5 Common Application Questions Answered

[Jeff Barton]

 

Hey All,

 

When I was applying to graduate programs in SLP in Fall 2014, I was driving myself crazy. The stress I caused myself by reading GradCafe alone was a nightmare! But, it was also very helpful. I'm back on GradCafe because I want to help alleviate some of your pain and also guide you towards improving your application so that you too may gain admission into a program. 

 

First off, being rejected from SLP graduate programs is not uncommon. Not only did I experience rejection when applying, but after being accepted I worked as a graduate assistant in an SLP graduate program. I've been on both sides of the table, which really allowed me to understand what it takes to stand out from the other 400+ applicants. 

 

When I was applying, many people would ask questions on GradCafe such as:

 

1. What matters most: GPA, GRE, Statement of Purpose, etc?

 

2. If I have a [insert GPA here] do I have a chance at being accepted?

 

3. I retook one undergraduate course, does this ruin my chances at graduate school?

 

4. How do I structure my application to stand out?

 

5. What should I address in my Statement of Purpose to impress the readers?

 

At that time, I didn't have the answers to these questions. I believed with some confidence that a lower GPA greatly reduced an applicants chances at being accepted, among other things. 

 

However, from going through the application process, working as a graduate assistant for a graduate program, completing two-thirds of the SLP graduate program, and helping students improve their applications to graduate programs in SLP as well as many other graduate fields, I have come to understand the answers to these frantic questions...

 

1. What matters most: GPA, GRE, Statement of Purpose, etc.?  and   2. If I have a [insert GPA here] do I have a chance at being accepted?

 

               Each of these play a role in whether or not you earn admission. However, there is no "smoking gun." Admission decisions typically are not supported by one factor alone. Therefore, an applicant with an extremely high GRE (What is an extremely high GRE for SLP Graduate Programs? I'll get to that later in the post.) does not simply earn themselves admission. It's much more complicated than that.

 

               Think of GPA, GRE, SOP, etc. as the ingredients it takes to make Panang Curry (Thai - If you haven't had it, please visit Thai Town in Hollywood and let me know what you think!). To start, we need 1 cup of GPA, 1.5 cups of GRE, and 2 cups of SOP. However, we can make alternative versions of the recipe that taste just as great! We can use 1.5 cups of GPA, 1 cup of GRE, and 1.5 cups of SOP. 

 

                Have you ever began to follow a recipe and as you successfully completed each step, your confidence grew just slightly, but by the 5th or 6th step you started feeling like you were Rachael Ray or Gordon Ramsay? You looked at the recipe and said to yourself, "You know what Jeff, I'm going to mix it up a little bit because I'm starting to feel like I've got a natural talent for this..." 

 

                Perhaps you haven't, but I'm sure you get what I mean. The point is, following a recipe is great. It's a blueprint. Someone else has already figured out HOW to do it. On the flip side, straying away from a blueprint can have extreme results - typically it's either AMAZING or simply terrible. If you want to stand out, you can't follow the Easy-Bake-Oven application recipe that's plastered all over the internet. You have got to standout.

 

                A 4.0 GPA, you would think, would make you stand out? But, a LARGE MAJORITY of applicants to SLP graduate programs have exactly that - a 4.0 GPA. So, what makes the applicant with a 4.0 GPA standout? If you thought a sky reaching GRE score, you're absolutely WRONG. At this juncture, it's imperative for me to tell you to FINISH READING THIS POST. I am not telling you that having a high GPA and GRE score is damaging to your application - that's absurd. What I am saying though, is that in this day and age so many of the applicants have high GPA and GRE scores. It becomes standard. It becomes uniform. It starts to feel, in some entirely ironic way, "average." 

 

                And, average is exactly what you can't be to earn admission into a SLP graduate program! Average is unappealing. So, how does a 4.0 GPA, 85th percentile GRE applicant become interesting again? The Statement of Purpose - their unique story. That's how. On the flip side, how does a 3.0 GPA, 50th percentile GRE applicant compete with this ridiculous competition? They swing for the fences in their Statement of Purpose. 

