Juniors

How to be a Successful Junior in SLHS

General Advice

• 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.
• Put in the work studying and learning, especially in your SLHS classes. Not only is it important to show grad schools and employers that you know how to commit to being a student, you will eventually use what you have learned when working with clients!
• Begin to familiarize yourself with the grad school process. Check out these The Unwritten Rules of Applying to Graduate School in SLP

Specifically, during your Junior year, you should:

• Some time during Junior Year, take Junior Year Writing and begin a draft of your personal statement and resumé.
• Keep up with your daily study plans, study groups, extra-curricular activities, and and make a point to meet your professors.

Fall (if you aren’t abroad)

• Make an advising appointment to discuss graduate study or with Career Services to discuss non-SLP/AuD options. Think of this as a check-in: look honestly at your transcript and your resumé and ask what else you might do to make yourself more competitive on the job or graduate school market.
• If you haven’t already done so, consider getting involved in research or as a teaching assistant. Learn about research interests in the department, and talk with your professors about possible opportunities.
• If you haven’t already done so, set up an account for alumni networking. Ask alumni and other professionals you meet if you can job shadow or do an informational interview. Use these experiences to learn about the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology, but also about other health care and/or education fields.

Spring (if you aren’t abroad)

• Go back to https://www.umass.edu/careers/planning and take another self-assessment. Look at the differences between this year and your freshman year, and think about the ways you have grown and changed during your time at UMass. Ask yourself honestly who you want to be when you grow up, and consider a variety of paths to get there.
• Make a list of adjectives that describe the best you. Then look at your resumé and ask where you are showing these to potential employers. Add another activity or an internship if that will help.
• Consider doing an internship or volunteer opportunity during your Senior year, or look for a summer job that will help you make some career decisions.
• Have a serious conversation with Kat and/or Gwyneth about whether a gap is right for you. Have that same conversation with trusted family or friends. Think seriously about the benefits of taking a gap and the benefits of going straight to grad school.
• If going directly from undergraduate to graduate school in SLP or AuD is right for you, mid-March is the time when it is okay to start looking at graduate programs. You want a program that is accredited by the Council for Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, so the best place to start looking is here: https://find.asha.org/ed/#sort=relevancy. If programs have spring information sessions open to Juniors (many will not), you should attend them.

Summer (before your Senior year)

• Start thinking about where you would like to live when you graduate. Begin investigating the job market and grad school possibilities. Use this link as a starting point for graduate schools, but spend a lot of time on the web pages of different programs.
• When you look at grad schools, notice if they require the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). If you see that in several places, plan to take your GRE exams over the summer.
• Talk with people you trust about your options for life after graduation.