[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

On ‎4‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 6:15 PM, karisma said:

I guess I was also nervous since many of the people I know who did MSWs also did post degrees! Just a few who did then 2 year.  Hopefully the first year of the  MSW prepares us well. It’s just getting so real! We’re finally gonna be learning how to help people professionally ahhhh . I just wanna be well prepared to be a great social worker !! 

The new stage statement- I’ve been telling myself the same thing! How I did an undergrad and if I can get through that, I can get through this as well! 

Yes please! If you can ask that would be great

 

thanks for being so helpful! May this anxiety turn into excitement & good vibes for all of us! 

 

I appreicate everyone taking the time out to making me feel better ! You’re all amazing  

 

 

I am sorry for such a late reply since I was really busy for my final exams in April!!

I asked my professor who has worked at U of T about your question regarding accommodation. Her answer was that she doesn't know exactly what accommodations are available, but she said that OISE is distinct within U of T and really emphasizes diversity and equity, so they should provide necessary accommodations for students. 

I hope you're handling your anxiety well and getting ready for September. I think I'm feeling both anxious and excited, but I'm sure we'll be all excited once we've started school and started gaining new experiences and knowledge in September

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

21 hours ago, Terrens123 said:

Hey everyone! Long time lurker, but I just received my offer of admission in the mail. I see that some of you are discussing about starting up a Facebook page for the class of 2020 @MSW2018applicant @nicoleMSW @cat_not_kitty. I'm quite active on Facebook (more than I should be) and can create one!

 

EDIT: I've gone ahead and created one. The group's name is: University of Toronto MSW at FIFSW | Class of 2020.

The following is a link to the page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/209577219803864/?source=create_flow

 

Looking forward to meeting and working with all of you! 

Congratulations on the acceptance! And thank you so much for creating the facebook group. I'll join you guys after I finish my final exams! I have to create a facebook account first  I look forward to meeting you. 

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

8 minutes ago, nicoleMSW said:

Thanks for the information!  it was the diversity workshop. That’s good to know, I couldn’t find much information on it besides the description. 

I may cave and join Facebook just for the group... so U of T students, if the weird looking account with zero activity named “Nicole” requests... it’s just me!  

I'll also create a facebook account to just join the group, so I'll also have a "weird looking account with zero activity"

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

1 hour ago, cat_not_kitty said:

Got my official acceptance package from U of T yesterday evening! Super exciting to have it in hand and be able to officially announce everything to friends/family/referees, etc. Apart from that, there wasn't all that much information in it.

Very exciting to hear that some folks received acceptances WITHOUT their ACORN updating! Fingers crossed for all those who are still waiting to receive their packages!!

Thought I would share that I called Angela to ask whether one should assume that one didn't receive an entrance scholarship if there was no information about that in the package and she said that that was a completely different process that would take place later. I tried to make it clear that I was asking about the entrance scholarships based on GPA specifically (the $4000 ones, which HAVE been included in packages in past years), as opposed to the internal awards process that takes place after classes start...she seemed to understand what I was referring to, but she was quite distracted sounding. It seems odd to me that information about entrance scholarships wouldn't be provided as part of an offer...

Tagging in a few people who I know off the top of my head are accepted to U of T's 2-year program (so sorry for anyone I missed), so they have this info, and to ask whether anyone received information on/confirmation of an entrance scholarship with their packages. Do any 1-years have any feedback on this?

And finally (rather all over the place this post – sorry!), should we go ahead and start our official UofT MSW at FIFSW class of 2020 Facebook group ? I'd be happy to do it, but it might actually make more sense for someone who's more active on FB to take the administrator reigns, so that requests to join the group are dealt with in a timely fashion. Anyone up for taking that on?  I'll send you a PM with my name, as I believe you need to add at least one other member when creating a group (and happy to take on secondary admin role).

@karisma @MSW2018applicant @nicoleMSW  @hannahdaviidson @MEGSMSW2018 @Hopeful4 @tr11 @Rectitude

Congratulations again! I also received my official acceptance package from U of T yesterday. Now we can finally fully relax! After I got "invited" on ACORN, I was still frequently checking ACORN to make sure that the invited wasn't taken away lol Now I can stop doing that

Thank you for sharing the information about scholarship, too. My package also doesn't contain any info about entrance scholarship.

