UW vs. UNC Pros and Cons?

[girlgonespeechie]

Does anyone have any perspective as a previous student at either of these schools? I was accepted to UW (CoreSLP) and UNC, but I am so uncertain about which one would be the best fit. I feel like I want learn about everything as an SLP, and I have an inkling that I want to work with adult populations with more neuro-based disorders (patients with TBI, dementia, aphasia, dysarthria, dysphagia etc) but still unsure. I've heard that as an SLP you can usually work with both populations (perhaps not at the same time) but just depending on which way life is taking you at that time.  I also may be interested in a PhD later on (I did an undergrad thesis and while I may not have enjoyed the writing part too much lolz, I really enjoyed research) but not sure 100% and want a school that has a good balance of clinical and research experience. Here are some of my personal pro's and cons about each school: 

UW

Pros: program is stellar, faculty is amazing and has many faculty members who share my interest for neuro, school is ranked highly. You can also choose adult or ped emphasis which will give you more exposure to what you think you'd like to learn about. 

Cons: living in Seattle is so expensive, and it is pretty far away from my family. The weather doesn't seem the greatest and the traffic sucks. The choosing of an adult emphasis or ped emphasis looks awesome but will that hinder me if I choose an adult emphasis and then later on want to change it up and work with peds? *confused*

UNC 

Pros: program is still amazing, closer to family, much much lower cost of living. 

Cons: The school's curriculum doesn't seem to be as detailed as UW's, and there aren't many faculty members who share my interest in the neuro side of things, especially with adults. I fear that going here may not allow me to be well prepared for both.

TL;DR: I am torn at which school I should go to and if going to either will benefit or hinder me in any way, taking into consideration my interest for neuro but still wanting to be a well-rounded clinician, and still wanting the opportunity for potential research. Still haven't heard about financial aid for either school and they are about the same price for out of state tuition.

ALSO: When you are going to do your CFY, that doesn't necessarily have to be in the state, right? If I wanted to go to UW and get a stellar education but eventually move closer to family later in life, will that effect my ability to get a job (I've heard region matters and places respect the university in that region).

 

[Jolie717]

Which school is UNC - University of North Carolina?  If you are seriously interested in a PhD, you should go for the higher-ranked program, as that is very important in academia. That's not to say a PhD is impossible if you attend a lesser-ranked school, but you will have more options with the higher-ranked school, no question.

Case in point:

Why did you choose Harvard?  (Said no one, ever).

LOL ?

If you take initiative, and you are at a facility with research and a PhD program, I think you can get the experience you want if you pursue it, despite any program or curriculum limitations.  If you are truly worried about being pigeon-holed by the tracks at UW, you should call them and ask. The MedSLP curriculum actually seems pretty comprehensive despite the med emphasis, so I would imagine the CoreSLP would be even more so.

 

[girlgonespeechie]

10 hours ago, Jolie717 said:

Which school is UNC - University of North Carolina?  If you are seriously interested in a PhD, you should go for the higher-ranked program, as that is very important in academia. That's not to say a PhD is impossible if you attend a lesser-ranked school, but you will have more options with the higher-ranked school, no question.

Case in point:

Why did you choose Harvard?  (Said no one, ever).

LOL ?

If you take initiative, and you are at a facility with research and a PhD program, I think you can get the experience you want if you pursue it, despite any program or curriculum limitations.  If you are truly worried about being pigeon-holed by the tracks at UW, you should call them and ask. The MedSLP curriculum actually seems pretty comprehensive despite the med emphasis, so I would imagine the CoreSLP would be even more so.

 

Hey Jolie717, thanks for the repy! Also congrats on getting into UW for MedSLP!  I haven't seen anyone around GradCafe who got into the Core program yet....

By UNC I meant University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, so sorry for the slight confusion.  I think you are right about calling them, I was going to do that soon but I also didn't want to bombard or annoy them during application season. The thing is, I am not sure if I want to actually live in Seattle after school and I'm not sure if that will matter when doing CFY or getting employed afterwards. 

Getting into these schools is so exciting and such an honor, but the process of choosing which program will be the best for me has been the most stressful experience!! I honestly didn't think I would even get into UW  Have you decided which program you'll be going to, and may I ask what the process was? 

[Jolie717]

4 hours ago, girlgonespeechie said:

Hey Jolie717, thanks for the repy! Also congrats on getting into UW for MedSLP!  I haven't seen anyone around GradCafe who got into the Core program yet....

