Yellowsun

To be honest, they BOTH sound like great schools with something to offer you. I would ultimately go with what your gut says, that has usually been the best indicator for me, but more honestly speaking the more I mull over it the less I "hear" it. Here are some questions to consider: - Where do you plan to work afterwards? School can help you network; keep in touch with your colleagues, field placement, and seek out a few professors who can mentor you in some way. So I would not necessarily make that THE deciding factor to stay in Portland. HOWEVER, if you have connections for a good field placement then that may be a different story. I have no experience in either schools for field placements but I have heard these are the hardest thing to secure when it comes to a **quality** placement. - Is there a friend you can room with? That may save on rent, maybe you could work part time in that case or use your loans to subsidize your rent in that way. I would avoid living with your boyfriend if at all possible. In my experience, this living situation is a major distraction from your goal as a student. - Do you get stressed out easily? What do you feel would be more helpful: the financial support of not having to worry about bills or maybe the emotional support you feel being connected to your friends? - Has it been a goal of yours to live out of Portland? Maybe take a tour of both campuses and see where you can SEE yourself. - How would your inner social worker help someone who came to you with the same question? Sometimes when I think of this it helps with seeing the big picture. The way I see you have an exciting adventure ahead of you to either stay and really stretch your independence wings in Portland, building a life off of the foundation you've built there already, (Portland sounds like an awesome place to be btw, for those of us who don't have any connections there) OR to experience a new city, new way of living in Southern CA with the support of your family (San Diego is also a pretty cool place to be, there is the beach, amusement parks, brewery's). Good luck and I hope I was helpful in some way!

Hi, I am eager to hear what schools are great or better to pass on in OR, WA, AZ, CO, NV, NM, and TX? If you went to one of these schools for your MSW I would love to learn about what your experience was like. It seems like field placements are hard for many reasons, if you felt your program did an exemplary job to match you, I am especially interested to know what programs do that~!

I have been inactive, but have come to wonder about the answer to this question as I'm ready to pursue my MSW now, and wasn't then. I thank everyone for their two cents. I wish there was more feedback on specific schools. It seemed like there are a lot of great programs academically and field placements are the main struggle.

This seems to be a common theme in many programs, including my BSW program. Keep your chin up; it definitely is not you and no one seems to understand unless they go through this experience (which I have). This is an issue with admitting too many students when there aren't enough placements which is an issue created by both the Universities AND the CSWE.

Thank you for the insight in CO schools, as well as the general encouragement from others.

Hi I come from the sunny state of Arizona I am really torn, because I received my undergrad degree from ASU and was not wholeheartedly impressed. It seems they let almost anyone in--though there were some smarties too! I am not sure where to apply to for my MSW, here is my dilemma: My family is here, but I am somewhat tired of Phoenix. I would consider moving to other cities in AZ, but part of me feels it is time to experience new things/places. I have a low GPA, but it is over a 3.0. I would like to live in a city or mid-large sized town. I would hope to be driving distance to AZ, because family ties are important to me. Can anyone with an MSW experience with ASU or nearby colleges (West/Northwest) share their experiences? I am very interested in how inspiring the professors are and what the field placement experience was like.