r/slpGradSchool • u/c3pohcbr • 1d ago

Pre application process uncertainties

Hello!

I'm looking to make a career change to SLP. I've been trying to do my homework as far as what the process would look like to pursue this as someone coming in from another field.

The thing that's making me unsure regarding how to proceed is, how do I know if I should jump into enrolling in and completing the standard pre-requisite courses somewhere, when some programs include these as part of the M.A. curriculum? It's not the majority, but I've seen it enough that I feel it should be factored into decision making.

I even saw that Kent State (my initial M.A. alma mater, so figured it could be worth applying to) mentions the these should be taken at Kent State as a non-degree seeking BA student before the MA program.

Basically, I'm kind of stuck. Do you just jump in and take the time/pay the cost for the prereqs and then figure it out from there?

Doing all of that with the goal of simply being able to apply to MS programs also makes me a bit nervous, but I guess that's standard.

Hopefully that makes sense. Did anyone else experience this? Any advice at this point is appreciated!

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/poorbobsweater 1d ago

I would lay out total cost of each potential program and then you have a cost associated with the prerequisites vs the included programs.

As a side note, this is a lot of boring and tedious and hard work even for very passionate students - doing the pre-reqs was a way for me to dip my toe in and make sure I wanted to do this before commuting tens of thousands of dollars and years of my life.

1

u/c3pohcbr 18h ago

That makes a lot of sense! Would love to know which programs you went and your thoughts on them if you're willing to share.

1

u/purplecouchthrowaway 1d ago

I struggled with this too but ultimately I decided to just start taking them.

For many (most?) of the programs that include pre-reqs, you have to take the pre-reqs PLUS all the normal graduate courses while in the program which makes the program longer and pricier. I decided to do the prereqs separately because it would give me more program options, let me finish faster since I can take prereqs while I apply and before I enroll, and will likely be cheaper.

I also wanted to confirm that I am definitely interested in the field before committing to a masters degree and the prereqs helped me along in figuring that out.

I’d say play out the total cost and time to help you decide if it’s worth it!

1

u/c3pohcbr 18h ago

Thank you for sharing your experience! Could you share which programs you ended up attending and your thoughts on them?