GRAD SCHOOL JOURNEY!

[kayyyyy_]

Any one want to share their journey about getting into grad school?

[Rorororosy]

SUPER REJECTED last year, cried a lot, then got my shit together, did research on my only time off, took a part time job just to be able to do it,  retook my GRE, re did my statement and got new letters and VOILA. I got in. Its been real, I spend four years thinking I was going to medical school and then did a 180, decided that I shouldn't do it to make my parents happy and went back to night school to get my pre-reqs. Ive been on cloud nine. I feel like I am finally complete. 

 

Have hope everyone, it happens, just takes hard work. Rejection didn't kill me it made me stronger. 

[jmk]

Was a Kin major wanting to do OT. Realized I loved speech. Science grades tanked my cumulative. When I switched to majoring in speech, my cumulative was a 3.2. Raised it to a 3.5 during the major. Really wanted to apply straight out of undergrad because this is my 5th year due to switching majors. GRE's were mediocre. Good essay writer + lots of clinical experience and A's in the pre-reqs definitely helped. 

I'm getting rejected out of CA / OR so far, so definitely thankful I applied out of state. If I were to reapply, I would improve my essays. Cocky about my writing ability, I didn't have anyone proof them until the end (when I was just applying to East Coast). My "final" essays are a lot stronger than the beginning ones. 

[languagegirl]

I applied to schools for 2016-17 and was accepted to 4 schools (Columbia TC, Northwestern, Rush, and Temple). After moving to Chicago to attend grad school, I spent one semester unhappy with my school and ultimately decided to withdraw. I struggled with figuring out how to move forward - I had chosen a program that was not the best fit for me. I rarely found others with a similar situation online. People don't normally transfer or switch schools while getting a graduate degree. My mentor and professor from undergrad helped me and I reapplied within a few weeks of withdrawing. I was honest in my statements of purpose and applications and was admitted to two schools so far (NYU and Montclair) and was offered an interview at Hunter. NYU was my top choice. I made sure to carefully research schools and opportunities that the program could offer. My situation was a bit hectic and different but everything happens for a reason and it shows schools are willing to look at our unique circumstances! Best of luck to everyone! 

[plume]

I graduated with my B.A. 5 years ago. I switched majors from nursing to English. SLP had been a looming career idea since I had been a kid, but it took me a long time to figure out that it was absolutely the right thing - I also take forever to make decisions and have to research things until they die. I settled on SLP or OT and I somehow, MAGICALLY, found my current job working as a language therapist (after working totally unrelated jobs, like for a policy office of the Governor's Office in Utah). This is my first year applying. I wasn't even going to apply because of my GPA and because of all of the disappointing stories I heard around my office of people not getting in. I planned on giving it a shot but fully planned on doing a post-bacc next year. I have been taking one class at a time to fulfill the ASHA prereqs, studying and taking the GRE, completing applications, etc. after work. I am SO lucky and grateful that I got in this round. I am so ready and excited to be a passionate SLP!

[SpeechLaedy]

16 hours ago, plume said:

I graduated with my B.A. 5 years ago. I switched majors from nursing to English. SLP had been a looming career idea since I had been a kid, but it took me a long time to figure out that it was absolutely the right thing - I also take forever to make decisions and have to research things until they die. I settled on SLP or OT and I somehow, MAGICALLY, found my current job working as a language therapist (after working totally unrelated jobs, like for a policy office of the Governor's Office in Utah). This is my first year applying. I wasn't even going to apply because of my GPA and because of all of the disappointing stories I heard around my office of people not getting in. I planned on giving it a shot but fully planned on doing a post-bacc next year. I have been taking one class at a time to fulfill the ASHA prereqs, studying and taking the GRE, completing applications, etc. after work. I am SO lucky and grateful that I got in this round. I am so ready and excited to be a passionate SLP!

