doctormelody

It didn't really backfire, though. The higher ranking schools ended up costing less so they were more affordable. For the record, you could have paid the fee to reserve your seat at one of the other schools until you heard from the state school.
Anyways, what do you want to do with an MSW? What kind of job do you have now? In what ways will the MSW give you a wider range of job opportunities?
 
 

If you have a problem with me, state it. Otherwise, I have more important things to do with my time than get in a flame war with a stranger who has no experience with social work on Grad Café, of all places.
As for this sarcastic and unhelpful comment, suffice it to say that these concerns have been raised with the administration many times and that the response has been less than ideal. I do not feel comfortable saying more here, but if folks who are thinking of applying to Pitt have questions, please feel free to private message me. I’m also fine with continuing this discussion here, just not with you as you have contributed nothing of value thus far.

I can’t speak to this as I am a master’s student.
With respect, I don’t know what your point is. Is my opinion less valid because I have been uncertain about my career path in the past? I definitely think that people should do their own research and I can acknowledge that I was quite upset when I wrote this. However, I can support each of the claims that I made here if folks are interested.
My only aim in writing this was to help other students. I never would have considered Pitt if not for grad cafe, so it was important to me to reach other potential out-of-state students who might not have anyone they can talk to who has firsthand experience of the program. 
If you had done a little more digging in my post history, you would have seen that I was accepted to Columbia’s MSW program in 2018. I have a friend who attended that program, and while I don’t think they would say it was perfect, these broad systemic issues were simply not present. Am I, on some level, bitter that I turned down an Ivy League school to attend an overpriced store-brand institution? Sure.
If an adult reads my post and decides not to apply to Pitt solely based on the words of a stranger from the Internet, I’m sorry, but that’s not my problem. I simply wanted to provide another perspective so that students can make an informed decision. Judging by your post history you are neither studying social work nor working in the field, so again, with respect - maybe just stay in your lane.
 
 
 

I'm a current student and open to any and all questions. But seriously, if you're thinking of applying to Pitt, I would recommend that you not waste your time.

Apply again. They will give you a fair shot and will likely be impressed with the work you've done to strengthen your application.
 

I would say that they are as they generally have larger cohorts and some have rolling admissions. From my time in a DSW program so far it seems that it may be changing slightly as they gain popularity and exposer. Also there are simply fewer schools providing DSW education... I'm over thinking this though, yes, I believe they are easier to get into. 

Hey everyone ! Hope all is well ! My program, like many, have decided to go completely online for the Fall semester , and I feel fine with it... I think... but I've never done online classes before I didn't care for them as I prefer in person but I came to the conclusion that as long as I get my education and can still begin getting ready for my career, I'll deal with it , I just wanted to hear everyone else opinions or thoughts about online classes, i.e. how to stay on track with online classes, is it a drastic change from in person classes, anything really since I haven't done them before and my field placement seems like its going to be a mix of online and in person, my mind has been all over the place trying to figure out how this is going to work and I just want to make sure I am getting the most out of my education and getting probably equipped for the field even if this is my first semester but I am so excited and want to do the best I can ! 

I'm a first year coming into UW MSW program. They basically sent out a questionare asking us if we prefer online classes or in person classes to get a feel for what the demand is so that they can try and accomodate everyone. (for instance they have two in person classes for 155, but the questionare showed that more students wanted to do it online, they would use that info to adjust the class style)  They told us that most likely they are aiming at two classes being online, two in person and also giving students the choice to be online completely if they choose ( this includes field placement.) I know a few who are going to do fall completely online and stay home and most likely move mid-fall for winter quarter since they emphasized that Fall is guaranteed online if we wanted it but Winter not so much. They will go back in person for all classes AS SOON as they hear its safe to do so.

First, I would say get a new therapist if you are able. Don't stop looking until you find a good fit.
Second, the debt is going to be there whether you stop going or not. If you finish, the three letters after your name will help you get a job (it's elitist and capitalist but what can you do?). Is there a Dean of Academic Affairs you could talk to? Or a trusted professor? When I was having doubts about my MSW, I talked to the only professor I had liked at that point and she completely changed everything for me. 
No one can make the decision but you, and no one here will have to live with the consequences of this choice either way. I'd encourage you to look into the diversity of the field before you decide though. Have you thought about macro? Policy? Research? Evaluation? Private sector? Medical social work (both case work and not)? Public health social work? School social work? There are so many options for people who don't want to be therapists, I have no idea why therapy is presented as the main option.
Good luck! (Oh and if anyone is making you feel shitty for having debt and being unsure of your life path, dump them from your life. This is normal and not something to be shamed about)

