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Graduate School and Future Choices

All Things Graduate School

This page is to act as a resource, in addition to the Letters of Recommendation and FAQ pages, for senior CSD students applying to graduate school. 


Letters of Recommendation

Students are advised to observe the etiquette for the process. Recognizing that this year office hours are all virtual, students are advised to e-mail faculty members first regarding their preferences for meeting and asking. Faculty with specific requests will be listed below as they are sent in-

  • Faculty members in CSD are willing to take requests for letters of recommendation for graduate school until November 1st.  
  • Students are discouraged from asking for a letter of recommendation from a faculty member in whose course the student earned a grade of B- or lower.
  • Students should provide the following materials in the packet:
  • Read carefully what the program is looking for in letters.
    • Some schools want all CSD professors and others request a job experience
    • If the school does not specify, it is recommended that you use 2 professors and 1 non-CSD faculty or job experience
  • Many faculty members will agree to submit a letter/form electronically, but faculty members my have individual policies/limits for electronic submissions. Students are advised to verify and establish clear expectations with each faculty member when making letter of recommendation requests.

GRE 

This is the standardized test that everyone must take to be accepted into a graduate program. You can visit www.gre.org for more information or call 1-800-GRE-CALL to speak with a representative

  • Begin studying early
  • Many students take the GRE twice
    • As early as spring of junior year
    • As late as October of senior year
  • Do NOT wait until last minute to take the exam because it takes weeks for the scores to become available on CSDCAS
    • Give yourself AT LEAST two months before your first application is due.
  • Research or ask your programs if they will super score your GRE i.e. combine your highest scores for each section

Choosing Programs

  • How do I find programs?
    • Connect with past students
    • School/program websites—look at the mission and vision statements, research opportunities, and professor profiles
    • ASHA EdFind—find out about institution and program requirements.
  • How many programs do I apply for?
    • Apply for safety schools, schools that your scores are average, and reach schools!
      • It is less about the number of schools, and more about where you fall in the averages
    •  Consider the financial burden of applying to too many schools.
    •  I have met people who apply to 3 and those that apply for 10
    • Consider what is required to apply for each school
      • Will you need another essay or different recommendations?
  • Do research to get an idea of what's important to you and each program you're interested in
    • Consider the area
    • Financial opportunities 
      • Graduate Assistantships or scholarships
      • Instate versus Out of state
      • Is tuition based on the number of credits enrolled in or charged on a flat rate per semester basis? 
      • CSDCAS Application Fee
        • The first application you submit on CSDCAS is $131, additional applications are $52
        • Some schools (like JMU) require you to apply to their Graduate School and CSDCAS, so you pay for both of those applications.
    • Your potential areas of interest in the field
    • Research of faculty
    • What types of clinical practicum opportunities are offered? (university clinic, school/hospital placements, etc.)
  • How externships and placements organized and handled within the program? 
    • Does the university have an assigned faculty member to organize placements 
  • How are the graduate coursework and clinical experience broken up each semester? 
    • Are clinic and classes run simultaneously? 
    • Are summer coursework/clinical experience involved?
    • During what semesters  are students required to be on campus? 
    • Are there semesters that students will be 100% off campus (i.e. spring semester 2nd year). 
  • What is the Praxis pass rate at the program among graduates?

Personal Statement

  • *Use the Writing Center in SSC*
    • Start early as they will fill up for appointments
    • Meet with the same person who knows your plans and then go to a new person who can read it with fresh eyes
  • Consider all the factors and experiences that make you, you. 
    • Volunteering
    • Personal experiences
    • Research
    • What makes you a valuable person to have in their program
      • Why will you succeed in graduate school?
  • Read the requirements carefully!!
  • Tailor each statement to the specific school
    • Name drop professors or research labs 
  • This isn’t the time to be humble. Clearly state and support evidence of your strengths.

Other Options- SLPA

  • Assistants should practice under a licensed SLP
    • Licensed speech-language pathologist shall be held fully responsible for an assistants performance and activities
  • Requirements
    • Standard I: A bachelor's degree or associate's degree in a related field 
    • Standard II: Documented training by a licensed speech language pathologist in topics related to the client population to be served
      • 1-hour course in ethics
      • 1-hour course in universal safety precautions
      • 1-hour course in patient/client/student confidentiality training course (i.e., HIPAA, FERPA)
    • Standard III: Complete a supervised clinical experience under the supervision of an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist (SLP)
      • Minimum of 80 hours of direct client/patient/student services
      • 20 hours of indirect client/patient/student services
    • Standard IV:  The applicant must pass the national examination created by ASHA and approved by the CFCC. 
      • Applicants who receive a non-passing score may retake the examination two additional times within 1 year of their initial exam and pay a retest fee. 
      • If an applicant does not receive a passing score on the examination within 1 year of their initial application (maximum of 3 attempts) will have their application will be closed
    • Standard V: Abide by ASHA’s Assistants Code of Conduct
    • Standard VI: C-SLPAs must complete a Maintenance of Certification Assessment (MOCA) at the end of their 3-year certification maintenance interval to show continued competency
    • OR employment as a speech-language pathologist assistant in a United States jurisdiction within the last five years preceding July 27, 2016.

Frequently Asked Questions- Not Addressed Above

When do I start thinking about graduate schools?
  • Start to think about graduate school at the beginning of your junior year.  It is important to create a plan for applying, taking your GREs, as well as requesting recommendations.  
  • Take your time researching schools.  Getting to know the schools before you begin to apply will help in the application process and relieve some stress during your senior year!

When should I submit my applications? (Advice from Peer Advisor experience)
  • Most of my deadlines were Mid-January, and I had my applications submitted by early December. I know some people who submitted earlier some later. 
  • Make sure you take into consideration processing times of CSDCAS (or supplemental application processing).
  How can I make myself look better to graduate schools?
  • Get involved!  Excellent academic grades are extremely important when applying to graduate schools, however there are other ways to get noticed! 
  •  Join an organization and obtain a leadership position.  This will be a great way to learn about your leadership abilities and prove to graduate schools that you are responsible. 
  • Volunteering is another great way to add to your resume.  Try to volunteer with organizations that are related to your field.  SLP and Audiologists both work with a wide range of individuals.  Familiarizing yourself with those groups will help you in the long run!
  •  Visiting open houses for graduate programs that you are interested in is a great way to get your name out there!
Who do I talk to about Graduate Schools?
  •  Speaking to your adviser is a great way to learn about JMU’s grad school. They can also provide information about other schools.  
  • Dr. Rout (routax@jmu.edu) is the coordinator of the JMU Au.D. program
  • Dr. Timler (slp@jmu.edu) is the coordinator of the M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology program.  
  • Many questions may also be answered on the JMU CSD Graduate Program webpage:  
             AuD: http://www.csd.jmu.edu/aud/index.html
             SLP:  http://www.csd.jmu.edu/MS-SLP/index.html 

 What is the CSDCAS application? 
  •  The Communication Sciences and Disorders Central Application Service (CSDCAS) is the "Common Application" for applying to graduate school in both Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. 
  • This is a web-based application that offers applicants a convenient way to apply to any number of participating clinical education programs by completing a single application. 
  •  This application allows you to submit your GRE scores, personal statement, letters of recommendation, activities from undergraduate work, and other application requirements. For more information please carefully review the instructions and FAQs on their webpage:

https://portal.csdcas.org/csdcasHelpPages/instructions-and-faq/

Helpful Links-

Finding Programs- https://find.asha.org/ed#sort=relevancy  

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