SLP Related Majors/Careers

[SLPgurl13]

Hi everyone, I'm currently in my senior year of my speech pathology major. And I just been really worried lately about getting accepted into SLP graduate school, which I will be applying to next year, including worrying about taking the GREs. I really want to have some back up careers I can also apply to for a masters degree just in case I don't get into SLP grad school (which I hope I do), I'll at least have something else to fall back onto. I looked into special education but it was never in my mind to become a teacher. I also don't want to do healthcare administration but I'm open to other suggestions. Speech pathology is a competitive field and I will continue to strive and work hard to get into grad school since my GPA has been severely affected lately but I do also want to have back up plans. Is OT a good option? Again, I'm open to any ideas.

 

Thanks in advance!

[lexical_gap]

Something I did in preparation for my SLP grad school application was write out why I wanted to be an SLP.  What was it about being an SLP, specifically, that made me want to do the job?  A nonspecific reason such as, "I want to help people" wasn't good enough.  I could help people as a doctor, a teacher, a nurse, a firefighter, a dog-walker, a barber, etc.  What could I do as an SLP that I couldn't do in the other professions?  Honing in on what you want to get out of SLP training and the target population with which you want to work will not only help you focus your essay for SLP grad school and clearly articulate why you want to be an SLP, but it will also open up options for "back-up plans".

For example, if you want to work with the geriatric population, you could look into CNA programs.  If you want to work with the Deaf / HH population, perhaps audiology or sign language interpretation could be options.  If you want to help adults with disabilities gain independence and employment, working in a non-profit organization that does transitional work would allow you to do those tasks.  Those are all possible options that 1) could be a back-up plan, and 2) allow you to gain experience with populations who are often associated with SLP services, thus giving you opportunities to learn how being an SLP can help your future clients achieve their goals.

As for OT, it can be just as competitive as SLP.  Keep in mind, that OT has their own set of pre-requisite courses for graduate programs.  Some courses may overlap with SLP, some may not.  Courses that OT programs seem to have in common a pre-reqs are Anatomy and Physiology, Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Sociology at an absolute bare minumum.  All the OT programs I looked at require additional courses.  These courses included physics, statistics, and/or research methods.

As for admission rates, here is the admittance data for the OT Master's graduate class admitted to start Fall 2015 at my university:

440 applicants, class cohort size of 24
Avg. GPA: 3.57 (Range 3.1 - 3.95)
GRE Quant: 152 (143-163)
GRE Verbal: 154 (142-167)
GRE Writing: 4 (3-6)

Another OT Master's program in my state had the following stats:

347 applicants,class cohort size of 25
Avg. GPA 3.9 (last 60 credits)
GRE scores in the 60-70th percentiles for Quant and Verbal (which is about the mid-150s).
GRE scores in the 80th percentile for Writing (a 4.5 is the 82nd percentile.)

Some OT programs require a certain number of tracked hours in volunteer work and/or shadowing just to be considered.

The SLP grad school application process can be intimidating.  Do your homework with regard to the schools for which you want to apply.  Make sure that your stats are within the range of accepted stats to give yourself the best fighting chance.  Read the professors' professional interests.  Talk to current students and ask how they are being taught to do therapy.  For example, I fell in love with a therapy approach my school taught, which is one big selling point on why I wanted to go there.  I wanted to learn that specific approach.

When I wrote my essay for grad school, I really focused on why I wanted to be an SLP, why I had to get my training at THAT school, and the skills/experiences I have that would help me be the best clinician I could be.  I made appointments with professors to discuss my career aspirations, how I got interested in the field, and just who I am as a person outside of school.  Thus, when it came time to write LORs, they had ample information about me as a student, aspiring professional, and person to write their letters of recommendation.

Hope this helps!

[Crimson Wife]

OT is at least as competitive, if not more so. I know several OTA's who are stuck making a relatively low wage in their current position because they haven't been able to get into grad school for OT.

My original grad school interest was Academic Language Therapy/educational therapy and I might still get the certificate for that at some point since a master's in SLP plus the certificate would meet the educational requirements. The major difference between SLP and ALT/EDT is that SLP focuses on oral language whereas ALT/EDT focuses on written language and other academic skills. ALT/EDT is typically done 1:1 for 60 minute sessions rather than teaching in a classroom all day like SPED. My personality is a better "fit" for that type of work setting.

The certified ALT's/EDT's in my neck of the woods charge around $100/hr and while that includes overhead, that's not a bad pay rate.

I ended up deciding against finishing my application to a Master's in EDT when my daughter's hearing loss was discovered last year. I would've been halfway done with grad school by now rather than finishing up my 2nd bachelor's and then looking at 2 more years of grad school. But SLP makes more sense in light of the hearing loss.