By UNC I meant University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, so sorry for the slight confusion.  I think you are right about calling them, I was going to do that soon but I also didn't want to bombard or annoy them during application season. The thing is, I am not sure if I want to actually live in Seattle after school and I'm not sure if that will matter when doing CFY or getting employed afterwards. 

Getting into these schools is so exciting and such an honor, but the process of choosing which program will be the best for me has been the most stressful experience!! I honestly didn't think I would even get into UW  Have you decided which program you'll be going to, and may I ask what the process was? 

Congrats to you too!  I haven't decided yet  - I ask my husband to rank my schools in order of his preference all the time though, lol.  At least he is consistent in his response - 1st choice U of O, 2nd choice UW.  That happens to be my boys' order of preference too, ha ha.  A lot will depend on funding too, which we won't find out about for a while.  We have family in both areas, so it is tough.  I should sit down with a paper and pen and a serious face, and ask him to rank each of our family members on a scale of one to ten for each of the two areas.  Then he will know with certainty that he married a crazy person!  ?

[hkates]

On 3/9/2016 at 10:48 AM, girlgonespeechie said:

Hey Jolie717, thanks for the repy! Also congrats on getting into UW for MedSLP!  I haven't seen anyone around GradCafe who got into the Core program yet....

By UNC I meant University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, so sorry for the slight confusion.  I think you are right about calling them, I was going to do that soon but I also didn't want to bombard or annoy them during application season. The thing is, I am not sure if I want to actually live in Seattle after school and I'm not sure if that will matter when doing CFY or getting employed afterwards. 

Getting into these schools is so exciting and such an honor, but the process of choosing which program will be the best for me has been the most stressful experience!! I honestly didn't think I would even get into UW  Have you decided which program you'll be going to, and may I ask what the process was? 

I got into the CoreSLP program! Happy to talk about it if you want. I really wavered on whether to go for core or med, since I'm pretty sure I want to work in med speech pathology, but decided I'd rather be prepared for anything. The core program seems to be more comprehensive. I did not think I would get into UW either, and the decision process is really doing a number on me. Have you made any progress on your decision?

Edited March 14, 2016 by hkates

[hkates]

On 3/9/2016 at 3:54 PM, Jolie717 said:

Congrats to you too!  I haven't decided yet  - I ask my husband to rank my schools in order of his preference all the time though, lol.  At least he is consistent in his response - 1st choice U of O, 2nd choice UW.  That happens to be my boys' order of preference too, ha ha.  A lot will depend on funding too, which we won't find out about for a while.  We have family in both areas, so it is tough.  I should sit down with a paper and pen and a serious face, and ask him to rank each of our family members on a scale of one to ten for each of the two areas.  Then he will know with certainty that he married a crazy person!  ?

Haha, I've talked to my hubs about his preference too, and his main concern is where there's more water since he's a paddling guide! So Seattle is his top pick. But our decision will prob depend mostly on funding, too. Any word from either school? I'm interviewing with UO for a TA position this week. Still pretty in the dark with regards to UW.

[Jolie717]

14 minutes ago, hkates said:

Haha, I've talked to my hubs about his preference too, and his main concern is where there's more water since he's a paddling guide! So Seattle is his top pick. But our decision will prob depend mostly on funding, too. Any word from either school? I'm interviewing with UO for a TA position this week. Still pretty in the dark with regards to UW.

No word yet from UW, so I am unsure if this means no funding (since they told me we should know by this past Friday) or if it means they haven't sent anything out yet.  I don't think they offer many people funding though, so I am assuming the answer is no.  

No word from Oregon on funding yet either (I keep checking duck web) - I'm bummed that I missed the deadline at UO for the COE scholarships.  I suppose I was operating under the assumption that the deadlines for schools would all be similar.  The majority of the scholarships I'm applying for through my school aren't even due until May!  I'm also interviewing this week for a GTF position, so we'll see.  

[futureSpeechLP]

@girlgonespeechie 

Congrats on getting into two great programs! Seattle is a wonderful city. It is more expensive than living in NC, but you get the experience of living in the Pacific Northwest - one of the most beautiful places in the world. This decision isn't easy.

From what I know about CF - you can do it anywhere after your graduate from grad school. You have more connections if you stay in the area that you went to school BUT if you went to UW, you'd be graduating from one of the best schools in the country. 

good luck with your decision! I'm still in the researching grad programs part of my journey, so I can't give you first-hand advice about this. 

