[Fall 2015 Applicants]

Has anyone heard back from UPITT with a merit based scholarship? I'm just curious to know what the average amount is.

I'm not applying until this fall, but also curious as to how much the early scholarship usually is! I am out of state btw.

Good luck everyone

[MSW Hopeful seeking advice and reassurance]

Can you tell me your stats also?

[MSW Hopeful seeking advice and reassurance]

LittleDarlings that's amazing! Was it all grants/scholarships? Did you apply by the early auto-admit deadline? Thanks for sharing!! Also, did you end up enrolling? Why/why not (if you don't mind)?

[MSW Hopeful seeking advice and reassurance]

Thanks all for the advice! I've heard about IBR and PSLR, but I'm wondering if hospitals or community health organizations count as "public service"? I haven't been able to find anything online.

I've also looked into the national health service corps and definitely plan to apply for that as soon as I get licensure!

[MSW Hopeful seeking advice and reassurance]

Thank you Russophile! My student loan is through my university, which offered me a better interest rate than federal loans. I did not qualify for subsidized loans, but my school gave me a subsidized loan at 5% interest! Because it's an institutional loan, I think that counts as private, so no special loan forgiveness unfortunately. Good luck to you! I'm not really interested in going into a "public service" career. I want to work at a health facility such as a hospital or community health organization (which might qualify as "public service").

I appreciate any and all advice people can give

[MSW Hopeful seeking advice and reassurance]

Hey everyone, 

 

So I am new to this forum but have poured over these pages in the last few weeks; I appreciate all of your advice! I have some questions that I would appreciate your advice on. This will be kind of a long post, please bear with me

 

Today I found out that I did not win a scholarship that would amount to about $40,000 toward my graduate education (I am currently an undergrad). I have been pretty bummed out all day (crying, actually) because that would have been a major help. Now I don't know what to do.

 

1. Is it really true that it's hard to find a job outside of where you went to school? I have a health condition that makes living in a cold climate extremely painful/difficult, but that is where the cheapest school is for me (UConn, my state school). I am willing to suffer for two more years if I can get out ASAP (I am almost done suffering at an Ivy school in a cold climate due to the financial aid they gave me).

 

2. Does anyone have any experience with aid from the following schools:

-UConn

-UIllinois-Chicago

-UTexas-Austin

-UPittsburgh

-WUSTL

-UHouston

-Smith (I heard their aid is terrible and the nature of the program doesn't really allow for you to work to pay living expenses)

I am out of state for all of these except the first one. Numbers-wise these are the cheapest for me, save WUSTL but I heard they give good FA.

 

Part of me just wants to apply to UConn and that's it, because I know it will be cheapest for me. However, I will be applying by Pittsburgh's priority deadline; I will meet the minimum GPA requirement for an auto-acceptance and auto-scholarship. I would like a program with a more psychodynamic approach, but that does not really matter to me. I am interested in clinical social work/casework (I know the specific names vary by program).

 

3. On the above note, does anyone know how much the auto-scholarship is, or does it vary?

 

I have $12,400 in undergraduate loans, so that is something to consider. I do not want to take out more than $30,000 for graduate school, however when adding that to my existing loans, that is more than I am comfortable with.

 

As a first generation college student, this is uncharted territory for me, and I am pretty overwhelmed. All the things people are saying (especially my mom) about the low salary is starting to get to me.

 

Basically, I am looking for advice (on anything, not just the questions I asked) and reassurance that following my heart is the right thing. I can provide some statistics about me (GPA, GRE, major, experience) if anyone needs that to recommend schools with good scholarships or something.

 

Thanks in advance!