I don't have a facebook account but I'll create one (after I finish my final exams) to just join the group although I probably won't be active on facebook because I don't really enjoy posting my pictures and daily life lol But I would love to connect with you guys! I'm looking forward to that.  

 

 

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

6 minutes ago, Nervousme said:

Amazing! congratulations

Did your status change on acorn? I am still waiting for my letter ahah 

Thank you very much!

Yes, my status on ACORN changed to invited last week.

I think everybody should be receiving their letters very soon.

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

I live in Vancouver but I received my official acceptance letter from U of T today. I was glad it got to Vancouver earlier than what I expected  

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

On ‎2018‎年‎4‎月‎2‎日 at 10:33 AM, karisma said:

Hi friends,

 

i need help with something because it’s driving my anxiety levels to increase so here I go:

someone from macs post degree BSW program told me that it wouldn’t be wise to go directly into a 2 year msw program after undergrad since apparently some organizations said that they don’t think 2 year msw graduates are ready to counsel and work in the field. Do you think it would be wise to do a post degree and then a msw ? Or go directly into the msw? 

I’m really scared to enter uoft  because of its clinical framework as well- but also whether or not the profs are supportive - my ultimate goal is to work with youth and young adults with mental health and I know a few people who have done so in the social justice and diversity stream. I also had accessibility at Ryerson where I did my previous undergrad and they were so amazing in providing accommodations & I really hope uoft does the same.

Am I the only one whose this nervous and worried? Or are a lot of you on the same boat? 

 

Im waiting to hear from york & mac for their post degrees but let’s see what happens ; my anxiety is is blowing the roof off

I think those comments aren't true of everybody's experiences. Even if those comments are true, it doesn't mean all students who go to a 2 year MSW program cannot get a job after graduation. It's just describing the general tendency. And there are so many individual differences. Some students can get their dream jobs after graduation while some students may have difficulties finding jobs. And when it comes to looking for a job, your connections play a huge role.

I'm also quite anxious about the job prospect but I think we just have to try our best and see what will happen! Earning the acceptance to U of T is a great opportunity and I think you should jump at the opportunity. Worst comes to worst things don't work well you can always do more education after you finish your Master's.

I'm also anxious about going to the new stage of my life. But I look back at how I was always anxious about going to the new stages of my life but how things always turned out to be great, which gives me a courage to taken on another challenge again  

I believe U of T also provides necessary accommodations as long as you go through the required procedure, like meeting the deadline to submit documents. I'm from UBC, and they have enough support. The procedure is more standardized and automated compared to the college where I was studying prior to transferring but they are still helpful. My professor who worked at U of T also said OISE particularly embraces diversity. So I belive they are committed to accommodate to students who require accommodations. I can ask the professor about if she knows about accommodations at U of T. I'll let you know if I get any insight from her.

I hope to see you at U of T

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

On ‎2018‎年‎4‎月‎2‎日 at 8:20 AM, Erin32796 said:

Your qualifications sound very similar to mine. I was waitlisted but I have a lot of experience as a research and project assistant and I am also completing a thesis which has a direct relation to social work. I am also just finishing my undergrad. Hoping I get off the waitlist this year!

Having a thesis looks really good on your application. Have you presented your research at conferences yet? I feel like presenting at conferences helped me strengthen my application because not everybody who works as a research assistant presents at conferences.

I think presenting at conferences will help you whether or not you get off the waitlist. If you get into U of T this year it'll look good on your resume when you look for a part-time research assistant position. If you have to try again next year it'll look good on your resume, too. 

My prof said that U of T probably wants a variety of students since they accept a large number of students (for a graduate program); some students may get accepted based on their outstanding experiences while other students may get accepted based on their outstanding research & academic records (plus a bit of experiences). So I think social work experiences aren't a must.

Also, remember that being waitlisted is already an accomplishment because there isn't just enough space for all qualified applicants. My professors often tell us not to take it personally even if we get rejected from grad schools. Even my professor who is super smart said she got into only one of the graduate schools she applied for when she was a student. The competition today is even worse... 

