To do post bacc or apply for a three year?? HELP

[grangeca]

Hello everyone.

I am currently enrolled to do PSU's post bacc program starting Fall 2016. It is very expensive since I am out of state.I really want to get into school and plan on applying this Fall. What would be the smartest and most economical way to go about this?

 

My current stats are:

GPA 3.49

Last 60: 3.77

Major GPA: 3.8 ( i have a BA in Psych from a CSU )

Need to take GRE's, and have a good amount of volunteer work shadowing SLP's in schools, private, and hospital settings (about 150 hours of volunteer) I also have worked in a special ed class as an aide and currently work for a physical therapy company (not the same but relates so i thought it might help)

 

Has anyone ever taken a few of the classic SLP prereqs (like 3-5) and then applied for a 3 year and gotten in?

Or should I just apply for a 3 year with no pre reqs?

Or should I apply for 2 year programs and be only able to report a few classes, and have the potential acceptance on "contingency".

 

Basically I'm really conflicted on applying for the 2 year and looking weaker or applying for the 3 year and those having less acceptance and more money.

 

Any personal experience or advice is appreciated

Edited June 3, 2016 by grangeca
spelling

[SopranoSLP]

I'm in sort of a similar boat, and my plan is to apply for 3 year programs AND postbaccs. If I get into a 3 year program, I'll go. If not, I can do a postbacc and then apply for 2 year programs. In the meantime, I'm taking the ASHA prereqs and a few CSD/SLP courses that are required by all of the schools I'm interested in. I don't know if it's going to work, but that's my plan and I'm sticking to it! :-)

Edited June 3, 2016 by SopranoSLP
typo

[li'lsebastian]

I am in a similar situation. My bachelors will be in Linguistics, so I will already have some of the prereqs completed, so I plan to apply to 3 year programs in particular and hopefully get in somewhere. If I don't, I will use that year to either work/shadow/take some classes (not really certain on my "plan B" yet) and then apply again. And then there are also a few schools that offer Spring admission, so maybe I would try for those? Ugh, I don't know. I'm hoping to get in the first time so I don't have to worry about all of this, but we'll see.

[Crimson Wife]

21 hours ago, grangeca said:

Or should I apply for 2 year programs and be only able to report a few classes, and have the potential acceptance on "contingency".

I've never heard of this being an option, and I specifically was told by one of my target schools that they would NOT accept me unless I could finish the CSD bachelor's prior to matriculation.

[kaitlynlea]

I was in the same situation and applied to both types of programs. If you get into an extended Master's, it's better to do that because you know you will have the strong foundational knowledge that that school expects. Although the prereq courses are pretty standard across the board, it can sometimes be difficult to be sure if a school will accept a particular course or not. I applied to online post- bacc programs, and while convenient, I knew that I personally wouldn't learn as well as in a classroom. In the end, I chose a great school where I can finish in less than 2 years, including all my prereqs. So don't assume all of those options will take 3 years. Some do, some don't.

Edited June 4, 2016 by kaitlynlea

[copaceticbroad]

I took pre-requisite courses through ENMU online, because it was the cheapest option and the classes were asynchronous. It has been mentioned that not every course is available each term, but I never had any scheduling problems. For me, the thought of paying for 3 years of grad school (AND being unemployed for 3 years to boot!) was very unappealing.

[thespeechblog.com]

I had completed only 3 pre-reqs before applying and I got into 3 - 3-year programs and was waitlisted at a 4th. (You can read more about my thought process and planning on my blog)

You can do it! Just make sure you have a great SOP and strong LOR's. 

[grangeca]

Thanks guys! 

Its a gamble kind of no matter what, I'm just trying to make the best bet haha.