SLP Career change to Masters in SPED

[jess5822]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and have been reading some insightful forums over the past few weeks.

I was wondering if anyone is in the same position I am in.

I didn't get accepted into programs, except for one but I couldn't make it work financially, and I'm looking for other ways to end up with a good career. I asked one school why I wasn't excepted and they said that my GPA and GRE scores were low. (overall GPA 3.06 and CSD GPA 3.11; GRE is 147 Verbal, 148 Quantitative, and 3.5 on AW) She suggested retaking the GRE and some of the classes I got a B in, but said it would be very expensive and hard to retake those classes. I've been debating on retaking those classes but I don't want it to be a waste of time and money if I end up not getting accepted again. I've been looking into other careers and I'm kinda interested in obtaining a Masters in Special Education. Has anybody thought of this route or has done this route before? The program I'm looking into offers initial certification in K-12 Sped as well as the Master's Degree. I would just like to know if I would have to take any prerequisites--I have contacted the director but have not heard back. And if I need to have a teacher certification before I apply to a program. Just want to know if somebody is going through this same ordeal. 

I am going to apply for SLP schools again but I also want to have a solid back-up plan in case I don't get accepted. I'm also going to obtain my certificate for SLPA and volunteer more than I did last time. Thoughts??

[WannabSLP124]

Burn out is huge in SPED. That would be my biggest concern for you. Most people I know who have gone into SPED are no longer in the field because long hours, paperwork, difficult/demanding/uncaring parents, districts BS, feeling unappreciated, etc. So really look into that before you decide. 

I have worked as an SLPA for 5 years, which I think is going to be super helpful when I start grad school in the fall. I also think the experience helped me get into programs. It's great because you can really see what the field is like, and know if it is truly for you before investing in a masters. Volunteering is also great. SLPAs have very limited exposure to working with adults, but I was able to get that experience by volunteering and it turns out I love working with adults. 

I would recommend focusing on getting more experience, and boosting your GRE scores. Prep hard - independently with something like Magoosh or do a course if you have difficulty staying motivated (I did!). Classes are really expensive to re-take since community college is not an option. If you can get your GRE up, some experience, get good letters of rec, do your research, tailor each app to the school, and try to visit the programs, I think you can get past your GPA. I have an overall GPA of 3.22 and I got into 3 schools this year. I applied 2 other times getting all rejections. It can be done, it will be some work though!

[Belle28]

Hello, 

I am currently a teacher and plan on applying to SLP programs in 2018. I am not sure what state you are in, but if you are thinking of switching to teaching you should look into Alternative Certification Programs. I live in Florida and was able to get my professional teaching certificate in 9 months. You don't  obtain a masters degree, however all the classes were at night allowing me to work as a substitute teacher in my district. Others in my cohort where either working full-time in another field or teaching full-time on a temporary certificate. I was originally looking at Masters of Teaching programs, but this option was significantly cheaper and less time.  If you decide that teaching is the right field you can always go back and get a Masters in SPED. I agree that teacher burnout is very common and would advise making sure it is what you really want before spending money on a masters degree. 

 

[Kslptobe]

I am in the same boat. I was accepted into an amazing Special education program and I was extremely excited to attend because I FINALLY got into a graduate program. I felt fine about going to grad school for spec ed instead of speech. I have been working as an ABA therapist this past year and I thought that maybe being an ABA therapist led me to pursue a masters in spec ed. I started to envision myself working as a spec ed teacher. I was really excited and I forgot all about even applying to speech and I knew It would BE EASIER than speech. The only doubts I had about Spec ed was burn out and not making enough money.  Well, two weeks later I got accepted into graduate school for Speech Pathology. It was my second year applying to SLP grad programs (12 of them) and I was so in shock that I got accepted! After going over the pros and cons of spec ed v.s. speech, I realized that I worked so hard to get into a grad program for speech and that I should attend grad school for Speech. As soon as I decided to do that, I haven't stopped thinking if I made the wrong decision to go into speech.  But I can't go into spec ed now because I would regret not doing speech and I would have lots of what ifs. So I figured I would try grad school for speech and see how it goes. Its a lot easier to switch majors from Speech to Spec ed, since Spec ed is not that competitive. 

I would like to know if anyone else is feeling the same way?

 

 

Edited May 4, 2017 by Kslptobe

[poor_salieri]

Hi. This isn't answering your question, but what colleges allow students to retake courses they received Bs in? I am genuinely curious as I have heard of students talking about this, yet I haven't heard of an undergraduate or graduate college in my area (CA) allowing students to retake classes unless s/he  received a D or below ( I mean you're stuck with Cs  if you get them).  I'm just curious if this is just college specific or region specific. 

Edited May 9, 2017 by poor_salieri

[Louly]

@jess5822 What you can do is attend that masters program, do very well and apply again for SLP (if you're still interested and $/time isn't an issue). Proving that you can handle graduate level courses versus retaking undergrad courses will give you a better position. That was my backup plan if I didn't get accepted into a SLP program. 

@poor_salieri It varies from school to school. My current college doesn't allow retakes unless it's a C- and lower. My past university let's you retake any course you like. 

Edited May 9, 2017 by Louly

[Jeffsorcerer]

what school did you get into, I'm curious because my stats are similar to yours.  Thanks

On 4/28/2017 at 1:53 PM, jess5822 said:

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and have been reading some insightful forums over the past few weeks.

I was wondering if anyone is in the same position I am in.

I didn't get accepted into programs, except for one but I couldn't make it work financially, and I'm looking for other ways to end up with a good career. I asked one school why I wasn't excepted and they said that my GPA and GRE scores were low. (overall GPA 3.06 and CSD GPA 3.11; GRE is 147 Verbal, 148 Quantitative, and 3.5 on AW) She suggested retaking the GRE and some of the classes I got a B in, but said it would be very expensive and hard to retake those classes. I've been debating on retaking those classes but I don't want it to be a waste of time and money if I end up not getting accepted again. I've been looking into other careers and I'm kinda interested in obtaining a Masters in Special Education. Has anybody thought of this route or has done this route before? The program I'm looking into offers initial certification in K-12 Sped as well as the Master's Degree. I would just like to know if I would have to take any prerequisites--I have contacted the director but have not heard back. And if I need to have a teacher certification before I apply to a program. Just want to know if somebody is going through this same ordeal. 

I am going to apply for SLP schools again but I also want to have a solid back-up plan in case I don't get accepted. I'm also going to obtain my certificate for SLPA and volunteer more than I did last time. Thoughts??

 

[hopefulslp1]

Sped master's is also my backup plan! I agree and think that teacher burnout is high but I also believe that if you are passionate about something you won't get super burnt out. Not sure what area of the country you're from, but I heard that DePaul University in Chicago has a Master's program for Sped and I know a few people who didn't initially get a degree in education and pursue a Master's through DePaul. There is also a special ed teacher at my current job who received his undergrad in Philosophy and studied master's of sped at the University of Illinois! Not sure how long the programs are but I think they're all going to be at least a year based on the fact you'd need to do student teaching for at least 4 months.