Fall 2016 Q&A waiting game

[Hope2bSLP]

Hi, this forum has no specific question or concern, it has a lot. After applying, the waiting game is very hard to play.. I have generals questions and curiosities about people with past experiences and general knowledge about slp grad programs. I've read old post that have a lot of information about when schools start sending out acceptance letters and on how many rounds they hold.. Texas state has accepted and rejected people until the second week of May.. 

What programs did you apply to? 

How many times have you applied?

What's the best advice you could give to someone who hasn't started applying? How about to someone who is applying for the third time? 

Most competitive programs? 

What's your dream school? 

Do you want to get your masters where you're getting your undergrad? Why? Why not?

Programs that accept high % of applicants? 

How accurate is ASHA EdFind?

What programs are not on EdFind? 

What's your favorite food? 

Do you have any questions that you see no answer to on here? Ask and I will try my best to answer.. Or someone else will

 

Edited January 20, 2016 by Hope2bSLP
More questions added

[Pronounce]

Funding questions. How are you paying for grad school?  How much debt to expect for grad school?  What is the average non-loan financial aid award?   How do you find which schools give large amounts of funding?  When do we send in FAFSA?  How hard is it to get TA/GA positions?  How much do the pay, tuition and stipend?  

 

[Hope2bSLP]

11 hours ago, Pronounce said:

Funding questions. How are you paying for grad school?  How much debt to expect for grad school?  What is the average non-loan financial aid award?   How do you find which schools give large amounts of funding?  When do we send in FAFSA?  How hard is it to get TA/GA positions?  How much do the pay, tuition and stipend?  

 

For grants and scholarships search on their websites. Getting a TA/GA position is just as competitive as getting in, having undergrad research or clinical experience helps. I've also noticed grants are given based on your undergrad GPA. Look at how many credits that specific degree is and how much the school charges per credit and try to figure out how big of a loan you need. Also the city.. Many times schools are located in the downtown areas which have higher real estates rate. If you live far from campus transportation ends up being expensive. 

 

If you can't pay out of pocket, look into a student friendly loan. Being in big debt after graduation can affect your short term goals.

But remember, each school has their own formula/point system for everything... And maybe the people who look over your application are not interested in someone who has a 4.0 GPA 160 GRE.. But they want someone with more experiences that will bring different ideas into the research/in-house practice. 

[TxHope]

Hi everyone,

I applied my first-time last year to four programs; TCU, UNT, ACU, and UTD.  I had an interview with ACU, but didn't get accepted anywhere.

Round two; UNT, TWU, Texas Tech, UNM, Eastern NM, OSU, Fort Hayes State, Governor's State, Indiana State, and Central Arkansas.

My best advice is to have a good GPA and strong GRE scores.

Texas schools are competitive, as are the schools on the coasts.  Inside of Texas, the south and west areas are not as competitive as the schools around DFW, Austin, and Houston.  The surrounding states are less competitive (a relative term).  Arkansas gives Texas residents in-state tuition.  New Mexico will give in-state tuition for up to 6 hours, and after 1 year will give you resident rates even if you moved there to go to college fill-time.  Oklahoma makes you pay out-of-state rates.  I am still unsure about the others, but I think Indiana State will give the Midwest Coalition rate to any grad student.  That is only a little more than in-state tuition.

I really want to go to UNT. I did my leveling there and I know a lot of the faculty.  Also, I love Denton.  It's like Austin used to be before it got too big.  Last year they only had 36 openings and over 500 applicants (I think I remember being told over 550 with 700 combined for SLP and AuD).  The ASHA numbers differ from what I was told personally by 3 faculty members.

My BS is from Purdue (years ago) but I want to stay in Texas.  I only applied out-of-state because it's so competitive.  I want to get in somewhere.  I will wear 5 layers of clothes for a couple years if I have to.

ASHA edfind seems accurate about 2/3rds of the time.  My guess is often the department secretary fills out the survey and does not understand the process.  I noticed many of the schools show 100 apps received and 20 offers then show the starting class size as 20 (example numbers).  That can't be right.  Not everybody accepted decides to go to that school.  The number I hear is around 50% accept, but I am sure that varies by program.  After looking at enough of them, I could tell pretty quickly which numbers were suspect.

Pronounce, why did you apply to so many Texas schools?  TCU offers all the students they accept a TA position automatically, and yet only 60% take it.  I wish I had rich parents...  I know a TCU grad student who is a TA.  She said it dropped her tuition from 40k to 5k and she only works about 5 hours a week.  Maybe I should have applied there again, but I don't think I am competitive.  Last year they had 250 apps for 20 spots, and the clinic is beautiful...

