doctormelody

I’ve been to four different colleges. I’d say about 45 credits don’t have a grade because it came from the community college of the Air Force. I’ve clep’d 3 classes to finish my associates in criminal justice, so that doesn’t have a grade.
I took two classes in South Korea through UMUC and got an A and a B. I took about 5 or 6 classes through Ashford. My last class was an F, I was on the deep end with depression with my ptsd, all my other classes there were A’s. I explained it in all my statements. I started class with Keiser University, majority on campus but some online. I have all A’s. It’s a non-traditional school, so I’m able to take 21 credit hours a semester. It’s a lot of work, but I had to do it to finish before the fall semester starts. I don’t work since I draw income from VA disability and housing allowance, which is how I can handle the course load. My degree will be a BA in psychology.
I was in the Air Force as a cop from July ‘06 until July ‘14. I was an emergency medical dispatcher in Tampa for a year and a half, then worked law enforcement in St Petersburg for 8 months before my back gave out during an arrest. That was August 2017. I had a job from Sep until Dec for something unrelated to social service. Been unemployed since.
Most of my volunteer work was done while in the military.

I can see where you’re coming from with this, but I believe online programs have grown so much in popularity in every field that’s its pretty normal to recieve a graduate degree in any field online. For the MSW, even more so if you already have a BSW. Plus, we still have to do our field placements in-person so it’s really all in the same, just a different content delivery method. Fun Fact: I’ve read through the general MSW thread and see how active you are on here, so I sort of feel like I know you (in a non creepy way) lol. Have you made any decisions as far as where you’ll be attending? I got an email from LSU saying the school of social work has recommended me for admission so I’m just waiting on my official acceptance from the grad school!

GO FREE! USC has a great reputation. in my opinion the MSW and the MPA are interchangeable unless you want to be a therapist and need the LCSW title. Congrats to you 

From my perspective, this seems like an easy decision: go for the MPA. 1) It provides a more direct route to your professional goals. 2) No debt. 3) It is in the area you want to work in, so you will be making relevant connections in your program. These are all huge considerations.
I do think that name recognition and prestige are less primary concerns in social welfare fields.
You could consider doing a graduate certificate in social justice in addition to the MPA. I found this, for instance: https://priceschool.usc.edu/programs/certificate/social-justice/

Interviews are always so nerve wracking! At least you’ll be able to find out soon—good luck!!

Same for me but if you’re uncertain you could always call! It should be in the paper copy of your acceptance letter (the one you received via snail mail).

I was ? sure I didn't have a chance with Columbia because I didn't get into NYU but then I got into Columbia. (Coincidentally, my opinion of NYU has fallen dramatically recently NOT THAT I'M BITTER.) My point, and I do have one, is you really never know until you get a response. 

In my acceptance letter, I have the deadline of 3/31.

Worst case scenario, I'll apply to Edinboro. I am not a huge fan but really at the end of the day I just need a degree that allows me to sit for the LSW and LCSW exams. Debt is such a big deal thing to me. I made the mistake in my undergrad going for the big school that costed tons of money and i always talk about how i regret that I didn't go somehwere less expensive. Im not making that mistake again. My finances cant handle it lol 

After speaking with my husband, I feel much better with the option to spend less money on the program. 
I absolutely love the program at PSU but i really dont love that debt lol. I was playing around with the repayment cost estimators from the government student loan website, and after seeing what it could be to go to a place like Temple, PSU, or Widener compared to a place like WVU...well seeing those monthly payment possibilities has totally turned me on to WVU lol. I have made the decision to go ahead and apply to WVU but I feel I should probably apply elsewhere too, just in case. But I am currently a SAHM so time is in my favor. I think I am just going to apply to WVU and wait to hear back about what happens. I cannot apply to PSU until September anyways, and tbh i dont know if i can justify the cost. I will have to look into UCF and LSU. Boise is also really affordable but I dont meet their work/letter of recommendation requirements. 
 
 

I mean it’s hard to tell just from talking to people on the phone/emailing back and forth, but the members of the administration I talked to were really nice and helpful! I had the same concern about you as about scholarships and they told me there might be some available later on, just not the first year. But if you wanted to wait and apply to multiple programs, I think that would be a fine choice too. I also considered UCF and LSU - they’re similar in cost.
I agree with you about not being that impressed by Edinboro, but of course, accreditation is the most important thing.

Unfortunately I cannot relocate because I have children from a previous marriage. However, if that wasnt a barrier, I would be gone in a heartbeat. 
I appriciate your response. I wish price wasnt a thing, but let's get real, it is lol.
 
What was your personal opinion on WVUs program? The good and the bad. I'm really considering it since it so cheap, but I also want to make sure it will be rigorous enough. 
Edinboro is similar in price. But I wasnt all that impressed. Of course it is CSWE accredited so maybe the program is a moot point 

