Do I have a chance for SLP grad school acceptance?

[Mary p]

Thanks in advance for your help! I am having a hard time discerning if acceptance to a grad program in SLP is plausible at all for me. 

I have my undergrad in Speech Pathology and Audiology- not a great GPA at 3.12 

I graduated 4 years ago and have been working as a preschool teacher in USA for 2 years and as a English preschool teacher in South Korea for 2 years. 

My GREs are okay- Verbal, 159 Quantitative- 153, Writing- 4.5 However I think these scores will expire this year and I will have to take them again.

I don't have any contact with my old professors from undergrad as I have been out of school for a few years. So LOR are a concern for me. I can use the principals from my preschool but I know I need to find some academic references directly connected to SLP. 

I would appreciate your honest opinion on the likelihood of me getting accepted in any SLP grad program. I have done research I am having a very hard time discerning if this is a realistic goal. Thank you! 

Also, if you know of any schools that have accepted applicants with similar situations that information would be much appreciated. 

Edited July 12, 2016 by Mary p

[plume]

Mary,

Judging from what I have read on this forum, I absolutely think you have a chance of getting into SLP school! I also think you will need to write a killer personal statement, try to find good LoRs, and apply strategically. 

Also, I don't know if this is good advice, but my coworker will be entering an SLP grad program this fall, and he ignored the suggestions of getting LoRs from faculty since he had been out of school a few years. This may not be an option for schools that say they are "required," and it may be different for him because his numbers were high. You could take a class this fall to get a LoR - people on this website have said that they did this prior to getting into grad school. You can also request letters from SLPs you've shadowed.

There are many people on gradcafe that did not have very high GPAs and got into programs - it sounds like they did their research on schools to make sure they had a chance at acceptance and worked hard to show they were committed.

Check around this forum for posts about this topic. Here are a couple I found (also, twinguy7 might be a good person to follow - it sounds like he planned well and put in the extra effort and was accepted into a program):

I just found this one quickly (your GPA is not "embarrassingly low," FYI!): 

 

[SLP2Bhopefully]

Hi!

Just to give you some piece of mind, I absolutely think it is possible for you to get in! However, be prepared that it may take a little while. I graduated with a major in SLP, with a major GPA of 3.8 and cumulative GPA of 3.5. However, I did transfer schools and did pretty horrible my first year at a community college. That being said, CSDCAS reported my GPA as a 3.1. I applied 3 years before getting in. I applied to 10 schools the first 2 years, then decided to attend a different program as advised by my undergrad professors to show that I could be successful in a graduate program. I did this in a related field and earned a 4.0. My GRE was not very high at all since I am AWFUL at math and was ill BOTH times I took the GRE. My highest scores were 146 V 143 Q and 5.5 both times on writing. However, my third year applying I only applied to 3 schools and I was finally accepted to a great NY school.

I was also sure to do plenty of shadowing, worked as a full-time nanny, and did several internships. So, moral of the story is, yes, it is possible, although it may take some extra effort and time! I almost gave up and am so happy I didn't! Good luck! 

[Crimson Wife]

Can you take some CSD electives online? Look through the course offerings at Utah State, Idaho State, Eastern New Mexico, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, etc. and see what things you haven't already taken as part of your undergrad degree. That would be a way of getting current LoR's and hopefully raising your GPA a bit.

[Mary p]

Thanks for the input everyone! I keep going back and forth between thinking I have a shot, and thinking its hopeless and I'm wasting my time applying. Augh. Here goes nothing!