StenderB

Omg I know this one all.too.well. He means well, but when I'm manic over some formatting errors in my app I turned in and now trying to decide how to format my stipend application you can't just say "you're a great writer. they don't care if it's single-spaced". BUT I CAN'T HAVE MY FORMATTING LOOK UNPROFESSIONAL OR STUPID AND THINGS DON'T "JUST WORK OUT". lol Sigh, he's still my best friend.

I only received confirmation that my app was complete once I emailed the admin assistant, Molly Marquez. My status changed to "Referred to grad dept" quite a while back though after they received and reviewed my transcripts. When I checked the definitions for it it says that it means that the grad school has cleared you for attending SJSU via their reqs. (3.0 gpa, etc.) and has now referred you to whatever grad dept. you have sent your materials too. Back in November when I applied just to the grad school and hadn't turned anything in yet to the MSW program it said that getting into SJSU doesn't mean admittance to the program so I assume that's what "referred to grad dept" means (passed step 1: getting into SJSU period) lol

Yes it is possible and if my husband and I were planning on living in SLC for any longer than the end of this year, we'd absolutely be wanting to find a little townhome/bungalow option as well. Firstly, you may not find something that's within public transportation distance of the U, so if you can compromise with certain travel times you'll widen your options in the surrounding areas. Check Craigslist for rentals and just keep your eyes open for those words like "house" bungalow" etc. OR go to ksl.com. It's a local website of classifieds that I didn't know about (but wish I did) before I moved here. Lastly, you may end up just finding large apartments that also have dog parks but with the amount of time I'm sure you have until you move you'll have time to browse those sites If you're not sure about the location just do a quick google map search from the address to the U and I would say if it takes ~20-30 min then it's really not that far out. As well, the public transport lines are extending SO far out now that you can live quite a distance and do a park and ride situation, too, so you could get lucky in finding both the house and the PT if you're interested in that.

Oh maybe another fun way to just browse potential cities and their programs is to check out the forum entitled "City Guide" under "The Cafe". It might be hard to muddle through all the cities without knowing them, but at the least perhaps there's some cities you know a little about and some advice from actual grad students might give you better insight into certain places.

I don't know much about upstate New York, but I know that the buroughs of NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) are incredibly diverse and you would do well there if you wanted to use or obtain Spanish-speaking skills. Florida would be an excellent place for this, too. If you're on the eastern seaboard of Canada then even living in Florida should only be a relatively quick plane ride home When I think of "lots of Spanish" I also think Texas and California (both places without long, cold winters). I love Austin, my brother lives there now. I've been to San Antonio as well and it was a cool city but I liked the friendliness and easy-going feel of Austin better. I'm from California and am partial to Northern California (the Bay Area) but San Diego is quickly becoming an absolute favorite city of mine to be since I have friends living down there now.

Just as an aside: I recently checked out the Portland State MSW program again and noticed that not only do they have VERY reasonable out-of-state tuition (around $15,000/year) but they have a stipend that will help with up to $6,000.... wishing now I had applied to more U.S. schools but after my beast of an application to SJSU I just don't even know if I woulda had the steam to write out more apps and SoPs lol

This is difficult and I'm not sure that there's a more effective and less time-consuming way to "weed out" those that are automatically off the list due to keeping within your budget, but I have a few suggestions. Expensive states have expensive schools. For example, California state school tuition at the school I'm applying to (as an out-of-state resident) is around $18,500 so just barely under your budget. Others, like USC (well-known and good reputation) are even higher at around $20-$30,000/year from what I've read on forums for those already accepted and discussing financials. Another thing I've read often is that it's not necessarily the prestige of the school that matters when it comes to a practical, professional degree like an MSW, but things like : What are you interested in focusing on? Does that school have the interest or concentration I want to work with/in/focus on? Is it in a place/city I would enjoy networking in Is the school accredited? (I would say this is very important for a MSW) I am applying to San Jose State because I was born and raised in San Jose and am only an out-of-state resident because, for my undergrad, I went to the University of Utah. I'm comfortable with San Jose, it's a place I want to have a career and a place I could see myself living and networking during my program and using that for after when I do start working professionally. There are a ton of MSW programs and I had to just take some time to sit and do some research and I started with cities I like, have been to, or seem to have a good vibe. I even did one of those questionnaires online about "Where Should You Live?" just to see what my answers would generate and I'd take a look at those cities, too. Growing up in the Bay Area, I'm especially attracted to large cities, laid-back vibes and diversity. I looked into cities like Seattle, Portland, San Diego and Austin. If I was going to make another out-of-state move, I wanted it to be in a place I'd also like living. I don't know if this is true for Canadian programs, but lots of U.S. programs have stipends. This means usually that they can help you with up-to a certain amount of $$ as long as you concentrate on a certain population and then give back your time by working for a state department. For example, I'm applying to a stipend at SJSU that would have me concentrating on Children, Youth and Families (which I wanted to anyways) and I would do field placements in agencies that serve Title IV-E populations like Department of Child and Family Services and then when I'm done, I commit to 1 year of service with the State of California for each year I had been awarded a stipend. This option may open some doors for you if you end up really liking a place/program and it's over your tuition budget. Continue just browsing forums, pick out schools or places that interest you, do online research, and I'm sure programs will stand out for you.

