[How to ask for more money]

Hey everyone,

I've heard of some folks bargaining with a school to increase their scholarship. I received a $12,000 scholarship at NYU, my school of choice. I was hoping to talk about increasing that a bit due to my very low-income status.

Do you any of you have experience with this? If so, who is it that I talk to? Is an in-person ask better than a telephone or emailed ask?

Thanks

[NYU vs. Columbia]

To begin: this is only my 2 cents, and I didn't even consider Columbia, and decided not to enroll at NYU. I will just tell you why I even applied to NYU and what about Columbia was unnattractive.

Similarly to you, I am interested in client-centered management and services, particularly in queer and HIV+ communities. NYU's program is fully centered on clinical skills (though it doesn't ignore policy issues), so that sounds like a good fit for you. (I actually, in the end, turned it down because of that fact.) Your clinical training would be fantastic, both in theory and in practice. NYU's Social Work department has amazing connections to inner-city clinical traineeships. The faculty also lines up well. Have you talked to James Martin? His research and area of practice is mainly in clinical intervention for at-risk or HIV+ queer men and adolescents. There are a couple other faculty with parallel interests, so take a look. Also, NYU gives scholarships - up to half-tuition, I believe. If you haven't been awarded one, I know I freed up a half-tuition scholarship, so just push for some more money.

Columbia's program seems (from talking to people and the website) highly concentrated on the macro experience - administration, policy, social theory. I can only remember one faculty member who works with HIV+ and queer communities, but they're very well may be more. Columbia's highest scholarship is $8,000 a year, and if you're lucky you'll get some sort of assistantship. The lack of integration between social work methods and the stingy nature of the School just turned me off.

I'm not sure if you're going into academia, but that, in my opinion, is the only reason to go into debt from Columbia. You can spend the two years after the program working and making a dent in your debt, then go back to graduate school where those loans will be deferred, and hopefully land a higher-paying job afterwards. If you want to go directly into clinical work, NYU is probably your better bet. The connections NYU has for clinical opportunities, from what I can tell, far surpasses those at Columbia. If you want to go into corporate responsibility, maybe HIV-awareness programming and administration, or something along those lines, Columbia might be your better bet. The prestige of Columbia will undoubtedly fade, and the prestige of NYU's clinical program (for which it is highly praised in clinical circles, along with Smith, Simmons, etc.) will come to the forefront.

Thank you for this. This is possibly the most helpful insight I've heard so far. Basically, I'm just looking for support for what some figure (including my Columbia alumni brother) is a crazy decision to pick NYU over Columbia. I've all but paid the deposit down.

Can I ask how you went about pushing for more money? I received $12,000. I was thinking about stopping by and explaining that I am low-income (which they very well know) and hope for the best. What did you do?

[NYU vs. Columbia]

Does anyone have any light to shed on the subject? I've spoken to many NYU students who have nothing but glowing reviews, and a few Columbia students who say a lot of "You're just paying for the name" with very little to say about the program itself. So while I am obviously very drawn to Columbia's prestige, their students don't seem especially thrilled on the program, which seems to be the opposite for NYU.

They are comparable in price. I would like to do clinical social work in conjunction with community organizing for LGBTQ, HIV+ and at-risk women populations, if that helps.

[Late applicants to Columbia]

My file at Columbia wasn't complete until 2/18 because they misfiled one of my transcripts But I was accepted late last night, so I wouldn't worry, they are still accepting students and usually let people know at the end of the week.

Also, were you the one who posted on the results page that you received your decision after sending them an emailing asking the status of your app?

[Late applicants to Columbia]

My file at Columbia wasn't complete until 2/18 because they misfiled one of my transcripts But I was accepted late last night, so I wouldn't worry, they are still accepting students and usually let people know at the end of the week.

Bahh, they accept people at night?! Now I'll never stop checking my email long enough to sleep! Hehe, congrats though! Are you attending? Perhaps we will be classmates!

[Help, I need somebody... anybody]

Hello,

I would first like to apologize for my glaring reference to The Beatles in my subject, I could not help it.

However, more importantly I do need the assistance of all your brilliant minds. I am currently a undergraduate senior who seriously wants to pursue a MSW. However, I do not know if my chances of getting accepted to a 'good' graduate school is a possibility. While my GPA is quite solid, a 3.776, my major is History... which is not in the major fields of sociology, human services, or psychology which a significant amount of students attending MSW have. And while I have a minor in Woman/Gender Studies, I am worried that my major will be an disadvantage. Also, I believe I have a lower chance as while I am heavily involved in student organizations which center around social justice (Students for Peace and Justice, Amnesty International, Spectrum, SHARE, etc) I lack a solid example of volunteering due to the lack of having a vehicle. I am worried that my lack of working experience in the social service field as well as my absence of a major in social work/sociology etc. will adversely affect me. I would like to attend such institutions as Rutgers, New York University, Fordham University, Loyola-Chicago University, Boston College, and well etc.

I was hoping you all could either a. soothe my intense worrying or b. be realistic and tell me I have absolutely no chance of going to such grad schools.

I would love any advice you all can provide me.

Thank you,

Best,

Maus

I was an English and Gender Studies major, and so far I'm in at NYU. I would suggest that if you want to solidify your chances, highlight volunteer work. Get some volunteer experience! Majors are way less important than solid experience. You don't need a car to volunteer... there are SO MANY volunteer experiences online (you can even be a rape crisis counselor for RAINN right from your cell phone).

[Late applicants to Columbia]

Are you sure your application was considered "late"? If you ordered your transcript on time, it can take the receiving school some time to sort their mail and find it. Especially if they get a lot of applications.

I applied to the Columbia J-School (still waiting...think the 15th will be the day) and I was practically tearing out my hair waiting for them to find one of my transcripts. I was afraid it was never sent or lost in the mail, since that happened to me once before.

Took weeks before the transcript showed up as found on my application. But Columbia told me that's normal.

That could be the case! Which leaves me even more confused about why I haven't received a decision yet... :/ I read somewhere that the Social Work schools at least send their decisions out in batches at the end of the week (it may have been on these forums).

Normally I wouldn't be going so bonkers, but I received a decision from NYU and was accepted. I am really on the fence about both schools, and to not know about Columbia but to know that I DID get into NYU, has me all kinds of crazy and anxious to make a definitive decision.

[Late applicants to Columbia]

My application wasn't "late," exactly. It was submitted on time, but it wasn't considered complete until about a week later due to a straggling transcript from a community college I took courses at.

I haven't heard from Columbia yet, and I guess I'm just a little concerned, and definitely growing impatient! Has anyone else with a late completed application received a decision yet?