jarenolds

I don't think anyone in your school or at the government institution in charge would really have much of a guess at the future of PSLF. It will really come down to a political decision which at this point is pretty tough to predict. I would guess that it will still exist for a while down the road but I personally would be hesitant to bet $40,000 on it.

Where will you end up going?

It seems like a lot of people were accepted with $12,000 scholarships as I was. I accepted the offer and paid the deposit but I'm pretty nervous about the amount of debt I could accumulate. $24,000 is a lot of money to be awarded but it still leaves a lot of debt to pay off afterwards. Anyone have thoughts on this?

It sounds like it needs some adjustments but I'm not quite sure what the answer is. There needs to be a balance between meeting the needs of students looking to make a difference and not providing people with unlimited funds for degrees that are a poor investment on their part. No offense to lawyers but they are a dime a dozen these days and $200,000 in loans from a poor law school isn't a great idea. I'm far from a total free market guy but I also think that the prices of many of these degrees, social work included, have been artificially inflated because of our governments willingness to pay nearly unlimited amounts of money. We really got on the banks for giving mortgages to people who couldn't realistically pay them back and in many ways I think student loans are turning into the same scenario.

I'm interested what you see as the flaws in this new proposal? From what I've seen most of the changes seem to be pretty legitimate.

For a $22,000 difference over two years I would go to Michigan. I think they will both offer similar opportunities in the end and that is a pretty good amount of money to be saving. The have a lot of similarities but I like the curriculum at Chicago for the maco focus areas. I read through some of the class descriptions, who knows if that's what they are really like in reality though. I also like the global health certificate at Chicago, although you can't apply to it until September so I'm unsure if I would be accepted in the end. I think I might prefer living in Chicago for 2 years. I applied to one of the scholarship programs at Michigan and had an interview but haven't heard back yet. I got similar aid as you for Chicago so if I am accepted into the scholarship program at Michigan I think I will go there. I really don't want to take out more than $30-35,000 in loans. If it's more than that I may put off school for another year or so and find a cheaper state school to go to. I'm not really sure if going for cheaper than that is realistic though.

I am interested in community organization and international social work at both schools, looks like you are too. I guess it might come down to financial aid for me. After doing more research and looking through the programs more I would kind of prefer Chicago now but it may be more expensive. I kind of go back and forth but I would like to decide this coming week and commit to one. Either way I think they are both probably good options. What makes you lean towards Michigan?

Ya she said if I submit by Friday she will respond within a week. Did you just write out something formal? I'm choosing between Michigan and Chicago but I think I might be leaning towards Michigan.

I just heard from one of the special programs that I applied to yesterday. I got invited to an interview next week. Hopefully it means they are starting to get back to people. I haven't heard anything else about financial aid and was accepted almost a month and a half ago.

They have a scholarship reconsideration request? I sent them an email telling them I would really like to attend and would be very grateful for a bigger scholarship. Probably won't work but who knows. It's way too expensive otherwise. I'm just not sure how to justify taking it$60,000+ in loans with a degree in social work. Seems like I'll be stuck working nonstop for 15 years that way.

I also got that email. I wasn't so sure if it meant I was wait listed or they aren't letting anyone know until that date. Either way needing to add a month to their decisions is a long time and I will probably commit to another school within the next month.

When you click on "Application Status" there are 2 links there- application data and credentials. Once they have made your decision a decision one will come up next to those two. I personally got an email before anything ever popped up on there though.

I was accepted to Chicago. I'm very excited and the program looks awesome. I got a $15,000 a year scholarship which I'm just not sure is enough for me to go though. Over $50,000 in debt with a degree in social work seems like way too much for me. Anyone else having that problem?

I emailed them and asked. They said they hope to have the information out as soon as possible. If it is not available by the deadline you have to respond then you can email them a few days in advance and ask for an extension and include the date you think you can decide by. Of course my date would be totally dependent on them but I would probably just ask for a few more weeks. My guess would be that they will have the info before the deadline to avoid causing themselves a headache but I don't really know.

pmelwani- I think I applied around the 21st and heard back about two weeks ago. I applied to 3 schools but Michigan is probably the only one I would go to so if I hear back about financial aid I can commit I just can't otherwise. I applied for the CBI scholarship. If I don't get that $40,000 in tuition is just way too much. I'll find something else fun to do with life maybe.

I'm hoping and think that they are probably flexible. I was accepted but don't know anything about financial aid yet either. I applied to a few of the scholarship programs. If I don't get into one of them or get another good scholarship I really can't realistically attend. I don't think they would expect people to make a decision before they make scholarship information available.

I applied to Chicago in Mid November and never heard anything back either way. I assume that probably isn't a good sign. In the email I got a while back they said decisions would be made by the first week in Feb I think.

