Advice from current MSW students please

[kylixia]

Hello,

I wanted to get some opinions from people who have had to make the decision about going to grad school. My situation is a little weird. I started as a psychology major in 2007 right out of high school. Then in 2009 because of personal reasons I left school. In the summer of 2012 I started at a community college and got my associate's in 2013. Last fall I went back to the university I started at (as a junior) and recently was accepted into their BSW program. At my school, when you're accepted to start the program as a senior, you finish in a year (fall spring and a summer field placement) so ill be done August 2015.

I was really against taking a year off because obviously i've already taken a while off. I know that I want to go to grad school... but i'm just not sure how to go about it. Here are my issues/questions:

1. I've noticed some advanced standing programs only start in the summer, so id be forced to take a year off because I won't be done til next August with my BSW. If I choose one that did start in August, id only have about three weeks to move and get settled. I really want to go to an out of state school (i'm in iowa right now), but if I didn't leave the state the closest id be going is Des Moines which would still be a move.

2. If I just went ahead and applied for a regular two year program, would many of my classes be similar to my BSW classes?

3. Since I want to move, would it be smart to look at which school I want to go to, find a job, and move there without knowing for sure if id be accepted the next year? And I would have a better chance of getting in state tuition.

4. Are there many jobs I could get with a BSW that would pay well and be accommodating to me going back to school after a year?

5. Money is also a huge issue for me. I'm paying my way through school currently and will be for grad school as well. I won't be able to defer my loans if I take a year off.

I guess i'm just looking for advice from people who've had to make a similar decision, maybe some options I haven't considered.

[citychild]

I don't have too much advice. I just graduated with my MSW in Chicago. Some of my peers in my program did their advance standing program part-time, so I'm not sure if you have considered that. It allowed many of them to work more and stress less about finances.

I can only speak for Chicago, but many BSW jobs start about $30-$32k and many require a car, which in Chicago, is expensive (between the city sticker, zone fees, and gas at about $4.50), so that is something to factor in if that's an issue for you.

I know UofC has a weird start date--not summer.