SuzyH

I am an older student who changed career paths (international relations/anthropology), went back to school and received my BSW in 2017. I applied to Waterloo and Laurier distance based advanced standing MSW part-time programs. I had a GPA of 4.1 and 10,000 hours of human service related work (policy and service delivery with rural/remote communities, international field work, working with Indigenous populations) and volunteering (service delivery, outreach, and board work). My placements were in Child Protection and the Family Violence Intervention Court. I work with refugees, particularly women who have experienced prolonged captivity and extreme sexual and gender based violence. My personal statement reflected this work and clinical skills I hope to develop to further support this population. I was accepted at Laurier, and am still waiting to hear from Waterloo.

I started a Facebook group for the Laurier May 2019 Part time, online, advanced standing cohort. Please PM me if you are interested! Congrats to all! Suzy

Laurier requires us to accept or decline the offer by January 29th, but I have applied to other schools who may not send decisions until March. I would like to make an informed decision based upon all options. Can anyone advise they have done in similar situations?

Thank you! I was notified of an offer via an e-mail, which also directed me to log into Loris. The acceptance could then be seen on Loris when I clicked the application.

I applied to the part-time, online, advanced standing program. I believe the program does require a BSW.

I was just accepted to Laurier's online MSW program! I was expecting a longer wait so I am thrilled. Anyone else heard back yet?

For those who applied to Laurier for May 2019- do you see tabs for admissions, student services and student awards? I’m wondering because I don’t recall three tabs being there before. The waiting game makes be playing tricks on my mind.

Nm

Hi all, applying to Waterloo and the website states "For those who apply by the deadline of November 15, you have until December 1 to upload supporting documentation into QUEST" I assume this means that I have until midnight on December 1st. Is my assumption correct? I only started thinking about this and it is too late to call the school. I would really like the extra day to polish my personal statement.

Hello all. Im wondering if you used citations/references in your personal statement? Looking for recommendations - is this a good approach? I’m applying to Laurier. They will be looking for “Analysis of the contribution of social justice issues” in the personal statement. Does this mean the importance of social justice to my topic? I’m probably overthinking but the sentence just throws me!

Hey everyone, I am preparing for the fall MSW season. I worked in human services for years in both service delivery and policy development before returning to school for my BSW. I am now preparing to start the MSW application process. I need to work as I attend school so am looking at Canadian distance delivery MSW programs. I have searched a bit in grad cafe for info on developing a strong personal statement and application - wondering if anyone can recommend any other helpful links? Good luck to all

Can anyone suggest a good online planner app or template I can adapt? I want something that can follow me across devices (printable would be great too) and that will allow me to color code my work, school, and volunteer activities.

I was in the same boat and finally decided to get the 2015 13-inch MacBook Pro, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD. It just arrived today, I haven't even opened the box yet but my research suggested that 8gb was more than enough unless you are using intensive software programs at the same time (video production/editing etc). As far as storage goes, I store things on the cloud and keep my music on my phone.

You could change FB settings to reduce or remove this person's posts from your feed.

I wanted to add my opinion to the discussion. I have a degree from UCLA and am currently obtaining a BSW from University of Manitoba via distance delivery, which allows me to work full time as I earn a BSW. The program is for people who have experience in social service related fields; I believe a minimum of 30 completed university credits are also required. The professors who teach online also teach traditional instruction at the university. I have just completed my first year and am impressed with the quality so far. I do find it more difficult than traditional in person instruction - you need to have excellent time management skills, be self-directed and able to complete quality work independently. We attend lectures and webinars, often work in groups, and interact with fellow students and the professors. The field coordinator traveled around the country to meet students in person. I am currently applying for field placement; the only trouble I have had so far is with one organization whose staff says that they prefer to accept students from the local university (this contradicts what the organization's website says and I believe the staff is new and in error). As for future job prospects, some people may not value a degree from an online program. Some people have biases - I know someone who will only hire from her alma mater. I am not concerned with this. I believe that the quality of online instruction has improved over the past 20 years; perceptions may not have caught up yet but as most of us enter the field and succeed I think things will change. I believe that a strong interview and experience in the field/good placement work can overcome a lot. Check the reputation and make sure that the program you attend is accredited and will be accepted by your state/provincial and national organizations. I hope this helps!