 

               You see, the GPA and GRE are part of the dated application recipe. You can't change how your GPA is calculated. You can't change how your GRE is scored. You could have improved them by getting better grades and scoring higher on the exam (which is another topic I'll address in a future post) but at this point, your GPA and GRE are fairly set-in-stone (at the time of applying; yes of course you can retake the GRE.) When your application is evaluated for GPA and GRE, it's a glance at the number listed beside the acronym. For the most part, it's either an up-down head nod for higher scores or a unilateral sideways lip extension paired with a side-to-side head nod for lower scores. You get my point: whether you have exceptional GPA and GRE scores or not, your admissions decision won't be based solely on these two factors. Who you are perceived to be, from your entire application and including the most important factor - the statement of purpose - is the foundation that your admissions decision is based off of. 

 

                As long as you have a high enough overall GPA to meet the minimum requirements for the university and graduate program (These are two separate entities) I would not count yourself out. There are plenty of ways to market yourself despite these numbers. 

 

 

 

3. I retook one undergraduate course, does this ruin my chances at graduate school?

 

                Not at all. Retaking one course doesn't entirely ruin your chances. You may choose to explain the circumstances in your statement of purpose. Personally, I think deciding whether to explain it or not is extremely individualized and depends on your specific situation. Use your best judgement in deciding whether to tackle the explanation or address other aspects of yourself in your SOP. 

 

 

 

4. How do I structure my application to stand out?

 

               While there certainly are methods to improve your application, they do not include deception or falsifying information. DO NOT LIE IN YOUR APPLICATION. The best place to stand out from the crowd is in your SOP; however, there is much to be said for standing out in other parts of your application...

 

 

 

5. What should I address in my SOP to impress the readers?       

 

                I get asked this question a lot, and I see it posted on graduate forums even more. Remember, I help students apply to all types of graduate and Ph.D programs across the U.S. Simply put, when typical students ask this question they are already veering off into the wrong direction. Each university and program have specific instructions for writing the SOP. 

 

                Never write one SOP for multiple schools. Never cut and paste parts of it together to form a "new" SOP for another program. These are common mistakes applicants make and it costs them greatly. There is a reason each school creates a unique and specific guideline for their SOP. Take a moment with me and think about one thing in your life that you are REALLY good at. Is it knitting? Perhaps it's horseback riding. However, for our example let's use public speaking.

 

                 So, you're amazing at public speaking for CORPORATE EVENTS and want to find ONE person to teach all of your secrets to. You send out an advertisement, and you receive applications from people all over the world wanting YOU to train them in public speaking. In your ad, you wrote, "In one page, tell me why learning from me, specifically, is what you need to achieve your dreams." You get hundreds of responses, and you begin reading them:

 

                1. Hi, I'm Suzy and I have done public speaking events across the world. I am extremely interested in learning from you because I am passionate about public speaking. 

 

                 2. Hello! I'm Joe. I do public speaking events in book stores for at-risk youth. I am dedicated to improving quality of life for children subjected to environmental risk-factors. 

 

                3. Hi, I'm April. I have a private consulting firm where I am hired to do public speaking engagements for private businesses. Some of my past clients include CBS News, The Cheesecake Factory, and a Google subsidiary. I've been a fan of yours since I watched the speech you gave at Apple, "Corporate Morale in the 21st Century." 

 

        Who would you choose? It's easy, right? April clearly matches the criteria. However, would it surprise you to learn that Suzy was once hired by Ford, the car company, for a public speaking event? Certainly. Why didn't she include this in her letter!? That's the point...not including something relevant because you wrote one SOP that could "fit" all of the programs requirements is a mistake. Also, including something irrelevant is also a mistake. Address the specific and unique requirements for each program.

 

         When writing your SOP, make sure you understand what the specific focus is within your program, not just simply speech-language pathology. Who are the professors? What have they accomplished? And so on...these are the types of questions you should be addressing. Now, it takes more than simply listing the professor's accomplishments and saying, "Me too..!!!!!!" You have to bring it full-circle. That's the challenge; that's the test. 

 

 

 

I hope I was able to give you valuable insight into the admissions process. If you want to learn more about bringing your application full-circle and have specific questions for me, or you want to learn how I was able to gain admission into a California SLP graduate program with a 3.01 overall GPA and 55th percentile GRE scores, visit my website: www.bartonj.com

 

 

 

For my next post, what would you like me to discuss? Tell me below. 

