<p>My D is a good student - one who really has to work for her grades. She is interested in speech therapy and is going between Ithaca College and University of Delaware (and maybe Towson or U Mass Amherst). </p>
<p>She likes to party (a little drinking) but is a down to earth girl and does not enjoy boastful, "attitudey" girls. She wants a school where she would have a great social life, friendly and accepting atmosphere, and where she would not be destroyed by an overwhelmingly difficult coursework.</p>
<p>Any suggestions or advice about these schools is very much appreciated.</p>
<p>I graduated from the U of Del 28 years ago and loved it. I was challenged because I took a lot of business and science classes, but I did learn to adjust. It was the perfect size and most all classes are on main campus. It is very social and not as academically stressful as some other schools, unless you are a chem eng major. I also have a friend whose daughter is now graduating after 6 years in speech path from JMU. She loves it. BTW, I was oos at Del. Most kids there are from Del, NJ or Maryland, just so you know.</p>
<p>Of the ones you mentioned, I favor UMass - Amherst mostly for the ability to take classes at nearby schools including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mt. Holyoke and Smith. As you know, a masters degree is required for a speech pathologist, so it’s advantageous to have a more well rounded undergraduate program before going to grad school - at least that my thinking. </p>
<p>Others to consider:</p>
<p>Big schools - University of Maryland and Penn State</p>
<p>Boston schools - BU, Northeastern and Emerson College (Jay Leno majored in Speech Pathology there.)</p>
<p>Actually, I’m a speech pathologist…and this is not necessarily true. Spots in masters programs are very limited for applying students. There are not enough spots for students who want to get accepted into these masters programs. Students who enroll in a 6 year program from the get go are in a better position. Not all schools offer this. Some require students to take specified courses during their freshman year and THEN apply as majors. Anyway…there are a ton of required undergrad courses that speech paths have to take. “Well rounded” is in the context of the speech pathology preparation courses. While it might be nice to be able to take advantage of consortium course selections, in my experience, undergrad speech path majors won’t have the time for that.</p>
<p>Delaware and Ithaca have good programs. They are both in smaller towns but Ithaca is really in the boonies. If your kid wants to be nearer to larger metro areas, Ithaca is probably not a good choice. We begged our son to apply there for their music conservatory…and he politely said “why would I drive four and a half hours through the boondocks to get to the boondocks.” He wanted to be in an urban area or at least be close to an urban area.</p>
<p>Your daughter needs to make this decision. Both schools are fine and I believe both have accredited speech path programs. And in both cases, there are options to change majors if she decides speech path is not for her.</p>
<p>UDel is less expensive even for OOS than Ithaca.</p>
<p>my sister got her masters in Speech Pathology at UMass Amherst. She said the grad program was phenomenal. At the time she told me that she thought the school would have been overwhelming as an undergrad though because it is so big.</p>
<p>The UMass Amherst program has some great faculty. Shelley Veleman used to teach there (I think she still does) and she is well known for her work with apraxic students. </p>
<p>Bottom line is…get good undergrad preparation and be well prepared to apply to grad schools.</p>
<p>I currently go to Ithaca College and I love it. I have found plenty of people who like to relax on the weekends and hang around, or go out to party. I find the coursework challenging (I am in the HSHP department) yet doable. There are various kind of people, and for the campus not being that big I find the student body diverse.</p>
<p>I can give more specific info if needed. :)</p>
<p>S0ad illustrates the importance of perspective. S/he loves Ithaca, which is wonderful. Many kids do. My D is at UDel, and loves the fact that she can easily reach cities and beaches. When we visited Ithaca she looked around as asked “Why are we here?” Definitely visit before deciding.</p>