WhatAmIDoingNow

Reaching out to schools of interest regarding veteran student benefits too. There may be additional funding, discounts, and internship opportunities available. If they don't know, find someone at the school who would. Also, do not take an answer of "we don't" unless it comes from a university staff manager. I got screwed over on my first semester tuition because student workers told me there wasn't a benefit that was available.

My AWA was a 4 and no one I spoke to cared about the AWA. Your Verbal and Quant are great, don't sweat it. Just make sure your writing sample and SOP are solid. No one would accept something that you wrote in less than 10 minutes, no citations, and didn't edit anyways ;-)

My University of Minnesota acceptance is the same way. My application is "Awaiting Program Decision" but I received a call from my adviser a few weeks ago and an award letter last week. If I attend, I need to submit my official transcripts to complete the admissions process. They do not make you submit official transcripts unless you are accepted, which saves applicants some money. You can call the program to verify, but you are likely accepted. Sometime the graduate admissions takes longer to verify the information on you application and your acceptance is pending until your application is verified.

Parking Permit rates: http://www1.umn.edu/pts/park/parkingrates.html The U Pass looks like the best deal, but the comfort of driving in a warm car during the winter may be worth a parking permit if you live further out and save on rent.

I was looking at St. Paul and found two bedroom duplexes, dogs allowed, with in unit washer dryer and a 30 min lightrail ride for around $1200 right now. There aren't many rental available currently but the market should open up in the spring. Also take into consideration that most of the rentals I looked at include heat, gas, water, and trash. Some include electric too. I am going to second this. If the commute includes I-94, don't do it ? See what the commute would be not using the highway. Supposedly there is a 20 min direct bus from Eden Prairie to the University too. Check out the public transportation routes on google maps.

Seriously, that was my question too. He never really answered my question on the subject of research. He did drop the fact about multiple phds often. I think he must have had a trust or his wife made a really good income, because he was in his 50s going through the psychology program after completing other phds. Or he could have gone through school at a time where there was more funding and less applicants for those programs.

I saw a mass of rejections from Duke (about 8 on the same day) on the results board last week. That was painful to watch. Good luck to all of you on the rest of your applications.

I knew a man who had multiple PhDs, all in social sciences. His last was in clinical psychology. Not interested in research, yet he completed several dissertations.

To add, most of the applicants on this site seem to have applied to 6+ programs. From the PhD students that I know, most applied to 3 or less. A couple applied to 4. The information on this site is skewed to serial applicants. You can only attend one program, so the applicants admitted to multiple schools in the first round will have to give up some of those spots to applicants on the waitlists.

How do you find out who is on the grad committee and what they are looking for in applicants? The POIs could be the admissions committee or have more sway than you know. Emails are much easier than completing applications. Plus, it is not a mass email event. I emailed 5 people I was most interested in working with and then received a lot of rich information on their perspectives on the field, the programs, fit, and each program's applications processes and expectations. Helped me whittle my applications down to a few schools and tailor my applications to the programs. The field I am in could be different for other fields, though. I have never heard faculty nor my mentors state that it isn't important to reach out. Outreach was recommend across the board, and it was pivotal to my acceptances and making my decision on where to attend. The PhD is such a huge commitment to not get insider information.

When I reached out I found out that some faculty were not going to be working in my area of interest, as the projects on their CV ended and they were moving onto other areas. Other faculty were leaving the program or taking a new role with less focus on research. A couple actually shared that they weren't working on what their CV looked like they were working on, but gave me much better contacts for what I want to do. Everyone I emailed and spoke with were more than willing to help, or were assertive that they were not interested. If the person of interest is not interested in helping me, that is a great red flag to not try to work with them. What are the arguments against reaching out?

Who told you not to reach out before applying? That it the absolute worst advice ever. I want to stare down that person who gave you that misinformation and slowly shake my head in disagreement with them. How are you going to know if you fit the program and it is a way for someone in the program to distinguish you from the next applicant? And applications are expensive, monetarily and time wise. After the rant. Hopefully you get into a program in which you have a good fit. If you end up entering into the Fall 2016 application round, you have all your material. Contacting faculty and researching who is doing what you are interested in would be your task. Your research interest sounds like sociology with an IR focus.

My undergrad was not good and I have 2 phd acceptances right now, waiting on a third. I worked three years, went for a master degree, focused on research opportunities and networking with faculty for strong LORs, decent GRE scores, and selected programs based on adviser fit and productivity. I am matched with the faculty I identified and reached out to prior to applying.

That is a great point. If you want to do practice, quickly get your LCSW, CACIII (or whatever the new addictions letters are), and get a good practice job after graduating, then you need to go to a school that can give you those skills and connections to internships that will get you the job you want. Ask recent graduates what their placements were and what job opportunities they had after graduating. I say recent because asking someone 20 years after graduating from CSU or DU won't do you much use. To add to my earlier comment, internships influence where you get hired after graduation. If you want to be a medical social worker, you should have a medical internship. If you want to be a counselor, get a counseling internship. If you want to be an administrator or activist, get a macro internship.

It all depends on your employer and the work culture. At my job, they have been in the loop. I work on many projects that will need to have someone hired and trained to take over, so I will be giving as much notice as I can. On the other hand, some organizations are rather toxic regarding resignation and will have security escort you out the day you put in your notice. I would look into how other resignations have gone in your organization for people at your level and work from there. In a management position, resigning without decent transition puts staff is a stressful situation.