 

 

 

Best Regards,

 

Jeff Barton

 

M.S. Communication Disorders and Sciences: Speech-Language Pathology (Candidate 2017)

 

*All of the information contained in this post are my personal opinions and personal findings. I do not represent any institution, university, or program.        

 

 

Edited April 13, 2016 by Jeff Barton

[slpi2bi]

Thank you for sharing this information. Great post! 

[dude_diligence_]

This is great advice, especially in regards to being genuine and original in the SOP for each program.

I know these are topics that may have been discussed before in the forum but I was interested in what you might have to say about the following (granted that each applicant and program is unique) :

How do out-of-field applicants usually fare when compared to traditional CSD major applicants? Is it an advantage to come from a different discipline?

Do SLP grad programs place any particular consideration for diversity (e.g., underrepresented ethnicities, males, etc.) in their admission decisions?

[Jeff Barton]

Hi @pdelacru and @slpi2bi

I hope I was able to share some valuable information with you.

@pdelacru you asked two very important questions, and here are my answers:

Question 1: How do out-of-field applicants usually fare when compared to traditional CSD major applicants?

• In my experience working as a graduate assistant in an SLP graduate program, I found the following to be true about out-of-field applicants vs. those with a B.A. or B.S. in CSD. However, before we jump into that I would like to take a moment to define the two categories, for those that may be reading this and are not sure.
  • "Out-of-field applicant" is typically an individual who has acquired a B.A. or B.S. degree in any field other than Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) or a subtype of it (e.g. Communicative Disorders and Sciences (CDS)) and is applying to a graduate degree program in CSD.
  • "Traditional applicant" is an individual who has acquired a B.A. or B.S. degree in CSD or a subtype of it, and is applying to a graduate degree program in CSD.
• Answer: Most CSD graduate programs require out-of-field applicants to complete many, if not all, of the undergraduate CSD courses to be eligible for admission into a graduate degree program. Some universities call these course sequences "Leveler" or "Pre-CSD" programs. Therefore, although these individuals have a B.A. or B.S. in another discipline, they typically still must acquire all of the undergraduate CSD courses required for the B.A or B.S. in CSD, prior to applying to a graduate degree program in CSD. I understand that there may be few programs that do not require an out-of-field applicant to complete a course sequence prior to applying, however understand that you, upon admission, will still be required to take these courses prior to your graduate degree courses. Therefore, in my opinion, limiting yourself to these few university programs may be unwise. I highly recommend completing a course sequence pattern, whether online or on-campus, for out-of-field applicants. If you have more questions regarding what is best for you, please feel free to email me.

                          Therefore, because out-of-field applicants typically apply with the same undergraduate CSD courses already completed, as a traditional CSD major applicant would, their essentially evaluated the same. In my experience, I did not find that out-of-field applicants benefited from having a B.A. or B.S. degree in another discipline, in relation to that degree improving their chances for admission.

 

Question 1A: Is it an advantage to come from a different discipline?

• Answer: I do believe having a bachelors degree in certain undergraduate fields, such as psychology, education, counseling, or any heavy science program would benefit an out-of-field applicant, not for admission, but personally and academically throughout the CSD program. While this advantage is invaluable, it comes at the cost of having completed that bachelors degree program (time & money) and ultimately is not necessary to complete the CSD degree program. But, if you already have another degree, don't feel bad about the time and money you spent obtaining it - it will be beneficial to you throughout your career.

 

Question 2: Do SLP grad programs place any particular consideration for diversity (e.g., underrepresented ethnicities, males, etc.) in their admission decisions?

• Answer: When I was an undergraduate student getting ready to apply to graduate programs, I looked for the answer to this question a lot. Being a male in a predominately female field has its struggles, but truthfully I was hoping that it would benefit me when applying to graduate programs. However, my experience has taught me not to "hope" for situations like this. Here's why: If you are applying to a CSD graduate program, you are applying to a highly specialized program. If you were admitted due to gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, etc. then you were not admitted for your hard work. One may not care why they were admitted, as long as they were admitted, but I urge that individual to reconsider their position. Throughout your program, you will experience periods of intense stress, struggle, and moments where you question whether or not you have what it takes to be an SLP. It was knowing that I was admitted based on what I had achieved and how I marketed myself to the admissions committee, not because I was simply a male, that allowed me to persevere through those difficult times.
•  So, do SLP grad programs place particular consideration for diversity? They may or may not, but I can assure you whatever consideration, if any, that they do place is extremely small compared to the consideration they place on quantitative measures of academic success and qualitative measures of personality.