I also think whatever the final result you'll get, everything happens for a reason. Although I'm just finishing up my undergraduate degree I'm a mature student (I didn't include my work experiences prior to my undergraduate in my application though). I also spent some extra time figuring out what I really wanted to do in my undergraduate. Taking the extra time really allowed me to gain many valuable experiences and skills, which will help me in my graduate degree. As long as we keep working toward our goals we'll eventually get there, and things happen at the right times for us.  

I really hope you get off the waitlist though!!

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

2 hours ago, ms_teacher said:

 

Hi,

I was pretty confused about what counted as social work experience also. Calgary has this listed on their MSW page though...

Social Services Experience

The Faculty of Social Work defines social services experience, either paid employment or volunteer work, as organized activities, interventions, or other actions that reflect policies and programs responding to recognized social problems/needs or to improve the well-being of those at risk (Adapted from the Encyclopedia of Social Work).

Examples include paid and/or volunteer experience in a recognized government, non-profit, or social service agency.  It is expected that MSW applicants will have had experience at a higher level of responsibility. Examples of relevant social service experience:

• Group home/residential worker
• Crisis line volunteer
• Camp counsellor with children and youth
• Teacher's assistant
• Hospital volunteer
• Research assistant in human services research
• Overseas social development experience
• Child welfare worker (protection, guardianship, policy analyst)
• Counsellor in a non-profit agency
• Case manager in hospital and/or health and/or mental health setting
• Social planning in a municipal setting
• Teacher

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.  Applicants can make a case for special considerations of particular life, volunteer, or work experience if they can indicate connections to social work.

 

This list looks very helpful! I was also not very sure what experiences I was expected to have when I was applying. 

I notice that many people here are discussing about how to meet the experience requirement for MSW when you're coming straight out of your undergraduate. So I'd like to share my experiences:

I got into U of T (2 year) without any work/volunteer experiences directly related to social work. But my experiences are classified as "teacher's assistant" and "research assistant" mentioned in the list. So my experiences were probably still deemed "social services experiences" in a broad term.

When I wrote my admission essay, I also tried my best to present my experiences as applicable to social work. I did the same for my CV. I think the ways we present in our admission essays are quite important. I'm still finishing up my undergraduate and don't have a lot of free time. So I applied for only U of T to spend all my free time on my U of T application. As the information ms_teacher shared says, our life experiences are also relevant (I used that in my admission essay, too!).

Also, I presented my research projects at many conferences. It may have looked good on my CV. For those of you who have fewer social work experiences, but have many research experiences, I'd recommend you to present your research project at conferences. People who have a lot of social work experiences don't always have research experiences. So if you can stand out for your research experiences, it may make up for your fewer social work experiences (especially for U of T since U of T seems to value research skills). Another advantage of working as a research assistant/teaching assistant is you can get really strong reference letters from your professors/supervisors. I believe the three really strong reference letters I got from my professors who were also my supervisors made a huge difference in my application.

Based on my experience, it is not impossible (although it is challenging) to get into MSW (especially U of T because they seem to be less strict with experience requirement compared to other social work programs where experiences are essential) without a significant amount of direct social work experiences if you can strengthen other part of your application and have some sort of "social work experiences".

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

23 hours ago, cat_not_kitty said:

That's exactly what I decided about applying in the end – I had made a carefully considered decision to go to U of T, so I just focused all my energy on pulling together the best application possible for that one school. Glad it worked out, indeed.

I was thinking that I would finally get a good night's sleep, but now I'm wondering if the excitement will keep me up. Ah, well – certainly better that than the anxious fitfulness that has plagued me for the past few weeks.

You're most welcome – glad my obsessiveness was helpful ☺️. Looking forward to meeting you in person in September – and I'm sure we'll be creating a Facebook group soon for us all to meet virtually before that!

Yes, I can see that you crafted a perfect application! It would have been too much work if you had applied more than one school... I felt the same way.

Like you said, I wasn't able to fall asleep last night! But at least it wasn't an anxious night anymore. I'm still a bit anxious though. I need to see an official acceptance letter before I can fully relax.

In my last posting, I almost said "I love your obsessiveness" but I didn't because I wasn't sure if it would be perceived as a compliment lol Your obsessiveness will serve you well in grad school

I actually don't have a facebook account. I know it's rare not to have a facebook account today but I prefer to use email and cell phone to communicate. But I'd like to connect with you guys, so I should create a facebook account to join you guys! I'll do that after I finish my undergraduate studies in a month and when I get more free time  I'm looking forward to it!

