SopranoSocialWorker

That is great!! I don't regret for a moment being a music major. I have decided not to be a professional musician/music teacher, but I learned a lot of transferrable skills and I got to put all of my energy into something that I love. Now, in graduate school, I get to do that again. I LOVE being a social worker, and I LOVE being a singer. I am studying at EWU near Spokane. I was in kind of the same situation as you in that my spouse got a job up here, and so I spent last year working and getting residency. Eastern is the only MSW program in the area, so that is where I am going. Not a prestigious program, but I feel that I am getting a good education. I really stuck out during the first week of school when we were introducing ourselves, but after that my major hasn't really come up. I think that having a background of some sort that deals with theories (other than music theory), such as psych or soc., really helps. I have been able to make a lot of connections by comparing concepts to work I did for my minor in speech communication.

I am just finishing up my second quarter in my MSW program, and I was a choral conducing/music ed major in undergrad! I think that all of years of dedication and practice have really helped me. Also, being able to work as a team with a random person or group is something that you have to learn early on as a musician. The only thing that I have felt a little behind on is that I don't have the psych background that most of my cohort does, but that hasn't really held me back at all . Good luck!!

I am a native of the PNW, and I just started at EWU in September. My largest class is maybe 30 people, and that is for my practicum prep class. The whole cohort is about 55 students. The small size has been great to be able to really get to know the other folks in my cohort. Let me know if you have other questions!

I know that I am a grown up now, but I just really wish that my chosen grad school would acknowledge that I exist! I haven't been able to get ANY information from them unless I call them. Aaaannd, I just found out that I won't get any of my financial aid information until I finish the pre-requisite stats class in August. Seriously?! I don't even know if I will be told when/if TA positions or university scholarships open (or maybe they are all gone?) since I am only "conditionally admitted". I wish that I had been able to apply to more programs, but this is the only social work program in my area and I can't move right now. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I HATE DEALING WITH MONEY!! *end rant*

I am so excited that I have been accepted into EWU's MSW program (especially since it is the only one I applied to!). It is not highly ranked, or very well known outside of the area, but everyone I have talked to in Spokane says that it is a great program. Most of the posts that I have seen on here are for very well known programs, and I just wanted to stick up for the little schools!

There is only one MSW program in Oregon, and it is at Portland State University. Because it is the one and only in Oregon it is pretty competitive to get into the program. From what I can tell (I was going to apply there before I moved) it is a good generalist program with great ties to the community. The possibilities for fieldwork are endless.The other good thing about PSU is that it is easily accessible by public transportation, which is important since the campus is downtown with hardly any parking. Rent prices in Portland are somewhat steep, but they are still lower than Seattle or San Francisco, and they go down a bit in the suburbs (I would look at Beaverton or Tigard). Good luck!