 

[girlgonespeechie]

On 3/9/2016 at 5:54 PM, Jolie717 said:

Congrats to you too!  I haven't decided yet  - I ask my husband to rank my schools in order of his preference all the time though, lol.  At least he is consistent in his response - 1st choice U of O, 2nd choice UW.  That happens to be my boys' order of preference too, ha ha.  A lot will depend on funding too, which we won't find out about for a while.  We have family in both areas, so it is tough.  I should sit down with a paper and pen and a serious face, and ask him to rank each of our family members on a scale of one to ten for each of the two areas.  Then he will know with certainty that he married a crazy person!  ?

So sorry for the late reply! For some reason my notifications weren't being sent to my email  I agree that it comes down to funding. I haven't heard anything back from UW- I got some mail from them the other day and I was all excited it might have been something from the financial aid office..but nope! Just telling me that the deposit is due in June if I accept the offer haha. I literally have a special pro/con notepad and I wrote down the list for both schools..my family thinks I'm crazy  The thing is, you will be able to be with/near your family, and I'll literally be on the opposite side of the country from everyone else (I'm from Florida!!)...and this is the first time that I'll be that far away and be an "independent adult" (I graduated from undergrad in 2014). So I'm a little scared if I choose UW!

[girlgonespeechie]

On 3/14/2016 at 11:02 AM, hkates said:

I got into the CoreSLP program! Happy to talk about it if you want. I really wavered on whether to go for core or med, since I'm pretty sure I want to work in med speech pathology, but decided I'd rather be prepared for anything. The core program seems to be more comprehensive. I did not think I would get into UW either, and the decision process is really doing a number on me. Have you made any progress on your decision?

YAY! Congrats! I would love to talk about it. I was literally in the same boat as you girly. I was struggling between whether to choose med or core and I also believe I'll have more fun in the med settings, but I wanted that comprehensive education and the ability to test out every setting. I have literally been losing sleep and my sanity over the decision. It may seem a bit melodramatic, haha, but this is so important to me and I don't want to make the wrong choice. I still have no idea where I would go. My family is in St. Louis, MO and in Florida, so I'll be super far away and won't know anyone if I go to UW, and I think that is the number one reason why it's keeping me from wanting to go there (plus the cost of living is astronomical, I don't know if I would be able to afford anything over $800 a month and I don't know if that exists there...)

As far as funding- I heard from UNC-CH, and all they offered me was loans.  Once you accept the admission, however, there are some departmental scholarships you can compete for and some work-study programs as well.  I haven't heard from UW.  It would be nice if they let us know of any funding before April 15! 

[girlgonespeechie]

On 3/14/2016 at 1:40 PM, futureSpeechLP said:

@girlgonespeechie 

Congrats on getting into two great programs! Seattle is a wonderful city. It is more expensive than living in NC, but you get the experience of living in the Pacific Northwest - one of the most beautiful places in the world. This decision isn't easy.

From what I know about CF - you can do it anywhere after your graduate from grad school. You have more connections if you stay in the area that you went to school BUT if you went to UW, you'd be graduating from one of the best schools in the country. 

good luck with your decision! I'm still in the researching grad programs part of my journey, so I can't give you first-hand advice about this. 

 

Hey futureSpeechLP! Thank you so much! I visited Seattle once during the summer and it was beautiful. I wonder if I am the type of person to have seasonal affective disorder, though haha. I feel like going to UW will give me a better education-more connections-and more experience across the board. However the location is really not ideal for an original East Coaster.

Good luck with researching! The one thing I must say that I wish I looked at more was what type of clinical placements students usually get- some programs have cohorts that are too big and they can't offer students what they want, and that would be frustrating if you wanted experience with adults and the school could only offer pediatric placements. 

[hkates]

8 hours ago, girlgonespeechie said:

YAY! Congrats! I would love to talk about it. I was literally in the same boat as you girly. I was struggling between whether to choose med or core and I also believe I'll have more fun in the med settings, but I wanted that comprehensive education and the ability to test out every setting. I have literally been losing sleep and my sanity over the decision. It may seem a bit melodramatic, haha, but this is so important to me and I don't want to make the wrong choice. I still have no idea where I would go. My family is in St. Louis, MO and in Florida, so I'll be super far away and won't know anyone if I go to UW, and I think that is the number one reason why it's keeping me from wanting to go there (plus the cost of living is astronomical, I don't know if I would be able to afford anything over $800 a month and I don't know if that exists there...)

As far as funding- I heard from UNC-CH, and all they offered me was loans.  Once you accept the admission, however, there are some departmental scholarships you can compete for and some work-study programs as well.  I haven't heard from UW.  It would be nice if they let us know of any funding before April 15! 

