RiemannForBeginners

hiclub2, how does field placement work in terms of actual responsibilities, in particular therapy v case management/other clinical work? Do 1st year students do intakes, run groups, or provide individual sessions, or are they mostly doing non-therapy work in agencies? how big are the classes, really? does the program feel like a big school where one can easily go unnoticed or is there a sense of community? do you feel like you are getting a good education? thanks so much!

Congratulations!!! I will be starting in NYC in the fall too!

Congrats, everyone! It's wonderful to see so much good news!

I just want to add some good thoughts for anyone who didn't get into grad school this year. I think that there has to be a certain percentage of just luck and favorable variables that make some applications seem more in line with what a school may be looking for at any time. An extra year of added experience can only help any of us and you will be that much better as a social worker. Not to take away from the disappointment of this moment, but I think your talking about using this next year is an excellent predictor of how great you will actually be as social workers because you care about rounding out your applications, in whatever way you think will be helpful. Good luck, everyone! Here's to a wonderful, happy 2015!

Any opinions? Impressions? This is their first year doing it and I wonder if it's worth the money and it the Ivy League name can balance out the online factor, which still has some stigma (not deserved in my opinion and it will disappear completely in the next 10 years).

I visited them and was impressed with the open house presentation. The financial office was also v v nice. For me it wasn't ultimately a big fit because they are mainly CBT/DBT (in my understanding, at least) and I was looking for something more psychodynamic or comprehensive. I think for macro they would be great though.

Hi MSWaaplicant7346, Congratulations on NYU!!! I will be going to NYU as well! I couldn't start at Smith next summer but I would have considered them if I could. If you can spare the 10 weeks in the summer to live in MA, then go to Smith. I love their block curriculum and would love to do the PhD there. I think if I had to choose between Smith and NYU, I would mainly consider the location: do you want to be in NYC for 2 years or live at home most of the year and travel to Smith for a couple months? Other than that, I think NYU might have more name recognition outside the field, but I don't know how much that matters. Congrats!

Sure: this will be my secod career, so I have 15 years of experience in healthcare administration. Recent 3.9 GPA from state school, psychology/philosophy major. Current clinical position at a university clinic. 1.5 years of experience as acounselor at a crisis-prevention hotline. Almost 2 years volunteering as an RA in a psychology lab at Ivy school. Other short-term volunteering, auditing grad class, various trainings along the way. References: current employer/PI who is also a professor; recent professor; and volunteering supervisor. My main interest is in LGBT issues.

Thank you!! Will you be in NY? I am going to Sarah Lawrence but may be taking some electives in NY. I just found a Facebook group for the class of 2017! Growing every day

GUYS! I GOT IN! NYU Fall 2015!

monochrome, did you also get your financial aid package at the same time?

oh wow! great, thank you!

Question for those of you applying to NYU: when they say that it takes 4-8 weeks to review, does that mean that we might have results any day now, or is it 4-8 weeks after the submission deadline in January, or what? I thought they might let people know early if they applied early, but from looking at last year's results, it seems that a bunch of people who applied in Oct 2013 didn't get their results until Feb/March 2014.

Lifesaver, I didn't mean to imply that you gave terrible advice, just that I agreed with socialworkphd on the information to share. It really does depend on the recommender and one's relationship with him/her. It helps them to have some basic info about things that each school is looking for, especially when most schools have a specific list of requirements (NYU has a full page in the application on the qualities of a social worker and those are helpful to keep in mind.) Sharing a resume and a list of schools with due dates, like you did, sounds very reasonable and appropriate.

I just applied on the 16th and am freaking out and v excited at the same time. I think I will apply to Columbia early too and hold off on the rest until I hear from NYU. It is my absolute first choice. I know that one or two people have already been accepted. I'm wondering if others are willing to post here when they applied and when they heard back and how (email, Albert, etc). Good luck to everyone!

I couldn't agree more. One of the profs I work with requires this from her students and although she wasn't my recommender, I adopted her requirements and sent this to my recommenders: a table filled out with the following: - full name of school - full name of program - LOR deadline - Information about the program: for ex, clinical advanced social work, or social work policy, etc - Notes about what the program is looking for in applicants, which you can find from their websites or from the application: experience, maturity, interest in social justice, etc. - My updated resume In the letter to the LORs, I explained why I wanted them to write a letter and why I was interested in the programs, as specifically as possible (my elevator pitch for my interest in social work and in the programs). And, yes, lots and lots of thanks and gratitude

Thank you! Waiting for my last LOR to go through by Oct 15th and then I will hit the Submit button. Nit-picking my SOP until then! Argh, hope to see you at NYU!

CONGRATULATIONS! How did NYU let you know? Email, letter, update on your app?

Thanks so much for the advice, glad you like UPenn!

KNik, That's so nice of you! Congrats on your acceptances. How is UPenn? I wonder if you would take a look at tell me if you think I have a chance at NYU? :/

Argh, I wish I saw your thread before I started one identical I have sent out all the recommendation emails (all confirmed); pretty much completed my applications except for the SOPs! Working on those now. NYU and Columbia are my two top choices and am soooooo afraid I won't get in!!! Ack!

Some of the applications are open! I'm very curious what others are doing, for those who are applying? I've started my applications, the LOR requests are out, and I'm working on my SOPs now. Hoping to submit all by October 15th. Writing the SOPs is so nerve-wracking!

Thank you all! This is incredibly helpful. Good luck to everyone applying for Fall 2015!

Omg, thank you both! I had NO IDEA. How do people apply so quickly after the application opens? I will probably need 203 weeks for the essays alone. So if Columbia, for ex, just opened their applications and the deadline is December 1, it's a good idea to submit as soon as possible? I haven't asked my recommenders for letters yet, but I can do it asap. Is it polite/appropriate to ask them to submit their letters by October 1 or October 15th, if they can? I'm thinking I have to give them 5-6 weeks at least.

I'm confused: what does it mean to apply early? If a school has an application deadline of December 1, is applying early November 25th or September 15th? What deadline should I give my LOR writers: how many weeks before the deadline? Also, what is the acceptance process on the candidate's part? If we accept an offer from a university before others have made offers, can we change our minds? This is a problem we should all have! But I'm confused about that whole process.