SW15

It's still possible to get a hospital placement with any school--just the specific hospital varies. Hospitals inside the University Health Network only take U of T students, hospitals that are not in the network are more flexible and will take other students (i.e. St. Michael's, St. Josephs, Bridgepoint (maybe on this one). I wouldn't put any credence into what this person said, super trolling comment, unless you know the head of social work at a hospital or someone with huge decision making power who can get you in then it really is about the school's connections. Most MSW programs have a practicum portal where they list available placements, while you are probably welcome to secure placements outside of it it is VERY difficult given how most placements are already set up prior and it would be a matter of asking social workers who didn't commit to being field instructors if they would be open to taking on a student. I'm currently at a hospital that has a few York students but they are more on the research/policy side of things rather than clinical. My friend is at a hospital with a few non U of T students who do have clinical placements, so it varies. TL;DR: It's possible to get a hospital placement at any school, the options however might be limited depending on the specific hospitals and which placements your school acquired!

I am so so sorry to hear this, what a discouraging situation. Please take care of yourself and as stated by many others, please do not let one troll have ANY bearing on your feelings. Thinking of you and sending all the good vibes in this difficult time <3 I hope you are feeling supported right now and please reach out if you need support from any of us. My inbox is always open <3

It's hard to say why...one thing I've heard is that at U of T you pay for connections/partnerships that U of T has with other organizations, so while other schools prioritize funding students U of T prioritizes it's professional ties for students to get the best placement opportunities (i.e. U of T's monopoly on the university health network--all of the main hospitals in Toronto can only take U of T MSW students). Even if this is the case though, it would only be a partial answer at best. Unfortunately there are zero opportunities to TA at U of T, mainly because the school doesn't have a BSW program. There are RA opportunities though, I have several friends who help professors in the faculty with research for good wages, and there are frequent emails that go out to students detailing new opportunities! Also, U of T has like this central online hub thing that has all campus job postings so I have a bunch of friends who are getting paid to do research in other faculties/other social worker relevant jobs on campus :).

Complaints were made directly to the U of T Equity office regarding his inappropriate behaviour, meetings were had. Anyway, I agree that everyone should just ignore whatever YWEANG says (and after this discussion I don't see why he should ever post again). I apologize for shaking the forum with the post about him but it just bothered me on a fundamental level that someone who did so many ethically questionable things was posting hateful/biased comments that could influence prospective applicants to the program. I certainly agree that nobody should be shamed for their decision to apply to any program (In Social Work and otherwise), there are problems with every educational institution out there--if people were only applying to schools that completely aligned with their values/ethics then there would be no applicants to any programs. All schools have cons, and you're sorely mistaken if you think any school is an exception to this--particularly in a field as multifaceted as SW. I'm at U of T, a program that I love, and there are many aspects of the program I find problematic and I'm lucky to be in a cohort that has been advocating over the last 2 years to start a dialogue about said issues and changes are slowly being made. I have friends at Ryerson and York, they both love their programs but take issue with certain aspects of their programs. And spoiler alert, wherever you end up working for your practicums or real jobs will have many organizational issues as well. I've done practicums in community and hospital based settings and both had many questionable practices, and as Social Workers it is our job to vocalize when something is amiss. So to all applicants, the schools you apply to do not reflect who you are as a person, whatever school you choose to attend will have many wonderful and not so wonderful things about it. We are all walking out of these programs with the same Masters degrees that we can use for whatever purposes we see fit, with the ability (and certification!) to bring about the social change we believe needs to be made. Social Work is a noble and difficult profession, and you are amazing for even considering it as a career option as not many people would (read: any social worker will tell you that the #1 response to telling people what they do is "you're really great, I could never do that). Don't let anyone make you feel like crap or a lesser prospective social worker because of the program that interests you. I really hope we can foster a safe space here post drama because you guys are going to be hearing back from schools in the next few months and that's when having support is imperative! I hope everyone gets into the school of their dreams!

