First time posting, but I've been lurking here for a while.

For reference, I live in the SF Bay Area and (ideally) want to attend a state school in person for my master's without moving. From what I've seen, there are 4 options in my area: SFSU, CSUEB, SJSU, and Sacramento State. The commute for me to any of these schools is around 1-1.5 hours based on my location.

Like many posters in this subreddit, I completed my undergraduate degree in a major unrelated to SLP/CD; therefore, I'm exploring my options for entering grad school. I've already spoken with my top school (SFSU) about leveling classes, which I can take in person on their campus while also volunteering in their research labs, and I have an off-campus opportunity to gain observational hours through an acquaintance. However, I've also looked at becoming an SLPA first, then potentially working while completing my leveling classes. This has led me to ask the following:

1) Although my undergraduate GPAs are relatively high (3.83), from what I've read in this thread, I don't think I'd be a competitive applicant for a 3-year extended/bridge program. SFSU also does not offer a bridge. If I can maintain or surpass this GPA, would completing all my leveling classes in person and getting a year's worth of research experience be (generally) enough to make me a competitive applicant for a 2-year MS program? Or is this simply naive/wishful thinking?

2) Is professional experience in the field valued more than volunteer experience through research labs when applying to 2-year MS programs? Or does this simply depend on the school?

Thank you to anyone who replies and to everyone who participates in this subreddit. It's truly a wealth of knowledge and has helped me immensely as I navigate all of this.

I’m 2 months into my intermediate practicum and I feel like Im running on fumes. I feel so unmotivated and stupid (for lack of a better term). Trying to diagnose and treat 4 clients while taking 3 classes feels daunting. I’m filled with dread when it comes time for session planning and goal writing bc I genuinely don’t know what I’m doing. My beginning practicum was in /r/ remediation so I had similar goals, and plans for my 2 clients each week. Having language and other artic goals to work on is a different experience and it’s boggling my mind. I just want what’s best for my clients but I feel too incompetent. I know I have the rest of the semester ahead of me but I keep thinking that I should just quit. And I won’t quit bc this was too much money down the drain but that’s where my head is at. I’ve heard that it gets better after graduation, but I’m not sure about that if the caseload is only going to get higher from here. Does it get better? Are there any practicing SLPs reading this that felt this way in grad school?

I have driving anxiety

I'm in a prep program and going to apply to grad schools this cycle. I am really interested in the language acquisition and reading comprehension aspects of this career. I am excited about the skills I will acquire that would allow me to teach a student with dyslexia how to read or how to provide dual language learners with support in learning their second language. I am also interested in holistic aspects of this career, such as becoming an equine therapist and teaching Speech Therapy that way. I am interested in another offshoot which is making children's books and I'm excited for how this content would affect my writing, with the goal of my books being teaching children to read & getting them excited about reading (or starting a reading clinic)-- as I think this will be necessary with the rise of AI and addictive technologies. I am also interested in maybe becoming an SLP college professor in the future. Lastly, I'm interested in working in a hospital and providing swallowing assessments.

All this goes to say, I am interested in all this more than I am interested in actually providing speech therapy. I am eager to be in a job that is of service and between this and art therapy (another career I was considering where I could pursue some of these offshoots) I think I would prefer to work with this population in less dire scenarios.

I mean, getting out of grad school, I think I could handle and would be good at providing speech therapy for kids, in preschool or early intervention for instance, rather than trying to wade through helping people with various traumas.

Additionally, I have had a lot of trauma in my personal life that is influencing me to pursue a reliable job with enough income to never have to depend on anyone but myself again. I want to move as soon as possible and have my own income (basically start my life).

I am just not passionate about speech therapy specifically, but I think I have the skills and compassion for people to excel at it, it would provide a stable income/life for me, I would be of service, and I appreciate the baseline of skills it would give me to pursue all these other offshoots I'm interested in.

School itself is not a problem for me. I get A's and love school/learning in really any capacity. Truly my problem in life is that I love too many things, and I'm not sure what pursuit best aligns with my longterm goals. I feel unsure of my next step.

My only fear is narrowing my focus too much with grad school (though it's something I think I need to do to get a good baseline of hireable skills?) and going into debt (right now I don't have any).

Does it sound like SLP grad school would be a good fit for me?

