2016 Applicants

[Rorororosy]

On March 19, 2016 at 1:17 PM, slptobe92 said:

I've seen people on the results board hear from Southern CT State, Gallaudet, and William Paterson over the last few days. I haven't heard anything yet. Should I take that as a no? That's been the pattern lately with other schools for me at least.

My friend got a rejection letter in the mail from Gallaudet like yesterday. SO I have no idea! 

[slptobe92]

10 minutes ago, Rorororosy said:

My friend got a rejection letter in the mail from Gallaudet like yesterday. SO I have no idea! 

When I talked to them two weeks ago they told me we would know by the 18th so I have no idea what's going on. I'm doing everything to keep myself from pacing by the mailbox!

[BamaBelle]

2 hours ago, Rorororosy said:

Will you stay in Bama if you get in? 

It is hard to move away from home, especially alabama. ROLL TIDE ROLL!

I'm not sure, but probably not. I'm ready for a change of scenery. I sure would miss the football though! Roll Tide!

[Kslptobe]

On 3/19/2016 at 7:40 PM, SLPBethany said:

Did you get accepted? I hope to hear from them soon!

Unfortunately, I did not ): Good luck to you though!!

[HopefulSLP123]

5 hours ago, SLPgradstudent said:

I'm really hoping that we'll hear back about funding this week!  It doesn't affect my decision, but I know a lot of people won't be able to make a decision until they know what the funding offer is.  I hope you get a great funding package from Dallas so you can have an easy decision!

When you say funding, are you referring to FAFSA Aid? or personal school fuding. I keep seeing funding referenced as so many things: TA, Assistantship, research, grants, scholarship, that I am not sure what people are referring to. 

[copaceticbroad]

19 hours ago, MangoSmoothie said:

 

@copaceticbroad Yes, professors in this field generally do need PhDs, according to the Standards for Accreditation.

http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/Accreditation-Standards-Graduate-Programs.pdf

This is for graduate programs, not undergraduate programs, but graduate programs need to have sufficient faculty with doctoral degrees in order to be accredited by ASHA.

Short version: Yes, the number of SLP graduate programs is directly affected by the number of PhDs in the field, and ASHA takes their standards for accreditation very seriously.

I stand corrected! In that case, though, SLP/CSD should be treated like STEM. STEM professors make very competitive salaries, because it's understood that they would leave for industry otherwise. I get that we're a health profession, but there are plenty of nursing programs out there; someone found a way to make it worthwhile for those instructors.

[racoomelon]

18 minutes ago, HopefulSLP123 said:

When you say funding, are you referring to FAFSA Aid? or personal school fuding. I keep seeing funding referenced as so many things: TA, Assistantship, research, grants, scholarship, that I am not sure what people are referring to. 

I think funding typically refers to the aid the school gives you that you won't have to pay back. So all of the things you've listed would count, to me, as funding because you're not going to be asked to repay the program. It's money 'given' to you, so to speak. Loans/FASFA are different. 

[SLPgradstudent]

34 minutes ago, HopefulSLP123 said:

When you say funding, are you referring to FAFSA Aid? or personal school fuding. I keep seeing funding referenced as so many things: TA, Assistantship, research, grants, scholarship, that I am not sure what people are referring to. 

I'm referring to GAs specifically (TAs fall under that).  I know people are waiting for information about multiple sources of financial aid though, including FAFSA, scholarships, etc.  I'm not expecting to get a scholarship, since they seem few and far between, but a GA would be great.  I'd like to avoid taking out loans if possible.

 

16 minutes ago, racoomelon said:

I think funding typically refers to the aid the school gives you that you won't have to pay back. So all of the things you've listed would count, to me, as funding because you're not going to be asked to repay the program. It's money 'given' to you, so to speak. Loans/FASFA are different. 

Yeah, so basically what @racoomelon said!

 

[SLPgradstudent]

19 hours ago, MangoSmoothie said:

 

@copaceticbroad Yes, professors in this field generally do need PhDs, according to the Standards for Accreditation.

http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/Accreditation-Standards-Graduate-Programs.pdf

This is for graduate programs, not undergraduate programs, but graduate programs need to have sufficient faculty with doctoral degrees in order to be accredited by ASHA.

• 2.1 All faculty members, including all individuals providing clinical education, are qualified and competent by virtue of their education, experience, and professional credentials to provide academic and clinical education assigned by the program.
  
  ...Academic content is to be taught by doctoral-level faculty except where there is a compelling rationale for instruction by an individual with other professional qualifications that satisfy institutional policy.
   
