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Congrats to everyone on their acceptances! I have been accepted to the University of Southern Illinois Edwardsville, and Missouri State. I haven't received the official paperwork for Mo. State in the mail (I was notified via email.) I'm hoping they will include some financial aid, because that would make the decision easier. It's hard to choose.

Thank you so much for giving your thoughts. That is a very good insight that I hadn't thought of regarding licensing. I will research that. Yes, I had heard that where you receive your MSW from isn't nearly as important as most other degrees, which is why I only applied to public state schools. Washington University would be an easy commute, but I didn't even want to give myself that temptation, because I am sure their program is wonderful and they are persuasive, but it is not cost effective. Anyways, thanks again for taking the time to comment

Hi, everyone. I recently got acceptances from the University of Southern Illinois Edwardsville, and Missouri State University. Do you have any tips about choosing between them? A deciding factor would obviously be financial aid/ an assistantship. However, it appears that I won't find that information out until I accept an offer. Both programs have pros and cons. I would get in state tuition at both universities. These are the thoughts I have about the difference between the schools. SIUE: pros: - in metro area of St Louis - larger metro area could offer more variety of fieldwork placements - micro track (more specialized courses for clinical social work, what I want to do) cons: - more expensive than Mo. State - probably would do a lot of commuting Mo. State: pros: - cheaper program - I have heard that it is easy to get assistantships here... Hard to say how true that is - would probably live very close to campus and most field sites cons: - doesn't offer any specialized tracks- more generic coursework Do you guys have any suggestions on things to consider when deciding?

Hi, everyone. I will be applying to MSW programs for the fall of 2016. My goal is to eventually become licensed as an LCSW. I'm coming from a totally unrelated background though... my bachelors degree is in political science. I will be applying to four public universities in the St Louis/Missouri region. (UMSL, University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri State, and SIUE.) I am really nervous though... I feel like my application will be less competitive than others. Points in my favor: -confident I can write great application essays -GPA for last 60 undergrad credit hours was about 3.8 - 2 solid references at my disposal -will have some volunteer experience in the field- I will be training soon to be a crisis hotline counselor, and volunteer at a hospice. - I have undergrad volunteer experience- unrelated field, but included some transferable skills, such as working with disadvantaged populations, etc. -will be taking a course this fall at the community college in crisis intervention -have been looking for other ways to gain skills, such as taking free online mental health webinars, and taking mental health first aid courses Points against me: -I won't have had extensive volunteer or work experience related to social work -the GPA for my first 60 or so undergrad credits was horrible, because of serious family issues at the time (which may be a non issue if I address is properly, because I did return to school and excel.. just depends on their perspective) -I need to find a third reference Obviously nobody here can tell me if I will get in, but do you think I stand a chance at getting in somewhere? Any advice for ways to improve my application are very very appreciated.

Thank you! The Petersons site was helpful- well, you know, as much as those sort of sites can be. But I found it useful to see some admissions statistics to get a feel for what programs seem to be more/less selective. I am planning on applying to three state schools, one private school, and one of of state school that gives a reduced tuition rate for my state of residency. I guess I am a little nervous because I don't have a BSW. I definitely don't think this is a tremendous barrier to a future in social work, but at the same time I might be an atypical applicant. Congrats on getting accepted to your top choice school! What a great achievement.

Hi, everyone. I am looking to apply for MSW programs for Fall 2016. Although it is some time away still, I have started doing some preliminary research. I came up with a few questions about the application process. 1. In terms of lowest program cost, is an in state public university pretty much always your best bet? I was wondering how often out of state public and private universities provide tuition assistance for MSW programs. 2. How many schools do most applicants apply to? (I realize there will be a broad range.) 3. Is there anywhere to find statistics about MSW program acceptance rates? Thank you!