I ask because where do you plan to work after your college education is completed? In the vast majority of cases, international students need a student visa to study here, but once they complete their studies, they are required to return to their home country.
What visa do you have now?
@MYOS1634 do you know if education grads have the ability to stay here woth sponsored employers easily?
I plan to get a job in NYS and apply for a green card. I have a 10 year student VISA. So as I understand, I have first complete schooling to find a job that would sponsor me through the application process. Thatâs also why my parents want me to attend a prestigious college so I could get a âbetter degreeâ so to speak. But as I research and learn, thatâs really not the case here. Iâm also attending a tiny private school right now, with a âguidance counselorâ who is also the 7-12 math teacher and health teacher 
so I really have been on my own.
TC is only for your masters degree. I would start this process by looking at SUNY/CUNY schools.
Once you have your masters you will be able to work in all types of settings- hospitals, schools etc. You will need a license and/or school certification, depending on where you work. Many SLPs have both.
You will have to do a 9 month clinical fellowship where you will be supervised- this leads to ASHA certification.
Find an affordable school to do your undergrad. The SUNY/CUNY schools are outstanding for your career goals.
I think you need to find out IF you will be able to be hired here after your bachelors degree. At this point in time, it might be possible as there is a shortage of both special education teachers and SLPs. But that doesnât guarantee that you will be able to do this.
Iâm hoping @MYOS1634 will see this threadâŠas they might have some info to provide about your current visa status and ability to work here as a college graduate.
I agree with @twogirls for both special education, and an undergrad degree in communication disorders, you donât need an Ivy League or equivalent undergrad school. PlusâŠwhat is your GPA, and have you taken the SAT or ACT? While Columbia does not require the SAT or ACT, some other colleges DO require this.
Some international students do return to their home countries, and there is a sentiment that a college name well known in their country is important. BUT you say you plan to stay here in NY (if that is possible). That being the case, this prestige factor doesnât seem to me to be as important.
Do you have the stats to get accepted to a school like Columbia (which I hope you now understand is NOT a place where you can study speech language pathology or special education as an undergrad? You need a different undergrad school especially for special educationâŠif that is your goal. As mentioned beforeâŠyou will need a masters for speech language pathology.
If you are on a 10 year visa (what visa is that?), will you run out of time before you complete your studies here with a mastersâŠ4 years of high school, 4 years of undergrad, 2 years (at least) for a masters degree, and if SLP a full year doing a clinical fellowship year.
If you suggest you are doing all of this with the intention of getting a green card, itâs very possible you wonât be getting a continued visaâŠbut @MYOS1634 and maybe @Mwfan1921 might be able to elaborate on that.
P.S. depending on your current visa type, Iâm not sure you will be able to stay on that visa type as a college student. But I am NOT an expert in this area.
@MYOS1634 hopefully can ask the right questions here and give you the right answers.
That needs to be checked also.
Considering you will be targeting grad school either way, an interesting major for you to look at would be something like UMNâs Biology, Society, and Environment major. It would give you flexibility while figuring out the visa situation, seems to be a way to target some of your more personal/ specific academic research interests and still allow you to be well positioned for graduate school in any field. Going to UMN (or another large school) would ensure that whatever path you ultimately chose, you could find the classes to meet the prereqs.
Similar majors can be found at many schools under different names. Just be sure to check that there would be a pathway to fill SLP prereqs to keep that option open. Most M.Ed programs in special ed just require a BS.
I think you would be a fantastic candidate for UMNâs program.
I think this student is interested in special education in undergrad and graduate school for speech. Maybe they can clarify?
I understand that, but they also seem to have many layers of interest in special education and speech pathology including teaching children in their native language, cultural competency and maybe even policy. That could lend itself to great research and their interests might change over time. A traditional program in either of these majors will most likely not have the depth in these areas that this student is seeking unless they do a lot of research into individual professorsâ special interests and research. A flexible undergrad major that spans both hard and social sciences, or at least starting with a flexible major with the option of moving into special ed or CSD if things become clearer, might be something to consider. Especially if certain career paths are more likely to lead to work visas.
Thank you for responding!
I will definitely need a masters to be hired and as you said, I can apply to any college masters program thatâs ASHA approved? My GPA is 4.0, and my SAT is 1520.
I am on a 10 year student VISA, and as long as I am still in school I can renew my VISA and stay here. (Thatâs also why many international students go for a PhD just to stall some time to find jobs.)