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

33 minutes ago, Erin32796 said:

Congratulations!!! Wish I had heard back today, would have been an awesome birthday present.

Happy birthday, Erin32796! As many other people already said, they will still continue sending out acceptance letters. So I hope you get a belated birthday present from U of T soon.

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

19 minutes ago, cat_not_kitty said:

Congratulations, MSW2018applicant!! You must be so relieved to know that you've been accepted to the one school you applied to (I was in the same boat). Looking forward to being classmates!

 

Thank you so much, cat_not_kitty, and congratulations to you, too!

Yes, relying on one school was really stressful. I debated whether I should apply for other schools as my backups, but I wanted to put all my energy onto my application for my first choice. I'm glad it worked out in the end.  I can finally sleep without worrying about having a nightmare tonight  

By the way, your summary of when U of T sent out admission offers in the past years was so helpful! Thank you so much for all the informative and warm postings. I look forward to meeting you in September!

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

5 minutes ago, Casper13 said:

Does invited on acorn for u of t for sure mean you are accepted ? I feel nervous about celebrating only to find out I actually didn't lol :/ 

That's what I'm also thinking, but according to the past postings everybody who got invited on ACORN received acceptance letters within a week! So I don't think we have to worry about it...

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

6 hours ago, acciojenna said:

If your status says invited and you click under enroll and manage and then programs, does the MSW show up there?

 

No, it just says like this:

Enrol & Manage

You are not eligible for course enrolment. For assistance, please contact your registrar or graduate department.

When I point the cursor to "invited", it says "You are still required to make the minimum payment or defer your fees for this academic session before your division's registration deadline. Before the deadline you are eligible to continue enrolling in courses, if applicable." So we probably need to make the payment first to see other contents on ACORN.

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

4 hours ago, emmasw said:

are folks who are getting in previous students of UofT? 

No, I'm a current UBC student. I'm graduating from UBC in May.

I know professors tend to prefer to take students who are coming from outside of their own universities, but this tradition is for research oriented programs. For MSW at U of T (course based), I think where you completed your undergraduate degree isn't a big factor.  

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

8 minutes ago, nicoleMSW said:

I wish I could have just reacted to this post but I ran out of reactions for the day! Just wanted to give you a thumbs up and say congratulations too!

Thank you so much, nicoleMSW. Conglatilations to you, too  

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

I also discovered that I had "invited" on ACORN this morning (Vancouver time). When we didn't hear back from U of T on the 23rd, I stopped checking ACORN because I couldn't take the anxiety anymore. But when I saw other people saying they had gotten "invited" today, I also logged into ACORN and saw "invited".

MSW at U of T was the only program and school that I applied for. I was initially thinking about applying for other field before I became interested in social work. So I had no work/volunteer experiences directly related to social work, and I wasn't very confident while waiting...

I wanted to express my appreciation for everybody here. Without this forum, the waiting time would have been much worse  It has been nice to see that everybody here is so supportive. I look forward to becoming classmates with some of you guys! 

Congratulations to everybody who got in and best of luck to those who are waiting to hear back!

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

5 hours ago, heather.m said:

I called about an hour ago to ask a question about my application (*will elaborate below in case anyone else had the same problem), and whoever I spoke to (didn't catch her name, but it wasn't Angela) said that they are still going through applications and that we wouldn't be hearing until mid-April... I'm honestly on the verge of having a full fledged mental breakdown at this point. This waiting is excruciating, and the fact that it just keeps getting pushed back further and further is almost too much to handle. 

*When I was filling out the 'Program of Study' section of the application, the drop down menu for "field of study/concentration(s)" would not allow me to click on it and select the stream which I was applying for. I added a note under "proposed field of study" indicating that I was applying for the Social Justice and Diversity stream, but I wanted to check that my application made it to the correct section for assessment. 

Thank you for sharing this information, heather.m!

They're still going through applications...  I wonder how many applications they received this year.

I can't handle the suspense for another 3 weeks...  

