since that's where my interests lie.  Do you recommend the head of the department for emails or was there a particular contact person that seemed especially helpful?  I'm trying to keep track of who i've asked what and where.  The research period of the application process isn't exactly hard but it is time consuming lol.

 

Edit: is the 27K per year or for the entire program?

 

http://financialaid.arizona.edu/undergraduate/estimated-cost-attendancethis is the best info I found on U of A's costs. It says $30,000/year, so my 27k number was actually a little low! I'm not sure about their research interests, but I'm sure that's something you could ask. I feel like there is enough focus on school-based research that it shouldn't be an issue. I emailed a faculty member I was interested in working with, Leah Fabiano Smith, and she was really nice! The contact for admissions, Denise Minopoli, is EXTREMELY helpful. I also emailed briefly with Jeannette Hoit, and she was also very kind. I get the vibe that most of the faculty is like that. 

[CBG321]

http://financialaid.arizona.edu/undergraduate/estimated-cost-attendancethis is the best info I found on U of A's costs. It says $30,000/year, so my 27k number was actually a little low! I'm not sure about their research interests, but I'm sure that's something you could ask. I feel like there is enough focus on school-based research that it shouldn't be an issue. I emailed a faculty member I was interested in working with, Leah Fabiano Smith, and she was really nice! The contact for admissions, Denise Minopoli, is EXTREMELY helpful. I also emailed briefly with Jeannette Hoit, and she was also very kind. I get the vibe that most of the faculty is like that. 

 

Awesome thank you so much.  Ugh so expensive!  I'll have to get research that info on NAU as well and that might be the deciding factor between the two of them.  Although friendly departments is super high on my wish list so who knows what will end up happening after some tours.  Thanks for the contact names that were helpful for you I find having a name ahead of time that has worked for people speeds up the process!

[calder]

Hi, 

 

I am in U of A's undergraduate program currently, so I can only speak in very general terms. In terms of reputation, the U of A carries a lot of prestige for its SLP program. We are ranked in the top 5 programs in the country, which is the most competitive ranking of any graduate degree at our school. I started in a different major, and once I changed to my SLHS major, I was so pleasantly surprised. It is a completely different experience from the last department I was in. The faculty are all so friendly and willing to help, and there are people who represent just about any interest you might have (seriously...I am currently involved in research for language acquisition in those with language disabilities vs. those without, will be interning at our onsite preschool with toddlers with language delays, and was recently presented an opportunity to study the neurology behind bird communication as it relates to human communication). I have not gotten the impression that we lean medical or education, but there are lots of opportunities for both tracks. In terms of education, we have a speech-based preschool onsite (as I previously mentioned), I can think of several professors who do research geared for education, and we see all sorts of kiddos at our onsite clinics. My undergraduate experience has been wonderful here, and most everyone in the major wants to stay, but bear in mind that our graduate program is HIGHLY competitive. We all have that looming over our heads and many have accepted that they'll have to go elsewhere. I'm not sure where you live, but the reputation for the SLP programs in our state is UA>ASU>NAU. U of A is great, ASU is still pretty good, and NAU is more like the budget program (although there is absolutely nothing wrong with that - I know a successful bilingual SLP in town who worked on her MS SLP at NAU over summers because that was the cheapest instate option). Unfortunately I can't offer a huge amount of insight for the nitty gritty of the graduate program at U of A, and little to nothing about NAU, but let me know if there's anything you think I can answer for you.