nugget

Thanks! BTW, your GPA sounds really great. Sounds like you have a really good shot at getting in. I'm hoping my A- avg will be enough and my work experience, although it's not in social work. How does one get a job in social work without a BSW? I tried but I just couldn't find anything.

What is your plan B, MSW13? And could you or someone else tell me... how do you quote another poster when you are posting something on the forum? I tried but it did not work.

My plan A is an MSW. Plan B is a 12 mth BSW, work for 2 yrs, then a 1 yr MSW. This time I would splurge and even go to the US if needed, as it's only 1 yr long and won't keep me in debt for 30 yrs. Plan C is 12 mth college diploma in Work and Career Counselling. But I'm not yet sure what I'd do if I got into a Master of Counselling, a BSW and no MSW. Perhaps an MA, followed by a BSW??? No matter what happens, I am determined to be back in school by September. I think 9 applications should be enough to get into something by next fall.

Hmmm.... the last couple of posts about dropping courses got me thinking. I have dropped some courses in the past, should I be concerned? My school does not have the NC/NCR option that U of T has (basically, at U of T you can decide not to have a grade assigned, you receive credit and no grade is calculated into your GPA, as long as you pass the course). U of T does not advise their undergrad students thinking of applying to grad school to do this. My school, on the other hand, allows you to drop a course, you get no credit for it, hence no grade. But the transcript shows you were registered for the course and dropped it. Does anyone know what U of T's position is on this? I tried to find out on their website if students have the option I just described about my university (dropping the course completely and receiving no credit for it) and found nothing.

Hi Jaylynn, It sounds like you have an excellent academic track record. The good news is that the admissions decisions will be made using your best grades. If you have been getting straight A's for the past 2 years, this will be very impressive. After getting an acceptance, just submit your up-to-date transcript and your cumulative GPA for the past 2 years will become an A-. I would be shocked if your offer was retracted because of an A- average. Still, if you need further reassurance, you could make an anonymous phone call to both universities and ask about what would happen if a student ended up being in this situation at the end of the semester. I was curious about what CR/NCR means as my school does not use the same system, and I came across this information. You may find it useful when deciding what to do about your courses. http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/forms-services/crncr Best of luck!

I really think it's just best to wait and see. I think it makes sense for acceptances and rejections to go out first. The ones who are close but did not get in will either get put on the waitlist or not hear back right away. After the successful candidates refuse or decline, they can send out acceptances to the people who came close and haven't received a response or were officially waitlisted. So, sometimes no news might actually be good news because that means you could be very close to the top of the list.

Ok, I'll go next. Originally I would have ranked them as follows: Laurier, Windsor, Toronto, UBC, Victoria, Ottawa (for counselling) and UNBC (for counselling). I am originally from Toronto, but I prefer living in smaller cities now. Laurier was at the top because of its geographic location, city size and the size of the program (they accept lots of students). But after finding out that you could get a placement 100km away from the school and you should have a car, it's dropped out of first place. Owning a car is very expensive for a student and could add thousands of extra dollars to my education. Not to mention, I don't have my licence yet. Now it's in 3rd place. Toronto is 1st, even though it is in Toronto. I was very impressed with their professionalism and organization. They have a great website, their online info is detailed and accurate, the department contact person is very efficient and helpful. Not to mention, U of T has a great reputation as an academic institution. Windsor is second because it looks like a good sized city, it's only a few hours away if I want to visit people in Toronto, and you don't need a car for the internship placements. There's probably a lot less competition for jobs (than Toronto area schools) after graduation, which is a bonus. UBC is next because I love BC!!! But it is very expensive there. That's the maindownside. Victoria is lower on the list because the 2nd year is entirely online. I would love to live in Victoria, BC. But I made 2 spelling mistakes on the application so I doubt I will get in. Ottawa - it's not an MSW, but the next best thing. UNBC - same as above, plus it's in a large town several hours away from any cities, so I'm not keen on the location. But it's much easier to get into (twice as many students get in compared to other Canadian MSW programs), so it's worth a shot. The course offerings look appealing, too. Now I'm considering applying to an online school in the US to have another backup, if it's not too late for fall admission. I don't want to spend another year at my job. I really need a career change.