I know, I wake up every night and start stressing about this decision. I've received 4 offers of admission, which is incredible and I feel so lucky, but I never thought I would be in this position and it is stressing me out. It might sound superficial, but I'm struggling with the thought of turning down UW since it's ranked so highly. Like I'll be just kicking myself if I say "no" to the 3rd best program in the country in favor of somewhere with a less impressive reputation...but in the end, does that reputation really matter all that much? I've been talking with different SLPs about this, and the answer seems to be "no", but I'm still tempted by their stats. Ugh. Cost of living is high in Seattle, like you said, and it seems like public schools in general don't have a lot of funding to offer so I'm not getting my hopes up too high. But I'm visiting campus next week, and will be meeting with the woman I've been emailing about funding. I'll keep you posted on what I learn!

What in particular drew you to UW's program? Do you know what area(s) you want to work in?

[girlgonespeechie]

13 hours ago, hkates said:

I know, I wake up every night and start stressing about this decision. I've received 4 offers of admission, which is incredible and I feel so lucky, but I never thought I would be in this position and it is stressing me out. It might sound superficial, but I'm struggling with the thought of turning down UW since it's ranked so highly. Like I'll be just kicking myself if I say "no" to the 3rd best program in the country in favor of somewhere with a less impressive reputation...but in the end, does that reputation really matter all that much? I've been talking with different SLPs about this, and the answer seems to be "no", but I'm still tempted by their stats. Ugh. Cost of living is high in Seattle, like you said, and it seems like public schools in general don't have a lot of funding to offer so I'm not getting my hopes up too high. But I'm visiting campus next week, and will be meeting with the woman I've been emailing about funding. I'll keep you posted on what I learn!

What in particular drew you to UW's program? Do you know what area(s) you want to work in?

OMG- exactly what you're going through is what I'm going through. I feel like so many people would kill for a spot at UW, and turning it down would be the dumbest thing ever. I also heard that it doesn't matter where you go either... But how can you turn down such a great school?! I would definitely have to take out more loans if I went to Seattle for the sake of being able to pay rent.

Yes, please let me know what you find out about that! If I got a scholarship or some kind of assistant ship that may persuade me lol but it seems the chances are extremely slim.

Well, what really drew my attention to UW was not only the ranking (how could you ignore that! Haha) but also the faculty.  A LOT of faculty members have research interests in neurogenic disorders which is what I'm interested in. I *think* I want to work with individuals who have a neurological issue such as those with TBI, dementia, stroke, etc but I'm not 100% sure, because I've also volunteered with kids before and kids can also be fun. If I did choose UW, I would probably choose the adult track. But that brings up another question- if we choose the adult track, does that hinder us from working with peds in the future?

What about you? It seems like you're from the west coast so at least you'll be staying pretty regional which is nice

 I'm so happy to know there is someone out there who literally understands exactly what I'm going through, it makes me feel less crazy, haha  

[hkates]

I'm definitely going to ask about how choosing the adult vs peds track will affect future employment options. I understand the value of specializing, but at this point I'm not ready to limit myself. I've completed my prereqs but I feel like I still have so much to learn about the field and I want to let what I learn in grad school drive what area I ultimately decide to work in. My only certain interest at this point is working with bilingual/multicultural populations, and this can be done in basically any area. 

Yeah, I'm from Portland, which is part of the reason I applied to UW. I only applied to schools in the NW, I knew I didn't want to leave. I'm sure it would be tough to be far from your family during your studies, although it seems like we won't be having much time to spend with people anyway! People outside our program, that is

[girlgonespeechie]

10 hours ago, hkates said:

I'm definitely going to ask about how choosing the adult vs peds track will affect future employment options. I understand the value of specializing, but at this point I'm not ready to limit myself. I've completed my prereqs but I feel like I still have so much to learn about the field and I want to let what I learn in grad school drive what area I ultimately decide to work in. My only certain interest at this point is working with bilingual/multicultural populations, and this can be done in basically any area. 

Yeah, I'm from Portland, which is part of the reason I applied to UW. I only applied to schools in the NW, I knew I didn't want to leave. I'm sure it would be tough to be far from your family during your studies, although it seems like we won't be having much time to spend with people anyway! People outside our program, that is

Yes, I certainly agree with your sentiment about specializing.  Although my pre-reqs were comprehensive, it was certainly not at the graduate level, and I feel like there is so much to learn about everything and I also do not want to limit myself.  I honestly think the entire scope of the profession is pretty amazing. I think working with a bilingual or multicultural population is fantastic and I know the profession needs more SLPs in this area.  Do you speak another language? I worked in a charter school designed for underserved African American children and through this I became interested in figuring out if a child's speech "issue" is just a dialectal difference (in this case AAVE) or an actual speech disorder. 

