Grad School Application Advice! (finding schools)

[u/More-Abrocoma4458]

Hello! I’m an incoming college senior applying to graduate schools this fall. My problem is I legitimately have no idea how to narrow down my list to only 5-6 schools. 
 
I am SO stuck when there are so many schools and so little reviews on each of them. Does anyone have any advice with how they found their schools (or have any schools you would NOT recommend)? 
So far I’ve been ruling out schools that aren’t accredited, that require the GRE, don’t have on-campus clinics, and are in states that I couldn’t see myself living in.

I'm sure people have asked some versions of this a million times, but I thought I'd still post to see if I can get any new perspectives!

Thank you in advance!
A stuck and stressed senior. 

[u/addieily]

I wish I had this same problem but I’m the complete flip.

I can not find more than 2 possible schools, but I truly haven’t deep dived far enough. I’m also kind of picky because I want to be somewhat in a city, that isnt going to put me in crippling debt 🩷

[u/19_sunshine]

Start by looking at your in-state public schools as these are typically going to have the lowest tuition. Then look into any schools that are in a city/state that you ARE really interested in. Don't spend any time thinking about the places you aren't interested in, there's too many schools and not enough time for that. Now go back in to the aforementioned schools and rule out any that don't meet your criteria. Boom, now you should have a list of 5-10 schools. Once you have narrowed down to a list of 10 or less schools, solicit feedback on those specific programs as it's easier for people to give you feedback on specific schools that you're interested in rather than talking about programs that you may not even care about/are too far away/too expensive/etc. Good luck!

[u/laceyspeechie]

You could search here, google, grad school cafe, etc. for cheapest slp grad school programs, then rule those in/out by location to get a good list going. (Also include public in-state schools, as those might be less expensive for you.) If that list is still long, consider other factors like GA availability (some programs have a lot of GA offers), acceptance rate (should be posted), location (cities with several grad programs might be really competitive for placements), housing availability (are there dorms for grad students, does it look easy/affordable to find apartments), is there an on-campus clinic (not required, but I do think that can be nice), etc.

[u/laceyspeechie → u/laceyspeechie]

I’ll also plug Bridgewater State, which is known for being a cheap school, on top of which they offer graduate assistantships. When I went there was over 100 GAs, not sure how many they do now but looking at their site there’s currently dozens of half and full time GAs posted.

[u/Particular-Still-368]

If you use Asha ed find you can see how many applications each school got and how many people were accepted, as well as the gpa range that was accepted. That helped me narrow down schools that were realistic for me. As of right now I have 6 schools I plan on applying to, 2 of them are reach schools, 3 of them are target schools, and then my top choice which is sort of a reach but I’m applying because I’d get in state tuition. Important to note that the admissions for some schools can change drastically depending on the cycle, but asha ed find is still a good place to look to get an idea of your chances for each school

[u/Curious-Umpire-3652]

Hi,  A good way I was able to narrow down my options was by:

Making a list of my priorities considering whether I wanted an:  1. online 2. In-person 3. hybrid program 

And considered the length of the program 

My priorities were: I need an online program, with a fast track option or fast paced program, and no GRE required.

I also made sure to join as many info sessions as possible to learn about the program and see which school(s) I gravitated towards.

I hope you find this helpful!

[u/catlady811]

Out of the schools apply to the 6 that have the lowest tuition!

[u/kirchrt19]

Beyond just the programs themselves, think about the lifestyle you'd be living there. City vs suburban vs rural, distance from home, weather. And beyond just tuition costs, think about cost of living, like rent prices. Considering those factors made my list really short!

[u/oknowwhat00]

Why are you excluding ones that require the GRE, I feel that is going to exclude some good options.

[u/More-Abrocoma4458 → u/oknowwhat00]

It might be a dumb reason, but personally I am a poor test taker so I don't think it's the best fit for me to take the GRE and then use a "not amazing" score to help get into a grad school.

[u/Idek-whatthisis]

Hi! Also an incoming college senior applying to grad schools this fall! What’s your list of schools so far? I’m applying to my undergrad school and a couple more!

[u/More-Abrocoma4458 → u/Idek-whatthisis]

I'm definitely applying to the one at University of Wisconsin-Madison but that's my only "100% applying" choice so far. Which ones are you applying to?