Lifesaver

Since when is Stanford an ivy?

I visited school #1 last week and I was not pleased for a number of reasons. Ivy or not, it's just not going to happen. I would be miserable. I'm likely going to pick school #2, who may actually be giving me some scholarship money. I've been told to check my mailbox. So, I'm waiting on that and trying to decide if a return to NYC may be beneficial.

The MSW is a terminal degree. Having a PhD wouldn't be useful if you aren't planning on doing large scale research. Rutgers may be a better idea simply because it's not in the city. I have a friend who's graduating from Fordham soon and she has now told me twice to stay out of the city. She said getting a good field placement is hard because there so many MSW students in the city competing for the same thing. That alone is deterring me (even though NYC is home), and I've been accepted to Fordham and NYU.

I've heard of it and know people who have been students there. What do you want to know about it?

In some areas of SW, yes. Speak with the advisor.

Nope, I'm going to do straight MSW.

Have you seen the funding packages engineering grad students get?! It's crazy! That's where all the money goes. I get it, we aren't lab rats, and most schools won't let us teach, but yikes. My cousin just got accepted into some kind of engineering phd program (I think maybe molecular engineering?) and he has a full tuition waiver, a $3,000 a month living expense stipend, and will be getting paid to teach undergrads, though I forget how much per class. If you bounce over to the other forums, most people say they'd never go to an unfunded graduate program. This will be my second

Some schools yes, some schools no. Univ of Denver told me how much of a scholarship they were awarding me in my acceptance letter. Fordham and Tulane, after the fact. I asked about this months ago, and they said that it makes no sense to award people who have no intention of attending since it lessens the availability of funds for those who are actually going to attend. If it turns out that you're given a full ride elsewhere, you'll only lose your $200 deposit. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal. But be honest with yourself, how likely is the full ride? I haven't seen a single post on here stating a full ride. I definitely could have missed it, but I just think that MSW students really get screwed with funding across the board. As for me, I'll probably be losing a $300 deposit. But I'll be following my heart when I do!

And congrats! I may be joining you

It comes with or after you get your receipt for your deposit.

Call! Call whoever handles admissions and tell them you want to check on the status of your application. Tell them you have other offers demanding immediate answers. Be polite, of course, and you may just get an answer. I called a school and went from no word to acceptance in less than five hours.

Any news yet?

Got word from Fordham today - accepted. That completes my admission season! I was accepted to six out of the seven schools I applied to. The only rejection being Hunter. However, my top choice has changed several times and I'm still pretty conflicted. Need to make a decision ASAP!

I suggest you visit both. I was born and raised in NYC and I'm in Philly right now visiting. Without saying too much, it is not exactly what I was expecting. You should see which place you feel most comfortable in and forget the rankings, since they're all great programs.

I didn't think PSLF was taxable. Thanks for confirming, Figaro, cause I was definitely alarmed

I was pretty confident that I'd never hear from them or Fordham. Apparently, at 10pm, anyone can be proven wrong. Hang in there!

Just to complicate things a little more, I've just (literally) been accepted to NYU.

I finally heard back from NYU - at 9:57 tonight. I got in. More choices. Holy moly.

Thanks for your advice! See my edit about the money situation.

Background info: This is for a social work masters. Funding, especially full funding, is hard to come by in the field, so both of these programs are entirely unfunded. Such is life. I'm going to go regardless. I was 100% planning (and very excited) to go to School #2, assuming School #1 would reject me. They didn't, which left me in this predicament. I've made a pros/cons list, please look it over and advise. Edit: There are loan repayment plans for social workers that are income based/can be forgiven after 10 years. Yes, it's a huge amount of debt for a low paying job, but we don't anticipate paying the full amount of our loans due to these programs. School #1 Pros: - Ivy league. - In an 8-way tie for 16th best program in the country (3.6 on USNews). - Has a felon re-entry certificate program that I would love to do. - Fieldwork starts immediately, during the 1st semester. - Closer to my brothers. - Prestige. (When people aren't mixing it up with another school) School #2 Cons: - The price tag. $43,000 in tuition per year. - Approx. $2,000 in rent. Possibly more after utilities/parking. - Longer program. May graduation rather than December. Market saturation in May, possibly? - General higher cost of living. - Complete unfamiliarity with the city/state. Only spent maybe 4 hours there my entire life, though I'm going to visit next week. - I only know 1 person who lives in the city, and she's too busy to see on a regular basis. - I'd be "alone" for the entire summer (move June 1, start school August 27th). - Less diversity of student body. - Many students seem to be coming straight from undergrad, while I'm older. - I don't plan on living there after graduation. - Awful, cold weather. School #2 Pros: - In an 8-way tie for 44th best program in the country (3.1 on USNews). - Well known private university with a good nation-wide reputation. - Shorter program - 16 months, rather than 20 months. - Less expensive tuition: Approx. $28-29,000 per year. - Less expensive cost of living: Rent ranges from $400/month-$1,500. May end up being free if I live with a friend. - School is in a city I'm very familiar with (went to undergrad nearby), love, and have wanted to return to/live in after graduation. - I have friends there. - Much less scary unknowns. - Much better weather. - Boyfriend lives here, though he supports me going elsewhere for school and has agreed to visit wherever. School #2 Cons: - Doesn't have a structured felon re-entry program, but I could likely tailor my fieldwork in a similar manner. - Fieldwork doesn't start til the second semester. - Ranked lower. - Isn't ivy league. - Possible regret for turning down ivy league education post graduation. - Possibly won't "open as many doors" post graduation (says my father). - Not close to family, but near close friends.

I hear Hunter is more clinically focused and Fordham is geared more towards macro. Don't know for certain, just what I've read.

I have a friend who's graduating from the MSW program at Fordham this spring. I asked her what she thought of the program, and all she really said was, "If I could do it over again, I would have gone to Hunter because of the money." I asked her to elaborate a little, but she wasn't really enthusiastic about the program, and judging by her facebook status', she's been pretty frustrated over the last year. Having been through graduate school once myself, and having loved my program, I know this is definitely not the way that I talk when trying to recommend it to someone. So, after talking to her, and reading about a few other peoples' experiences at Fordham, it shot way down on my list. It was, once upon a time, in my #1 spot. I personally have a serious hatred for the CUNY system (I went there for a brief time in undergrad). Their whole organizational system is behind the times and insanely difficult to navigate. Their administration isn't stellar, and the red tape is abundant. However, for the price, I may suggest that some people deal with all of the headaches.