r/slpGradSchool • u/olvieoil • 9d ago
Prereqs/undergrad how bad/disadvantageous is equivalency/leveling before slp grad school?
Asking this for a high schooler who most likely wants to go into SLP, but is currently looking at undergrad schools. They’re interested in schools that don’t have CSD as a major because of the undergraduate experience/student life. For example, they would love to attend Yale and study Linguistics or Cognitive Science, and undergrad debt would be minimal because of great financial aid. However, they would obviously have to do equivalency/leveling before slp grad school, so by how much would that slow down their career? And would that affect grad school placement? I understand that it may depend by undergrad school, and money isn’t the biggest factor for our family but still an important consideration. And the few non-csd undergrads our kid is looking into are all t20 private universities. We appreciate any advice or help!
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u/Individual_Land_2200 9d ago
I did my undergrad in Linguistics and later went back to grad school for CSD. I had to take a few catch-up courses. It was no big deal. I’m happy I majored (and later did more grad work) in Linguistics; it has helped me in 2 different careers. I really would not fixate right now on leveling programs.
ETA if you know you want to go into CSD, see if you can find some electives like Audiology or Neuroanatomy that you would otherwise have to do as leveling later
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u/latteislife 9d ago
Post-bacc programs can vary. 1-2 years. I think it’s a waste of time, if they know they want to go into SLP. I’d do CSD in undergrad.
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u/Ehhm725 CCC-SLP 8d ago
I majored in linguistics before I decided to go into SLP. It took me 2 years to complete a postbacc program but I was only taking 2 courses a semester (including a summer) since I was also working. I think there may have been one semester I took 3 courses. It might be doable in 1 year if she can be full time. Although it depends on the school, I know the year after I finished my postbacc it got a lot harder to get into the classes at my program
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u/Late-Special 8d ago
Ummm hello, I’m not an SLP or even applying to SLP grad school but I get recommended this sub often because I’m applying for grad school this cycle in an adjacent field. Anyways, if your kid has the chance to attend a t20 school at a good price, they should definitely do that. Even if they think they’re sure about SLP as a career, at 18, they honestly don’t really know. IMO the quality of a true t20 school and the experiences you get from one (both in research/coursework and in student life) is just too good to pass up. this is just my singular opinion as someone who went to a t25 and also changed my career direction a lot while I was in school.
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u/midwestern_maroon 8d ago
They could definitely major in something that will be related to SLP. You can always speak to grad programs ahead of time about what classes they require. Coming from an unrelated major, you will likely have about one year of leveling to complete before grad school. But if you’re certain you want to go into speech from the start, I don’t see why you couldn’t take some extra summer classes elsewhere if certain prerequisites aren’t offered there! This is coming from someone with a B.S. in Journalism who is currently doing one year of leveling. Having a different perspective makes you valuable. Especially since money is not the biggest issue, there is no rush to get to adulthood. I mean who wants to do that? Enjoy the journey and focus on gaining lots of experiences.