Important Factors to Consider When Committing to a Program

WOOHOO! Now that I’ve been accepted into a couple of programs, how do I decide which program is best suited for me?
This was one of the toughest decisions for me.

1. First off, congratulations on getting accepted into not just one but multiple programs! One of the first helpful things I did was contact program directors and seek ways to connect with faculty members and possible classmates to get a sense of how the program is run.
   • Does the prospective program offer tours to meet some of the faculty and answer questions that I might have? If not, will I have access to any of the faculty members and/or program directors? I took the initiative to reach out to program directors for any questions I had regarding the program. My program director was also very helpful and created a google group where all the accepted candidates could communicate and talk amongst ourselves for any questions we had in regards to starting the program (e.g. which neighborhoods people were thinking about moving to, bringing a car, how best to find potential roommates).
   • The two programs I was deciding between both offered a tour and/or luncheon to meet staff and faculty as well as become acquainted with how the program was run. While this option might seem expensive and time-consuming with the travel and accommodation fees, I do believe that it’s important to go to get a sense of how the program is run and how the campus feels. It also gives you a chance to explore the city you would potentially be living in if you haven’t been before.
     • Remember, this is a future investment for the next two years of your life and will probably impact more than just the two years that you’re there.
2. While I just mentioned above that this is a future investment, it’s also important to consider tuition cost when you’re deciding between programs. If you don’t have financial support from your loved ones, the government loans available have a HIGH interest rate, and our salaries as speech-language pathologists (especially when completing our clinical fellowship), are not high.
   • For reference, my job as a clinical fellow was offering me $36/hour at a skilled nursing facility in Brooklyn. Calculating plans to pay back loans over an X-year plan can help determine whether the program is worth it to attend. I know that U.S. News and World Report has a list of top-rated graduate programs for speech-language pathology, but unless your program isn’t accredited, I wouldn’t take the rankings too seriously.
     
3. The graph above is one created by The Wall Street Journal which calculates if tuition costs are worth paying based on graduates’ salaries one year post graduation. This information is useful to determine how/if a certain program’s degree impacts one’s future earnings after graduation and can provide insight when deciding if the program is a worthwhile investment. In other words, does having a degree from Northwestern University matter to employers enough to give you a higher salary than someone who graduated from University of Central Florida?
   • Here is the link so you can input your prospective programs and determine if they’re worth attending: https://www.wsj.com/articles/which-college-graduates-make-the-most-11574267424?shareToken=st698265def9a24787845c1f24f4561d8f
4. Is my program in a large city and typically how large is a graduating class? While being a big city may be enticing to some people, it also has its downsides. Big cities often are saturated with other graduate programs and other students looking to complete their clinical hours required to graduate. One of the questions I would ask program directors is how difficult is it to place students in their externships and if preference (i.e. if you’re interested in a hospital versus school placement) is heavily factored when placing students in their clinical placements.

What if I’ve only been accepted to one program and it seems to be too expensive or not worth it to attend? Should I take a year off and re-apply next year?
I asked my research professor in undergrad this question since he’s on the admissions board for a master’s program in speech-language pathology. What I’ve been hearing from not only him but other faculty members is that unless you do something incredibly meaningful with that one year (e.g. getting involved with Teach For America or create some sort of amazing project), your application after taking a year off will not look as competitive as the others who have just graduated from undergrad.

That being said, I know deferring your acceptance to graduate schools for a year is also an option if finances are a concern for you. If you feel that going straight from undergrad to graduate school isn’t financially responsible in your situation, I would look into it. Just to be clear, you would still have to go through the entire process of applying to graduate schools and then after being accepted to programs, reach out to them to see if deferring is an option.

Deciding which program to attend is a serious and big decision! Take your time and try to get all the information you can before making a decision. Asking for my loved ones’ advice also helped me. Congrats again on making it this far!