But I still believe some admission offers have to be sent out before mid-April because many applicants have to make a decision about which admission offer they'll accept before mid-April. If U of T won't send out admission offers before mid-April, many applicants will have already accepted offers from other schools by the time they hear back from U of T. U of T shouldn't want to miss those applicants.

As cat_not_kitty also said, 2 year applicants don't have to select our streams (admissions office said it's okay to indicate our intended streams on our applications though), so I think our desired streams aren't important factors when they process our applications.

I think I'll just try to forget about my application and keep myself busy

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

2 hours ago, cat_not_kitty said:

I'm sitting at around 4-5 times a day as of today, so not too bad . I follow a similar schedule to yours but I work from home, so I find myself spontaneously checking a couple of times in the afternoon just in case something has miraculously popped up. And then I have this vague notion that even though results would only be entered manually during business hours, the system might update automatically sometime in the middle of the night (like the system at my undergraduate institution), and so I feel compelled to check then too...

Okay FINE: I've lost it.

Cannot WAIT to get the entirety of my brain back for more meaningful pursuits...at least 25% of it is reserved for anxious/anticipatory waiting these days and it's getting old. 

 

I also used to check ACORN so many times a day, but I've been trying not to lately because it increases my anxiety  I still check at least twice a day (morning and night) though  I really hope some of us start hearing this week!

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

1 hour ago, viclane96 said:

Hey everyone! Angela from UofT emailed me back! I asked her about acceptances and she sent this! Hopefully this calms everyone’s nerves a bit  

Thank you for sharing this! Sounds like the latest we'll hear is mid-April, but some of us will start hearing in March. Since applicants are given 4 weeks to accept or reject, the first wave for 2 years program might be mid-March or a bit earlier than mid-March.

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

2 hours ago, smntoronto said:

Totally the same! I'm waiting on York, Windsor and U of T for their 2 year programs.. Angela just told me no news until mid-April. Could be something she's saying so that we don't expect anything sooner than that. 

MID-APRIL?! I can't continue dealing with this anxiety for another 2 months

I'm wondering may be there will be early admissions in March and then regular admissions in April. That was how it worked when I applied for my undergraduate. I think universities want to offer some early admissions to prevent from highly qualified applicants being taken by other universities.

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

19 hours ago, hamlam said:

Hate to be that downer but I’ve only seen that one person has received a rejection letter so far from U of T advanced standing? Anyone else? I haven’t heard anything for myself. 

applied for MSW advanced standing , child and families stream. Applying for the first time from out of province currently but graduated from Carleton U.  Anyone know if applying from out of province affects the rate at which you receive a decision? 

I don't know about course based programs, like MSW, but with regard to research based programs,  my professor told me that it's better if students do their graduate studies in universities where they didn't do their undergraduate degrees, not just because students who are applying from other universities have some advantages, but also because it's better for their careers. I've also heard that some professors only want students who are coming from other universities. However, other professor also told me that this tradition is less strong compared to in the past. Yet other professor also told me that there are some rules about the maximum number of students they can take from their own universities to make sure some students are from other universities although this rule isn't rigid.

At the same time, if you establish a good relationship with your professor during your undergraduate years, you have a big advantage when you apply for the professor since professors' willingness to take you is the most important thing when you apply for a research oriented program.

According to the graduate study guide I read, The ranking of your university also plays a role. 

But for corse based programs, like MSW, where you're coming from shouldn't have strong effects? Universities may still want diversity though.

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

57 minutes ago, smntoronto said:

From what I remember being told at their info session, they accept about 140/800+ applicants or something along those lines. 

They're anticipating some time in March. When I last applied in 2015, I didn't hear back until the very end of March. All results were out by early April. It's a long wait unfortunately!

Thank you very much for answering my questions! It's going to be a long wait...  Good luck to all of us!!

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

Hello everyone! It's the first time for me to post here.

I applied for U of T (2 years) and am still waiting, too! My status says "Under Review" as well.

Does anyone know the acceptance rate for the 2 years program at U of T? Looking at the past postings, it looks somewhere around 15%? I tried to find official information online, but I couldn't find it. I'm getting so nervous after waiting for 2 months!  

Does anyone also know when in March we'll receive the results? Early March, mid March, or late March? I don't want to wait till late March...