Advice for SLP Grad Students

I remember around this time two years ago, I was scouring the internet for any blog posts/articles/Pinterest graphics to help me through my first year of grad school and the experience as a whole. I was extremely nervous and eager to start and I felt like I needed to be as prepared as possible before this crazy journey began.

I was heading to the University of Delaware to start my program as a Blue Hen. Having graduated from Temple just a few months before, I was still in “school mode”. I am forever thankful to have gotten into a program right after undergrad, but I know that’s not the case for a lot of students. Getting into a program is such a huge deal, you feel like you have to be immensely prepared for whatever comes during these next two years.

Having finished grad school, I can now see with clearer eyes what things helped me and what things were just nervous over-planning before the start of something big. Here’s my advice for new SLP grad students:

1. Keep an open mind.

I say this one a lot to anyone who reaches out to me or asks me what my “biggest piece of advice” is for new grad students. This one is huge and I think it’s so important. Grad school is a time to experiment with your interests and learn everything there is to know about the field. You probably won’t like some of it. It’s not the end of the world if you find out you hate working on articulation or analyzing an MBS. But keep an open mind the whole time. Try new things, even if you think you know exactly where you want to work and what you want to do after graduation.

2. Try everything.

Going along with “keep an open mind”, is “try everything”. You’ve never had a voice client before? You have no idea where to begin? Good! Go for it. Working with kids intimidates you? Good! Get uncomfortable. The best learning experiences for me in grad school ended up growing from the times I felt the most intimidated/out of my league. If you’re offered a new opportunity, seize it. It’s the beauty of grad school! Your experience is all about what you make it; it’s highly unlikely someone is going to hold your hand through it.

3. Expose yourself to more SLPs

In my opinion, it’s an amazing thing to expose yourself to as many SLPs as possible while you’re in grad school, whether it’s in person or online. I joined Facebook groups for speech-language pathologists and students while I was in undergrad. I think it helped me IMMENSELY. Just exposing myself to the terminology, different scenarios, etc. helped me a ton in school. For a while, I had no idea what the SLPs were talking about, but as I moved through my schooling I learned more and soon started reading the posts for advice and ideas. Going hand-in-hand with Facebook groups is Instagram accounts. I made a SLP Instagram account right before I started grad school. I wanted to be able to follow tons of SLPs and save their ideas for inspiration later on.

4. Save stuff for later!

I’m not talking about your textbooks… I’m talking about relevant journal articles, materials, and ideas. Sure you might not have a client who stutters right now, but once you do, you might want to utilize that idea or article. Part of being able to do this is to stay organized on your laptop or Google Drive. Sorting articles/PowerPoints by topic can help a lot later! I also talked about my Amazon Wishlist in this post. Definitely one of the best ideas I had during grad school. Any time a guest lecturer or SLP mentioned a great toy or book, I saved it to my Amazon Wishlist. I also saved go-to materials I used in the clinic and during my clinical placements so I wouldn’t be racking my brain for things later.

5. You’ll be fine.

After finishing the program, I can honestly say that the worst part is behind you. Applying to grad school was one of the most stressful times in my entire life. Once I got in, nothing could compare. Sure you are going to have some late nights and stressful moments throughout grad school, but none of your professors or supervisors want to see you fail. As long as you try and put in your best effort, you’ll be absolutely fine.

6. Enjoy yourself.

This goes hand-in-hand with number 5. Enjoy yourself these next few weeks. Find a good planner, read a few books, binge watch some Netflix and try not to hype yourself up too much for your first day. You 100% know more than you think you do. And if you don’t remember something, you’ll have plenty of time and resources to figure it out. I found it was pointless to re-read textbooks and go over notes in the weeks leading up to grad school. You have TWO WHOLE YEARS to study and freak out. Try to relax and enjoy this accomplishment!

As always, I’m here if you need anything! And I’ll be sharing my CF experience on my Instagram: @speechwithkayla.