• 2.2 The number of full-time doctoral-level faculty in speech-language pathology, audiology,and speech, language, and hearing sciences and other full-and part-time faculty is sufficient to meet the teaching, research, and service needs of the program and the expectations of the institution. The institution provides stable support and resources for the program's faculty.
  
  ...This number must include research-qualified faculty (e.g., PhDs). The program must document that the number of doctoral-level and other faculty is sufficient to offer the breadth and depth of the curriculum, including its scientific and research components, so that students can complete the requirements within a reasonable time period and achieve the expected knowledge and skills.

In order for a program to be accredited by ASHA, they need to have doctoral faculty, and clinical doctorates do not meet the qualifications either. A PhD in another field is sometimes sufficient it seems, however. Some classes can be taught by professors without doctoral degrees, and ASHA doesn't regulate undergraduate/prereq instruction. The small number of programs is affected by the need to have sufficient PhD faculty on staff to get an accredited program, and there's a decent shortage of PhDs in our field. So yes, according to ASHA, you do need a PhD to teach this material. PhD faculty are experts in their fields. They're (regrettably) not always the best actual teachers, but they have a depth of knowledge about their fields/areas of study that others don't, even practicing SLPs.

One program I was accepted to last year was cited for non-compliance by ASHA for not having enough PhD faculty, and they were at risk of being put on probation for it because of the high number of graduate classes being taught by non-doctoral faculty. In my graduate program, all of my classes are taught by those with PhDs, except the ones that are directly about practicing, such as our on-campus practicums, and classes about providing services in the various environments.

Short version: Yes, the number of SLP graduate programs is directly affected by the number of PhDs in the field, and ASHA takes their standards for accreditation very seriously.

Great post @MangoSmoothie!  This is exactly the information I was looking for, but couldn't find.  It does seem like a big part of the problem is the shortage of PhDs in the field.  The reasons for that are many, but it needs to be addressed regardless.

[esopha]

1 hour ago, copaceticbroad said:

I stand corrected! In that case, though, SLP/CSD should be treated like STEM. STEM professors make very competitive salaries, because it's understood that they would leave for industry otherwise. I get that we're a health profession, but there are plenty of nursing programs out there; someone found a way to make it worthwhile for those instructors.

Nursing programs are actually facing very similar issues. You can have better pay and hours being a nurse rather than a professor, so people are tending to stay on the professional side.

Ironically, I think more people would be eager to be professors if they didn't have to worry about paying back their student loans.

[racoomelon]

2 hours ago, esopha said:

Nursing programs are actually facing very similar issues. You can have better pay and hours being a nurse rather than a professor, so people are tending to stay on the professional side.

Ironically, I think more people would be eager to be professors if they didn't have to worry about paying back their student loans.

It does seem like you'd be able to get a lot more benefits as a clinician, in regards to loan forgiveness, than as a professor. I'd really like a PhD, but depending on how much I rack up in loans I might not be able to. I'm assuming this is a common sentiment haha. 

On a similar, but slightly different, note-- don't most programs 'pay' for their PhD students? I have a friend who got a full ride to the OSU clinical psych program, and she said it's pretty typical for doctoral programs to pay your way in the form of assistantships and what not. Thoughts or comments? 

[SLPgradstudent]

9 hours ago, esopha said:

Nursing programs are actually facing very similar issues. You can have better pay and hours being a nurse rather than a professor, so people are tending to stay on the professional side.

Ironically, I think more people would be eager to be professors if they didn't have to worry about paying back their student loans.

7 hours ago, racoomelon said:

It does seem like you'd be able to get a lot more benefits as a clinician, in regards to loan forgiveness, than as a professor. I'd really like a PhD, but depending on how much I rack up in loans I might not be able to. I'm assuming this is a common sentiment haha. 

On a similar, but slightly different, note-- don't most programs 'pay' for their PhD students? I have a friend who got a full ride to the OSU clinical psych program, and she said it's pretty typical for doctoral programs to pay your way in the form of assistantships and what not. Thoughts or comments? 

Great idea @esopha!  There should absolutely be a program forgiving student loans of people who become professors.  @racoomelon, I think that some people doing PhD's in SLP get funding, but not all.  If you look at ASHA for any given school, it will say how many of their PhD spots are funded.  Although I don't know how many years would be funded, out of the potential 4-7+ it generally takes to complete a PhD.  It's expensive to run SLP graduate programs, so it doesn't really surprise me that some PhD students can't be funded.  Sad though, when it seems like almost every other field funds their PhD students as a matter of practice.