When I talked to the coordinator, Chrissie, she said that med students get priority over hospital and acute placements, which makes sense, but I'm wondering also if choosing the core route limits us from having that experience, because I honestly want to be able to have placements across the board (schools, private practice, SNF, hospitals, etc) and I got the impression that core students won't have the chance to experience hospitals which kind of bums me out....

[talkingcake]

On 3/18/2016 at 9:58 PM, girlgonespeechie said:

When I talked to the coordinator, Chrissie, she said that med students get priority over hospital and acute placements, which makes sense, but I'm wondering also if choosing the core route limits us from having that experience, because I honestly want to be able to have placements across the board (schools, private practice, SNF, hospitals, etc) and I got the impression that core students won't have the chance to experience hospitals which kind of bums me out....

I asked Chrissie the same question a while ago, and she gave me the impression that they're usually able to accommodate Core students who want hospital placements, even though Med gets priority.  I'm guessing Med gets first pick, but there's usually enough left over for interested Core students.  But looking at this forum, maybe they have more Core students interested in hospital settings than they anticipated...  

And yep, I'm in the same boat as a lot of you here- MedSLP sounds really cool, but I want to try out hospitals, schools, clinics, and other places first.  I was way more sure of the population I wanted to work with (pediatrics) than the setting.  It's a bummer that Med students get priority in children's hospital placements, but oh well. :/   I'm also kinda worried that being the pediatric track would make it difficult for me to work with adults if I ever change my mind years down the road.  Realistically speaking, I don't think I'd be able to run after rambunctious kiddos at age 80 lol.

 

On 3/16/2016 at 5:49 AM, hkates said:

I know, I wake up every night and start stressing about this decision. I've received 4 offers of admission, which is incredible and I feel so lucky, but I never thought I would be in this position and it is stressing me out. It might sound superficial, but I'm struggling with the thought of turning down UW since it's ranked so highly. Like I'll be just kicking myself if I say "no" to the 3rd best program in the country in favor of somewhere with a less impressive reputation...but in the end, does that reputation really matter all that much? I've been talking with different SLPs about this, and the answer seems to be "no", but I'm still tempted by their stats.

I'm having the same problem... Some of my classmates were shocked that I haven't committed yet, and they thought I was crazy for considering other programs over UW.  I never thought I'd be in a position to have to decide between schools, but I really want to be sure that I make the right decision!

[girlgonespeechie]

On 3/25/2016 at 9:11 PM, talkingcake said:

I asked Chrissie the same question a while ago, and she gave me the impression that they're usually able to accommodate Core students who want hospital placements, even though Med gets priority.  I'm guessing Med gets first pick, but there's usually enough left over for interested Core students.  But looking at this forum, maybe they have more Core students interested in hospital settings than they anticipated...  

And yep, I'm in the same boat as a lot of you here- MedSLP sounds really cool, but I want to try out hospitals, schools, clinics, and other places first.  I was way more sure of the population I wanted to work with (pediatrics) than the setting.  It's a bummer that Med students get priority in children's hospital placements, but oh well. :/   I'm also kinda worried that being the pediatric track would make it difficult for me to work with adults if I ever change my mind years down the road.  Realistically speaking, I don't think I'd be able to run after rambunctious kiddos at age 80 lol.

 

I'm having the same problem... Some of my classmates were shocked that I haven't committed yet, and they thought I was crazy for considering other programs over UW.  I never thought I'd be in a position to have to decide between schools, but I really want to be sure that I make the right decision!

@talkingcake 

 UW is no doubt a phenomenal school, but the more I research it, the more it seems to be restricting to core students? I know that placements are a big deal when applying for your CFY and employment beyond that.  The hospital associated with my undergrad wont even consider students to work there or do your CFY there unless you've had a medical placement during grad school. 

The way Chrissie and other current students explained how UW works, at least for Core, is that you only get 1 external placement which is your internship.  The rest of your clinical hours is in the UW Speech and Hearing clinic and in a public school. So technically you have one shot to fight for that medical placement. That is kind of unnerving. 

My classmates also think I'm crazy for considering UNC since UW is ranked higher. But at UNC, every student is required to have one educational placement and one medical placement, so atleast I know by the time the program is over I'll have one under my belt. AND I just learned that they don't have their own speech and hearing clinic, meaning all your clinical hours come from external placements. They promoted this as a positive thing, because you'll get experience in a lot of different settings. However, I've heard that it can be easier to get hours if the school has it's own clinic.

