2016 Applicants

[racoomelon]

5 minutes ago, Southwest Speechie said:

Dr. Harmon is great. Each of the professor has their area of specialty, so you will be taking classes with your cohort. Your cohort will include levelers and full time, but they don't always take classes together. The faculty is really accessible, with offices on the same floor as the classrooms and the clinic. It's all contained in one floor of the building. Have you visited? Flagstaff is amazing.

I might go later this month. I'm in Tucson, so Flagstaff isn't really that much of a drive and I stop by the Grand Canyon. I've heard it's gorgeous up there! I'm hesitant to drive when it's snowing, so I'm kind of waiting it out. 

[Southwest Speechie]

4 minutes ago, racoomelon said:

I might go later this month. I'm in Tucson, so Flagstaff isn't really that much of a drive and I stop by the Grand Canyon. I've heard it's gorgeous up there! I'm hesitant to drive when it's snowing, so I'm kind of waiting it out. 

It's not so bad. I'm in Flagstaff now and the weather is very mild. We are expected to have some snow on Sunday night, but flowers and trees are starting to bloom. We may get some more snow, maybe two storms before May, but the worse of it is probably over. By the way, some of the faculty will be around for Spring Break, if you want to visit.

[Southwest Speechie]

Check them out on Facebook under Northern Arizona University Communication Sciences and Disorders. They have pictures of the professors and of the building and such.

[racoomelon]

1 minute ago, Southwest Speechie said:

Check them out on Facebook under Northern Arizona University Communication Sciences and Disorders. They have pictures of the professors and of the building and such.

I didn't know about that! I'll look into it. Thanks! 

Edited March 6, 2016 by racoomelon

[Southwest Speechie]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 8:17 PM, slptobe92 said:

I normally check the website to make sure I'm talking to someone high up in admissions. I've gotten a few people before who were just on the administrative side and they didn't know as much (understandably). 

I don't know about other schools, but at the one university I'm associated with, those who deal with admissions applications are trained administrative staff and student workers. They don't make the decisions about who gets in and who doesn't, but they do handle all applications and answer phone calls and emails and such. You can always email faculty directly; their emails are usually online.

[Southwest Speechie]

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 9:14 PM, lindzzz said:

Feeling this. I'm a second time applicant. I've been in the field since 2005 (Speech language pathology assistant).. And last year I was straight up rejected; I was so shocked. That's a long story in itself. Basically they didnt even look at my app So I improved my prereq marks (only thing really lagging in my application) and applied to more schools (I live in Canada. Options are VERY limited up here). But I am so, so, so terrified that I'm still not going to get in & there's really not much more I can do besides take a ton more courses that I don't need. I'm 31 this year and I feel very overwhelmed by the thought of not being successful in pursuing my career

Anyway.. Just commiserating

Just wondering if I can be of assistance.  Sometimes a really strong essay can make up for a less than stellar GPA. LOR need to be from professors and people in the field, and they need to be super strong. Also, have you tried visiting some programs you are interested in? Sometimes if they see you, talk to you, they will look at your application more closely.

[rzilby]

13 hours ago, Southwest Speechie said:

I'm sure  your essay and letters of recommendation are really good. BUT sometimes, those two can be problematic. Sometime the applicants have long letters, or they ramble, or grammar is not very good. Other times, applicants don't even mention how they are a good fit for the schools. The schools LOVE to hear how you've done your research on the school and department. Sometimes in letters, writers mention something about your personality that is negative. It's amazing to me how little thought people put into who they ask to write letters. Anyway, you sound like you have good qualifications. Maybe you need to look into smaller, less known programs.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Thanks! I'm pretty confident in my LOR for the most part, though I did unfortunately have an issue with one. One was from an SLP I interned with, who I worked with multiple times and sent me a gift card as a thank you, had me babysit the children a few times during parent meetings, etc. So I think that one was strong, and I have another professor who I worked with for 2 years, who was very willing to write me a recommendation and pretty much told students that she wouldn't say yes unless she was actually willing to do so, and one of the schools I applied to even used her published work as readings for our class (I was waitlisted there, so I'm not too upset lol). My third letter was from the department director, who unfortunately I only had one semester, in a big lecture class. All my other 3 options for the final letter actually left the country or took personal leave and I couldn't contact them, and I needed it to be from a professor. It made it really difficult to find someone, as I was trying to contact them all summer and was running out of time :/

