Audiology SOP!
1. Is anyone else applying for an AuD?? I want to know everything! What schools are you applying to, etc.
2. I JUST finished my SOP so this is a pretty rough draft.. it will seem lofty compared to most of yours because honestly I think my field is a little loftier haha. I also e-mailed this to a few of my professors for a review. Thanks in advance to any input!!
When I came to the University of Central Florida I had a dream to become a pediatrician. I was looking forward to working with children. After a few semesters I was filled with something unfamiliar, self-doubt. After being a good student my entire life I was struggling and none of my classes were interesting me. The courses were not exciting and the passion wasn’t there.
About five semesters later, the basic courses were completed. I had a realization, I had to face something that I strongly dislike: defeat. Molecular and Microbiology was not the major for me. I decided to try something that had sparked my interest back in high school when I volunteered at Martin Memorial Hospital my senior year, Communicative Disorders. I took the introductory class called Communicative Disorders in Media and Literature and it changed my life. It was like a light bulb went off, it was related to the medical field I desired, but with a different twist. The hands on aspect of the field combined with the thoughts of helping others. My grades improved, my spirits lifted. I began to question myself about my new interests, was this me? Helping people with challenges? I needed to find out. I volunteered for a Down Syndrome Association of Florida and United Cerebral Palsy as well as doing Autism research for one of my professors at UCF. I enjoyed it, but did not think Speech Language Pathology was a perfect fit for my skills and personality.
When I took Audiology I found a subject that I was truly passionate about. I had prior knowledge about the Deaf community through my American Sign Language classes so I knew that there was a real interest there. Again, I wanted to get out there and make sure it was really for me so I started observing my teacher in the clinic and doing hearing screenings at a few local Elementary schools. I loved the challenge of especially working with the younger children and teaching them the task, I found it very rewarding.
When I found myself I found another area of interest, behavior modification. My teacher suggested I volunteer for a Pre-K Autism class and it was amazing to work with four year olds. One day there’s no apparent interest in the kids eyes and you’re wondering “Why am I here?” and the next week one of the children who was previously nonverbal was doing the hand motions and singing along.
My ultimate goal would be to work in a private practice specializing in Pediatric Audiology. With my Doctorate of Audiology degree, experience and research I dream of creating a unique program to introduce to the world a breakthrough in auditory processing in children with Autism. Not only is there a serious lack of credible research being done today but early intervention is crucial to future generations who suffer from this epidemic. Creating a program that could link what these children hear to how their brains respond could help countless families.
You guys are giving me a lot of good advice, but my audiology professor said this:
If only the decision were left to me------you would be in without a
doubt. I see purpose and attainable goal in your letter which is
critical in any letter of intent. I think you are on the right track.
Trust yourself and go with your feelings as you will write the best
letter if you include your passions (which you have done so in my
opinion.) Great work.
Now I'm not sure how much I should change it...
2. I JUST finished my SOP so this is a pretty rough draft.. it will seem lofty compared to most of yours because honestly I think my field is a little loftier haha. I also e-mailed this to a few of my professors for a review. Thanks in advance to any input!!
When I came to the University of Central Florida I had a dream to become a pediatrician. I was looking forward to working with children. After a few semesters I was filled with something unfamiliar, self-doubt. After being a good student my entire life I was struggling and none of my classes were interesting me. The courses were not exciting and the passion wasn’t there.
About five semesters later, the basic courses were completed. I had a realization, I had to face something that I strongly dislike: defeat. Molecular and Microbiology was not the major for me. I decided to try something that had sparked my interest back in high school when I volunteered at Martin Memorial Hospital my senior year, Communicative Disorders. I took the introductory class called Communicative Disorders in Media and Literature and it changed my life. It was like a light bulb went off, it was related to the medical field I desired, but with a different twist. The hands on aspect of the field combined with the thoughts of helping others. My grades improved, my spirits lifted. I began to question myself about my new interests, was this me? Helping people with challenges? I needed to find out. I volunteered for a Down Syndrome Association of Florida and United Cerebral Palsy as well as doing Autism research for one of my professors at UCF. I enjoyed it, but did not think Speech Language Pathology was a perfect fit for my skills and personality.
When I took Audiology I found a subject that I was truly passionate about. I had prior knowledge about the Deaf community through my American Sign Language classes so I knew that there was a real interest there. Again, I wanted to get out there and make sure it was really for me so I started observing my teacher in the clinic and doing hearing screenings at a few local Elementary schools. I loved the challenge of especially working with the younger children and teaching them the task, I found it very rewarding.
When I found myself I found another area of interest, behavior modification. My teacher suggested I volunteer for a Pre-K Autism class and it was amazing to work with four year olds. One day there’s no apparent interest in the kids eyes and you’re wondering “Why am I here?” and the next week one of the children who was previously nonverbal was doing the hand motions and singing along.
My ultimate goal would be to work in a private practice specializing in Pediatric Audiology. With my Doctorate of Audiology degree, experience and research I dream of creating a unique program to introduce to the world a breakthrough in auditory processing in children with Autism. Not only is there a serious lack of credible research being done today but early intervention is crucial to future generations who suffer from this epidemic. Creating a program that could link what these children hear to how their brains respond could help countless families.
You guys are giving me a lot of good advice, but my audiology professor said this:
If only the decision were left to me------you would be in without a
doubt. I see purpose and attainable goal in your letter which is
critical in any letter of intent. I think you are on the right track.
Trust yourself and go with your feelings as you will write the best
letter if you include your passions (which you have done so in my
opinion.) Great work.
Now I'm not sure how much I should change it...