LAKingsMaverick

5 Classes: 4 weekly and 1 bi-weekly which is my field placement seminar. Human Behavior and Social Systems 1 (3 credits) Social Policies, Programs, and Services (3 credits) Direct Social Work Practice 1 (3 credits) Communication and Technology for Social Work Practice (3 credits( Field Practicum Seminar (3 credits) I will be commuting to campus from home, which is a 40ish minute drive, luckily my classes are in an off campus building so parking is free. But, on the down side, the classrooms are the size of a TAs office and have 25 desks in them. 9 books for around $500. I actually plan on buying some of these as opposed to renting as I'm trying to build my professional library.

You're not alone! I'm freaking out too! I came back to Virginia for grad school after 4 years in Wisconsin (Marquette) for undergrad. I don't know very many people in Virginia and I'm freaking out about school starting. I have a part time job and play in adult baseball and kickball leagues. Everyone is telling me that's way too many things to take on and that I'm not going to have anywhere near that much free time. That REALLY scares me. I'm in a two year program and they told us to expect to hit the ground running with classes and internships. Definitely starting to feel the anxiety.

I will be starting the MSW program at Mason in the fall! I did my undergrad at Marquette in Wisconsin but am originally from Sterling and will be commuting!

George Mason University. Bummed about Tulane, but they gave me zero funding. Excited for the opportunity at Mason though!

I am going to Mason for my Masters in Social Work. I'm not sure how expensive campus dining is as I intend on living off campus and grocery shopping and cooking. But I would assume about 6 dollars a meal if you're not on a meal plan. But I don't know for sure. I'm planning on finding a house or apartment in Fairfax or Falls Church depending on where the two guys I plan on living with want to commute to work from. I still could potentially live at home too in Loudoun County. But that's a very slim chance, the hour drive to campus every day in rush hour traffic would kill me.

Here's a neat little tool that Mason offers to help you find off campus housing. http://och.gmu.edu/ There are a lot of options with a variety of price ranges. Some of the cheapest might be living in a house where a family is renting out a room or something of that nature. In terms of studios or one bedroom apartments you are probably looking at 1000 a month at least. Finding roommates makes things cheaper!

Yeah after thinking about it today, talking it over with the parents, and thinking some more, Mason just makes more sense. I decided I won't be living at home so it'll be a little pricier, but still way cheaper than Tulane's tuition and living expenses. As bummed as I am to reject Tulane, I know I made the right decision. I'm already over 70k in debt from undergrad so I might as well take as little debt as possible these next two years. I always have the option of moving down there after I get my masters! What's two more years in Virginia?! Thanks for your input guys!

Hey Guys! So I got accepted into Tulane's School of Social Work. It was my number 1 school and I was dead set on going there. I love the city of New Orleans, I love the people there. But, it's expensive. I also got accepted into George Mason University's MSW program. I'm a Northern Virginia native, so I get in state tuition and I have the opportunity to live at home and have a graduate assistantship. So here's the predicament. I basically decided for undergrad to just follow my heart and leave the east coast for the midwest. I don't regret that decision one bit, even if the debt has piled up. But for grad school, especially in social work where the prestige of the university isn't as important as something like law school or med school, it just makes so much sense logically to go to George Mason. I know my financial package from Tulane won't compete with what Mason is going to offer. I'm 22 years old now and I just feel like following my heart and taking the leap to Tulane (15k a semester not including living expenses) would just put me into so much more debt. At Mason (8k a semester, living at home) I have the opportunity to get the Masters without sacrificing too much more debt. It's a tough choice so I'm just curious about people's opinions or if you've been in the same kind of situation before. I also have a chance at that graduate assistantship and know I have a well paying job if I got back to Virginia. Thanks for your input guys!

I got into Mason's MSW program and am considering attending after being is Wisconsin for the last four years. I'm a NOVA native though, but I live about an hours drive in morning rush hour so I'll probably be looking at places within a few miles of campus. There's a lot of suburban area and whatever you want to rent, there's houses, townhouses, apartments. Northern Virginia is a pretty safe area so I wouldn't worry too much about that. If you have a car I would say look for places a few miles off campus because there are some nice houses and apartments there you can find for a relatively good price, especially if you're ok living with roommates.

Well when we're down there we live in the lower 9th for the week. Like I said I wouldn't rent an apartment down there I've just had homeowners offer me their house. But that's more of a last resort at this point I'm thinking Uptown or Midcity at this point.

Ok cool! I'm still trying to figure that part out. I thought I would have known by now but it's a tough decision.

Hey lifesaver, if you do end up going to Tulane, were you thinking about a certificate in addition to your MSW? I was originally thinking the certificate in disaster mental health, but now that I look at it more the family practice and global social work certificates look really appealing too!

" School of Social Work readies for move into state-of-the-art facility The Tulane School of Social Work is proud to announce that the School is scheduled for an exciting move in August 2014. The School will be moving into a fully-renovated, state of the art facility located at 127 Elk Place, which is in the heart of Tulane’s Downtown Campus. The current School of Social Work building contains 7,000 square feet over three floors, but this move will allow nearly triple the School's space to nearly 20,000 square feet on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Elk Place building. 127 Elk Place is one building off of Canal (next to the Joy Theater) and was built in the early 1900’s as the headquarters for the Elk’s lodge. Over the years, it has served as the headquarters for Gulf Oil and many other uses. Originally, there was a swimming pool and full gymnasium. Now, fully owned by Tulane University, the University is investing to bring this building back on line as a central presence in the very quickly developing downtown medical corridor. The third and fourth floors have already been gutted and construction is about to begin. The award winning architectural firm of Eskew, Dumez and Ripple (EDR) is overseeing this multi-million dollar renovation. Donahue Favret have been selected as the contractors. The School has set up a web site, which will be updated as the project progresses with photos and messages from Dean Ron Marks. To see the proposed floor plans along with some rendering of the spaces,please click here." From the SSW website. What about places like Bayou St. John, Bywater, or Gentily? I'm assuming Uptown is where most of the grad students are going to be in general? On the social side of things it's pretty cool that the SSW is so close to Bourbon, Frenchmen's, and the French Quarter.

No you're right! I'm looking at it more in the idea that a few thousand dollars in financial aid won't make a difference in my decision, but being offered a teaching assistantship or graduate assistantship or something of that nature might! But the odds are I'm going to Tulane! I'm just excited and not making any sense in my questions! Most grad students probably get screwed with funding, it is a business. But cool if you do decide to go to Tulane over your original choice we'll definitely have to meet up and all that fun stuff!! I definitely wish you luck in trying to figure that out as I can only imagine how difficult a choice it must be!