wishingonuoft

I'm doing my practicum placement at a large children's mental health organization that does a lot of Art Therapy. We take a lot of students from TATI (Toronto Art Therapy Institute), which is apparently amazing!

That means you've been accepted, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations on getting into York!!!!!!!! I read your earlier post about your long journey to the acceptance and I'm so happy you got it, you are most deserving (and resilient, a key social work quality)! I was just wondering, looking at your signature I see that you didn't apply to U of T this time around whereas you had applied several years in the past, I was just super curious about if there was a reason for this?

I was accepted on first day of acceptances and it was March 13th. U of T office said this year will be around the same time for first wave.

I'm in the 2 year program now and I have a few friends who were able to find their own placements!

Late congrats to everyone who submitted their U of T app a few days ago! And of course any other applications (just not sure of those dates). I hope you can all enjoy the holiday season with minimal stress!

I second this. In fact, this year, only 2 students out of the 140 got to do a thesis. So really i wouldn't mention more than 4 words about it.

Awesome! It's also great practice for if and when you get into the program, they really expect conciseness and don't mark content that's over the limit!

If you went 200 words over I would DEFINITELY cut down. The point of the word limit is to show that you can write an effective statement succinctly, so I think it definitely sends a bad message if you go over to the point that it's noticeable. If the word limit was 700 I'm sure even would be more than happy to go up to that limit, so writing within the guidelines also makes it more equitable :)

U of T is very strict about the academic references coming from a university, as they will be better able to evaluate your potential for grad school at the university level. That being said, 2 years is NOT a long time and in fact, many professors are used to writing references for several years because they understand how competitive graduate education is. My suggestion to you would be to contact your old reference with an email that reintroduces yourself (reminding them about what kind of work you did as their research assistant, which mark you got in their class, etc) and possibly attach a sample of your writing to refresh their memory I'm sure they'll be happy to write you another reference!

Not damaging at all, I did it and many of my peers did as well if there's one field where personal experience with issues related to mental health isn't stigmatized it's Social Work!

Hi! It sound like you have a lot of terrific experience working in the field (demonstrating commitment and passion), in addition to having some strong references! While your GPA isn't super high, sitting at a B+ is still super decent and it's totally possible to get into an MSW program with this grade. The fact that your experience and references are strong can definitely offset your GPA, as many MSW programs take a holistic approach to reviewing candidates. Strengths in certain areas can definitely compensate for weaknesses in others. Programs are super competitive, there's no way around that, so while I wouldn't say your acceptance is a long shot--it's really hard to say what your odds are because there are so many other variables that have to be factored in, (i.e. how you represent your experience, quality of personal essays, the strength of other applicants in your cohort, etc.) Like you said, it's hard to predict what a department is specifically looking for from year to year, you'll never really know unless you apply! Just as an aside, I think it's important to avoid referring to any person as "the most meh human", there is so much more to a person than may meet the eye and as a future-social worker I think it's important to view people through a non-judgemental lens...you never know a person's entire story, you only get to view the snapshot they share. Best of luck to you if you do decide to apply this year, rooting for you!

Hey everyone, I was accepted and will be beginning the 2 year MSW program at U of T this year. If anyone has any questions about the program or about the application process feel free to shoot me a direct message (or post on the forum, but message guarantees I won't miss it). I'll check back periodically And I can confirm that the odds for getting into the 2 year U of T this year were about 1 in 6 based on what it said on my admission letter! Good luck everyone, I know the process is completely tedious and stress inducing but it doesn't last forever. Make sure that you practice self-care as that is integral to coping with applying and waiting!

Congratulations!!

For U of T, the admissions coordinator highly recommended people use Athabasca to upgrade their research methods mark! I agree with the above post, I don't think universities care about where you take courses.

Try posting in the MSW facebook group, some people have already found fellow U of T MSW'ers to live with!

I've been a board member for a number of organizations and generally you have to be a member of the organization first and then move up in status after getting some experience and committing time. I can't speak for all organizations though and I'm sure the rules for that vary a lot from place to place. Hope those of you in school are wrapping up your semesters nicely! I'm taking 7 courses this semester so I can attend the spring convocation at my school and I'm really excited for it to be over--don't think I've left my house in a week and a half! Like actually, so much ordered pizza. Good luck everyone!

It sounds like you're a competitive applicant! The one thing I would say is experience wise, both quantity and quality is important. Being a board member of an immigrant women's organization is super amazing, but the fact that as of the application time you had 2-3 months of experience with it could have been a disadvantage with your application. I know that U of T really values consistency and working for relevant volunteer(/paid) organizations on a more long-term basis would show both dedication as well as emphasize your value as a volunteer/employee. I think that the types of experience you've listed sound amazing, and that getting more hours will help a ton for future applications (if you don't get in this time around, of course!) Good luck! And and and, congrats to everyone who has made the wait-list, fingers crossed for everyone!!!

Hey, I was wondering on average how many hours of classes there are per week in the first year

Re: the interviews, I wonder what the reason is for not conducting them. It's pretty standard to have interviews for programs in which you work with vulnerable populations (i.e. medicine, clinical psychology, occupational therapy all have interviews etc). There's only so much that can be conveyed with a written statement, and don't get me wrong I think the written statement is invaluable, but being able to demonstrate your sociability and passion for social work in person would be really nice

Maintain a mid-B average in your final semester and send the transcript with those grades to the faculty as proof of graduation after.

People who have completed undergraduate degrees (standards on pre-req's differ between schools, but generally it's an undergrad) in a related field can apply for a post-degree BSW which is like a fast-track BSW. Instead of taking 4 years to do an entire undergraduate degree in social work you can finish it in 1 or 2 years (depending on the institution). So it's like a short-cut, and after you complete it you are eligible to apply to any social work program in Canada, which is awesome because maaaaany universities require a BSW for entry into the MSW. Also, getting into advanced standing MSW programs seems to be less competitive at many schools (also, depends on institution).

I applied for the first time! (and to only one school, so I really put my eggs in one basket since it's my dream program--for future lurkers I wouldn't recommend doing this, it worked out in the end for me but the anxiety of having one option was too much to handle at some points!) HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE ACCEPTED TODAY INTO THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS! It's wonderful to see so many dreams coming true, it's truly an emotional day all around. I'm super looking forward to meeting a bunch of you in the Fall at U of T you guys are amazing!

Stats totally count, A for you glen coco

I would definitely take another research course. At the info session I went to, Angela said she recommends that anyone with a mid-B in research methods retake it because it's a huge disadvantage regardless of other experience (and I imagine having below mid-B would be even worse). Your other research experience may supplement it to an extent, but I remember someone raised their hand and said they got a B in statistics but had lots of experience with research projects and as an RA, and Angela said "It's up to you, but I really recommend that the research grade be in A range because that's one of our main criteria as a research oriented program". She said many students boost their mark through Athabasca very successfully every year!