thelionking
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Posts posted by thelionking
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I don't know your financial situation, but I wanted to know if you've actually calculated the amount of money you will need to borrow in order to live in the US. I think it's important to find out exactly how much of your own money in savings and loans you will require outside of the scholarship and to also consider the salary you expect to receive after graduation and during your career in order to determine if the cost is worth it. How long do you expect it will take you to pay back the money that you need to borrow? Are you sure that your lender will loan you the full amount that you require? How much will it cost you for your education when you consider the interest rate you pay on the loan as well? If for some unforeseeable reason your research takes longer than expected (sometimes experiments do not yield the results you hope to find and you need to try a new idea, for instance), then will you be able to secure more money to stay longer if needed? The last thing you'd want to happen is to leave the program early if you run out of money.
Because an American degree is so highly valued in your country, I wonder if deferring for one year is an option at all. If this is a possibility, I would take it and try again next year for something that is better funded. If you don't get anything better next year, then take the offer for the PhD (as long as all of the other financial questions I asked earlier have favourable answers).
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I'm not in your field, but what came to mind after reading your post is that having a better idea of your end goal would enable you to find programs that give you more specific training and a specific skill set that would help you get the job you seek after graduation. For instance, an experimental psych program will be great if you want to be a researcher or teach one day. But if you want to get in counselling, not so much. What if you discovered part way or after completing such a masters program that you want to be a counsellor instead? Then you'd have to go back for a counselling degree.
If you have the opportunity to do some job shadowing, I'd highly recommend it. While there might be some limitations to shadow a counsellor due to privacy issues, you should be able to find opportunities in other psychology related professions. Volunteer work is also a fantastic way to make connections and try your hand at something new to help define your interests.
I wish you a successful search on your career path.
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Lingg,
I think the full funded master's is a better offer than the partially funded PhD. There is no guarantee you will complete the program on time (sometimes the thesis can take longer to prepare than originally expected for various reasons) thus adding more time and more accrued debt.
If you make it a goal to publish as much as you can in the next 2 years, to network, and attend conferences, then you will have ample opportunity to build relationships with others in the field and to increase your chances of getting a better PhD offer in the US. That's what I would do anyway.
Is your ultimate goal to work in the US and to become a permanent resident/citizen? If this is the case, I can see where the difficulty arises in making this decision. But given the current political climate in the US, as a foreigner I would also be a little concerned about your ability to enter and leave the country. Right now, lots of people from other countries are being denied access (even Canadians) for not having a visa, even when the embassy specifically states that none is required. Some of these workers at the border and airport are making up their own rules and breaking the law. Maybe in a couple of years things will settle down.
Good luck in making this difficult decision.
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Now that you'll have a degree from a big name school maybe you will have a chance to teach at your first choice and experience the school from a different perspective. Give it a try and see what happens.
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If both schools are an equal fit in terms of your interests and if both are equally able to provide you with the skills, experiences and networking opportunities that you will need after graduation, then pick the school that employers in your field will be most impressed by, rather than your family and friends (unless one of them can give you a job after you graduate).
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How strong is the job market in your field and what sort of starting salary do you expect to make? If job placement rates are extremely high and the starting salary is high as well, I'd probably choose the program with the stronger reputation, longer track record and larger cohort.
But it also depends on how much attention and assistance you like to get when working on large projects.... It sounds like this faculty is very hands off. So you have to be someone who is very independent and able to figure out answers on your own without collaboration from others (or at least able to figure out what you need to know by collaborating with other students). The profs will get to know your work, especially if you stand out, but not really get to know you.
If you went with the smaller school, are you the sort of person who can network easily with others? If so, you could find other ways to network with working professionals while you are in school to make up for the small cohort. Make it a priority from day one and by the time you graduate you will have lots of connections. Additionally, if you network with the cohort that's one year ahead of you and the future cohort that comes in when you're in year 2 then you will be able to network with 44 people in the program (if it's a 2 yr Master's program), plus others in the community. So this is where your networking skills can make a big difference in how this plays out for you.
If networking is not your forte, you might like the advantage of being in a larger cohort. (Although, keep in mind that in large cohorts small groups form and people generally prefer to help a friend over an acquaintance in getting a job at their place of employment, so this is something to keep in mind too).
At the end of the day, you should pick the program where you will thrive the most. When you thrive you do your best work and you build a reputation of being good at what you do. People will notice you and this is the best way to make connections and to get opportunities after graduation. And of course, only take on as much debt as you can comfortably afford to pay back.
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That depends on who you want to impress - your friends and family or employers?
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What is the difference in cost to attend each of these schools?
When you say 50 students, is that the size of the classes, or is this simply the cohort size and class sizes are capped at a smaller number?
