livenlaf

No one is excusing "bad" behavior but people can get triggered and react to things even if they have a plan of action set up with the professor/TA. A person with ptsd may react very strongly if a TA is rigid and acts more like a prison guard rather than a human being who shows compassion towards all students regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, disability, etc. If you have no awareness or understanding about it then your reactions could be harmful to someone who is already struggling and that could be prevented if you have the knowledge and skills to deal with it appropriately. Quite frankly, most TA's are not even qualified to teach, they are just forced to teach because of their stipend requirements. Seriously, did anyone evaluate your teaching abilities before you were offered you a TA position? Sure you have a good GPA, GRE score, and research experience which is why you got accepted to the program but that does not equate to having the skills or ability to teach. Students are paying thousands of dollars to get an education, why should they not have the opportunity to be taught by a competent professor who is an expert in the field and actually wants to teach, instead of a TA who has no teaching skills and is now letting his/her insecurities get in the way of students success by acting like a prison guard instead of a human being teaching adults who are paying good money to get an education? Some TA's (not to mention professors) are incompetent and have no business "teaching" and should not be forced to "teach" at the expense of students who are paying a fortune to support these TA's. But if you are being forced to teach, then learn some techniques that good professors use to "deal" with "problems" (it's interesting that none of my good professor ever had any problems with students, I wonder why that is?) Some of the techniques that may help you with classroom management are-- getting to know your students-learn their names and what is important to them, offer assistance, learn how to be flexible, let go of things that may bother you but is actually harmless(because you are dealing with a lot of different personalities so you can't take everything personally, its usually not about you anyway), develop a sense of humor and use it to deflect any offensive or insensitive comments (this is subjective and could be cultural so don'y take it personally either), get a good mentor who will be able to help you develop thick skin which will enable you to not take everything personally and remember to live and let live, etc. Oh and most importantly, don't forget to take care of yourself as well-- breathe deeply, eat, sleep, take a bubble bath, do yoga, visit friends and family, or do whatever makes you happy and brings serenity into your life because you will be extremely busy teaching, taking classes, studying, doing research, etc so you don't want to fall apart and/or let your frustrations out on your students. Find a balance between your school obligations and your personal life and don't let one get in the way of the other as that is the key to having long and successful career without experiencing burnout. Good luck!

There are students that may have invisible disabilities i.e. autism, adhd, etc (who may or may not tell you about it) that would cause them to say or do things when they are triggered that you may find offensive. It is important for professors and TA's to be familiar with such disabilities, what kind of things may trigger it and how to deal with it and/or prevent it before it becomes a problem. This article may help you understand it better http://hechingerreport.org/students-autism-spectrum-often-smart-peers-go-college/ . You can also speak to the disabilities office and/or psychology/personal counseling department at your school for further information, assistance, guidance, etc. Good luck!

@Verloren this doesn't make sense to me. What's the point of inviting applicants for an interview if they are not expected to answer all the questions? Does it depend on the interviewer you get and how they choose to conduct the interview or do all interviewers conduct the interview in the same manner? And why do they bother having interviews if they are just going to accept all the invited applicants anyway regardless of what happens at the interview?

@Verloren thank you. Your interviewer said that applicants invited to the interview are not competing for spots but are just reaffirming their positions (about what they wrote in the personal statement). Does that mean that the program could potentially accept every single person they are interviewing? And if applicants are just reaffirming what they wrote in their personal statement then does the interviewer have different questions for every applicant or do all applicants get the same questions? And why would they reject so many people if they have room to accept everyone that attends the interviews? Otherwise, what does it mean that applicants are not competing for a spot in the program? Also, what type of questions did you have to answer? What is your undergraduate gpa and do you have field experience and did everyone at your interview have experience as well?

Thank you @RachelNYC. So if it is a "post office" kind of place (lol), then what does it mean to be a good fit?

So I have not been invited yet and not sure if I should still expect to get invited but you say that it could still happen so I guess the wait continues. However, from what I have seen so far, it seems as though some applicants have some experience but a lower to average gpa while others have a no experience and a higher gpa which means that anything goes at this program and Hunter doesn't put too much emphasize on gpa's or experience. That only leaves the interview, so would it be fair/accurate to say that acceptance to the program boils down to what you say at the interview?

Thank you, @RachelNYC I know of an applicant who was in her upper 30's who had work experience and a 3.6 gpa but did not get accepted so this confuses me even more. Do you know the stats/gpa scores of other accepted students and whether or not they had experience?

Hi all, Does anyone know if Hunter accepts applicants with low undergraduate gpa's and little to no work experience in the field for the two year clinical track program? What is the minimum gpa score that has been accepted by the program? If you already got accepted, then what was your undergraduate gpa and did you have any work experience in the field? If you were invited for an interview and got rejected afterwards, then what was your undergraduate gpa, did you have field experience, and why do you think you got rejected from the program? Any info about this will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you. It's just very frustration to hear everyone talk about being a good fit but not being able to explain how Hunter defines good fit. The entire admissions process is already so anxiety provoking that it doesn't help that this good fit mystery is so arbitrary and vague to the point where no one really knows what it really means. It would be great if everyone, especially accepted students, would post their stats and field experiences so that we would have some sort of idea what the program is looking for.

@PatientlyWaiting what does it mean to be a good fit at Hunter School of Social Work and how is it determined? Is it based on the gpa and work experience or do they only determine good fit if you say the right things at the interview? What happens if a person has a low gpa (around 3.1-3.4) and little to no work experience, would the school still accept such a applicant if the interview goes well or would they not even invite this applicant to an interview?

Does anyone know if the two year clinical track MSW program at Hunter College accepts people with a low gpa and no experience? What is the lowest GPA they accept?

To people who applied to the two year clinical track program at Hunter, can students get accepted if their undergraduate GPA is lower than 3.4? What is the lowest GPA score accepted at this program? Also, do all applicants have to have field experience or does the program accept people with no experience at all? If an applicant has a 3.1 undergraduate GPA and has no experience in the field then what are the chances of getting into the program?