pickfights

Sorry, SA stands for sexual assault. Thanks for your feedback I really appreciate it. I think I just need to learn more about hospital social work. I want to make sure I choose the most appropriate concentration bc I know you only get compared with people in said concentration for admission.

Hi Baffledgenius, I'm not OP but I have a question. I too am planning on applying to Cal this fall for the MSW program. Could you speak to the different concentrations, and how much your choice matters? I am interested in SA/DV work, but I have also dabbled in sexual health work. These two issues kind of overlap, and I love them all. I'm having a hard time deciding if I should apply to Berkeley's MH concentration or Health concentration. I have experience in both fields. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hey! There's a social work specific forum that would probably be more helpful, under the "Menu" section of the forums.

Hey, I would second what the person above me said and check out the forum specifically for Social Work. I too am applying this fall for my MSW in California! I also want to make a comment about your dream school, USC. I think it's great you already have an idea about where you want to go, but USC is notoriously expensive. Especially if you're coming from out of state, it's going to be + 50 grand PER YEAR. Regardless of what you do with your MSW, you won't be making buckets of money, and so you should really take the cost of your school seriously. Additionally, USC is known as kind of a 'factory' for MSWs - they admit tons of people, charge them up the butt, and churn them out. Social work is not a field where prestige is important, and so the only difference between you and someone who went to Cal State LA will be the amount of debt you're in. For perspective, you could do your entire MSW at a cal state for less than a year at USC. I'm not saying this to be mean, but because debt is real and tangible. I've heard too many horror stories of people going into six figure debt for no reason. I would really investigate the schools you want to apply to, and find out what your priorities are - field placement, cost, location, cohort size, etc, etc. Good luck.

Another, separate question: How difficult is it to raise one's score? I want to get to about 160 in Verbal. Will it be fairly easy to jump ~five points, or it difficult to improve one's score? Thanks.

Hi all, I took a practice GRE today and while it scored my verbal and math sections (155 and 153, respectively, if you're interested) they didn't give scores for the essays. I was hoping I could get some feedback from you all on the essays. What to improve on, etc. I'm hoping to improve my scores all around. I'm taking the GRE for real on July 11th, 2015 and am applying for a Masters in Social Work this upcoming fall (MSWs don't care tooo much about GRE scores, but I want to do really well nonetheless). I've linked to my essays here. I'm sorry if it's hard to read, but this was the only way I could retain my essays! Any feedback at all would be great. Even if you don't read my essays, what are some essays specific tips and tricks you'd like to share. Thanks!

I know UC Berkeley has some international opportunities!

Is the school accredited? It might be helpful to talk to other people who have gone to that school to get insight on their process.

This is really helpful! I'm taking the GRE mid July, and was thinking of taking two full months to study but reading this I realize I should start ASAP. Any other tips?

I'm specifically trying to decide between Dominguez Hills, LA, Long Beach and Northridge. Differences between programs? Advantages, disadvantages of each? Thanks!

Ok, so what IS the email saying?

Hi all, I just got an email from ETS, the company that puts on the GRE, and while I might be mistaken, my interpretation was that starting July 2016 they will no longer allow you to send scores to schools for free on the day of the test. Here's the email. Did anyone else get this? Is my interpretation of this wrong? If not, I'm honestly furious. We pay literally hundreds of dollars for this test, and it's ridiculous enough that we have to pay extra to send scores to schools (you know, the entire POINT of the test) but at least being able to send them for free day of was a slight consolation. This is outrageous. I'm so frustrated at how they keep pumping money out of us just for wanting to get an education. Thoughts? Concerns?

Hey all, Id love to get this thread up and going again. Any of the people who were applying in 2011/2012, care to share your experience with whichever Cal State you decided to go with? Thanks!

This is great. Thank you.

Hi! I'm in a similar boat. I'm planning on applying this upcoming fall. I am not too familiar with the programs, but I know SFSU is pretty competitive (more competitive than you would think a cal state would be) and has a pretty substantial social justice focus, which is great. I've also heard SJSU is great. Haven't heard much about East Bay.

Hey there, I'm planning on applying this upcoming fall 2015 for 2016 admittance. I'm in California and trying to decide where to apply between the various SoCal cal states schools (specifically, Dominguez Hills, LA, Long Beach, and possibly Northridge). I don't want to apply to all of them because I'm also applying to schools in Norcal and $$$$ but I'm having trouble deciding which ones to apply to. They're all so close to each other and similarly priced. Anyone have any insight on deciding between these schools?

Thanks for the feedback. I guess that's why they ask for three, so you can have a variety of all the characteristics I mentioned. Anyone else have any help on what characteristics to prioritize when choosing LOR writers?

What concentrations would you say are the least popular vs most popular? I can guess that gerontology and MAP are towards the least popular side of the spectrum.... and do you think your concentration choice has any bearing on your admittance? thanks

I've never heard of this! They just get matched up by my name? So I could conceivably take the test in July, send the scores that day, then apply in Nov/Dec? Thanks for the reply

Hi all, The title says it all - who to ask? Is it better to ask someone who knows you well, or someone who is higher up (a colleague vs. the director of the non profit). or someone higher up vs someone who has that degree/knows that program? What about asking professors vs asking TAs? I have some professors I enjoyed but I'm not sure how much they would remember me, while there are a few TAs who knew me personally. So what qualities are most important when looking at who to ask? Thanks!

Hi all, I'm planning on taking the GRE this summer and applying to grad schools fall 2015. i know that when you take the GRE you have the option to send the scores. my question is, can i send scored to a school i have not yet applied to? i really dont want to have to pay the extra $25 just to send scores i could have sent for free. does anyone know how this works, or has been in a similar situation? i could always move my test date back....

Another question! When choosing who will write your Letter of Rec, what characters should you prioritize? For example, what has more pull? - Someone who knows you very well or you have worked with for a long time - Someone in a high position (Director of a non profit, for example) - Someone whose position is closely related to social work (case worker at your non profit) - Someone who's a good writer - Someone with an MSW themselves These are just some examples. What do you think is most important? I hope this question makes sense

OP i'm in a similar situation! Would love to hear people's feedback on a good number of schools to apply to. For undergrand i think i applied to 8 but for MSW i was thinking 4-5.

Does anyone know if Berkeley also has a Mental Health stipend? On the site for the Mental Health Stipend it says Berkeley's offers it but I don't see it on their website. Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks to everyone who has responded! I'm planning on applying to a few cal states which require paper letters of rec (ridiculous, i know) and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this. Also, its best to have a variety of letters of rec right? I probably wouldn't want two people from the same organization? Just want some confirmation.