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9 hours ago, hornets14 said:
Not yet
I was reading the 2016 thread and it looks like the first round of acceptances for Laurier went out on March 31st last year.
Did anyone apply to the part-time program at Laurier? I'm curious if the part-time is as competitive as (or more competitive than) the full-time 2-year program.
I've heard that lots of part time students at Laurier are part time because they are working in the field full time and don't want to give up their jobs. Most are in their 30s and 40s with children and families of their own and they go back to school to open up their career options so they can move into management positions, get pay raises, increase their employment options, or open up a private practice/get counselling training.
Most 2 year full time students are younger, so they probably have less work experience. Many are between their mid twenties to early thirties and have paid or volunteer experience in related fields. They are in the program because they want to work in the field and cannot get in without a social work degree, or can only get low paid work such as shelter jobs, or they want to get into counselling/have a private practice one day so they need an MSW.
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It sounds like a really difficult decision to make. You might find this strategy helpful that I've heard of someone using here on the forum.
Write a list of all of the factors that are important to you (in the form of headings/categories). You can rank order them if you wish. Next, attribute a numerical value to how important each category is to you. Then go through each category for each school very thoroughly and attribute a score for each one. At the end, add up all of the points and see which program scores the highest.
Mostly likely the scores will be very close. I'd suggest that you decide beforehand to go with the school with the highest score. But if you complete the activity and afterwards wish that the other school had come out on top instead, then you know where you really want to go. If this doesn't happen and you still find both options equally appealing, go with the school with the highest score knowing that both schools are great options but you had to pick one and you went with the one that was marginally better than the other.
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Congrats on the offers. It sounds like no matter what you decide, you can't go wrong because you have 2 equally good options.
Have you looked into where previous grads have ended up working? I'd do this if you haven't already. Connections are really important when looking for work later on. So if any of the faculty or past grads have connections where you'd like to end up working, that would be a good incentive to go.
I'd also consider name recognition and reputation in the field of the POIs and their track record of publishing in well known and respected journals. If you want to get a lot of publications, does anyone publish significantly more than the other?
You mention that funding is good at both places. I assume you took into account the cost of living in each city. In case you haven't, I'd try using an online cost of living calculator for each city to compare.
Also consider which country you'd like to work in after you graduate. Are you considered an international applicant in both countries? Consider your legal status in each country and the ease/difficulty in getting the right visa requirements after graduation should you wish to to accept a job offer later on.
Finally, if you still can't decide consider the climate, entertainment options and other perks of living in each city, as well as the cost and distance to travel back home during the holidays. This can add up quickly if you plan to do a PhD and live there for 5 years or so.
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Thanks for the tip, eternallyephemeral. I will definitely pass on the message. This is great news!
I think the idea is to get out of counselling entirely, even anything that is remotely related to it. But the pharmaceutical industry is a good idea. I hope there are some small companies in Canada too and they're not all located in the US and europe.
I may also suggest looking for jobs requiring a PhD in gerontology (rather than psychology). This might be a good way to use that geriatric expertise and explore other avenues in case the pharmaceutical idea doesn't pan out.
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Perhaps speak to the secretary of the department. Explain your situation briefly, that their school is your first choice but you've received an offer and need to accept or decline within 2 weeks and you'd like to know when they expect to make final decisions.
From what you describe, it sounds like they are slightly behind schedule. But if luck it on your side, they will be sending out responses soon.
Congrats on your acceptance!
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When all is said and done, fit makes all the difference. Sometimes you have the right GPA, great experience and references, and there isn't a whole lot that you could have done differently to make your application better. When you're in this situation, sometimes it's a question of fit. Each school looks for a specific type of person for their program (perhaps it has something to do with your interests, why you want to get into the field, your future aspirations, or your maybe your outlook on the world). If you didn't get in somewhere, it doesn't necessarily mean that you aren't a strong candidate or that you won't get accepted anywhere else. It might mean that there is another school out there that's a better match for you.
You can kind of compare it to online dating or going on a blind date. Sometimes the person looks great in writing, they have many of the things that you are looking for in a partner and you're both great people individually, but for some reason you just don't hit it off. That doesn't mean that you are lacking in any way and it doesn't mean you aren't an awesome person. It just means that there's a better match out there for you.
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Having the right fit makes all the difference. Glad to hear things are working out so much better in the new lab. It sounds like you're right where you belong.
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7 hours ago, gradschool2017 said:
why are you bringing attention to this? it's a new board. straying away from the topic by bringing this up again isn't necessary.
I agree. It might be best to sent the person a PM if you wish to have the answer to this question so that the thread doesn't go off topic.
