New to this forum. Daughter has been admitted EA for fall 2024 to Wheaton (MA), Endicott, Stonehill, and UNH. She received merit aid from all, and cost is not a factor. She is undecided, leaning toward psychology or possibly education as a major. She is also in the process of applying to UVM and inquiring at UNH (already accepted to liberal arts school) to be considered for the Communication Sciences and Disorders program. She hasn’t been super enthusiastic about the college search process. She has an introverted personality and enjoys close-knit relationships with a few friends and teachers at a small high school in New England. She learns better by being hands-on. She also gets antsy without places to go and things to do. Any insights into these schools? Concerned about the remoteness of Norton, and she was turned off by the religious aspect of Stonehill (although it’s the only LAC she’s applied to that offers an SLP minor). Love the internship emphasis at Endicott but concerned about student reviews of social life and housing. Also concerned that UNH/UVM are too big but like the fact that she could train for a specific grad program/career that would meet her interest in working with children and provide solid career prospects.
It sounds like your daughter is interested in becoming a speech pathologist. I am one. If that is her career aspiration, I strongly urge her to consider programs where she can satisfy the required courses for those applying to masters programs in speech language pathology.
In my opinion, it’s also nice to attend a college that has a speech clinic on campus. This would give her the opportunity to maybe observe some sessions (if permission is granted). Plus would give her the chance to see what the courses are really like. She would be taking her prerequisite courses in the department.
She doesn’t need to major or minor in communication disorders as an undergrad, but she does need to take those prerequisite courses for masters applicants. She will need to get a masters degree to be able to be a speech language pathologist.
She might also change her mind!
I guess I would vote for UNH. It’s a great college town. And there is lots to do there.
Look at the American Speech Language Hearing Association website. There is a good amount of information there.
I agree! I also think it’s a great idea to go to a school with a speech clinic on campus. I had this during undergrad and it was very helpful.
Don’t forget, while the school population might be large, the student may only be accessing part of campus and associating with similar people throughout.
A school might have 5 or 10 or 50K people but you’re not necessarily interacting with so many…or all parts of campus.
I wouldn’t choose a religious school (personally) if that was bothering me up front.
Good luck whatever she decides.
I can address both of these…
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My undergrad school had almost 30,000 students when I was there. The communications disorders department was actually small and intimate. I made lifelong friends there, and kept in touch with much of the faculty after I graduated. My graduate college was about 25,000 students. My SLP masters class was 20 students.
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Stonehill is a very welcoming college for all faiths. We know students who attended, and many more than two handsful. They loved their time there. Some were Catholic, but that’s not why they chose the school. Yes, there is a religion course requirement. You would need to look for yourselves and see if this would be uncomfortable for you.
Our daughter went to a Jesuit undergrad school. We are not Catholic. She never felt out of place.
Of course, you need to be comfortable about this decision…and this certainly varies from family to family.
Thanks so much for this feedback! Very helpful. It’s my understanding that admission to the CSD program is pretty competitive, so we’ll have to wait to see if she’s admitted at UNH or UVM. What other undergrad degrees do you recommend for students hoping to get a master’s in SLP? Also, since she is a bit ambivalent about the process, I think fit will be an important factor. If she isn’t admitted to the CSD programs at the larger universities, I’m hoping to hear feedback about student experiences at the LACs I referenced.
I vote for UNH. Would she be admitted to CDS as an incoming freshman or does she apply her sophomore year?
I believe acceptance to grad school is more competitive than acceptance to the undergraduate major. She will need to maintain a strong gpa and cast a wide net.
My undergrad university was huge but my cohort within my major was small. We had a tight community within the bigger university.
UNH admits approximately 60 students to the undergrad CSD program with the expectation that about 30 will accept. My daughter has a 3.9 GPA with college prep classes, so I’m not sure if that will be competitive enough.
I appreciate the feedback about Stonehill. She received very generous merit aid there, so I think we should take a second look.
A 3.9 seems pretty competitive to me. You indicated that she received merit, which means they consider her to be a strong student.
I would check to make sure she can still take those prerequisites courses for masters applicants. It’s not necessary to major in communication disorders. My masters program had folks from all sorts of majors…music, education, psychology, and yes…communication disorders. Honestly…if you didn’t know who had majored on what prior, you never would have figured it out!
Will the SLP minor at Stonehill allow her to take the prerequisites for grad school?
You would need to check…but one of the Stonehill undergrads we know is now a practicing speech and language pathologist. So…I think they do. Otherwise, what would that minor do??
Here you go…
From the website:
Stonehill’s SLP minor stands out from similar programs in that it provides all of the curricular requirements necessary for acceptance into prestigious graduate programs while allowing students the ability to pursue a major course of study aligned with their interests and passions.
It’s my understanding that Stonehill doesn’t offer its own master’s program but has relationships with other schools that do. Whereas I believe UNH and UVM offer master’s programs as well as undergrad.
Stonehill also looks like a good option.
You can check out Stonehill again as suggested but typically a student who feels this way will be bothered even at an accepting school - by imagery and other religious things… etc.
Obviously you need to study/attend a school that will get you to the finish line - but if the student is truly turned off (and they know if they are or not), then I’d have it off the list. They have to be there four years, day after day after day.
You were clear in the initial note that the student was “turned off”.
@EK0608 turned off in what way? I think that matters too. But yes, your daughter needs to feel comfortable where she attends college…and she has some other good options. And as I said…she might change her mind anyway and decide to study something completely different than communication disorders!
That’s why I vote for UNH. It’s not an enormous university, but it does have the communications department. She just needs to find out if she can take those required courses even if she is not in the communication disorders program.
I agree that she is likely to remain turned off by the religious aspect of Stonehill. Frankly, I would probably have felt the same way in her shoes, although I think I have a different perspective now. However, I think she should revisit all of the schools she was accepted to to determine the best fit. I would love to have her do overnights if they are offered.
Does your daughter have any interest in special education? As a special education teacher in a public school, we work very closely with our SLPs. Those that are successful either have a sped. background or take a special interest in some aspect of special education. Those that don’t really struggle. We LOVE when someone who has an education background and experience with AAC applies for an SLP position. I’m not sure if she’d be able to fit in all the prerequisites for a graduate-level SLP program, but a BS in Special Education and a MS in SLP is a great path if she plans on working with kids. Especially in a public school setting.
That’s great information. She hasn’t specifically looked into special education, but she’s interested in working with children in a one-on-one setting rather than in front of a classroom. She’s worked with children as a camp counselor for the past three summers as well as volunteered in the aftercare program for our local elementary school.