SLP prospective who is out-of-field

[palabracrush]

Hello hello! Should I even bother consider bother doing SLP? 

Here are my background stats:

• Undergrad GPA: 3.45, majored in Comparative Literature and Japanese
• Master's in TESOL, 3.85 GPA, wrote honors thesis, but not related to anything SLP. 
• GRE: 160v, 140 q, 4.5 writing  (My math score is unacceptable, so I'm going to retake)  
• 5 years+ of teaching experience. Japanese proficiency.  
• Experience teaching in South Korea and Japan.
• Volunteer experience doing teacher training at a local prison. 
• Will be taking postbacc courses at UWec shortly. I am aiming for a perfect 4.0. 

I'm from Illinois, so I'm hoping to stay in the midwest. 

Also, what are everyone's suggestions on getting volunteer experience and/or observation hours? I imagine my knowledge about the profession will remain all too superficial until I get some first hand knowledge.

Edited March 20, 2016 by palabracrush

[Jolie717]

3 minutes ago, palabracrush said:

Hello hello! Should I even bother consider bother doing SLP? 

Here are my background stats:

• Undergrad GPA: 3.45, majored in Comparative Literature and Japanese
• Master's in TESOL, 3.85 GPA, wrote honors thesis, but not related to anything SLP. 
• GRE: 160v, 140 q, 4.5 writing  (My math score is unacceptable, so I'm going to retake)  
• 5 years+ of teaching experience. Japanese proficiency.  
• Experience teaching in South Korea and Japan.
• Volunteer experience doing teacher training at a local prison. 
• Will be taking postbacc courses at UWec shortly. I am aiming for a perfect 4.0. 

I'm from Illinois, so I'm hoping to stay in the midwest. 

Also, what are everyone's suggestions on getting volunteer experience and/or observation hours? I imagine my knowledge about the profession will remain all too superficial until I get some first hand knowledge.

First - why do you think you want to be an SLP?

[palabracrush]

I have been teaching pronunciation for the last year and I have really fallen in love with it. That's clearly different than the work that SLPs do, but there is still some overlap. I particularly love the problem solving aspect of it and then developing curriculum to meet student needs. 

Edited March 20, 2016 by palabracrush

[Jolie717]

24 minutes ago, palabracrush said:

I have been teaching pronunciation for the last year and I have really fallen in love with it. That's clearly different than the work that SLPs do, but there is still some overlap. I particularly love the problem solving aspect of it and then developing curriculum to meet student needs. 

Then yes, you should definitely consider SLP.  You already have a background that will help you stand out from the crowd.  As you explore volunteer/observation experience, I would recommend seeking opportunities that do the same.  I'm not saying you would be wrong to shadow a school or hospital SLP, but shadowing/interning is fairly common in the undergrad experience.  

Since you are interested in pronunciation - try to find an SLP that specializes in accent reduction.  Or an SLP that works with individuals who are deaf that are working on pronunciation.  Or volunteer as a literacy tutor/coach.  Pronunciation comes into play there as well.  Use your experiences to write a very compelling SOP - and start early!!!  Make sure you stand out in the classroom setting as well so your professors get to know you.  Great letters of recommendation are very important.  I agree you can improve your quant score, especially because you have time.  I feel that this is the easiest area to improve for most because it's pretty much just review.

Spend a lot of time choosing the schools you apply to.  Don't just think about proximity, prestige and price.  (Shoot, I should copyright that line - it's perfect for all SLP applicants)!  Examine all three, together and separately.  As far as proximity, if you are limiting yourself geographically it will be much harder to get into a grad program due to how competitive our field is.  For prestige, second tier schools are known for "poaching" talent from top tier schools, in all fields.  How, you might ask?  $$$  Our field is in demand, so prestige isn't necessary In finding employment, for the most part.  That said, well known top-tier schools might open more doors (networking or top CFY offers, especially in big competitive cities or in a specialized niche).  Top grad schools might also give you a leg up into admittance into doctoral programs of study.   Price???  Well, some very expensive programs might happen to offer more funding than less expensive programs.  Some mid-range schools offer more aid.  Some schools (at all levels of cost) even offer full scholarships, teaching fellowships, etc etc!  So factor that in as well.  Best of luck!!!  ?

