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I haven't come across any other schools. There are so many prerequisites for the 1 yr program at Waterloo that it ends up being 2 years, with no guarantees of getting into the program (although it's possible to get a conditional offer). If you are willing to do the U of Waterloo program you might as well apply to other 2 year programs as well (there are a lot of them out there, I believe) because at least you know you'll be allowed to continue and you'll end up with a degree. Lakehead is convenient because you only need to be at the campus for the first 6 mths and the remaining 6 mths can be done at your home community through a local internship and online courses. There are no prerequisite courses and it takes a total of 12 mths to complete. I've heard of St.Thomas in New Brunswick but I believe the program is 15 mths.

Oh, I misunderstood you last post. So you still have a chance of getting in. Best of luck!!

I heard Windsor takes 30 and they got 210 applicants this year. I don't remember where i heard 30 though and I don't see it written on the website so I probably heard it from someone here.

I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. I read one of your previous posts on your experience and education and I am shocked that you didn't get in, or wait listed in the very least. You look like such a strong candidate. Perhaps when their office workload slows down in the summer you could give them a call and ask for feedback on your application so you know what to work on. In your post, I noticed that most of your work experience is related to children. I wonder if they were concerned that you might not be interested in working with different populations during your internships?? It was just a thought I had. Perhaps if you did some volunteer work with families or another population it might strengthen your application. Best of luck!

Since these schools are in 2 different countries, it will probably be difficult for people to compare both. However, if your concern is to remain in the country to work after graduation, you should consider where you want to live because you will establish many contacts in the city that the school is location in. In addition, is it equally easy and likely that you will get citizenship or permission to work in each of these countries after you graduate?

I know what your school A is and you would experience some of the longest and coldest winters in the country if you went there. Not to mention, protesters might keep you from entering the school building. (It hasn't happened recently, but it did last year and might happen again sometime in the upcoming years). I heard that the international rankings have dropped a few places this past year as well. It sounds like you made a great decision. I wouldn't have any regrets about it at all and look forward to to getting a great education in one of the best parts of the USA.

I spoke to the secretary at U of Windsor and she said the first round of admissions decisions has been made. The offers are currently being processed by the admissions department and by late this week or early next week all offers in the first round will be mailed out.

I had no choice. I didn't want to lose the spot at Laurier. If I get into Windsor I will consider it.

According to this link, someone was rejected by Windsor (2yr MSW) about a month ago by email. I think I'm going to try calling them today to see where they're at with their admission letters. I suspect this person was rejected early because of not meeting the basic admission requirements. http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=windsor&t=a&o=

For anyone waitlisted at Laurier... In 2 weeks the last of the $100 deposits are due from the first round of offers. Then they'll get a sense of how many spots have opened up so they can decide who and how many to take from the waitlist. Best of luck if you were waitlisted!

If you would like to join the facebook group for the Wilfrid Laurier 2 year MSW program, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/491576337562735/ The group settings are on private. All you need to do is press the "request to join group" button and I'll approve your request. Hope to see you there!

Hey Vana, Does Western have a 2 yr MSW? I do not seem to find it on their website. The Western website I looked up was the one in London, ON. Just wondering if there is a program out there that I haven't heard about.

If you really want something you just have to go after it and don't get discouraged. I've been rejected from many things in the past (professional dancing training, an honours program in creative writing, etc) and my heart was broken. If this happens you just need to decide if this is what you really want to do, take an honest look at your weaknesses and strengths as an applicant, and work hard to improve the weak parts of your application. It took me 8 years to complete my bachelor's degree. I worked full time at a hospital to pay for my studies while studying part time. I have changed more adult diapers than you can count and it certainly wasn't easy work. But in the end, it paid off. Persistence is the key. If your GPA is a bit low, then take some more courses and boost your GPA. Volunteer as a research assistant if you want to attend a research-focused school like U of T and redo your research methods courses and try to get As. If you are lacking in social service experience, work at a summer camp for children with disabilities or do something else to improve your application. I also believe it's important to apply to many schools, not just one or two. Sometimes you might have great grades and experience, but you may not be perceived as being the right fit for the school. The best way around this is to apply to at least 4-5 schools, if you don't have any compelling reasons to keep you back in the same geographic location. It might be expensive, but it's worth the investment.

That great scotto123. Congrats! Will you end up going here or are you waiting to get into another school?

I don't get what you mean here... Do you mean Windsor has converted the grades from your school into their grading system?

If anyone has been accepted to Wilfrid Laurier's 2 year program and would like to join a facebook group, I just created one today. There are already a few on facebook from past cohorts. This group's called: Laurier MSW (2 yr) - Class of 2015 This can be a great place to discuss issues such as housing, transportation/ride shares, orientation, and to become acquainted with your soon-to-be fellow classmates online. Hope to see you there! By the way, this is closed group. All you need to do is go on facebook, send a request to join and I'll add you on.

