BrendonSW

I haven’t posted in awhile, but I accepted the offer at the University of Denver awhile back and will be heading to Colorado later this summer! ?

I haven’t posted in awhile, but I accepted the offer at the University of Denver awhile back and will be heading to Colorado later this summer! ?

More great news's today! I received notice from UB that I won a "presidential" fellowship which bestows me a an extra 8k stipend for a total of 28k per academic year! I am in disbelief and so grateful! 

Happy to report that today I received my first acceptance from the University at Buffalo! Was notified via email, and just waiting in the official acceptance letter. Still waiting on Case Western. 

Rejected (SW & Sociology). To others that got rejected, it’s their loss! The program is very competitive and just because you didn’t get in doesn’t mean you aren’t a competitive applicant. UM doesn’t determine our worth. I may sound clichè, but it’s what I’m telling myself! 

I got accepted to the University of Denver yesterday! ? An official offer letter will be coming over the next couple of weeks. Hope others have received some news this week! 

I got accepted to the University of Denver yesterday! ? An official offer letter will be coming over the next couple of weeks. Hope others have received some news this week! 

@LisaOh at least it makes your decision easier. I have a couple of schools that I know I won't accept if they offer.
 
@BrendonSW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I've gotten news about a couple of fellowships, but the last three programs I'm waiting to hear from are really taking their time. 

I called Michigan earlier today and was informed that most people will receive a response within the next 2 weeks. They said this was for all social sciences-- I specifically applied to the SW/Sociology program and they said they're aiming to get decisions out within the next week but no later than the next 2 weeks. The review process according to the person I talked to is (1) the SW review committee recommends you, (2) the social science dept. recommends you, and (3) the SW review committee finalizes decisions based on who was accepted to the SS programs. Not sure how accurate this is, but it's what I was told. 
Also, congrats on your interview, @anelab! ?

This is a great response! I'm from Nashville but moved to Ann Arbor for my MSW and lived there for 2 years. I lived in Ann Arbor for my first year and then in Ypsilanti for my second year. To add to your reply, many field placements end up in Detroit which is extremely diverse. Some field placements are also in Dearborn, which has a very large Arab population. Ann Arbor is a fairly affluent place but it does attract diversity in the study body. 
I also want to say that if you move to the area and have a car, I recommend living in Ypsi. I live in Baltimore now, and I miss Ypsi a lot, even more than I miss Nashville. It's a special place with a lot of diversity and people who care. But yes, definitely echoing what @habitualniki said on this topic. ?

Thank you! Feel free to reach out to me if you want any support/guidance when you decide to apply. ?

Hey everyone! I just found this thread and figured I’d introduce myself— I also started a PhD social work thread a few months back, if any of you are interested in checking it out! 
This is my first time applying to doctoral programs and I applied to three schools: Michigan State University (MSU), the University of Denver (DU), and the University of Michigan (UM) joint program in Social Work and Sociology. As of right now, I have been accepted at MSU and received an interview invitation at DU. My interview is next week (2/7) and I’m very nervous/excited! I haven’t heard from UM yet— I believe those decisions are usually released in mid-February. 
I have an MSW from UM and almost 2 years of post-MSW experience. I currently work in research at Johns Hopkins and have spent much of my career doing political activism around LGBTQ+ rights. In a PhD program, I want to specifically focus my research on transgender and nonbinary health equity with a special emphasis on rural communities. I’m interested in working with trans people of all ages as well as those with multiple intersecting marginalized identities. 
Additional stats: I have one publication that actually just got accepted 2 weeks ago (not first author), my GRE scores are 150 verbal, 140 quant, and 5 in writing, and my grad GPA was a 3.8. My stats are not the strongest, but I’ve really focused on my personal statement, research experience, and tried to find a strong faculty fit at each school I’ve applied to.
I’m excited to have found this thread and hope we all receive some good news in the near future! 
 