For the essays, I usually try to be thorough and address all the topics asked for each school. If a school asks why I want to be a speech pathologist and what qualities I feel are important to be a good SLP, my first priority would be to address those, and then use any extra room to express my interest in the school. I think this year some of the schools shortened the essay length from 1000 words to 500, so it became extra challenging to fit everything in, the way I would like to word it. I found myself writing it all out and then having to erase like half of it to make it fit the requirements. Hopefully it didn't sound too choppy.

I didn't know too much about the Queens College program, truthfully. My mom is an alumni and told me to apply because of affordability. It looks like a great program, but I have some concerns about where I'd be living, as I have a dog and she'd be coming with me, and the apartment situation we have isn't ideal. Plus NYC is really expensive, and driving in the city is my worst nightmare because I have a stick shift haha. So I'm not as upset about probably being rejected as I am about losing another possible option. The wait is becoming so nerve-wracking because I haven't gotten a single acceptance yet. I'm holding out for Syracuse and PSU. I spoke to the program director for Syracuse after being waitlisted (I was at the top of the list but they told me they didn't accept anyone that year), and this year during the phone interview they made mention of the improvements they saw, and said they were impressed that I took the advice into account. They also gave an extra option to explain any low GPA stuff, which I think really helped me out. I just hope to hear back soon..

Edited March 6, 2016 by rzilby
typos

[midweststudent343]

so..did anyone else that applied to University of Washington-Seattle not hear back yet? Or know if they give results in stages? I applied pretty close to the deadline but I've seen a lot of people hear back. Just wondering! 

[Cowsy]

I had a dream last night that I was rejected by PSU (my top choice), and somehow my volunteer supervisor, an SLP I've worked closely with, knew about it before me and posted about it here on gradcafe. Hahahahaha. ? Also, I was in some building and there were posters full of information about accepted students on the walls... plus one about me, with all my info and, like, essays about why I was rejected. HAHAHHAHA. Goodness gracious. 

[rzilby]

1 hour ago, Cowsy said:

I had a dream last night that I was rejected by PSU (my top choice), and somehow my volunteer supervisor, an SLP I've worked closely with, knew about it before me and posted about it here on gradcafe. Hahahahaha. ? Also, I was in some building and there were posters full of information about accepted students on the walls... plus one about me, with all my info and, like, essays about why I was rejected. HAHAHHAHA. Goodness gracious. 

Oh man, I'm sorry. I've had some nightmares about rejections as well, though not gradcafe related haha. I've been waking up at random intervals at the night dreaming that I forgot to do something or was late with something for my apps, which have been finished since January. I think a break from gradcafe might be healthy at this point ... And yet, here I am lol.

[lindzzz]

5 minutes ago, rzilby said:

Oh man, I'm sorry. I've had some nightmares about rejections as well, though not gradcafe related haha. I've been waking up at random intervals at the night dreaming that I forgot to do something or was late with something for my apps, which have been finished since January. I think a break from gradcafe might be healthy at this point ... And yet, here I am lol.

 hahaha.. I've also had nightmares! And i keep telling myself to not look at this forum... I guess I'm just not listening  

[rzilby]

1 hour ago, lindzzz said:

 hahaha.. I've also had nightmares! And i keep telling myself to not look at this forum... I guess I'm just not listening  

Haha, yet we all keep logging in. I have online courses and I'm trying to complete the assignments but I'm just really burned out atm, so I keep checking here every time I find myself procrastinating! I heard MGH is giving e-mail decisions for everyone who hasn't heard by phone on Monday, so I just really want it to be tomorrow so I know for sure!

[talkingcake]

5 hours ago, ohiostatestudent627 said:

so..did anyone else that applied to University of Washington-Seattle not hear back yet? Or know if they give results in stages? I applied pretty close to the deadline but I've seen a lot of people hear back. Just wondering! 

