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The application deadline for our Master of Science in Communication Disorders program is fast approaching. All materials must be postmarked by February 15 to be considered for admission to this program. Communication Disorders applicants must provide a current resume, answer an essay question, submit GRE scores, provide three letters of recommendation, and submit transcripts from all schools attended. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us at gradapp@emerson.edu!

As the semester is coming to an end, I'm thinking about how I ended up here, right now, and how I'm going to get through the next few months. First of all, I remember my senior year in undergrad when I couldn't decide where to go to grad school. I was so indecisive I sat down with the head of the department here after a NSSLHA meeting and talked to him about the pros and cons of each school, including Emerson. He gave me such insight that I took for granted his attempt to be unbiased. Then, the next day when I rode the elevator with him, he said "You know, I was thinking about our conversation last night, and you should just come here!" I love the sense of community at Emerson and how the professors treat you as colleagues, friends, and mentors.

Having been an undergraduate admission counselor and having read undergraduate applications, I come to the admission process with a unique perspective. While the graduate admission process is different and the people reading the applications are the faculty, I think that I can offer some advice from my own experience.

I have come to realize that what people get the most nervous about are the things they have little control over at this point. For instance, you are either good at taking standardized tests or not; other than studying and preparing as much as you can, there's little else you can do to influence those scores. Also, your GPA: while you were in undergrad, not knowing what you wanted to do as a career, you worried only about passing and didn't step it up until you figured out you should go to grad school your senior year. There's nothing you can do about that now.

But there are some things that you can change. And that's what you should focus on in your application.

Because I'm living at home with my parents here in Massachusetts, I will be celebrating Thanksgiving the same as always, with some extra studying on the side. Every year I go to my fiance's house for Thursday Thanksgiving dinner with his family. We grew up going to the rival high school football games and coming home to a turkey dinner. Now I love that I can sleep in and watch the parade from the comfort of a couch and not sit out in the cold all morning at the football game just waiting for some good homemade stuffing and pie.

Once I decided to pursue a career in Speech-Language pathology at the start of my sophomore year of undergraduate work, I knew I was in for the long haul. I considered taking a break, some time off to earn some money and work, but I knew if I did, it would be even harder to return. So I decided to just plug along and get all my schooling done with. I chose to stay in Boston to save money by living at home, so that helped me to figure out where to apply.

Now, as I'm counting down the days until I'm done in May, I'm beginning to really think about where I see myself in 7 months and what exactly I want to be doing. I came into the program wanting to work with deaf and hard-of-hearing kids and have had a lot of experience in that so far with my various placements over that last year and a half. However, I'm hoping to spice it up a little next semester with an adult placement before I go out into a more permanent position. My classes this semester are really pretty interesting: AAC ( Alternative & Augmentatitve Communication), Fluency Disorders, and Cognitive Communication Disorders. However I'm looking forward to my aural rehab class in the spring since that's really what I am most interested in. I've had to wait a year and half to learn about it in class!

Fall has always been my favorite season. Besides featuring the newness of a new school year and my birthday (which was a lot more exciting when I was a kid, but is still great), it's also my favorite season for weather and scenery. Going apple-picking and leaf-peeping is always so fun! However, the last couple years in Boston I have, for some reason, lost the excitement that comes with the fall. I have just been so busy and constantly going that I haven't really taken the time to step back and enjoy it. Maybe it's the grad school thing!