This week's graduate student spotlight is on Ana! She brings up a great point about applications- Always remember that you are more than just numbers on a test.
Hi everyone! I am from Richmond, VA, attended UVA for undergrad, and majored in Communication Sciences and Disorders there. I was lucky in that I knew I wanted to major in CSD when I got to UVA and luckily grew to love it even more throughout undergrad. I found it really helpful during the summers to try to find shadowing experiences to get a better idea of different settings I might want to work in as well as having some sort of hands-on experience before entering grad school. One of my shadowing experiences was with an SLP in early intervention, just for a week, but I loved it and hope to one day work in early intervention. I am also interested in various other pediatric settings such as hospital outpatient clinics and schools. In applying to grad school, what really drew me to JMU was the amazing reputation it has around the Richmond area and beyond. I knew JMU was a competitive program and I was not very confident I would get in based on my GRE scores. It is important to remember that your essays and experiences are important parts of your grad school application too! As someone who wants to work with kids, I have really appreciated the many opportunities this program provides to get hands-on experience working with the pediatric population.