What is the difference between being a language therapist and an SLP? I've never heard of a language therapist before 

[plume]

4 minutes ago, SpeechLaedy said:

What is the difference between being a language therapist and an SLP? I've never heard of a language therapist before 

It's kind of a made-up title that they give us - no certification required. I think it's okay because we're not "pathologists." We go through a phonemic awareness training program before starting, but that's it. I feel like it must be like being an SLPA, but maybe with less supervision at times (I'm not sure if that's true...). Our directors are a neurologist and neuropsychologist and I have an SLP supervisor. I work with children and young adults with developmental language and behavioral disorders one-on-one. I also get to decide the treatment plan for one student at all times under lots of supervision. It's really cool because I get to see the medical, psychological, behavioral, and language pieces in play with the help of so many experts. I feel like I'm in school at all times - my old coworker who is in SLP school at MGH actually said that grad school is way less stressful than this job, ha ha. I don't think this job exists anywhere else for untrained people like me and I am grateful I found it! I don't think I could have gotten into school without it!

[speechie575]

I actually have my bachelors from a totally unrelated field- Television Production! I graduated in May of 2015 and in my last semester of school, I took a Deaf Culture & Heritage class that introduced me to the field of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. I signed up for my schools online Post-Bacc program the summer after I graduated to see if I really liked the profession as much as I thought, and I did. At first, I really loved Audiology and wanted to go to school for that, but it didn't take long for me to switch over to SLP. So from Summer 2015- Summer 2016 I did the Post-Bacc program, and in August 2016 I began working as a Teacher Aide in a 4-7 year old total communication classroom for children with developmental disabilities. I knew I had to have something on my resume that was related to the field because without that job, all I had on there was babysitting. Luckily at my school they allow me to shadow SLP's in my lunch/break time, so I was able to add that to my resume as well. I took the GRE in November of 2016 and ended up doing not so good on the Verbal, so I took it again in December. I scored 5 points higher, which still left me with a completely average score, but I didn't have time to take it again. I decided to apply to 11 schools because I knew all of my scores/GPA were nothing to brag about. So far, I've been rejected to 2 and accepted to 1! I really did cry when I opened up that acceptance email... I've worked my butt off the past 2 years and it's amazing to see my hard work paying off  If I never took that Deaf Culture class to fill free space in my schedule I'm 100% positive I wouldn't be where I am today. 

[joyannna]

22 hours ago, SLPCeli said:

I applied to schools for 2016-17 and was accepted to 4 schools (Columbia TC, Northwestern, Rush, and Temple). After moving to Chicago to attend grad school, I spent one semester unhappy with my school and ultimately decided to withdraw. I struggled with figuring out how to move forward - I had chosen a program that was not the best fit for me. I rarely found others with a similar situation online. People don't normally transfer or switch schools while getting a graduate degree. My mentor and professor from undergrad helped me and I reapplied within a few weeks of withdrawing. I was honest in my statements of purpose and applications and was admitted to two schools so far (NYU and Montclair) and was offered an interview at Hunter. NYU was my top choice. I made sure to carefully research schools and opportunities that the program could offer. My situation was a bit hectic and different but everything happens for a reason and it shows schools are willing to look at our unique circumstances! Best of luck to everyone! 

Could you explain more about why you were unhappy/how you found a program better suited for you? I'm currently in the process of choosing a school and your advice would be appreciated! 

Edited March 10, 2017 by joyannna

[kayyyyy_]

My grad school journey started when I graduated with a BA in 2013. I didn't know if I wanted to apply to grad school right away or wait a year and just "live my life". I was still young and wanted to experience life. I ended up applying for an Honors English study abroad opportunity. I left it up to fate to determine if I apply to grad school OR go study abroad. I ended up getting accepted into the study abroad program. There were over 300 apps and I was chosen. Couldn't believe it and obviously, I took it as a sign. 

I studied abroad for 6 months and applied for my SLPA license (along with 4 of my friends). Again, didn't know if I was even meant to be in the field of SLP or not. I ended up being the only one accepted out of my group of friends, again... another sign. 

