Any Speech Pathology Majors?

ReneeJ814

Hey everybody! I'm in my second year of graduate school getting my masters in speech-language pathology. I know that we're few and far between, but I was wondering if there are other SLP majors in this group. Feel free to add me. I'd love to be able to network and share the stresses and frustrations of school with somebody. Oh yeah, and of course I want to be a cheerleader to help you meet your weight loss goals.

amytcornett

Hey there! I am...well, WAS a speech pathology major! I actually JUST finished writing my thesis and graduated this past August. The hubs is still getting his undergrad so I felt like I'm still justified in joining this group I'm now working half-time at an elementary school with some cute kids in the self-contained and medically-fragile units. The REST of the time I'm desperately trying to eat right, exercise, feed the fam and juggle a baby. I just joined MFP but I've got a good 20 pounds I'd love to kiss goodbye and never see again. Congrats on your 30 pounds! I'm one pound down. ONE! Baby steps, right? I'd love to network and be your cheerleader, too!

As for surviving grad school... oh my holy crap, it's tough but DOABLE! Sometimes, you just have to go into robot mode bust your butt to get through it all. I went to aerobics/yoga classes four days a week during my program until I was 37 weeks pregnant. After I had by little boy, I "tried" to exercise indoors (because winter in Utah is RIDICULOUSLY cold) but got super lazy. And THEN came the thesis, when any attempt at healthy eating/exercising/sleeping went down the drain and I packed on 20 pounds. Woof. BUT... there's a light at the end of the tunnel. You WILL survive your classes, your clinical placements, pass the Praxis, and eventually LOVE this job!

Anytime you need some support (or some sweet lesson plan ideas *coughpinterestcough*), I'm your girl! Keep doing what you're doing; you look amazing!

ellenxmariex3

This just made my day!

Hi! I'm Ellen and I'm a future speech language pathologist (at least I hope so!). I'm still doing my undergrad work though. This is my second year of college but I am classified as a junior. I have just started my speech pathology classes (Intro to Disorders, Intro to Hearing Science, Applied Phonetics, Anat/Phys of the SH Mechanism). I love them so far. I also just landed a position working as a research assistant. The project I'm working on concerns childhood spelling errors and it seems fascinating, although I'm doing mostly clerical work for now.

I know I'm not as advanced as either of you but I'd love to learn some tips and tricks! I'm very stressed about getting into graduate school and I still have 2 years to worry about it.

Sorry for the edits - my computer is messing up today.

ReneeJ814

Hi Ellen! You'll do great in undergrad. Just give 100% every day. Being a research assistant is a great opportunity and will give you a leg up when you take your childhood language class. As far as getting into grad school, my advice is to get involved in as much as you can in school (continue research, NSSLHA officer, etc.). Also, if you have the opporunity to do some therapy at your level, even if you co-clinician with somebody, take advantage of it. All of these things look really good on a grad school application. Getting in is tough, but don't worry about that right now. Just do your best and work hard. You'll do great! I'm glad to help you any way I can. A friend request is coming your way.

amytcornett

Ellen!

How am I just now seeing that you responded to this post?! Congrats on getting a foot in the door of the BEST PROFESSION EVER! I seriously love my job. My kids are hilarious. In regards to school, I second everything Renee said. If you have the chance, get to know your professors really well! I attended a program with ridiculously tiny classes so we got to know our professors quite personally. I was a TA or an RA for many of them and when it came down to writing my thesis (a necessary evil in my program, unfortunately), several of them helped me complete a research project that's going to be published in JSLHR in a year (fingers crossed!).

Also, really try to take the time to learn the material when you're studying for tests. I can't tell you how many times I crammed before a big exam (especially during my undergrad) only to forget it a few weeks later and have to relearn before the final. Boo. Plus, it really helps when you're studying for the Praxis later on! (MUCH later on). For now, I agree that you should just try your hardest to do well in your classes; that will be half the battle for getting into grad school! Your job as an RA will be great because your supervising professor will be able to give you a BOMB letter of recommendation. The more experience and exposure you get, the better! If SLPs in the community will allow you to shadow them, that's always a fun experience; I really enjoyed seeing all the different things SLPs can do as as career.

Basically, keep doing what you're doing! You're already WAY ahead of the game by being so involved with and enthusiastic about the field. Oh, and your 14 pound weight loss is nothing to be shy about, either... congrats! If you ever have any questions/concerns/comments/need-to-vent, let me know! I'll be glad to help. I'll send you a friend request, too!

brite_star182

Hey! I am in my second year of grad school for Speech Pathology. I actually just saw the title of this post and am about to walk out the door, so I don't really have time to read or write much. I'm going to add you ladies as friends then come back and read and respond to this post. I just didn't want to do something as impersonal as *bump* without giving an explanation.
Happy to have found this

ellenxmariex3

I'm so sorry ladies - I didn't see the replies until now! I need a notification system like Facebook haha.

Thank you all for your tips and tricks!!! I saved your replies and will be referring to them over these next few years.

One thing that concerns me: I'm in Florida currently for undergrad. I wish I could say that I love it. I do love my program. It's ranked pretty high and is cost effective. However, I am from up north and I don't think I can handle another two years of school down here on top of undergrad. How difficult is it to get into a program at a school you didn't go to? I want to apply to mostly NJ/PA schools (where I'm from).