Needless to say I'm still thoroughly confused on where to go. Haha. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing to turn down a better ranked school if you believe the other school fits you better. I've seen people who rejected Vandy for a school which was ranked in the 70s. Go where your heart is pulling you (easier said than done, I know  )

[talkingcake]

On 3/26/2016 at 9:36 PM, girlgonespeechie said:

The way Chrissie and other current students explained how UW works, at least for Core, is that you only get 1 external placement which is your internship.  The rest of your clinical hours is in the UW Speech and Hearing clinic and in a public school. So technically you have one shot to fight for that medical placement. That is kind of unnerving. 

My classmates also think I'm crazy for considering UNC since UW is ranked higher. But at UNC, every student is required to have one educational placement and one medical placement, so atleast I know by the time the program is over I'll have one under my belt. AND I just learned that they don't have their own speech and hearing clinic, meaning all your clinical hours come from external placements. They promoted this as a positive thing, because you'll get experience in a lot of different settings. However, I've heard that it can be easier to get hours if the school has it's own clinic.

Hmmm good point.  I've only heard opinions of how on-campus clinics are better, but it is true that it could limit the variety of settings you'll observe.  And only having 1 chance to try and get the placement you want is indeed unnerving.  April 15th is coming up soon, but I'm gonna need to spend some time weighing out all of my options!

[Jolie717]

2 hours ago, talkingcake said:

Hmmm good point.  I've only heard opinions of how on-campus clinics are better, but it is true that it could limit the variety of settings you'll observe.  And only having 1 chance to try and get the placement you want is indeed unnerving.  April 15th is coming up soon, but I'm gonna need to spend some time weighing out all of my options!

If it makes you all feel any better, lol, I have the same concern but opposite if that makes sense.  I'd like to work with the school population as well as work in the medical setting, so I worry that by accepting the MedSLP track I will also be limiting my options as far as working with elementary school kiddos.  

I have a midterm and two projects due this week, but hopefully afterwards I will have time to discuss flexibility in placements with UW.  

In the meantime, I can't wait to hear from those that recently visited UW!  Please share your experience when you can - and thanks in advance!

[girlgonespeechie]

On 3/28/2016 at 0:02 AM, talkingcake said:

Hmmm good point.  I've only heard opinions of how on-campus clinics are better, but it is true that it could limit the variety of settings you'll observe.  And only having 1 chance to try and get the placement you want is indeed unnerving.  April 15th is coming up soon, but I'm gonna need to spend some time weighing out all of my options!

Do you mind sharing what others said about on-campus clinics? The type of clinical placements available is a huge factor in my decision, and I'm still trying to figure this all out.....

Did you get any closer to a decision, btw? 

[talkingcake]

On 3/30/2016 at 7:53 PM, girlgonespeechie said:

Do you mind sharing what others said about on-campus clinics? The type of clinical placements available is a huge factor in my decision, and I'm still trying to figure this all out.....

Did you get any closer to a decision, btw? 

 

On 3/28/2016 at 0:30 AM, Jolie717 said:

In the meantime, I can't wait to hear from those that recently visited UW!  Please share your experience when you can - and thanks in advance!

Sorry for the late response!  Been a bit busy lately, but I did go to the open house at UW!  

The professors from my undergrad were pushing students to apply to schools with on-campus clinics.  That way, the clinics can easily serve as classrooms and there's less transportation involved.

UW is beautiful- the campus is huge, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom!  They have both ornate historical buildings and sleek modern buildings, and none of the rectangular concrete slabs I'm used to.  They have many great facilities.  They do have a reputation for being research-heavy, and it seems like many of their students are involved in research in some way.  If I were going for a PhD, I'd *DEFINITELY* choose UW (especially since I'm interested in AAC, which UW has great research faculty for).

I did get closer to a decision- I'm kinda surprised myself, but I'm actually leaning towards Boulder!  Boulder does have an in-house clinic as well; however, they have practica that are off-campus in various places with professors acting as supervisors.  They had a specific term for it, but I forgot what it was.  Because I'm not completely sure about what setting to work in, I'd rather have more experience in as many settings as possible.  As mentioned earlier, UW does indeed have only one internship.  The pre-internship during the quarter prior is done at the same place as the internship.  That being said, the advisor and faculty are very supportive in letting you choose where you want to do your internship as much as possible.  Boulder also has research opportunities available, and it also seems like they have more funding opportunities too.  Although you wouldn't have an official emphasis in adult or peds or things like that, the advisor will help tailor your various off-site experiences to your interests.