I've been working as a SLPA in CA for the past 3 years. I applied to grad school my first year to a couple programs that were SO unobtainable. I reached out to an academic advisor and she said with my grades, I'll never get into a speech grad program. What my academic advisors didn't know what my background and why I received poor grades. In a semester of undergrad, I had a family emergency. I basically put my family first and stopped attending classes. I just went for tests and some how skated by with getting C+ (4 of them). That semester killed me.. dropped my overall down to a 3.3. This last year, I retook those 4 classes and received an A in all of them. Depending how you count it, I either have a 4.0 in all CSD course, or a 3.6 if you average those GPAs out. Regardless, I totally pushed through it. Being a SLPA really changed my life. I love my job and I am truly passionate about this field. The struggles I went through just made me a stronger person. It's a shame grad schools don't look at the overall applicant or story behind them (in some instances) but I found schools that have this year. I've been waitlisted and accepted! I am so excited to start my journey. 

Moral of the story.. everything happens for a reason. If I would've gone to grad school out of my undergrad, I wouldn't have met my soon to be husband and I wouldn't be the woman I am today. I can say, I will truly appreciate grad school more since all this has happened to me!

[languagegirl]

1 hour ago, joyannna said:

Could you explain more about why you were unhappy/how you found a program better suited for you? I'm currently in the process of choosing a school and your advice would be appreciated! 

Okay, honestly while Chicago is an amazing city (its gorgeous and I'll always have a special place in my heart for Chitown and the Cubs) I didn't end up meshing well with my cohort. Which is not to say it was their fault at all. But I was coming from NYC and most of my classmates were from the Midwest. Some were commuters and many already had friends or family in the city. Outside of class I spent most of my time alone and i had a hard time making friends in the place that was supposed to be my home for the next 2 years. I did have a good group of classmates & a couple of friends but most of the time it didn't make up for how unhappy and uninspired I was by my program. You can't pick your cohort but I would encourage you to visit open houses, go with your gut feelings, and look at the diversity of admitted students. Second, the program was focused on medical SLP and while I chose the program because of the unique opportunity it offered to be in a hospital setting, I realized I liked medical aspects of SLP but I loved the theoretical aspects, research, it's connection to psycholinguistics and that wasn't what my program prepared its students for. I went with what the school sold me as true about their program and not what I saw when I was at the open house. I encourage you to obviously consider what the school/program says about itself but ultimately get a sense of that yourself by talking to students and professors or even emailing if you can't go in person. 

As for choosing a new school, I was basically in a do or die position. I didn't want to waste time and I wanted to be closer to home. I chose two schools based solely on the fact that I was nervous about how my transition would look to the admissions of schools and needed some safety choices (or what I would consider safety's even though all SLP programs are difficult to get into). What I really wanted after moving back home was to be able to live at home but commute to the city so I started there. I applied to Columbia TC last year and got in but it wasn't my first choice. But I decided to reapply as I am bilingual and I would be okay with this path. However, I decided to look up NYU's program and I fell in love with all the opportunities (around 10 different research labs, clinical placements, elective courses, and study abroad in Sweden), along with the location of the school in Manhattan. I would like to pursue my PhD in the future and that is clear to me now and I think NYU gives me an opportunity to pursue that and my interests. 

I was lucky in that I found a school that I absolutely loved and felt was a much better fit the second time around and was able to get in. This all happened within the course of 2 weeks.  But really put some thought into your programs before choosing one. I know a lot of people feel that it doesn't matter what school you go to as long as you get the degree but I've always felt that the program you choose does matter. It will shape the way you see SLP and your clients in the future. Plus no one wants to spend 2 years having a sucky experience especially when people are willing to move and change their life for grad school. You might as well pay good money for an education you'll actually enjoy! 

Best of luck and feel free to message me anytime! 

