forbuss

Here is a question! When looking at your GPA, does the school use their grade system to rank them?

Hey all! The only school I will be applying to is York. Super nervous!

Any tips for someone just entering their 2 year BSW (no prior degree) and who wants to apply for their MSW right out of undergrad? Develop close relationships? Etc?

Dal is the only program I know of that does distance. You still have to be in Halifax for 3 weeks I believe, though.

I did! They sent them on Tuesday though and I am in Halifax, very close to the school. The letter was even dated for tomorrow! I also know that they have NOT sent out rejections yet. At least not on Wednesday when I checked. Who uses snail mail anymore, anyways?

Got my letter from Dal today, I have been accepted!

Hey al! Just found out that I was accepted for Dalhousie's BSW program! GL to everyone still waiting!

Has anyone heard about Dal yet? I go into the building everyday just to feel the energy and send positive vibes.. I have not heard anything, but it should be any day now!

Yeah I called to inquire about where they are at in their admissions (I have not inquired before now since applying) and I heard a very deep, dramatic breath followed by a robotic "You will receive a letter in mid-May" Guess there not keen on letting people know haha. I understand though, a bunch of people are probably calling endlessly. I'm in Halifax so I should get my letter first, so I'll let you know!

Dal is the only school I have applied to, which I am regretting at this point. I have been moving around constantly since I was 18 and just wanted to come back to NS (where I am from) and live here for a little bit, give it a chance. I am still in contact with my prof from York however, I wish their program was in Halifax. Are you in Halifax now? I am such a wreck waiting to hear about Dal. I'll be so heartbroken if I don't get in

Hey all! I have applied to Dal BSW and should hear soon. St. Thomas is DEFINITELY not the only or even the most structural/critical in North America. My friend just graduated from St. Thomas, and I started my BSW last year at York who are known for their progressive programs BSW/MSW/PhD. I only did one intro social work class and my friend has a BSW and I know about concepts and ideas that she wasn't even introduced to in her program, but I was at York. Their faculty is incredible and well respected, and the program is under constant fire from CASWE because their program is so advanced that it it borders what is acceptable in the curriculum. It was an AMAZING year and I learned an insane amount. It's also very diverse! I would say that St. Thomas is probably the most critical in the East, including Quebec. I have also heard that Laurier is close to York's level of social discourse and issues.

You should say something like "Sadly, I believe my GPA and my volunteer experience were not competitive enough, so I am going to be volunteering this coming year." Even if it isn't true I think this would be good. They can also see that you still care and are going to continue expanding on your well of knowledge. It is tricky for the volunteer/work references because chances are the academic side will understand that sometimes things don't go your way even if you have a strong application.

Well the other people applying will not affect me. I have applied under the affirmative action policy as a queer person, so this means that my application will not be evaluated against the pool of applicants, rather it will be assessed based on my qualifications alone. Yeah I honestly have no idea who will get in and who won't. A friend of mine had a great application, but didn't speak at all about privilege/oppression in her letter - she is a very privileged person, maybe that explains it. She ended up getting in. She also didn't speak very much about social issues or discrimination and instead focused on young cannabis users in small town Nova Scotia. As a person who supports ending the bad stigma around cannabis, of course, I didn't think this was a very strong focal point in the grand scheme of things. I guess I won't know until I know! Haha. Thanks for your reply.

Wow! It sounds like they really didn't have a choice whether to accept you or not with all that experience. Did you apply under the affirmative action policy? Here is my volunteer/work experience: -Ran a program that collected toys, food, and gift cards for women with children who were living at my local transition house for abused mothers. -Volunteered at the Toronto People With Aids foundation for 1 year in their food bank as well as their needle exchange. -Worked for 4 months (and currently am back again) at a local summer camp for underprivileged children. I worked with children who had autism, learning (dis)Abilities, and one child with schizophrenia. -LOTS of work with the Canadian Cancer Society -I am currently working at an elementary school with their after school/lunch program, but they are basically all wealthy. This has really deepened my understanding of privilege. Since I was just hired, the school does not know this. I sadly didn't really talk about any of this in my personal letter. I mostly talked about social issues (homophobia, violence against the Indigenous community, and issues surrounding mental illness) because at the time I didn't want to just talk about my experience, because I thought that it spoke for itself. I think this was a mis-step. I also talked largely about my experience as a queer person in Nova Scotia and my passion to enter policy work to change oppressive structures that encourage privilege/oppression. I also spoke of my experience in being diagnosed with anxiety/depression and how psychology pathologizes people and makes it seem like it's a problem with YOU, where as social work has a greater scope for social issues that cause this (ie the othering of queer people). Plus my GPA and references I spoke of in my last post. Does this sound like a strong application? I know some folks have much more volunteer experience with degrees and I am worried I wont get accepted because of this. I guess I should just wait and see because I should find out soon. It's just hard because I just want to get my BSW and enter the workforce. I did a musical theatre program when I was 18-19 (two years), then entered university three years after that. I am 24 now. Eek!

Did anyone here do their BSW at Dalhousie, or apply? I am in my second year (Gender & Women's Studies BA) and started my BSW at York. I can only imagine how much worse it is waiting for grad school results, but I am so anxious to hear back. I feel like I should get in, because my GPA is currently a 3.75, but am worried that because I don't have a degree my chances are less. I have heard from the director of admissions that around 85% of people admitted already hold a degree, and a friend in the program said there are "a few" people in the class without a degree. My references were solid (from my SW prof at York, one from the Toronto People with Aids Foundation where I volunteered, and one from my boss at a underprivileged kids summer camp) and letter was good. I am really hoping that their affirmative action policy for queer students will help push me to get accepted. Anyone have any information on Dal BSW/MSW acceptance?

I actually know a few psych undergrads who did this, and ended up loving SW so much more than psych. I've also heard that it is really hard to get that clinical psych approach out of your brain though.

U of T is very clinical!

I can answer to the best of my ability! No, they are not under fire by CASW, it's CASWE. York DOES fit the curriculum and are accredited (obviously) but from what I understand from some of my instructors was that they really stray away from the clinical side of things. They do give you the skills to be able to do this, but it is not their focus. I do know people who did a clinical stream and obviously they were fine with that. They don't discourage their students from working in child protective services or clinical settings at all, but they really show you how to be critical in those settings which really elevates you above others (in my opinion). They are very skeptical of CAS and CPS because of their whiteness (for example, 50% of foster care children are Indigenous) and really prepare you to take on the micro AND the macro at the same time. From the sounds of your experience in research and policy work, this is probably why you got in - I am still in contact with one of my profs who really broke down exactly what they are looking for. You must have also shown great understanding of privilege and oppression. I have heard lots of folks talk about those things, but NONE tackled it better than York. Everything is constantly in discourse which is crucial, and a lot of the faculty is very well respected in the community. You should consider going there! You hear a wide array of perspectives. Also, if you are a person of colour, York is incredibly culturally and ethnically diverse. I know that this would matter to me, I am so sick of seeing social work programs that are dominated by white folks. I hope this clarified, and sorry if I made it more confusing haha.

I see you've been accepted to York. I did a year of my BSW there and met a lot of the faculty that teaches the MSW program, and heard a lot of them speak. York's school of SW is under constant fire for their program not fitting the standard cirriculum, but I personally feel this is a good thing. My profs were also all HATED most of our textbooks and such but still taught them with a critical lens, and really used them in an interesting educational way. York is an amazing program. If you want to do anything in government/politics, activism, research, etc, I would reccommend it!

Wooho! Someone to wait with. Would you be willing to share the details of your application, and your partners?

Congrats to everyone accepted and don't be too down on yourselves if you were not. I am not applying for MSW this year, rather BSW as I am only in my second year of studies at Dalhousie. Did anyone apply/attend to Dal's BSW program? Honestly waiting to hear is killing me. I feel so silly for not applying to more programs, but I really just did not want to move since I have just moved from Toronto (Where I was doing my BSW at York) to Dal where I had to major in Gender & Womens studies because I did not have enough credits to apply. Any information would be appreciated!

Just had a couple questions about Dalhousie School of Social Work's acceptance, it is my first round applying and have done so for their BSW fall start, 2015. When did you all hear about this? I'm getting quite nervous considering everything in the news about Dal this year (I am currently a student, a Gender & Women Studies major) and I'm concerned about this affecting who they will accept for the program. After much debate I decided not to mention the dentistry scandal, because I didn't want to imply anything negative about the school or the program. I am in my second year of university, started in BSW at York, then moved back home to Nova Scotia for personal reasons. My GPA collectively for York was an A, and I made the honour roll/deans list. First semester at Dal was rough, I was taking a lot of psych courses. I got a C+ in one course and dropped another with a W. I did explain in my letter that I absolutely hate the psychology approach and that's what affected my marks. However, I am teedering a B+/A- in a few classes and have an A- or A in all others. I definitely think I have the B- required. I have lots of volunteer experience, volunteering with the People With Aids foundation of Toronto for 1.5 years. Also, I have experience working with the YMCA in their strong kids summer program, and am currently working at an elementary school for their after school/lunch program. I have lots of other experience from when I was a teenager working with various Cancer foundations. However, I believe the real strength of my application lies in my personal letter/references. I submitted three, one from my supervisor at the PWA (volunteer), one from my boss at the YMCA (work) and another from my SW prof at York (PhD in SW). All of these were excellent references, not sure if they will consider all 3 as only two were required. My letter was also good, drawing a lot from my personal experience and what I have learned thus far about privilege/oppression and issues of race, madness, etc. I am also a queer person and applied under their affirmative action policy. I am hoping my application is strong, but I am very nervous as I have only applied to Dal. When/how did you find out?