Tack Lemeard And tell me about it! I didn't realize how spoiled I was to live in gorgeous temperate weather all year-round (having been born and raised in San Jose)... then I went to Sweden (during winter I might add) and one of the days it was so cold my face and teeth hurt. Oh but Sweden was just such a cool country. I enjoyed every minute of being there.

Title IV-E. It just had the same info regarding the app process for the Title-IV E stipend that you can find on their website so nothing actually new or special. Dear MSW Title IV-E applicants, It has come to our attention that you have indicated on your MSW Application (2013-2014AY) your interest and intention to apply to the Title IV-E Child Welfare Training and Stipend Program. Please be advised that to be considered for acceptance to the IV-E Program, students must make an application to the Title IV-E Program and include the following: 1) Title IV-E Application - can be accessed via our website: www.sjsu.edu/title4e 2) Most recent resume - A 1-2 page typed resume, including a list of your relevant paid and volunteer experience 3) Statement of Intent - A 2-3 page typed statement explaining your understanding of public child welfare services. Also, address your interest in and commitment to a career in public child welfare and your view of how this stipend program relates to your short-and long-term career goals. Applicants may mail, email or hand deliver completed application to: jackie.nguyen@sjsu.edu, no later than April 1, 2013 at 5:00 PM. If you are going to mail in your application, here is the address San Jose State University - School of Social Work Title IV-E Child Welfare Program Attn: Pnina Green and Jackie Nguyen One Washington Square San Jose, CA 95192-0124 If you are going to fax in your application: Attn: Pnina Green and Jackie Nguyen Fax: 408-924-5892 Once we received your application and are informed by the School of Social Work that you have been officially accepted to the MSW Program, we will contact you and invite you for an in-person interview.

Got the same email. Crossing my fingers that both admittance to the MSW program and Title IV-E stipend works out for me. It was nice to get an email even if it was info I already knew just to know that there are live people who will receive things when I send them lol

Let me just say that that's been weighing on me the last week or so because I feel like one particular part of my statement could have been written better or looked over more carefully or added things etc. etc. but damn, I was just so exhausted by the end of the 11 pgs. I just wanted it over with.

BTW to the 1 or 2 of you that have been posting relatively consistently on here.... what concentration have you chosen to focus on at SJSU if admitted?

I bet you're okay. Just imagine getting a review call from looooots of people checking their apps for 8 hours a day (even if that's their primary responsibility) and I bet it was just a tone and nothing more. Mid-March is going to come up sooooo quick. The only thing helping me get through it is just getting through this week and then I have a spring break trip for a week and when I come back it'll be March 16th... but I'll be pretty down and out if still no decision has been made.

