Dizzy

Is anyone else still deciding?! I've narrowed it down to two programs (University of Pennsylvania's Social Welfare and Social Policy school & Rutgers School of Social Work) but finalizing my decision has felt impossible... less than two weeks left so this is soon to be a non issue.

Great news!! Congrats.

This advice is based on my own interviews and sit downs with professors, so it may not apply to your situation: But I would say prepare yourself to describe your interest area clearly. Possibly also prepare yourself with a research question YOU want to explore as a part of your own research goals and agenda, in other words, what innovative questions do you have? This is often missing as students tend to describe what they know, rather than what they want to explore. Then prepare to reference how your interests intersect with the program, in particular the professor you have identified as a collaborator and any institutes or units therein where you would train. Also having a targeted description of your post-graduate plans seems to matter significantly as the training they offer is better for certain career paths than others. So, being able to articulate if your path will likely be academic, policy-based, governmental, etc. is helpful. Then, if the interview allows, ask about what makes their program unique? What opportunities are there to grow your interest area? How is the advisor-student relationship managed? What types of positions do graduates secure? Etc.

Congrats!

I just received an email from Rutgers. I was accepted to their Social Work PhD program!

Thanks! I'm very excited. Actually, that's an understatement. I'm elated. The program director called me and I then received an email from my assigned mentor. In terms of my profile, honestly, I think many of the standard metrics are of secondary importance in my case. What I believe distinguished me was my statement - particularly in terms of my goals for doctoral study. I spent months on it. Months. And I wrote three distinct statements, one for each school I applied to. Briefly, my story is that I came upon social welfare/social work after a highly interdisciplinary background (public health, education, child development) which, in conjunction with my personal history and a bit of direct service work, has informed my research interests (child welfare with a social justice/empowerment lens). I have been looking into programs since May, that includes meeting with professors, current students, alums, I sat in on a couple classes, etc. I was trying to understand how I might fit into these programs and learn about the opportunities that exist for child welfare scholarship, particularly as it relates to out-of-home care. Also, I believe my recommendations were exceptional (I waived my right to read, so I'm guessing here) and included one nationally recognized methodologist who was a previous doctoral mentor (I did not complete that program). In terms of the nuts and bolts, I have 10 years of clinical/applied research and evaluation experience in medical school settings including Penn, I have a couple publications and a couple under review (in public health), lots of presentations (national and international), average GRE scores for an Ivy (averaging 82nd percentile I think), and solid but not exceptional grades. I do not have an MSW.

Hi all, I applied to three social work/welfare phd programs. I received an acceptance from SP2 at UPenn (phone call) yesterday, so those decisions are going out. I was told to expect a letter of admission soon, I imagine I'll have that by next week. I also applied to Rutgers and Bryn Mawr and have not heard anything yet. A professor at Rutgers told me that generally, applicants can expect a reply the first or second week of February. I have no insight as to Bryn Mawr's process. Hope that helps!