socialwerq

I think it's wonderful if people from past years are here to give encouragement and/or advice.  What I don't appreciate is when blatant lies are being thrown out which only serve to play on people in this forums vulnerabilities and fears.  I also did not appreciate the tragic murder of the people who were praying in the mosque being used to lecture, berate and chastise others on this thread.  I too am interested in Yweang's motivations and would hope that he can find some healing for whatever causes him to interact in this manner. 

Not commenting on the rest of this, but curious... Why do you feel you can so definitively say this thread is for applicants? It was started by the person you're saying shouldn't post here, and there no forum wide restriction on who posts where. 
As for compromising the "integrity" of a thread, why would you post in a thread started by someone who you feel ethically compromises it?
It rather seems like you're trying to tell someone they don't belong in a conversation they started, which I really don't get. 

I'm just going to do this; I know we've all tried to ignore you, but you're clearly not getting the picture so here goes. They're down voting you probably because they're sick of you trolling this forum after you graduated with your MSW a LONG time ago, then you go and complain to the mods because people are downvoting you. Maybe you should have considered your earlier behaviour in this forum (intimidating people who are applying to clinical programs, throwing around academic jargon as empty ammunition). Your pseudo-intellectual comments amused me and I had a good laugh btw. You use intersectionality to attack everyone else and it's sad. 
I'm sorry, but I've been following this thread for awhile and sometimes your comments are supportive (as they have been lately), but for the most part you're just stirring up people's emotions and trying to get negative reactions out of everyone. Why? It's pretty obvious most of the people here don't appreciate your 'insider tips', which include posting comments about low acceptance rates (what is the point of discouraging applicants?), when letters will go out (as if you have behind the scenes intel on what all the GTA schools are doing, LOL). Not to mention you constantly bashing clinical social work and those who want to pursue this field. No one has said anything to offend you and here you are just attacking those who are not like you (critical social work, anti-oppressive followers). Doesn't that go against the basic principles of anti-oppression? 
What are your intentions here, truly? Why are you constantly posting in here? Are you being helpful or harmful? Please seriously consider these questions. Stick to being supportive and leave all the rest of this crap out of here. We're supposed to be supporting each other. This thread is for APPLICANTS. Unless you have something substantial to say, without being offensive or passive-agreesive, stop looking for drama. 

Despite several warnings, many users in this thread continued to stray off topic and comment on other users instead of their posts. To be absolutely clear, it is inappropriate to write posts to discuss another user's character. 
Here are some example DON'TS: 
- Don't write "User X writes bad posts and you should not listen to them."
- Don't write "User X is a sad person who lives in XYZ city so of course they will hate on ABC city."
Instead, if you find another user's content inaccurate or objectionable, DO:
- Do report offensive and inappropriate content to moderators
- Do respond (if you wish) to the content, not the user, e.g. "I don't agree with User X's statement that the Vancouver Canucks are the worst hockey team ever because ...."
There is no need to warn other users against another user. We do not accept "witch hunts" or "ganging up" against another user.  You can assume that new users are capable enough to read through the posts and decide for themselves what value they want to assign to any specific posts. If you have further questions, please PM me.
Because this thread seems to be unable to stay on appropriate topics, it will now be locked. If you want to continue the conversation without discussing other users, please start a new thread.

Also, I down voted because of a comment made by YEWANG in 2015 saying he was 24 and did not get into the program, so how could he have graduated at 23 (I read through the past two years forums because I'm very anxious about school). I was not going to out him, but since he found it necessary to have an issue with the down vote.. well here we are. 
I do not understand the point in making up things in a forum where people are trying to *genuinely* see where they stand in relation to others. This forum has a profound impact on the way individuals feel about the chances of admittance, and the comments continually being made by YEWANG compromise the integrity of this entire thread. 

Hello forum members:
Please take a moment of silence and remember six innocent Canadians who were killed during Quebec City terrorist attack today due to hideous racially motivated cause ; and please take sometime to reflect on your social work values and beliefs. Why do you choose this noble profession? Is it because you believe in social justice and advocate for those who are racially/religiously/economically/sexually  oppressed? Is it because you wholeheartedly respect the inherent value of every human life regardless of their skin colors, sexual orientation and religious beliefs ? or is it because you want to obtain a stable, middle class job in a healthcare institution/government agency and eventually promote to a junior management position? or perhaps operate a private clinic to compete with psychologists, psychotherapists and mental health counselors in the insurance-covered  market? 
Whatever goals that you intend to achieve in this profession after completing MSW,  I sincerely hope that before we jumping on the neo-liberal ,bio-medical bandwagon ,we can remember the ethical foundations of social work which make our profession so unique and commendable.  
Good luck to everyone!