I won't start my MSW until Fall 2020 (still trying to decide which to attend), but am also concerned about student loan debt. For reference, I'm a few years out of undergrad and have had a variety of work experiences and have also had the pleasure of living paycheck-to-paycheck while working in positions related to social work. I have a helpful therapist and have discussed all my worries about money with her, as well as the nagging question, "is this the right choice/path for me?"
Here's what I'd say for you: keep in mind you might be depressed/anxious which could be weighing you down. If you are depressed/anxious, I doubt any career change will make you feel better -- in other words, the issue might not be that you've selected the wrong career path (even though it feels like that right now), but that you're dealing with a tough mental health condition.
In terms of debt, yes, it's a lot of money. I am also facing six-figure debt to do an MSW. But, keep in mind a lot of people have debt nowadays. And some kinds of debt are okay to have. If you're racking up a ton of credit card debt on stuff you don't really need, then that's one thing. It's another thing for an education. Going into debt for an education or for a house/car tend to be more common kinds of debt that people expect to pay. While a career in social work might not pay as much as other careers, a MSW does lead to a paying job. I'm not sure what kind of social work you're interested in, but an MSW graduate (before becoming a LCSW) can expect to make around $50k/year in NYC if they're working in a clinical role. There's usually a $10-15k bump once they become a LCSW. I'm not sure about other cities or non-clinical social work; at least other cities would have lower cost-of-living.
Additionally, the payback period for student loan debt is long. That can feel like a burden, but that can also be a positive -- you can have really low monthly payments. Remember that lots of people with student loan debt are still able to live happy, contented lives, and even take a vacation now and then! You'll just need to come up with a budget that works for your situation. Investing in yourself is a good thing, it's the kind of thing that is worth the debt.
It sounds like you have a lot of self-doubt -- that feeling that you've messed up your life and that you're on the wrong path; a sense that you're just this messy human being who can't get their shit together. Additionally, your debt-anxiety might be making your brain play a trick on yourself: it sounds like you're trying to zoom into the future and figure out whether or not the MSW was the right choice, and your anxiety is predicting/saying, "The MSW was the wrong choice." For starters, anxiety is a really bad fortune teller. It doesn't know what your future will be like. There's still the possibility you graduate and think social work was the best decision of your life, debt and all. That's just as much a possibility as anything else. The hard part is that you won't know until you're there. That might seem scary; you might want a guarantee up-front that social work will be fantastic and everything will work out. But, such guarantees don't exist, and keep in mind there's no guarantee any other career will be fantastic or better than social work. 
Because dropping out / changing paths seems to be coming more from a place of anxiety/doubt/criticism, it seems reactionary; it doesn't sound like a decision that is coming from a place of balanced-perspective.
I'd encourage you to not interpret your past, present, or future decisions as right or wrong. That's black-and-white thinking. Life's more complex and more interesting than right or wrong. You didn't make the wrong choice going into debt for undergrad, you didn't make the wrong choice with the MSW path; if you had made different choices, they wouldn't have been the right choices, just different choices. The best we can hope for is not to make the right choice but to try to make compassionate choices, for ourselves and for others. Holding yourself to the standard of right or wrong could lead to a harmful relationship with yourself. It's not about figuring out how to fix your life or yourself by doing x, y, or z. It's about how you can love and appreciate yourself as you are at this moment, even in the presence of pain.
Finally, don't think you have to be perfect to be a social worker. A lot of people who are attracted to social work do it because they are very familiar with all the messiness of life, including their own messiness. If anything, your experience of self-doubt, depression, anxiety, hardship, etc. can be the very stuff that makes you a wonderful and effective social worker.
If any of this is helpful, it is largely because of the therapy I received. It took me a few tries to find the right therapist for me, but once I did, it has been life-changing.
 