Edited March 10, 2017 by SLPCeli

[pbandj]

Began my undergrad in communicative disorders, though I stumbled upon it by chance and chose the major mostly because it seemed interesting and like something I would enjoy. After my first year, I started to become disenchanted with the field. I took psych classes to transition to a psych major, and took a job as a behavior technician at an early intervention center for kids with autism since that population has always held a special place in my heart (my younger brother has high functioning ASD). Ironically, dabbling into another field and getting some real world clinical experience made me fall back in love with speech path! Speech-language pathology had more context and meaning to me. I found that my clients, even though they received ABA services, were not progressing as quickly in their communication skills as they would have if an SLP were on their team. It made me want to become a certified SLP so I could REALLY help out. 

This is my first year applying to grad programs. I have a high GRE that I thankfully only had to take once, and a solid GPA. However, comparatively little experience in the field compared to many other applicants. Most of my experience is in ABA, despite being a communicative disorders major. But it seems to be ok! Accepted so far to SDSU, UNC Chapel Hill, and UW, waitlisted at CSULB, and just interviewed at SFSU. Still waiting on two more programs. I'll be graduating from my undergrad this spring with a major in communicative disorders: speech-language pathology and a minor in psychology, behavioral psych emphasis. My passion is in, of course, working with families and individuals affected by ASD, and I also love interdisciplinary collaboration. I hope to continue my education to obtain a PhD and continue pursuing research, and/or potentially become a dual certified BCBA-SLP. It used to be much easier to get dual certification, but it's harder now so we'll see. 

Anyway, I would say my journey taught me that immersing myself in a subject is the best way to find a passion for it. I know this is kind of obvious and isn't always the case, but looking back, it seemed like I was just going through the motions that first year of undergrad. No wonder I wasn't feeling it! I'm glad that fire was reignited because I can't picture myself in anything else, and I can't wait for the future  

[SpeechLaedy]

21 hours ago, plume said:

It's kind of a made-up title that they give us - no certification required. I think it's okay because we're not "pathologists." We go through a phonemic awareness training program before starting, but that's it. I feel like it must be like being an SLPA, but maybe with less supervision at times (I'm not sure if that's true...). Our directors are a neurologist and neuropsychologist and I have an SLP supervisor. I work with children and young adults with developmental language and behavioral disorders one-on-one. I also get to decide the treatment plan for one student at all times under lots of supervision. It's really cool because I get to see the medical, psychological, behavioral, and language pieces in play with the help of so many experts. I feel like I'm in school at all times - my old coworker who is in SLP school at MGH actually said that grad school is way less stressful than this job, ha ha. I don't think this job exists anywhere else for untrained people like me and I am grateful I found it! I don't think I could have gotten into school without it!

Woah. That sounds like great experience though! What state are you in? 

[plume]

1 hour ago, SpeechLaedy said:

Woah. That sounds like great experience though! What state are you in? 

I'm in Colorado. It has been a great experience!

[Louly]

I attended college a decade ago and was not successful. I had a GPA below a 1.0! Yes, you can get a GPA that low. I finally took a break for 5 years, started working for hospitals and clinics around the metropolitan area. After realizing that I needed a career and a higher income, I returned back to school. I knew my old stats were going to hurt my chances of getting into grad school so I retook some classes over (some were so old, the college no longer offered it and were stuck on my transcript). I started getting involved on and off campus. I found volunteer positions working as a paraprofessional and an augmentative and alternative device assistant WHILE maintaining my full-time position at the hospital. I also got involved in research for three years, published an article and presented at ASHA. As busy as I was, I made sure I maintained a good bond with faculty members who I felt would be great letter writers. One of the most crucial part about students are that they don't realize how important it is to network with their professors. HELLLLLO! they know at least ONE faculty member from each school in the U.S....because most likely, they went to grad school with them OR they've probably worked on a research together. Networking was the MOST important part towards gaining access into graduate school for me. 

