Seniors

How to Be a Successful Senior In Communication Disorders

General Advice

• Room with people who are not in the major. Spend time with friends who are not in the major. And when you are talking with your friends who are in the major, consciously limit the amount of time you spend talking about grad school and/or career plans.
• It’s never too early – and never too late – to learn the skills to be a happy and successful adult.
• Put yourself out there: learn how to talk to new people.
• Give yourself a break. It’s okay to choose activities that make you happy over activities that “look good.” It’s okay to try new things and fail at them.
• Keep up with your daily study plans, study groups, extra-curricular activities, and make a point to meet your professors.

Summer Before Senior Year

• Start thinking about where you would like to live when you graduate. Begin investigating the job market and grad school possibilities.
• Check out the requirements for grad school at several programs. If the bulk of them are going to require a GRE score, it’s best to do that over the summer. Study a GRE prep book; then take the GREs.
• Talk with people you trust about your options for life after graduation.

September

• Make a grad school or career counseling meeting to discuss your options.
  • if you are pretty sure that grad school is your path, come to the meeting with a list of 15-20 programs that you have investigated, what you liked about them, and what you didn’t. Academic advising will then help you whittle that list down based on data from prior UMass students.
• If you decide not to apply to graduate school this year (either to take a gap year or to change to a different field):
  • investigate jobs and careers that are “adjacent” to communication disorders or where your communication disorders degree might benefit you.
  • look for an internship, club, or volunteer opportunity to give you experience to help your job search.
  • consider completing the SLPA Letter of Specialization.
• If you decide to apply to grad school this year:
  • read The Unwritten Rules of Applying to Graduate School in SLP
  • finalize your grad school list.
    • think about cost, location, and how happy you will be if you are a student there.
    • don’t apply to a program unless you would legitimately matriculate there.
  • look honestly at your GREs and ask if you should study and retake them.
  • revisit your personal statement and resumé. Make sure these documents introduce you to graduate programs in the way you want to be seen.

October

• If you decide to apply to graduate school this year:
  • Make a meeting with SPHHS Career office to go over your resume and personal statement. They can help with general advice! However, make sure you also check with departmental advising and follow the Unwritten Rules of Applying to Graduate School in SLP/AuD.
  • Start applications to the schools you are applying to so that you understand the process.
  • Ask professors for letters of recommendation. It is best to send an email that says that you would like to meet with the professor to discuss a letter of recommendation. Ask straight out: don’t beat around the bush.
    • Some professors will agree to meet, in which case you should arrive for that meeting with a list of programs you intend to apply to and any other information they might ask for (a copy of your transcript, a copy of your resumé).
    • Other professors will say that they don’t need to meet, in which case you can send that information via email.
    • Don’t forget, you need 2-3 letters of recommendation, at least 2 of which MUST be from academic sources. At least one of your academic letters should be in-major, but the other could be from someone outside the field with whom you have a good relationship. If you cannot ask for a letter from an academic source that will address your professional skills, then it is okay to get one from a boss or internship supervisor (but not from someone you nanny for). Make sure the professional reference understands that they should address your professional and communication skills.

November

• If you decide to apply to graduate school this year:
  • Finish your personal statements and resumé.
  • Submit your applications. If possible, submit all of your applications on the same day, this helps your letter writers.
• If you decide not to apply to graduate school this year:
  • Register for classes for second semester that will help you prepare for the job market.
• Double-check your ARR to make sure that you have taken or are registered for all the courses you will need to graduate.

December

• Rock your final exams. Then take a break.

January

• Use intercession to do some job shadowing and informational interviewing, or to participate in a service project.
• Make a plan for second semester that includes self-reflection and de-stressing time and activities.

February

• Attend an informational session on interviewing. Get a list of possible interview questions, and start thinking about the answers.
• If you decided to apply to graduate school this year:
  • People will start hearing back from graduate programs. Find a group of friends with whom you can talk about the grad school process without being afraid of offending them (because you got into a program they didn’t, or whatever).
  • Prepare for grad school interviews if you get them.

March

• If you get accepted to graduate school:
  • Double-check your finances. For each school, ask yourself what cost of living will be, and then calculate how you will pay for cost of living plus tuition.
  • Visit the programs where you have been accepted and make sure you will be happy there.
  • If you are accepted into program you will not attend, tell them to remove your name from consideration as soon as you haven made that decision.
  • If you still aren’t sure where you want to go, meet with people you trust to go over your options.
• If you applied to graduate school and haven’t been accepted:
  • Hang on – until you are denied, you are waitlisted.
  • Put Plan B into action: get your resumé together and attend the SPHHS Career Fair.
• If you did not apply to graduate school:
  • Make a meeting with Career Services to look over your resumé.
  • Start using online databases to search for possible jobs.
  • Attend the SPHHS Career Fair to network with professionals in the Health Sciences and perhaps interview for jobs.

April

• If you have been accepted into graduate school:
  • make your decision and put down a deposit. Tell other programs to remove you from consideration.
  • Send thank-you notes to your letter writers telling them where you will be matriculating.
  • look for summer employment unless you are attending a summer-start program.
• If you are waitlisted:
  • put Plan B into action, but remember that many programs do a round of admits off the waitlist after April 15.
• If you did not apply to graduate school:
  • Send out your resumé. Interview for positions.
  • Meet with professors from whom you might want a letter of recommendation in the next few years, and tell them your plans.

May

• Celebrate your graduation! Regardless of your future path, this is a fabulous accomplishment.