 

Hello all. So let me start by saying that I know the content of this post may seem childish to some, and that there might be a better place for it, but for now, I'm just posting it in this general forum because it doesn't seem to fit neatly anywhere else.
I feel stupid even asking this, but I'm just gonna go for it: does anyone else worry that they've chosen the wrong path constantly? I'm currently in the process of applying to school for Social Work and out of nowhere I just got hit with this panic over whether this is actually what I want to do with my life. I've never ever been the kind of person that knew what they wanted to do, not because I'm not interested in anything, but because I'm interested in so many things! This led to me choosing a rather broad interdisciplinary program for my undergrad major and sticking with it even when I started to have doubts. I think I would have benefitted from taking some time off before or during college to figure out what I was most interested in, but I couldn't due to financial constraints and ended up with a BA that is more or less totally useless. It is what it is and I know I can't change the past, but I was feeling really confident in my choice of Social Work after three years of deliberation on the subject and now all of a sudden I'm doubting myself hardcore.
I did briefly consider going to graduate school for history, mostly because my dad was pushing it on me. He really wanted me to become an academic because he never got the chance and for a while I thought that was what I wanted as well. I just couldn't settle on a field, which I know sounds moronic - the only reason to pursue a PhD, imho, is because you're fiercely passionate about a subject. Anyway, thankfully I dodged that bullet. For a while I was seriously interested in Religious Studies and Philosophy, which I did take some courses in during my undergrad, although they weren't designated as such. I realized pretty quickly, however, how much of an uphill battle it would be to get into a master's program for either of those given my irrelevant degree. This alone might not have deterred me, but the dismal job prospects outside of academia for both of those fields certainly did, as did the incredibly competitive nature of Philosophy grad programs. I also considered English and Psychology (I have a lot of interests, don't judge me!) before realizing that it would basically be the same situation for either of those fields, albeit maybe with the potential to teach AP classes in a high school if the whole PhD thing didn't work out. 
Here's the thing, and this is maybe gonna get me crucified on here but it's honestly the truth: I absolutely hate academia. I hate the competitiveness of it, the silly airs that people put on, the drama and the infighting. I even hate writing papers. When I wanted to be a professor it was because I wanted to teach. I love learning and I love discussing ideas with people, but I'm not terribly good at research and I knew that without any interest in being a hotshot with a ton of publications to my name my chances of getting tenure would essentially be nil. I KNOW all of the reasons why not, and yet. There's a part of me that just misses it, so much. I'm probably among the few people in the world whose favorite classes at college were honestly what most people would refer to as Gen Eds. My first few semesters at college I did really well. My professors loved me. I frequently had the experience of being in a class and feeling like it was essentially just a conversation between me and the professor, which I recognize is totally obnoxious for the other students and I would never do today but I was just so excited about the ideas I was engaging with that I could never shut up.
My peers, by contrast, hated most of our core curriculum and couldn't wait to be done with the (admittedly rather involved) requirements. By the time I got to my junior year, I started to suspect that I was in the wrong program, but there was no way for me to change my major at that point and still graduate in four years, and taking longer than that wasn't an option, financially. I became gradually more depressed as I watched my peers enjoy their specializations and minors while I was still stuck in the past. My senior year, I had to write a thesis, but my heart wasn't in it and it ended up being 10 or 15 pages shorter than it was supposed to be. Basically, it's a miracle I graduated at all, let alone with a 3.5. 
This is getting really long, and I don't know that I have a question so much as I just wonder if anyone else feels this way. I think I might just be one of those people that's always going to have lingering doubts that I chose the wrong path in life, and maybe I just need to make my peace with that. I think I will enjoy Social Work and find it meaningful. It's not that I'm not interested in it. It's just that you only get one life, and I think I'm always gonna regret the paths I didn't take, that I didn't have time to do everything. Also, I'm scared that if I did change my mind and want to pursue an academic career in a different field someday, it might be too late. I'm already 25, which I feel is late to start a master's, and I'm obviously want to work in the field for a few years after my MSW before I consider any more schooling. I'm not interested in a Social Work Phd, and in fact am not even really sure what's involved in one. I'm doing this because I want to help people and I felt it was time for me to get started on some sort of career as opposed to just holding down a mess of different retail jobs for the majority of my 20's.
Am I alone in feeling this way? Why is this so hard? I feel like such a loser because I'm 25 and I still don't know FOR SURE what I want to do with the rest of my life. I know that many people have multiple careers these days, but I've never really heard a story of someone transitioning into academia later in life. It seems like a young person's game, for obvious reasons. I'm gonna stop now because I've already written a novella but if anyone has any words of wisdom or just solidarity to express, I would really really appreciate it.

I fully agree with this. As long as the program is CSWE-Accreditted, i would go for cost. Licensing is pretty standard across most states. 