It's probably not a submission date issue, because I submitted my application the day it was due and already heard back.  I'm guessing it's either in stages or you're in the waitlist maybe?

[hopefulspeechie16]

6 hours ago, rzilby said:

Thanks! I'm pretty confident in my LOR for the most part, though I did unfortunately have an issue with one. One was from an SLP I interned with, who I worked with multiple times and sent me a gift card as a thank you, had me babysit the children a few times during parent meetings, etc. So I think that one was strong, and I have another professor who I worked with for 2 years, who was very willing to write me a recommendation and pretty much told students that she wouldn't say yes unless she was actually willing to do so, and one of the schools I applied to even used her published work as readings for our class (I was waitlisted there, so I'm not too upset lol). My third letter was from the department director, who unfortunately I only had one semester, in a big lecture class. All my other 3 options for the final letter actually left the country or took personal leave and I couldn't contact them, and I needed it to be from a professor. It made it really difficult to find someone, as I was trying to contact them all summer and was running out of time :/

For the essays, I usually try to be thorough and address all the topics asked for each school. If a school asks why I want to be a speech pathologist and what qualities I feel are important to be a good SLP, my first priority would be to address those, and then use any extra room to express my interest in the school. I think this year some of the schools shortened the essay length from 1000 words to 500, so it became extra challenging to fit everything in, the way I would like to word it. I found myself writing it all out and then having to erase like half of it to make it fit the requirements. Hopefully it didn't sound too choppy.

I didn't know too much about the Queens College program, truthfully. My mom is an alumni and told me to apply because of affordability. It looks like a great program, but I have some concerns about where I'd be living, as I have a dog and she'd be coming with me, and the apartment situation we have isn't ideal. Plus NYC is really expensive, and driving in the city is my worst nightmare because I have a stick shift haha. So I'm not as upset about probably being rejected as I am about losing another possible option. The wait is becoming so nerve-wracking because I haven't gotten a single acceptance yet. I'm holding out for Syracuse and PSU. I spoke to the program director for Syracuse after being waitlisted (I was at the top of the list but they told me they didn't accept anyone that year), and this year during the phone interview they made mention of the improvements they saw, and said they were impressed that I took the advice into account. They also gave an extra option to explain any low GPA stuff, which I think really helped me out. I just hope to hear back soon..

Do you know about the program at Syracuse in general? Placements, faculty? These boards don't seem to have much.

[rzilby]

45 minutes ago, speechie94 said:

Do you know about the program at Syracuse in general? Placements, faculty? These boards don't seem to have much.

I don't know too much about the faculty specifically. A few names were mentioned, but I've honestly had a crazy weekend with homework and I can't think of them right now. As for placements, I believe you can do clinicals in your last year in various parts of the east coast- I think you aren't limited to just Syracuse, though I'm not too sure how it works. My main question for them was whether the program was focused on a school program or medical program, and it seems like they try to give students a chance to work in both so they can decide which they prefer. Usually, if a student says they only want to work with kids/adults, they will try to give them varied time in both so that they can experience it and decide after. Personally, I like the idea that the program isn't leaning towards one or the other. I generally prefer adult learners when I teach, but I want the chance to experience both. Another thing I really liked is that you can get a NYC teaching license while in the program, which apparently is reciprocal with a lot of other states, so moving around and teaching is easier. I also know they have an on-campus clinic, the Gebbie Clinic, which has a few specialties, including aphasia, and students do get to work there as well.

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but if you have specific questions, I can try to answer them! I hope that helped though

[hopefulspeechie16]

26 minutes ago, rzilby said:

I don't know too much about the faculty specifically. A few names were mentioned, but I've honestly had a crazy weekend with homework and I can't think of them right now. As for placements, I believe you can do clinicals in your last year in various parts of the east coast- I think you aren't limited to just Syracuse, though I'm not too sure how it works. My main question for them was whether the program was focused on a school program or medical program, and it seems like they try to give students a chance to work in both so they can decide which they prefer. Usually, if a student says they only want to work with kids/adults, they will try to give them varied time in both so that they can experience it and decide after. Personally, I like the idea that the program isn't leaning towards one or the other. I generally prefer adult learners when I teach, but I want the chance to experience both. Another thing I really liked is that you can get a NYC teaching license while in the program, which apparently is reciprocal with a lot of other states, so moving around and teaching is easier. I also know they have an on-campus clinic, the Gebbie Clinic, which has a few specialties, including aphasia, and students do get to work there as well.

