nightwolf1129

I just got accepted to Boston College (my first and only choice). Gummybear4182, you were in the Navy for 10 years? So was I, I served from 1999-2007. I hope you're able to get into USC. I heard they have a really great military/veterans program there---one of the best in the country if I'm not mistaken. What was your rate in the Navy? I was an MM2 before I got force-converted to SK2. I miss San Diego though---great weather and awesome food!

Just got my acceptance email from BC as well today!! I'm so excited!!!! They mail out official acceptance letters shortly thereafter, but apparently send emails to notify those who got accepted. Cannot wait to start this journey this Fall

I just got accepted to BC!!!! Received an email this afternoon! Yes BC was my first (and only) choice. I'll be doing Clinical Social Work with a concentration in Health & Mental Health. My goal is to become a LICSW working with Veterans and military Servicemembers (and their respective families) since I'm a Veteran and former military dependent. I'm so excited to start this journey! I currently work at the VA hospital here in Boston and my job ends at the end of the summer, so I'll easily be able to transition to graduate school.

Yeah the reason I ask sweetpiepear is my application was completed around the same time (12/26) for regular admissions, and I knew that they have a deadline of Jan 15th for advanced standing which results in those applications being reviewed first. Trying to breathe and keep calm, but the anticipation is almost killing me here.......would be exciting if we were classmates this upcoming Fall

Hey sweetpiepear, I'm excited that you received an acceptance from BC. I thought BC doesn't send acceptances via email. Hopefully they review my application soon. Did you apply for advanced standing? I believe information regarding financial aid comes separately. Needless to say this news is both exciting and anxiety-provoking for me

Perhaps I'm an exception to the normative rule (since I've been graciously blessed with a program that will fully fund me through graduate school), however here are some of the things that helped me narrow down my choice of school: 1. Since I currently live and work in Boston with my wife (who also works full-time), I knew it'd be extremely difficult to up and move once my job ends this summer to move elsewhere for graduate school. Thankfully Boston is blessed with great MSW programs such as BC, BU and Simmons so I applied just to schools here in Boston. 2. As the first responder mentioned, location. I literally live within walking distance of BC and a 10 min ride on the T from BU. 3. With respect to narrowing down my decision between BC and BU, I looked at what each school has to offer me (e.g., any training certificates, electives and how many electives I'm able to take). For me specifically, since I want to work with military and Veteran populations, I am very interested in classes and courses offered that pertain to these particular population cohorts. BC, for example, has a "Veterans and Families Initiative" program where they offer classes and certificate programs related to Veterans and Trauma. This was a huge deciding factor for me. 4. If you have the chance to visit any of the campuses (or even better meet with any of the admissions staff), I'd highly recommend that. Not only are you going to be living in the particular town/city for 2-3 years, but you'll also be spending a lot of time on-campus. I personally prefer the suburban campus feel of BC vs. the more urban feel of BU. Ultimately, as one of the responders to this thread said, it's all about "going with your gut". As long as you do well in school, most employers won't necessarily care if you attended an Ivy League or well-known private university vs. small-town private (or public) university/college. All in all many people who enter the field of social work do so because of some driving force or passion vs. earning $$$$. As many of us know, social work programs are demanding both financially and academically so take into account the amount of financial aid you'll need. Hopefully there are some scholarships or grants that you qualify for that could assist with lowering that financial burden.

Tell me about it rhey! My application was completed in late December as well, but apparently they don't start reviewing completed applications until January and they start with those applying for advanced standing. What probably is killing me the most is I literally live within walking distance of BC so I wish I could just walk up to the admissions office and save them the time of mailing a decision letter lol

Since MSW programs all require fieldwork/internship that generally are 2 days a week for the 1st year and 3 days a week the 2nd year, it would be extremely difficult to manage a full-time job on top of everything else. This would be especially difficult if you were unable to block your time for classes as well (e.g., having to take classes across multiple days a week vs. 1 day a week for all of your classes) not to mention the fact that you will definitely need plenty of time to study and prepare for your fieldwork/internship. I noticed that you've applied to all private universities. Have you considered possibly looking at public universities around Boston/New England that offer MSW (e.g., Salem State & Bridgewater State)? Because if it's a matter of cost, what would be the sense of applying to a private university, occuring $$$$ in student loan debt, trying to balance a full-time job while attempting to maintain good academic standing only to find that you're unable to continue in the program? To me this seems like you're honestly trying to juggle too much. I completely understand how MSW programs, in general, (especially here in Boston) are not cheap; however, the important thing to consider is if you're seriously considering a career in Social Work you will need to understand the risks involved and be willing to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve those goals---even if that means not working full-time and perhaps working part-time at the most. A majority of MSW admissions offices highly advise against working full-time as taking 4-5 classes a semester + the fieldwork/internship (2-3x a week) alone is a full-time responsibility. Admissions offices want to admit students that will succeed in their program. I'm not saying it's impossible to work a 2nd or 3rd shift, go to school full-time and intern, but MSW programs require a lot out of you. This is why many MSW programs have a question about how you're going to balance your personal life (e.g., paying bills, rent, etc.) with the demands of graduate school for your personal statement. Bottom line, graduate school is an investment of both time and resources. There are scholarships, grants, fellowships available upon acceptance, and of course the dreaded student loans. If you were to work while going to school full-time, you might be able to get away with a part-time job during your 1st year; however, your 2nd year will be much more demanding and you may want to reconsider working at all at that point. Either way, I wish you much luck and success and hope this advice is helpful in some way.

tikababy, I'm currently working at the VA and I also volunteer here at the VA too so I might be able to answer some of your questions. First, gaining employment in the VA is not necessarily easy but it's not impossible either. If you served in the military then you'll be able to receive preference over most applicants (especially if you're receiving service-connected disability ratings). Otherwise, you're going to be competing with potential Veterans for those positions. The VA prefers to hire Veterans over non-Veterans as some of their positions posted online are limited to either former/current federal employees or disabled Veterans. Here's a good place to start looking for jobs at the VA: www.usajobs.gov With that said, I would definitely look into networking at the VA both for volunteering/internship opportunities as well as potential paid job opportunities. There are many areas to volunteer within the social work field here at the VA. Some examples include working with assisting homeless Veterans, substance abuse treatment, suicide prevention, and helping returning OEF/OIF Veterans. In addition, if you're able to gain some volunteering experience (whether at the VA or elsewhere), you could potentially use that volunteering supervisor (or whoever is overseeing you) as a letter of recommendation. The benefits of working at the VA are incredible--especially the health insurance and paid time off. The salary overall is also good (I believe you'd start as a GS-9 upon graduation from MSW and once you obtain your licensure, you'll be promoted to GS-11). Here is a link to the GS pay scale: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2014/general-schedule/ The "General Schedule" pdf will show your base pay and certain areas around the country have what they call "locality pay". For example, I'm currently working as a GS-7 and my base pay is around $34,000 but since I work in Boston I receive an additional 24.8% pay increase. Something to also consider is possibly working at the VA as a Psychology Research Assistant. You could find these positions at the www.usajobs.gov website and search for the term "Psychology Research Technician". Most of these jobs are term based (as they're often paid via a research grant) so you're only commiting yourself for 1-2 years; however, working at the VA before applying to graduate school can help you get back into the VA system as a LICSW (licensed clinical social worker). That's what I did when I graduated college in 2012. I got offered a job as a research assistant and that's what I've been doing for the past 2 years. It's been great experience and as long as you have a strong academic background (which you clearly have) along with good research & statistical training (e.g., Psychology Statistics, Research Methods), then you should meet the minimum requirements to apply. Most of those positions start at the GS-7 level or thereabouts. In closing, volunteering/iinterning at the VA is definitely a great way to "get your foot in the door" which could potentially lead to a paid job within the VA. Once you're working at the VA you'll be considered a federal employee which means you're eligible to apply for jobs posted within the VA system before they're made available to the general public. Let me know if you have any other questions and I wish you the best of luck!

