Ballym385

Another suggestion is to check in to living in residence (during the week) in the summer months. I think the cost is pretty reasonable. You can even get last minute rooms as well since the campus is dead in the summer. You are only there for a 6 weeks, less if you already have a prereq. I know in my year some people struggled to commute in the summer as classes started early and went all day. The fall semester isn't so bad as you have more flexibility when making your schedule and you can also opt to take some classes online in the winter semester instead of doing them in the fall.

Hey Ach29, I would definitely recommend sending an updated resume to Angela if you have significant updates. From what I can tell, after each round your application package is looked at again. For instance, if you are placed on the wait list and a spot becomes available the committee will review all wait listed applicants and decide who should get the spot. I have updated my resume with uoft in the past, all you have to do is send Angela your resume and ask her to update your file. It didn't help me out as I never got of the wait list but I'm sure others have benefited from it.

Hey bswgrad92, When I was waitlisted Angela said that movement would probably start around early May but I don't have any recent updates. Let me know if you hear anything

Hey, Congrats on getting in and good luck with the rest of your applications. Before starting the program I was actually really confused about the setup of the program. It is 1 year but you really on need to be in Orillia for 6 weeks in the summer and then from September to early December. In the summer, I think our first class was January 2nd or 3rd, you complete 3 courses 1 at a time, totalling 6 weeks of courses. I was except from the the 1000 level social work class as I took it in my undergrad, that was great as it saved me about 1200$. Once you are done those 3 courses you are off until after labour day in September when fall semester begins. On a side note, I did hear whisperings that these courses could become online courses but who knows if they were able to make that happen. The summer courses weren't that difficult but they were intense, we were in class 9am-4pm and then spent evenings studying. In the fall semester I took 5 courses, 3 of which were full year courses condensed into one semester. You do have the option though to take one of the half credit courses online in the spring instead. It is definitely a heavy course load but manageable. There is quite a bit of group work and at times it was hard to schedule meetings because of everyone's work load. None of the courses had final exams (there were tests in some courses) so most people were gone by about December 3rd, although I had papers due after this date. I was fortunate in that I had great landlords who didn't make me pay December rent. Placement runs from January to June and from January until April you do 1 or 2 online courses (depending on what you did in the fall) along with an online placement course. I have found the courses to be quite easy. Pretty much everyone in the program returned to their hometown to complete their placement. The placement coordinators will work with you to get a placement and will do all the leg work including making the initial contact (they tell you not to make any calls yourself). I did not live in residence so I can't speak too much about it. Out of 40 people in the program I think there was 6 that lived in residence. There is only one residence on campus which is relatively new and I believe all the rooms are singles that share a bathroom with their neighbour. The food on campus is quite good, most things are made to order and customizable. The head chef would frequently ask students for food suggestions. I should also mention that the campus is tiny, 3 buildings, the residence, the cafe/bookstore, and the academic building. From what I could tell residence was pretty pricey so if you are able to find a place to rent from July-Dec then I would recommend it. A few people tried commuting from the GTA but within a few weeks it became to much and ended up moving to Orillia, I think one ended up renting a motel room a few nights a week and then going home on weekends. Some people did commute from closer areas like Barrie and that seemed to work out much better. If you do decide to move their send me a pm and I can give you some suggestions of where to look. Overall I liked the program. Most of the profs were great and open to helping were they could. It was pricey and time consuming but for me it was a means to an end as I hoped it would open up more careers opportunities. An unexpected bonus was meeting some really awesome people. Since the program is so small and since most people moved from out of town you bond with people pretty quick. I hope you hear from the other school's well before July, a 2 year program is definitely the way to go. I had only applied to the bsw so starting in July wasn't difficult for me, in fact it was helpful as I had just finished up a contract position. I applied to the advanced standing MSW at UofT this year and have been waitlisted, in hindsight I wish I had applied for the 2 year program to begin with. Hah so that began a lot longer of a response than expected but I hope it gives you a better understanding of the program. I found it really difficult to find out information about the program before going.

Hey Folks, I'm currently attending the 1 year HBSW at Lakeahead Orillia campus. So I would be happy to try and answer questions about the program and/or renting in Orillia if anyone has them I know it's pretty early but I (and a few of my classmates) also have textbooks from the program that I would love to sell.... so while it's still a while away keep me in mind when you start getting course information especially if you live near Brampton. Cathy