Also, I started West Virginia University this week and so far I love it! We utilize cameras and i have even gotten invited to attend events in person (if i want) or via live camera. The classes are not usually a set time, so it is flexible. But it has been great actually seeing my classmates. I feel, so far, that the program in person is highly similar to online. In fact the same profs teach it and they use the same exact curriculum. Using Zoom has made the experience seem so in reality and not just online. I can't say enough good things, but you really need to do your research. I think with you already having a masters degree, I would highly suggest finding a much more affordable school to go to. No one really cares about the name when it comes to an MSW, they care about the accreditation. Likewise, paying more than necessary isn't going to help you out much. 

I would recommend looking into some cheaper schools if an online program is your only option. I did extensive research on this back in January-February of this year and the cheapest ones I found were Boise State University, University of Central Florida, West Virginia University, and Louisiana State University. But you should do your own research, too. The info is sometimes hard to find but if you sign up to receive more information from certain schools they will try and set up an appointment to call you and sell you on their school, and you can use that phone call to ask them about the tuition per credit hour as well as any other questions you may have.

Hey everyone, wanted to do a post here about choosing grad schools for licensure very carefully. If you are thinking about going for a PhD or masters in the mental health field please give this a read! I use California examples but this information translates to other states as well. All states have their own licensing boards for masters level and doctoral level practice. Accreditation organizations for professionals like COAMFTE for MFTs or CSWE for MSWs and the APA for Psychologists are the same across all states, so that said, lets begin.
Many people seem to sign up for PhD and masters programs without doing enough research into them, and it costs them a fortune and wastes their time because they can't practice with the degree they got. For example, I know someone who got a masters in clinical psychology who thought that could lead to a career in therapy. There are also many online programs that offer degrees like this which are not actually accredited programs. Don't just jump into a grad program, be careful, do your research!
Another common mistake is thinking a masters degree one earns while working on a PhD could lead to licensure, this is also often wrong. For example, I'm in an MSW program at UCLA, we have a PhD in social work as well. The PhD is a totally different curriculum than the MSW, and it's not accredited. So if I got a "masters" as part of that PhD it would not be something I could get a license with because it's not CSWE accredited and it's not the same as an "MSW." In fact, the MSW is actually called a "professional degree" it's not a "masters" in reality, it just uses the term "master of" in the title, similar to how a law degree is known as a "Juris Doctor" JD - they aren't doctors, it's a 3 year professional degree.
So don't make the mistake of thinking there are 2 birds with one stone deals, or loopholes, where you get a PhD in something and pick up your masters along the way and get a masters level clinical license, do your research. Another mistake is getting into a masters degree program like masters of clinical psychology and thinking, I'll just do this now and it will save me time later when I "finish" the PhD in clinical psychology at some other school or another time. This isn't like transferring from community college, many classes may not count, and you join into a cohort usually, it's not often the case that you get a masters and then merge into a PhD program for the last few years of the PhD, that's not how it works. You either go for the PhD in full or you go for the masters in full.
If you want to be a "therapist," you need a license to practice therapy or any other interventions with people, you will need to first go on the state's website for licensure. In California that is the BBS board of behavioral sciences website https://www.bbs.ca.gov/ for masters level degrees like the MFT master of marriage and family therapy, MCP master of counseling psychology, and MSW master of social work and a few others. The MFT leads to the LMFT license, the MCP leads to the LPCC license, and the MSW leads to the LCSW license.
When you go on the BBS website or the licensing board of whatever state you are interested in working in, they explain what the educational requirements are and part of that is that the university you earn the degree from must be "regionally accredited" in most universities in the Western U.S. that's WASC, or Western Association of Schools and Colleges https://www.acswasc.org/. Furthermore, the program "masters program or doctoral program" itself must be accredited by an "accrediting organization."
For MFT programs that's COAMFTE https://www.coamfte.org/ for MCP programs thats CACREP https://www.cacrep.org/ and for MSW programs thats CSWE https://www.cswe.org/.
To sum it all up, for example: I go to UCLA's MSW program. UCLA is a university that is regionally accredited by WASC. The MSW program itself is accredited by the CSWE. UCLA's MSW program is on the list of approved schools by the California BBS which issues licenses. Because everything is accredited, I can earn the LCSW in California to practice in private practice or advance my career, and all these accreditations also mean I can get licensed in other states outside of California if I decide to move.
For those interested in a PhD or PsyD or who wish to become "licensed psychologists" California and other states have licensing boards for this as well. In California that would be the California Board of Psychology https://www.psychology.ca.gov/. They explain the requirements in this state. Like the masters degrees, the title of the doctorate is important. They say the degree name must fall under this description which you can access here https://www.psychology.ca.gov/applicants/license.shtml"Section 2914 of the Business and Professions Code (Code) provides that individuals who possess an earned doctorate degree in psychology, educational psychology, education with a field of specialization in counseling psychology or education with a field of specialization in educational psychology from an approved or accredited educational institution meet the educational requirements for licensure."
Here is what the California Board of Psychology says about accreditation https://www.psychology.ca.gov/applicants/schools.shtml"Applicants for licensure that apply after on or January 1, 2020, must possess an earned doctorate degree in psychology, educational psychology, or education with the field of specialization in counseling psychology or educational psychology from a college or institution of higher education that is accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education."
Doctoral programs that lead to licensure in the U.S. are generally PhD in psychology or clinical psychology or a PsyD degree, and it must be from a regionally accredited university and an "APA" accredited university program. https://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/programs/
Beware of online programs, many are not properly accredited here is an article about that https://www.geteducated.com/careers/534-apa-accredited-online-psychology-programs Any programs you research, always look into their accreditation status, make sure they are regionally accredited and that the program itself is approved for licensure in your state AND that it is accredited by the accrediting organization for the profession that degree is associated with. If you don't make sure your program is legit, or if it's not properly accredited and approved by your state, you get a very very expensive degree you can't do anything with. This happens ALL THE TIME. Don't let it happen to you, do your research!!!
 

