adacot

To answer your question: If i were to go to USC, I would pay for it all in loans, by taking out Stafford loans then graduate plus loans to cover the costs, and I would try to get my loans forgiven after 10 years the the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program. Here's my situation, could you try to give your thoughts? I was accepted to USC first, and I didn't really think I would get into UCLA so I went ahead and accepted and paid the deposit and all....now I've been accepted by UCLA and I'm not sure if I should go to USC because UCLA is cheaper...do you think if I declined their offer they would try to get me to stay by offering me more in scholarships? Similar to what happened to you?

May I ask what you mean by "I've already told them no twice, but they made me a new offer that I'm actually considering" ? Do you mean to say that you declined their offer and they re-accepted you and gave you more money through scholarships or something? I ask because I am currently deciding between UCLA and USC with cost being a main determining factor.

I also got accepted to UCLA! Now I have to make the tough decision between USC or UCLA...

I'm sorry to hear that! My friend applied for a different PhD program at USC (American Studies and Ethnicity), and his first and last name also got swapped for some reason even tho it was entered properly on the online application...I'm not sure why these kinds of mixups happen if the whole application process is electronic...

I wouldn't be too worried if I were you, it seems as if NYU releases decisions in somewhat random times relative to submission date. In my case, my NYU application was completed after my friend had his completed (all recommendations and documents submitted), yet my friend heard back after me. Not only that, but my friend also ended up getting a larger scholarship award than I did too.

@kurkz, I dont think the issue ofthe lack of funding for MSW students is due to the size of the applicant pools as much as it has to do with prestige and the nature of the program. Many research based Master's and especially PhD programs also get way more applications than they need to fill their incoming student quotas, but the difference between research based graduate programs and MSW programs is that research based programs can often increase the prestige and the reputation of a school. Therefore, when a university admits a student into such a program, they are often making an investment in that student in hopes that the student will potentially output something that will up the reputation of that school, hence the funding provided for such students. In the case of MSW programs, which are professional rather than research based programs, research is not usually a large component in the curriculum, so usually the school won't get much in return out of educating such students in that field. Thus, funding for social work programs is more limited.

I got into NYU! I had applied in December, but the last of my application materials (Letter of Rec) was uploaded around January 8.

I also applied close to the December 1 deadline, maybe just a few days before it.

OMG STORY OF MY LIFE....happens especially from NYU....these private schools seem to love to send out emails advertising different events and programs it seems

I highly doubt UCLA gets 3,000 applications for their social work program alone...I think at the very most, UCLA would have received around 500 this year, given how it is stated on their website and other sources that they receive around 400 applications.

I don't believe USC Social Work has a statistics prerequisite for admission, unlike UCLA or other Cal State schools. In fact, USC's admission requirements seem quite vague and broad as opposed to the more specific prerequisites of other public universities.

I also applied! I see on their website that they are still accepting applications for fall 2015 so I have no idea when they will notify those who applied by the December 1 deadline.

yes! $800? I also got another scholarship, but in that email it says "In the event that you also receive the Dean’s Leadership Scholarship, Yellow Ribbon award, CalSWEC, IUC or GSWEC stipend, the MSW Scholarship will be rescinded." So I am confused as to where this scholarship is coming from....

I got in to USC! If you applied by the November 3 deadline, check your email!

As I feared, my last reference never bothered to send out the reference form for SDSU, probably because it was a paper form, not an online one like most of the other schools I applied to.....thankfully SDSU said my reference could email it to them now and it would be accepted....

I think its important to note that these statistics may be referring to the number of applicants that actually decide to attend that school, not the number of acceptances sent out....also the size of the applicant pool is not provided. I recall seeing on petersons.com a while back that the admit rate for USC was around 75%, but I am not sure how reliable that site is, and now it seems the information for USC's on campus MSW program is gone from that website (maybe USC Social Work requested/paid the website to take that information down?). Also, assuming the information on petersons.com is correct, the admit rate of UCLA's MSW program is 40%. http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/university-of-california-los-angeles-school-of-public-affairs-program-in-social-welfare-000_10045442.aspx

Thanks, I have called, emailed once and left one voicemail, all directly to Angela Albert, who apparently is in charge of letters...I hope I am not bothering too much

I submitted my CSU Mentor application on 10/13/2014, and I got my campus ID information on 10/15/2014, so it shouldn't take too long until you get it! I am also in the process of putting my paper application together, and will mail it out by the end of this week! Good luck to you! I wish I could attend the informational meetings

Wow, it is exactly the same! I wonder what other CSU Schools/MSW programs use this statement prompt...

I have not heard back, but seeing as how the scholarship application deadline was January 5, I doubt that they will release decisions by early January as stated on their website since they seem to notify scholarship recipients "at time of admission," meaning they would need time to read the scholarship applications too....but I'm not sure, I'm anxiously waiting as well....

Yes! I submitted my CSULA app and that probably was one of the longest statements I wrote, but at least you will have enough space to describe your vignettes in enough detail...I found the UCLA statement to be too short, so I was struggling to say all that I wanted to say for that personal statement.

You shouldn't need to notify them. Just make sure you add your school to the list on the FAFSA application and you should be good.

Oh, now I'm worried something has gone wrong....I tried calling the office yesterday, and when I got transferred to the right person to ask, there was no answer...my last letter was supposed to be sent from my recommender in Riverside county, directly to the department, since I am out of the country, but I am not sure if it just never sent, got lost in the mail, mishandled by the department, or is still being processed

Sorry to hear that I decided to apply for social work programs because I am not a fan of research, and many other master's programs around mental health and counseling tend to be more research heavy than social work. I also like how social work focuses more on real world experience and has more of a social justice vibe to it, since I was involved with a few social justice orgs during my undergrad. I think if you were to change to clinical mental health counseling, you would be doing more research-oriented work as well as learning about more statistical and psychological tests you can administer in your practice. Good luck to you, I hope you can figure out what you want to do!

If I'm not mistaken, often time field placements require a background check, so maybe an incident like this is worth noting in your application as to not raise eyebrows later down after you have been accepted and are trying to be placed somewhere for an internship.