calicopirate

Thanks for all of your responses! I'm going to make appointments with the schools and see if they can help me in any way. I was really shocked when I got the rejection letters because I had letters of recommendation from my program coordinator at AmeriCorps, the principal of the school site I worked at, and the volunteer coordinator of the foster home. : (

It was a huge heartbreak and disappointment for me to find out that I didn't get accepted to any of the five MSW programs that I applied to this past spring. I'm going to try again this year, but I'm wondering if anyone has any tips to make my application stronger. I graduated with a BA in English about ten years ago with a GPA of 2.5. I've been working with Ameri.Corps for two years and about to do a third term with the same program. While it's an education based program, I'm getting hands-on experience with working by volunteering at the foster home and homeless shelter. Recently, I took classes at a community college and got a 4.0 for that semester. What else would you suggest?

I'm still waiting to hear back from them about my MSW program. I checked online and it still says that my status is pending. : \

The deadline was February 1st. A couple of my friends received acceptance letters from two of the schools that I applied to. I called PDX State and they said that they'll email out the letters later this week. The other two schools couldn't give me any information other than it's under departmental review. o.O

I'm worried because I haven't heard back from three of the schools (CSUEB, Portland State, and SDSU) that I applied to for this fall semester for the MSW program. Is this common? Should I call the schools to follow-up?

I applied to CSUF, San Diego State, CSUEB, and Portland State. I haven't heard from any of them yet so I'm really worried.

Question for those who applied for Fall 2013: how were you notified if you were accepted or invited for an interview? Was it by postal mail, email, or through the school's email that they provided? I'm worried because I have not heard anything from the schools that I applied to. : \

That's amazing! Where did you find the link to this? I want to see if there are other schools who offer programs like this.

Today, I got my first rejection letter in the mail stating that I wasn't accepted because of my GPA. While it's upsetting because I received my undergraduate degree nine years ago, I want to start taking upper division classes at a college. How do I go about doing that? I tried researching under the School of Continuing Education for some of the universities, but they were more about helping post-grads get certification in things like education and becoming a mechanic. Who do I contact in regards to this? I don't know what to do since I'm very distraught by it all.

This is a silly question, but I can't figure it out by myself. On the CSU Mentor form, it asks you to write a personal statement as to why you want to pursue a graduate degree. However, it says that if I submitted a statement of purpose directly to the program, that I don't have to write one. So, do I have to write another personal statement for CSU Mentor or do I just tell them that I have completed one for my department?

Unfortunately, the illness occurred during my last year of college so I wasn't able to raise it much more than 2.2. Thank you so much for the edits! They were really helpful; thank you.

Does this sound okay? I removed identifying things about me from this essay: In October 2003, I was diagnosed with a (illness) which later was discovered to be (illness). Treatment for this required me to be hospitalized for a surgery during finals week where they placed a (xxx) in me. Before I was diagnosed, I was often in the emergency room or at a doctor’s office due to the discomfort from my illness. Because of this, I feel like it contributed to my low GPA due to the fact two of my classes, (class) and (class) were classes where attendance and my final project weighed heavily on my final grade. As a result, I received a 1.6 GPA for that semester. In the following semester, I was able to raise my GPA to a 2.2. Medical documentation of this illness and treatment can be provided upon request.

Do I write as a letter with, "Dear Admissions Committee..."? How do I distinguish that it's an addendum to my application?

How does one go about preparing for the quantitive part of the GRE? I did really badly on it during my last test and have been practicing, but still am doing poorly. What I find to be really difficult is rewiring my brain to interpret the questions and figure out what the question is asking me to deduce. (I'm a native English speaker.) I'm spending a lot of time memorizing the formulas, but it's the wording that always messes me up. If I had my way, I would select option D (not enough information to deduce a solution) for all of the questions asking for which column is greater because I can't connect the dots.

A good friend of mine went from an undergrad degree of Anthropology to a MSW so I'm not too worried about it. I'll take you up on your offer of reviewing my SOP. I'm still working on it, but thank you in advance.

What do you mean?

I feel like I have a lot to say about my current job which is related to the degree that I wish to pursue. That being said, I'm not sure if it's best to devote a section of my SOP explaining my low GPA, which was due to health problems. I thought about discussing it because it happened during the last 60 hours of my undergrad years and affects my GPA that I have to report on several of my applications.

That's good to know. However, I haven't taken any classes since then yet I've been involved in fieldwork similar to my field for about two years now. I'm hoping that will help. :\

Thanks! I'm just worried because I feel like I'm not qualified enough despite having two two years of fieldwork. I would take graduate-level classes, but unfortunately, the university closest to me doesn't offer classes in the field that I wish to go to. Should I address my GPA in the SOP of the application?

I'm curious about this as well considering that I have several black marks on my transcript. But, that was eight years ago.

I'm applying for my Masters in Social Work for Fall of 2013. The thing is that I have an overall GPA of 2.49, but my GPA in my major (English) is 3.88. All of the programs that I'm looking at to apply require no less than 3.0 to apply. However, I finished my undergrad degree eight years ago. Since then, I've volunteered in various organizations and have served two terms with AmeriCorps. Because of these two things, I have first-hand experience in the field. I'm planning on taking my GREs and several classes at the community college to demonstrate my current academic ability. With that said, I have these questions: 1. Would I be lying if I said that I have a 2.5 GPA? 2. Is there a way to bring it up that I have a 3.88 GPA in my major? And most importantly, is it worthwhile to apply? I'm imagining the admissions person looking at my GPA on the application, laughing at it, and throwing it away before getting to my personal statement or letter of recommendations.