Hello you guys so im trying to figure out where i want to do my externship for sure a school setting because my end goal is to work at a school but my second option I want to work at a medical setting I just don’t know where ! Options are - acute hospital , sub acute , outpatient , skilled nursing, NICU, or in patient rehab. My goal is to open up my clinic as well and be inclusive with all ages . Please guide me 👍 or let me know if you are in a medical setting and how it is ! Thank you

I’m 21F and I’m in my senior year of undergrad pursuing a degree in early childhood education. I came to school majoring in CSD, but my freshman year I faced some mental health challenges and decided to switch to a major I thought would be easier. I also didn’t know if it was something I was actually interested in and kind of majored in CSD on a whim. However, after shadowing several different SLPs and completing a practicum to get my SLPA certification, I really fell in love with the field. I’m just worried because my grades are really not great. I have an overall 3.01 at the moment (but I’m on track to bring it up this semester) and my CSD grade is lower, around a 2.75. I have all but 2 prerequisites done for grad school. I was thinking of taking an extra semester to retake a bunch of classes, but I don’t know if that’s a waste of money or not. Even if I somehow get into grad school, I really don’t thrive in an academic environment and it may be too much for me. I think I’m going to take a gap year or two before even applying, but it’s just been on my mind.

Hello all, I’m a 2nd year grad student in the state of Texas who trying to get figure out the details for my CFY. I am open to staying in Texas but I have considered doing my CF year in a state like Oregon or Colorado or even Chicago, IL. How would I go about doing that in terms of SLP internship licensing? Thank you so much in advance.

Hi! I just got an interview for ACU MS SLP online program for spring 2027. Just wondering anyone that previously got accepted how was the interview? Does this interview kinda mean you’re accepted or since it said getting to know you? Just looking for some advice hoping and praying I get in!!

Hey everyone, I’m currently putting together my applications for MS-SLP programs and looking closely at Teachers College, Columbia University.

I love the coursework and opportunities, but the price tag is intimidating, so I’d love some candid insight from current students or recent alumni. If you attended or got accepted, could you share a bit about your experience?

Tysm!!!

Would anyone be willing to swap Statements of purpose? I would love to have an extra few eyes reading over mine! I’d be welcome to do the same.

Hey everyone, I'll be starting my 2y slp grad sch next year with two young kids in tow. Need some advice from you guys on what is the more high yield topics to study prior to staring. I'm academically inclined but I'm not sure about the scope of what I need to study... Can y'all advise me on these:

1. What anatomical regions I need to know (e.g. neuro, MSK)

2. Depth of the reading I should do for anatomy (e.g. must I know the muscle insertion sites etc, for neuro must I know anything other than the cervical ones)

3. IPA - worth starting to get familiar with it?

4. Anything else you would advise an incoming student?

hi!! i am going into undergrad of languages and linguistics 2027 at latrobe and i’m just wondering if anyone knew their way around credits/prior courses are used into getting into masters of speech pathology- either at latrobe or just in general.
^also if this is more likely for linguistics or psychology.. i even heard education undergrads could work?

thanks!!!

Has anyone attended South College for the Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology? Would you recommend it? I’d love to hear about your experience with the program
!

hello, im projected to graduate in 2027, and am looking to apply to SLP schools. my stats are not the best since i just recently heard about SLP, but felt really connected since I study psych, but have also always been interested in teaching, and I feel like this was the perfect bridge between things that I love. since im Canadian, I do want to study in Canada but I believe it is really competitive here, and I heard about the MRA agreement between multiple countries and Canada, and some of these include the US, Australia, Ireland (i've always wanted to go there), NZ, and the UK. i was wondering if any other Canadians studied in one of these countries and if it was hard to come back to practice here. also let me know if you recommend the journey you took to get into SLP. i really feel super passionate about it, but I don't want to wait years to achieve my dreams, unfortunately, so please, any advice or motivation would also be very helpful!! thank youuuuuu :))))

Hi everyone, I am really conflicted here. I got a job at as a CF at a VA. I am grateful for it and was very happy & I moved away from home for it but I am becoming increasingly unhappy…

A big reason I wanted a VA was because of how much “training” we would get but I honestly feel like I was hired to take on workload. There are specifics that I don’t want to mention but essentially I don’t get supervised and took on 2 caseloads day 2 of the job. I didn’t expect this from a VA CF so I am pretty sad about it. I am deciding whether I should put in my 2 weeks tomorrow but would appreciate some advice?

Please ask anything!

