HannahRae

Hello all! For anyone moving to Chicago to attend grad school I currently live down in Hyde Park and am moving July 1st (I am also open to an August 1 move in) the place I live in is wonderful and my roommates are two funny, kind women with their shit together. I posted a link to some pictures of it if anyone is interested! https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/roo/d/chicago-july-1st-room-in-3-bedroom-with/7110408081.html

Hi There! I am finishing up my last semester of the full time 2 year MSW program! If you have any specific questions just let me know! The program is very clinically focused and I would definitely agree that it does not give great financial aid but honestly even without aid it was still less money than UChicago even with the aid they offered me. We also actually do have a bunch of professors conducting research! I am a grad assistant for a professor and we are doing some really interesting work with organizations in both Mexico and Canada about the use of social media among rural LGBTQ teens! I've heard really good things about the online bilingual program and the school has a really cool opportunity to travel to Mexico and take a class during the winter term! Overall I am really happy with my time at Loyola!

Yeah you can definitely message me!! My girlfriend is really enjoying it! She doesn't have a background in social work and I think that is working on her favor there because it seems like a more generalized program. However some of my friends are amazing amazing social workers who went there with tons of experience beforehand and still got a lot out of it! I really love my program. I have made some great friends and I really love that Loyola is a very clinically focused program. I love that you can get your CADC while in school for no extra cost and Loyola is one of the few programs that offers a separate groups and advanced groups class. I heard from UMD in mid January! I really love the location and potential internship sites but their programs big emphasis on children and familys didn't really fit what I wanted. And yeah! I was a housing case manager for several years and then the coordinator of an affordable housing program for a few more years before going to school. Also one random piece of advice for everyone. If you can, check out what kind of insurance the program offers and see what kind of mental health coverage they have. Having the ability to get your therapy covered while in school is really important. You gotta take of yourself through this whole process!

Hey there! I am currently in my second year at Loyola Chicago which for just tuition is a little over 30k but with living expenses is more like 46 a year. My girlfriend is in her first year at UIC and her tuition bill honestly made me tear up in jealousy. I am very happy with my choice and I feel like I am very prepared for clinical work I also know that I would probably be just as prepared at UIC ( which also has a way more racially diverse student body, something that is often not found in social work programs). I think it really comes down to the kind of person you are. I like reading about and doing my own research into clinical work, I took it upon myself to read through the criteria in the DSM of the most common diagnoses, if I wasn't getting something in class I looked for it on my own. I think that you can make any school and any program great if you want it and are self motivated. I also think that advocating and pushing for the internship sites you want can make all the difference. As much as you learn in the class room, you learn 50x as much in your placements. If you are interested in children and family's I'd say UChicago is not worth all that money. It is a research and policy focused school and is not well known for its emphasis on the clinical side of things. University of Maryland Baltimore has a very strong emphasis on Children and family, gives a fair amount of aid, and is in a city with some great internship sites! Long story short, if I could go back I would think more about the debt that is now sitting, waiting for me. The experience is what you make it and you can do great things if you want no matter what program you are at.

University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is a great school and by far the most affordable school in Chicago. While I love my school, sometimes I think about how much less debt I would be in if I had gone to UIC and I know some incredible clinical social workers who have come out if that program!

This is a great post from a while ago by a professor about this topic! I really agree with him. I am currently finishing up my first year and I have friends at several schools in my area and friends who have gone on to have very successful careers in their areas of social work and everyone of them talks about how the school does not matter as much as you do. The program and information you learn and the internships all depend on what you do with them. This is not a degree worth digging yourself into debt for it there is another option.

Hi there! I applied to schools last cycle and you absolutely can ask for more funding. I emailed the I believe the dean or assistant dean of admissions but I also know that others emailed the person who signed their admission email! I was able to secure $5,900 more in funding.

Loyola has a sub-specialization in working with older adults and it is compatible with either the health or mental health specialization. There are also many great placements for working with that population in Chicago. Loyolas deadline isn't till almost april I believe so definitely look into it!

Do you have a specific specialization in mind? Health, mental health, policy, school ect? Are you looking to stay in the area or are you open to moving? I am have a wonderful time at Loyola Chicago. For me it has been a really open and wonderful environment and I am very pleased with the selection of clinical classes I can take my second year. I have friends at USC, Portland State, and Virginia Commonwealth who are all loving their first years as well.

As someone who has lived in Hyde Park for a while now I would definitely say that if you have a roommate you can make around 750 work for housing costs. HP actually has 4 grocery stores! Treasure Island and Whole Foods are definitely not the cheapest places to go but, Hyde Park Produce is amazing! It doesn't always have everything you need but prices are great and so is Open Produce which is small but is open till 2 am. We also have a a Walgreen's and a pretty quality dollar store on 53rd and an Office Depot for school supplies and it is right next to an ACE Hardware. Hyde Park is a cool place with a lot of great things sometimes it just takes a bit of exploring to find it all!

From what I know and have learned from others, social work degrees in other countries do not translate to the US due to differing accreditation requirements. If you plan on becoming a licensed social worker you have to have a degree from an accredited school, our code of ethics would also differ from other countries. For policy positions I assume it might be difficult as well due to the fact that you would have been studying different systems and structures than what is happening in the US. If you want to study international social work there are programs in the US that have strong concentrations in that area and have opportunities to travel to other countries during your studies. There are also fellowships for after you graduate that can allow you to travel. My good friend is currently in France working with refugees and she attended UChicago's program and took many classes focused on international social work. I'm not sure if this helped but I hope it did!

Loyola Chicago University!!

I've received stuff from all the schools I have declined. One keeps asking me about my financial aid status. I think maybe they are just sending it out to anyone they admitted. I was worried at first but then went back to make sure I had declined!

Since committing to a school I decided to get a jump start on things like, sending in my immunization records, official transcripts, figuring out my fall schedule, and deciding to have as much fun as possible before school starts!

Yes!! There is also a FB group if you haven't joined it already It's, Loyola MSW Students