I see you have a BSW - I know some people were accepted into the 1 year program at Calgary as early as Feb. 12th last year so the wait may not actually be all that long!

Complaints were made directly to the U of T Equity office regarding his inappropriate behaviour, meetings were had. Anyway, I agree that everyone should just ignore whatever YWEANG says (and after this discussion I don't see why he should ever post again). I apologize for shaking the forum with the post about him but it just bothered me on a fundamental level that someone who did so many ethically questionable things was posting hateful/biased comments that could influence prospective applicants to the program.
I certainly agree that nobody should be shamed for their decision to apply to any program (In Social Work and otherwise), there are problems with every educational institution out there--if people were only applying to schools that completely aligned with their values/ethics then there would be no applicants to any programs. All schools have cons, and you're sorely mistaken if you think any school is an exception to this--particularly in a field as multifaceted as SW. I'm at U of T, a program that I love,  and there are many aspects of the program I find problematic and I'm lucky to be in a cohort that has been advocating over the last 2 years to start a dialogue about said issues and changes are slowly being made. I have friends at Ryerson and York, they both love their programs but take issue with certain aspects of their programs. And spoiler alert, wherever you end up working for your practicums or real jobs will have many organizational issues as well. I've done practicums in community and hospital based settings and both had many questionable practices, and as Social Workers it is our job to vocalize when something is amiss. 
So to all applicants, the schools you apply to do not reflect who you are as a person, whatever school you choose to attend will have many wonderful and not so wonderful things about it. We are all walking out of these programs with the same Masters degrees that we can use for whatever purposes we see fit, with the ability (and certification!) to bring about the social change we believe needs to be made. Social Work is a noble and difficult profession, and you are amazing for even considering it as a career option as not many people would (read: any social worker will tell you that the #1 response to telling people what they do is "you're really great, I could never do that). Don't let anyone make you feel like crap or a lesser prospective social worker because of the program that interests you. 
I really hope we can foster a safe space here post drama because you guys are going to be hearing back from schools in the next few months and that's when having support is imperative! I hope everyone gets into the school of their dreams!
 
 

I have been following this forum for 4 years, and although I am not applying to MSW programs until 2018, I want to add my perspective. I have 3 years of very anti-oppressive social work education (SSW and BSW) after completing a psych degree. Personally, I am interested in working in mental health, so I will be applying to UofT's health and mental health program. I am doing this not because I am uninterested in continuing to use my AOP/critical SW thinking, but because I feel a clinical perspective would give me the practical skills and would balance my critical education.
I think it is quite unfair to assume that people choosing a clinical program don't care about AOP, because it's very hard to know their background on a relatively anonymous forum. There are many reasons why someone may choose one over another. 
However, I think as future SWs it is also very dangerous to advise those who don't want their privilege questioned to stick to a clinical school. In this profession it is crucial that we reflect upon our own social location, and learn different ways of thinking in order to expand our minds and support as many future clients as we can. I believe the ability to think somewhat anti-oppressively/critically/social justice-oriented is what really makes SW stand out from other health professions. And many SW programs are beginning to become more critical in their teaching. 
Anyway, I really have appreciated all the experiences everyone has shared on here, and I hope everyone gets into their school of choice! I hope we can continue to accept each other's different opinions, ideas, and experiences, and support each other the way we hope to support our future clients! Many of my classmates are currently waiting to hear back also, so best of luck to you all!

Longtime lurker here who signed up just to write this. 
I feel as though this thread is being derailed by discussions about the validity of various social work approaches, particularly one school and their program. I feel as though there are individuals inferring that those of us who are applying to U of T ( or"McMSW" as one other poster has called it) are uninformed or ignorant consumers of the neoliberal academy. Honestly, and I'm speaking for myself here, I'm just an individual trying to move into the career of my choice. Yes I find it important to reflect on my values and the values of the program, but I'm not here to debate these things. I hope we can all be respectful of everyone's choices. Although I appreciate your passion towards your approach to social work, and your concern that some of us are making the wrong choice, I invite those of you who would like to continue this debate about social work and higher education to please move to another thread. This thread is for applicants to help each other, inform one another, and to receive updates. Personally, these discussions are becoming rather toxic and I would like to continue to see this thread being used as intended. 
 
I just want to connect with other people who are applying to similar programs. We're here to help each other out, not criticize people who choose particular programs. Thanks.