West Virginia University is now offering an MSW program that is full online and CSWE accredited. 
The first cohort starts this fall. I missed the priority deadline for grants/scholarships. Those applications were due in early February. I can apply until April 15th but my understanding is that I would not qualify for aid. Would it be better to wait an entire year to get that aid or should I just go for it? 
Also, I am heavily considering Portland State University, but I missed their deadline as well. (I have been toying with getting my MSW for a long time now and finally decided to take the plunge very recently). I love their program. I would like to become a medical social worker and hopefully work in a hospital setting, so i love that they have a health track. The only downfall is that I am a Pennsylvania Resident so that ups the cost to somewhere in the ballpark of $65,000 and that is steep. (compared to WVU will be roughly $36,000). My favorite program is PSU but the cost is my hiccup and they only accept applications once per year. Which i missed the deadline so I would have to wait to apply in Sept 2019 just to start in Sept 2020 and that seems SO far away. ugh. not to mention, with them being on the west coast and me on the east coast, does that give me a disadvantage with placements and job prospects straight out of the program? WVU. Widener, and Temple are withing 4 hours from me, so i suspect they would have connections, but what about PSU?
I am considering Temple and Widener because of their connections in my state. But they are going to end up around $56K to $65K anyways.
I dont know what to do. I really want something that focuses on the medical side of things. But i also like that WVU is way less expensive and that they focus on rural settings because i live in the middle of nowhere PA lol I am so heavily conflicted. Do i go for the "local" resource schools and what connections they can provide? Do i go for the lower cost college (i am already about $50k in debt from my undergrad), or do i go for the actual program that I want, even though it comes at a cost. 
The ultimate goal is to get licensed as a social worker and make it into a hospital setting. But I do need to be financially careful because I know all too well what paying back this debt is going to entail. But i want my best shot at becoming the professional I want so I dont know if should turn a blind eye to the debt and the waiting period (if i attend PSU), or if i should go the cheapest route because at the end of the day all of these schools are accredited and I will qualify to sit for LSW. Advice please>

Hi hello it's me, creator of a million and one threads, haha. Sorry to post again but I really need some advice. I was accepted to Pitt yesterday (yay!!) and I really want to go. However, I'm worried about the amount of debt I will have to take on in addition to the debt I already have from undergrad. This is my second cycle applying, and I have a strong desire to start grad school this year. I feel like I'm ready and I don't see the point of waiting any longer (it's already been almost four years since I graduated from undergrad). However, I can't stop comparing the tuition at Pitt (22k) with the tuition at the top-ranked program in my (former) home state (12k) and feeling upset by it. I feel like I should have applied to the program in my home state before and essentially the only reason I didn't is because my partner refused to consider living in that city. I was fine with this at the time because I really wanted to move out of the state, but now I feel like maybe we made a mistake by moving here. Additionally, there is a small possibility that my partner may soon have a job opportunity in or around our former town, which is a reasonable distance from the city in which the other MSW program is located. A lot of people commute between the two, and I would consider this as well if the opportunity presented itself.
I guess my question is... am I being an idiot by not considering the much more affordable (lower-ranked but still respected) program? The big issue is that I would have to wait another year to apply. The deadline is too soon to ask my recommenders to write me another letter and if I applied now I wouldn't qualify for in-state tuition, which would sort of defeat the purpose. There are definitely pros and cons to both - I don't love the city of Pittsburgh, and I miss aspects of my hometown, such as the natural beauty of the area and being close to family. However, decent jobs are pretty hard to come by in that area and it would be so embarrassing to move back after all this. I also don't want to wait an additional year to start grad school, and I don't want to put myself and my recommenders through through the process of applying for the third year in a row! There's also no guarantee that I would get in, and if I didn't I'd be in a much worse position than I am now. But the tuition... I'm so conflicted! Please help!

Title is pretty self explanatory. I really don’t want to settle in PA long-term and neither does my partner. However, after speaking to some professionals in the field I am worried about the potential lost networking opportunities from attending a school in an area where I don’t plan to live after I graduate. Also slightly worried, though less so, about how licensing requirements may vary from state to state. Can anyone speak to the difficulty of this? Am I exaggerating the extent of the problem? 

I received my acceptance today!!! I'm so excited, this was my #1 choice, now I just have to wait to hear back about the scholarship program/ financial package!! 

I'm booking my flight to Chicago for the UC Admitted Students Day! Can't believe it's coming up so quickly. I've also already started some remote interviews for my field placement. Fingers crossed that I get the one I want. ?

I’m sorry to hear. Hopefully you have other options you can consider instead. And I think @doctormelody mentioned BU admissions is very finicky, so this decision may not be an accurate reflection of your overall credentials. 
(As a side note, no one seems to be responding about acceptances for the full-time regular track—I still haven’t heard back either and I also applied by the priority deadline—so I’m curious why they’ve decided to email out rejections first?)
Good luck on any other decisions you’re waiting on!!

Thank you guys. Wish you good luck!

Ah, I'm sorry to hear this. Looks like you've already received acceptances to some great schools, though! 

Congrats!
 
The waiting is so awful. I wish everyone the best of luck as well!

its interesting how different schools are looking for different things. I see you did get accepted to some good schools! i have one rejection so far too. 

Hello! New to this forum. I applied to Fordham and Hunter in mid- January. Accepted to Fordham with 30 days to reply, not enough $$$. Still waiting on Hunter (my first choice). Very stressed about all of this- $, workload- and also very excited. 

Yea, the HRSA program is an amazing opportunity and fits my career interests really well. I am definitely leaning towards UM because of this, so am now just trying to figure out ways to finance this degree.
I think with any CSWE accredited school, our chances of passing the exam or being hired are about the same, though I’m sure the name would certainly give a leg up, especially if we ever want to move into more management or admin roles later on!

Hey, I'm sorry to hear this, but tbh I feel like BU is kinda weird. They were my only rejection last year - I was accepted at Columbia, Tulane, and Simmons. Waitlisted at BC before eventually being accepted off the waitlist. I ended up having to turn them all down due to financial concerns, but I guess what I'm saying is, don't lose hope? MSW admissions are odd and just because you got a rejection from one school doesn't necessarily mean you will be rejected from a "higher-ranked" school. Keep your head up and look at the interview as an opportunity. You deserve this just as much as anyone else, you're just as worthy and you're gonna make a great social worker. That's what I try and tell myself, anyway.