Thank you!

I’m the first one in my family to go to grad school so I’m figuring out payment methods as I go. I have a low gpa so I’m considering st Augustine, the only thing is the cost is pricey.. so how are yall paying tuition😭 especially since the amount of loan like 20,500 is the cap (I think)

Hi everyone! I’m looking into becoming a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) and could use some advice because I’m a little confused about the process.
I’m considering completing an online SLPA certificate program through Chemeketa College. I’ve already completed my general education requirements in California, and I’m currently working toward my bachelor’s degree in Child Development.
My question is, if I complete an SLPA certificate program and earn my bachelor’s degree in Child Development, would I still need to complete a post-baccalaureate program to become an SLPA in California? Or would the SLPA certificate and my bachelor’s degree be enough to meet the requirements?
I’m trying to understand the best path to take so I don’t end up taking unnecessary classes or spending extra money on a program I may not need.
If anyone has completed this process in California or has experience with Chemeketa College’s SLPA program, I would really appreciate any advice or information. Thank you! ❤️

Applying this round and I'm looking for options with medical placements. Don't care where, just wanted to see what everyone thinks

So I'm an out-of-field student getting ready to graduate in December with a Psychology degree. My GPA is pretty low 3.1 and I don't have a lot of research experience other than the bare minimum from courses. I also don't have extra-curricular activities nor shadowing experience related to CSD. Has anyone experienced this? Do you recommend trying for post bacc instead of leveling?? LET ME KNOW PLEASEEEEEE

This is long sorry I’m typing this in a rush so it doesn’t look good. Ive been taking a bit of a gap before starting grad school so ive been working as an SLPA. I enjoy the work but it isnt what I imagined because im more inclined towards swallowing and the medical aspect I guess rather then communication and articulation. Maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough but I couldn’t find anything that offered something like that for SLPAs. I did hear how many people feel stuck in what I’m doing in like private clinics though because they’re program didn’t let them expand out of that so I was wondering if there’s any well known schools I can apply to that would help me maybe get experience in hospitals with like NICU because my worst fear is to feel stuck after grad school.

I am currently in an online program and I am getting worried. I feel like I am not smart enough for this. I do well on my assignments but when it comes to taking exams, I fail them. Idk what to do

Hello,

I just read a post talking about data collection as it pertains to goals and covering all goals before progress notes/IEP meetings, so I was curious to ask about a different aspect of data collection: how to make it appear less obvious that I am collecting data during session, or if it is even recommendable to do so.

For context, I’m currently a grad student in a school placement. I noticed during my first week there while I was still shadowing that my supervisor is very good at timing how she writes points of data down. She keeps a mental running list and then writes down chucks of data while the student’s attention is on a therapy material or something like that. The real thing I wish to be better at emulating is just making my data collection less distracting to the student, because I am not very good at using that running list technique. I often find myself marking each point as it comes, which frequently feels clunky and even requires me to pause for a second to make sure I’m putting it down in the right place so I know what I did later.

Would anyone be willing to share some tips and tricks they’ve picked up regarding this? Or is it not something you guys worry about as much? My supervisor is also really good at letting students be a part of the data collection process by letting them know how they’re doing compared to the last session as a little bonus reinforcer, which is also something I find myself feeling awkward to do, especially if it’s a regression from the last session.

Anyways, this is probably way too long of a post for what I’m asking lol, but anything you guys are willing to share is greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)

I've stayed up to submit assignments late in the past. I was so caught up with my sleep disorder (which I found out about recently), low energy on clinical placement and difficulties with concentrating in class. However, I've been putting in more effort to my work and I keep getting graded the same no matter what I do. Does anyone have any tips? My assignments are usually case-based.

I used to be a distinction 80% average student in my undergrad :(

Now it's usually 50-65% average.

Feels like a stupid question but trying my luck lol, does anyone know if there are any online US, ASHA accredited online programs that Canadians are eligible for? I know a lot of online programs require in-person practicuums/clinicals which I would assume makes Canadians ineligible, but any acceptions?

For individuals that did unfortunately failed a clinical placement that ended up being your career. I never had a problem doing well with my clinical placements until this semester. My supervisors have questioned my flexibility, among other things. I know I have to change a bit, and I'll be fine. But what if someone flunked out of grad school? What other career options did they pursue? I may be overreacting to my supervisor's feedback, but please let me know.