08 Feb 2023

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans

Master Of Communication Disorders, Masters (F23)

Interview via E-mail on 08 Feb 2023

Note

I graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Speech Language Pathology degree in May 2022. Decided to take a gap year and I have currently been a Special Education teacher for small children at a highly-ranked school in a highly-ranked school district. I have collaborated with SLP's, PT's, OT's, Exceptional Needs Specialists, School Psychologists, etc. this year. I have led many IEP meetings alongside each of these individuals and I have also written multiple IEP's targeting goals and objectives in the areas of social/emotional, gross motor, and academic. I have students with a variety of diagnosis and communication disorders and I have focused a lot of time on building their mental lexicons. Because of the curriculum we use, I have been able to focus heavily on phonics, phonological awareness, and phonology so I am still near to my Speech Pathology roots. I am very excited for the interviewing process. I am proof that schools recognize your abilities and knowledge outside of academics. I am confident that the year I am spending gaining experience in the professional setting is what helped me stand out and made up for my lower GPA (well, lower than the typical 3.8+ GPA for this field). While an interview does not guarantee a spot, it is certainly a great sign considering I applied to 5 other programs. The GRE was not required for most of the schools I applied to so I do not have that but I finished undergrad with a 3.41 GPA and a SLP GPA of 3.2 (COVID hit in the midst of many of those courses). Nonetheless, I am grateful for the opportunity.

---