 

[MangoSmoothie]

If you browse around on these forums or talk to any professor or PhD candidate or hopeful, you will often see the advice, don't pay for a PhD. This is true in any field. If you're not getting funding from somewhere to pay for that PhD, don't do it. You will be doing research for that degree, and if the university isn't willing to fund you through it, it's not worth it.

So really, the cost of a PhD doesn't factor in to why people don't want to pursue one in this field, and professors don't need loan forgiveness, since they're being paid to do the degree. Even in this field, you can often do MS/PhD combos which are funded, which gets you the clinical degree and the PhD. But that or a PhD alone is a huge commitment (5 years is the average now, I think, for PhDs), and not everyone wants to be involved in research. If you can't stand research, a PhD isn't going to be right for you. If you're even vaguely interested, however, in doing a PhD, it's a good idea to do a thesis during your master's. Not all programs offer a thesis, but if you're on the edge, it can help you know if a PhD might be right for you some day, and will make you a more competitive candidate.

Seriously, don't do an unfunded PhD, and it's not a regular occurrence, even in this field. I know you all weren't talking about doing one! But I don't want the idea to float out there that it's advisable to do an unfunded PhD.

Edited March 22, 2016 by MangoSmoothie

[esopha]

Oh, I wasn't talking about debt from a PhD. I meant debt from undergrad. Also, I think it's quite common for people to get an MA in SLP before they pursue their PhD, so they would have those loans to consider as well. Obviously combined MA/PhDs are available, but they are less common (from what I've seen) and perhaps less advisable (real world experience is great) than working in the field between the MA and the PhD.

[SLPgradstudent]

19 minutes ago, MangoSmoothie said:

If you browse around on these forums or talk to any professor or PhD candidate or hopeful, you will often see the advice, don't pay for a PhD. This is true in any field. If you're not getting funding from somewhere to pay for that PhD, don't do it. You will be doing research for that degree, and if the university isn't willing to fund you through it, it's not worth it.

Seriously, don't do an unfunded PhD, and it's not a regular occurrence, even in this field. I know you all weren't talking about doing one! But I don't want the idea to float out there that it's advisable to do an unfunded PhD.

This is the advice I have heard over and over again.  I was pretty surprised when I saw on ASHA's website that some PhD offers are NOT funded.

@esopha, agreed.  If I were to do a PhD someday, it would be after getting my MA and then some clinical experience.  At this point in my life, I don't think a 6-7 year combined MA/PhD makes sense for me.  But the thesis option is certainly something to consider as we pursue our MA, if PhD might be in our futures.

Edited March 22, 2016 by SLPgradstudent

[slptobe92]

Did anyone hear from Loyola today? I saw one person on the results page post an acceptance.

[kumapanda]

23 minutes ago, slptobe92 said:

Did anyone hear from Loyola today? I saw one person on the results page post an acceptance.

I haven't heard from them yet.  I saw several people reporting on the results page of acceptances.  I hope we get something from them soon. 

[sesame_mochi]

I was wondering, is anyone attending the University of Colorado, Boulder Open House next week or thinking of attending the MA SLH program at Boulder? I haven't seen anyone mention Boulder on this forum yet (?), but it would be really cool to connect with someone else who has been accepted and is considering attending their program! 

[tinamars]

Hey all! I have been waitlisted to East Carolina University. After 4 rejections, this school is my only hope for Fall 2016! Today, an AuD friend of mine told me that I should schedule a visit with the school ASAP. She said this would increase my chances of getting moved up on the waitlist. I'm currently in Florida and would have to fly up there. She said that when she was waitlisted, this worked for her. She visited the school and was taken off the waitlist shortly after and believes it was because she made a great impression and showed interest. 

I'm conflicted! Is it worth the time and money?  Does anyone else have any experience here?

[Rorororosy]

5 hours ago, tinamars said:

Hey all! I have been waitlisted to East Carolina University. After 4 rejections, this school is my only hope for Fall 2016! Today, an AuD friend of mine told me that I should schedule a visit with the school ASAP. She said this would increase my chances of getting moved up on the waitlist. I'm currently in Florida and would have to fly up there. She said that when she was waitlisted, this worked for her. She visited the school and was taken off the waitlist shortly after and believes it was because she made a great impression and showed interest. 

I'm conflicted! Is it worth the time and money?  Does anyone else have any experience here?

I don't but with that said going to the open houses is a big deal especially if you go and talk one on one with the faculty and express your interest. It definetly puts your name up there and shows how committed you're. It's a shot, plus without interviews it lets them get to know you.

