• Home
  • My Story
  • Membership
  • Courses
  • Contact

Speech is Beautiful

4 Grad School Regrets You Can Avoid — for Speech Paths and Everyone Else!

Why Speech?

10 Nov

gradschool

Ten years ago this fall I started the masters program in speech pathology at Northwestern University. I was just coming off of a year of undergraduate prerequisites in speech therapy from Northern Illinois University. I love being a speech path and working with children with communication disorders. I like to think that I made a difference, but I know that my students have changed my life at least as much as I have changed theirs. When I look back specifically at graduate school, I realize that there were some things that I might have done differently if I knew what I know now. Hindsight is always 20/20, but here goes:

1) Taking on too much debt

Although I could have gone to graduate school at Northern Illinois University, I chose Northwestern University instead. Northwestern was ranked higher at number two in the country, but primarily my husband worked in Evanston and convenience came with its perks. We could go down to one car and I could take the bus to campus. We had virtually no commute.

But Northwestern University cost way more. In fact, Northwestern’s tuition cost three times more than Northern Illinois’s tuition for the identical degree. Yes, I have an amazing top shelf masters degree that gets me a lot of positive comments during interviews, but eight years into the profession, I’m only half-way through paying off my masters. If I had gone to Northern Illinois I would have paid off my degree several years ago.

I was one of the lucky ones because I was married I only had to borrow tuition: my husband took care of our mortgage and food! I have friends that have much more to pay off than I do. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to have the debt hanging over your head. I realize that there are loan forgiveness programs (I had a Perkins loan that was forgiven because I worked in a low income, high needs area) including income-based repayment, but the debt feels heavy and it does take a long time to pay off. Having debt limits your ability to purchase a home or a car and it affects your decisions when to have children (child care can be more expensive than grad school!).

One reason to choose a masters program like Northwestern is if you are planning to leave the state. At the time I enrolled I thought maybe we would move and that a masters from Northwestern University would have more name recognition in other states (one really good reason to go to a program ranked high nationally). I loved how many masters students at Northwestern were from out-of-state. I met so many interesting people. But I haven’t left the state and have since put down roots in Illinois. A masters from NIU would have been sufficient.

2) Minimal investigation of job options

Although there continues to be a shortage of speech pathologists and an even more acute shortage of bilingual SLPs, it’s important to really see where the vacancies are. When I was considering speech pathology as a career, I went on two informational interviews. One was in a private clinic and the other was in out patient pediatric rehab. I really enjoyed what I saw and learned a lot about those settings. But even when applying to grad school, I didn’t even know that speech paths worked in school settings.

I wish I had visited a school and shadowed a school-based speech path for a day. I never did that, but weirdly I’ve spent eight years as a school-based professional and no time at all in a private clinic or pediatric rehab. I think knowing about the school-based options up front would have been beneficial in helping me focus on the final goal as I went through the program. Instead, I muddled through not being fully informed.

3) Going on a vacation over breaks

I took a big trip between my first year in graduate school and my second one. I went to Australia to visit family I have there and I was there for three weeks. So, I can’t say it’s a regret because it was a fantastic trip. Actually, I just want to advise anyone in graduate school to take trips over any of the breaks you have.

For one, it’s healthy to go somewhere different to clear your head. I felt like I regained motivation and focus after significant relaxation. Going as far away as Australia is not necessary to feel better about life, but taking a break somewhere that’s not your apartment is really valuable to mental health.

Additionally, when you start working a “real” job, it may be awhile until you get the chance to travel again. I might have taken an amazing trip to Australia in 2005, but I haven’t been back since — even though I have a strong desire to return. Life takes over when you start working.

4) Thorough consideration of my first job and of the quality Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) experiences.

In my last months of graduate school, I interviewed for several jobs, but I ended up choosing a position with Chicago Public Schools. It turned out to be a fabulous learning experience for me and a perfect fit in many ways.

Northwestern University was intense and exhausting and I chose a CFY that was going to cover the requirements, but I knew there wouldn’t be any extra supervision that someone might get in a different, more intense and collaborative setting. Admittedly, I needed a break and I thought that getting a lighter supervisor would be nice.

Looking back I think that I should have considered that the CFY is set up so that the new grad gets support and training during the first year. It’s not about someone being critical and judging a new grad harshly. In fact, my CF supervisor was amazing. I can’t say enough about how much I learned from her and I still considering her a friend. However, I wish I’d had more time with her when I was learning the ropes.