 

[Crimson Wife]

There is big demand for SLP's who focus on accent reduction, especially if you are able to help those whose 1st language is an Asian one (since those are more different from English than European ones like Spanish are). http://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/speech-pathologists-and-accent-reduction

[racoomelon]

I'd like to suggest going onto ASHA EdFind to see what the admissions for the schools look like! I found out about it after the fact, and it would have been immensely helpful had I known about it earlier. It has the added benefit of listing the areas of specialty in the program.

If you're interested, there are also 3 year programs. Your options would be much more limited than they would with the post-bach, but it might be interesting to look into a few! A big plus would be that you wouldn't have to re-apply after you completed leveling coursework. 

[palabracrush]

Thanks for everyone's comments. Is my GPA too low to get into many mid level programs? Will programs look at my grad school GPA?   I don't care much about prestige, but I do care about location and price. 

Edited March 20, 2016 by palabracrush

[copaceticbroad]

14 hours ago, palabracrush said:

Here are my background stats:

• Undergrad GPA: 3.45, majored in Comparative Literature and Japanese
• Master's in TESOL, 3.85 GPA, wrote honors thesis, but not related to anything SLP. 
• GRE: 160v, 140 q, 4.5 writing  (My math score is unacceptable, so I'm going to retake)  
• 5 years+ of teaching experience. Japanese proficiency.  
• Experience teaching in South Korea and Japan.
• Volunteer experience doing teacher training at a local prison. 
• Will be taking postbacc courses at UWec shortly. I am aiming for a perfect 4.0. 

I'm from Illinois, so I'm hoping to stay in the midwest. 

I think you should! Our backgrounds are similar, and I've gotten into some programs on the East Coast, which I hear is a bit more competitive than the midwest.

Me (numbers are in the signature):

• Undergrad- majored in English
• Master's in Secondary Education (ELA 7-12), 3.77 GPA
• 5+ years of teaching experience in public school
• 2 years of Peace Corps service (TEFL) in Eastern Europe; some proficiency in Russian
• Pre-reqs through an online program

Confession: I have no volunteer experience or observation hours. Some programs don't mind.

Edited March 20, 2016 by copaceticbroad

[Crimson Wife]

3 hours ago, palabracrush said:

Thanks for everyone's comments. Is my GPA too low to get into many mid level programs? Will programs look at my grad school GPA?   I don't care much about prestige, but I do care about location and price. 

Some programs state that they only look at the last 60 credits, and grad school should count towards that (double-check with your target schools to be sure if they have a last 60 policy).

[palabracrush]

3 hours ago, copaceticbroad said:

I think you should! Our backgrounds are similar, and I've gotten into some programs on the East Coast, which I hear is a bit more competitive than the midwest.

Me (numbers are in the signature):

• Undergrad- majored in English
• Master's in Secondary Education (ELA 7-12), 3.77 GPA
• 5+ years of teaching experience in public school
• 2 years of Peace Corps service (TEFL) in Eastern Europe; some proficiency in Russian
• Pre-reqs through an online program

Confession: I have no volunteer experience or observation hours. Some programs don't mind.

 

Your GPA is quite a bit higher than mine. I'm working on doing all I can to get a high GRE score though.  Did you grad school GPA play a role in admissions?

Edited March 20, 2016 by palabracrush

[copaceticbroad]

@palabracrush, I assume so, but I haven't asked. My understanding is that admission committees want to know if applicants can succeed in graduate school (which sounds silly and simplistic as I type it, but it's obviously true). I think your best bet is to come up with a list of schools that you would feel comfortable attending and email them asking if they consider credits earned after undergrad.