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UT Austin MSW Fall 2015


firewisp11

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Since everyone is creating threads for specific programs, I thought I'd join in  :) 

 

The application confirmation letter I received says applicants should expect decisions within 6 - 8 weeks after the priority deadline (Jan 15), but I saw one person has already heard back.

 

 

Anyone else still waiting to hear from UT Austin (or has already heard back)? It doesn't seem to be a particularly popular program on these threads but I figured I might as well check and see!

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Hi firewisp11!

 

Not sure if the one person you're talking about is me lol, but I was accepted about a week ago. So far I've seen this on the mystatus website and received an email, nothing in the mail yet although the email said a packet would arrive soon. I finished my application in early December and was honestly surprised to find out so soon! The deadline they gave me to decide by is 2/22.

 

I know what you mean about UT not being popular on these threads...which is interesting since it's fairly highly ranked and seems like a great program to me! I'm currently trying to decide between U of Denver and UT, it's a really tough decision!! Going to try to sit down and really weigh my options this weekend, but if anyone has any insight on either of these choices I would be very grateful! At least I have two awesome programs to choose from, very excited about that :)

 

Good luck, I hope you hear back soon!

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Just realized you are the person I replied to about this before, so sorry for repeating myself haha! Still very interested to follow this thread though, thanks for creating it

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Hi firewisp11!

 

Not sure if the one person you're talking about is me lol, but I was accepted about a week ago. So far I've seen this on the mystatus website and received an email, nothing in the mail yet although the email said a packet would arrive soon. I finished my application in early December and was honestly surprised to find out so soon! The deadline they gave me to decide by is 2/22.

 

I know what you mean about UT not being popular on these threads...which is interesting since it's fairly highly ranked and seems like a great program to me! I'm currently trying to decide between U of Denver and UT, it's a really tough decision!! Going to try to sit down and really weigh my options this weekend, but if anyone has any insight on either of these choices I would be very grateful! At least I have two awesome programs to choose from, very excited about that :)

 

Good luck, I hope you hear back soon!

 

Haha yeah sorry to be a creep, you are the one I'm talking about! So far I haven't seen anyone else applying to this program on these forums (which is strange, as you mentioned, since it's such a good program!).

 

I didn't submit my app until January so maybe they're making decisions in waves? Although that seems strange to me since I didn't think they did rolling decisions. Maybe you're just a stellar applicant!

But yeah, that's a tough choice to make, I've heard DU has a pretty great program too. Although I'm definitely biased towards UT as it's my top choice  :) Are you interested in the clinical or the CAL concentration?

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I could be wrong...my impression is for those who apply early, like you said, if they are stellar, then they usually receive an early decision of acceptance...while those who are less stellar are probably put aside (like pending/maybe status) until all other applications are reviewed after the deadline.

 

And according to one person from this discussion, he said UT "doesn't have a hard cap on the number of applicants they accept. they're more of the mindset of, "we take all the best applicants and make it work.""

 

And if anyone is curious, according to the Admissions Director at UT, she said they receive approximately 400 applications with an admission rate of roughly 50% for the fall semester and 60 applications for the spring with an admissions rate of just under 50%.

 

The programs in Denver and Austin both seem like great programs.  In addition to the typical things that factor in a decision (what school you're leaning toward, concentrations offerred/available, tuition/costs, etc...) maybe something else to consider is where you want to work after you graduate.

 

From what others have posted, the consensus appears that it doesn't matter where you go, as long as it's a credited school, you can theoretically get a job anywhere.

 

In my opinion, I think that's more applicable to those with social work experience.  Generally speaking, for new MSW graduates who are looking for their first job, my guess is agencies will lean toward applicants who graduated from a local program they are already familiar with versus someone from an out-of-state school.

 

So if you see yourself working & living in Denver/Colorado, then DU makes sense. 

 

If Austin/Texas seems appealing, then UT makes more sense.

 

If you plan on working/living somewhere else, then never mind. :)

 

This discussion is insightful - www.reddit.com/r/socialwork/comments/2szq2d/msw_postgraduation_advice

 

Whatever you decide, all the best to you. Cheers. 
 

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Hi all! I too am waiting to hear back from UT Austin! I submitted my stuff a few days before the January deadline. My status online says the application is "in review." Hopefully this means I will get a decision soon! I only submitted 3 letters of rec, I hope that doesn't lower my chances. 

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Hi all! I too am waiting to hear back from UT Austin! I submitted my stuff a few days before the January deadline. My status online says the application is "in review." Hopefully this means I will get a decision soon! I only submitted 3 letters of rec, I hope that doesn't lower my chances. 

 

I got my acceptance email about two/three weeks after the status changed to in review, so I think you should know soon! I also had 3 letters of rec, didn't seem to hurt my chances :)

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I got my acceptance email about two/three weeks after the status changed to in review, so I think you should know soon! I also had 3 letters of rec, didn't seem to hurt my chances :)

Awesome, thanks for the info, Amers! 

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I got my acceptance email about two/three weeks after the status changed to in review, so I think you should know soon! I also had 3 letters of rec, didn't seem to hurt my chances :)

Hi amers, what was your gpa and gre score? I myself applied to UT Austin and am waiting for a response.

