nugget

Could you do volunteer work in Korea once a week or get a second part time job at a place that has an English speaking superior who could write you a LOR? You could try to work/volunteer as a teaching assistant at a university in exchange for a LOR for grad school. Academics are very likely to have at least a working knowledge of English and they will have the academic background that admissions committees are looking for. I agree that grad school should not be decided upon on a whim as it will be a great investment in terms of time, money and resources - more difficult and time consuming than your undergraduate studies.

You may also want to consider doing a BSW and applying to a 1 yr MSW later on. A BSW could be done in as little as 2 yrs at most universities and it's only 12 months at Lakehead University (the first 6 months are on campus and the last 6 months can be done in another geographic location if you choose). Good luck!

I posted here a while ago stating that there is a website that tells you how much US students receive in financial aid and scholarships but I no longer had the link. Here it is: http://gradpay.herokuapp.com/

Are you only considering schools in the US? If Canada is also an option, this website will give you all the information you need about schools in Canada: www.aucc.ca

I think it would be a good idea to visit your local bookstore or library and look for books on writing a personal statement. As well, you should be able to find a good book on what the field of social work is like, the personal attributes needed for a good social worker, the working conditions, different branches of social work, etc... All of this information will come in handy when you write your personal statement. Whenever you are writing about your abilities and strengths as an applicant, you need to provide evidence for what you say through specific examples. It is not enough to simply state that you are patient, empathetic and a good listener, for instance. You will learn more about this and other things by reading some good books on the subject. You can also find sample personal statements on the internet. You should also try to look at sample personal statements in social work or in a related field, as different programs may place emphasis on different aspects of a candidate's profile.

Since it's the summer and it's the slow season, I'd take this opportunity to call or book an appointment with someone at each of these schools to try to get more information. You could also try looking at job postings for jobs that you are interested in and see what qualifications employers are asking for. I'd also find out about admission cutoffs (not application cutoffs but what credentials successful candidates typically have) and years of experience for each of these programs to find out how competitive you are as a candidate. Apply to as many school as possible that you could actually see yourself attending to increase your chances of admission. It's not worth losing another year and delaying your career for the sake of not spending an extra $200 or $300 on application fees.

I hope your loan request works out. Did they give you the option of deferring? If it doesn't end up working out in your favour this year, just spend the upcoming months making your application even stronger so that you will get a better offer next year with more funding. Best of luck!

I would try to get a reference from one of your old profs. You never know, one of them might remember you. It would be better for them to see you in person to help jog their memory and show them any old assignments you have if you kept them. Otherwise, try to sign up for one or two night school courses and get references from those profs, because you will need one or two academic references to apply to grad school. It's your choice if you want to do the MA is Addictions or an MSW first. It sounds like you are on the right track by identifying what you want to do career wise and identifying which degrees will allow you to get there. One advantage to your plan is that after getting the MA in Addictions, you could try to get your future employer in addictions to pay the tuition fees for the MSW if you do it part time and outside of working hours. Best of luck!

The degree and manner in which certain disabilities, such as ADD, express themselves can vary at any given time, even for the same individual. So if one practices for the GRE at home and establishes a sense of how much time one can give to a question before moving on, yes this will be helpful. However, if the ADD symptoms are particularly problematic at the time of testing (more so than during all of the practice runs previously done to prepare) than it may take longer for the person with the disability to read, process and answer the questions. On a "good day" when the symptoms are mild or not present, the individual can proceed at a quicker pace. The point I was simply trying to make was why take that risk? If the person did not have a disability I would fully agree with your post. But stress, being in different surroundings and a certain degree of unpredictability of the extent to which the symptoms of certain disabilities will appear would make me want to err on the side of caution for something as important as writing the GRE.

My sympathies. This sounds like a rough spot to be in. Your situation reminds me of this guy in a story I read on the internet. While it's far from ideal, would this solution be an option for you at all? (You can scroll down towards the end of the article if you like). http://finance.yahoo.com/news/duke-grad-student-secretly-lived-in-a-van-to-escape-loan-debt-194021112.html Naturally, the above can also be done more comfortably with a camper, trailer or motor home, if you have a access to a patch of grass or driveway. Otherwise, you might need to try to defer your offer for a year and use the extra year to find additional sources of funding in addition to working and saving all the money you possibly can. Is a deferral a possibility? An extra year would also allow you to apply to other schools next year and try to get into a cheaper school or one that offers more funding. For instance, international tuition fees in Canada are quite low and we have some good schools with a strong international reputation, such as U of Toronto and McGill University. Best of luck!!

Was the study done with participants who also have ADD? Your situation is not quite the same as people who don't have to deal with this issue. Instead of trying to predict whether or not you will need the extra time, I'd consider the reasons why you wouldn't want to apply for it as a backup. Do you feel embarrassed in any way because you are eligible for special accommodations? Having extra time can allow you to take your time when answering questions and you won't feel the same pressure to finish the test within the time limit. The extra time is there in case you get distracted during the exam due to your health condition so that your test results won't be compromised in any way. If you have never written the GRE before and don't know what to expect,I would take the time if it is given to you. If you don't need it, you can simply leave earlier than planned or use the time to double check your answers.

You might also want to look into auditing undergrad classes or trying to become a TA in the Spanish department of your university (if it's possible to TA in a different department). I am in a similar position. I nearly completed a minor in Spanish then dropped it to focus on my major. I miss Spanish and have forgotten a lot of what I learned at school and will need to relearn it. You def don't want to lose the Spanish you have worked so hard to acquire over the years. I hope you end up finding a good solution.