 

[MangoSmoothie]

5 hours ago, tinamars said:

Hey all! I have been waitlisted to East Carolina University. After 4 rejections, this school is my only hope for Fall 2016! Today, an AuD friend of mine told me that I should schedule a visit with the school ASAP. She said this would increase my chances of getting moved up on the waitlist. I'm currently in Florida and would have to fly up there. She said that when she was waitlisted, this worked for her. She visited the school and was taken off the waitlist shortly after and believes it was because she made a great impression and showed interest. 

I'm conflicted! Is it worth the time and money?  Does anyone else have any experience here?

Realistically, none of us are going to know the correct answer to this question, but I think I can definitively say that it depends on the program. My program, for example, has a ranked waitlist, and those numbers don't shift once they're decided by the admission committee during that initial review after the application deadline, so a visit to move you up on the waitlist would be ineffective. Many waitlists are ranked because applicants receive a "score", and the lists aren't necessarily going to shift unless it's because someone was admitted off the waitlist or someone took themselves off.

What your friend thinks happened and what really happened aren't necessarily the same thing. It could have just been a very happy coincidence. I definitely think visiting a program helps your application, but in an indirect way, in that it helps you write in your SOP why you want to attend that school. In that sense, I think this visit is very worth it, if in the event that you don't get in, you plan on applying next year as well.

Personally, I probably wouldn't visit just to increase my chances to get off the waitlist, but that's because to me, it's a big expense with an unknown result. If the program were closer, I definitely would visit. I'll admit I'm very concerned about my finances, and the cost of a questionably useful visit would dissuade me.

But if you have the time and money, and are willing to do anything to have even a slightly greater shot, then it's worth it to you, so go for it. You could always call the program coordinator and inquire about their waitlist. Try to fish for answers about the likelihood of actions now influencing your status on the waitlist. It's entirely possible, and I imagine it can and does happen at some schools. In my experience, schools aren't as secretive as we might think they are with their decision process, so you may just find out some good news.

That's a rough situation to be in, and I wish you luck!

[MangoSmoothie]

12 hours ago, esopha said:

Oh, I wasn't talking about debt from a PhD. I meant debt from undergrad. Also, I think it's quite common for people to get an MA in SLP before they pursue their PhD, so they would have those loans to consider as well. Obviously combined MA/PhDs are available, but they are less common (from what I've seen) and perhaps less advisable (real world experience is great) than working in the field between the MA and the PhD.

 

What would be interesting is to know the typical track PhD faculty in this field and in our departments take. I feel like at my undergrad/postbacc, many of my professors had only a PhD, not a masters, but that program was very highly ranked for their research. At my master's program, it's different and most (if not all?) of my professors worked for a number of years (at least more than 5) as an SLP with a master's before returning to do a PhD.

Also I was doing a little digging, and the sense I'm getting is that working at a (public) university would still qualify you for some public service loan forgiveness programs, given you meet the various requirements. But there are obviously more options for loan forgiveness as a practicing SLP! Still, I didn't consider the undergrad debt or master's debt, but that's a good point, and could be a point of concern for some. ASHA actually has a chart with the average school loan debt by amount of years worked, and the average debt practicing SLPs graduated with (I think), so if you ever want to not feel alone...

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

Has anyone heard from Saint Xavier in Illinois? It is the last school I need to hear from! 

[racoomelon]

8 hours ago, MangoSmoothie said:

Also I was doing a little digging, and the sense I'm getting is that working at a (public) university would still qualify you for some public service loan forgiveness programs, given you meet the various requirements. But there are obviously more options for loan forgiveness as a practicing SLP! Still, I didn't consider the undergrad debt or master's debt, but that's a good point, and could be a point of concern for some. ASHA actually has a chart with the average school loan debt by amount of years worked, and the average debt practicing SLPs graduated with (I think), so if you ever want to not feel alone...

I saw something kind of similar in Texas-based loan forgiveness programs. They allow PhD's to receive loan forgiveness if they work a state universities that are in high need of professors. So you might not get a job at a prestigious school, but hey! Loans forgiven.

Here's the link. It's from a two years ago, so I'm not entirely sure if they're still practicing this. It seems like the 10 year loan forgiveness option might be replacing a lot of independent, state loan forgiveness options. http://www.hhloans.com/files/dmfile/LRPSLPAApplication201320142.pdf

[taeslp]

8 hours ago, Hoosier27 said:

Has anyone heard from Saint Xavier in Illinois? It is the last school I need to hear from! 

I'm still waiting to hear from them too! I believe there were some acceptances sent out a few weeks back that I saw on the results page.  The wait is killing me.  I feel like we're going to have to wait until April 15th when people make their decisions. ugh.