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My undergrad gpa was 3.7 overall, a little higher for just upper level classes. I think my GRE score was 140 math and 160 verbal? I don't remember exactly haha but it wasn't stellar by any means. From what I gather though the GRE is more of a formality, just required by the university for anyone applying to a graduate program. I think the School of Social Work pays a lot more attention to your personal statements, letters of rec, ect. Good luck!!

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Hi everyone! I checked the "My Status" site today and learned that I've been accepted to the Fall 2015 MSSW program. Very excited to attend and surprised that I heard back this early. 3.66 GPA, BA in Psychology. GRE: 169V, 160Q, 5.0 AW. Pretty sure I only submitted 3 letters of recommendation (or whatever the minimum is.)

 

I actually didn't get an e-mail to check my status, so don't assume that just because you haven't gotten an e-mail, UT hasn't made a decision.

 

I think I submitted my complete application by Dec. 4, which may have been why I heard back earlier (dunno if it made a difference).

I'm actually hoping to defer until Fall 2016 so that I can move to Texas, work for 12+ months, and apply for in-state residency. I plan to settle down permanently in Texas, which is why I applied to to UT in the first place.

 

Although I've done a decent amount of volunteer work, my work experience is pretty limited. I'm glad it didn't have an effect on their decision.

 

Good luck everyone!

 

P.S.: are we not supposed to mention the name of our undergrad? It seems nobody does it on this forum.

Edited by BX1959
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Are there any former or current UT students that could tell me a little about how you feel about the program? I would be in the clinical track. I'm having a hard time deciding between DU and UT for a couple reasons, but the big one is that their programs seem very different. I like that DU offers more of a chance to specialize and focus on taking classes that will be most relevant to the career you want to pursue. UT seems more general to me with two concertration options versus eight at DU. But that's just my impression, I'd love to know how someone in the program feels about UT, maybe there are advantages to the way they do things that aren't as clear to me.

Edited by amers
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Just realized you are the person I replied to about this before, so sorry for repeating myself haha! Still very interested to follow this thread though, thanks for creating it

 

Hi again, Amers! I just checked my status and it says (for the first time) that my application has been forwarded for the graduate committee for review. Is that what you meant earlier about being in review? My status on the side bar has said in review for a while now. Hoping this doesn't mean I have another couple of weeks before I hear anything!!

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Hi again, Amers! I just checked my status and it says (for the first time) that my application has been forwarded for the graduate committee for review. Is that what you meant earlier about being in review? My status on the side bar has said in review for a while now. Hoping this doesn't mean I have another couple of weeks before I hear anything!!

I just got this update today too! Hopefully it means we've passed the first round. 

Here's a quote from the UT Austin website:

"All complete applications are independently evaluated by members of the social work graduate faculty review committee and are then sent to the Assistant Dean for Master’s Programs for final review and recommendation. The Associate Dean/Graduate Advisor then forwards recommendations to the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies."

I'm not sure how long it takes the Graduate Committee to review apps and make final decisions but hopefully we'll find out soon!

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Are there any former or current UT students that could tell me a little about how you feel about the program? I would be in the clinical track. I'm having a hard time deciding between DU and UT for a couple reasons, but the big one is that their programs seem very different. I like that DU offers more of a chance to specialize and focus on taking classes that will be most relevant to the career you want to pursue. UT seems more general to me with two concertration options versus eight at DU. But that's just my impression, I'd love to know how someone in the program feels about UT, maybe there are advantages to the way they do things that aren't as clear to me.

On their website, UT lists an email address that you can contact to talk to current students about their MSW program. I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for but it might help!

"If you are interested in the MSSW program and want to get the perspective of a current student, get connected through our Dean’s Ambassador program by emailing ask-a-student@utlists.utexas.edu"

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I just got this update today too! Hopefully it means we've passed the first round. 

Here's a quote from the UT Austin website:

"All complete applications are independently evaluated by members of the social work graduate faculty review committee and are then sent to the Assistant Dean for Master’s Programs for final review and recommendation. The Associate Dean/Graduate Advisor then forwards recommendations to the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies."

I'm not sure how long it takes the Graduate Committee to review apps and make final decisions but hopefully we'll find out soon!

I saw this yesterday also! It raised my anxiety for a little. Why do I feel like the first week of march we will hear something?

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Thanks firewisp!

 

To everyone else who was accepted, what date do you need to decide? My letter says February 22nd, which is coming up really fast. I'm pretty sure I'll be attending Univeristy of Denver instead, but I wish I had a little more time to think about it....

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Once you're accepted, you can apply for scholarship money, but it sounds like you wouldn't find out for sure if you got anything until shortly before the semester begins. They don't mention aid in the acceptance letter. At least that's what I gathered?

 

that seems like such short notice! i only ask because going to UT would involve a cross country move, and i feel like i need to justify that with at least getting some money to go there. thanks for your response!

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Has anyone heard any new news from UT yet? Looking at the results from last year, a lot of people heard back around this time but I haven't seen any updates since my status changed to "Forwarded to the Graduate Committee" last week. Ah this waiting is terrible!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I got desperate and contacted the admissions office yesterday but only got the generic response that "most applicants should hear a decision 6-8 weeks after the Jan 15 deadline." But since some people found out as soon as two weeks after the deadline and some didn't hear till 10 weeks after in past years, I don't know how reliable this timeframe is. The 8 week mark is next week, so maybe we'll hear soon? Sighhh

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