nugget

I think if your research interests are quite different from one another in your applications then you will definitely look unfocused and confused. But if you are essentially expressing the same interests and putting a slightly different spin on your applications based on the uniqueness, strengths and resources of each of these programs, then I think you should be fine.

This is a great reminder to big city people who wouldn't mind living in a smaller city or town (or for big city people who are willing to make that temporary sacrifice for their career) to remember to apply to schools that are far away from Toronto. I've noticed that the wait list moves quite a bit for schools like U of Windsor and not nearly as much for Toronto-based schools. In my experience, a lot of Torontonians want to stay in Toronto, or else live close by or in a fairly big city so they don't feel bored (like Ottawa, Hamilton, or Montreal for instance) or they want to stay close to their social network for various reasons. So if you are flexible about where you live, take advantage of that. Someone else's loss could be your gain.

Could you say more about why you failed the placement? The supervisor should have provided specific reasons as to why you were not successful. Did you think there were extenuating circumstances that caused you to fail that would not have occurred at a different placement or that would not occur in the future? ex: personal problems/health reasons impacting your performance, personality conflict between you at your supervisor, etc.... While it is very rare, I have heard of MSW students who had to end their placements early and do another one the following semester. But in those cases the students did not fail, they were granted an "incomplete" and had to do another placement the following semester instead. I think it would be worthwhile to take a careful, honest look at why the other placement did not work out and to realistically consider whether or not this would or would not happen again at a different placement. Going back to school is very costly and time consuming, not to mention the outcome of your coursework and placements would permanently stay on your academic record. So I think it would be wise to think through this decision very carefully and to make sure that this goal is feasible and realistic and the best choice for your future career. Best of luck.

nutella14, I applied to the HBSW program in the past and got in (but took a different offer instead). I found it extremely helpful to have all the personal statements I wrote for other schools laid out in front of me while I did the online exam. If you find a similar question, type it straight from your notes. I'm sure a lot of the questions will be different, but some of it is bound to overlap.

I loved reading your story. As happy and satisfied as I am to have attended my alma mater in undergrad, your school sounds really great! As for my experiences, I'm most satisfied with my under grad school. Great school, faculty, access to resources, extra curricular activities, tuition fees, small class sizes, and very good geographic location. I appreciate it even more now when I compare it to my grad school. While the first school was not rich, this school seems very poor in comparison. We are greatly lacking in resources (ie: library access and research support), space, have limited services for students, large classes and high tuition. But the faculty are great. If I could move the entire department to my first first alma mater, then it would be a near perfect situation. .

It sounds like the professor is in a hurry to get it published. I wonder why? Perhaps a grant deadline is coming up and he wants to have more publications in this area of research under his belt. I, too, have only heard of people submitting to one journal at a time. I suppose he thinks you could just withdraw one submission once the other has been approved. But what if the first journal takes longer and both journals happen to review at the same time? That could get sticky. Not to mention, the editors would find out what happened after they see the same paper in another journal shortly afterwards. I have no advice to offer other than to speak to a more senior lab member and get their opinion on this or speak to a trusted prof in your department, if you have this kind of relationship with one and ask if they have any advice. You could then discuss your concerns with the prof in question and see what he has to say about it. He may be flexible after hearing what your specific concerns are.

Smpalsh, It sounds like you have been under a lot of stress lately, and understandably so. Remember to take some deep breaths and exhale. You received one great offer and were put on the waitlist last year. You are a strong candidate. This has not changed since last year. Tweaking it sounds like a great idea. Since you did well with this version in the past, tweaking is probably all that it needs. Good luck!

Remember that you may not be getting the entire story for any number of reasons. The story you have heard from the student is likely to be told based on what the student was comfortable sharing with lab mates due to any combination of reasons or feelings such as anger, shame, embarrassment, shock, etc... Witnessing someone getting kicked out who doesn't work hard is one thing, but when it happens to someone who works hard it seems unfair and unjustified. It's especially difficult when it's a nice person we consider to be a friend. I think it's really a shame for this person. Hopefully the student will take away something valuable from the experience, if not now then at a future point in time that will enhance their personal or professional growth. Who knows what other good opportunities are in store for this person now what they have been put on a different life path. Perhaps a new job, a different program, increased personal strength, resiliency, or determination to get back in the field... Only time will tell.

Some schools will offer some leeway regarding references because there is only so much you can do to ensure that the letters arrive on time. You will need to ask each school about their policy on this. U of T should offer at least a 2 week buffer - I know they did in the past. If your schools don't have an automatic email reminder that could be sent out to your references, the school may be willing to send one out on your behalf if you explain the situation to them. Give your schools a call and see if they have any recommendations for you. Once you meet your first deadline, you will have a better sense of the timeline your references work on, so the next deadline should be less stressful for you. Good luck on your apps!!

You need to ask each of the schools this questions. Every department will have their own stance on this situation. I know that some social work departments, for instance, will accept late reference letters (but everything else needs to be in on time) because this is something the applicant doesn't have full control over and it may not be their fault.

Not much you can do about it now, other than to take advantage of the opportunities you currently have and build up your cv as best as you can. Try to publish in journals that are well-known in the US and collaborate on research projects with well-known US-based researchers, if possible.

I think what the OP is trying to ask is whether or not he should go to a top 100 school, whether all schools in the top 100 would be considered a good one or if he should only apply to schools that are ranked higher. If he goes to a school that's ranked 100 or 95, for instance, is it considered a mediocre school or is it a good one? If it's mediocre, what should he be aiming for? Top 50? Top 25? That sort of thing.

