The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Seniors in the Spring Semester

You can always make an advising appointment to discuss graduate school or career planning.

Finishing this semester

If you did not apply to graduate school, or if you aren’t planning to go to grad school this fall

  1. You can still make appointments with The Office of Career Planning or with me to talk about your path forward.
  2. Learn about applying for a speech-language pathology assistant license or audiology assistant license in Massachusetts, or check the licensing organization in the state where you live to find out more.

If you applied to graduate school

  1. If your friends hear back from programs but you don’t, don’t worry: this means you are on a waiting list. About half of last year’s class went to grad school off of a waiting list, so you are very much still in contention. I know waiting is hard, but you can do it!
    1. If you don’t hear by early April it is acceptable to contact the graduate program director at your top program. You can tell them that they are your first-choice program and ask if you can provide any additional information that will help them decide in your favor. If you choose to do this, be very polite and not pushy. Contact by email, not phone.
  2. If you have been accepted, congratulations! I know it’s hard to talk about with your SLHS friends (maybe they didn’t get in?) but you should find some people you can talk about it with and celebrate!
  3. Look at Cost of graduate school to help you calculate the total cost of graduate study. It is smart to make decisions about graduate study knowing the true costs. That is, if you graduate with a degree in SLP or AuD, you are going to get a job and will be able to pay back a loan. But you might incur enough debt that you won’t be buying a house in your 30s or whatever else you want to do with your life. So calculate costs. Assume that if a program was going to offer you money, they would do so in an admissions letter. (You might still get an assistantship or scholarship later, but it’s safer to calculate cost assuming there’s no assistantship or scholarship.)
  4. If you have been accepted, you typically have until April 15 to make a decision. The Council of Graduate Programs wrote an April 15 Resolution solidifying this date. However, the resolution clearly states that this decision date is only in effect 1) by its signatories (i.e., not all programs), and 2) for offers that include financial support. Therefore a school might ask for an earlier decision, and they are in their rights to do so.
    1. If you have been accepted at a program and they want you to make an immediate decision, you really only have three options: 1) accept the program and turn down all your other schools, 2) pay a deposit that you might forfeit if you choose a different program later, or 3) turn down the offer believing that a better one might happen. I’m happy to talk to you individually about this decision.
    2. Even if a school does not ask you to commit early, it’s a good idea to commit (or deny offers) as soon as you have made decisions. This is a good business practice and is also more kind to those students on waiting lists.
  5. Once you are sure about a program, commit there, and turn down everyone else. When you are telling programs no, don’t forget to write to programs where you are on the waiting list and tell them to take you out of contention. Make sure that you thank the admissions committees when you turn down acceptance offers.
  6. Also, even if you aren’t completely decided, if you’re into three programs and you definitely won’t be attending one of them, turn down the offer at that one school. e.g., Student A gets into UConn, UMass, and Northeastern. They aren’t sure about UMass vs Northeastern, but given that these are both options, they know they won’t be going to UConn. they should turn down UConn immediately.

Stay in touch!

You can always email me or make an appointment with me at https://umass.campus.eab.com if you want to talk.