nugget

Perhaps there is a way to postpone the PhD by one year, take the job and see how you feel about this the same time next year.

If you haven't found it already, here is a nice link on free tuition in europe. It also mentions Germany. http://www.scholars4dev.com/4031/list-of-european-countries-with-tuition-freelow-tuition-universities-colleges/

Sorry to hear that, pinsandneedles. What do you mean by an applied degree? Do you mean a diploma from a community college? If you really want to get into social work, I'd look into BSW programs and when get get in, work really hard to get a GPA of A- or better. (It's still possible to get into an MSW program with a GPA of B+ but it seems that lots of people apply with a B+ so it will be tougher to get in without an A- or better). You could also apply to MSW programs in the US depending on your GPA. The US has far more grad school programs than we do in Canada (since they have 10x the population of Canada), therefore some people get in with less than stellar GPAs. I've heard of people getting into MSW programs with a B average. So if you have a B, this may be an option for you. If money is an issue, Bridgewater and Salem State have more affordable tuition fees ($9,000/yr and $11,000/yr respectively), and there are probably a few more out there that are less expensive. But be prepared to spend a lot of time looking for them on the internet since there aren't that many. If you do go back to school, I highly recommend applying to more schools, like 5 or 6, because with a low GPA it's going to be tougher for you to get into something, but it certainly won't be impossible. I'd also recommend consulting with a professional educational counsellor to edit your letters of interest before submitting your essays to the schools.

Here are some questions you can think about.... -Do you prefer helping people one on one? How important is it to have interpersonal interactions with your clients, to personally guide them through the healing process and witness the changes that they go through? -Do you want to impart change on a bigger scale? Do you like the prospect of creating policies and programs that will positively impact the lives of clients on a much larger scale than if you were in a profession that required you to help clients one at a time? Will your work be equally fulfilling with less personal contact with the people that you are trying to help? It really is a personal decision; both sound like great career prospects. But if the first set of questions sounds more like what you want, I'd go into OT. If you are more into administration and management, I'd go into Public Health. If you haven't already done so, you may want to look into how strong each job market is in the part of country you want to live in as well as salary expectations. Best of luck!

That is one extremely competitive program to get into. Getting in at any age (or even the third time around) is a HUGE accomplishment. Congratulations!!

Such wonderful news!! All the best at York and with your new career.

Congratulations!! That's wonderful news. Victoria is one of the most beautiful places in the country. You are one lucky person to have the chance to live in BC and attend your top choice.

If the funding doesn't come through, you may need to consider switching over to part time studies and working fulltime, which I am sure won't go over well with your department, but what do they expect? You were promised money and didn't get it. That changes things. If they continue to evade the topic or postpone the funding, you may also want to consider booking a 30 minute appointment with a lawyer just to find out what your rights are before deciding how to proceed.

It really depends on what field you are in and if you plan to do a thesis. If it's a course-based program with no thesis (like the programs I applied to) you usually do not get full funding. Scholarships are very limited and often not more than a few thousand dollars if you are lucky enough to get one. Most people use their own money and take out student loans. This is my situation. I plan to live frugally for 2 years with no car and by renting out a room in a house or apartment with other students. I'm guessing I'll need $40,000-45,000 for 2 years (or 5 semesters) to cover books, tuition and basic living expenses. If it's a thesis-based masters, then funding is usually available and it will cover most or all of your expenses, as "takeruK" mentioned above. These programs tend to accept far less students and are harder to get into than unfunded programs, naturally. (In my estimates, I am referring to domestic tuition rates for Canadians. If you don't qualify, you will need to have a bigger budget to cover the higher tuition fees for international students).

Quebec. You also have to speak French though to become a registered member of the professional association.

It probably depends what part of the country you live in. I see new job postings for OT at my hospital every few months. It's covered under worker's compensation in my province for people who have work-related accidents so there is a need for it. Ontario might be different.

I briefly considered OT since this field is similar to my area of study in undergrad, except that you can actually find a good job after graduating in OT. I also briefly used OT services at one time and got to see the kind of work that they do. Dalhousie has a good 2 yr master's program for people with a bachelor's in another area. You need to take a lot of courses in physiology, anatomy and biology, however, so I opted against it. I always preferred psychology, education and related areas so social work seems to be a much better fit. But for anyone who enjoys the sciences and likes helping people, this would definitely be a rewarding profession.