Not necessarily. It depends on how you phrase it. Ask if they have looked at submitted applications yet. If the answer is no, tell them you want to know if they will accept a more up-to-date version of your application. For all they know, if could be a new job you want to include in your cv or some other small change. Remember that submitting it before the deadline looks good on your end. So many wait until the last day to submit. You have had less time to work on it than others who haven't submitted and chances are they haven't even looked at your app yet. So I don't think it would hurt to ask and see what they say. What's the worst that could happen? You may feel awkward for a moment. But I think it looks better to recognize you made a mistake and to correct it than to appear as though you did not catch your own mistake. And it will be noticed. Everyone notices when their name is misspelled. Good luck!

If you really want to go there, apply and see what happens. It's worth the money and peace of mind, even if it doesn't work out, so you don't always wonder what might have happened if you'd tried.

How did you send your SOPs? If it was submitted to an online system try to see if you can retrieve it to make alterations and correct the spelling if possible. Your apps might not get looked at until after the deadline.

If you can demonstrate proven interest in working in the healthcare industry (ie: research projects related to healthcare, advocacy for health-related issues, etc) or illustrate clear links between your qualifications/experience and the health care industry when you put together your application then you're on the right track. If you say you are interested in it without having any solid evidence to back up your statements, then it will be a harder sell to the admissions committee. Alternately, if your current work could be enhanced by gaining knowledge or skill in healthcare or if you have noticed a problem or gap in the system you have taken an interest in that has compelled you to pursue health care, then you can write about this as well. Again, link it to facts (ex: research, work experience, etc) wherever and whenever you can. Good luck!

Hi LP3, I hear you about wanting to lower your debt. It can have a way of accumulating quickly and takes a lot of time to pay off. In case you did not know, I wanted to share that York has a great program for people not wanting to accumulate a lot of debt. Everyone I have heard of who was accepted into their MSW program received a TA offer ($5,000 per semester) and some got a scholarship as well. The tuition fees are also lower than Laurier's, so you may wish to add that school to your list.

What would be the main purpose of giving such a reason? If you need experience and you do not have it, my guess is that having an excuse will not help as it will not make up for not having the qualifications you need and the fact that other candidates will. If it's a requirement then consider delaying your application by a year or so to get the experience you need. If it isn't a requirement but will simply make your application stronger, feel free to try to get in with what you've got and see what happens. I wouldn't mention it if I were in your shoes as I think it would look like you are making excuses and you would be drawing further attention to a weakness, when your time and space in your SOP would be better spent describing your strengths.

Here are a few options to consider.... Why not take some time off to travel or volunteer before doing your MSW? It sounds like you are really craving some adventure. It can be a good way to get some additional experience and will help you get into an MSW program when you get back. Alternately, if any programs in Massachusetts offer the opportunity to do your internship in another part of the country, this could be a good option too to give you connections in Massachusetts and some time to live elsewhere. But then again, if you are aren't on any sort of time line and are willing to work in another state for a few years after graduating, then I don't think there is a whole lot of risk involved. Try to find a job in Massachusetts after graduating from somewhere in another state. But if you can't, work for a couple of years in the same state as your school and try to find something in Massachusetts sometime later on. It will probably be much easier with a couple of years of experience under your belt.

Jealous is a funny thing... you might be jealous of other people, but did you ever consider that other people could be jealous of you?! And most likely for very different reasons. Based on things you've said in the past, you are cute, attractive, have a great scholarship, have your own car and apartment, got into grad school, and have a lot of freedom and some spare time because you don't have a family to raise. There could be people in your cohort who are jealous of you for any or all of those reasons. Being single and attached both come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Nothing is completely black or white. Try to discover and enjoy the perks of singlehood now because they won't last forever. When you finally find that special person you will be ready to let go of that phase of life and embrace the perks and challenges of being married and raising a family.

I am not in your field. But based on what I've learned from these forums, I would say that if you plan to do a PhD right away, it shouldn't be too much of a concern if it is a decently ranked school and you're getting good training, publishing opportunities and producing good research. If you plan to work for a few years in industry before undertaking the PhD, you might not be as strongly positioned to secure employment than if you attended the strongly ranked university. But if you plan to go from one program to the next without a break, I think the place you do your PhD will have the most impact on your future career.

Thanks for the advice! I've taken time off to do fun things and it helped to a point. But now I've got to work like clockwork for the next 4 weeks to meet all my deadlines (no more weekends off) and progress is very slow right now.

I'm hoping to hear some ideas on what people do when they reach a lull so to speak, the motivation is down, but the workload is high and you need to find a way to get yourself back to working on your assignments. I feel like this sometimes and even the fear of having a bigger workload to tackle later on hasn't been helping to motivate me to get down to work. It's not depression at all, rather a lack of motivation. Even the fact that graduation is less than a year away isn't motivating me to get though this upcoming month that is full of deadlines. Please share your ideas and strategies on things you have done that have helped when you felt like this or any useful information you may have come across. Thanks!

Here's an idea...If you're eligible for cheaper tuition but want to increase your chances of being accepted, consider applying to some programs as a US citizen and others as a European citizen. If you get in somewhere that offers you cheaper tuition for Europeans, that's great. Go ahead and take one of the offers. But if you don't, then take an offer that requires you to pay international fees as your back up plan.