Hey, people from elsewhere, how long did it take you to adjust to the city/PA in general? I moved here in August from VA and I am so homesick, lol. I miss the pretty scenery, milder weather, and my family. I just applied to Pitt for Social Work (which was the whole reason that we moved) and I'm kind of terrified of the idea of 2 and 1/2 more years here. Pittsburgh's not so bad really aside from the cold but I absolutely hate PA and I'm finding it really hard to adjust, culturally. Any advice, or just words of wisdom? I'm really sad right now.

Wow, I've never heard of anyone getting $25k! They told me the max they give is $20k and they offered me $18k ? Maybe it's different because I applied to the in-person program...but congratulations, $25k makes a huge difference! It basically brings the total degree cost to $60k. What other options (in terms of schools) are you considering? Personally, I would also ask Columbia how many strong policy placements are available in your area, and what some examples may be. I think ultimately, experiences do trump school name, but sometimes school name can also secure certain placements that might not otherwise be possible. However, even $60k is a lot of debut to take on- and since the max unsubsidized loan is capped at around $20k a year, this means there is a remaining $10k a year that you will have to either finance out of pocket, or take on higher-intrest grad plus loans for.
I do think you made the right decision to defer though-if you are having anxiety over the cost, it's definitely wise to take a step back and really evaluate what is right for you before proceeding. After all, you want to feel excited and fully at ease with the program you are starting! 

What is your end goal and what are your other options? If you’re sure you want to be a social worker in the NYC area, it may be worth it. But you are doing the online program, correct? My understanding is that that would lead to fewer networking opportunities. Full disclosure, I turned down Columbia because of the debt, but I also only received 11,000 per year in scholarship funding.

I think a big part of it is whether the school will let you do a field placement at your current employer, because field placements are not usually available outside of work hours. This means, of course, that it's probably impossible to work full time while getting an MSW if you work somewhere completely unrelated to social services.

I think what's most important is that you use your time in school to build relationships and a reputation in your field. I think it's better to excel in a longer program than do a mediocre job in a shorter one. If doing a 3-year program will give you the spaciousness to sometimes participate in conferences, for example, vs just barely keep up with the basics of your workload, then do the 3-year track. In my opinion networking, skill-building, and demonstrating your skills are the most critical pieces of any grad program. Another consideration is the debt load you will graduate with, along with opportunities for employment. If a 3-year program gives you the spaciousness to apply for scholarships, and/or excel at a level that makes you competitive for scholarships, and/or graduate with a job in hand, then it's absolutely the smarter long-term option. 
While I can see how a 3-year program might feel like a "drag," from PP's perspective, I also think it gives you the chance to build deeper relationships with faculty and affiliated community agencies. Use your time to do this.

