MSc Speech & Language Therapy 2022 at City, University Of London

anonymous199911

Hi Ladies and Gentlemens,
I’ve recently just had an interview for MSc in Speech and Language Therapy at City. I’ve been told I’ve been put on the waiting list with no indication where on the list I am. It’s already been a few weeks now. I kind of feel like being on the waiting list is worst than being rejected because right now it feel torture waiting and like it’s dragging out the inevitable of not getting a place come august 2022. I don’t know what to do. Is anyone who’s applied the on the waiting list? Have you heard anything? Is anyone who’s been offered a firm place? What’s the likely hood of my getting place ?
This suck so much. I’ve already had 5 anxiety attacks because of this. It would be nice to talk about this.

Reply 1

j0hnlock5eva

Hi there,

First of all, I'm really sorry that you didn't secure the place on the course. What you've written is the exact same experience I faced last year after applying and interviewing with City. I got the email that I was on the waiting list the day after my interview and it honestly felt like the end of the world (pretty sure I spent the next 2 weeks crying non-stop). The fact that I hadn't secured a place was a spanner in the works to my life plans and like you said, being put onto the waiting list felt a lot worse than being rejected outright. In fact, I had to block the SHS email address for a bit because the update emails were raising my anxiety levels through the roof so I empathise with you 100%. It took a while for me to accept what had happened and look forwards to the future.

Even though I badly wanted to get a place, I decided to plan to improve my chances of getting into the course the next time round if I didn't get through (spoiler: I didn't) which ultimately led me to being accepted last December, ready to start this September 2022. Here's what I did and what you could also do.

1) Evaluated my experience and changed it to better meet the applicant requirements.

It was clear that I most likely did not have as much experience as other applicants, mainly due to me graduating in the midst of the pandemic. I had listed trial days, a SLT workshop and personal experience with a sibling who is Autistic but that was not enough. I decided to get as much experience as possible from the next job that I started. I led phonics groups, comprehension interventions, did 1 to 1 interventions, guided reading, anything that would allow me to be gain the necessary transferrable skills that would boost my application. If you're working in a school, do ask senior leadership or your line manager if you can shadow an SLT when they're at your school - it was a lot easier to approach them for a shadowing opportunity as a member of staff rather than a member of the public. If you don't work in education, Aphasic has volunteering spaces for a summer camp for year 6 children who stammer where you can work alongside SLTs. Also being a befriender or communication supporter for the Stroke Association is fairly simple to get involved in and will likely be face to face now.

2) Interview practice

When I think about my first interview I physically recoil in pain at how unprepared I was. I had VERY little interview practise and was visibly nervous. I forgot or messed up a lot of the points (and terminology) I had prepared to speak about due to my nervousness. Ultimately, I think these factors let me down alongside my lack of experience. Also, I realised that there were lots of points that I was not specific about all in my first application and so it seemed like I poorly understood the profession. For example, I gave a vague explanation of what a SLT is in my first interview but next time round I gave a detailed explanation including their potential client bases, their role within the NHS, etc (sorry I can't go in further because you can't share interview details unfortunately). When you're ready, think about your own interview and if there were any questions where you did not/were not able to give detailed responses and think if there is any further research on terminology or disorders, etc you could do if you need to do the interview again. I also practised my interview skills a lot with colleagues and friends If you are in contact with any SLTs or any educators/senior colleagues ask them to interview with you and give you constructive criticism - practising with lots of people can help build up your confidence and some of these people may have experience with interviewing candidates in general.

3) Don't give up but be prepared.

Being on the waiting list is a weird position to be in - you're kind of in limbo. In this case, you have to be able to give yourself all the options available. Make sure you spend the time up to August gaining that experience and those transferrable skills/interview skills. If you get the place, then you can move on with your developed skillset, and look forward to starting your journey to SLT. If not, you have so much to support you the next time you apply. Although it's not the nicest thing to think about, it something you have to prepare for and if it does happen, please don't feel disheartened. SLT is a very competitive course (something I didn't realise until much later!) and lots of candidates have been accepted after their 2nd (like me) or 3rd go applying or after YEARS in the workforce so they have had more time to build their experience. Do not feel bad if you have to apply again. SLT is an amazing career choice and the fact that you are so worried about your place shows to me how badly you want it. Guessing from your username, you are a similar age to me and I know the one thing that made me feel even worse was graduating at an older age than I had planned to - I've soon come to realise that my maturity in age and my experience is something that allow me to have more confidence in my practise as a SLT. These setbacks will be temporary, you just need to keep on pushing forward.

Sorry for all the words (and the hideous 2014 username), it seems like I can only articulate myself through ramblings. I hope these words are a source of comfort to you in a difficult time and I hope that your passion for SLT continues to grow regardless of what happens come August.

Good luck :smile: