lola9900

Does anyone know where I might find job placement statistics for particular schools?

Oh...MFA, I went there for MA in Rhet. Comp. quite a few years ago. The MFA program was pretty strong when I attended, but it was also pretty clicky from what I remember. But I attended many moons ago, so I am sure much has changed. If you go, say hello to the smokers outside on the balcony of Faner Hall:-) ---JK! Good Times!

Carbondale is definitely a redneck kinda place. The campus if beautiful. I went there for undergrad and graduate school a few years ago and the parties were still running strong. Very midwestern, small town feel. There is a significant influx of students (undergrad mostly?) that come from Chicago.... The teaching of the faculty is top-notch. I have to say I am shocked by some posters who say that the sports teams are good -- they definitely were not when I attended....but I know that in recent years they have done well in the NCAA basketball tournaments.

Keep in mind that there are loan repayment programs that are income based. These types of loans guarantee that you will not pay more than 10 percent (I believe) of your gross pay. So if you make 50K/yr then you will not pay more than 5k in student loans -- and often you will pay much less than the 10 percent. If you do this for 10 years, your loans will be forgiven. While you will still have to pay taxes on the portion that is forgiven (as if it were income), you will not longer have a student loan payment.

For me, I selected my schools based on location, program fit, and cost (or possibility for funding). With respect to funding, I didn't want to go into massive debt (more than I already am) to attain a degree for a career that typically doesn't pay well. I already have debt from previous schooling. For others, funding or money may not be as important, so they may focus on other criteria. With respect to location, I considered the (1) values of the place I would be going to school (i.e. progressive climate or conservative), (2) job prospects upon graduation (e.g. what does the dept. of labor predict for the need for social workers in that particular area), and cost of living (with the assumption that I would stay in the area upon graduation). Program fit was harder for me to gauge. I am new to this field (it's a career change for me). So I have been reading these boards to get a sense of the different programs and the differences between macro and direct service programs. I'm still not sure where I fall here -- and really could go either way, so long as I am employed at the end of the day. So Instead I have tried to focus on whether the areas of research for the professors match with my areas of interest.

Hi! I didn't apply to U of I MSW, but I went there many eons ago for undergrad. It is a great campus! Iowa City is beautiful and the people there are generally nice to work with.

Some schools require you to waive confidentiality before they will accept a letter of reference. So, it depends on the school that you are applying to. I went ahead and waived mine and my references sent me a copy of the letter directly to my email anyway (without my asking). You could wave confidentiality and ask your recommender if they will send you a copy of the letter for your files (if you feel comfortable doing so), or they might send you a copy anyway.

If you go to Berkeley's Social Welfare website, they have their preferred format online. Not sure if this helps....but it is a little different than your typical CV, in that it requires you to write out how many hours you worked in a particular job, and to focus your description to the social work field.

Do the various schools have job placement rates? With the economy where it is, I am most concerned about being employed after I earn my MSW. Does anyone know where/how to get recent/current placement stats on particular programs?

Why not Boston University? I only ask because that is where I am applying -- though I will not have advanced standing.

I'm not sure how much finances are a part of your decision, but I have heard that Hunter College (in NY) is relatively inexpensive, but fairly selective. Also, I have heard that Portland State University is relatively inexpensive, but also fairly selective. PSU's deadline is 1/15. Not sure of Hunter College's deadline. Also not sure what their entrance requirements are (as far as GRE or pre-req's).

Is there a difference in job prospects between Macro and direct service? Someone mentioned that Macro is relatively new and most programs are focused on direct service course offerings. Does it follow that most entry-level jobs are of the direct service variety?

I wanted to apply to UW as well, but my sense was that it did not offer a lot in terms of financial assistance. I have applied to Berkeley and Rhode Island College. I was very excited to see someone applying to Berkeley in their 50's....I'm in my 40's. I also applied for the MAP concentration (at Berkeley). I am trying to get together my application to BU. Good Luck All!

I am still laughing at the 30% response. Love it! As to the original poster, I have no idea what your chances are. So far I have applied to Berkeley and to Rhode Island College. I am trying to get everything together for BU. The only school on your list that I am familiar with is BU. What were your guidelines for selecting your schools? They all seem to be East Coast. Do they have a particular bent that interests you? For instance, my priorities were geographical (as I am older and want to stay and live where I earn my MSW) and whether the research interests of the professors at the schools matched my own.