 

Well, there you have it @pdelacru. If you have any other general questions or if you have specific questions related to your application, I would be more than happy to answer them for you. You can visit my website at www.bartonj.com or email me at contactbartonj@gmail.com

Edited April 15, 2016 by Jeff Barton

[dude_diligence_]

Thanks for the responses @Jeff Barton. While I definitely agree that individuals ought to earn their way into programs, I do believe that universities also place great weight on whether applicants can contribute fresh perspectives and a diversity of experiences (that was my impression during my internship with the Enrollment Division at Notre Dame). I think that out-of-field applicants in particular can share an interdisciplinary approach to CSD study. I know that my undergrad background in French and Portuguese will definitely inform my research interest in Francophone/Lusophone populations in the same way that Philosophy sheds a bit of light on the role of language in knowledge formation. I imagine that the liberal arts (not just hard sciences) can also be helpful for future clinicians.

When you wrote that you had been on both sides of the table I thought you meant you had worked in Admissions  I appreciate the offer for application help, though, but I'm actually already headed to a grad program this fall. I agree that the application process itself was pretty complicated (looking at you CSDCAS haha). Are you considering pursuing a PhD after the MS?

[futureSpeechLP]

Thanks for posting this! Your advice is great. 

This summer, I'm visiting schools that I want to apply to in the fall. Currently, I'm in the Post Bacc program at CSULA. Would love to go to CSULA, but the competition is STRONG. 

Do you have any tips for on-campus meetings? Are there ways to stand out to a program prior to applying? Are there certain questions you asked programs to gauge if that was the school for you? Do you recommend follow-up emails or thank you cards?

thanks!

[keeks121]

@pdelacru Hi! My uncle is the Dean of Admissions for a college in NYC and he has given me an insight on how diversity weighs on admission decisions in SLP.  Depending on your location, a diverse cohort is an important factor.  The admissions committee assumes that you will pursue a career in the same state you received your certification.  With that being said, places like NYC are very diverse, which in return, requires a diverse group of professionals.  The ability to identify and empathize with a culture is a very important skill to have and unfortunately, some people do not have those skills.  Therefore, finding people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds who can relate to their clients and families is a deciding factor as well.  Granted, it is not as important as your GRE's, SOP's and GPA, it can still help boost your application.   

[thespeechblog.com]

1 hour ago, futureSpeechLP said:

Thanks for posting this! Your advice is great. 

This summer, I'm visiting schools that I want to apply to in the fall. Currently, I'm in the Post Bacc program at CSULA. Would love to go to CSULA, but the competition is STRONG. 

Do you have any tips for on-campus meetings? Are there ways to stand out to a program prior to applying? Are there certain questions you asked programs to gauge if that was the school for you? Do you recommend follow-up emails or thank you cards?

thanks!

Hi! I´m not the original poster, but I thought I´d throw my 2-cents in...

To stand out before you even apply, I´d say you should show genuine and professional interest in the school but also the SLP work that you´ll be doing after. During the visit (or phone call even) be enthusiastic and engaged in what is going. Research any faculty you´ll be meeting with and learn about their interests. Read their publications! That makes a great impression and really demonstrates your interest. Anecdote: I follow some bilingual SLP groups on Facebook (I´m bilingual and only applied to programs with a bilingual emphasis). I participated in some of the discussions and ended up interacting with the director of a top-ranked bilingual program without even knowing it! I made mention of it in my SOP, and I got into that school. I don´t think that single experience made a huge difference, but I do think it spoke to my serious commitment to bilingual populations in SLP. 

I think thank you notes are a good idea for interviews and visits. Keep them professional & simple yet still thoughtful. Another anecdote, I sent thank you notes after my phone interview, and a friend of mine who is in the program told me she heard two professors chatting about how impressed they were by the notes. Did they accept me into their program because of the thank you notes? Absolutely not. But it was a small professional courtesy that maybe earned a second glance at my SOP. 