Something to also consider SFGiantsFan is if the program(s) you're applying to require and/or recommend social work working/volunteer experience. As someone who took 2 years off before applying to graduate school, I know how important working and volunteer experience can be. If you haven't already, I'd recommend seeing if there are any social work related volunteer/internship opportunities that you can take advantage of in your last semester to help bolster your resume & chances of acceptance. Reason I say this is many MSW programs are extremely competitive so if you have something that can make you stand apart from the rest (beyond great GPA, personal statement, etc.), then I highly recommend seeing what you can do.

Boston College doesn't begin reviewing completed applications until January: When and how can I expect to hear back from the GSSW? Review of completed applications will begin in January and notification (by mail) of decisions will begin in late January/early February. Decisions are typically made within three to six weeks of submission of all required documents, once our review process begins in January. http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/schools/gssw/admission/faqs.html And since the application deadline for Advanced Standing was last week, Jan 15th, chances are they're just starting to review applications. If you completed your application prior to the Jan 15th deadline, expect about 3-5 weeks until you hear from BC.

Something to consider, when looking at part-time vs full-time student status, is the availability of merit-based/academic scholarships and/or grants. Some scholarships and grants are only available to students who are full-time, and many part-time programs may start off part-time but in the 2nd and 3rd year are generally "full-time" (e.g., 12+ credits per semester). I don't know how it is at all programs, but most of the ones I've looked at that have part-time options allow students who enroll in full-time to switch to part-time; however, those who begin part-time cannot switch to full-time.

As someone who is probably the most stubborn person I know, you won't change if you're not willing to change. You've probably heard the saying "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink". I think this really speaks true about the field of social work. I'm currently volunteering helping local Veterans find employment and build job-related skills. But as many of us know, finding a full-time job IS a full-time job and most jobs won't simply fall into your lap. Why? Because you have to work for it. As a job search mentor I find that often times their motivation level is somewhat to be desired, but I can't force them to do anything. Ultimately that responsibility falls on their shoulders. I view myself like a driver's ed instructor. I may be in the passenger seat with a chicken brake, but they're behind the wheel, steering the car and in control of the brake & gas. In other words, I'm simply acting as a guide who recommends a path to go down but ultimately they're the ones who are making the decision. And yes it sucks sometimes because I am someone who wants to be in control, but I've had to learn to let it go. As someone who's political and social views are somewhat of a minority in a "blue state", I've had to learn to keep my opinions (and biases) to myself and look at the situation unbiasly. It is then, when we can look at a situation unbiasly, that we're able to take an objective approach to the issues we're facing as a social worker or therapist. I hope that makes sense.

I served in the military for 8 1/2 years working in engineering and logistics/supply. When I got out of the service in 2007, I was offered a job working a nuclear power plant but quickly realized that that line of work was not very fulfilling---I wanted to learn about and better understand people. After I got laid-off in the Spring of 2009, I enrolled at a local college and pursued a B.A. in Psychology. It was then, during my coursework in Psychology (particularly a course in Clinical & Counseling Psychology) that I began to see the importance of examining mental health issues on a family/societal level. Over the course of 2 1/2 years, I took courses in both Psychology and Sociology that helped me better understand not only the world around me and how we interact, but why I am who I am as I (like many of us) am a product of my upbringing and subsequently my parents' upbringing as well. More specifically, I recognized the importance of self-examination and how true change comes from within. During my senior year I had the opportunity to intern with an intensive case manager and that really began to open my eyes to the field of social work. Upon graduation last year, I got offered a job as a research assistant studying PTSD among the Veteran and military population. As a Veteran and former military dependent myself, this experience has really broadened my understanding of the issues many returning Veterans and their families face. My goal, as a potential clinical social worker, is to help improve the lives of our current and future military and Veteran population because if it wasn't for the assistance I received from the VA in my transition from the military, I probably wouldn't be here.