MSW&MD

Hi, thanks for raising your concern. As the OP of this thread and a similar thread for 2016 MSW applicants, it was my intention to create an information exchange platform for people who are interested in MSW education.  I firmly believe that every forum participant is entitled to freely express their authentic opinions, experiences and values in the context of MSW education.  Understanding the foundational principles of social work disciplines ( such as bio-medical approach vs anti-oppressive practice) is deemed to be critical for  MSW applicants to select a school that is most congruent to their learning objectives as well as their professional commitment. As I indicated earlier, U of T's MSW pedagogical approach and its Eurocentric, Neo-liberal and Elite- feminist institutional culture did not appeal to me at all. Nerveless, without spoke to my racialized friends who graduated from this school, I would not know about this. I was also misinformed that no hospitals in Toronto would give non U of T MSW students placement opportunities, and only found out this was completely false by reading some posts on this forum.  All in all , I highly encourage people, especially those of us who already graduated from MSW, sharing our schooling experiences with new applicants in this profession. I know some people may feel uncomfortable   when their racial/gender/social privileges have been critically challenged, in such case, you may want to attend schools that are focused on clinical teaching only, and may occasionally use " anti- racism" cliche as a narcissistic celebration of their white privileges.      

I agree with you, GPA is not the only thing that guarantees MSW admission. Your personal statement, CV and reference are all counting towards the admission decision. One of my relatives was in the admission panel last year and she said GPA only weighs about 30 percent in students'  application. 

Hey! If I'm not mistaken, I think when people are referring the status changing to "under review" they mean on their SGS admissions application (which will later change to decision made).  On my ROSI, it still says "No Registration History".  

Oh ok!  I'm a one year applicant so makes sense they may have started reviewing applications earlier for the advanced standing.  I'll be obsessively checking ROSI when February rolls around!

Hi YWEANG! I'm sure I will be able to! I just got my marks back from my first semester this (second, final) year, and I'm at a 4.0, so that brought my CGPA up a bit. We have small class sizes here, so all my profs know me. I'm hoping to get full-time work in social work next year to get more experience, and possibly some more related volunteer work if I have time!  

Go into developer mode and (un)select "protect form". This might be why it was preventing you from checking them (I had a similar problem with a word doc from WLU)

I think it depends? What is your last year GPA? You should definitely try to gain more volunteer or work experience in the field. Also look into doing a two year BSW then doing the 1 year MSW. Much less competitive this way. With no volunteer or work experience and a low GPA, two year MSW programs isn't very realistic at the moment. 

Hi bengali,
Unfortunately without work experience to deflect from the GPA, I do not think the chances of you getting into York, UofT, or Laurier is very good. There is no evidence for the admissions review committee to believe you will be successful in this program. I'm sure if you upgrade some of your courses and do a year + or so of related experience it would truly increase your chances. Also, it might be useful to do some soul searching. If you want to make a career change but have no experience in the social services, how can one be sure this is what they want to do? It's one thing to think it's a good idea, it's another to actually see if you're capable of doing it. For example, I currently work on the ground in a First Nations community and I thought I wanted to work somewhere in this field hands-on. After a year of being here, I realized that I will burn out of I keep going at the pace I am and need to be helping these communities from a higher level (policy). Just something to think about, friend. Best of luck.

Alot of youth focused organization are looking for young people to join their boards. FPYN (http://fpyn.ca/) posts board opportunities every now and then. 
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/youth-council-opportunity
 

I have approached this question by discussing two skills and one international experience. With each skill, I discussed an experience in which this skill was showcased and how it can contribute to and be relevant in social work. With the international experience, I described what I experienced and the how it impacted my own skills and how it encouraged me to operate should I be admitted to the MSW. Luckily for me, I have mostly worked with diverse and marginalized populations so that was not very difficult for me to incorporate. 
To differentiate this from my resume, I took a more anecdotal approach. Where my resume explained my roles and responsibilities of particular experiences, my written statement explained how it impacted me professionally and how it will contribute to my success in the field of social work. 

Here we go ! Good luck to all MSW applicants this year!! 

OK everyone. Just finished reading through ALL of last year's forum. Oh my. The anxiety is real.
And also, us advanced standing people should be hearing in as early as 2 weeks! Wild.

According to several posts on last year's thread, on ROSI it should say "No Registration History" and change to "Invited" if accepted.  SGS should say "Under Review" and change to "Decision Made" once a decision is made.

Thanks for passing along the information and thanks for the funding info.  Yes, I was thinking it would be around 6,000 for the one year program.  That's pretty much what I"m expecting to pay give or take a few more thousand if I go elsewhere too (U of Calgary, Dalhousie and U of Victoria) since I would need to travel once a year for those.  

Oh okay, thank you for the information.  Sorry to hear that about your application last year   I applied to York and U of T around 5 years ago, 1 or two years after finishing my BSW and didn't get in.  So I"m hoping the work experience will improve my application with the resume and also be reflected in the written statement. Did you re-apply this year or are attending another program? 
 
Thanks YWEANG!  Yes, that makes sense.  I do have a question about the funding package you mentioned - what do you mean about 9k or 15k?  I thought it was a couple thousand each semester?  Or does that mean applying for grant's or scholarships?  I'm not counting on getting into York as I know so few get in so I did also apply to three others for their distance program - but thanks for the encouragement!  At the time I figured I should apply to one program in the city as that would be convenient for me.    

My York application also says no decision yet. 

That's awesome! Yes, I'm sure it just changed because I've been checking it once a day since the deadline I am a two year applicant though, are you?

UofT just changed to "Under Review"!!!!! AHHHHHHhhhHHHHhhHHH! Anyone else?

Turning 8 pages into something shorter must have been really difficult! At first I was trying to trim down the 5 pages I had for UofT and use it for WLU, but then I realized that it wasn't the flow or structure that it should have. Had to re-write the whole thing! Your social issue sounds very interesting, was it for your applications this year?
That is such a relevant topic, I am sure it will bode well with the admissions committee at UofT! The social issue I wrote about for my UofT application needed all 500 words to explain because it is very much tied to my experience working on a First Nations reserve. It was about the need for services to elevate their level of commitment to First Nations communities vs. visiting the community once a month. They need around the clock and accessible health services. The topic I chose for WLU is still a topic on indigeneity in Canada but still have to tweak it a bit.

I would highly recommend calling them yourself to find out and not relying on what others on here say because we are not part of the committee who makes these decisions so we have no idea.  I know that Ryerson, like York, only accepts 40 students for advanced standing and they do rolling admissions, so it is possible that York has adopted this system as well.  Good luck and I hope that you hear back from them soon.
P.S.  I, along with some other classmates of mine, also applied to York and have yet to hear back from them, so you are not alone.

Yes, York only does one round of acceptances unless someone declines his/her offer. 

Having work experience can definitely help especially you are already at the management level.  I think u of t is more open to those working professionals than other universities, but again your GPA should get you into any MSW program in Ontario. Good luck 

How did you find out?  email? Mail? Myfile update?

I called Angela at UofT FIFSW (because I had questions about changing my address) and she said the decision for two year applicants will not go out until the end of March to early April. The waiting continues...

Look at rehabilitation hospitals , most of them have long-term care facility and Adult Day program.... West Park, Providence, St.John, Baycrest, Runnymede, just to name few
Support housing supervisors usually responsible for scheduling PSWs, monitoring safety of  clients, communicating with CCAC and hospitals, some case management and crisis intervention works when needed. Pays usually go from 25 - 32 dollar a hour depending where you work at .