nugget

Does $500 cover all or most of the related expenses? If so, I'd do it. If not, then it would be wise to wait a bit longer in case you get any more funding information.

I just up voted it for you.

I did a quick search on Berkeley's website, as this is one of the schools you'd like to attend, and psychological disorders such as depression are considered a disability. http://dsp.berkeley.edu/verification.html

You are indeed correct. This is why social workers are trained NOT to give clients advice. Clients are the best ones to find solutions to their own problems.

I would go with the suggestion you came up with and state the situation briefly and clearly and see if you could get a couple of extensions. Your request sounds reasonable to me.

If you need to talk to someone about your depression outside of business hours, you can call this help line for students in you live anywhere in Ontario. It's a free service. http://www.680news.com/2013/10/04/ontario-launches-mental-health-help-line-for-university-college-students/

Your school should have a department for students with disabilities. I would start by calling them and getting information on how to register with their department and how they will be able to assist you. Depression is considered a disability and they will be able to notify your professors in writing of any special accomodations that you may need (ie: occassional extensions on assignments, etc) without disclosing the details of your medical condition. You can also ask them about taking a leave of absence as I am certain that they have had students in the past who needed to take a leave of absence and they could give you some information on how the process works.

I never knew there was such a degree, but somehow I'm not surprised. Food packages have been getting smaller and smaller over the years and prices have been increasing. I'm certain that packages are deliberately designed so it looks like you are getting more volume for what you are paying. I notice this most when I transfer food from a commercial container into a saucepan that was simply designed to cook food and not actually sell food.

If you are looking for suggestions, you may want to mention if you are applying to advanced standing MSW programs or programs with a foundational year as this could greatly change your options. Check out the following website. I'm certain you will find the answer to your question there. http://www.aucc.ca/canadian-universities/study-programs/

Have you considered applying, waiting to see what offers you get (including funding) and making your decision then? It's much harder to decide now because there are so many unknowns. With a few numbers and school names the choice might become a lot clearer for you.

I am only aware of U of Waterloo and Dalhousie, but you need to have a master's degree in another field for the second option. The second year of the MSW program at Victoria is offered online, but you've already missed the deadline. Apart from that, I am only aware of counselling programs that are offered online and a number of American schools offer online MSW programs.

I noticed that B.C. MSW programs aren't well represented on this forum, for some reason. Perhaps it's because a lot of people on the forum come from Ontario (it is the most populated province in Canada, afterall) and some people might not want to move so far away from home. It can also be expensive to fly out to BC and most people wouldn't get many visits from family and friends who live in another province. As far as I know, UBC is a good school. It is only 1 of 3 or 4 Canadian schools that makes it on the best universities in the world list every year (can't remember what that list is officially called). UBC Okanagan is still a part of UBC it's just that the campus is in Kelowna (in the Okanangan Valley) and not in Vancouver, like the main campus. They also have an MSW program at the main campus but the requirements are different. Some people here might be eligible to apply for both programs though. Something worth noting is that tuition at the UBC MSW program is just under $1500 per semester which is less than half the price of tuition at U of T, Laurier and Windsor. So even if you have to fly to get out there and go back home over the holidays, UBC is still more affordable than some other programs.

2014Appy: Forgot to add, it's still possible to apply to the 2 year fulltime MSW program at Laurier (specialization in Aboriginal studies). The deadline is April 1st.

Are there any law school programs that begin in January rather than September? If you could fulfil your MSc requirements within this timeframe, perhaps a good compromise between beginning law in Sept 2014 and Sept 2015 would be to finish your MSc by Dec 2014 and start your law degree in Jan 2015. It's another option to consider, anyway.

Hi 2014Appy, You can apply to 2 year MSW programs and you do not need a BSW. U of Victoria, UBC, U of Calgary, Carleton, U of T, Laurier and U of Windsor offer 2 year programs. What a shame you are finding out now as most of the deadlines for September admission have already passed. But if you still want to go this route you might still be able to meet the deadline for UBC - Okanagan. You could also apply to a parttime MSW program at Laurier and just ask to be transferred into fulltime after the first semester. I believe the deadline is in late spring. Some people with a BSW decide to do an MSW to get a salary increase, to become managers or to open up their own practice. You have a wider range of job opportunities with an MSW compared to a BSW. Best of luck on your applications!

Given my field of study, I don't think I would have much constructive advice to offer and I'm confident that there are some others out there in a similar situation. At this point, it seems clear that a second bachelors is off the table, which would leave the OP with chosing between doing a different graduate degree or finding a job (until he figures out what he wants to do with his life). If you aren't too swamped with work, the book What Color is Your Parachute? might be worth a quick read if you're having trouble figuring this all out. It's been a bestselling career book for years.

Hi Jaylynn, If you lay out the questions/statements for your MSW application in front of you during the test, I think you'll do just fine. You'll save a substantial amount of time by typing straight from your statements and this will give you extra time time answer the other questions that aren't in your notes.

To work with seniors, I think you would need to be able to deal with death well because some of your patients will die while they are still your clients. It's also important to be a patient person because some seniors walk, talk or move slowly and some like to tell stories and get side tracked. When I worked with seniors, I learned to become a more patient person. I've never worked in addictions, but others have told me that you need to be a direct and assertive person in certain situations. If a client is beligerant and shows up to the appointment high or intoxicated you may need to ask the client to leave the centre. If you work in health care, you may be exposed to blood, wounds and funky smells in patient's rooms (ie: dirty diapers or colostomy bags, etc) although not nearly as much as doctors or nurses. In Canada, I've been told that social workers in hospitals do a lot of discharge planning which involes making sure that patients have access to various resources after they return home. I'd double check on this last point though as it may be different in the US.

It may be worth your while to consider part time programs, either locally or online. If you aren't in a rush to graduate and you're happy where you're at now, what are the advantages of quitting your job to go back to school?

What happens if renovations are being done elsewhere in the building, like a neighbour's apartment, the lobby or laundry room?

Health care is a broader specialization than the other two. It sounds like a safer bet than the other options if you aren't sure what to do and it also overlaps with gerontology and addictions, so you'd be exposed to these populations to a certain degree on your internships. Nice choice.

If you have some time to decide, try to do some volunteer work to find out where your interests lie. You may want to consider volunteering at a hospital or similar where you'll be able to work in all 3 of these areas, or 2 in the very least.

Do you plan to have a roommate, own a car, or eat out at restaurants a lot? All of these things will make a big difference in how much money you will need. If you can provide a bit more information, someone here might be able to give you more accurate estimates.

Have a great trip! I did the same thing a number of years ago and had one of the best times of my life. I recommend Quetzaltenango if you are serious about learning Spanish as Antigua is full and tourists and English (at least that was the situation when I was there).

Some very interesting and creative ideas. How could one make a cargo trailer and how might a young woman find a safe and inexpensive place to sleep at night and a safe place to store the cargo during a cross country trip?