Backups are so important. You just never know what could happen. I saw a poster at school once from someone looking for her stolen laptop. She went to the washroom, was at the stall and put her laptop near her feet on the floor. The person in the next stall reached under and grabbed her computer while she was on the toilet.. Just terrible. One can never be too careful when it comes to safeguarding and backing up data. Anything could happen to it.

OMG! That's a huge waitlist. For anyone keen an attending this school, based on s1990's information, it looks like half of the people who applied will get an offer of admission. That's great. You can't get any better odds than this at any other MSW program in Canada! But they sure extend the process. June is such a long time to wait. Best of luck to all who are waiting on U of Windsor.

What about signing up for a class at a community centre? That way you'll have access to pottery equipment, even if your skill level will most likely be higher than that of the other students. Some cities also have pottery cafes. You pay by the hour and can have your lunch, order a cup of coffee or study while the pottery is in the kiln.

Dalhousie is a good school, michmenhennet. Congrats on getting accepted! I guess Victoria and Calgary rank higher on your list, but it's still great that you got in somewhere.

I highly recommend this book, What Color Is Your Parachute? Here is a website link. You should be able to find a copy in a library. It's great for career changers and helping people figure out what they want to do and how to get there. First you need to figure out what you want, then you can create a plan on how to get it. http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/

I can only speak about Canadian schools and perhaps the reasoning in the US is similar. Most research scholarships that are issued at the federal and provincial levels are only available to Canadians. (I am talking about big scholarships that pay all of your tuition and living expenses). Often, before a supervisor will agree to take on an international student they need to secure funding from their home country. If this money does not come through for whatever reason (like if the scholarship does not get renewed after a year, for instance), the lab supervisor needs to come up with the money to fund the student. Whereas if Candians are accepted into the program, if it's a highly competitive program, these students are highly likely qualify for scholarships paid for by the government and not the lab supervisor. International students are financially risky. If you are applying to a course-based masters program that does not require a research component or thesis, then it should be easier to get in as most students (Canadian or otherwise) do not get full funding to attend these programs and many do not get funding at all.

Actually, the first Windsor offer mentioned here was received May 2nd, so probably still another week to go...

So many rounds of offers. That's a bit surprising. I would expect 2 or maybe 3 at most. I guess Windsor doesn't rank high for many of the applicants. All the better for the other people who applied then. With any luck, second round offers will be out by the end of this week.

Are you planning to do a PhD? By reading comments from other posters on the forum, it seems that a good number of people applying to PhD's on the forum agree that if you did your Masters at a school that's not top tier if shouldn't prevent you from getting into a PhD program at a top tier university later on. Therefore, to me it would make more sense to put more of an investment into a PhD program and not accumulate too much debt for the Master's. Anyhow, the choice is yours. If you expect to be getting a very high salary after graduation it might be worth the investment otherwise I would try to avoid debt as much as possible. You will be paying it back for a very long time, with lots of interest.

If you prefer school B and you will accumulate less debt at that school, I'd be on the phone right away trying to straighten it out. Paying more and getting your second choice vs. paying less and getting your first choice? The decision seems obvious to me, unless there are other important factors to consider that aren't mentioned in your short description about the situation.

No idea. It probably wouldn't hurt to call and ask. I just got tired of waiting. I gave it a lot of thought and I will be going to Laurier even if I'm accepted to Windsor.

You know, getting on the waitlist at U of T is not easy. Your application was better than 600+ other applications. It only needed to be better than 675 to get an offer. You are so close. If this year doesn't work out, find out how to become a more competitive candidate (going to a U of T session, suggested by MSW13 is a great idea) so that you will get in next year. You are so close to achieving your goal; this is not the time to give up.

Lots of good ideas here. I wanted to get boxes of chocolate, maybe Lindt or Godiva, but I am still waiting to hear back from one school. School is out and all of my references are off until September. If I put chocolates in their staff mailboxes and they aren't picked up until September they will melt in July and look deformed. lol I think mugs are probably the best way to go and it's a gift that lasts. Maybe I could even put some Starbucks coffee pouches inside. But I'll send them an email too so it doesn't take 3-4 months for them to get the news. lol