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but if you have specific questions, I can try to answer them! I hope that helped though

That was really helpful! Thanks! All I've heard about Syracuse was that it snows a lot there (wasn't really helpful)  I heard students were placed in NYC for practicum though. 

[DeWi]

Is anyone else seriously considering accepting an offer before hearing back from their other remaining schools, or am I a crazy person? I don't want to be impulsive...but I'm not convinced that any acceptance I get at another school would deter me from my current offer. 

Edited March 6, 2016 by cosmicmorgan

[kumapanda]

8 minutes ago, cosmicmorgan said:

Is anyone else seriously considering accepting an offer before hearing back from their other remaining schools, or am I a crazy person? I don't want to be impulsive...but I'm not convinced that any acceptance I get at another school would deter me from my current offer. 

I'm feeling that right now.  I applied to 10 programs, but only 2 answers back with one of them accepting.  Two of the other schools had interviews but I didn't get anything, so I'm starting to think I was rejected by those two.  But yeah, I'm trying to be patient and wait before I make any decisions.   

[rzilby]

28 minutes ago, speechie94 said:

That was really helpful! Thanks! All I've heard about Syracuse was that it snows a lot there (wasn't really helpful)  I heard students were placed in NYC for practicum though. 

It could be the most common placing, but I think I read that NYC, NJ, Rhode Island, and Florida were all possibilities. And yes, I think it won snowiest city like 7 years in a row. I hate the cold, but its one of my top 2 because of my previous application. I'm starting to get so nervous that I'll be happy accepted anywhere, though I'd prefer for it to be Syracuse or PSU. Did you apply there? And if so, any idea when we should hear back? I'm just so tired I can't remember what they said during the interview.

[kumapanda]

29 minutes ago, rzilby said:

It could be the most common placing, but I think I read that NYC, NJ, Rhode Island, and Florida were all possibilities. And yes, I think it won snowiest city like 7 years in a row. I hate the cold, but its one of my top 2 because of my previous application. I'm starting to get so nervous that I'll be happy accepted anywhere, though I'd prefer for it to be Syracuse or PSU. Did you apply there? And if so, any idea when we should hear back? I'm just so tired I can't remember what they said during the interview.

I'm not sure when to hear from Syracuse, but PSU sent an email a few weeks back saying we should be getting responses by end of March. 

[rzilby]

17 minutes ago, rainsonata said:

I'm not sure when to hear from Syracuse, but PSU sent an email a few weeks back saying we should be getting responses by end of March. 

Ah okay, thanks. I know the woman from Syracuse told me when after the interview, but I just can't remember. I should have wrote it down :(. 

[n22]

2 hours ago, rzilby said:

Ah okay, thanks. I know the woman from Syracuse told me when after the interview, but I just can't remember. I should have wrote it down :(. 

When I interviewed with syracuse (the 18th) the woman said they'd let us know around 3 weeks after!

[midweststudent343]

5 hours ago, talkingcake said:

It's probably not a submission date issue, because I submitted my application the day it was due and already heard back.  I'm guessing it's either in stages or you're in the waitlist maybe?

maybe! I've seen people be waitlisted and rejected already..so who knows. I'll find out eventually haha 

[rzilby]

59 minutes ago, nat22 said:

When I interviewed with syracuse (the 18th) the woman said they'd let us know around 3 weeks after!

Okay, awesome! I interviewed the 18th as well, so hopefully, they'll notify us some time this week if they aren't running behind! Best of luck

[hopefulspeechie16]

13 hours ago, nat22 said:

When I interviewed with syracuse (the 18th) the woman said they'd let us know around 3 weeks after!

 

16 hours ago, rzilby said:

Ah okay, thanks. I know the woman from Syracuse told me when after the interview, but I just can't remember. I should have wrote it down :(. 

Just checking, but was the lady Dr. D?