kiki123

My field placement was with the severe and persistently mentally ill. None of them were violent or dangerous, though some of them had histories of being violent and dangerous to themselves or others. If you enter a situation that you are uncomfortable with and feel like you are putting yourself in harm's way, say one of the persons made you extremely uncomfortable and you felt they were going to inflict harm on themselves or you, I would cancel with the person and bring this issue up with your field supervisor. I had to do plenty of home visits at my field placement and was always encouraged to cancel with a person if I felt the environment was not safe. We do important work, but don't feel like you have to do something that you feel is dangerous.

It really depends on the semester and the professor. Books can be very expensive, however. I highly recommend renting an online/Kindle version if you can - I was able to get most of my books online through a Kindle app, which cut the price by a third. Amazon.com and local bookstores can be much cheaper than the school store, however. I would say that on average I spend about $200 a semester on books, but that's with renting through the Internet and only buying books that I felt we were really going to use. Good luck!

So, I have been admitted into a MSW program and will be starting classes next week. As such, I was wondering if anyone had tips/advice about how to succeed in a MSW program. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I'm currently pretty confused about the status of things for myself. I've been placed somewhere, I think, and I think the next step is an interview but... not really sure.

I'm also considering part-time employment. It's kind of scary - I prefer school-based employment, but if I can't get that I prefer employment within social work.

I'm leaving a job that I've worked at only about 5 months in August, in order to relocate to pursue my Master of Social Work degree this fall. I plan on working at least part-time while in graduate school. I've just begun applying to jobs and was wondering whether or not I should include this experience on my resume. While I'm relocating and pursuing higher education, will this make me look flighty to potential employers? It was my first real job since graduating from my undergraduate college in December, paid well, and fell within my field, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Should it be included?

I have debated deferring, but the cons of deferring currently outweigh the pros.

Thank you for your advice. Your post has given me more confidence to take the steps that I need to take.

I will be pursuing my MSW in the fall. I just started a new job in March, which I will now be leaving in August because of my choice to pursue my MSW. I work at a nonprofit. Despite the fact that I will be pursuing higher education, I feel guilty that I will be leaving this company after only working there about five months. Is anyone in a similar boat? Or does anyone have advice on how to resign tactfully in this situation?

Thanks for the information. I expect to have to take some out in loans, but I am hoping for the best with funding!

So, approximately how long should you wait to hear about financial aid from a school? I was recently accepted in a program about a week ago but have received no information about financial aid opportunities as of yet. Should I contact the school about its opportunities or is that rude?

I'm actually in a similar predicament. My top choice school only recently got back to me with an acceptance, but some of my deadlines to accept at other schools were much earlier. I ended up accepting to my second choice school because I did not want to end without a school to attend in the fall, but I recently learned I was accepted into my top choice... so I have been in the process of declining to the second choice school. I feel bad for how I initially accepted to my second choice, but I didn't see many options.

I heard back yesterday and it's an acceptance!

Acceptance means that I get to follow my dreams. Acceptance at a particular school means that everything falls into place the way I need/would like to. Rejection means that I need to rethink my plans.

Yeah, it's quite the stressor.