louise86

I have 5 classes: Social, Economic & Political Environments (2 credits) Lifespan & Neurophysiologic Development (4 credits) Foundation Research (3 credits) Introduction to Social Work Practice (4 credits) Foundation Field Practice I & Seminar (2 credits) I'll also begin my field placement in early October for 16 hours a week for the fall semester and then 24 for the spring semester. I only had to get 4 books for a total of about $170 - bought 3 and rented 1.

The firing shouldn't be an issue. First, I doubt a program will ask to see past performance reviews. They do not matter. Second, each school has a different application. I had to list only previous social work related experience, but even if they ask for all employment in the past X years it's unlikely they will call previous employers. Third, the termination should not show up on a background check. Lastly, after you graduate and are ready to find a job in the field you can leave this particular job off your resume.

I have heard/read stories of insertion being extremely painful as well as extreme pain for a few weeks afterwards. When I did my research I read stories about the IUD going missing or embedding itself in the uterus and surgery having to be used to locate and remove it. Aside from that there's the side effects (some of which the pill share) like headaches/migraines, mood swings, back aches, extreme fatigue, cysts, breast tenderness, etc.

I'm 27 and happily child-free. I have never had the desire to be a mother. I live in a small rural town in the South so most of my friends got married and had children right out of high school. It's just assumed you will follow that path and if you don't there's a lot of confusion and condescending remarks like, "you'll change your mind" or "you don't know what you're missing". Thankfully, I think my parents have finally accepted that I'm very serious about not having children and the likelihood I'll marry is also very slim. That life just isn't for me. I've thought about an IUD (especially now that it's covered by health insurance) for the convenience but, like someone else mentioned, I've heard some horror stories and it makes me nervous.

I lived in Knoxville previously and still live close by. There are several luxury apartments that are specifically for students like The Commons so I would avoid those. Undergrads live all over Knoxville but I would say quite a few are in the Fort Sanders area. I would also say there are a lot of undergrads across the river in the apartments on Cherokee Trail. Basically, the further you get from campus the less likely it will become you'll end up living around a bunch of undergrads. I lived in Sunchase on N Cedar Bluff for a year. There weren't a lot of students, but I would avoid the place due to poor insulation (high electricity bills) and bugs. I know someone who lived in Cross Creek, which is on the better side of Western Avenue, and she liked it. Later she moved to Steeplechase (North Knoxville) and didn't like it as much but it was okay. I would suggest checking out http://www.knoxvilleapartmentguide.com/ and just narrow down the options based on location, amenities, and price. Good luck!

Your options in the U.S. are going to depend on your 2014 estimated income, the number of people in your household, and your state of residence. You should be able to look around the Marketplace now (some states have their own website, some use the federal website) and compare plans, but you have to be living in the U.S. to apply I believe (https://www.healthcare.gov/am-i-eligible-for-coverage-in-the-marketplace/). If your income is less than the minimum listed for your household, you will not qualify for a subsidy on your plan so you will have to pay the full premium for coverage. https://www.healthcare.gov/how-can-i-save-money-on-marketplace-coverage/ If you have no income or very little, you may be eligible for Medicaid but that is if your state of residence expanded Medicaid. Many did not expand Medicaid and it's created a gap in coverage for the poorest of the poor. Some more on that: https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-my-state-is-not-expanding-medicaid/ You can start here by selecting your state of residence to determine where you need to be shopping and get more details: https://www.healthcare.gov/what-is-the-marketplace-in-my-state/ There are 4 different levels of coverage: https://www.healthcare.gov/how-do-i-choose-marketplace-insurance/ From my understanding you must be enrolled by March 31, 2014 for your coverage to take effect in 2014 otherwise you will not have coverage until 2015. https://www.healthcare.gov/what-key-dates-do-i-need-to-know/ Good luck and I'm very sorry you are unwell.

