[Canada MSW 2019]

2 hours ago, sleepydeprived said:

Does anyone know what would be considered a good amount of funding? I was so excited to get the call and now it's on to the next phase of stressing - figuring out how to pay for this 

Depends on if you're a TA or not. 13k is what I formerly was offered to be a TA for 2 terms. 

[Canada MSW 2019]

28 minutes ago, Laurabeth79 said:

I can't thank you enough for all your responses and encouragement!  You've helped me with my decision-making process and to feel better about where to go from here.  You make excellent points and so correct...the person does indeed make the social worker!  Thanks for the reminder and all your responses.  Much appreciated

Best of luck! Follow your gut and intuition, you'll make the right decision. 

[Canada MSW 2019]

3 hours ago, SocialWERK2019 said:

Anyone who got accepted into the U of T advanced standing program: when is your deadline to accept? I’m currently on the waitlist and I’m just wondering if there is a possibility of movement any time soon? I know it’s a long shot, but I’ve recently talked to two people who were accepted off the waitlist in previous years. 

 

Thanks!

I was waitlisted for advanced standing and was given a call by the school end of March/early April right before undergraduate exams. 

 

Edit - friend says about 1 month 

[Canada MSW 2019]

3 minutes ago, Laurabeth79 said:

Thank you so much!  You just really helped set my mind at ease and I'm grateful.  I do worry about where a person gets there MSW having an impact on future job prospects, so I appreciate the thoughts around that.  And yes so true about the prospects of placement...that is so important!  Again, thank you so much.  I've been agonizing over this decision for some time and don't want to make the wrong one....your input has been super helpful!

When someone looks at your resume, they will see what you have done at your placement and hire people according to that. You can go to U of T and have an average placement (and I know students that do)- Employers would not take someone just based on the little university emblem they are representing over someone from Carleton that has had a superb placement and a CV that reflects that.

You seem passionate and driven. Good luck in your choice and just remember - the school doesn't make the social worker, you as a person does (my friend at U of T told that to me when I was deciding between accepting Carleton MSW and U of T).

[Canada MSW 2019]

Just now, Laurabeth79 said:

I do like the way the program is set up...especially having practicum in summer as I will need to work.  I'm not excited about profs that are kind of mean lol....however having a core faculty that's chill is important.  Thanks for giving me some names of profs to look for...I don't want to sell myself short by accepting at Carleton when other school do have more prestige but the funding is a hard thing to give up....

Don't worry about the prestige. I came to Toronto for that and was LET DOWN. Some of these students are dummies man. After 2 years of working no one will care where you did school unless you want a PhD...but even then with practice you can apply for good programs even if you go to Carleton. I'd say focus on where you will secure a placement (Ottawa is a bigger city than your options) as that will be your bridge to a future job where it will pretty much negate where you went for MSW. I got a hospital placement at a good hospital and that was worth shitty MSW classes and being robbed by rent. 

[Canada MSW 2019]

Just now, Laurabeth79 said:

Thanks! I really appreciate you getting back to me...I do like Ottawa a lot!  

You have 2 research courses, 2 electives and 2 (intervention or policy) - the prof that teaches intervention is relatively new to the faculty (he has a Japanese last name). Some of the profs that teach electives are kinda mean, but the core faculty are pretty chill. I really liked a Roy Hanes and Sarah Todd is an amazing prof (friends had her for BSW). You can work too because the placement is in the summer while courses during the year and there are a lot of job opportunities close to campus. 

