smpalesh

I have to say I find it odd that trying to find a program without a practicum (internship) seems to be important to a lot of people. Yes, a BSW would require practical experience. That is a good thing! You need practical experience to get into your MSW and you need practical experience to be an effective social worker. Being a social worker is not just about getting the grades and completing the classes so you can get the degree, it is about helping people. The only way you gain skills in that area is to actually interact in the social work world. I'm learned more useful skills during my BSW practicum than I have in any of my classes.

University of Toronto - Advanced Standing in Social Justice and Diversity

Please don't attend WLU. They don't need people with your attitude there.

This is a thread for people applying for MSW (Masters of Social Work) so you'd be better to ask on the main board. Good luck!

Personally, no I don't think they will take it into consideration. Less than 60% is incredibly low. In my program anything less than a 75% is a fail. You are asking them to take a D and make it a B or higher. As for the stressors in your life - everyone has stressors. My father is dying and I spent the last semester travelling back and forth to see him and help take care of my mother, I have been diagnosed with a severe chronic health condition and have been in and out of treatment, I have a special needs son who needs constant care, and two other children. I of course also had all the stress of applying to graduate programs and the costs associated with it. I feel my amount of stressors this semester has been far beyond what most people have to deal with but I still maintained an 87% average this past semester with my lowest mark being an 83%. I am not trying to be harsh but everyone has problems and asking for a grade you didn't earn is IMO not right.

Your information is inaccurate. First, OAC ended 11 years ago. That is not recent. Second, universities still have 3 and 4 year degrees. A 3 year degree can only be a general degree whereas a 4 year degree can be a general degree OR an honours degree. Simply being a 4 year degree does NOT make it an honours degree. Getting an honours degree means you have maintained a certain grade level.

It may end up losing you your offer. I know that's not what you want to hear but it is a possibility. A conditional offer is just that - an offer that has conditions on it that you must meet in order to receive the offer. It is possible they will still accept you but you will unfortunately wait and see. And I disagree that an honours designation means nothing - it indicates that a student is working at a level that is indicative of success at a Masters level. I also have a conditional offer to my Masters program, I have to get a minimum 75% average in my current degree to be accepted (I will be graduating with an 87% average so not a problem). They put those conditions on offers for a couple of reasons - one, they want to make sure that students coming in are capable of Masters level work, and two, they want to make sure that students will not slack off once they have received their acceptance.

I'm accepted to UofT and my research interest that I wrote about in the application is the barriers that Aboriginal women and women of other cultural ethnicities face in seeking services surrounding issues of gendered violence. I am also interested in the overrepresentation of Aboriginal women among Canada's missing and murdered women and the government's continued refusal to conduct a national inquiry into this matter. I obviously wrote more in detail in the application.

Don't spend $64 K on an education. That is my opinion. And McGill is an amazing school.

Why bump a thread that is 2 years old??? Start a new one next time.

Pretty sure these two must be from the same person...apparently they want people to believe that because THEY didn't get in the program actually doesn't exist Vanderbilt University Mechanical Engineering, PhD (F14) Rejected via E-mail on 5 Apr 2014 I 5 Apr 2014 I have been admitted in top 3 but not this one! I think they just produce their graduate students in their labs! no one has ever got admitted in this ridiculous program. DO NOT APPLY. They don't exist! Vanderbilt University Mechanical Engineering, PhD (F14) Rejected via E-mail on 5 Apr 2014 I 5 Apr 2014 To the future applicants: this is a fake program, never apply for it. By doing so, you just burn your recommendations. To make it clear, getting accepted from top 10 universities is much more easier than this one.

Actually University of Waterloo's BSW is 10 months (September-June)

I am currently doing my BSW at University of Waterloo and it is highly regarded. You do have to have some specific pre-requisite courses but you can contact the school to see if your previous courses are suitable. It is 1 yr BSW, you do 8 courses over 3 semesters (Sept-Dec, Jan-April, April-June) and a practicum 3 days a week the entire length of the program. Our program has a very high acceptance rate this year at MSW programs so I think it is a respected program in the field.

Hi, I am calculating it based on the information session I attended. I accidentally wrote the wrong number so it is actually 23% for the 2 yr and 33% for the 1 yr (140/600 and 90/280).

