jillchristine

Highlight your volunteer experiences and accentuate what you will bring to the school. I just graduated and many of the students had GPAs across the board-- 2.8-4.0. Focus on what you can bring to the table as far as internships and how you will encompass the schools mission to be change agents at a larger level and you'll be fine. Most people apply to columbia and figure out they can't afford it so thankfully they accept a very high rate of acceptances. Best of luck, let me know if you have any questions!

I was torn between NYU and Columbia primarily, but I was looking in Boston and Chicago as well. I ended up really choosing Columbia because I liked the campus much better than NYU. I was a NYC newbie, so the thought of living in/ near NYU downtown scared me a bit and I liked the quiet uptown area. However, I took a few things into consideration other than the location. I heard from others that Columbia had better field placement options including the best associations with major hospitals such as NY Presbyterian (where I currently intern) and Mt Sinai. I don't know what other schools have but Columbia has thousands of placement options and you almost get your first choice. Also, I know this is cliche but the name does go far (especially in other areas of the country) and I think for me it was the best choice. That being said, CSSW is not perfect but no school is so if you set your expectations too high, you are absolutely going to be disappointed. From what I've heard, CSSW doesn't receive any of Columbia's larger endowment so the school is not as funded as most people think. However, we have a nice building and I believe the professors that come to Columbia are looking at the name for their resume, so we tend to get the best in the field (some not all, of course). Classes are typically 10-20 people and some of the larger ones (HBSE, first year courses) may be 30-45. I haven't ever been bothered by the size of the classrooms. In fact, most of the clinical classes need to be larger size to do role plays. I've never had a teaching assistant teaching a class but they may be there to hand out an exam or do something like that. I had one professor who was a PhD student but she was middle-aged and well into her career so she was very much qualified for teaching MSW students. I don't know if that helps, if you have any specific questions id be happy to answer

I did when I appealed when I was first accepted, I hadn't received any other scholarships at that time. Also they tend to give more work study towards the end of the year if they have it so you can expect anywhere from $500-1500 more of that. Not too much but still helpful.

Congrats on all of your acceptances!! Always advocate for more funding, they're very likely to give it to you if you ask (it may not be much but still). Also if you received a better financial package from another school tell Columbia about it and ask if they'd be willing to match it. There aren't any Saturday classes (other than stats), but there are online and 6-8pm classes. Also I know plenty of people that got jobs in the 55-75k range after their MSW, so please don't assume you'll make less. We all do such amazing work and we deserve to make a good living, you have to advocate for yourself to make what you deserve.

Absolutely, I'm happy to answer any questions! My email is jcd2196@columbia.edu

My rent is 1k a month for a huge apartment (living room, dining room, study) with two roommates, rent is with everything included also. It's about a five minute walk to class. I know some people who pay less and others that pay more in CU housing, I think it's specific to what you request in your app.

It depends on what you're looking for and what's important to you. I was new to the city so convenience and being in a quieter neighborhood close to school was perfect for me. I have friends that live in Wash Heights, for me I'd rather live closer to work/ school for more money. I know that's not how most people feel, so it's totally subjective. But CU housing will run you a little less than what's typically around the area, but only by about $400, so not too much less and still pretty expensive.

I've lived in apartment housing for 2 years, actually my apartment will have two open spots in it next semester It's been a wonderful place to live and much cheaper than typical apartments in the area, landlord is wonderful, and I'm literally a 4 minute walk to school.

From my experience it's been around 20k a year, some have more some less. I think mine started there and I got more in my second year. They also tend to give more work study as the year goes on whenever they have left over funds. But the work study has been nice because it's very helpful getting money outright, similar to a paycheck for field. CU was the best scholarship I received, I went to a state school but was out of state for undergrad and that cost more than my grad school so it worked for me. But I know everyone's different and I think the curriculum is very similar wherever you go, so if finances are going to cause you more stress than it's worth, go to a cheaper school. For me, knowing I want to practice outside of NYC eventually, the name and it being the second cheapest school I got into (with scholarships obviously), it was worth it.

Congrats to everyone who's heard from CU so far! I know of many people who got a pretty good scholarship package, myself included. Work study is something that is somewhat unique to CU (in NYC anyway) and very helpful. Always appeal for more, everyone I know that's appealed for more money (or asked to add work study for field) has gotten it, and they typically respond in a few days. Everyone that hasn't heard yet don't worry I'm sure you'll hear soon, I know of some people who have called and asked their status and gotten an acceptance over the phone if you're stressing too much, might be worth a shot.

Sorry, it's taken me a while to respond! They send out waves of acceptances (what AMcCoy is saying) so hopefully the first was Feb 15th, and then the next week and so on. From what I understand they start from the pool of those that applied during the normal application period and then they move on to later apps (extended deadline), but I'm not positive about that! Good luck!!

They almost always extend the admission deadline, probably also to give themselves more time. But I believe they review everyone from the original pool of applicants and then start admitting from later applicants. I believe I found out my acceptance to CSSW late-February and I was the second round of admissions. They continued to admit people until March, but I think the first group of people heard February 15th. I'm graduating from the program in May, if you have any questions about the program or why I decided to ultimately chose it feel free to ask! Best of luck all!

Hi Anna, Don't worry, everything will work out! I am in Columbia's MSW program now and know a few people that got in with GPA's under 3. Make sure in your statement that you explain how you can do the work in grad school and maybe point out your major GPA, if that was better than your cumulative. They may put you on semester-long academic probation if they think you need to prove that you can do the work. Best of luck! Let me know if you have any other questions about Columbia!

