socialworkette

A few good friends of mine went to CU for their MSWs and they loved the program nothing but good things to say, and the only drawback I remember seemed to be that my friends felt that a few in their cohort didn't seem well prepared for grad school (specifically writing quality wise) but Id imagine you'd find people like that at any type of grad school/program...

Good to know! I was going to call them this week to see if they could shed some light on a potential timeline so that's helpful. That seems to be pretty accurate based on past application cycles, with decisions coming out late Feb-early March….and the waiting continues….

I think everyone is getting them….my hopes are always up when I see something in my inbox from them and then its just another event….come on Columbia we all just want to know! Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health applicants are starting to hear back around now and they had a Dec 1st deadline as well….not that that means anything because its a completely different school and who knows how many applicants they have…but it gives me some hope lol

AND ANOTHER ONE…this time with "CSSW Admissions" as the sender…lol I'm losing my mind guys. Don't mind me...

AHHHH another fake-out email from CUSSW…is everyone getting these invitations for all these on campus events?!!! Driving me nuts because every time I see "Columbia University School of Social Work…." I'm freaking out. Lol. Rant over.

Ughhh haha. I mean that corresponds with the results page (looked like a lot of people started hearing around February 25th/27thish…so almost March…) Such a long process…even if they waited to start the review process Dec 15, we're already at 6+ weeks…March will be around 10 weeks. In the past they've had later official deadlines and earlier notifications….in any case, fingers crossed we start hearing soon...

@marketak - wow! Yeah I wonder how they're going about this....I applied for the Dec 1 deadline and on the 15th I got an email saying it was entering the review process (weird....cuz I know it was all complete on the 1st but maybe that's standard....?) does anyone know if they stick to the general 4-6 week long review period from time of submission? Or do we think they wait until all apps for the season are in? I'm tempted to call but I don't want to be that person lol

If you go way back a few admissions cycles ago there were people that got answers early in February. However the more common theme with admission decision dates in more recent cycles looks to be about mid-February like the 17th and onwards, with a lot of people being notified around the 27th. Definitely keep an eye out on both this thread as well as the Results page http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/as people tend to post their acceptances/rejections there pretty quickly….

How long have you been working? I'd argue that experience working in the field is always a big plus. When are you planning on applying? GPA is just one factor - some schools place different weights on it. I feel like if you can demonstrate how you've grown as a professional while working (and be able to get outstanding LORs from supervisors/etc.), have great essays/personal statement, and maybe take the GREs to bolster your academic record….nothing is impossible and at the end of the day, you're not going to know if you don't at least try. Is there a reason why undergrad didn't go well? It's something you can mention in your essays but you definitely don't want to dwell on it….

There probably isn't a hard and fast rule but it really probably boils down to the particular school/adcomm/day/how busy they are that season/etc. I can't imagine that one extra would hurt anyone's app, but if someone sent like three or four extra….that could be excessive. I think the big thing is that if they are strict about their LOR limit, and someone has sent in 4 or 5 instead of just 3 (or whatever the limit for that particular school is) - they may choose to ignore some of the letters outside of the limit. And then in that case they may end up not reading the strong ones/happen to read less strong ones/whatever the case may be.

This. OP - personally I really recommend taking time off to get full time experience in the field. The payoffs are multifold - 1) gain experience 2) earn money 3) figure out what you do and do not like as it relates to the SW field….among other reasons. Especially if it sounds (to me) that you're looking to do more clinical type social work/become a LCSW. I think most schools want to see at the very least 1000 hours of full time work experience….although your part time RA experience is a good start. Do you feel like you have/will have a lot to write about concerning your experiences for grad school apps if you applied for the next rounds? Do you feel like you've developed good enough relationships with your supervisors from your previous volunteer/etc experiences to get good LORs that can speak to your potential in the social work field? And your academic stats are very good. Did you take any social work coursework undergrad? I ask because psych and social work, while they have similarities, are still quite different disciplines. Social work is a special field in the sense that theres a lot of applicants that are coming from previous careers (some human service related, some not….) so from the get go you're competing with people that have a lot of work experience under their belt. But of course, field experience is not the only thing schools look at though. You could always consider applying to the next round of apps, and if it doesn't go the way you've planned you can always reapply.

you're welcome. Warning - it's super easy to go through like all 95 pages of the results. lol. But i found it interesting to see the trends of when schools have sent out their decisions in the past so I could get an idea of when to potentially expect emails/letters...