I don't know what field you're in, that would likely influence my answer. Personally, I am doing my Masters this fall in Social Work. This is a field which usually doesn't receive funding so I went into without even thinking of some outside source paying for it. With my undergrad and Masters I will be over $50,000 in debt by the time I am done but I can live off my husband's income (which we've been doing for years now) and use my entire income to pay off the debt within a couple of years so I'm not too concerned. If you are going into a field where you will be making big money then it could be worth it. If not, it might be too much debt. Does the field you are in usually get funding in Canada?

UofT accepts 140 students in the 2 yr and 90 students in the advanced standing.

I forgot to add that you need to look at the chances of getting in based on 1 yr or 2 yr MSW. For the 2 yr at all the schools I know the odds are between 15-20%. The advanced standing MSW you have a higher shot because everyone is wanting to go straight to the 2 yr MSW and skip the BSW. The odds of getting into the MSW at UofT for example in the 2yr is 15%, the odds of getting into the 1yr is approx. 33% or 1 in 3. Much better odds. Plus even if you don't get into the advanced standing MSW right away you still have your BSW which means the job potential is much higher than just having an undergrad

You can be gaining experience during your BSW. First of all, in my BSW we do a 720 hour practicum. So that is hours right there. You can also volunteer during your school time to get more hours. I volunteer on a crisis line which I can take calls from home so it is not difficult and I get 8 hours a week for that. I have been doing that for 5 years. Other than that I just have my practicum for experience (but lots of life experience and I think they looked at that too). If you are wanting to go to Laurier you are going to need a minimum of 3-5 years experience FULL TIME. Not what their website says but in general that is the case. So regardless of your course if your aim is Laurier it will take longer. But you can get better jobs if you get the BSW, so either way I think it is a better option IF you didn't get into the MSW

Even so, it would still be better bc you would be able to apply to advanced standing MSW afterwards. So either work for a year and reapply for the 2 year MSW which only has a 15% chance to get in and that is 3 years or do a 2 yr BSW and then apply for a 1 yr MSW for a total of 3 years.

I guess it would depend where you go. The BSW I am in is a post-grad BSW. So I already did a 4 yr undergrad (in Social Development Studies and Women's Studies) and then the BSW is 1 year (8 classes and a full year practicum). Now I'll be doing my 1 yr MSW so it is still 2 yrs total. If you look at the York website it says 54 credits, which is 9 courses. So yes, you would complete that in 1 year. IMO it makes more sense to do the BSW and then apply for the advanced standing MSW because you have a much higher shot of getting into the advanced standing MSW, statistically.

Look at it this way - if it is a one year BSW then you have a higher chance of getting into a 1 year MSW for a total of 2 years. Or you wait a year and re-apply for a 2 year MSW - total time is 3 years. Also once you have the BSW you are able to register as a social worker and work in the field. That's just my opinion though.

I would highly recommend doing the BSW. I applied to 2 year programs last year as well as the BSW at UW and was rejected to the MSW and accepted to the BSW. I am currently doing my BSW and I was accepted to UofT Advanced Standing and waitlisted to Laurier (which is actually quite an accomplishment). There are so many more applicants to 2 year MSW programs and the odds of getting in are so much lower. With the UofT advanced standing approximately 1 in 3 people get in (approximately 280 applicants and they accept 90 students). Your odds of getting into any MSW when you already have a BSW are much higher. JMHO.

I think you should go with the school that gave you the offer to be honest. You are putting yourself at risk of ending up nowhere if you end up losing the first offer. You said you are not particularly attached to one school over the other so why worry about the prestige of the one school. Also with the school you've already heard from at least you know you were a top choice!

If you turn down the second choice school you run the risk of not getting in anywhere if you don't get into the first choice school. I would try contacting first choice school and ask if there is any update in your status. If not I would go with second choice school because at least you know you are in there. There is never a guarantee of getting off a waitlist.

I don't have much info about the rest of your post but I just wanted to say that I see you've applied to all Canadian schools so I just wanted to say that we don't have an April 15 deadline in Canada, that is a US thing. It is not abnormal for people to not have heard yet at this point depending on the program and which school it is. My only advice is to be patient, because all the worry and stress isn't going to change the outcome. Stop checking your email constantly and making phone calls to schools and just go live your life, they will get back to you when they have the answer.