tem11

Sent you a message with my email address.

Have you heard back from Oxford yet? I'm still impatiently waiting!

Yeah, I'd be very foolish to take out $120,000 in loans (in addition to my significant undergrad debt) to get a degree in social work. Social work just doesn't have much earning potential and even with income-based repayment I'd pay a small mortgage each month. If Columbia give me a somewhat competitive financial aid package I'll consider it, but their financial aid director told me they only give each student about $8,000/year max. Pitt is by far the most affordable choice, even without scholarships, and their program always ranks well nationally. I'll know what kind of funding they give me by next week- the wait is driving me nuts! I'm from near Pittsburgh too . I hope you hear soon! I take it Columbia is your top choice, then?

An internship advisor wrote a few letters of recommendation on my behalf and wrote "Mr." instead of "Mrs/Ms.". The letter was also full of typos which showed he was sort of careless and didn't proofread. I was accepted to all of those programs, so all hope is not lost. Good luck getting this sorted out!

I agree with what others have said. DON'T use law school as a backup. It's a ton of time and debt for something you don't sound too passionate about and unless you get into a tier 1 institution, it likely won't pay off financially. I have a big spreadsheet of my options if I can't afford grad school. They include teaching English abroad, AmeriCorps, moving to a new city, etc. Having a clear set of options for the 'what if' scenario has allowed me to feel like I have more control over my options and has been pretty therapeutic. If at all possible, I recommend thinking about options aside from just moving home or getting an MA at your undergrad institution. If nothing else, looking up other possibilities is a fun way to waste time and get your mind off of applications. It's a bit early to panic, though, and hopefully you won't have to resort to a plan B. Good luck to you!

I'm 99% sure this information is sent to every applicant in the system. Good luck to you, though!

Columbia is by far my first choice and although I'm accepted, I highly doubt I can afford it. Oxford is my second choice but I don't think a move to the UK is a realistic option at this point. More than likely I'll end up at Pitt, and I'm perfectly content with that.

I can totally relate to this! My top choice school has been closed since Friday due to weather conditions .

The Peace Corps application takes about 9 months from start to finish. There's no way you'd leave this summer; you'd be looking at 3 years total with application + 2 year commitment. AmeriCorps is much more flexible and you can apply just a few months in advance. Of course, baguettes and wine are the best of all of those options . Hopefully you don't need any of these plan B's!

I've noticed that quite a few people have been accepted to Pitt according to the results search. Anyone going to one of their visitation weekends? Heard back about financial aid? Former students lurking around? It's the school I'm most likely to attend so it'd be nice to chat with others who I might see next year .

Congrats!

Good luck to you too Jade08!

I'm so sorry that the US is still so backward in many ways and you have to go through this .

I definitely would not email them at this point. I applied to many schools with rolling admissions and it took them months to respond. The university you're applying to is not very late at this point and the department is almost certainly swamped with applications. I'd say if you don't hear anything by the end of the month to send them an email, but I wouldn't freak out just yet. Best of luck!

You typically apply like 2 months before the position begins, so it's definitely something you can hold off on applying to while you wait to hear from grad schools. Good luck!

VISTA is part of the AmeriCorps program. You serve for a year at a time and typically work 40+ hours a week for a community organization. You get paid something like $800/month so you're at the poverty line and are eligible for food stamps. However, they pay for your health care, childcare, some relocation costs and at the end of your year of service you get a $5350 educational award that you can put toward existing student loans or apply to future schools. Apparently it's really hard work and incredibly time consuming but looks excellent on a resume. As I mentioned before, I'm considering AmeriCorps. If you can live with your parents for free (not sure how old you are), you can easily put ~$10K in stipend money plus $5350 toward your student loans in a year. You can only serve with them twice, but if you do it a second year that's another $15K or so toward loans. I think it only applies to certain federal loans, but that's a pretty big dent in undergrad debt if you have any. It's typically not hands-on jobs like tutoring kids or working soup kitchens. It's behind the scene service like creating/planning a new after-school program, working on data entry stuff, etc. I have a bunch of friends who did it and they love it. I've applied for about 5 AmeriCorps programs and the application process is very easy and straightforward. I had interviews scheduled in days which was nice instant gratification considering how long we've all waited for grad school decisions! More info here: http://www.americorp...hoose/vista.asp Edit: Wait, are you located in the UK? You can't do VISTA/AmeriCorps unless you're a US citizen or permanent resident. Not sure if the UK has an equivalent.

Agreed! You'll likely be a more diverse applicant as a result of studying something outside of the discipline.

If I don't get much in scholarships and can't afford grad school, my plan B is to do AmeriCorps for a year or two and work down some undergrad debt.

I haven't received any funding info yet so I'm not sure. I've narrowed it down to Columbia, Pitt, NYU or Oxford's masters in Evidence-Based Social Intervention (if I get in). I'd say Columbia is my top choice but they're supposedly terrible with financial aid and I refuse to go $120,000 in debt for a social work degree. More than likely, Pitt will be the most affordable option and I've only heard great things about their program. As for advice, I think your experience will definitely show them that you're dedicated to the field. While taking more classes won't boost your undergrad GPA, it will give them a second transcript with presumably much higher grades. I think annie a has some good advice too. If this round of applications doesn't pan out, you can take classes and prove yourself to professors who can then write you solid letters of recommendation. Also, from what I've read, personal statements are huge for MSW programs. I've posted mine on gradcafe and other forums and people have been really, really helpful at editing them. You can always try to hide a low GPA with work experience (which you already have), great letters of recommendation (both academic and professional) and a strong personal statement. Add some higher grades from a community/local college and you should be pretty competitive!

No need to apologize! To be honest, I kind of feel bad posting when I have acceptances because I'm sure it's not very comforting for others to read. I always try to remind people that I applied in early October so they don't freak out . I also applied to a bunch of stupid programs that I'm kicking myself for now. (Seriously, MA in creative writing at a really poorly regarded university? Really low or unranked/barely accredited MSW programs in Hawai'i? School counseling?! What was I thinking?!) As for stats, I'm almost 23 and I'll graduate in May with a BA in Psych from a private liberal arts university no one has ever heard of. My cumulative GPA is 3.8 and my GPA in major is 4.0. I didn't bother with the GREs since no one really seemed to require them. I studied nursing for over half of my undergrad, so I have a lot of hospital/non-profit experience. I've completed one hospital internship + an internship with a crime victim agency. I also studied abroad at Oxford in the UK for a year. That being said, I know a LOT of people who got into great MSW programs with much lower stats/no experience. From what I've read, they take life experiences/hardships and your personal essay into account before everything else. Don't think that stats make the application! Good luck and let me know if you have any questions .

I somehow missed all the action in this thread! I hope you all got everything sorted and your letters arrived on time .

I definitely played the above-mentioned "Empire State of Mind" when I heard back from NYU and Columbia Too bad they're both crazy expensive and probably won't offer me any funding.

You'll make yourself crazy with this kind of thinking. It's whenever the administration gets around to it; I don't think there's any set time. Good luck with your applications, though!

Yeah, I've started looking at apartments online and my husband has made a list of jobs to apply to in the area. I'll know what my funding package is by Feb. 15th so I'm holding tight until then. Probably far too attached to the idea than I should be, though!

Don't give up yet! There are still plenty of schools on your list that you haven't heard from. Hang in there .