The library at my school was really noisy too. So much that's it's often quieter at Starbucks or Second Cup. But I liked to do most of my studying in the evening and by 6pm it starts to get much quieter. Fortunately, I was able to study in various grad student areas (some of them were super quiet) b/c my boyfriend had access to these places. But we won't have access to research labs in social work, so I'll have to find somewhere else to work. I actually didn't know Windsor was more of a research school. Hmmm... It probably would've been worthwhile to get experience as a research assistant if both U of T and Windsor are so interested in research.

Have you heard anything about Windsor's program, AccioMSW? ex: quality of program, reputation, etc. I'm not sure yet if I'd prefer Laurier or Windsor, in case I get accepted to both. What i like about Windsor though is the fact that most of the placements are probably local so I could move to Windsor and stay in Windsor for 2 years, rather than move around from city to city, which can happen if you go to Laurier. In addition, the MSW is held at the main campus, whereas at Laurier it's at a high school, 20 minutes away from the main campus and library.

Well all things considered, you did very well to have been put on a wait list for your preferred school. You must be a strong candidate in other areas to get put on the list without having a lot of experience, like academics, references, personal statement, etc. You just have one other area to improve on. If this does not end up being your year, do not get discouraged. Your application was stronger than hundreds of other people's who applied as well and that says something about your strength as an applicant

Now that U of T offers have gone out, if seems that mostly U of T wait listed people are around these days. Isn't anyone here eager to hear back from U of Windsor?

Sorry to hear that you're always getting put on hold. If acceptances were sent out, I'm sure people would be posting about it here. I wish you the best of luck on U of T and Ryerson. At least U of T waitlist is starting to show some movement. Your turn might be just around the corner.

I'm glad to hear your vote of confidence. I did not know this about U of T and thought it was unique to Laurier that, for instance, someone interested in seniors might end up with a placement working with preschoolers. My enthusiasm has returned today and I've since heard other positive reviews from current students in the program. I think I just had a not so good impression a couple of days ago when I needed my Loris password reset and wanted to confirm that my $100 deposit was received. While making three long distance calls and being on hold for about an hour, I was hung up on twice (by 2 different departments), got 3 voice mails and the only human I could speak to was the operator. When someone called me back to transfer me to the right person, I was put on hold for 5 minutes before someone picked up the phone and hung up. It was a frustrating experience. On the same day, I discovered that the library closes at 5:00pm!?!? (except for Mondays and Tuesdays) and there was a dispute last year over placements between some students and administration about getting placements in areas they weren't interested in or in geographic locations that were very hard to get to. Anyhow, no school is perfect. I'll just have to look around for another quiet part of the school to do my studying and figure out transportation issues if this becomes a problem. Fortunately I got in somewhere and this school was fairly high on my list, even if it wasn't my first pick. It's good to know that this school is respected among professionals in the field. I've also heard that there is a strong clinical focus at Laurier and you get solid clinical training here, which is what I am looking for.

Congrats again to everyone accepted to U of T or put on a waitlist. U of T looks like a great school to attend. I am really impressed by their professionalism and efficiency and specialized streams of study. I've been talking to some students from Laurier and the more I hear about it (ex: some students get internships in areas of absolutely no interest to them or very far away from campus), the more I wish I was accepted at U of T. But I guess it was not meant to be. At first I was so excited about my offer to Laurier, but now my enthusiasm has dampened. I glad that I'll get to become a social worker in the end. But there are a few downsides about Laurier that I am not so happy about. Perhaps Windsor will offer me something. Otherwise, I will be attending Laurier and hoping for the best during the internships.

Congrats on getting in! While I can't comment on either program as I don't know much about either school, some things you might want to consider are: -location (Do you want to visit home on occasion and which school is closer? Do you prefer living in a town or small city? ) -transportation (If you don't have a car, how frequent and efficient is public transportation in each location? With internships and classes, you will be travelling a lot). -cost (St.Thomas might cost more because the program is longer. You can also look into average rental costs for each location). -classroom size (Do you prefer smaller or bigger class sizes? A smaller or bigger campus?) -number of internships and ability to get the kind you want in your area of interest (Some schools allow you to choose your internship or give recommendations while might pick one for you) -services the schools offers (library, gym, residence, job placement assistance after graduation, etc...) -rate of employment of grads (but keep in mind geography is also involved so the numbers might not accurately reflect the reputation of the school). You might also want to read the MacLeans annual university ratings and see what each university is best known for. But it were up to me, I'd go for the shortest program for sure. The sooner you finish school the sooner you can start working in the field. But that's just my opinion.

We need a Wilfrid Laurier MSW Facebook page, too. I'm not a techie, but I'll look into putting one together this weekend and post the info here. (If someone would like to go ahead and create one before the weekend, feel free to do so).