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I'm sure most of those people didn't get invited to an interview. The numbers you should be looking at are the number of people who have an interview vs the number of spots available to find out your odds of getting in. These odds will be much greater than 1/45, I can assure you.
Also consider that the vast majority didn't get an interview, which means that you are a strong candidate. This will help to keep your confidence up going into the interview.
Good luck!
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Is the POI at Nebraska well-known and well-respected in your field? Having good connections will be very important after you graduate.
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Where would you like to work after you graduate? Try to find out where past grads have ended up working at both schools as well as any connections that the profs might have. If you prefer to live closer to home after you graduate, perhaps Vancouver will end up providing you with the most connections closer to home, but that is not always the case. Always best to do your research before deciding.
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So my best friend has a PhD in clinical psyc and no longer wants to work in the field (in the sense of pursuing a traditional job). Tired of doing research, not interested in counselling, doesn't want to get into academia, and no longer wants to do 20 page reports and assessments.
Any ideas on what you can do after getting a PhD without doing back to school? (For the record, my friend specializes in dementia and issues related to seniors and it still very much interested in that area). I've suggested being a manager or on the board of directors somewhere but nope, not interested in doing paperwork all day.
There are ethics committees, but most of them are volunteer positions so that idea didn't pan out either... Working at a pharmaceutical company doing clinical trials was another idea, except they tend to hire people with 10+ yrs of experience...
If you have any suggestions please share them here. If it matters at all, my friend is Canadian. thanks
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7 hours ago, Adelaide9216 said:
In your opinion, which university has the most radical/grassroots social work program in Canada? I heard that most programs are "clinical" and do not address much systemic oppression..
Most are clinical and address systemic oppression, as this is the very nature of the field of social work. If you are asking which schools have a more macro approach York U might be a good choice for you.
I see that you have applied to some French programs in Quebec. I would wager that attending a French university might give you more of what you are looking for as French Quebecois have a long standing history of staging demonstrations and protests and being quite successful in advancing their causes. So you might feel more at home there.
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11 hours ago, 2017hoping said:
Hey, thanks! I have some savings but I"m thinking of just a little extra help later on. I started to look into OSAP; i didn't need to use it for my undergrad but I could possibly apply for that. I was thinking of a bank loan as well but I already have a mortgage too and don't want to add too much debt; or more to my mortgage - although it's always an option. I definitely plan on doing MSW (as of now, U of Calgary). I will probably see what I can do this year and apply for a bank loan next year; or apply to OSAP
You'll definitely need to ask OSAP about that. I know someone who had a brand new car and was declined OSAP. When she asked why, she said the value of her car was too high. Basically, she was expected to sell it and use the money for school. So instead she kept the car, lived with her parents and drove a few hours per day for school. It wasn't ideal, but she made it work.
It might not be the same for a house though because you need a place to live - especially if you have children. I think you'd need to contact them and ask.
Something else to keep in mind... If you are an Ontario resident and plan to study in Alberta, you might not be eligible for most scholarships and awards. I know this is the cause for Laurier. There are about 70 types of awards and scholarships for all grad students (not just MSW) and if you are not considered an Ontario resident (defined by your province of residence 12 mths before beginning the program), you are only considered for about 7 of them. You might want to look into this at Calgary if it's important to you.
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Have you tried contacting the schools you applied to for feedback on how to improve your application? If you can get even one school to give you that information it can be really helpful so that you will know what to work on for next year.
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I think others here will have more to say on the subject, but I simply wanted to ask if you're inquired about any foreseeable faculty changes in the upcoming year that you might not be aware of. If you can find this out, you might receive an answer you want to hear. It's worth finding out, just in case.
Do you have the option of collaborating with a second person in another department who might have the specialty you are seeking and having a secondary advisor for your thesis?
NEW Canadian universities M.S.W thread (2017)
in Social Workers Forum
Posted · Edited by thelionking
Tell OSAP when you plan to become a fulltime student. You will need to send them proof of your fulltime status and then they will put your loan on pause while you are in school so you do not need to make any payments, nor will you be charged interest while you are a fulltime student.
As for your non-fulltime employment status, as long as you do not exceed 30 hours per week, you are considered a part time worker. Try to get your fulltime job down from 5 days to 4 days per week and you should be fine. If it's based on the honour system and they don't actually check, then it's your call on how you wish to handle it.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/concepts/definitions/labour-class03b
Also remember that tax season around the corner. If you were a fulltime student last year then you will likely get a generous tax credit this year (the same for next year when you are close to the end of your program). Of course it will depend on your personal circumstances, but it's not uncommon for students to get as much as $3000 back in taxes, not including GST cheques every 3 months