You just have to make smart decisions when you move. It's a lot cheaper to find someone who is in need of a roommate and already has a place than to go looking for your own place to rent. You might even be able to find an already furnished bedroom. Choose a school that is a reasonable driving distance so you can drive yourself, if you have a vehicle, or your parents wouldn't mind to take you - 8 hours or so? Choose a city that has a lower cost of living. You eat very cheaply in the beginning - ramen noodles, rice, etc. Perhaps your parents will even buy you some starter groceries before they return home. CorruptedInnocence, how many miles away is the furthest school you applied to?

Private practice may be your ultimate goal but you will not graduate and immediately start your own practice. You won't have the experience to do so. You'll probably end up in a mental health agency for quite some time before. There you will not be able to choose your clients. You will take the clients you are assigned. As someone who already works in the field, there is no "faking emotions". Clients know when you are judging, they know when you are looking down on them, and they know when you are not sincere. I say this to help prepare you a bit more for what is coming. Since you are set on SW, I sincerely hope you are accepted into a program that will allow you to move away so you are able to become independent and grow as a person.

Does the school stipulate how many must be academic references? I only had to have one that was an academic reference and the other two could be either academic or professional. The academic reference was toughest for me as I, like you, did not develop any close connections with professors. First, make a list of the instructors you had more than one class with. Second, pick out those classes where you did something substantial like a research paper, a project, or a presentation and did well. Those are the instructors I would focus on for a reference. Make an appointment to meet with them in-person if possible. I find they are much more likely to remember you if they see your face. Take a copy of your statement, your GRE scores, your transcript, the assignment you completed, and of course all the materials they need to submit a reference. Discuss your professional goals, why you chose social work, etc., and if you sense things are going well ask for a reference - be specific. I asked for a "strong reference". Good luck!

You make friends in class, through hobbies and activities, etc. You're not going to have lasting friendships, though, if you cannot deal with other people's ups and downs and life choices.

The fact that you are in such a state of panic over something so small is part of the issue. What are you going to do if a pregnant woman is one of your clients in your field placement? What about a woman with several children already? A pregnant teenager? A woman who has decided to have an abortion? A woman that doesn't want children? Or to get married? Don't type out the answers to these just think about them. You need to be able to not project your own wants, needs, and issues onto clients.

In all honesty, I think you need to wait on grad school. It doesn't appear that you are emotionally ready to work with at-risk populations. You are going to end up doing more harm to your own mental health and harm to your clients'. Between this thread and the one about finding a husband you've made some statements that completely go against social work ethics and that show a lack of emotional maturity. Instead of going back to school, it's probably better to get a job in the field doing intake or something so you can discover if social work really is right for you.

I think a letter from your supervisor at the shelter is fine regardless if she/he doesn't have a college degree. I've actually found it common in my area for a lot of those working in nonprofits to not have degrees but that may be because it is a rural area. Plus, I'm not sure how the schools you are applying to would even know if your supervisor has a degree or not. I would think how long the person has been supervising you and what they say about your performance much more important. You should ask for academic references now. Sometimes it can take a while for them to submit it and the holidays, finals, end of semester, etc are all coming up soon and that could cause a delay as instructors are busy. Good luck!

I would say this thread is a must read:

If he contacts you again I would be very direct with, "Do not contact me again" and then do not respond any further. I would also suggest that you save all texts and emails and should he approach you in person keep a log of the date, time, location, etc. I would approach your teacher about this and make sure you express you are scared of this person and worried the situation may escalate. I would also check to see if your school/program has a policy/procedure regarding harassment. In regards to him following you home my advice would be to try to watch for him. If you live in an apartment and have a photo of him you can give it to any security guards, doormen, apartment manager, etc and let them know this guy is bothering you. You could also approach your neighbors and let them know if this guy is spotted around your home to call police. I'm really sorry this is happening to you and hope it is resolved quickly.