Well, it's going to be a 2 month wait minimum for most. I guess we just have to accept it and try to be patient, as hard as it is! Just out of curiousity, I'd like to ask a question to everyone here who applied... How would you rank order the schools you applied to and why did certain schools make it higher on your list? I will answer too next time I am online. Just curious to hear what people look for in a program, that's all.

I know someone who applied to the 2yr program at U of T last year and was advised (I think on her account), that her application made it to the next round. Eventually she got put on the waiting list and simply took an offer at another school. I did not ask her when she got the notification, however.

Pinsandneedles, I wish you luck on the application process. It sounds like your undergraduate studies in child studies are very relevent to this field. I know that everyone says an MSW is the key to having more job prospects. But your post got me thinking... I wonder, though, if someone was a social worker by having a BSW and had an MA in a related area like counselling, child studies or something else along those lines, if that would make it equally easy to find employment later on. I mean technically you only need a BSW to be a social worker. But if companies are requesting a social worker with a Master's degree, do you think having a BSW and a master's in a related area would be considered the equivalent as someone with an MSW?

Dhol999, Which M.Ed. degree in counselling did you apply to? I recently submitted an application to this program but I always suspected that the job market isn't so strong. Where did you hear your information about employment? All I know is that in many provinces you need a B.Ed to work at a high school or elementary school. So if you don't have one that limits you to working at colleges and universities and most cities only have about 2-7 at most. If I get in and I'm not accepted to an MSW, it will be a tough decision to make, that's for sure!

I feel a bit discouraged after hearing those numbers. My grades should be competitive and I'm a good writer, but my work experience isn't as strong as some of the things I've been hearing here. The problem is that Canada just doesn't have enough schools. Too many qualified people are being turned away from MSW programs because of a lack of spots. I also think there are too many graduates who majored in fields that have few career opportunities and they start to look elsewhere. The Canadian government should really cap the numbers on programs like philosophy or history or religion because there are too many unemployed and underemployed young graduates in Canada. In the past, these grads would apply to teachers college and become high school teachers. But with the severe job shortages for new teachers, I guess people are branching out and considering programs like social work, since schools are flexible about the undergraduate degree that you have. I was so surpised that the one year BSW program I applied to as a backup got approximately 450 applications this year. That's crazy. If I don't get into the MSW, I will be so disappointed....

Thanks for the info, AccioMSW. So it looks like most schools have spots for about 18% of all applicants, but I'm sure the number goes up to at least 20% (or maybe even 25%) due to the people who get more than one offer and need to turn some schools down. I would have applied to schools in the US as well - I hear it's less competitive in the US as there are more social work schools to accomodate interested applicants - but it's so expensive out there. I wish you and everyone else good luck and patience in this process. No matter how things turn out, I will just be happy for the wait to end and to know the results one way or another, so I can make some concrete plans for the fall.

Does anyone here know how many people typically apply to U of Windsor (2 yr MSW) and how many people they take? I want to figure out the odds of getting accepted and I dont know the numbers for this school. I guess I could call them tomorrow and ask, but I just thought I'd ask here first. thanks

Beth23, Perhaps ABA therapy would be an option for you. The requirements probably vary from province to province, but if you like working with children, i would look into it. The training to become an ABA Therapist can be very short, such as 3 weeks, depending on what part of the country you live in and plan to work. There are also a few 1 year programs at George Brown college which may be of interest to you. ex: Career and Work Counselling, and 2 other programs (dont know the specific names) but to work with autistic children or do psychological testing. Good luck.

Jaylnn, I might be asking the obvious... but is it an option for you to apply to another Social Service program that begins in September? The deadline for Ontario colleges is Feb 1, so there is still a little bit of time to do so. I could be in a similar situation if I am waitlisted as the bachelor of social work at Lakehead begins in the beginning of July... keeping my fingers crossed.

JPCNAC, You must have been an outstanding applicant to receive an acceptance so early. They knew you would end up being accepted in the end before reviewing all the other applications and ranking them. Congratulations.

I applied to the MSW program at U of Victoria and realized later on that I made a couple of spelling errors. I suppose that my application will be put in the rejection pile. Has anyone heard about what is typically done in these situations?