Persnipity

Thanks dida! Your insights have been very helpful. I'm CMH concentration btw. I also put a lot of weight on the quality of the program and its ability to challenge me. As long as Berekley gives me "resident" status, I'll be going there this fall. They should...fingers crossed! Good luck this fall! Exciting!! :-)

Hi dida! What concentration are you? I'll probably make a pros/cons list too. I'm leaning toward Berkeley. I like the way the program is formatted and the courses are more interesting than those at Sac State. Plus, Berkeley is tempting just because it's such a phenomenal school. However, I've had some people tell me it doesn't really matter where you go to school for an MSW as long as you get the degree; prestige doesn't matter for social work... So, it's all a bit overwhelming . I think I'll go make that list now, haha!

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. Congrats to all you future social workers! I only applied to three schools: Berkeley, CSU Sacramento, and CSU Chico. I'm limited by geography; my boyfriend works in Folsom, CA so I needed to stay in Northern Cali. I just found out on Wednesday that I was accepted to Berkeley (off the waitlist). I'm shocked and excited. Best news ever! I got into CSU Sac too and am still mulling over my final decision... Sac is almost 1/3 of the cost of Berkeley and it's much closer to where I live, BUT Berkeley is Berkeley and Berkeley is awesome, haha. Anyway, is anyone else out there going to Berkeley this fall?

I agree with the advice that has been given. Have you had any introduction to the field of epidemiology? Taken any EPI or statistics classes? I know quite a few EPI PhD students and they all got an MPH first…I think they had to. I also noticed while getting my MPH that people decided to switch concentrations A LOT. Someone would go into EPI and switch to Environmental/Occupational health and vice versa. The MPH is an interesting degree... The concentrations are pretty specific and despite what my Profs said, there's not much overlap. I would say you need to really make sure you like/love epidemiology. A PhD is a pretty massive time commitment. Also, the MPH will definitely help you bring up that GPA. For a PhD in EPI, I would bet most schools would want at least a 3.5 GPA and a strong quantitative score on the GRE.

Hi. I'm new to California and I'm applying to a handful of MSW programs for Fall 2013. I know Berkeley's program is stellar but in terms of the CSU schools, I can't really get a good read on them. I live in Sacramento, so Sac State would be the most convenient. I'm interested in community mental health and each school I've applied to has a related concentration...except for Sac State. I'm also applying to Chico's program. Anyone have any opinions/insights on either of these programs? Thanks!!!