Hi HannahJoy and Zayah, 
That's actually not the whole story in regards to Ann Arbor. While it's true that Ann Arbor city proper is affluent and not very socioeconomically diverse, it borders Ypsilanti to the east, which is an incredible racially and socioeconomically diverse area. 30% of the residents in Ypsilanti live in poverty; 40% of those 18 and younger. The median family income is just shy of $36k. Ann Arbor is also only a 30 min drive east to Detroit, and just about everything off I-94 between Ypsilanti and Detroit is racially and socioeconomically diverse. Ann Arbor is a pocket of wealth, but it's closer to the exception in that area. Also, while Ann Arbor is reasonably populated, the city itself really isn't that big in terms of actual area, so you should expect to travel outside of Ann Arbor city proper for field placements, likely to places like Ypsilanti. 
How do I know all of this? I'm from Ypsilanti and I lived in Ann Arbor for 5 years before moving to Chicago a decade ago. I'm starting the AM program at UChicago SSA starting in the fall. Just for some perspective, for the UChicago field placements, I'm expected to be able to travel anywhere within the entire 228 square miles of Chicago city proper plus 44 surrounding suburbs. Ann Arbor, by comparison, is only 28 square miles. Considering the nature of the work we hope to do as social workers, it seems unlikely that your field placements would stay within that 28 square miles when the true southeastern MI diversity is outside of it. 
All of this is to say, don't discount UofM if you're into their program.

Hi HannahJoy and Zayah, 
That's actually not the whole story in regards to Ann Arbor. While it's true that Ann Arbor city proper is affluent and not very socioeconomically diverse, it borders Ypsilanti to the east, which is an incredible racially and socioeconomically diverse area. 30% of the residents in Ypsilanti live in poverty; 40% of those 18 and younger. The median family income is just shy of $36k. Ann Arbor is also only a 30 min drive east to Detroit, and just about everything off I-94 between Ypsilanti and Detroit is racially and socioeconomically diverse. Ann Arbor is a pocket of wealth, but it's closer to the exception in that area. Also, while Ann Arbor is reasonably populated, the city itself really isn't that big in terms of actual area, so you should expect to travel outside of Ann Arbor city proper for field placements, likely to places like Ypsilanti. 
How do I know all of this? I'm from Ypsilanti and I lived in Ann Arbor for 5 years before moving to Chicago a decade ago. I'm starting the AM program at UChicago SSA starting in the fall. Just for some perspective, for the UChicago field placements, I'm expected to be able to travel anywhere within the entire 228 square miles of Chicago city proper plus 44 surrounding suburbs. Ann Arbor, by comparison, is only 28 square miles. Considering the nature of the work we hope to do as social workers, it seems unlikely that your field placements would stay within that 28 square miles when the true southeastern MI diversity is outside of it. 
All of this is to say, don't discount UofM if you're into their program.

Hi all! I just found the Social Work forum! I'm still waiting to hear from UNC-CH, UPenn, and a fellowship at WUSTL. I am now obsessively checking the results page because anxiety. Good luck to everyone! 
I've been accepted to WUSTL and UT-A and have an interview with UMich ANTH on Monday. 
My stats: MSW/MPH 2020, 8 pubs, lots of varied research experience, 3.5/3.9/3.8 GPA for UG/MSW/MPH, GRE 310. I was (am?) a birth doula for 10 years and have a couple of years social services experience. 
Working to reduce birth trauma/health disparities through doula use.

Oh, hey, fancy seeing you here

Honestly, the thing about asking people on here if your GRE scores are good enough is that literally no one can say anything for sure. We're not on any admissions committees. We can't see your application in its entirety. My impression is that schools (in Canada, at least) are starting to move away from using the GRE as any kind of be all, end all, but some schools probably really care. Anectodally, I know plenty of people in clinical psych programs who did poorly on the quantitative section. One of the smartest people I know who is incredibly productive and successful now scored at the 40th percentile. I know someone in a highly rated program whose quantitative score was at the 24th percentile. Her POI doesn't care about GRE scores and cared much more about her research experience, grades, and letters of recommendation.
^ Totally agree with everything said here!

I was accepted to Michigan State on Monday! An official offer letter will be coming mid-February, but it is 5 years of guaranteed funding, which is sweet! 
I also received an interview invitation from the University of Denver on Monday. My interview is next Friday. Hope others are receiving some good news this week or in the near future! 