Little things can make all the difference... as long as they´re genuine and professional. 

Anyways, those are my thoughts  Best of luck! 

[dude_diligence_]

1 hour ago, kpm121 said:

@pdelacru Hi! My uncle is the Dean of Admissions for a college in NYC and he has given me an insight on how diversity weighs on admission decisions in SLP.  Depending on your location, a diverse cohort is an important factor.  The admissions committee assumes that you will pursue a career in the same state you received your certification.  With that being said, places like NYC are very diverse, which in return, requires a diverse group of professionals.  The ability to identify and empathize with a culture is a very important skill to have and unfortunately, some people do not have those skills.  Therefore, finding people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds who can relate to their clients and families is a deciding factor as well.  Granted, it is not as important as your GRE's, SOP's and GPA, it can still help boost your application.   

Definitely a good insight, @kpm121. I imagine that cross-cultural competency would be helpful for any allied health professional. Studying abroad or volunteering in ethnic neighborhoods (even an upbringing in a cosmopolitan area) can cultivate a nice appreciation for diversity. I think people tend to limit the phrase “diverse applicants” to just underrepresented minorities but I think the category should include anyone with intercultural experience or sentiments.

You also bring up a good point on the fact that universities, while understanding that we benefit from undergoing their programs, also want to admit people who can contribute different perspectives/skills to the rest of the campus community since a cookie-cutter cohort would be a bit boring  It would be interesting to see which programs operate with an open definition of diversity (e.g., taking into account socioeconomic status, international experiences, etc.) as opposed to one strictly based on ethnicity/race.

Edited April 18, 2016 by pdelacru
.

[futureSpeechLP]

3 hours ago, mcamp said:

Hi! I´m not the original poster, but I thought I´d throw my 2-cents in...

To stand out before you even apply, I´d say you should show genuine and professional interest in the school but also the SLP work that you´ll be doing after. During the visit (or phone call even) be enthusiastic and engaged in what is going. Research any faculty you´ll be meeting with and learn about their interests. Read their publications! That makes a great impression and really demonstrates your interest. Anecdote: I follow some bilingual SLP groups on Facebook (I´m bilingual and only applied to programs with a bilingual emphasis). I participated in some of the discussions and ended up interacting with the director of a top-ranked bilingual program without even knowing it! I made mention of it in my SOP, and I got into that school. I don´t think that single experience made a huge difference, but I do think it spoke to my serious commitment to bilingual populations in SLP. 

I think thank you notes are a good idea for interviews and visits. Keep them professional & simple yet still thoughtful. Another anecdote, I sent thank you notes after my phone interview, and a friend of mine who is in the program told me she heard two professors chatting about how impressed they were by the notes. Did they accept me into their program because of the thank you notes? Absolutely not. But it was a small professional courtesy that maybe earned a second glance at my SOP. 

Little things can make all the difference... as long as they´re genuine and professional. 

Anyways, those are my thoughts  Best of luck! 

Great advice, mcamp! I will definitely find faculty publications to read! And I'll make sure to check out your blog.

 

[ashny]

On 4/12/2016 at 9:23 PM, Jeff Barton said:

 

Hey All,

 

When I was applying to graduate programs in SLP in Fall 2014, I was driving myself crazy. The stress I caused myself by reading GradCafe alone was a nightmare! But, it was also very helpful. I'm back on GradCafe because I want to help alleviate some of your pain and also guide you towards improving your application so that you too may gain admission into a program. 

 

First off, being rejected from SLP graduate programs is not uncommon. Not only did I experience rejection when applying, but after being accepted I worked as a graduate assistant in an SLP graduate program. I've been on both sides of the table, which really allowed me to understand what it takes to stand out from the other 400+ applicants. 

 

When I was applying, many people would ask questions on GradCafe such as:

 

1. What matters most: GPA, GRE, Statement of Purpose, etc?

 

2. If I have a [insert GPA here] do I have a chance at being accepted?

 

3. I retook one undergraduate course, does this ruin my chances at graduate school?

 

4. How do I structure my application to stand out?

 

5. What should I address in my Statement of Purpose to impress the readers?

 

At that time, I didn't have the answers to these questions. I believed with some confidence that a lower GPA greatly reduced an applicants chances at being accepted, among other things. 

