nugget

I've never eaten sushi. I'm not interested in raw fish and don't ever plan to try it.

Can you call the loan people and explain your situation and see what they advise? If they can't help you then I'd call NYU and explain the situation and hope they could give you some sort of answer. Chances are, you aren't the only person impacted in a similar way by their late response and they may have received similar calls from other applicants. Good luck!

Congrats superanxious! York's funding packages are always great. Sounds like you got a really good opportunity.

Perhaps by explaining the situation as it is.... This program is your first choice and you're very interested in attending, but you have some financial obstacles that may prevent you from being able to accept the offer. Are there other opportunities to receive additional funding, like a TA position, for instance? Good luck!

I just remembered the name of the school in NB - St.Thomas University.

I agree that 2 years is too long for a post grad BSW. That's why Lakehead's 12 month program is a great option. There is also a 15 month program in New Brunswick (I can't seem to remember the name of the school at the moment however). Apparently U of Waterloo offers a 12 month program too.

Is deferring an option? If so, maybe you could work to pay off some of your loans this upcoming year and apply to more schools next year and scholarships and see if you get a more lucrative offer next year. Best of luck to you!

I think that this is sound advice. When I was looking at MSW programs last year, I found this to be the case for pretty much all the programs that I looked at. Statistically, a greater percentage of people get accepted into 1 year MSW programs than 2 year programs (this is by doing my own calculations based on number of applicants and number of spots available). I think the reason for this may be that there are so many more 1 year MSW programs in Canada than 2 year programs so there are more spots available country-wide. Plus some people applying to the 1 year MSW are unwilling to relocate to another province and don't end up applying to Ontario schools (where most people on this forum seem to have applied) as most provinces in Canada offer 1 year MSW programs (but this is not the case for 2 year programs).

This isn't my field but based on what you've stated this is what I'd do.... If you plan to work a few years before returning for a PhD (like 4-5 years or more) or if there's a chance you might change your mind about doing a PhD later on, I'd go with U Michigan. As you stated there are more job opportunities for U Michigan grads. The extra price tag is well worth the investment if you stop after a masters as more job opportunities will come your way. But if you are certain you want to do a PhD later on without working in between, I'd go for a cheaper school. That's a lot of debt you'd be getting into and you might end up being accepted to a PhD program at U Michigan or another top school after your masters. Anyhow, that's my 2 cents. Good luck!

Can you defer for a year? If so, maybe you could work on strengthening your profile in the upcoming months then apply to more schools next year and take your best offer. Another possibility is to do the masters program that you seem to be ok with, work for a few years and get lots of solid experience, then try again for a PhD.

Have you ever lived on your own before? There is a lot more to pay for than rent - like food, toileteries, cleaning products, internet, cell phone, bus pass, etc.... you'd also need extra money to buy things you can't bring with you like blankets, pillows, bed sheets, lamps, kitchen supplies, etc. unless you plan to drive across the country and transport them with you. You could get by in Montreal for $1000/month if you are ok with having roommates, if you don't have car and if you are good at following a budget. If your program is 24 months long, that's $24,000 not including airfare there and back, plus extra airfare if you want to go back home for the holidays (ie: Christmas break, reading week, summertime). I'd wager that you'd need about $15,000/yr plus extra for tuition.

When you get two good offers, you can't go wrong with either option. Have you sat down and calculated exactly how much difference there will be in cost? I would do this first to make an informed decision. After doing this if you don't mind the higher price tag, then go for it!

If you want to learn French, there are some cheap courses in Canada, but I have to forewarn you that the accent is nothing like European French and the slang is quite different. But the grammar you'd be learning in class would be international French. Anyhow, if you're interested in that it's about $2000 for 5 weeks of class, including room and board (with a family or in a residence). You get classes all morning from Monday to Friday and there a lots of activities in the afternoon including outings. This program is a lot of fun. I attended the school in Trois-Rivieres a few years back. You aren't allowed to speak a language other than French. If you do and you get caught you are kicked out of the program after the third time (but I'm pretty sure they only enforce this rule in towns). In Trois-Rivieres, they even have informants and staff will tell their family and friends. So you could be in a shop, restaurant or taxi and if they hear English they will ask for your student card and they will call the school and report you to the principal. It's all in good fun though and you will learn a lot of French in only 5 weeks. I don't know anybody who didn't enjoy it. Anyhow, here's the link if you're interested. http://www.myexplore.ca/en/where/ It says applications are closed but that's for Canadians because the government offers free bursaries to Canadians and that deadline has passed. Just contact tghe school directly if interested.

