heather.m

Hi all. I've unfortunately been rejected to both York and U of T for their 2 year MSW programs. I'm hoping to get some advice from those of you who have been through the application process more than once (on how you improved your application for the next cycle), and/or those of you who've been accepted into Master's Programs (not necessarily just at York and U of T). Here's a bit of background about me, and what was included in my applications this time around: I completed a 4 year Honours BA at Ryerson, majoring in "Arts and Contemporary Studies" and minoring in English. My cumulative GPA is 3.73 (on a 4.33 scale), but my GPA for my last year of study is 3.87. I got an A in my research methods course. Work wise, I'm currently employed as a nanny, have worked approx. 2200 hours in that position. Before that, I worked as an Aquatic Coordinator for the City of Toronto in Parks and Recreation (5500 hours). I volunteered for the Yes In My Backyard Festival as their Elected Officials Coordinator (100 hours), and completed a practicum for my degree in which we organized the first ever Social Impact Film Forum (120 hours). I had an unpaid internship with ConferenceCloud Inc. where I worked as a Social Ventures Coordinator (seeking out nonprofit organizations and collaborating with them to utilize the ConferenceCloud platform for their events) (250 hours). Looking back on my application now, I realize that compared to everyone else on this forum, I don't have much (or seemingly any) relevant social work experience. I'm feeling extremely lost and confused as to how I'm supposed to gain experience in the field if I do not have a specific education in social work - which is why I was applying to a Masters of Social Work program in the first place. So my question to you all is, how the HECK do you gain experience in the field of social work if you don't have a BSW? What even counts as "social work experience"?! It's now clear to me how important experience is for these MSW applications... I thought that my strong academics and personal statement (which I spent a VERY long time on, and was extremely vulnerable in, discussing my experience with domestic abuse and how that helped inspire me to become a social worker and help those affected by domestic violence) would be enough. I'm assuming that I won't be able to apply again until fall 2019, since any experience I do gain between now and fall 2018 won't be enough for my application (since they are due in November/December). I felt so sure of myself when I first submitted my applications... but this whole situation took such a drastic turn, I'm feeling so unbelievably lost and confused. I'll take any and all advice that you have. Should I complete a post degree BSW and then apply for the Advanced Standing Masters next time? Should I focus on finding a relevant job and gain experience there and then apply for the 2 year program again? Will that be enough? Should I try and complete a college diploma or certificate in something *related* to social work? I'm so confused Sincerely, One sad reject

@spers nope, not mine... did yours?

This makes me so nervous... if people were seeing their status on ACORN change to “invited” yesterday, and all letters will be going out by the end of the week (which I assume means by tomorrow since Friday is a holiday), wouldn’t that mean the ACORN status change is complete for everyone who’s been accepted? Would it even be possible to receive an acceptance letter before seeing a change on ACORN? Mine is still blank... I have a bad feeling about this ?

Those of you who have seen your status on ACORN change to “invited”, what letter do your last names start with? Mine is M... I’m wondering if they manually change each person who’s been accepted or if they change all at once. I am absolutely petrified right now

thanks @Snellbell. Hopefully they give you some more specific information than the "mid-April" timeline that we keep hearing about. Good luck

Congratulations to everyone who received a phone call from York today. Unfortunately I was not among you... Considering I only applied to York and U of T, I am SERIOUSLY feeling the anxiety kicking in right now. Who else has their entire fate resting in the hands of the U of T admissions committee ?

Oh my goodness - congratulations!!! I’m SO NERVOUS

I called about an hour ago to ask a question about my application (*will elaborate below in case anyone else had the same problem), and whoever I spoke to (didn't catch her name, but it wasn't Angela) said that they are still going through applications and that we wouldn't be hearing until mid-April... I'm honestly on the verge of having a full fledged mental breakdown at this point. This waiting is excruciating, and the fact that it just keeps getting pushed back further and further is almost too much to handle. *When I was filling out the 'Program of Study' section of the application, the drop down menu for "field of study/concentration(s)" would not allow me to click on it and select the stream which I was applying for. I added a note under "proposed field of study" indicating that I was applying for the Social Justice and Diversity stream, but I wanted to check that my application made it to the correct section for assessment.

Hi everyone! A quick update on York’s 2 year applications: I just spoke with Ammad (sp?) and he assured me that none of the 2 year results have gone out yet. The strike has affected the process, and he was very apologetic that it’s taken so long. He will be calling everyone who’s been accepted, hopefully by this Friday (March 23), and if not by Monday (March 26). He asked if I was a part of any of these online forums so I could tell other prospective students - so here I am! Hopefully this helps calm some people’s nerves, at least a tiny bit. Now if only U of T would tell us...

Hi jage24! On the previous page (27) cat_not_kitty explained how to create an account. Here's what they said: "Acceptances for U of T first show up on the student portal, ACORN (no email prompt, we just check it obsessively until something shows up ). Check your email for instructions from SGS admissions on how to create a U of T JoinID, then use those credentials to log in here: http://www.acorn.utoronto.ca. If you have been accepted, you will see "Invited" in orange in the "Academics" section in the bottom left hand side of the main dashboard page that pops up after you log in (there's a screenshot of what it should look like in the last post of page 11 of this forum topic). Keep in mind that nothing will show up there if you have been waitlisted or rejected – these results are mailed, and generally don't come until all rounds of admissions are complete sometime in early- to mid-April. Also, on rare occasion, people have received acceptances in the mail without their ACORN updating first." Good luck!

Were you applying for the advanced standing program at U of T or the 2 year? When did you hear?

Hi everyone! I've been lurking this thread for quite a while now but never bothered to make an account and post anything until now. I've been seeing posts about people receiving phone calls and/or admissions packages in the mail already, but for most of them I couldn't tell if they were for the 1 year advanced standing programs or 2 year programs. I only applied to the 2 year programs at York and U of T (I'm now realizing how stupid I was for only applying to 2 schools... it's DEFINITELY increasing my anxiety to levels I never knew were humanly possible). I have so many questions! So for those of you that have heard back already (whether it be for an acceptance or rejection): Were you applying for the 1 year advanced standing program or the 2 year program? Did you receive a phone call? Did you receive an email concerning the change in your status? (I can't find anything online about whether or not an email goes out. I know that both schools will send something in the physical mail) Did the online status of your application change from "no decision yet" (for York) or "under review" (for U of T)? Did you receive a package in the mail? If you don't have answers to these specific questions but have information about timelines for admissions (from this year, I've already read through the info about people's experiences from previous years) PLEASE let me know. I'm on the verge of having a mental breakdown - this is torture!!!