JonoDuncan

Congrats to everyone who has been admitted into the program! For those of you who are thinking about the Policy Practice track, feel free to reach out to me with any questions. I'm currently enrolled as an Advanced Standing student in the Policy Practice track and Contemporary Social Issues field of practice. Graduating in May

Good luck everyone!

Definitely not as generous as other schools. Most incoming students get some sort of institutional scholarship but I believe they are based on need, not on merit. There are other merit-based scholarships you can apply for through the school. I received $11k a year I think.

I'm not sure the school really tracks this data. CSSW definitely looks at applications holistically though. People have been accepted with GPAs all over the charts. Your admissions essay and experiences are just as important, if not more important than your GPA. I remember there being a lot of discussion about this on the Fall 2018 Columbia MSW thread if you care to look back.

Hey everyone! I'm currently at CSSW as an advanced standing student in the policy concentration. I'll be graduating in May. I'm happy to help with any questions based on my experiences. From what I know, admissions was short staffed last year which resulted in long application decision times. I applied before the priority deadline and didn't hear back until March. Could be different this year! If my memory serves me right, during our orientation one of the assistant deans said that our cohort was the most competitive and that the program is getting more competitive because they receive higher amounts of applications each year. I believe the acceptance rate last year was around 60%.

I received $11,000 in scholarships as well, $12,000 after I appealed. It seemed that a handful before me were receiving more like $18,000 and others have vaguely stated they received a "substantial" financial aid offer which made them able to go. I was a bit disappointed with my package but I accepted my offer nonetheless.

haha nice! Feel free to add me Yes, we will definitely have summer session together. From what I've heard, it sounds like you're basically grouped with your practice method after that.

Congrats on your decision! I decided to accept my offer as well! I’ll be an advanced standing student in the policy concentration. I’m moving from Arizona! We should definitely organize something for everyone on this thread who attends in the fall! Good luck to all those who are still waiting!

Congrats on your acceptance! I am also an advanced standing student entering the policy track concentration in contemporary social issues! See you this fall!

Just a little update - they accepted my appeal but only gave me $1,000 more. Not quite what I hoped for but I suppose every little bit helps! I will be accepting my admission this week.

Yeah I've been working full time and I'm also married. My wife works as well. It isn't really fair to base it off that though because when we move I will be unemployed. Our financial situation will be so different! I received a fairly promising email from the dean on Friday who said I'll hear back about a "revised package" this week.

I received 11K in scholarships. I was a little disappointed to be honest. It seems like most others got 18k or so. I submitted an appeal so we'll see if they'll bump me up at all. NYU offered me 17k.

Woah, $5000? I'm definitely hoping for more than that. I was offered $17,000 from NYU so if I receive a low offer I will definitely use that as some leverage to appeal for more funding. I think NYU's scholarships are based off of merit and I'm not sure if Columbia is based off merit or need? I hope to know more soon!

My friend is at Columbia right now in the clinical track as an advanced standing student. She mentioned she felt the classes weren't as impactful for her coming in as BSW. She said the classes felt a lot more like refreshing her memory than really teaching her new things. But she did mention that she loved her policy electives and felt she was growing a lot in those classes. I was juggling between the two tracks at the time and that really confirmed for me that the macro track is what I should do.

Yeah. Part of it is that extra $9000 they charge you for the four week summer session. RIP. Also, did you find out about your acceptance yet? I know you decided to attend Chicago - just curious!