artsy16

I hadn't considered CACREP, only APA accreditation which to means seems to supersede CACREP. I just checked, and only 1 school I'm applying to isn't CACREP accredited. Your best bet is to focus on APA. I believe they're the only ones who can grant you a license as a psychologist. This may be different if you're applying to master's programs. I assumed Ph.D.

I don't remember if any of the schools I'm applying to require it, but I've put my SSN on all applications due to a recent name change (not because of marriage). It's the best way to match the stuff with my old name (GRE, study abroad transcripts) with stuff with my new name (current university transcripts, LORs, financial aid). I I understand your concern, though. I feel uneasy about it for sure.

Some programs state on their website that contacting PIs bears no effect on your admissions decisions. Most I've been interested in have lists each cycle with professors that are accepting applicants. Like lewin, I've been including in my personal statements possible research questions I'm interested in exploring that are in line with what those professors are looking for, too.

I wouldn't reference the school specifically. If you wanted to give an anecdote, maybe talk about your own university (if a) it's not Berkeley and b ) this issue has gained attention across your campus). I plan on starting that portion of my essays with an anecdote, but I'm talking about an issue that came up at my job (I have a social services position currently). IMO, distancing from the school you're applying is a safe bet

I'm applying to 3 programs (MSW/MPH dual) and it's freaking me out a little. I don't know anyone who's gone this route & went out of state. I work in a clinical social work field now & all my coworkers just apply & go to the local 2 or 3 schools in our city. I'm applying out of state (TX) and really hope to get in. I'll be disappointed if I don't get into the MPH program I'm applying to, but the MSW is my top choice anyway; dual is a bonus for me. My personal statements are pretty much done, I just have 2 more "why do you want to go to this school" short essays to write (1pg double spaced for each). Applying to to more than 3 would be a significant burden for me. I calculated costs & its $500 with transcripts, GRE, app fees. I originally had 7-8 on my list and that was about $8-900. I can't afford that while trying to save up for moving out of state/cross country.

Why don't you drop your nursing job to part time?

As a soon to be grad student I found this thread helpful. Thanks maelia8 for sharing your personal experiences! Any updates? Hope it's good news.

I looked up "MSSW" at Penn State and got social work, not computer science. I misunderstood your post and as I know nothing about CS, I don't have reliable advice to give. For the record, it only matters to an extent - graduates from every school have jobs and where you went will matter less once you have an established job history. Good luck.

The key word in the diagnosis is situational. Situational means there are specific environmental factors (in your case, graduate school) that are causing significant stress/anxiety/depression. Counsellors can only go on what you tell them and where the field is at currently. Situational depression is not like clinical, generalized depression, meaning your mood will improve once you're no longer in that environment (and you don't have to feel depressed EVERY day to have situational depression, or generalized for that matter). In a way it's similar to Seasonal Affective Disorder. It doesn't mean you're "not adjusting". You don't have to listen to that counselor. You can seek a second opinion or discontinue treatment; you're always in control. *I'm speaking as a psych major and a mental health specialist at a psychiatric program for teens/young adults.

Those are social work degrees. You won't make a lot as a social worker so take the cheapest option. If you applied to Tacoma you hopefully would want to go there, so go. Good luck!

kaswing - what do they do with the returned laptops? If they're going to buy everyone one up to a certain dollar amt, I don't see why they don't just let you keep it.

I would look for a job for the interim and apply again next year. $120k loans is entirely too much unless you're going to be a doctor and even then it's risky.

At my institution, "exempt" still means IRB approval is needed, but the application is expedited because of minimal risk/simple study design. Talk to your adviser and someone at the IRB office at your institution to find out exactly what "exempt" means at your institution although I would be surprised if there were different standards across schools.

Saying you were thinking of putting your classes at the first school "on hold" implies you were planning to return to that school, so no it wasn't "obvious". But good luck anyway.

Why do you want to get the same degree in the same field twice? Why not just finish at the first school? Unless you're unhappy there, in which case the second school may allow you to transfer a couple of classes. Only you can find out from both institutions how this will look to them (maybe send from an anonymous email address). It is possible that you could be blacklisted; it all depends on the programs.