 

However, from going through the application process, working as a graduate assistant for a graduate program, completing two-thirds of the SLP graduate program, and helping students improve their applications to graduate programs in SLP as well as many other graduate fields, I have come to understand the answers to these frantic questions...

 

1. What matters most: GPA, GRE, Statement of Purpose, etc.?  and   2. If I have a [insert GPA here] do I have a chance at being accepted?

 

               Each of these play a role in whether or not you earn admission. However, there is no "smoking gun." Admission decisions typically are not supported by one factor alone. Therefore, an applicant with an extremely high GRE (What is an extremely high GRE for SLP Graduate Programs? I'll get to that later in the post.) does not simply earn themselves admission. It's much more complicated than that.

 

               Think of GPA, GRE, SOP, etc. as the ingredients it takes to make Panang Curry (Thai - If you haven't had it, please visit Thai Town in Hollywood and let me know what you think!). To start, we need 1 cup of GPA, 1.5 cups of GRE, and 2 cups of SOP. However, we can make alternative versions of the recipe that taste just as great! We can use 1.5 cups of GPA, 1 cup of GRE, and 1.5 cups of SOP. 

 

                Have you ever began to follow a recipe and as you successfully completed each step, your confidence grew just slightly, but by the 5th or 6th step you started feeling like you were Rachael Ray or Gordon Ramsay? You looked at the recipe and said to yourself, "You know what Jeff, I'm going to mix it up a little bit because I'm starting to feel like I've got a natural talent for this..." 

 

                Perhaps you haven't, but I'm sure you get what I mean. The point is, following a recipe is great. It's a blueprint. Someone else has already figured out HOW to do it. On the flip side, straying away from a blueprint can have extreme results - typically it's either AMAZING or simply terrible. If you want to stand out, you can't follow the Easy-Bake-Oven application recipe that's plastered all over the internet. You have got to standout.

 

                A 4.0 GPA, you would think, would make you stand out? But, a LARGE MAJORITY of applicants to SLP graduate programs have exactly that - a 4.0 GPA. So, what makes the applicant with a 4.0 GPA standout? If you thought a sky reaching GRE score, you're absolutely WRONG. At this juncture, it's imperative for me to tell you to FINISH READING THIS POST. I am not telling you that having a high GPA and GRE score is damaging to your application - that's absurd. What I am saying though, is that in this day and age so many of the applicants have high GPA and GRE scores. It becomes standard. It becomes uniform. It starts to feel, in some entirely ironic way, "average." 

 

                And, average is exactly what you can't be to earn admission into a SLP graduate program! Average is unappealing. So, how does a 4.0 GPA, 85th percentile GRE applicant become interesting again? The Statement of Purpose - their unique story. That's how. On the flip side, how does a 3.0 GPA, 50th percentile GRE applicant compete with this ridiculous competition? They swing for the fences in their Statement of Purpose. 

 

               You see, the GPA and GRE are part of the dated application recipe. You can't change how your GPA is calculated. You can't change how your GRE is scored. You could have improved them by getting better grades and scoring higher on the exam (which is another topic I'll address in a future post) but at this point, your GPA and GRE are fairly set-in-stone (at the time of applying; yes of course you can retake the GRE.) When your application is evaluated for GPA and GRE, it's a glance at the number listed beside the acronym. For the most part, it's either an up-down head nod for higher scores or a unilateral sideways lip extension paired with a side-to-side head nod for lower scores. You get my point: whether you have exceptional GPA and GRE scores or not, your admissions decision won't be based solely on these two factors. Who you are perceived to be, from your entire application and including the most important factor - the statement of purpose - is the foundation that your admissions decision is based off of. 

 

                As long as you have a high enough overall GPA to meet the minimum requirements for the university and graduate program (These are two separate entities) I would not count yourself out. There are plenty of ways to market yourself despite these numbers. 