I thought I would weigh student impressions and atmosphere more, but the students I met on both campuses were very friendly and helpful, and they all seemed to get along with each other very well!  Both advisors are wonderful and informative, and the faculty members I met were very kind.

I'm giving myself a few days to process everything after the UW open house, but I'm probably going with Boulder  

As for Seattle itself, I got mixed opinions on safety and whatnot.  It's safe to say that Seattle has less gangs than LA (you don't have to worry about wearing certain colors in certain streets or anything like that), but I kept hearing about how aggressive the homeless population is over there.  My shuttle driver talked about how his son got beat up and mugged by homeless people on 2 different occasions: one resulting in broken bones, and one resulting in a TBI serious enough to warrant SLP services.  Actual students who live by the school say that it's not that bad.  Both agree that it's normally okay as long as you keep some good ol' LA street smarts around you: put in no more than one earbud, be aware of your surroundings, don't flash fancy technology in shady streets, don't open your wallet too much in public etc.

Edited to also add: I know us Southern Californians tend to think that any part of the US outside our region is extreme, but it's not like it's constantly raining all day all year in Seattle.  There are rainy days and sunny days.  It is chillier, but California residents are saying that it's not completely terrible.  However, people who are more prone to having seasonal affective disorder should be careful of the frequent fog and rain.

Edited April 7, 2016 by talkingcake

[girlgonespeechie]

14 hours ago, talkingcake said:

 

Sorry for the late response!  Been a bit busy lately, but I did go to the open house at UW!  

The professors from my undergrad were pushing students to apply to schools with on-campus clinics.  That way, the clinics can easily serve as classrooms and there's less transportation involved.

UW is beautiful- the campus is huge, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom!  They have both ornate historical buildings and sleek modern buildings, and none of the rectangular concrete slabs I'm used to.  They have many great facilities.  They do have a reputation for being research-heavy, and it seems like many of their students are involved in research in some way.  If I were going for a PhD, I'd *DEFINITELY* choose UW (especially since I'm interested in AAC, which UW has great research faculty for).

I did get closer to a decision- I'm kinda surprised myself, but I'm actually leaning towards Boulder!  Boulder does have an in-house clinic as well; however, they have practica that are off-campus in various places with professors acting as supervisors.  They had a specific term for it, but I forgot what it was.  Because I'm not completely sure about what setting to work in, I'd rather have more experience in as many settings as possible.  As mentioned earlier, UW does indeed have only one internship.  The pre-internship during the quarter prior is done at the same place as the internship.  That being said, the advisor and faculty are very supportive in letting you choose where you want to do your internship as much as possible.  Boulder also has research opportunities available, and it also seems like they have more funding opportunities too.  Although you wouldn't have an official emphasis in adult or peds or things like that, the advisor will help tailor your various off-site experiences to your interests.

I thought I would weigh student impressions and atmosphere more, but the students I met on both campuses were very friendly and helpful, and they all seemed to get along with each other very well!  Both advisors are wonderful and informative, and the faculty members I met were very kind.

I'm giving myself a few days to process everything after the UW open house, but I'm probably going with Boulder  

As for Seattle itself, I got mixed opinions on safety and whatnot.  It's safe to say that Seattle has less gangs than LA (you don't have to worry about wearing certain colors in certain streets or anything like that), but I kept hearing about how aggressive the homeless population is over there.  My shuttle driver talked about how his son got beat up and mugged by homeless people on 2 different occasions: one resulting in broken bones, and one resulting in a TBI serious enough to warrant SLP services.  Actual students who live by the school say that it's not that bad.  Both agree that it's normally okay as long as you keep some good ol' LA street smarts around you: put in no more than one earbud, be aware of your surroundings, don't flash fancy technology in shady streets, don't open your wallet too much in public etc.

Edited to also add: I know us Southern Californians tend to think that any part of the US outside our region is extreme, but it's not like it's constantly raining all day all year in Seattle.  There are rainy days and sunny days.  It is chillier, but California residents are saying that it's not completely terrible.  However, people who are more prone to having seasonal affective disorder should be careful of the frequent fog and rain.

Thank you so much for all this information @talkingcake! You seem happy with your leaning towards Boulder, and that's so awesome. When I visited UW last year, I agree that the faculty and Chrissie were super helpful. But I am coming from the same direction as you- I don't know for sure what setting I want to work in and I'd also like to get experience in multiple settings. This just doesn't seem that possible at UW and that's what's giving me reservations.

