Advice Needed: How to Be Make Myself Most Marketable for Upcoming Application Season (Out of Field Major and Transfer Student)

[CCCaffeinated-SLP]

Hello all,

My name is Kayla and I'm new to GradCafe.  I'm relatively new to the field as well.  I graduated from a community college (GPA: 3.76) in May 2015, and have just finished up my junior year at a private 4-year university.  I am a psychology major and CSD minor (by the time I graduate I'll have almost 30 CSD credits, which is well beyond what is needed for the minor).  It took me a very long time to figure out that SLP was the career field that I was looking for.  My first major was English, then I switched to Nutrition; I switched between these majors a few times before I inevitably decided on psychology.  The university I'm attending now also requires that all students complete a minor in addition to their major.  I knew very little about CSD, but I felt it may be a good supplement to my psych major.  After I took my Intro to CSD course, I decided that I really wanted to become an SLP!  Unfortunately, it was too late for me to switch my major to CSD (I'd have to do an extra year of undergrad, which I don't believe is necessary given that I'm going to have ~30 credits of CSD).  I spoke to the directors of the CSD department at my school and they helped me devise a set of CSD courses which I could complete as pre-requisites for a grad program in SLP.

That's just a bit about my background.  I thought I'd include it since it's pretty complicated!  Anyway, I'm now looking to do everything in my power to be a viable candidate for a grad program.  My overall GPA is a 3.9 but unfortunately this is about to be reduced to ~3.82 (I took a two-week immersion course in psych and despite working very hard, I'm still set to receive a B+).  I'm also taking an online physics course at my university, and a speech/hearing science course online with another university (Ohio State).  I have a 4.0 major GPA.  My question here is: will my fall semester grades be included in my applications?  I'd really like to try and get my overall GPA back to a 3.9 before I apply.

As for the GRE- I have been studying off-and-on for a few months.  According to Magoosh, my verbal score would be ~155, and my quant score would be ~151.  I was originally supposed to test on June 13, but I moved my test date to August 18 so I can have more time to prepare.  The advisors in my department told me that a combined 300 is considered competitive for SLP programs.  I'd really like to go above and beyond though, and aim for around a 310 or possible even a 315.  I plan on studying for this a ton over the summer in addition to my classes.

My main concerns are about extracurricular involvement and LoRs.  As I said previously, I've only been attending the university I'm at now for 1 year.  Also, I'm a commuter.  Consequently, I've only had one of my professors twice (Intro to CSD in the fall and Speech&Language Development in the spring).  I may ask this professor for a LoR, given that I got A's in both of her classes, participated some, and only missed 1 class the entire year (I had her 3 days/week at 8 AM, both semesters!).  She definitely inspired me to study CSD.  I'm concerned though, since this is the only professor who I can definitely see myself asking for a LoR from.  I'm a more reserved student, though I do make an attempt to participate in my classes.  I'm going to take 4 CSD courses in the fall- would it be too late to ask any of these professors for LoRs (assuming that I connect with them and/or do well in their classes)?  If I do well in my online class at the other university, would this professor be an option?  As I said previously, I am a commuter, and I have a part-time job.  This really limited my ability to attend extracurricular events over the past year.  I was recently inducted to Psi Chi (psych honor society), but other than that I haven't really participated in any clubs.  Do I still have time to redeem myself here and try to find time to get involved?  Fortunately, I do have some volunteer work to support my application.  I volunteered with an after school ESL program for a few months and volunteered with training therapy dogs for a few months.  I just recently started volunteering with individuals with developmental disabilities as well- perhaps my supervisor here would make a good LoR.

In summary, I'm looking to improve my application for this fall.  I tried to be as clear as humanly possible here, but I have quite a background so it was a bit difficult!  It's tough trying to achieve what most students do in less than half the time.  Any suggestions are welcome, especially as it pertains to LoRs and involvement.

Thanks in advance,

Kayla

[jmk]

-Your GPA is fine. Your Fall grades will be included. A 3.8 cumulative is very competitive...and your 4.0 major GPA is as well! 

-As someone who is also taking the GRE this summer, the "minimums" I will try for are 150 Quant, 150 Verbal, 4.0 Writing. (300 overall). Meanwhile, obviously the higher you score, the better off you are. Unless you go into the test, freeze, and get 140's, you will be fine. 

-I would not ask a professor you are taking in the fall for a letter of rec...unless you have to. My university requires all students to ask for letters by November (not sure if yours has a similar policy)...which is not a lot of time to get to know a professor. I would email the professor you had in the past, and ask if she/he could "advise" you about grad school, or look at your essay. Then, ask them for a letter of rec when Fall starts. 

Deficit: You need another academic letter of rec. Any past professors you could also email? It feels awkward at first, but you'll feel better afterward! 

Resume: I would get pretty involved w your developmental disability volunteering this summer. Very relevant- something to write about in your personal statement. 

Improvement: Have you thought of trying to shadow an SLP this summer? 

[CCCaffeinated-SLP]

1 hour ago, jmk said:

-Your GPA is fine. Your Fall grades will be included. A 3.8 cumulative is very competitive...and your 4.0 major GPA is as well! 

-As someone who is also taking the GRE this summer, the "minimums" I will try for are 150 Quant, 150 Verbal, 4.0 Writing. (300 overall). Meanwhile, obviously the higher you score, the better off you are. Unless you go into the test, freeze, and get 140's, you will be fine. 

-I would not ask a professor you are taking in the fall for a letter of rec...unless you have to. My university requires all students to ask for letters by November (not sure if yours has a similar policy)...which is not a lot of time to get to know a professor. I would email the professor you had in the past, and ask if she/he could "advise" you about grad school, or look at your essay. Then, ask them for a letter of rec when Fall starts. 

Deficit: You need another academic letter of rec. Any past professors you could also email? It feels awkward at first, but you'll feel better afterward! 

Resume: I would get pretty involved w your developmental disability volunteering this summer. Very relevant- something to write about in your personal statement. 

Improvement: Have you thought of trying to shadow an SLP this summer? 

Thanks for you help, and thanks for the reassurance regarding my GPA.  

I have a few other professors that I'd consider asking for a letter of rec.  I had a psych professor last fall, and there was a service learning requirement for the course (the volunteer opportunity where I worked with ESL students).  I attended almost every class, participated some, and got an A.  I might ask the director of Psi Chi after I have been involved- I had her for a psych class in the fall as well.  I got a B+ in her class, though.  I had a community college professor for biology the second half of my sophomore year that I connected with well.  I got an A in her courses (lab and lecture), and she let me know that in the future, I could use her as a reference- she even filled out my recommendation form for 4-year university!  My only concern of course is that I had her while I was in community college (she has a PHD, though).  Additionally, one of the professors I'm going to have the in the fall was my advisor for about a semester (I tried to complete a double major in psych+CSD, but switched back to the psych major, CSD minor set up at the discretion of the CSD program directors to graduate on time).  Since I've met with her a few times at this point already, it might be alright to ask her for a letter of rec after a few months of having her as a professor. 

After writing this paragraph I realize I do have a few possible ideas for people to write my letters of rec.  I'll have to see how everything pans out over the next few months obviously.  But in regards to shadowing an SLP over the summer- I'm actually going to be taking a clinical methods class in the fall that involves shadowing, so I'll have this opportunity do this in the fall!  I would love to do extra shadowing over the summer as well, given that I'd have time to do so.  How would you recommend going about setting this up?

Edited May 25, 2016 by kaylam3