N.B

I am definitely still learning what self-care works best for me. I recently took up meditating. I really love to cook new recipes. If I am feeling shitty sometimes I will feel better if I put on a fun outfit. I listen to music or audiobooks. I try to stay really hydrated with herbal tea and water. Sometimes if I am going into a stressful situation I will repeat a mantra to myself- I like "this is temporary, I am capable". I journal. I take meds and go to therapy. If I am feeling depressed, it sometimes helps me to make plans with friends or to force myself to get up early and do something productive- I find that doing more helps me more than resting more does. I also play a team sport- roller derby- which is important because it helps me be connected to community and get exercise. I jog outside when weather isn't awful, sometimes.

Hi! I was facing a similar conundrum: choosing between Smith SSW ~30 thousand/ year (after financial aid) and Westfield State, ~10 thousand/year. One thing that helped was that I was able to find and chat with folks currently working in the field who had gone to both. I found alumni from both to have successful careers in the specialties I am interested in. I also spoke with my personal therapist, who is an alumni of Smith SSW, who explicitly said "go to the cheaper option, what matters more in this field is getting the right letters after your name (going somewhere accredited and being able to pass the LCSW exam if that's the direction you want to go in).

I am choosing to enroll in Westfield State University, and for me, it turned out to not be a hard decision at all! I live in the pioneer valley and chose to only apply to schools I could commute to from my current home. in our area there are really only 3 MSW programs: Westfield State, Smith, and Springfield College. I didn't apply to Springfield College because I wanted a clinical focus, rather than a generalist focus. I got in to both Smith and Westfield, but even after significant merit based aid, Smith was going to cost me three times what Smith was, and Smith doesn't have a part time option so it would have been much more challenging to hold down a job for me personally. I am just not in a financial place to not have a job or to pay Smith tuition. After talking to some social workers who I really trust and being assured that the school I chose would matter less in the long run than my field placements and overall performance, and social workers who had attended Westfield and been very successful, it became clear that going to Westfield was the right choice for me.

Sent out decisions earlier this week! I'll be starting their 3-year accelerated part time program in the fall. Anyone else planning to go to Westfield?

I'm so glad that this post got revived for this application cycle! 1. I've been living in Western MA for 9 years but grew up in Syracuse, NY (and was born in Arkansas!) 2. My girlfriend had on RuPaul "sissy that walk" 3. Virgo (Libra cusp)