By the time application period rolled around, I've had three years of research, 13 years of medical experiences, 2 years of paraprofessional work, a published research, and 5 research conferences done. I contacted professors who I felt were a good match for me, completed a few interviews before submitting my applications. I wanted them to know me prior to looking at my stats... I felt that # tends to distract people from seeing the whole package. I'm happy to say, it took me 6 years to complete my undergraduate studies but I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL ON THE FIRST TRY!! Anything is possible as long as you put in that extra work. 

[Elska]

I learned about the field while I was in my senior year of high school. I was volunteering every other day at a special needs preschool in the classroom my mom worked in. At that point, I just wanted volunteer hours and wasn't really sure what I wanted to major in, other than nursing. The SLP working in the classroom was very kind to me, and would sometimes have me make PECs or something like that for her. Eventually I looked into SLP as a backup option, and ended up declaring it as my major during the summer new student orientation. I had also gotten hired at the preschool as an instructional assistant around the same time, and from there, I made good connections with the SLPs that were assigned my classrooms and used my summers to do additional shadowing, including assessments and report writing. I'm especially grateful to be paired with my current SLP and classroom, as she exclusively does group and individual therapy in the classroom, with her individual sessions being done in the corner of the room with barriers as makeshift walls. My teacher is also kind enough to allow me to watch these sessions while he and the other aides supervise the kids. 

In my intro class, my professor sent out emails to certain students, inviting us to form a group to conduct research under his supervision and present our findings at a 90-minute presentation at the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association convention. He also had us help out with a second study as well for a different topic. 

So here I am now, graduating in my third year of college, upgraded from just shadowing to now probing and taking data for my SLP, and already accepted into 2 programs (including a Cali school!) and waiting on one more. I'm so blessed to have had so many opportunities come my way, and beyond thrilled that my hard work has paid off and I get to go straight into grad school this fall! For the most part, my journey has taught me to face my fears. Never in a million years would I have ever thought I'd voluntarily be a part of a big presentation and be teaching professionals in the field about our research. Even little things, like getting to know professors well enough for them to remember my name is huge for me. Everything really does happen for a reason, and if it weren't for a random decision to get some volunteer hours, I wouldn't have been where I am today. 

Edited March 11, 2017 by Elska

[02futurespeechie]

On 3/11/2017 at 2:04 PM, Louly said:

I attended college a decade ago and was not successful. I had a GPA below a 1.0! Yes, you can get a GPA that low. I finally took a break for 5 years, started working for hospitals and clinics around the metropolitan area. After realizing that I needed a career and a higher income, I returned back to school. I knew my old stats were going to hurt my chances of getting into grad school so I retook some classes over (some were so old, the college no longer offered it and were stuck on my transcript). I started getting involved on and off campus. I found volunteer positions working as a paraprofessional and an augmentative and alternative device assistant WHILE maintaining my full-time position at the hospital. I also got involved in research for three years, published an article and presented at ASHA. As busy as I was, I made sure I maintained a good bond with faculty members who I felt would be great letter writers. One of the most crucial part about students are that they don't realize how important it is to network with their professors. HELLLLLO! they know at least ONE faculty member from each school in the U.S....because most likely, they went to grad school with them OR they've probably worked on a research together. Networking was the MOST important part towards gaining access into graduate school for me. 

By the time application period rolled around, I've had three years of research, 13 years of medical experiences, 2 years of paraprofessional work, a published research, and 5 research conferences done. I contacted professors who I felt were a good match for me, completed a few interviews before submitting my applications. I wanted them to know me prior to looking at my stats... I felt that # tends to distract people from seeing the whole package. I'm happy to say, it took me 6 years to complete my undergraduate studies but I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL ON THE FIRST TRY!! Anything is possible as long as you put in that extra work. 

Hi, I'm so proud of you for being able to achieve this! MY GPA is also low, can you let me know how to find volunteer positions as an augmentative and alternative device assistant? Also where can i find out how to get involved with research? Thanks!!!!