Got into Grad School? What Next?

If you have been accepted into a graduate program for speech-language pathology- congratulations! This may well be the one of the most challenging parts of grad school. If you have not yet been accepted or may have to wait another semester or year to reapply, do not despair. At the current time, getting accepted to a graduate program in this field is fairly difficult but more and more, the shortage of SLP's is being recognized, especially with the aging baby boomer population. I was lucky enough to gain acceptance to one of my top two school choices, but it was the only program to which I was accepted (I applied to six schools). A few girls in my class were not accepted to any graduate programs the first year they applied and had to wait another year to reapply. 

Why did they have to wait so long before reapplying? 

In many cases, SLP grad students are admitted as part of a cohort. That is, you will generally move through the graduate program with the same group of students for the duration of the program. This can be great for many reasons. Being part of a cohort affords you the opportunity to get to know and love your fellow classmates. Making friends in a program like this could lead to lifelong friendships, and at least future professional contacts! For students who have had to leave home to attend school, cohorts can ease the culture shock (and possible boredom) since you may have new friends to go out with.

However, the downside of cohorts is that classes may not be available every semester. In fact, in my program, if a student does not pass a class, the class will often not be offered again for a full year! That can potentially delay graduation by...well, way too long! This can add pressure, but remember, you're friends with your classmates in SLP grad school and everyone should quickly realize that you're all in this together, which will make you great allies and even better friends!