Hi folks! My name is Brendon and I used this site a lot back in 2016 when I was applying to MSW programs. Since the site was so helpful then, I wanted to create a thread for those looking into PhD programs in Social Work to be admitted in 2020. 
I started looking into programs in late 2018 and began making faculty connections then. Over the past month or so, I've officially decided to apply. I haven't 100% decided on where I'm applying but I have a few programs in mind. Those include: (1) University of Michigan, (2) Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), (3) Michigan State University, (4) University of Denver, (5) Hunter College, and lastly, (6) University of Washington. I'd like to only apply to 3-4 schools, so I'm currently trying to eliminate 2-3 from my list. My main priority is having a program that feels supportive of me, my interests, and my professional goals. I specifically want to work with LGBTQ+ people (even more specifically, trans and nonbinary folks), so finding an affirming school is also a priority. 
How are other folks feeling? Do you have a few schools in mind? What are your main areas of interest? I really wanted to create this thread as a way for us to support one another and possibly get answers! It's nice to know you aren't alone when going through this process and that there's an entire community of people going through something similar. 

Hi folks! My name is Brendon and I used this site a lot back in 2016 when I was applying to MSW programs. Since the site was so helpful then, I wanted to create a thread for those looking into PhD programs in Social Work to be admitted in 2020. 
I started looking into programs in late 2018 and began making faculty connections then. Over the past month or so, I've officially decided to apply. I haven't 100% decided on where I'm applying but I have a few programs in mind. Those include: (1) University of Michigan, (2) Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), (3) Michigan State University, (4) University of Denver, (5) Hunter College, and lastly, (6) University of Washington. I'd like to only apply to 3-4 schools, so I'm currently trying to eliminate 2-3 from my list. My main priority is having a program that feels supportive of me, my interests, and my professional goals. I specifically want to work with LGBTQ+ people (even more specifically, trans and nonbinary folks), so finding an affirming school is also a priority. 
How are other folks feeling? Do you have a few schools in mind? What are your main areas of interest? I really wanted to create this thread as a way for us to support one another and possibly get answers! It's nice to know you aren't alone when going through this process and that there's an entire community of people going through something similar. 

Hey, David! First of all, congrats! I'll be heading to Ann Arbor in the Fall and I'm from Tennessee. I'm looking forward to meeting you if you decide to commit.
Regarding the financial re-review, I had absolutely no luck. I submitted the re-review form in March and finally heard back on Tuesday of this week. I called Tim (he's on the financial aid review committee) and he said they did not have additional funds after the May 15 deadline (this was the final day for people to accept/decline scholarship $$). I was hoping (and kind of expecting) at least $1,000 extra but literally nothing. I swallowed the debt pill and decided to apply for the grad PLUS loan. Tim did say that if any additional funds become available I will be considered. I guess that's not the worst news.
I'm also going to continue looking into scholarships at U of M and national/local scholarships. There's also the small possibility that your field placement will offer a stipend. I think 2 out of the 6 I applied for had stipends or reimbursements. And there's also a chance you could do research with a faculty member. I did that during undergrad and luckily walked out with no debt. Anything is possible. At this point, I'm hoping everything works out for the best and that this entire experience is worth the financial burden.

I don't particularly like that not only are the internships unpaid, but you're also paying tuition for them. I'm paying to work?! I guess another way to see it is that I'm paying to learn valuable skills, but that's still a hard pill to swallow. If I have to pay for it, I'm going to make sure that I get quality placements and not just accept whatever scraps are thrown my way. 

I am officially attending the University of Michigan in the fall.  Best of luck to y'all and hope to meet some of you at U-M! 

Awesome! See y'all soon! And glad there will be at least one other southerner up there

@ediblestranger Thanks for the reply. I will be sure to look into loan forgiveness and income-based repayment. I've applied for more scholarships and reached out regarding research assistantships and graduate assistantships in other departments. I think I will end up in a decent position once it's all said and done. And please do let me know when you find out about health insurance. That would be amazing!
On a side note: I committed to U of Michigan today and will be in the advanced standing program! This is the school that my mind was set on and I've had good vibes during the entire application process. I can't believe I finally made a decision, but here we are! I'm very excited. And I am looking forward to meeting several of you.