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Terri M, congrats on your decision! How does it feel? I keep thinking once I make a decision all the stress and freak out will be gone. VW

It would be helpful if you told us what your career goals are.

Accepted to Berkeley and rejected from North Carolina in the same week.

congrats to red rock! ok, I can't stop freaking out. I want to know all my options and I am waiting on pins and needles to see what schools I am accepted to. I applied to UCLA and I want to know if I've been accepted..... AAAAAh. I was so calm this weekend, but today I'm having a "too much coffee" spring forward monday morning freak out. Talked to admissions by phone. Decisions are being made right now and applicants should know by the end of the month...

Run, don't walk. Go to Berkeley. Get a smart and kind female roommate and stay really busy until you get over him. Sorry for the harsh reply.

fade in dreams: As a mother of an almost three year old I can tell you that after you have your child, your sense of fairness changes. When you have to decide what is best for your child or former employer. Trust me, there is no contest and if your employer has kids they will understand, if they don't, well, they will never understand you..... After the first two months of your child's life you won't even remember what your boss's face looks like. By the way, I know that sounds crazy....

Take the job. Take the job. Take the job. Lots of people don't stay within the first month. They might be miffed if you leave if they like you. But if they don't like you, they won't think twice about letting you go...... You don't need to tell them why you are leaving, just that it's not a good fit. Plus you could probably use the month's money. this is my advice, since you asked. Also why are you concerned with upsetting your potential employer? Lots of employers hire and train people, just to have them quit within the first month. It's part of the cost of doing business. They must see something good in you if they want to hire you. They also know that at some point you will move on... Why else would they be asking for committment? A lot of jobs don't ask you to make a commitment and they don't offer one either... think about that. I think they know they are getting a good bargain with you and they will lose you soon.

Ok, so I gave notice at work today. I was really nervous to do it. I work for the government so they will not be able to let me go early.... Some jobs will just give you the heave ho when you give notice. I gave them a month notice because they already knew I was leaving and they wanted to start searching for the new person. They should have no trouble replacing me. Anyways, I'm hoping to hear from Berkeley next week and then I will be able to relax. I say relax, because right now I only have one admission from WUSTL, and they are very expensive and very far away. Which means I would need to uproot my family across the country. When I hear from Berkeley I will relax knowing that I have an option that will only be moving 40 minutes drive away.

Congratulations! I'm patiently waiting to hear from them too. Did they include funding info too?

I won't have to move. I can keep my job with benefits. I can stop hoarding my vacation time. I can save the thousands of dollars it would take to visit all five schools I applied to. I can spend more time sleeping and not worrying about checking my emails. I can stop driving my family crazy about not knowing where we are going to move to.

HI Annie: I meant to write City Year, not Americorps. Sorry. Also, thank you so much for your feedback. I am late thirties and we are giving up on the house dream. We have a almost three year old, so it took a lot of discussion. congrats robin! accepted to two different ends of the country. tough decisions.

JesseS: Good luck to you! I'm planning on applying two years from now after I complete the MSW. I am starting the program Fall 2010. May I ask what schools you have applied to? I am really trying to geat a head start on the PhD application process. Thanks!

My coworker's daughter is doing Americorp in Washington D.C. right now. She is in her second year and she is 21 years old. Some schools give scholarships to Americorp applicants, like Washington University in St. Louis for example. Sounds like a fun way to go if you can afford the low pay. Her daughter was at Obama's presidential inauguration in D.C.

ditto to kobe36: hang in there! You will get admission. Kobe36 did you apply for any of the child welfare stipends? Also gerontology is a good field. Some schools like Berkeley sort you by your concentration during admissions, so you could be competing against fewer people in the gerontology concentration. Or more depending on the year.... cupojoe: Berkeley is great! I grew up in Southern California in Los Angeles County. I've lived in the North Bay for 20 years now. I think Berkeley would be a great place to go to school. Have you visited the school yet? Terrim: Have you heard anything from Columbia for funding? Sorry about Pittsburgh. I'm assuming you don't have in-state tuition. I looked at their website, it looks like they are actually lowering their tuition. That's something you don't hear every day. I looked at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) and they charge about 30,000 a year. I am hoping to hear great things about a funding package from them. Otherwise it is going to be very, very expensive.

