amoryb

Anyone else here starting in the fall at UWT?

I think what's most important is that you use your time in school to build relationships and a reputation in your field. I think it's better to excel in a longer program than do a mediocre job in a shorter one. If doing a 3-year program will give you the spaciousness to sometimes participate in conferences, for example, vs just barely keep up with the basics of your workload, then do the 3-year track. In my opinion networking, skill-building, and demonstrating your skills are the most critical pieces of any grad program. Another consideration is the debt load you will graduate with, along with opportunities for employment. If a 3-year program gives you the spaciousness to apply for scholarships, and/or excel at a level that makes you competitive for scholarships, and/or graduate with a job in hand, then it's absolutely the smarter long-term option. While I can see how a 3-year program might feel like a "drag," from PP's perspective, I also think it gives you the chance to build deeper relationships with faculty and affiliated community agencies. Use your time to do this.

Hi, I am starting a 3-year MSW program this fall after completing a separate graduate degree in environmental studies a few years ago (goal is to contribute to social work around the climate crisis). Anyway, I can't give MSW-specific advice, but I do have a sense for what is most valuable about grad school in a general way from having been in it recently. Here are my thoughts: Relationship-building and networking are the most fruitful and critical pieces of any graduate program. The relationships you form are going to lead to increased opportunities for community engagement, research, employment, etc. If you know the specific kind of social work you want to do, gear everything you do in grad school towards it. Participate in conferences and join societies focused on your specialization. Use class projects to benefit community-based organizations doing work you believe in/ fields you hope to work in. (For example, in my previous program I helped create a map for a human rights org as a project for a GIS class. There was no requirement to work with an organization on a map, and it would have been easier had I just used it as a hypothetical, but it gave me hands-on experience with common challenges and also produced something meaningful for both the organization and me, leading to a conference presentation and creating a useful communications tool for them.) Gear your practicums towards the work you want. Find the agencies you want to work for and be proactive about making connections there. You can suggest sites for your practicum-- take initiative to build relationships at those organizations and treat your time there like a working interview. Use school projects to contribute to research in your desired field. If you have to write a paper for class, put exceptional effort into it. Maybe even look at the core curriculum for your classes, review the syllabi for them, and see if there's a way to build a research paper that you can then have published, via an assortment of smaller papers on the same subject. I've personally done this and it helped with both my thesis and opportunities for publication down the line. Publications in your field are never going to hurt your employability. And you can then present your papers at conferences. DO THIS. Basically, look for every opportunity to leverage your time in school to build your skills, connections, and reputation in your field. You'll graduate with a host of references and contacts that will lead to the opportunities you're looking for.

I was accepted into the MSW Day program. I have a little over five years of social services experience, including 4 years of sexual assault and domestic violence victim advocacy, and 1 1/2 years of civil rights work (fair housing testing). I coordinated two programs (one 24/7 rape crisis response program, the other a fair housing testing program) but under the title of "Specialist" rather than "Coordinator". I went to a non-traditional school with narrative evaluations instead of grades. I was a transfer student from a Chicago community college and had a mediocre academic record until my last two years of school. I have about ten years of community organizing experience and around five years of professional and informal community education experience (workshop facilitation, trainings and conferences). I also lived in Venezuela for five months in 2005 following the Festival Mundial and talked a little bit about it in one of my essays. I have no idea which of these qualifications got me in, but for what it's worth, I have a friend/coworker/co-organizer who attended the same non-traditional school and was accepted to the same program. I hope this is helpful!

I was accepted to UW's MSW program and am probably going there this fall. I'm trying to decide whether to commute from Olympia (about 2 hours one way when there's traffic) for the days we have school, since I have well-paying job and longterm partner going to school here. I'm looking into rooms for rent in case I end up needing to spend more of my time up there. If anyone's interested, maybe we can Skype to get to know each other? I can help with house-hunting if need be!

I and a friend both applied regular decision to UW's MSW day program. Both of us received acceptance letters via email today around 4:30 PST. Thanks so much for posting about acceptances! I hope everyone else who applied hears soon. The wait was so anxiety-inducing!

Please do post if you received acceptance into UW's MSW program! I applied by the regular deadline and have heard from every school I applied to (6 total) besides UW, including schools with later deadlines! I'm so eager to hear from them and really need to get back to other schools about my decision.