I'm sorry but this is just rude, 75%+ of U of T MSW's are on OSAP like everyone else. I'm in the program, I'm white, I'm 70k in debt and of the dozens of friends I have in the program I know of 2 whose parents paid their way through, everyone else is either taking student loans or working outside of school to pay for it. Many people are stretched very thin as they can't afford to go to school without working part-time or in some cases even full time. My 2 best friends in the program are members of visible minorities not mentioned by you, the program is definitely predominantly white but we certainly have more than "some chinese and jewish women". Also, I find you posting in this forum generally unpleasant as you make everyone who is currently in the U of T program uncomfortable after last year when you attended events that were for U of T students only, and then proceeded to add every female in the program on Facebook and creepily message them and comment on their stuff. Honestly, I've been lurking this message-board and holding my tongue but then you started being super harsh about U of T and like no, just stop.

I think if someone got a rejection on Feb 29th that would mean the application was incomplete in some way, it doesn't make sense for a rejection to go out weeks before an acceptance otherwise. That's what York does too.

Totally in, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Celebration time

I doubt any school would make an exception and give an answer early...otherwise everyone would be messaging them saying they got offers and want an early response. If anything, I think the best that could be done is ask UBC to postpone their acceptance due date, but I agree with MSW_UofT that it makes most sense to accept it in the meantime.

Quiet forums this year so far, maybe no-one's applying...haha.

Hey, thanks for starting the new thread! I just wanted to reiterate a few points about the 2015 application cycle for U of T that I learned at the info session: 1) In 2015 no-one with a B- or lower in research methods was admitted into the program (regardless of otherwise spectacular grades and experience), the vast majority of those admitted were in the A-range, so if you're sitting at or below a mid-B average you should seriously consider boosting it for this year's application as chances of acceptance with it may actually be close to if not zero. Angela (U of T's admissions coordinator) said that many students have successfully upgraded their research methods mark via online courses through Athabasca University! This is a great option for those who have been out of school or who can't fit another research methods course into their timetable. 2) This year, U of T says that they are likely going to be following the same admissions timetable that they did this past year, and this means that acceptances for Advanced Standing will begin going out in February-ish and the 2-year will start in March-ish...so a lot less waiting than previous years! Also, at the info session they said that there were almost 900 applicants in 2015 for the 2 year program, and 140 were accepted which is about 15% acceptance, so chances are SIGNIFICANTLY less bleak than 1 in 11, (more like 1 in 6!), and that is department confirmed Wishing everyone tremendous luck this year, we're all in this together!!!!!!!!!!!!!

has anyone or do you know anyone who was rejected from U of T's 2 year? it looks like everybody was waitlisted

Also, 90% of the emails she gets can probably be answered with generic responses or redirects to the FIFSW website haha.

FIFSW has many info sessions a year, usually at least once a month in the summer months and then more frequently during the application period. It's just a presentation for prospective students about what the program is, how it works, and what to expect with the admission process.

Just an FYI, I went to a U of T info session on the MSW program last week and I think 2 things are worth noting for next year's applicants: 1) This year, no-one with a B- or lower in research methods was admitted into the program (regardless of otherwise spectacular grades and experience), the vast majority of those admitted were in the A-range, so if you're sitting below a mid-B average you should seriously consider boosting it for next year's application as chances of acceptance with it may actually be close to if not zero. 2) To all of our surprise, this year's MSW acceptance offers came over a month earlier for both advanced standing and the 2-year programs. Angela said that this year's admissions process was very successful and that they will be replicating it next year, so those applying this upcoming Fall will also be hearing back earlier than previous years! Hope everyone is enjoying the (sort of beautiful but largely inconsistent) weather happening all over the place. Remember to take care of you, and I really hope that more of you wait-listers will be getting good news over the coming months! And of course, congrats to everyone who has received offers of admission recently

Hey I have a suuuper general question about U of T. It seems to be the "it" school for Social Work on this forum as it's many people's first choice and I was just wondering if this is for specific reason, is it substantially better than other programs or is it more about location? I will be reapplying next year and I'm really hoping to bone up on my experience so I have a better shot at getting in since I think my grades are competitive trying to feel optimistic!