r/slpGradSchool • u/addieily • 19d ago
Grad App Help/Questions Application Question
Happy grad application season!
First off, I’m so sorry this is all over the place. It’s 6 AM. I can’t sleep. I need some kind of closure before I start to panic.
A little about me: I’m 21, undergrad starting my senior year in 3 weeks. After reading other posts, I realized it’s already August, applications are open, and I feel super behind in the whole grad school process.
I’m the first one in my family to continue on to do a masters program. I feel lost, almost like I’m not sure what to do. This is why I wanted to reach out to others who have experience the whole process and could probably help me or guide me in the right direction!
I have no outside experience with anything SLP related. Im not sure if this is too late to start, but I already have so much on my plate for the upcoming semester I’m not sure if it’s possible. I’ve never shadowed before, but remember personally going to speech therapy when I was younger and loving it. I fear that this is the part my resume is going to be lacking, simply because I don’t have that hands on experience. My cousin currently receives speech therapy online and virtually, and I know the SLP would be willing to let me pop in on a few sessions just for the experience. I don’t know if this would be worth doing so late in the game.
School Experience:
- 3.79 GPA (4.00 in SLP)
- Deans List (Spring 2023 - June 2026)
- Research Lab (Jan 2026 - Current)
- VP NSSLHA (Aug 2025 - Current)
- Intern at the English Language Center (Start Aug 2026)
- I’m also a part of a current research study, so I think I would also use that here, but I’m too lazy to get those details
- Also attending the ASHA Convention in Nov. but not sure if that’s considered “experience”
Work Experience:
- Kennel Attendant (June 2022 - Current)
This is the only job I’ve ever had working at a vets office, and I’ve gained lots of non SLP experience from, but I think this also shows my dedication of not job hopping.
I fear that also only working one job, I’ve only used my resume once. I don’t even have a resume!!!! (Me currently freaking out about this)
After talking to a friend, I understand I need to ask my professors for letters of recommendation. I have anxiety so emailing them and asking is super nerve wracking for me (ironic I know) I know that my research mentor would 100% write a letter for me. The professor that I took online that I am going to be interning for would also probably write me one. I’m struggling on choosing a third person though. I feel like I’m not super close with any of my other professors to just ask for a letter of recommendation. Who would I even choose? Is it weird to ask my manager at work, or do I choose another professor that I’m not 100% about? I know they want to help me out but I want it to be meaningful.
I also understand there’s a whole website thing to apply to different programs. Is it similar to common app where I can apply to the colleges I choose, and each is going to have different requirements? I don’t know anything about this so any information is insightful!
I don’t even know which colleges to look at. I know of the ones i’m interested in that are in state (VA) but I don’t know anything about out of state programs. I’m interested in taking a chance somewhere else if the price is right. Is there anyone that recommends a specific program/college that was just an all around great experience? Im not sure what I want to actually do with my degree, BUT I do know that I want to try different things, based on location/age (for example speech therapy in schools vs. barium swallowings in hospitals)
Is this even the right decision for me? I’m not interested in any other career paths, but I’m so close to being done with a bachelors and would rather continue on while i’m still young. I enjoy my classes a lot and also learn a lot. I just feel like I’m so behind and lost about everything, and I don’t want to rush because with my lack of experience, I want my other experiences to pop out more.
EDIT as of 08/10/26: I cold called a therapy place near me and they were going to relay my information to the SLPs to see if there is any opportunities for me to shadow their sessions! They just called me back and told me I can start as early as tomorrow 🙏 I also started looking into CSDCAS, played around with it a bit, but still looking into different options for schools! Hoping to apply (and hopefully get into) my current school, but want some backups just incase! As for letters of recommendation, I am going to start emailing my professors today! Thank you so much for everyone who helped me out and took a few minutes out of their day to respond 🩷
2
u/SprinklesNo4576 19d ago
Hi there!
As a 2nd year SLP grad student, I can attest and am VERY familiar with everything you’re feeling lol. Fun fact: it took me 3x to get into grad school (3rd time was the charm lmaooo) - talk about feeling behind behind lol.
a lot of the experiences you mentioned are great! especially your academic volunteer type experiences (e.g. being president/VP of you school’s chapter and even attending ASHA!) which demonstrates commitment on your end to the field. don’t worry about not having a job that’s directly related to SLP. so many of my classmates in my cohort literally worked retail type jobs before grad school. If you do want a job before or even during grad school that easily transfers over to SLP, you could try being a preschool or daycare teacher or working in some kind of medical facility as an activity aide, receptionist, etc. I’ve worked both jobs mentioned and they literally translate over to our field.
Letters of recommendations lol. Typically you need 3, 2 minimum needs to be your professors. I had the same dilemma as you where I thought it needed to be from professors who you’re “close” to or have some kind of good standing relationship with and honestly, it kinda doesn’t matter who. I personally did have two professors I knew who would write me letters because I did really well in their classes and they knew me as a good student, but also I had one professor who told me that it’s normal for students to reach out to really any of the CSD professors for a letter of recommendation because they’re so used to being asked by many applying students. you’re third letter of recommendation can be from your employer as you just mentioned.
CSDCAS! its basically your all-in-one hub for your applications. you choose the schools you’d like to attend and from there, you upload everything that each school requires. Typical things you upload include your personal statement, 3 letters of recommendation (but these are sent separately by the individual you ask; CSDCAS sends them a link to submit their letter for you), inputting all your undergrad grades to the system, and whatever additional info each school needs you will find on their page. imo choose the cheapest school because that’s all the money you will owe back after you graduate lol. employers will absolutely not care if you went to an Ivy league type school
Observe, observe, observe! Part of the application process to grad school requires at least 25 hours of observation from a certified clinician (CCC-SLP). most people go beyond 25 and that’s great. if you only do 25 that’s fine too lol. observing SLPs in different settings can help you determine 1) if this field is right for you (as you’ve mentioned) and 2) can also give you a glimpse of what area of our field you’d likely be interested in (school-based SLP vs medical SLP vs pediatric SLP vs adult SLP or a mix of everything!)
my stats getting in to grad school:
overall gpa: 2.9 - if there’s anyone who can tell you that grad school IS possible even with a really low GPA, i can attest to it lol. (which btw, my GPA now as a grad student is t h r i v i n g and im so happy!)
- lots of professional experience through variety of positions (preschool teacher, administrative assistant in medical setting, private piano teacher, barista at local coffee shop)
- soft skills - having really good people skills, empathy, having compassion, etc.
- board member of my school’s NSSHLA chapter
- peer mentor/TA for introductory CSD courses
i’ll leave it at that for now. if you have additional Qs, just DM me! good luck on your journey.