The book that I believe Catlovers is talking about is by Dawn Apgar, and she is one of the individuals that teaches the NASW workshops, so she knows what she's doing and the book is extremely helpful. The exam is broken up into four sections and Dawn breaks it all down for you. In addition, there is a practice exam on NASW's website that is so important to take prior to the test. This will show what categories you need to work on and give you an example of how the exam will look on test day. Remember the exam is general, not state-specific so you will need to know a lot of broad information that would be applicable in the "ideal" social work world, not necessarily what you would do or what you should do in your state.

Hi Haley, Hopefully I can help you out a little bit on this. Any experience you can connect with social work would be acceptable. Just going on what you described I would start with the experiences at the ED clinic and counseling center since those are more applicable. However if you can relate your experience with children in what you want to do in the future (for example I am going towards pediatric clinical social work, so I use my experience with kids to relate to the developmental aspects of childhood and pathological versus non-pathological development) then I would definitely include it. Related experience doesn't always have to be work or paid experience. I would even suggest picking up more volunteer opportunities to show that you're dedicated to this work, even if they're one time things like homeless outreach, food drives, etc. Also I wouldn't necessarily focus on the amount of time you've been there, but rather elaborate on the things that you did at the positions. I'm convinced my volunteer history is why I was accepted so you're off to the right start! Best of luck!

Hi All! I'm just finishing up my MSW at Columbia this year, but as you can see from my signature I considered many other schools (I think I got into more than are listed but I was decided on Columbia early on). If you have any questions about scholarships, specific schools, curriculum, etc. or would like me to read over anything feel free to send it my way! I know how stressful this process is so I'm there to help, best of luck to you all and as hard as it is to hear try not to worry too much :)

Totally depends on the class, but your practice classes may have 15 and HBSE or research courses anywhere from 20-35. I have found the class sizes pretty manageable, I only had one class towards 30 students, most have been pretty small.

The class size is approximately 350 students per incoming year. I think the total including second years and advance standings students is 900. Definitely appeal for more and explain your situation, they almost always have back up for appeals. Also, if you have a better offer from another school I've heard that you can send them that fin aid letter and ask them to match it. Typically they'll meet you somewhere in the middle. I never did that but I'm sure you could find out how somewhere on these forums. They won't be insulted though, the worst they'll do is say no-- so there's no use not trying!

Yeah I wouldn't worry if you have a guarantor that can show proof on income (in some cases you may need two) and can show that you are attending school (if you receive any kind of stipend you can show that as well) they'll mostly approve you.

Visiting is the best thing to do, these two schools are in entirely different areas and that may make your decision pretty easy. Good luck!

I got mine at 2pm on a Friday, but I know others that heard after midnight so who knows when you'll find out. Good luck!!

The summer is the busiest time to find housing, I started searching in early June and still couldn't find a place by August. I was recommended by everyone I talked to to start in May (I also had a Sept start date), but also know that when you find a place you like you have to put a deposit down that day (or at least it's recommended). I remember driving into the city to look at a place and loved it but wasn't 100% sure so I took the afternoon (about 2 hours) to make a decision and then went to the bank to get a cashier's check and dropped it off with my application and got a phone call from the landlord saying that the place had been rented out 10 minutes before I dropped off my check and within that afternoon he received 20 other applications. It's extremely competitive. I was extremely lucky to get Columbia housing and I would definitely suggest trying for that. My rent in Morningside is about 1k which is amazing for the area, I don't know anywhere in Harlem where you can get housing for $800, even with multiple roommates. Maybe the outer boroughs but I still think that's a stretch.

Columbia makes you take the statistic course if you don't already have one but I've taken 1 out of 2 required research courses and I haven't used stats once. And I've heard you don't in second year either, so I wouldn't worry about that at all!

Not sure if that question was directed at me but I can give you my answer, but it's definitely a personal decision, I think all NYC MSW schools have their pros and cons. The NYU location was way too stressful for me, I needed a more relaxing area and the Columbia area is pretty quiet. Also I knew I'd have to commute to NYU because the rent is too expensive and at Columbia I got housing so it's a 3 minute walk. I was also more impressed by the SSW building than NYU's. Columbia's department seemed more like it was integrated into the university as a whole, I'm not sure why haha it just did. I knew I wanted to practice outside of NYC eventually and the namesake will carry me further than Hunter or another state school. Coming from a psych program I was interested in CU's program because you had the option to specialize but there were all different kinds of other specializations that I thought I should be knowledgable in (even though I always knew I was clinical). There were a ton of reasons but I think every program in NYC is pretty great, have you visited yet? Visiting definitely made my decision clear Hahah the field placements first year aren't as awful as they've been made out to be. They're all direct practice (meaning you'll have clients) and can be anywhere: school systems, legal offices, ACS offices, elder homes, daycares, etc. I know a lot of people that really like theirs even though they didn't expect to and other people (like me) who had to change to a better placement. Worst thing that happens is you'll learn what you don't want to do. Your 1st year placement is really no biggie, it's your second year thats a little more important. And you have more of a say in those.

Have you emailed Richard Hara at rth7@columbia.edu. He'd be the person that would answer your questions, but I understand your frustration.. Sometimes it's like jumping through hoops to get an answer