Name: Kellie Brooke School: University of Florida Program: Doctorate of Audiology Year: 1st Year Clinical Interests: A little bit of everything! Haven’t found anything I don’t like yet! What do you enjoy most about UF’s program? Two things: the faculty and clinic rotations. I didn’t meet many of the faculty since PhD students taught all of my undergrad audiology classes. The clinicians really are WONDERFUL! They genuinely want to see you succeed and go the extra mile to make sure you understand what you are doing. I have never felt unprepared with a patient. Second, we graduate with close to 1000 hours of hands-on clinical experience. That’s more than I’ve seen in any other program - and prepares you for your externship! From the very first day we are in clinic working with real patients. Other programs you have to wait until your second year before you ever see a real patient! That was definitely a big selling point for UF! What clinical experiences do UF and the Gainesville area have to offer? I was actually surprised by all the options we have in Gainesville! Like I mentioned, you start your first day of grad school in clinic! Some options are Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants, ENT office at Hampton Oaks, Newborn Hearing Screenings, Auditory Processing Disorders, Vestibular ENG, Pediatric and Adult Aural Rehabilitation, Veteran’s Administration, Living with Hearing Loss classes, and more! How prepared did you feel going into grad school? Man, that’s a tough one! It’s a totally different ball game now. In undergrad, everything was rote memorization. You made up acronyms to pass your tests and forgot the material the next day. You can’t do that in graduate school. You learn how to study so that you really REMEMBER the information because one day you’ll see a patient and you’ll need to know what to do. The very first day my anatomy and physiology class we covered everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, I’d ever learned in undergrad - that sure was an eye opener. But now halfway through the semester I am comfortable with the material. The best way to prepare yourself is to come in with an open mind and ready to learn! I’ve learned more in two months than I ever could have imagined! How do you feel your grades, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, resume, etc. affected you during the application process? I had a great GPA and standard GRE scores. I think the most important thing is your personal statement and letters of rec! That’s definitely what they weight the most. I was accepted to schools over other people with higher GRE scores – they aren’t everything!! Also, UF was very interested that we had previous observation experience in audiology. It’s impossible to figure out what the schools are thinking. I was accepted to some of my reach schools and then denied by safety schools. Bring as much as you can to the table because you never know what may catch their eye! Any tips for the application process? Get letters of recommendation EARLY!!! I cannot stress that enough. Many professors put a cap on how many they write. I would recommend taking the GRE twice. Most people I know did much better the second time because they are more comfortable and less anxious. When applying to out of state schools really consider the cost! It’s unrealistic to graduate with $150,000 of debt! That was a big reason I stayed in state! What do you wear to class and clinic? Class is casual, pretty much the same as undergrad. You can wear nice clothes or gym clothes. They don’t care. Clinic however, you must dress professional. Slacks with a nice shirt or a dress and closed toe flats. They are pretty strict on dress code, but they go over all that with you in orientation. Does being in grad school make Gainesville feel any different? YES! This was something I was really worried about when I decided to stay at UF. But you are so busy with class and clinic, and I have 13 new best friends! I don’t go to all the same places I did when I was in undergrad either. You can make it a completely new experience! Any last tips or comments? RELAX! You will end up exactly where you are supposed to! Get your applications done early and enjoy the rest of your senior year! If you have any suggestions for next month's grad school spotlight or any questions you want me to start asking, please email me at [email protected]. Thanks!
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AuthorNSSLHA at UF Archives
February 2018
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