 

 

[thespeechblog.com]

On 1/20/2016 at 10:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

Hi, this forum has no specific question or concern, it has a lot. After applying, the waiting game is very hard to play.. I have generals questions and curiosities about people with past experiences and general knowledge about slp grad programs. I've read old post that have a lot of information about when schools start sending out acceptance letters and on how many rounds they hold.. Texas state has accepted and rejected people until the second week of May.. 

What programs did you apply to? 

• TC Columbia; Univ of Arizona; New Mexico State; Redlands; Univ of New Mexico; Univ of Illinois

How many times have you applied?

• This is my first round

What's the best advice you could give to someone who hasn't started applying? How about to someone who is applying for the third time? 

First Time: If you have the time, keep your numbers up (GPA & GRE). If you have a low GPA, consider addressing it in your SOP. Write an AWESOME SOP. 

• Third Time: Before applying, contact schools that denied you before and FIND OUT WHY (politely). Use that to adjust/improve your applications. 

Most competitive programs? 

• I´m guessing TC Columbia, Univ of Arzina, and UNM are the most competitive that I´m applying to base on numbers

What's your dream school? 

• I´d be perfectly happy at any one of them. I selected them really carefully. 

Do you want to get your masters where you're getting your undergrad? Why? Why not?

• No - it´s a long story but I´ve been out of undergrad for several years (absolutely loved it), but I want a new experience and a new school. 

Programs that accept high % of applicants? 

• Not sure - 

How accurate is ASHA EdFind?

• Kind of hit or miss I think 

What programs are not on EdFind? 

What's your favorite food? 

• Cochinita Pibil or Chilaquiles 

Do you have any questions that you see no answer to on here? Ask and I will try my best to answer.. Or someone else will

 

 

[kumapanda]

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

What programs did you apply to? 

CSULB, Redlands, Chapman, CSUSM, Portland State, UNCO, Loyola Maryland, Radford, Syracuse, Michigan State

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

How many times have you applied?

This is my first round.

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

What's the best advice you could give to someone who hasn't started applying? How about to someone who is applying for the third time? 

Try to contact to your recommenders early so they can finish their letter of recs on time.  Starting on your SOP early is important too since you will definitely go through many drafts before submitting your final version.  Retake the GRE if you have the time to and you feel like your numbers aren't strong enough.

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

Most competitive programs? 

Probably CSULB since their acceptance rate is so low from experience of talking to grad students there.

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

What's your dream school? 

I can't say I have any since all the schools I have applied for have programs I'm interested in, but I know I want to get into a program out of state. 

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

Do you want to get your masters where you're getting your undergrad? Why? Why not?

Yes, because I want to become a certified SLP and be able to have wider options on where to work.

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

Programs that accept high % of applicants? 

According to ASHA it's Syracuse and Portland State, but that leads to the next question...

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

How accurate is ASHA EdFind?

I'm hoping its accurate, but I do question when the numbers were updated and how they acquired those numbers.  So I have no idea how accurate it is in general.

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

What programs are not on EdFind? 

Can't answer that one.

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

What's your favorite food? 

Curry and lasagna.

On 1/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, Hope2bSLP said:

Do you have any questions that you see no answer to on here? Ask and I will try my best to answer.. Or someone else will

Do schools always offer interviews before you get accepted?  Or do some accept you right away?

[slporbust2016]

1 hour ago, rainsonata said:

 

Do schools always offer interviews before you get accepted?  Or do some accept you right away?

Not all schools do interviews.. I'm not even sure that a majority do. You can sometimes figure this out by looking on the results page and seeing which schools have interviews listed for past years. 

[Pronounce]

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2016 at 0:41 AM, TxHope said:

 

Pronounce, why did you apply to so many Texas schools?  TCU offers all the students they accept a TA position automatically, and yet only 60% take it.  I wish I had rich parents...  I know a TCU grad student who is a TA.  She said it dropped her tuition from 40k to 5k and she only works about 5 hours a week.  Maybe I should have applied there again, but I don't think I am competitive.  Last year they had 250 apps for 20 spots, and the clinic is beautiful...

 

 

   I'm the mother of an applicant.  My daughter really wants to  live in Texas.  TCU would be amazing because of the TA positions.  She likes something about each school applied to so price will be a factor, but not the only one. She'll be taking loans, but no more than the Federal Loan limit for grad students  If she receives no aid at any school, Central Arkansas is the cheapest and Memphis is doable because of instate tuition.  If none of her acceptances are unaffordable, well, I don't even want to think about that..

Edited January 28, 2016 by Pronounce
Too long.