Yes I now understand that TC is not an option for undergrad. (Which is interesting, since itâs on the âbest schools for special education undergradâ list I found? huh.) I will continue to research, talk with my parents, and reach out to the district guidance counselor if possible. Currently I have found a few SUNY/CUNY schools like Cortland, Buffalo, Fredinia, Genesio, New Paltz⊠and if theyâre not options, I would have to go for farther schools and apply for Boston University, Northeastern University, or NYU. Thank you so much for your time! I really appreciate it.
Thank you! Iâll definitely take your advice into consideration. Have a great day:)
I am a Spanish bilingual speech pathologist. We used our Spanish skills to supplement the students comprehension of subjects taught in English.
I rarely did therapy in Spanish because the kids here are educated in English. When I did provide therapy in Spanish most of my clients were toddlers and very young children.
With high school and middle school students, we would use the Spanish Latin roots of vocabulary to help with comprehension of the language.
As a native Spanish speaker, but extremely strong in English and Spanish grammatical skills, I was still required to get certifications for bilingualism in California. I had to pass State tests and take additional coursework in second language acquisition.
It took me longer, than my peers, to finish my education because I was required to take additional and supplemental coursework.
With my thesis, I was required to complete research, in Spanish, as I submitted my subjects approval, to the university. It took me a total of 10 years, Inclusive of the thesis research, approvals and subjects testing because many did not show up for their appointments.
Are you sure you want to do bilingual therapy certification? As a student, who is an international candidate, getting through some of the state hurdles is going to be an issue.
Itâs probably gotten better now and streamlined because they donât keep you in school forever, but the research and thesis is tough and then you are required to take additional coursework and additional tests to qualify as a bilingual therapist with state certifications. As an international student I donât know if the state will be able to certify you.
I used my Spanish skills mostly in parent IEPâs and meetings. I also was asked at several districts and hospitals to review educational paperwork that was given to the parents and families. A number of items had been directly and poorly translated from internet translation services and you canât do that if you really want the families to understand whatâs going on.
Thank you for sharing your valuable experience!
I will definitely reach out to the college discussing such issues. If the process is this elaborative I would give it a second thought. What benefits does a bilingual SLP have? Also, do you have to have a bilingual certificate to use Spanish in therapy sessions or talking with parents, or are you free to do so when encountered with family with bilingual needs?
Thank you again for sharing and helping me out 
Before I was hired anywhere, I was required to submit the bilingual certifications. California is very picky about that because they donât want anyone to misunderstand information that has been provided to a patient or their family. They donât want lawsuits.
Case in point: When I worked at a hospital, I heard screaming. The screaming was in Spanish. There were things breaking in the patientâs room.
The patient was screaming in Spanish: !Ay Dios mĂo! Me van a sacar toda mi sangre!
Which translates to: !Oh my God! theyâre gonna take out all my blood!
The nurse and lab people who were considered to be Spanish speakers, stated that they were going to âtake out all of her bloodâ, instead of saying they were going to do a âblood transfusionâ.
I had to lower my voice and calm her down and tell her that the women were in error in how they translated their English.
I told her they were going to do a blood transfusion because she was very low in iron and anemic.
She just held onto me and sobbed. Less than five minutes later, the litigation team, for the hospital were in the room and asked me to stay. (The husband was furious so he started to call people). Although the husband was fully fluent in both English and Spanish he was very upset; they asked me to stay on and calm him down as well as the wife.
The litigation team asked me if I had my bilingual certification in my personnel file. They wanted to make sure my Spanish was certified. I said âoh yes absolutely!â
I neglected to add the benefits as a bilingual SLP.
I received a stipend because I was certified.
Also, because of the number of courses I had had, and the college units of credit, my pay was higher on the payscales for the school districts.
It however is a very difficult job. The issue is that, although you are one person, you have two roles.
Some people couldnât separate that. When I worked the hospitals, staff knew that I was pretty good at my job, and savvy/well- educated, so they would see me and drag me into rooms where they couldâve had the hospital translators intervene. The physicians did this to me all of the time!
In other words, they werenât my patients and the insurance company wasnât paying me to see and translate for these patients. Yes itâs always nice to hear compliments about how much the patients love me and ask for me, but at some point, you have to be responsible for your own patients.
At some of my schools, we had staff that could translate for parents. The problem that I had, was that the parents heard my Spanish and trusted me.
Part of the reason they trusted me was because I used âformal Spanishâ with them. Itâs a form of respect to them when you use the âUstedâ version. It is something that is taught very early, in a childâs upbringing, who speaks Spanish.
Thatâs how I was taught as a child. Itâs a very hard habit to break but it was beneficial for me.
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