Jewelz423

I'm also attending Hunter in the fall - 2 yr COP&D. I was able to register for classes online once my immunization forms were sent in. I had signed up for the 6/13 pre-orientation, but ended up not being able to make it. Did anyone attend the pre-orientation? If so, how was it? I'm wondering if I missed anything important.

I just got my acceptance email this morning! I am beyond excited For those of you still waiting... I honestly wouldn't start to worry yet. When I signed up for my interview day, I saw all of the options for dates and I'm pretty sure there have only been 5 or 6 group interviews for the COP&D program. Even if they accept all of the students they interviewed so far, that still wouldn't be enough to fill the incoming class. They just have a lot of applications to go through, and because of the interview it just adds extra time to the whole process. Believe me, I know how frustrating it is having to wait so long, but don't despair!!

The facilitator at my interview did mention that sometimes exceptionally strong candidates are accepted without an interview, so it is possible. It rarely happens, so if you are accepted without an interview you should be really proud! @Verloren I posted a few days ago about my interview for the COPD program, maybe you'll find it helpful. As for clothing, the email invitation for the interview said business casual. I think a full business suit would be a little too formal. Good luck!

@morningjunky I had the same thought... I think that each method handles their interviews in their own way. Anyway, yay!! Finally some good news. I'm sure youll get an email any minute. Good luck!!!!

So, I went to the COPD interview the other day and it was not at all what I expected. It really wasn't much of an interview at all, but more of an information session. The facilitator was a faculty member, and he spent about 30 minutes speaking about the curriculum and field placements. Then we went around and introduced ourselves; it was me and five others. He just asked us to say where we got our bachelors from, what major, talk about what we are currently doing, and to talk as much or little as we want about why we chose to go into social work. Then he answered our questions for about 30 minutes and lastly we had to give a writing sample in response to an article. That was it. I was so nervous and did so much prep work, but it was a breeze. The only unsettling thing is that it is impossible to gauge whether you did "well" or not, because there wasn't much opportunity to do anything. It was definitely a nice experience, though. The facilitator was kind, put at us ease, and was happy to answer all of our questions. I really liked the other applicants, everyone had really different experiences so it was nice to hear about that. Well, I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone is nervous about the interview and wants to have an idea of what to expect. I'm not sure if the interview is different depending on the facilitator, but that's how mine went. Now I just have to wait... Hopefully not for long!

I submitted on 2/4, and it was complete by 2/18. I'm sure you will hear soon. I can't tell if there is any rhyme or reason to how they go through the applications, but at least you know now that they are working their way through the pile! I was also checking my email and application repeatedly, so I know the feeling. I really hope you get some good news soon Yes, I applied to COP&D and was invited for an interview last Thurs.

@morningjunky @BelleBoss @Adrienne13 I finally got invited for an interview yesterday! If you haven't heard anything yet, I'm sure you will soon. Good luck to us all!

@Adrienne13 @BelleBoss No, nothing yet. I hope we here something soon. I need to start declining/accepting offers soon, and I can't keep asking for extensions.

Hi, Mike. Given your strong academic performance during your last two yrs of undergrad, I don't think that your previous 2.4 GPA will have that much of an impact. Most MSW programs will not exclude you based on GPA alone, and will weigh personal statement and letters of recommendation heavily. Also, many of the well-known MSW programs are not nearly as selective as people think (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Journal-Social-Work-Education/193406211.html) If you look at the table at the end of that article, you'll see that UIC is actually slightly more selevtice than U of C. I do think, though, that you should be very careful about how you talk about your addiction and recovery in your personal statement, and think carefully about whether you should include it at all. I read an article about "Kisses of Death" when applying to clinical psych programs, and one of them was excessive self-disclosure. for two reasons: 1. admissions committees cannot deny you admission based on mental illness, unless you make that information part of your application. Then it is fair game, and 2. it can be seen by admissions committees as a sign of poor interpersonal boundaries. Granted, this article was about clinical psych and not social work, but I think that it still applies. I understand why you would want to include that information, since it played such a big role in bringing you to the field of social work, but I have been advised by faculty numerous times not to include too many personal anecdotes about mental illness, addiction, etc. I think this is especially true for the University of Chicago. They are a big research university and care more about your professional goals and intellectual curiosities. When I visited U of C, I was flat out told by a faculty member that nobody cares what you are passionate about or what struggles you overcame personally, and that your statement of purpose should be academically oriented. Regardless of whether you choose to expose the cause of your previous lower grades or not, it will be obvious that you struggled a bit early on, took a break, and then came back to college with a new level of motivation and are now academically prepared for graduate level work. Lots of people don't do so well at the beginning of college, for various reasons, and then come back doing much better after a hiatus. You could always have a reference allude to the personal struggles you've had to over come. I don't mean to say that you 100% shouldn't include the information, but just saying to think carefully about whether you really need to. I'm sure there are ways to explain the circumstances without telling them everything. If you do choose to talk about your addiction, definitely keep it professional and have a faculty member you trust read it over before you submit. Good luck!!

True... good point. I'll probably email them at the end of the week. Thanks!

Cool! Maybe we'll even end up at the interview together lol. Yeah, I went to an info session and I think they said only about 15% of applicants apply for this concentration. I hope it's soon too. So many of the decisions/plans I have to make depend on whether I get into Hunter or not. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything.

woohoo! congrats rachel and tudor!! good luck on your interviews. Let us know how it goes.

Hey, Opt... Thanks for the advice. I met Stephen a couple of times and agree - he is very helpful! It's been a couple of weeks since they told me 4-6 weeks, so I will just give it a little more time before I contact them. Plus, at this point Fordham is my last choice of the 4 schools I applied to, so I'm not overly anxious to hear back from them. I just thought it was weird that even though I submitted my application on 2/1 and it was 100% complete, somehow it didn't register in their system. If I hadn't emailed them I don't if my application would even be under review right now. Good luck to everyone who is still waiting!! Hoping for the best...

Still waiting on a response from Fordham I submitted my application on Feb 1, but didn't get an email saying my application was complete until Feb 19. Online it said everything was submitted and complete, but I emailed admissions on 2/19 just to be sure, and then right after I emailed them was when I got the automated email saying my app was complete. Weird, and kind of annoying that I have to wait longer now, but I guess these things happen.

Ok, cool. I applied for COP&D, so I was just curious. I know that there are typically more applicants for clinical and that the interview, as someone else mentioned, is split by practice method, so my hunch is that they had to start going through the clinical apps right away, since there are more of them. I could be wrong, but it might be why some people who applied way earlier have still not heard back. @G-MSW Thanks for the response, and congrats again!