Any information about these schools?

[weewaffle2017]

Hi guys!

 So I am looking to apply to graduate school for speech this upcoming fall, and I was just wondering if anyone here knows anything about these universities. I'm mostly wondering about  chances of getting in, (I have a GPA in the mid 3.7's and have not taken the GRE yet), quality of the program, like is it worth applying to, what you think of the program if you're planning on going there, etc. etc. anything would be so helpful as I try to narrow this list down and make realistic choices. I am particularly interested in schools in mid/bigger city areas and that have any opportunities to work with fluency disorders, as that is my area of interest, so if you have any suggestions about other schools too that have those things,  I would love that so much! Basically, I'm just lookin for some input on anything you know about them. Thank you so much, everyone and here is my list!

1. Eastern Carolina University

2. U of Minnesota-Duluth

3. U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

4. Eastern Tennessee University

5. University of North Carolina-Greensboro

6.  U of Wisconsin- Steven's Point

7. University of Oregon

8. University of Texas-Austin

9. Minot State University

10. University of Iowa

11. Portland State

12. U of Minn-Twin Cities

[lily48slp]

I can speak a little bit to a few of your schools. I did my post-bacc at the University of Iowa, and I was accepted at Iowa, Portland State, and Minnesota-TC. (I decided to go with Iowa and will be starting this fall!)

Since you're interested in fluency, I will say that Dr. Zebrowski at Iowa is amazing. I've already taken her intro class and it was one of the best I took during my post-bacc. (It's a required class for grad students too.) She has extensive research and clinical experience in the field of fluency. She has so much to say that gives you a good history of the study of the disorder (which helps you get to know the important research in the field and how that has shaped our understanding), and she was great at conveying the nuance in our current understanding. You may not know, but Iowa was where the first graduate program in speech-language pathology was developed, and its early roots were in the study of fluency disorders. It's a fantastic place to study fluency because of the legacy of the research that has been done there in that subfield.

I don't know as much about PSU and U of M-TC specifically about their fluency curriculum. However, I did notice that both Iowa and Portland State have summer fluency camps for kids who stutter. I'm not sure if the design of the camps are exactly the same, but Iowa's camp generally draws a group of kids around 10 years old and they work with the grad students during their summer term between the first and second years. I've heard great things about the experience from the grad students who have done it.

As far as getting in goes, I'd say your GPA is good! (The competitiveness seems to depend so much on the year, the school, and the rest of the applicant pool though...for example, I heard that PSU had 900 applicants this year and many were 4.0s. As another example, Iowa gets fewer applicants because it is in the midwest, but accepts a smaller cohort and also tends to get applicants with high stats. Check ASHA's EdFinder if you haven't already for more specific info.) At the "how to get into grad school" talk at Iowa we were told to aim for GPAs above 3.5 and GRE scores above the 50th percentile (but the higher you can get, the better, obviously). They said that letters from academic references were generally better than other sources unless you had a good reason to think that the non-academic one would have a lot more to say about you and/or could speak directly to your potential in a grad program. They also mentioned to be on the lookout for signs that a potential reference didn't feel comfortable writing a strong letter for you, and to be prepared to go with someone else if that was the case. 

Iowa City is significantly smaller than the Twin Cities area or Portland, but UI's program is well-connected so I wouldn't worry about being at a disadvantage for clinical placement opportunities at UI compared to the other two. You are also allowed to go anywhere in the country for your clinical placements in the last semester at Iowa. Between that and the size of the TC and Portland areas, I think you can count on being able to secure an external placement working with fluency disorders at any of those schools (in addition to experience at the on-campus clinics at each one). 

Hope this helps...and hopefully other people will chime in about the other schools!

Edited April 16, 2017 by lily48slp

[WannabSLP124]

Your stats look great! I toured and applied to UT Austin, and loved the program. They are a big research school, so if you can get or have research experience that will be to your advantage. They seem to look at the whole package rather than just stats - but they are a top ranked school so still very competitive. They like to see that you've explored the field and what you have learned from those experiences - volunteering, research, shadowing, etc. if you have great stats but little else to show, I recommend doing some things to build your CV/resume. I highly suggest going to the tours or scheduling visits to the schools you are seriously considering because you learn a lot more about the program and the admissions process. Good luck!

[futureslpxoxo]

On April 16, 2017 at 7:13 PM, Alicia124 said:

Your stats look great! I toured and applied to UT Austin, and loved the program. They are a big research school, so if you can get or have research experience that will be to your advantage. They seem to look at the whole package rather than just stats - but they are a top ranked school so still very competitive. They like to see that you've explored the field and what you have learned from those experiences - volunteering, research, shadowing, etc. if you have great stats but little else to show, I recommend doing some things to build your CV/resume. I highly suggest going to the tours or scheduling visits to the schools you are seriously considering because you learn a lot more about the program and the admissions process. Good luck!

Aww you got accepted into 2 of the schools I'm looking into! Which school did you decide to attend?

[WannabSLP124]

@futureslpxoxo I'll be going to UH! Can't wait! It was hard to decide as I didn't think I would even have a choice! I went with UH because their program aligned more with my interests and in-state tuition :-)