I have never attended an American university. But having attended a Canadian university, I believe As are less common. For instance, in my department typically less than 10% of the class received an A+ in my classes. At times, no one got an A+. The class average (mean avg) of my classes always ranged somewhere between a B- and a B+. Typically, 90-100% is an A+, 85-89% an A, 80-84% an A-, 77-79% a B+, etc... 60% is usually a passing grade of a D-. I recall one student from NYC who complained that teachers graded lower at my university than they did at his old uni in NYC. However, grades were only lower in terms of percentage points and when they were converted into letter grades or on a 4.0 scale, his grades did not really change all that much. One of my profs went to school in the US and she is the only one I knew who frequently gave extremely high grades. However, she did not use the grading scale I mentioned above and when converted from percentages into letters or on a 4.0 scale my grades were only slightly higher with her than with my other profs. I did not attend an Ivy league school and went to a mid-range uni in Canada and even the student given an award for the highest GPA in the entire university did not have a 4.0 average (whereas, I've heard some American students on this site claim to have a GPA of 4.0) . I think at Canadian universities, A-'s and A's are within the reach of hardworking students but A+'s are reserved for very special students and some teachers don't believe students should get A+'s because the work would need to be at the level of the professor to get that sort of grade. ex: In English literature, this is a very common attitude among profs. So if you aren't in mathematics, the sciences, or another field where test answers are clearly right or wrong with no room for debate, than A+'s can be off limits in some classes that rely heavily on essays or have other subjective means of performance evaluation. Some schools in Canada do not have A+ and the highest grade attainable is an A. If this is the case, then in some cases the A might only be given for work that is considered professor-level quality, depending on who is teaching the course and what their opinion is on awarding the highest grades possible to the best students in the class. More generally speaking, to attend grad school in Canada, one needs a minimum of a B+ to get accepted into an unfunded program and in some cases, an A-. If it is funded, I'd say a minimum of an A- (if the rest of the application is excellent), but often an A is needed or higher. Of course, there will be some variation depending on what school or field of study one is considering and how competitive the program is.

Weird. I'm not sure why my post had such narrow margins??

I was in a similar situation to yourself for close to two years. I went back and forth between becoming an educational/career counsellor and a social worker. I found that volunteer work and internships gave me more insight into which career would be more suitable for me. I also researched the job market and job prospects for graduates of each of these programs and made my decision based on all of these factors. (Since I did an undergrad degree in a field with a weak job market, I believe that fit means nothing if the job market is weak and it is not likely one will find work in a given field). I ended up applying to programs in both areas to increase my number of opportunities to attend grad school and to keep both options open in case I changed my mind somewhere along the way. During the application process, I wrote so many letters of interest which required a lot of soul searching about my career goals and interests. In the end, writing my letters of interest helped me to see which of the two options I preferred the most. I strongly recommend considering cost and length of programs vs. salary potential given that some programs in the US are quite costly. But based on what you are written so far, it seems to me that psychology most closely fits your interests.

That's wonderful news! Perhaps you'll be back on here in a few years when applying for an MSW. Enjoy the program.

Peetabread, Since you asked 2 weeks ago, I would personally wait another 2 weeks before asking again. Once a month seems reasonable to show that you are still interested, without coming across as being impatient or redundant. Perhaps you could call in mid-July and, if needed, in mid to late August. It's up to you. As long as it doesn't get to the point that the secretary knows what you are calling about as soon as she hears your name. That would be a sign that someone is calling too much.

Considering that you are so close to getting in, I think it's more of a question of when you'll be getting in - this year or the next - and not if you'll get in. Hopefully it will be this year. Otherwise reapply next year, get more experience or boost your gpa in the meantime, and you will certainly be ranked higher next year. Best of luck!

In Canada, GPA requirements are different. You need a GPA in the B+ range to have a chance at getting into an MSW program (even if on the websites it says you can apply with a B. These days, it's become more competitive so some schools only end up taking people with an A- or higher. I think pursuing a BSW was a wise choice to make. Now that you are so inspired to work in the field, you are likely to get a much higher GPA and can apply to do a 1 yr MSW later on.

Perhaps major in one and minor in the other. If you don't know which one, just randomly pick something. If you change your mind somewhere along the way, you can just just swap it the other way around or major in one and drop the other later on.

Congratulations!! Clinical psych is unbelievably competitive to get into. Typically 250 people compete for as little as 5 spots. You will have many great career opportunities with that degree and get solid training in both counselling and research. Sounds like you made a great choice.

That is quite an offer coming from an advisor. I've never heard of advisors make such an offer to a student before (at least in Canada).

Somewhere on this forum, a person posted a link to a website that tells you how much financial aid schools tend to give (based on data provided by students from schools all over the country). It also gives numbers for different departments/programs at various schools. I can't seem to find it anymore as I don't remember the forum sub-heading name. But such a thing does exist. Perhaps if you do a google search you will be able to find it.

If a course is really experienced as being easy by the majority of students, then the prof will compensate by making the assignments harder or using a bell curve since profs can't give most of the students As in the class. I don't think it's too wise to take what other people say too seriously when it comes to choosing a major. We each have individual strengths and weaknesses. Some people love numbers and find math easy while other people may struggle to get by. Go with what you enjoy doing. Usually people's interests match their strengths. If you enjoy what you are studying, you will be more motivated to work hard and your grades will naturally be stronger for it.

Wonderful news, Beth23! Congrats on getting 2 acceptances.