elbimbo

Interesting, CSUs request your official transcripts immediately after you submit your application. Unofficial transcripts can be uploaded in the portal but they still need your official ones. I've applied to MSW programs twice and I've always submitted my official transcripts. I have spoken to director of admissions for CSULA and they do not consider applicants without official transcripts. They also send out 1 warning email to request official transcripts if it has not been received. Official transcripts should not take too long to process though. I believe mine took 2 days max.

CSU's, Brandman, APU, USC and UCLA offer grants for people who go into Child Welfare. The grant is called the University Consortium for Children and Families (UCCF). It is a federally funded program and partnership between the County of Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services and Masters of Social Work programs in Southern California. Under the Title IV-E provision of the Social Security Act, the goal is to improve the professional preparation of public child welfare workers. Stipends are offered annually to 1st and 2nd year MSW students interested in public child welfare, who then agree to work for Los Angeles County DCFS for two years upon graduation.If you quit DCFS within those two years then you have to pay the loans back. Congrats on CSULB!

I applied to CSULA. Still no response. My references had issues with submitting their letters. They kept getting kicked out of the portal. One of them submitted it on 1/15! I was sweating bullets but we made it fam! This is my second time applying for my MSW. I first applied back in 2014 (TIME FLIES!!!) to CSUN (waitlisted then accepted), CSULA (accepted) and USC (accepted). I dropped out after my first semester. CSUN was definitely more nerve-racking because of the interview. I was a fresh grad then and did not know what I was doing. Good luck to everyone!

1) Of the CA state MSW programs, which are the best options for me? You did not list any concentrations that you are interested in. I suggest looking up each school's forte and then decide which ones you really want to apply to. Application fees are not cheap and they pile up quickly! 2) Am I a competitive for the listed or suggested programs? If not, what do I need to do? I applied to Cal State Northrdge, Cal State Los Angeles and USC. I was accepted to all of them and I am attending Northridge. This was actually the toughest school for me to get into. They had an interview portion and I was waitlisted. Based on my experience (applied straight from undergrad, 3.2 GPA in Sociology, no paid experience in social services BUT ~3 years volunteer experience as a sexual assault advocate and assistant case manager at a transitional housing facility + 4 years customer service experience that I was able to relate back to social work) , I think experience and your personal statement is a big factor in admission. I highly, highly suggest racking up volunteer experience right now. This is a tough profession that can be really emotionally demanding. The admission committee needs to see that you can handle the stress. I also see that you are applying to more competitive programs such as Berkeley and SFSU. Read up on prior threads about those schools in order to gather just how competitive they are. 4) Does anyone have tips on how I should go about compiling my Personal Statement? -Start early and dig deep! Have everyone and their mom critique it. Good luck!

Since more people took the test from CSULA, then it automatically means more people WOULD pass (50 people took the test from CSULA compared to only 7 from CSUN) ;P I have seen these stats before as well. Just look at USC's stats. More people took the test but their pass rate is only 51%. Also, I'm not too sure how big the cohorts are at CSULA. With CSUN, they only took 1 out of every 5 applicants. In the end, you have to go to the school that fits your needs. Since CSUN has a more generalized focus to social work, maybe their students were not as inclined to get licensed. if CSULA has a concentration that you are passionate about, then I say go for it!

Why can't you just send them a transcript with your final grades on it then? I am also provisionally admitted since I just graduated this month and would have to send them (if I was attending CSULA. I have decided to go through with CSUN ) my final transcripts anyway. I am attending CSUN since they have a generalized focus which is what I prefer! Have you accepted with CSUN? If so, have you gone through your field placement interview? I think that's what I like most about CSUN, they do try create a relationship with the student from the get go.

I got my acceptance letter by mail from CSULA!!

The field advisors in my school jokingly told us during orientation to start weaning off any recreational drugs (I am going to school in California as well) since there is no guarantee if an agency will test or not. It's better to be safe than sorry. These threads might be helpful. http://www.reddit.com/r/socialwork/comments/25e5ej/will_i_be_drug_tested/ http://www.reddit.com/r/socialwork/comments/249h6z/asking_honest_question_any_current_or_prospective/

All I know is that it is a very new program and they recently just got accredited

I have heard people being accepted even after being put on waitlist at USC from previous posts in this forum. I do not think it is just a fancy term for being denied just like you have stated I initially accepted USC's offer to admit me (and even paid the non-refundable 280 dollar acceptance fee) but just withdrew my acceptance yesterday. I ended up being accepted to my first choice school after being on a waitlist for a couple of weeks. I hope you get my spot!

I applied November 14th, got accepted on February 10th.

After being put on waitlist for CSUN (and almost losing hope), I got an email saying they have accepted me! I am so ecstatic! My first choice school.

There are so many places to volunteer in LA. Seriously, I won't be surprised if there's a place down the street from you. It totally depends on the population that you would want to work with since volunteering is a broad term. You can volunteer at a soup kitchen at MEND or do crisis intervention at AIDS Project LA. The possiblities are endless. Where have you volunteered before? http://mendpoverty.org/

Thanks for the heads up! I applied 1/13 so hopefully I hear back soon.

I received mine on a Monday