I would also disagree. One of the best therapists I have worked with was a Mormon guy who I don't think had ever even tried caffeine. He was still incredibly understanding and amazing at working with youth with substance abuse issues. I have a history of drug abuse and in 4 years I only ever brought it up one time and regretted it afterwards. I thought it was kind of unprofessional of me after the fact. I've worked with some people with a history of substance use of physical abuse who I thought brought it up far too much and sometimes wasn't sure they were quite ready to be working with others. I think sometimes it could be good to have experience but sometimes it can also make things more difficult, it's just one of many many variables.

I don't know much about the program but I would be happy to help you with your personal statement if you'd like. I'm about to leave to travel for 5 days but let me know.

I got my unofficial acceptance yesterday and applied around the 22nd of November I think. I also applied to the University of Chicago around that time and am waiting to hear back from them. I'd really like to go to Michigan but all kind of depends on what type of scholarships they offer, it is pretty expensive for out of state students.

Congratulations! That's a huge accomplishment. I applied towards the end of November and am hoping to hear back somewhat soon.

This is the last thing I will say in this topic. I have found this website to be incredibly helpful for answering grad school questions and this debate not so much. A small part of me wonders if you are just a tear partier with a bit too much time on your hands looking to debate people. My world view seems to be pretty different than yours. I find your view that the LGBTQ community is some form of "alternative lifestyle" as if it is something negative to be both disappointing and kind of disgusting. It's not the cold, you aren't going to catch it. I've usually found that when someone says something like "It's fine I have a gay friend or a black friend" in justification for their opinion it's probably not good. The supreme court is the final law of the land. They are generally more of a representation of popular opinion than they would like to admit and not the sole viewers of the pure intent of the constitution. Just because they rule doesn't mean we have to agree. If 75% of the population became pro-life my guess is they would decide that abortion is unconstitutional. I have plenty of friends that have similar political views to you and I generally find them to just be rather lazy. Most of what you say, once again, is just political philosophy and rhetoric. The idea that if everyone was just "free" everything would be OK gives you an excuse to not have to think about the complexities of individual issues and provides you with the ability to sum up a difficult world in a much simpler way. To say that getting rid of the EPA, lowering taxes, or freeing people from the constraints of big government would attain some goal doesn't really mean anything. Recently I've been reading some things about affirmative action not being all it's cracked up to be. Those admitted to law schools above what their grades may have predicted are having more trouble in classes and dropping out at higher rates. They may have found more success had they attended a school that was a better match for them. (I'm not that informed on this, someone can shoot me down here) My views on this haven't potentially evolved because I think that if minorities were just more free everything would be OK, it was facts and research. If the goal is to create a more just and equal society where minority students have a better representation in higher education maybe there could be a better way of reaching such a goal. If you think that the EPA should be shut down then I am open to that. You would have to explain to me how getting rid of such an organization would better meet the needs of the environment though. If you're going to start a career in social work with one liners about freedom and empowerment I don't really see what you're going to have to offer, that sounds a lot more like a career in politics.

What better first post for me to respond to than this. It sounds like you have some pretty complicated views, some of which like abortion are rather useless to debate. I hope you've realized in your six years living abroad that the world is a complicated place where people can do good things while having some questionable views. I'm sure that as a tea party guy you wouldn't suggest that the constitution should be null and void simply because 1/4 of the signers thought it was OK for them to have ownership of other humans. Your favorite economists have far from a clean slate, they were more than willing to look the other way on human rights abuses as long as economies were being liberalized. Since you provided a few definitions Ill give you the one that I found for social work: work carried out by trained personnel with the aim of alleviating the conditions of those in need of help or welfare. I wonder if that is why you find that conservative ideals aren't being represented in an MSW or your BSW program. Your idea is that the best way to provide someone with help is to not provide them with help, that through this they will learn a far great lesson. I wonder where that has worked and how close that really comes to the definition of social work above. This is what was continually preached by the likes of Hayak and Friedman and I have historically seen very few successes. I think to suggest that there are only two competing interests at work in our political landscape is a large simplification of how the world works. I am of the opinion that there are a number of ways to empower people and I'm not sure that I believe that dependency is the opposite of that. There are ways that we can empower people through education, economic assistance during rough times, creating a more equal and just society, or just talking to someone when they are seeking help. If these things carry a negative connotation to you and are seen as encouraging dependency than I wonder if social work is really the field for you. I'm not sure why you would need an MSW for what you want to do, you just believe that there shouldn't be services. I look forward to working in social work so that I can continue to learn how to better help those in need. I realize that our government has its bureaucratic flaws and that services currently offered are far from perfect but we can better serve people by working towards improving these as opposed to just not having them. As my last political point, it seems that many of your comments are more tea party rhetoric mixed with some philosophical beliefs as opposed to actual political issues. The idea that people are actually not happy because the EPA is providing environmental regulation or that affordable healthcare takes away choice is pretty out there.