Have I missed anything? What else would you have done differently?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

« 15 Naughty Spanish Words, Wrong Translations, and Tricky False Cognates to Avoid
8 Books That Teach Kids About Grammar and Punctuation »
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Latest on Pinterest

  • Get hundreds of trials by having students say their target words and then coloring one square per word! These grids take multiple sessions to complete and you will end up with a beautiful mosaic of colors and patterns customized by the student. They can choose the colors or their favorite team. All you need are colored pencils! PRODUCT CONTENTS: 1) TINY GRIDS 2) MEDIUM GRIDS 3) LARGE GRIDS 4) PLAID PATTERN GRIDS EACH PACK INCLUDES ONE PAGE PER SOUND AND ONE PAGE OF STIMULUS WORDS
  • Using classic fables and nursery rhymes in speech therapy is a great way to teach story retell skills to young children, while continuing the tradition of oral story telling from our culture. 15 STORIES EACH CONTAIN: -Story Printable -Story Cards -Drawing to Describe -Writing to Describe PRODUCT CONTENTS Pg 3-6 – TARJETAS PARA CONTAR LOS CUENTOS Pg 7-12 – HICKORY DICKORY DOCK Pgs 13-17 – HUMPTY DUMPTY Pgs 18-24 – LA ARAÑA PEQUEÑITA Pg 25-30 – JUAN Y JUANITA and more!
  • Do you like knocking out multiple goals during speech therapy? Do you have kids who need to learn category vocabulary words and also benefit from fine motor practice? Each mini-book includes a list of the vocabulary words with boxes to check. Black-and-white is perfect for easy printing. These books will take multiple lessons to complete, which is great to use over multiple lessons. Students can add the mini-books to their portfolio of work or take the mini-books home
  • Olivia is a classic book adored by kids and also enjoyed by educators. Olivia covers the basic life skills PRODUCT CONTENTS: Pg 3-5 – El resumen del cuento Pgs 6-16 – Las acciones (Tarjetas, Escritura, Comparamos & Contrastamos) Pgs 17-28 –La ropa (Tarjetas, Escritura, Comparamos & Contrastamos) Pgs 29-41 – La rutina de la mañana (Tarjetas, Secuencias, Dibujando y Escribiendo) Pgs 42-52 –Vocabulario de la playa (Plurales, Coloreando, Comparamos & Contrastamos) All pages are black and white
  • Olivia is a classic book adored by kids and also enjoyed by educators. Olivia covers the basic life skills PRODUCT CONTENTS: Pg 3-5 – El resumen del cuento y ¿Qué pasó? Pgs 6-16 – Las acciones (Tarjetas, Escritura, Comparamos & Contrastamos) Pgs 17-28 –La ropa (Tarjetas, Escritura, Comparamos & Contrastamos) Pgs 29-41 – La rutina de la mañana (Tarjetas, Secuencias, Dibujando y Escribiendo) Pgs 42-52 –Vocabulario de la playa (Plurales, Coloreando, Comparamos & Contrastamos)
  • If you are treating phonological processes in Spanish, these flashcards are unique and ones you will refer to over and over again! CONTENTS (Color and Black & White): -14 pairs of cards for Velar Fronting -14 pairs Final Consonant Deletion -12 pairs Weak Syllable Deletion -10 pairs Cluster Reduction -12 pairs Initial Consonant Deletion -12 pairs Voicing TWO VERSIONS: 50 pgs color and 50 pages BW flashcards (quarter page size) 30 pgs color and 30 pgs BWflashcards (six per page)
  • CONTENTS (Color and Black & White): -14 pairs of cards -Velar Fronting -14 pairs of cards for Final Consonant Deletion -12 pairs of cards for Weak Syllable Deletion -10 pairs of cards for Cluster Reduction -12 pairs of cards for Initial Consonant Deletion -12 pairs of cards for Voicing TWO SIZE VERSIONS: 50 pgs color & 50 pgs BW quarter page size 30 pgs color & 30 pgs BW six per page
  • CONTENTS (Color and Black & White): -14 pairs of cards -Velar Fronting -14 pairs of cards for Final Consonant Deletion -12 pairs of cards for Weak Syllable Deletion -10 pairs of cards for Cluster Reduction -12 pairs of cards for Initial Consonant Deletion -12 pairs of cards for Voicing TWO SIZE VERSIONS: 50 pgs color & 50 pgs BW quarter page size 30 pgs color & 30 pgs BW six per page
  • Using classic fables and nursery rhymes in speech therapy is a great way to teach story retell skills to young children, while continuing the tradition of oral story telling from our culture. 15 STORIES EACH CONTAIN: -Story Printable -Story Cards -Drawing to Describe -Writing to Describe PRODUCT CONTENTS Pg 3-6 – TARJETAS PARA CONTAR LOS CUENTOS Pg 7-12 – HICKORY DICKORY DOCK Pgs 13-17 – HUMPTY DUMPTY Pgs 18-24 – LA ARAÑA PEQUEÑITA Pg 25-30 – JUAN Y JUANITA and more!

Copyright © 2022 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs

 

Loading Comments...