 

 

 

3. I retook one undergraduate course, does this ruin my chances at graduate school?

 

                Not at all. Retaking one course doesn't entirely ruin your chances. You may choose to explain the circumstances in your statement of purpose. Personally, I think deciding whether to explain it or not is extremely individualized and depends on your specific situation. Use your best judgement in deciding whether to tackle the explanation or address other aspects of yourself in your SOP. 

 

 

 

4. How do I structure my application to stand out?

 

               While there certainly are methods to improve your application, they do not include deception or falsifying information. DO NOT LIE IN YOUR APPLICATION. The best place to stand out from the crowd is in your SOP; however, there is much to be said for standing out in other parts of your application...

 

 

 

5. What should I address in my SOP to impress the readers?       

 

                I get asked this question a lot, and I see it posted on graduate forums even more. Remember, I help students apply to all types of graduate and Ph.D programs across the U.S. Simply put, when typical students ask this question they are already veering off into the wrong direction. Each university and program have specific instructions for writing the SOP. 

 

                Never write one SOP for multiple schools. Never cut and paste parts of it together to form a "new" SOP for another program. These are common mistakes applicants make and it costs them greatly. There is a reason each school creates a unique and specific guideline for their SOP. Take a moment with me and think about one thing in your life that you are REALLY good at. Is it knitting? Perhaps it's horseback riding. However, for our example let's use public speaking.

 

                 So, you're amazing at public speaking for CORPORATE EVENTS and want to find ONE person to teach all of your secrets to. You send out an advertisement, and you receive applications from people all over the world wanting YOU to train them in public speaking. In your ad, you wrote, "In one page, tell me why learning from me, specifically, is what you need to achieve your dreams." You get hundreds of responses, and you begin reading them:

 

                1. Hi, I'm Suzy and I have done public speaking events across the world. I am extremely interested in learning from you because I am passionate about public speaking. 

 

                 2. Hello! I'm Joe. I do public speaking events in book stores for at-risk youth. I am dedicated to improving quality of life for children subjected to environmental risk-factors. 

 

                3. Hi, I'm April. I have a private consulting firm where I am hired to do public speaking engagements for private businesses. Some of my past clients include CBS News, The Cheesecake Factory, and a Google subsidiary. I've been a fan of yours since I watched the speech you gave at Apple, "Corporate Morale in the 21st Century." 

 

        Who would you choose? It's easy, right? April clearly matches the criteria. However, would it surprise you to learn that Suzy was once hired by Ford, the car company, for a public speaking event? Certainly. Why didn't she include this in her letter!? That's the point...not including something relevant because you wrote one SOP that could "fit" all of the programs requirements is a mistake. Also, including something irrelevant is also a mistake. Address the specific and unique requirements for each program.

 

         When writing your SOP, make sure you understand what the specific focus is within your program, not just simply speech-language pathology. Who are the professors? What have they accomplished? And so on...these are the types of questions you should be addressing. Now, it takes more than simply listing the professor's accomplishments and saying, "Me too..!!!!!!" You have to bring it full-circle. That's the challenge; that's the test. 

 

 

 

I hope I was able to give you valuable insight into the admissions process. If you want to learn more about bringing your application full-circle and have specific questions for me, or you want to learn how I was able to gain admission into a California SLP graduate program with a 3.01 overall GPA and 55th percentile GRE scores, visit my website: www.bartonj.com

 

 

 

For my next post, what would you like me to discuss? Tell me below. 

 

 

 

Best Regards,

 

Jeff Barton

 

M.S. Communication Disorders and Sciences: Speech-Language Pathology (Candidate 2017)

 

*All of the information contained in this post are my personal opinions and personal findings. I do not represent any institution, university, or program.        

 

 

Hi Jeff, this is really useful information. I have tried to access your website www.bartonj.com

However, I cannot locate it. Is your website still accessible? Thanks.

[SpeechLaedy]

Omg . This is the holy grail of posts here . Thank you so much @Jeff Barton for sharing such valuable information from an inside perspective. The analogies were perfect! I'll have to read the rest of the comments in this thread when I get the chance. Thanks again!! 

Edited February 10, 2017 by SpeechLaedy

[Jeff Barton]

Hi All,

I apologize for not keeping up with this post. If anyone in the future would like to contact me, please feel free to email me at contactbartonj@gmail.com

Best of luck to all of you,

Jeff Barton