Stupid Guns

Hey everyone I just watched this open house for admitted students from last year and it had a lot of answers to many of the questions everyone here has (including financial aid and admissions decisions dates). It's kind of long, but worth watching in my opinion. Also there is one for this year scheduled to occur on 27 March at 12:00 Eastern. Here is the link to last year's recording: http://ssw.umich.edu/events/list/2014/03/28/41098-virtual-open-house

At least it doesn't say "No self service available for this aid year" anymore!

Hey Flinn, My official acceptance letter detailed the program length I was accepted in to. Also under the "Degree Progress" tab and the "Academic Requirements" subsection it indicates my major and exactly how many credits I need to graduate. If it's not in one of those places I would recommend giving the school a call to verify. Hope this helps!

I got my unofficial acceptance about a month after receiving that email. Official acceptance about two weeks after that.

It was absolutely a great visit. Definitely worth the time. It took Michigan from the school I thought I wanted to go to, to the school I was positive I wanted to go to.

Hey Nochal. I'm like you, I grew up in the Ann Arbor area but had never been to the school of social work building until I visited this past fall. The school was very beautiful and modern inside. The building layout seems pretty straightforward, and the commons area seems like a great place to study or hang out between classes. The class I sat in on was awesome as well. Most of the students were advanced standing or second year students, but at no time did I feel out of place. The professor went out of her way to include me in the class and have me actively participating, despite me being just a visitor. The students were also very welcoming and inclusive. They did mention that there is lots of competition between students, but that it is usually friendly. That being said, I wouldn't expect anything less from a graduate program at U of M.

I would say go for it. You sound like a highly competitive applicant wherever you apply, so unless you have some other reason for wanting to wait (like finances) you should apply right away. Now, if you go that route make sure the programs you are applying to are available to start in the Spring. I know many programs only allow new admissions in the Fall semester.

If you think it'll help then you definitely should. They haven't reached the final deadline yet so I would for sure say that it is not too late.

Hi Emily. I heard back from Case Western a few weeks after I completed my application.

I received notice of acceptance on Wolverine Access about a month and a half after I finished my application (I submitted my application well in advance of the early application deadline), and received my official email about a week later. It may be a faster process now though.

Thanks! I have heard back and I've been accepted. Pending anything unforseen I should be in the 16 month track.

Hi Ibb88. I'll do my best to answer your questions. 1. My guess is that generally speaking in state tuition will be the cheapest. However, numerous variables, such as where you are applying, your personal financial situation, and your competitiveness as an applicant, may affect whether you receive any need based financial aid or merit based scholarships/grants. 2. I am personally applying to three schools. I was applying to a fourth as a safety school, but I already received an acceptance to my top choice so I don't think I'm going to finish that application. 3. I used this web site. It seemed to have good data. http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/searchresults.aspx?id=OWI0YTBmMzQtMTMzMC00YzI0LTk0MzgtNzcxYjlmN2Y4MTVk

Hey Nochal. It looks like I'm the inverse of you. My practice area will be interpersonal practice with a concentration in health. My minor will be management of human services. I'm really interested in medical social work. Barring anything unforseen I should be on the 16 month track.

theatricalmadi, I applied back at the beginning of November. I was sent an email to create a guest account for Wolverine Access. From there you can check your application status. You create your actual uniqname after you are admitted.

Thanks Nochal! eastsidechick when I submitted my application the Wolverine Access email did not automatically generate for some reason. I had to call the admissions office and ask them to resend the email to me.

The past few days have been busy! I received unofficial notice of acceptance to Michigan and my official acceptance to Case Western. Good luck everyone!

That makes sense. I imagine every interviewer has their own idea of what they want to see, so there really is no way to be 100% prepared.

Thanks for the quick reply! This is exactly the type of information I was looking for. I think I'm currently at the stage you were, where I'm preparing to talk about anything and everything. I'm glad to get some idea of which topics to narrow my focus on. I would be glad to hear more if you hear back from the person you mentioned. Thanks again!

Hi everyone, I have an admissions interview at the University of Michigan coming up in the next few weeks and am looking to prepare myself. Currently I am preparing to discuss my personal statement, my motivation to join the social work profession, and the details of the social issues I want to address. Could anyone who has had an admissions interview to an MSW program share their experience? Thanks!

From what I understand usually the school will contact you for an interview if there is something in your application they want more information on or some sort of discrepancy. However, in my case the admissions counselor recommended I schedule one on my own as a way of strengthening my application. Her words went something like, "scheduling an interview can either hurt or help your application depending on who you are and what your situation is. But, in your case I think it will help you." I really have no idea what the criteria is for the school initiated interviews.

Hi LotusInABox, I too am applying to Michigan for Fall 15. I can't quite answer your question as I haven't been admitted, but I can give you some info about myself as a fellow applicant. I graduated in 2011 from Eastern Michigan with a degree in history and a 3.51 GPA. Since then I've been an officer in the US Army. I don't have very much "traditional" social work experience. Most of the experience I do have, are things I've been apart of in the military that I believe translate well in to the social work discipline. For example, I was an advisor to senior Afghan government and military officials. I worked with them on a daily basis, and while advising them we had the opportunity to work on humanitarian aid missions, community security, government support to farmers, solving inter-tribal disputes, and coordinating the limited healthcare resources in the area. In the Army I've also assisted in training my unit in the District Stability Framework model of analyzing sources of instability within communities. My letters of recommendation are coming from one of my college professors, my supervisor in Afghanistan, and the individual who was my supervisor until this past may. I had the opportunity to visit the school back in September and meet with an admissions counselor. Although I was not notified to schedule an interview, the counselor recommended I schedule an admissions interview because she believes I present myself as an even better applicant in person than if someone were to just look at me on paper. So I've got that interview scheduled for December 19th, which I'm very excited and nervous about. Michigan had always been my dream school, even before I knew I wanted to do social work. The fact that it is the #1 program is just icing on top! Best of luck and hang in there! If you are anything like me this waiting is anxiety inducing!