goldenbear

Columbia gave me $15,000. I appealed and got $16,000. NYU gave me $17,000. After doing calculations, NYU comes out to about $8K less expensive! So I'm leaning NYU because their administration is more helpful and their program appeals to me more than Columbia's program.

I am in the same boat as you, stuck between Columbia and NYU currently. I have been switching back and forth for the last few months but I think I might have finally landed on NYU.

I got an email that my decision was online!

I applied 1/10. Interviewed 3/12. Accepted 3/14. The interview was cool. It was a group of us being assessed by a member of the staff. She asked us to tell a bit about why Hunter, why the specific track we chose, and what we're doing now. We were asked to share about a time when we felt like the "other". Then we were asked to discuss a hypothetical situation and what thoughts we would be processing in that moment. At the end, there was a brief writing portion. You read a rather dense few pages of material and then talk about what social impact you think the article has. We get around 30 minutes for this last part and when you finish, you can go ahead and leave. I was really impressed by the caliber of students I interviewed with and found most to have a deep understanding of anti-oppression frameworks and trauma-informed care. The professor who interviewed us would follow up and ask more questions of people if she wanted more information. For instance, I talked about my work at a domestic violence shelter and she followed up by asking about what kind of impact that work has had on me these last few years. After the interview, the professor basically provides her thoughts on each of us as candidates to the admissions committee. Feel free to ask/message me if you have more questions about the whole process. Hope this helps some of you all. ETA: I applied for the 2 Year Clinical Track. It lasted about 2 hours but went pretty fast because the whole interview was quite conversational.

I received my FA package. They gave me $15K with no work-study.

Hi there! I had very mixed feelings during and after my visit and would be happy to expand more privately if you message me. Just as a quick overview though-- I would say the general vibe of the school is very grounded in tradition and very Ivy League. So tree-lined walkways on campus, historic buildings, neatly trimmed shrubbery everywhere. You definitely get a college campus vibe from being at Columbia in comparison to schools such as NYU which aren't gated campuses and place you right in the middle of NYC. This could be a pro or con depending on who you are. For me, I wasn't sure I wanted to be so isolated and not so enmeshed with the everyday parts of New York. The facilities were nice--they have a grad student cafe that only grad students are allowed to access. The Social Work building itself was well-maintained as well. It's not actually on the main campus and you have to walk about two blocks further up to get there. You need to sign in as a visitor if you don't have a CU ID and take the elevator to the 5th floor for the Admissions Office. I was given a brochure for the MSW program and a pamphlet for a self-guided tour of Columbia. The woman I spoke to at the front desk was so kind and sweet and she said there was a possibility I could speak to an Admissions Counselor even though Mondays aren't drop-in hours. I had to explore the building myself--they have an entire library within the building as well as a cafe for students to grab snacks from vending machines and study. The floors with classrooms were nice and each classroom floor had a small kitchenette where you can store food in a fridge and heat food up in the microwave. I also peeked into some classrooms but most were locked. As I headed back to the Admissions Office, I actually ran into an admissions officer giving a small tour to a prospective applicant. I asked to join and they were okay with it. The admissions officer basically showed me the entire building again but also pointed out that Columbia actually hires actors for roleplaying scenarios, and you can record yourself engaging with these actors to practice and reflect on your work afterwards. There's also a quiet room for meditation/prayer/etc... for the students who need it. Afterwards, I was able to speak to the Admissions Counselor, but to be frank, I was a bit put off by him. He was very blase and gave me a bit of attitude.

I got this email as well and they responded with the exact same thing. Another friend of mine received his financial aid package yesterday and called me today, livid. He said he only received $5000 with no work-study. As out of state students, this package makes it difficult for us to consider moving to New York and attending Columbia. Side note, I was able to visit Columbia this past Sunday and Monday and speak to the folks in admissions. I have also been speaking to student ambassadors through the Admitted Students page. I'm happy to answer any questions that folks might have about my general impressions of the student body as well as the school in general.

I forgot to mention earlier but I applied for the Clinical Track for Family, Youth, and Children's Services. I have not read that anyone else on this forum is doing that particular field of practice so perhaps it's not so unusual that I heard back but other tracks haven't yet.

Thank you, thank you. I submitted on 1/6. My final LOR was submitted 1/10, and I got the "Your Application is Complete" email on 1/26. @lost686girl I agree, it's very expensive. I'll have to wait and see what kind of aid they can offer me. I'm just glad the waiting is over.

Hello folks, I've definitely been feeling the anxiety of waiting to hear back from Columbia so I created an account to let you all know that I received my acceptance about 15 minutes ago (2:50 PM PST). I didn't apply before the priority deadline so I'm thrilled to be hearing back so soon. Hopefully you all hear back soon as well.