Stella_ella, There are at least 70 different Spanish schools in Guatemala. I went to Quetzaltenango many years ago because I wanted to be in a city with lots of things to do and it's less touristy than the city of Antigua. But you can find Spanish schools all over the country. Classes start every Monday. Since they're private lessons, you can start and end anytime you want. But schools are busiest from June-August. Here are some links to get you started: http://www.xelapages.com/schools.htm (I went to Guatemalensis a long time ago, but there are other good schools here too) http://www.guatemala365.com/ I'd recommend picking up a good travel guide from a library or bookstore and browsing through to get recommendations for language schools and to help you figure out which town or city you want to go to. Guatemala is beautiful. There are lots of Indigenous markets, mountains and (inactive) volcanos that you can climb. You should also visit the Mayan ruins in the northern part of the country and visit the sub-tropical rainforest. Happy travels!

Is the program available part time? If it is, I'd consider working full time as a social worker in New York while doing an MFA part time.

Which countries have you looked into, may I ask? If you want to learn Spanish, Guatemala is quite inexpensive, as well as Honduras, Ecuador, Bolivia and less touristy parts of Peru. You could get room and board with a family in addition to 25 hours of private language classes a week in Guatemala for around $200 US/wk. Now that's a deal! I'm sure you would meet lots of people at school to travel with every weekend on day and overnight trips and also to do some traveling once you're done with your classes. I'd seriously consider it if you're interested in learning Spanish.

That sounds like a rough spot to be in. I don't have any experience with this as I have no thesis in my program, hence no supervisor. One approach you may want to consider is to start a conversation after you get a comment which presumes you are going to do a PhD.... For instance, "So do most students in this program do a PhD?" Wait for the response. Then it's up to you how to continue. Perhaps you could say, "Well I actually haven't planned that far ahead. I might want to take some time off to work, or stop after a masters..." Well you get the point. It's a soft approach to let them know you might not continue on. Then if you do decide to apply to schools somewhere else when you're in your last year, it won't be such a surprise to them that you might not stay at that school and you should be able to figure out how to best approach that conversation as you'll know your supervisor better by that time.

I think it depends on the school. My school gets a failing grade when it comes to answering the phone. It takes a good 5 minutes to reach a human voice (ie: an operator) who will usually transfer you to voicemail later on. I actually considered driving over to the school to get a simple form filled out after I got accepted (and the school was a 7 hour drive away!!) because no one would answer their darn phone or respond by email. Finally I sent my message by FedEx. Generally though, my school does better with email and I think this will vary from place to place.

Congratulations LynnEY! That's exciting news.

I agree with Actuallyatreee. While French is not amongst the easiest of languages to learn, in 5 months you could learn to make sentences in the past, present and future tenses and you'd learn even faster after you arrive. You can also connect with other foreign students at school which you'll appreciate on the days you feel homesick or want to socialize and relax without thinking about your grammar for a change. I don't know much about your field, but you would probably be a more competitive job candidate if you were bilingual, so I'd say go for it!

Let's try not to judge the OP. She originally didn't even want to mention the reason why she wants to do this so I don't think she intended to open this particular point up for discussion. Clearly she is a thoughtful and intelligent woman (as she got into a competitive academic program) who has probably given this situation a lot of thought and can predict the way that her family will respond. Families can operate quite differently from a cultural context, ways in which people from an individualistic society (such as the American way of life) may find challenging to comprehend (particularly when compared to collectivist societies or societies in which elders are given more respect for their experience and wisdom). Best of luck to the OP. I hope the situation turns out favorably.

Congrats on McGill!! Do you speak French by any chance? If not, I think you should find out if this will limit your internship opportunities. Something else to keep in mind, your internship supervisors probably won't be able to hire you after you graduate if you aren't bilingual due to language French bylaws. So it's worth thinking about where you want to establish professional contacts Will you end up with an MSW when you're done or do you need to apply again after completing the qualifying program? If you have to apply again, I'd go to U of T over McGill because it's a sure thing whereas McGill isn't. If you are bilingual, it's a lot less expensive to live in Montreal compared to Toronto, so that's a good incentive. Montreal is also a fun city for young students (although winters are much longer and harsher than in Toronto). Good luck!!

Instant coffee. (It's quick and does the job when brewed coffee isn't readily available or I'm in a hurry).

Only food ones come to mind at the moment. -Fish -Olives -Coconut -Soft cheeses (ie: brie, feta, etc) -Meat that isn't fully cooked/well done

I agree with much that has already been said. You didn't make any mention of funding. If your top choice provides better funding and the other school provides minimal funding, you could also mention that financial reasons compel you to accept a different offer (in addition to your main concerns about research fit). I can't imagine anyone faulting you for not wanting to take on student debt.