Simbacats, yes these programs are for federal loans only as far as I know, which is why I mentioned researching before just assuming you can get loan forgiveness is best. I'm not aware of any loan forgiveness for private loans. Also, as far as I know, you cannot discharge private student loans in bankruptcy per a law passed in 2005. I think the only way to get rid of them is to either be deceased or permanently disabled. If you have a co-signer I think they try to force them to pay even if you are deceased or disabled. The Obama Administration is suppose to be looking into this issue, but that doesn't mean it will change. These are the reasons I refuse to take out private loans.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is available to others besides just mental health clinicians. Anyone interested in this option should research all the things you have to do to qualify because you have to have certain types of loans and be on certain types of repayment plans, you have to be working full-time, there's some hoops to jump through with documenting your service and what appears to be lots of forms. http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/public-service#what-does-it-mean

I'm not applying to schools for a couple of years but I joined here to keep an eye on what type of aid schools are offering. Based on what I've seen, there's absolutely no way I will be wasting time and money even applying to Columbia, NYU, U Washington, etc. Even if I could afford tuition to these places the cost of living in these cities is really high. Right now my short list of U.S. schools only includes University of Maryland Baltimore and SUNY Buffalo. Maryland is still a lot for an out-of-state student, but I'd consider it with some aid because I could see myself settling in the city long term. An option to help off-set the cost for those of us that do not have a BSW is to go back to school and get one first because you'll end up paying only 1 year of grad school tuition instead of 2.

Hello! If you are wanting to become a therapist I know of a couple of options. First would be a bachelor's in psychology and then enter a graduate level counseling program. Second would be a bachelor's in social work (this usually means 1 year in grad school) or social science (this means 2 years in grad school), grad school for an MSW, and then go for the LCSW (licensed clinical social worker) designation. The CSWE has a few accredited online BSW programs listed but it looks like some are just open to those in a specific state and some are completion programs. It's worth a look, though. http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation/Information/DistanceEducation.aspx. Beyond that schools offer quite a few general education classes online and I've seen only very basic social work classes like Introduction to Social Work available online. As for jobs with a BSW, go to a couple of job searching sites and type in "social worker" and your location. That can give you a good indication of what's available in your area and what the qualifications are. In my area I always see a lot of jobs for intervention specialists, case managers, outreach workers, intake specialists, etc. These range from government agencies to nonprofits to private companies in areas of child & youth, probation/parole, veterans, substance abuse, homelessness, etc. The BSW and MSW degrees are very diverse, though. There's some great books that show all of the areas and agencies social workers work in. I've read all of these and highly recommend them to anyone considering a career in social work! Days in the Lives of Social Workers More Days in the Lives of Social Workers 101 Careers in Social Work Hope that helps and good luck!

If you're thinking of sticking around after getting your MSW, I think the most effective way would be to decide what regions in the U.S. you would want to live in. Then make a list of the states in those areas and research them. See how much a fit they would be with the lifestyle that you want like in terms of weather, if you like outdoor activities or more city life, how diverse a population you want, etc. Next step would be to eliminate states you don't think fit you and with the states you have left make a giant list of all the accredited schools. Research all the schools and just slowly eliminate those that are out of your price range, whose programs aren't a great fit, and if the city it is located in meets your criteria. I think it'll just have to become a slow elimination process. Here is a list of all the accredited schools in the U.S. and it allows you to search by state: http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation/Accredited-Programs.aspx Wikipedia is a great place to get information about states and cities along with checking out city's official websites. Citi-Data would be another great place to check out to get a good feel for the population, weather, etc and they have forums where you can ask locals questions about anything. In terms of knowing if the school has a good reputation or not, you can ask here about specific schools, email those currently in the program or those that have finished, and you could check out the rankings at U.S. News. Right off I would say the top 33 for sure have very good reputations nationally, but that doesn't mean the rest aren't very well-known regionally. For instance, I'm in Tennessee and the University of Tennessee Knoxville is very well respected in the region although I think there's better programs in surrounding states. I'm still a couple of years out from applying, but this slow elimination process is what I used to decide on which schools in Canada I want to apply to. Of course, Canada has far less schools so it wasn't so overwhelming. Hope that helps!