Start now. Then you can show good grades and initiative. Plus if you wait until you apply, then the classes won't be on the transcripts you submit.

I am impressed with all three programs for different reasons, but UMN fits the best with what I want to do. I just need to know the financials. I have known other PhD students at various programs who received funding that didn't fully cover living expenses for the location. Seattle and Minneapolis have a higher cost of living than Phoenix.

There are 3 MSW programs in CO, as stated above. One tip I have is talk to the programs about how students get their internships. People I know that went to CSU had to find their own internships, which is ridiculous to expect students to know the system well enough to find the best internship for themselves. There are also out of state programs that are not too far from Colorado. So depending on where you are located in Colorado, there may be more options. If you are willing to go to Ft. Collins and Denver, you seem willing to commute quite a bit. there is the University of Wyoming in Laramie and New Mexico Highlands University in Albuquerque, NM. Just ideas.

ASU has a mission to not be elitist with its admissions. It is an interesting model, especially when it has high standings for preparing graduates for the job market. If you have Wanderlust, branch out. ASU will make a great safety school. Benefits of ASU include the opportunity to choose different specializations, more choice in classes, and you have all of the metro area to select internships from. I know a bit about Colorado. I was not impressed with University of Denver. Very expensive, even with the scholarships. It is still worth checking out if there is a specialty there that you are interested in studying. University of Colorado does not have an MSW program. Colorado State has a very small program, no options on what classes you will take. I believe they only admit 20 some students at a time, with a strange distance learning schedule for working students. Students have to find their own internships, no assistance from an internship coordinator other than a listing of internships that past students had completed. Metro State in Denver is a new MSW program that I do not know much about. Metro State was a community college that transitioned to a public university and is emphasizing professional program. Worth checking, will likely be the cheapest of the Colorado schools. As far as WGRP schools: MSW, University of Alaska, Anchorage MSW and PhD, Arizona State University PhD, University of Utah Social Work MSW, University of Wyoming MSW and PhD, Colorado State University (Rural Social Work) MSW, EWU (Rural Social Work)

MPA will focus on institutional structure, management, and practices. MPP will focus on policy analysis, economics, and statistical modeling. I think either will work with a concurrent MSW, because neither focus on disenfranchised populations and services like the MSW will. If you are passionate about "immigrants, refugees, and trafficked individuals" then i would focus on MSW programs that have expertise with that or are located in an area where you can intern with programs that focus on that area. Many schools have the concurrent degrees. You can also apply for the MSW, then apply for a concurrent once you are in the MSW. I know of some MSW/MPAs who graduated with the MSW, then finished the MPA. You can always call the programs that you are interested in to learn more about the terms for applying.

Yes, what would you like to know? Some facts off the top of my head: It is the only MSW program in AZ and they participate in WGRP (http://wiche.edu/wrgp). The Phoenix location is the main program and the Tucson is a smaller, distance location. Rep Kyrsten Sinema is an instructor and does internships in DC. They have an MSW/MPA, and MSW/JD concurrent degrees. Phoenix is a cheap place to live with a lot to do, but you have to handle the heat.

If you do not overload your credits and strategically plan your assignments and internship to coordinate, it can work out. I worked 25-35 hours per week, along with full course load and internship. It was rough sometimes, but manageable. Make sure to pick one topic you are interested in, an area of expertise, to align all your course work around. You don't want to reinvent every paper and presentation.

The results page hasn't been showing much for Public Policy/Admin/Affairs acceptances and rejections. I did get an email back from Evans responding to my question and they report trying to get decisions out sooner than last year. It looks like the decisions last year went out mid to late March. I am still waiting to get my funding letters from UMN and ASU. I have been in communication with my assigned advisers, the letters are being prepared or in the mail. I am impatient and just want all the information so I can make a decision and start working on the transition to wherever I attend. Has anyone gotten funding information or started weighing their options?

They may not transfer the credit, but should accept that you made the effort and are a capable student. You just need one acceptance. Many programs have prerequisites of a public affairs course, social statistics course, and/or a microeconomics course. Online courses from legitimate colleges and universities (national, state, private, community) are acceptable for prerequisites. You can also contact the programs you are interested in to seek guidance. Programs have staff that are paid to help with admissions questions and issues.

1. I don't know what program you are currently at and what ranking system you are looking at, so I can't really provide a definitive answer. What I have been told is you need to make sure that your research interests fit with faculty in the program and reach out to them for consulting on program fit and expectations. One thing I would be concerned with is if this program places all these graduates in academic positions or in practice positions. Because if you want academia, you need to go to a school that develops academics and not practitioners. 2. There are good arguments to take a dip in the professional job market and to work straight through a PhD. I took breaks between my bachelor, master, and phd application cycle. My work made me far more competitive than my schooling and have given me more background on my research interests. 3. Most of the faculty in the PA schools I have applied to and worked with have a PhD in policy, admin, or affairs. This is followed by economics and political science. It really depends on what you are interested in research-wise and what faculty you want to work with. 4. If the program that gave you that offer provides you with the research opportunities you need, the support and advising to get you into the career you are shooting for.