How much will being an out of major applicant hurt me?

[Possum]

I am a junior biology major (chemistry minor) who has recently become interested in SLP as a career. I have read that it is possible to pursue SLP without a CSD undergrad, but how much will this affect my chances? There are two schools in my region that have extended 3-year master's programs for non CSD majors, but I can't find any information about how competitive they are/how many students they take a year/etc. Other than shadowing in the field, is there anything I can do to increase my chances of acceptance? How do admissions committees generally feel about people with a non CSD undergrad degree?

 

[SLPgradstudent]

13 hours ago, Possum said:

I am a junior biology major (chemistry minor) who has recently become interested in SLP as a career. I have read that it is possible to pursue SLP without a CSD undergrad, but how much will this affect my chances? There are two schools in my region that have extended 3-year master's programs for non CSD majors, but I can't find any information about how competitive they are/how many students they take a year/etc. Other than shadowing in the field, is there anything I can do to increase my chances of acceptance? How do admissions committees generally feel about people with a non CSD undergrad degree?

 

As far as I can tell, being an out of field applicant does not hurt your chances of getting into grad school.  Some schools even seem to seek out-of-field applicants for diversity.  However, unless it's a three year program, you may be required to take some prerequisite coursework before starting a master's program.  There are lots of ways to do this though!  I had a psychology degree for my first bachelor's, so I applied to USU's online 2nd bachelor's program, which I am now almost finished with.  You can also enroll as a non-degree seeking student at USU or any of a number of other online courses (or local if you can find one nearby).

For each of the programs you are interested in, I would look at their admission requirements.  I expect you could apply right away to a 3-year program, but if you don't get in, or are interested in some 2-year programs, you can start taking prerequisite classes.  Does your school offer any CSD classes?  I'm sure others can share more about 3-year schools, but I think one of the benefits of doing prerequisite work first is that you can a better feel for the field before jumping in.  Also, if your GPA needs help, you may be able to raise it by taking COMD/CSD classes.

In terms of figuring out how competitive programs are, have you looked at ASHA EdFind yet? http://www.asha.org/edfind/

You can search for a school, and then check out the "Number of Applications Received" compared to the "Number of Admission Offers" to find the percent of admitted students.  You can also find information there about accepted students' GPAs and GREs.  GPA and GRE scores are by no means the only thing schools consider, but schools do use these to weed out applicants.  Consider taking a prep course if you haven't taken the GREs yet.

If you want to try to go straight from undergrad to graduate, by all means, apply to a 3-year master's program.  Whatever information you find about the likelihood of getting in, you really never know until you apply.  In the meantime, consider looking for options for leveling coursework.  Also be aware that ASHA has a few undergraduate requirements for coursework.  I'm sure you've already met the bio & physical science requirements.  You'll also need a stat class and social/behavioral science (ex. psych or sociology).  If you're missing any of these requirements, it would serve you to sign up for something your senior year.

I hope that's helpful!  Best of luck!

[thespeechblog.com]

On 1/12/2016 at 8:00 PM, Possum said:

I am a junior biology major (chemistry minor) who has recently become interested in SLP as a career. I have read that it is possible to pursue SLP without a CSD undergrad, but how much will this affect my chances? There are two schools in my region that have extended 3-year master's programs for non CSD majors, but I can't find any information about how competitive they are/how many students they take a year/etc. Other than shadowing in the field, is there anything I can do to increase my chances of acceptance? How do admissions committees generally feel about people with a non CSD undergrad degree?

 

I how it doesn't hurt your chances because I'm in the same boat!

I talked to a few schools via phone and they assured me there are several students each year in the leveling program. Let's keep our fingers crossed...

[Positive Thoughts]

I have my bachelor's in something completely unrelated to the field of SLP and I'm in a grad program! However, I have worked in special education and have a good amount of volunteer experience.  Just show schools the passion you now have for this career! Good luck!