Grad School, Part 3

So, grad school. I wrote about it on here before, and since it’s the end of October and applications are due soonish, I thought I’d write some more. It’s Crossroads time and when you have NSSLHA members sitting at tables together, grad school comes up in conversation. A lot. J People ask me all the time, every day, “Sooooo where are you going to go to grad school?” (I’m glad I have sweet friends who want life updates!) But I usually reply “Uhhh, ask me again in the spring! We’ll see!” And that can be a scary answer. Here are some things I’ve learned through this whole process that will help you stay sane. Not a to-do list, but a healthy (I hope!) dose of perspective:

Do NOT be intimidated by people who seem like they’ve done more than you. The girl who sits next to you in anatomy who’s volunteered at stroke camp since high school? Great! Good for her. But if you switched into the major during your junior year, that’s great too. A different kind of great, but just as great.

Or maybe you never worked in a lab? Or volunteered at a clinic? Or you did a varsity sport and didn’t have summers? Transferred from a faraway school? Retook anatomy?

That is all fine. Your story is your story, and no one else’s. Playing the comparison game will drive you insane.

Still, there is a nagging fear in my mind… what if I don’t get in anywhere? What would I do?

 Well, the sun would still rise in the morning and my friends would still be my friends. I would still be me, things would just be different than I had hoped for.

Don’t misunderstand me, I want so badly to get into grad school and become an SLP. With all my heart, I do. But that’s not the end. This is not who we are, it's what we do with the time given us.

Grad School, Part 2

           

 

{This post is from Maggie Flynn, a senior in SLHS. Hear her thoughts on applying to grad school. Thanks, Maggie!}

 

            As a Speech Language and Hearing Science major graduate school is something you hear about from the day you walk in the door. It is the next necessary step on the road to becoming a Speech Language Pathologist or Audiologist. For my first three years the application process seemed to loom in the distance; but now the time has arrived. While deadlines are still a few months away, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the amount steps I still need to complete in addition to managing 18 hours of course work.

            Thus far the best solution I have found to avoid stress is a few deep breathes paired with some master organization. It is all about the planning. Since I am applying to eight programs my answer was to make a series of excel documents with each school’s information: website links, deadlines, application type, due date, test scores, number of recommendation letters, tuition cost, etc. This way when I need to know something it is already there and I do not have to go searching through University website mazes.  Next, every week I set out a task to complete for the week. Last week was sending GRE scores to schools, this week it is Transcripts. Breaking the application process into stages makes everything manageable and avoids a panic to get everything together at the last minute.

            To all those currently applying to Graduate school or to those planning to in the future—Don’t panic, we can do it!

Grad School, Part 1

If you're committed to this major, no doubt you've heard about grad school. It will be a good thing, clinical experiences, classes, friends, and so on... So grad school will be a good thing, but APPLYING. That's a different story. Sometimes it can be a scary story. But it will be okay, too.

Here is a list of tips for applying to grad school. Just as a disclaimer: I am a senior, applying to grad school right now. So I can't say, "Oh, this is what I did, and it worked! I got into a program!" But I think these things have worked so far.

1. If you are a freshman or sophomore, THINK. Think about where you'd like to live after college, what aspects of Speech-Language Pathology you love the most, and why you are passionate about this field. Also, DO. Do  lots of things, whatever floats your boat and relates to the field. Babysit, volunteer, work in research labs, take classes that you love.

2. Don't take the GRE too early. And if you do, think about where you specifically want to go to grad school. I took it in March of my junior year, thinking it could be one thing to cross off the list. You can send your scores to 4 schools for free, after that you have to pay. Well, it was March and I hadn't thought about grad school too much, so it ends up that one of the schools I sent my scores to, I won't even be applying to. Learn from my mistake!

3. Don't be cliche with applications. Meh, I know. I've heard countless times "Don't say you want to be an SLP because you've always wanted to 'help people'." This is hard, because I really do want to help people, and I am assuming all of you do as well! Cliches often exist because they are true, and they've stood the test of time. (Haha, "stood the test of time," that's kind of a cliche phrase). But you have to move past that and show the grad school why you are different and why you should get to study at their school. Tell them why you absolutely HAVE to be in their program.

4. Sometimes, you just have to take a night off from applications and walk to McDonald's for a McFlurry.

5. Seniors..  it's overwhelming. What helps me is to pick one thing each week to work on. So one week I'll work on asking for letters of recommendation, the next week my personal statement, the next week will be sending out transcripts. It's worked so far, I've only done it for two weeks though.

I hope that in the spring I can look back and say, "Yes! This all works because I got into (insert name of school)'s program and I'm going there! Yay!" Until then, this is my humble advice.

Thanks for listening, y'all. :)

--Katie Hingst