Hi, I am starting a 3-year MSW program this fall after completing a separate graduate degree in environmental studies a few years ago (goal is to contribute to social work around the climate crisis). Anyway, I can't give MSW-specific advice, but I do have a sense for what is most valuable about grad school in a general way from having been in it recently. Here are my thoughts:
Relationship-building and networking are the most fruitful and critical pieces of any graduate program. The relationships you form are going to lead to increased opportunities for community engagement, research, employment, etc.
If you know the specific kind of social work you want to do, gear everything you do in grad school towards it. Participate in conferences and join societies focused on your specialization.
Use class projects to benefit community-based organizations doing work you believe in/ fields you hope to work in. (For example, in my previous program I helped create a map for a human rights org as a project for a GIS class. There was no requirement to work with an organization on a map, and it would have been easier had I just used it as a hypothetical, but it gave me hands-on experience with common challenges and also produced something meaningful for both the organization and me, leading to a conference presentation and creating a useful communications tool for them.)
Gear your practicums towards the work you want. Find the agencies you want to work for and be proactive about making connections there. You can suggest sites for your practicum-- take initiative to build relationships at those organizations and treat your time there like a working interview. 
Use school projects to contribute to research in your desired field. If you have to write a paper for class, put exceptional effort into it. Maybe even look at the core curriculum for your classes, review the syllabi for them, and see if there's a way to build a research paper that you can then have published, via an assortment of smaller papers on the same subject. I've personally done this and it helped with both my thesis and opportunities for publication down the line. Publications in your field are never going to hurt your employability. And you can then present your papers at conferences. DO THIS.
Basically, look for every opportunity to leverage your time in school to build your skills, connections, and reputation in your field. You'll graduate with a host of references and contacts that will lead to the opportunities you're looking for.

Hi I am starting my MSW in September. I am really anxious that finding good and stable employment at the end will be as hard as it was after undergrad. What did you do that made the best of your experience? Or helped you figure out what where you wanted to be headed? Or what landed you your dream job? 

Columbia has traditionally used federal work-study to pay students for field placements, but there are some unresolved issues about whether CSWE's accreditation standard even allow for paid field placements (due to an overreaction CSWE had to a prior situation where students were placed in placements at for-profit places, and CSWE wants to be very clear that field placements aren't a job, as a result), so I'm not sure what's happening these days. Most other schools don't usually have paid field placements.

This is all IMHO. I'm assuming you are in high school. You might want to discuss this with an adult you trust, unless you are over 18:
I can't speak for Cleveland, but it's unlike anything I've heard or experienced with CPS (DCF in Florida). I've been a mental health professional for 8 or so years working with children and adults in a variety of roles. I've made many DCF reports and worked directly with investigators on both cases and protocol.
The circumstances you describe are unusual to me. Investigators often go to the school, if they know where the child attends, so they can speak confidentially and without alerting abusive parents. Other times, they will go to the home and speak to a child alone. They sometimes take law enforcement with them, especially if they intend to remove a child from the home. 
What's important is what your friend is currently experiencing emotionally, why they are telling you this, and what your friend is trying to express. The best thing you can do is be there for them, unless you have serious reason to suspect abuse.
Check the law for Ohio: in Florida, every resident who suspects child abuse is a 'mandated reporter'. If you have serious concerns for your friend, you can always make an anonymous report and state that they should speak to your friend at school/work/somewhere other than the home. You can suggest a location. What's better, is that your friend should be able to take control and anonymously report their own abuse and recommend a place to meet confidentially. If there has already been two reports, they won't be able to ignore a third.
You have to establish whether you are worried enough to get involved or stay supportive. A report doesn't always make things better, unfortunately, but your friend isn't powerless. Talk to your friend about what they want, what they imagine will happen. 
If you decide to complain, be aware that what you've been told might not match up to the reality of the investigations, if they occurred. You won't find out the results of your complaint, other than what your friend might tell you. 

oops sorry for the super late reply haha but thank you, you too!!

I completely agree with this. It's pretty normal to feel insecure and worn out after completing your undergrad - I certainly did. Personally, I found asking for recommendations to be the most challenging part of the process for me. The personal statement wasn't fun but I'm a strong writer so I think that helped. Everyone has their strengths, and it sounds like one of yours is definitely your extensive volunteer and leadership experience. I agree with @harpert1 that taking two years off to work and volunteer in the field could be beneficial, but I also recognize that that's easier said than done. In the end you just have to do what's right for you, but I definitely recommend applying to more than one program just in case. There are several good ones in the Chicago area if that's where you wanna be. Good luck to you! You got this.