However, being the type A personality that I am, UW is ranked so highly and I don't know how dumb it would be to give up a spot at UW for a lesser ranked school! 

Next week is going to drive me nuts!

[MamaBoop]

On 3/9/2016 at 11:45 PM, girlgonespeechie said:

Does anyone have any perspective as a previous student at either of these schools? I was accepted to UW (CoreSLP) and UNC, but I am so uncertain about which one would be the best fit. I feel like I want learn about everything as an SLP, and I have an inkling that I want to work with adult populations with more neuro-based disorders (patients with TBI, dementia, aphasia, dysarthria, dysphagia etc) but still unsure. I've heard that as an SLP you can usually work with both populations (perhaps not at the same time) but just depending on which way life is taking you at that time.  I also may be interested in a PhD later on (I did an undergrad thesis and while I may not have enjoyed the writing part too much lolz, I really enjoyed research) but not sure 100% and want a school that has a good balance of clinical and research experience. Here are some of my personal pro's and cons about each school: 

UW

Pros: program is stellar, faculty is amazing and has many faculty members who share my interest for neuro, school is ranked highly. You can also choose adult or ped emphasis which will give you more exposure to what you think you'd like to learn about. 

Cons: living in Seattle is so expensive, and it is pretty far away from my family. The weather doesn't seem the greatest and the traffic sucks. The choosing of an adult emphasis or ped emphasis looks awesome but will that hinder me if I choose an adult emphasis and then later on want to change it up and work with peds? *confused*

UNC 

Pros: program is still amazing, closer to family, much much lower cost of living. 

Cons: The school's curriculum doesn't seem to be as detailed as UW's, and there aren't many faculty members who share my interest in the neuro side of things, especially with adults. I fear that going here may not allow me to be well prepared for both.

TL;DR: I am torn at which school I should go to and if going to either will benefit or hinder me in any way, taking into consideration my interest for neuro but still wanting to be a well-rounded clinician, and still wanting the opportunity for potential research. Still haven't heard about financial aid for either school and they are about the same price for out of state tuition.

ALSO: When you are going to do your CFY, that doesn't necessarily have to be in the state, right? If I wanted to go to UW and get a stellar education but eventually move closer to family later in life, will that effect my ability to get a job (I've heard region matters and places respect the university in that region).

 

those are 2 schools i would love to get into :)) congrats!  Do u mind me asking what your GPA/ GRE scores were like? 

[girlgonespeechie]

2 hours ago, MamaBoop said:

those are 2 schools i would love to get into :)) congrats!  Do u mind me asking what your GPA/ GRE scores were like? 

Hey @MamaBoop, 

Thanks  my overall GPA was 3.93, for my last 60 credits was 3.99, and my CSD gpa for my postbacs classes was 4.0. I scored 155 V, 155 Q and 5.0 AW.

I have to say, though, that schools don't only look at numbers. I think character counts a lot too. So don't think that you won't get in just because you don't have a perfect GPA or GRE scores!

[Jolie717]

On March 16, 2016 at 5:49 AM, hkates said:

I know, I wake up every night and start stressing about this decision. I've received 4 offers of admission, which is incredible and I feel so lucky, but I never thought I would be in this position and it is stressing me out. It might sound superficial, but I'm struggling with the thought of turning down UW since it's ranked so highly. Like I'll be just kicking myself if I say "no" to the 3rd best program in the country in favor of somewhere with a less impressive reputation...but in the end, does that reputation really matter all that much? I've been talking with different SLPs about this, and the answer seems to be "no", but I'm still tempted by their stats. Ugh. Cost of living is high in Seattle, like you said, and it seems like public schools in general don't have a lot of funding to offer so I'm not getting my hopes up too high. But I'm visiting campus next week, and will be meeting with the woman I've been emailing about funding. I'll keep you posted on what I learn!

What in particular drew you to UW's program? Do you know what area(s) you want to work in?

I was wondering - when you (and everyone, please chime in) have discussed opinions about the importance of schools' ranking with other SLPs, have any of them come from top-ranked programs?  (Preferably half of them, for a good representation, with several in medicine).  I do understand that we as SLPs are fortunate enough to be in a position where we will all likely be employed very quickly.  

However, for those of us (the 10% or less) who wish to go into MedSLP, the answer may not be quite so simple.  Especially those of us who want to specialize in a specific area of medicine, thus decreasing the job opportunities even further.  One of my profs, who attended a top ten grad school, told a classmate they would be crazy to turn down UW unless it was for financial reasons.  I can't keep that from playing in my head, over and over, and it is driving me nuts!  Anyone???