I would agree with CiCi1111's statement if the horribly offensive "would you tell a black person, etc" statements were not made. How dare you say something so utterly offensive, and I'm guessing you're new finitely not black and likely not woman-identifying. And I am speaking as someone who IS black, a woman, and an American with a "difficult" name to pronounce due to my ethnic background even though my cultural group has been on this soil before most white Americans' families have been (might I add, we are often ridiculed for the sounds of our names by dominant (white) American society). Your opening statements were wholly unnecessary. Think before you speak, because you are not the only person who experiences discrimination and to suggest that some people are "protected" from it is absurd and offensive. As to the OP's original issue - how dare people ask them to change their name?! I don't think any of you have ever done it before because it's not as easy as you make it out to be in your one sentence replies. I will also guess that it's unlikely that those suggesting a name change have names that have cultural significance and would ever consider changing your names to fit someone else's culture because people are too arrogant and close-minded. I am in the process of changing my last name now and applying to graduate schools. The process is horribly difficult re: paperwork, not to mention socially uncomfortable because many people demand an explanation and are upset when you say "it's private". OP- I would say do whatever the government resources tell you to do. Even though your name may be "legally" FNU Maxtini for U.S. purposes, you can always just go by Maxtini socially and in business situations. For GRE, ETS will not change your name and you have to warn all your schools about the name discrepancy so they can match your stuff. I spoke with ETS recently. Best of luck! Whatever route you choose, there will be some difficulty and even more so if you change your name (which I wholeheartedly do NOT think you should.)

In the U.S., most schools won't take you for a bachelor's program if you already have one unless it's a special program like second degree nursing programs. There's no restrictions for master's unless an individual school has one.

Admission departments are only one part of a university, and you will never have to deal with them once you're in. I never understood why prospective students judge an entire university from one department that is completely unrelated to academics, research, etc. Admission departments are also notoriously understaffed and usually get record numbers of applications each year. Paying an application fee is a business transaction. You pay money for a product and in this case the product is an admission result. I'm baffled how some posters are saying that giving a decision is not what the universities 'signed up for', so to speak, when you pay your application fee. In no other area of business/commerce would this be acceptable.

Agh sorry I just noticed a bunch of typos! I'm typing on my phone. I hope my post is still clear! Feel free to PM for more specifics or if you want me to clarify. I am deciding between MSW and MPH and am planning on MPH for now, maybe a dual program.

For MSW programs that done require GRE (the large majority of them) you would need to take the GRE because your GOA is less than 3.0. Schools state that this is a requirement on their websites, and they likely suggest a letter of explanation. As far as explains your poor grades, I would mention the STEM nature of your program, that's irrelevant unfortunately as your major is a choice. For personal things, it is a big no-no to go into detail about personal things such as the ones you've experienced. Just say that you went through difficult times due to a series of tough experiences and talk about how you grew academically and personally from them, but do not say what they were. Going into detail about things like that are often kisses of death in grad school admissions. For any MSW programs that may ask for you to talk about any adversity you've experienced, I think coming out would be a good topic, but not the MH stuff. Schools could see that as maybe you're not ready for the high stress nature of an MSW. I don't have any recommendations for sub 3.0ers, but good luck! You may want to check out local schools in your area, especially state ones. Your GPA will be looked at as a whole, they may focus on last 2 undergrad years or the equivalent credits-you should ask schools you're interested in directly. PS-most people will have debt. Even people with 4.0s and amazing recs can come out with "massive debt". MSW programs on the whole are not known for being affordable and SW careers are not lucrative financially.

Thanks to you both! I'm applying to public health programs and they have specific requirements for what should go in the SOP and what should be an addendum. Explaining things like poor grades should not be in the SOP, or else I would mention it tactfully in there. I can think of a few ways to insert just a sentence or two in the SOP while staying on topic, though. I'll consider that more when I get to work on SOPs. When my GPA is calculated for applications using SOPHAS it'll come out to a 3.5-3.6. My school doesn't include study abroad credit in your GPA and I have a handful of As from summer study, so my transcript GPA is lower than what schools will be considering. They also focus on last 60 hours or so which would be soph/jr years for me and that's when my GPA really shot up. I know that people generally have rough times during their freshman year, but I feel especially frustrated because it wasn't something I could control and not due to usual tough life adjustment (I was fine in that area). I'm mainly nervous because I took science & quant classes that year that are pre-reqs or "strongly preferred" for my graduate program. Continuing side effects are minimal and don't affect my academics-I would say they affect me socially more than anything (like forgetting a professor/advisor/close friend's name temporarily in the middle of a conversation). None of my professors know about it except the ones in the department I was in at the time the injury occurred and I won't be using them as references.

Bump

There's not a standard time frame for any kind of program - April 15 is the national "deadline" but many, many schools notify people after that, well into June. If you emailed the program and they said they don't have a time frame, then they don't have a time frame. It's agonizing waiting for decisions, but hang in there and good luck!

A merit scholarship as an incoming grad student isn't something you would put on your CV. I personally have a cap on how much in loans I am taking out for graduate school, thus I am not even applying to private schools. That's only a choice you can make, how much debt is "worth it". Good luck.