Hey have you checked out the results page? http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=social+workyou can see if people are starting to hear back for this app cycle and you can also go back a few application cycles to see if there's a trend in what dates decisions seem to come out for certain schools.

I had a bizarro dream last night that a bunch of us applicants were in a room with the columbia adcomm and they were handing out physical letters to people saying you'd been accepted or rejected

How many letters were asked for and how many extra are you sending in?

I know same…I told myself I wouldn't go crazy because "I'll be so busy that time will fly by…." NOPE STILL GOING CRAZY. Do we know if decisions are emailed out first and then followed up via snail mail? NOTE: Answered my own question looking at past threads. Indeed they send you an email to view your decision online. Then I imagine that they follow up with snail mail. Also saw in past threads that people got acceptance decisions as early as February 1st. So it looks like any time in February (and onwards) is fair game….

When did you guys apply in relation to the deadline? I literally hit "send" Nov 30…was being kinda OCD and tweaking stuff up until that point LOL

Wow I just saw that! Crazy. I wonder if that happens every year or if this is a slower year….? From what I've gathered from looking at earlier threads for past years people tend to start hearing back late February and onwards. Weird though because it also looks like deadlines used to be like January 1st and they still heard back Feb/March…you'd think that with earlier deadlines they'd have decisions out earlier as well but who knows. I keep getting intermittent emails from them about different upcoming events and fellowship opportunities and I see "Columbia" as the sender and get excited and then it's not the application status change/adcomm email and I'm like NOT COOL COLUMBIA I WAS EXCITED FOR A SEC…even though I know it'd be waaaaay to early to hear back at this point...

Hi all The forum is so quiet! Any other applicants out there waiting to hear back for the Columbia MSW (2 year or otherwise) program starting Fall 2015?

Hi all. I've applied to the Columbia full time MSW program for fall 2015 entry and I'm in the process of applying to Simmons and BC (part time program)….Columbia is my top choice though. The forum has been pretty quiet concerning applicants for Columbia for this round of apps so I don't really know where I stand….my GPA isn't fantastic but I think I have a good amount of experience…and even though I was an UG psych major my transcript shows I've been heavily involved in the SW department since my freshman year and I got all A's and one B+ in my SW coursework... Academics: -Graduated with a BA in Psych from a upstate NY liberal arts college May 2014 -UG Major: Psychology with like 22 credits in the Social Work department (they called me the honorary social work student because I was always there…) -Overall GPA: 3.29 -No GRE Work Experience: May 2014-present Full time Case Manager for homeless and at risk homeless veterans at very large and well known veterans organization (supervised by a PhD) 40 hrs/week -promote housing stability throughout central MA area -conduct client needs assessments -coordinate care with other organizations/services -collect and input data to Homeless Management Information System -member of 2 committees (executive committee and vehicle donation committee) -recently put on a special team of 5 CMs administering a special 3 million dollar grant from the VA for our Priority 1 designated catchment area (In my full time job right now I've acquired about 1,500 hours of direct service experience) Sept 2014-May 2014 (9 mos) Intern at a Veteran's organization in upstate NY (supervised by a MA) (4-5 hrs/week) -Conducted meetings focusing on issues of sobriety -Conducted intakes of new clients -Volunteered at community events -Spearheaded the updating of the organization's website and FB page January 2012-May 2014 (2 years 5 mos) (10 hrs/week) Payroll assistant at college Financial Services Office Volunteer Experience: Counselor for elder client at local Senior Center (4 mos) Program volunteer for a college-experience program for individuals with developmental disabilities (4 mos) Program volunteer for a art therapy program for individuals with developmental disabilities (4 mos) Language skills: Intermediate German Intermediate Mandarin Intermediate French Other: Rode on a D1 equestrian team throughout college, went to National Championships LORS: -Very strong one from my favorite UG Social Work professor (PhD + Department chair) Took half of my SW credits with her so she really knows me and my abilities/style and she was also my faculty internship supervisor -Very strong one from my internship supervisor at the veteran's organization in upstate NY -I'd say a pretty strong one from my current supervisor at my full time job (have never read her professional writing really, so I'm guessing...) Essays: I'd say they're pretty good. Drafted them what seemed to be a million times, had people look over/edit them, felt good about them.