I think I've finally settled down from checking all emails, page websites and gradcafe buuuut come Friday when it's finally March and I think I'm going to be full of anxiety again lol

There's a thread on this forum entitled "MSW with a low gpa" that might have some valuable information for you I can't remember if they speak specifically to Rutgers, but there's info on other programs as well. It's towards the bottom of pg. 1, maybe pg. 2 of threads. Hope this helps

Have you checked out programs in Sweden (maybe even just Scandinavia in general)? Many of their anthro and social work programs that I was researching (and have applied to) seemed quite focused on health in general (public, medical anthro, etc.). The one thing that was both helpful and confusing was that many of the anthro programs I researched had their research and faculty bios available showing me what the school seemed to generally promote as far as topics in research BUT that there was still such a wide scope of topics that it wasn't like "this school is known for ______" necessarily-- (making it sometimes easier when you know what area of anthro you want to concentrate on like you do as well as what school specializes in said area). And just as a side note: *I AM REALLY EXCITED TO POSSIBLY GET INTO A FOREIGN PROGRAM*

You know, this isn't the first time I've read that others have been told the same thing. I honestly wonder what the impression of a foreign PhD (or Master's) is that it would be looked down upon. Hmmmm. Good insight though because whether we think the impression is right or wrong it still seems to be one filmy layer that others in the U.S. and in academia look through when they read you have a foreign degree in anything. ~sigh~ I can only speak to Master's programs since that's what I've researched extensively and applied to but I know at least in Sweden there's the option for most programs to also only go for 1 year instead of 2. This sounds like something that would play a role in someone's idea that even a foreign grad degree is "less rigorous" or just well, "less" in general.

Well shoot, I'm starting to second-guess my chances as well. Some other posters in various topics on the forum were saying that CSUs have been "veeeeeery picky lately" and I didn't know what that really meant for my application. Sounds like maybe they truly are being pretty darn picky :/

well then, HEJ HEJ! The master's schedule for the programs I've applied to says that decisions will be made by the end of March for first notification then second notification sometime in April/May after those who have made decisions by the April 8th deadline have done so. The one U.S. program I applied to is also *hopefully* sending out decisions by the end of March but well... it's a California state school prone to breaking deadlines lol

As you can see below, I applied to two anthro programs abroad. Where have you applied? Why? Excited? I recently read the tumblr post of someone accepted into the SDSU anthro program (a program I was highly interested in during app season a few months ago). I connected with them to ask what they wrote about and what their intentions were for the applied track. Turns out, my intention of using applied anthro for work with at-risk communities and their access or lack of resources and dealings with social services agencies was close to what she had written about. Well, too late for me on this one. I guess if I wasn't confident enough to go for it then it wasn't right for me right now anyways. Ironically, I had lots of confidence writing an SoP to the Swedish graduate schools lol

Where are you interviewing at (if I may ask)?

Oh no. I really hope they notify sooner than in May!! Do you know if they notify sooner if they know you've applied to the Title IV-E Stipend Program? That's due April 1st and interviews are April 22nd and May 14th but they must know if you've even been accepted to the university by then? I think if I honestly have to wait 2 more months to know I may just vomit. lol The worst is that SJSU seems to have NO tracking information. You have to find out yourself just to confirm that your app is complete. I hate reading that others are able to check their page status, etc. etc. I mean, there wasn't even an automated response to emails when submitting materials just to let you know right then that it had gotten to the correct inbox. blegh. What was your undergrad degree in?

Are you referring to SJSU? I wrote 11 pgs for their statement of purpose and it was sooo exhausting. Another reason I wish I could know sooner from them if I got in or not because I just poured so much time and effort into their statement of purpose. I don't know how others did both that app. and still managed to apply to other SW grad departments. phew!

Oh I would also like to say that the University of Utah seems to have good information on housing for students and also for international students. They print out this book with other U information that includes housing for students (recommendations on outside housing). If you choose the U, I'm sure the student office or international office will be very helpful in also suggesting places to live İyi şanşlar (I studied Turkish for a while a couple of years ago )

It really depends on the apartment complex. Some have all things included "in the rent" and some will say "sewer/gas/garbage" included. This does NOT mean it's included in the rent price!! I was unfortunate enough to realize this my first couple of apartment leases. This just means that the apartment handles "sewer/gas/garbage" collection, but it IS included as separate prices when you get your bill for the month to pay. So it is the same as Istanbul for most places: everything you pay separate and have to hook things up yourself like internet, cable, or electricity. The company here is Rocky Mountain Power but that's as simple as just calling them to let you know where you live and your name so they can set you up. Internet is either Comcast or Century Link which you also pay for separate and have to call on your own. They usually have good prices where it will say something like, "internet for the first 6-months for only $20/month".... that's great until the 7th month comes up and all of a sudden your bill is at $60+ at regular price. Switch companies before your 6 months are over so you can get a good price from the other or different company.