[Canada MSW 2019]

4 minutes ago, Laurabeth79 said:

Is anyone on here currently attending Carleton MSW Advanced standing program?  I only have until tomorrow to accept my offer and I can't seem to find out if it's a worthwhile program or not.  I just got accepted to Laurier, but they are offering far less funding, and U of T is offering nothing.  Money is really an issue for me at this point so I'm struggling with turning down a great funding package based on the fact that people tell me Carleton is a second tier school.  Just looking for some guidance...don't hear much about Carleton on here so if anyone has any insight I would be forever grateful!  Thanks and big congrats to everyone who has been accepted so far!  Exciting times

 

I got accepted to Carleton MSW, and went there for my BSW. The profs are okay.... it's a small program and there aren't many profs to select from.  My friend did  (advanced standing) it last year and a friend is doing it now. They think it's okay, no complaints. I would recommend the other programs, tbh but Ottawa is a good student city and there are a lot of placements in the city.  

[Canada MSW 2019]

On 3/1/2019 at 2:17 PM, ayxl said:

I actually remember you from last year's MSW forum when I was lurking all day everyday. should I get rejected by U of T again this year, I will definitely remember what you wrote here to refine my application.

thank you for sharing your experience! 

Did you not get your letter yet? My friend got her waitlist letter already for U of T 

 

reach out to me if you have any questions! 

[Canada MSW 2019]

Hi, I am currently in the advanced standing student at the U of T program and will be finishing in April of this year. I have a few thoughts for those applying and feel free to DM me. Please understand that I come from a pretty "heavy academic background." Social work has been really, really easy and understanding that no one can really be completely unbiased ,these comments are my own, but there are others in this program that would agree with these thoughts.  

These are just the "raw" details for the program -

I was waitlisted, but I did get in. I told them blatantly that my end goal was social justice, but not social work. I had pretty decent marks A-/A when applying and several years of experience. My competition was against other BSW students. Most people that enter are pretty young. Profs said "we were the creme of the crop" - this is a not true. Our program is 150-160 2 year program and 84 advanced standing. Most programs are around 40-70 (2-year and advanced standing). How can the biggest program in Canada have all high quality students?? 

Finances- 

When you enter, you pay for three semesters automatically - yes, it is a money making scheme because this was only changed in the past 10 years (my supervisor finished her program in 2 semesters and was charged accordingly). So I paid $11,500 even though I will not take courses this summer. When you finish ALL your required credits, you are "auto graduated" meaning I cannot take courses this summer even though I paid for it (I would have to drop a course now or have enrolled in one less course this term). U of T states this in one of their acceptance packages they will not return your summer money. I would highly recommend taking courses in the summer (online courses if in another city) before the fall so that you can take less courses and find a part time job during the year.  OSAP provided me ... $10,000, that covers tuition pretty well, but I am also getting robbed by Toronto rent. Entrance scholarships are not huge and with many applicants, don't expect to get one or even a large one if you do (unless you are a social work god). Bursaries are offered, but they range from 4k-7k and again, they are highly competitive because there are so many students and getting As these days in undergrad is not hard...

"School of thought" - 

This program is clinical - more traditional. It honestly does not care about AOP, structural or the other more sociology leaning streams of social work. Do not expect your colleagues or profs to talk about gender, class, race in a deep manner. Not to shame, but the profs are mainly white and come from wealthy backgrounds and its evident in who it admits and the ethos of the school. It's all superficial (ie. tagged question at the end of a essay paper) if they do talk about it. This may be a downfall of the program, but coming from a structural background, I wanted a different perspective and was happy to learn some real clinical skills...and not have profs waste class time on a rant about how all white and rich people were evil. 

Placements - 

Placements in the hospitals are highly competitive and they are not all good. I've heard of some amazing positions (I have an amazing placement) and some horrendous (my colleagues have cried to me) - understand that many SWers are in the hospital setting, they are there for the salary and the good working environment (by good, I mean you're not in an underfunded shelter that can't afford pens) - most SW positions in hospital settings are discharge planning (you are there to "transition patients into the community"....kicking people out to keep the manager happy as to not waste "taxpayer dollars").  There are some positions that are counselling, these are legit and I would recommend them. The matching here is algorithm based and no one actually knows how it matches people. Supervisors often say "no" to students in interviews if they do not think you are competent enough - hospital SW is a lot of work. These are "real" interviews. Do not take them lightly - previously in my BSW, you were pretty much given the placement if you asked. Here, you are given a real caseload by supersivors. 