Congratulations Cup of Joe! That makes me really excited because I thought I would have to wait forever for Berkeley news. I'm really hoping for an admit there. I just talked to University of Washington Seattle and they said they wouldn't be notifying until April. April????? I will have already quit my job and have my house packed up by then. I need to know where I am moving to! Please tell me if you are a MAP applicant. That's what I applied to. Also, when did you apply? I applied somewhat early but my GRE scores showed up just before the deadline. I also applied to UCLA and May or June seems really really late to be making life changing decisions. UGH

Just got accepted to MSW Washington University in St. Louis! I'm kind of in shock.

It's really great to hear from other families. I'm 37 and my husband is 33. I am working full-time as a social worker and still don't know how I make it through each day sometimes. My husband stopped working in July and he is staying home with our daughter who is two years old. He is from India and has lived in Michigan, Ohio and California. I'm originally from Southern California. He and I are more than ready to move to a more multicultural place. We both want to pursue our doctoral degrees, but he has decided to wait and see where I am accepted first. I am applying to Masters in Social Work programs this application cycle. I'm auditing one undergrad Sociology class at my local university and it is really exciting and interesting. I'm pretty sure I'm the oldest one in class, including the professor

Congrats on your acceptance. I saw your listing in the results search. Good job on applying early. I hope my acceptances come soon too.

37 year old with husband and 2 year old. I have applied at UNC as well as schools on the west coast. We live in Northern California right now and I haven't been accepted any where yet. I am so nervous, I had a mini meltdown at work today. ugh. My husband is totally excited to move to a university town and so am I.

I am a nervous wreck! I have finally stopped the application process. Save for the FAFSA which I haven't done, because I'm still doing my taxes.... I thought I would throw in one more application, but I have decided to stop the madness. Washington University in St. Louis said they would be notifying 2/15/2010, so this will be my first admissions result. I can't stand it!!!! AAAAAAAAAAH. It's comforting to know I am not alone.

I asked the same question regarding PhD and the UC system. I was told for the department that in-state is more desirable than out-of-state, and both are more desirable than international. The department still has to use their budget to pay for the expenses of the student. For example, it might mean the difference between a department accepting 6 students or 4, depending on the residency of the applicants. It was implied that in-state would make your chances slightly better for PhD at a UC school.

Congrats Kbens! I applied to five schools so far. UCLA, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, Washington University in St. Louis and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I am almost finished with my University of Michigan Ann-Arbor application, still not sure if I will complete it or not... long story. I have not been accepted to UNC, but not rejected... Can I ask how you were contacted? By email or mail or phone? Also, any news on scholarships or grants for UNC? Nessa

"I do blog frequently about social issues, especially among Muslims." This tells me you would be great in the social work field. I am applying to MSW programs right now and will go on to PhD so I can teach at the university level. I already have a counseling psychology MA and have 12 years working with moms on public assistance. I have to say that you would be a stellar MSW candidate. Your secretary work is awesome because you are immersing yourself in your subject everyday. This is great experience. If you are worried about social work you could focus on macro practice (studying organizations, policies and systems) instead of the face to face client work. Then you could work for advocacy agencies. Some schools even have an internationl option and several have religion. You would bring cultural competence to any program you attend and I think you would gain a lot from it too! Remember that you can always weave in, women's studies, religion, and journalism and make the program your own. Also a lot of top programs don't require GRE's.

I have about 7 schools on my list right now, but I am focusing on the West Coast short list mentioned on my signature. Can I ask what kind of funding Columbia is offering, if any? Are you eligible for in-state tuition? Have you visited there yet? I am not applying there for MSW. Right now the big city environment would be too much of a learning curve as I have a 2.5 year old daughter. I might consider it for PhD though.

Congratulations! That is amazing news. You must be so dazed and confused... I am applying to MSW programs this round. Then in two years it will be PhD in Social Welfare. I have not finished my MSW applications yet.. Why did you apply to UCSD and not San Diego State MSW? I have a masters in counseling psychology mft track, but I am now headed toward research...