Hi All I'm new here to the forums! A little bit about me: I'm 22 and graduated May 2014 from a upstate NY liberal arts college with a BA in Psychology and 27 credits in Social Work (school didn't have a minor option for SW…but I still took tons of classes in the department) During college I worked 10 hrs a week at a job on campus, participated on a D1 athletic team and did a yearlong internship senior year with a organization working with homeless male and female veterans residing in the organization's transitional housing. Also worked closely with the elderly and the developmentally disabled populations during semester long courses that had field work components during my time at school. 3.4 GPA. I was super lucky to graduate with zero debt - my parents have always valued and promoted education and saved considerable $$ for all my siblings' educations. Since May 2014 I've been working full time at a large nonprofit organization serving veterans. I specifically work as a case manager with homeless/at-risk for homelessness veterans and their families helping them address factors that are preventing them from acquiring/maintaining housing (unemployment, substance abuse, medical problems, mental health problems, etc.), connecting them with resources and working with them to get them into housing or maintaining their housing. My plan has always been to get my MSW or Masters in Counseling Psych (right now leaning more towards MSW though) but I knew I wanted to take at least a little time after graduating from undergrad to get more work experience and earn money, which is what I'm doing now. I've never had a hard-and-fast timeline though. I've been having a good time working with a really diverse range of clients and learning A LOT. But I also really want to start doing my MSW soon - weirdly, I'm itching to be in school again. So here's my dilemma I'm trying to figure out. Obviously this is future-speak, but I want to hear people's opinions. Do I continue working at my job (pays pretty well considering it's my first job out of college and is in the nonprofit sector, full benefits, some tuition reimbursement after 1 year employment *amount is $2,000 per year, so that's like two courses worth per year of school*, full employer 403b match after 4 years) and do a 3/4-year part-time MSW program while working? Obviously, that means really having to balance work and school and not really being able to commit 100% to either endeavor and maybe missing out on alternative field placement options because a lot of the part time programs I've seen usually use your employing agency as the field work site. But I would still be gaining experience in the field for 3-4 years, pulling in 40k/year while pursuing the MSW, get in on that tuition reimbursement, and graduate about when my employer would be 100% vested in my 403b contribution through their match program. After getting a MSW I would want to pursue other avenues/jobs/etc. instead of the entry level position I hold now, naturally, whether it's at this current organization or another. Or do I quit the job to do a 18 month accelerated/2 year full time MSW program to get it done faster and also be able to fully engage in the program and do field placements that are NOT what I do now (because I also want to continue to get more experience outside of veterans, homeless individuals, the elderly, and the developmentally disabled) Plus be able to have more geographic flexibility in which school/program I choose and be able to devote my attention to school. Again, I'm super fortunate that I still have a sizeable amount of funds left in my education fund to pay for grad school, so while I'm definitely looking at the finances part, I'm less worried about the cost of attendance. Also - I'm only looking at "in-person" programs…I just can't see myself doing an online program AT ALL. Just a personal preference. Obviously this is all still in planning stages and I'm working with speculation right now…but I'd like to hear from people who worked while doing their MSW or anyone for that matter who have opinions on either side….