Speaking to the classes -  

U of T has a reputation because of the research of the profs, not their teaching quality. The profs give out many, many A- and A which devalues the work of students that put in real effort. A+ are rarely given out (depends on the prof) because they have to meet the distribution. The concentrations are kinda a marketing gimmick. You only get 2 real courses that are part of your concentration and 2 electives that you can take in any of the fields. You CAN take courses in other concentrations - you just need permission from the prof. The mental health and health is the biggest one - it is a joke. The policy course was boring and poorly managed. I took 2 mental health courses that were at best okay (i'll pay for a crash course in CBT and DBT after this degree). You can totally finish the courses with their timetable recommendations if you are only doing school. I took 3 courses the first term and 4 this term - doing work after placement is hard but its possible. Taking into consideration getting an A- is really easy...you will survive this program even if you academically struggle (assuming you get in).... Students ask for extensions all the time and they are handed out. Some sections will get an extension behind the back of other classes and some kids start papers 2 days before they are due. It's kind of disappointing at a 2nd year graduate program at the "best school of social work". The final papers are objectively less pages (I have a friend at Carleton MSW that I did my BSW with that had a 17 page final paper while the most ive written is 10) and before you say "shorter papers are harder" - they mark them way easier ... so no.

Final recommendations -

do not get discouraged if you are not accepted here.  If you want social work, you as a person speak more than the degree on your resume. You can learn all the content by yourself and let's be real - sitting in class won't make you more passionate about social justice, empathetic or give you better conversational skills (experience will). This program is at best - "okay" for 2 year program applicants. BSW students entering will learn almost nothing from the classes as the program content is tailored towards 2 year students that are still learning the fundamentals and considering you're paying almost $12 000.....it's kind of a laugh. Pls DM me if you have questions  and again, these are my thoughts, but my friend laughed when she read over this because there was agreement. I am here because I wanted to work in Toronto after graduation (and I do have an edge over York and Ryerson - reputation and U of T has a monopoly on placements here) and I was not expecting to come to this school - I only applied for the fun of it. DM me if you have questions! 

 

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

1 hour ago, Fashionista2018 said:

Hi Everyone,

I am super new to this and I didn't even know such a site existed until I joined the MSW group at UofT.  I was accepted to both UofT and Kings College at Western for the two year MSW program. With this being said McGill was my first choice for personal not academic reasons and, I was waitlisted.  I will be moving forward with my acceptance with UofT because well... it's a great school and amazing program.

For McGill I received an e-mail in February saying I was waitlisted and would know if I got in by April.  In April I was told there were no spots and the waitlist was closed.  Just wondering if any of you know more about this. It seems that most program keep a rolling waitlist until September.

Thanks so much! I wish I knew about this 6 months ago!

U of TTTTTTTT!!! An old supervisor of mine did the 1 year MSW at Mcgill and she said that it was a pretty bland program. She lived in Ottawa and just drove to class just to sit on facebook all class. This was just her experience though. 

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

On 4/21/2018 at 11:28 AM, viclane96 said:

Did you get off the waitlist for advanced standing?

whoops, super late reply but yes

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

If anyone is going to U of T this fall and is from Ottawa or the area send me a message! Just got accepted this week

[Canadian MSW Applicants 2018]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and I don't usually use forums but thought I'd give it a shot: 

I was accepted again (applied last year and got in, but declined) to Carleton (advanced standing) after being out of my BSW for a bit. I'm doing my second undergrad because I'm applying for MD programs. I let U of T know of this (in the essays)...and I might have gotten waitlisted as a result? Carleton is giving me OGS on top of a good scholarship but I really want U of T because of their health and mental health stream + school location. We will see though, hard to decide without know what is on the table.