MettaSutta
-
Posts
254 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by MettaSutta
-
-
15 hours ago, hilaryp said:
I’m in school part-time now; six credits a semester in Michigan. There is not a forced curve here. My grades have mostly been determined by research papers or a combination paper/presentation project. Some classes gave quizzes each week. Most of my classes have had 3-4 papers throughout the semester (or a presentation in place of a paper), with one of those papers being more in-depth than the others. This has usually been the “final”. The average paper is probably 8-12 pages, the longest ended up 21 pages (this war last week, and was a final paper). The papers are actually interesting to research and write, if you have a passion for the field. I’ve had a few projects with an interview component, and they lead to networking opportunities. I can’t guess how much time I spend outside of class; it varies. There is a lot of reading, and that is most of the time I spend.
Social work is a career change for me. My previous field (biomedical science) was by far more difficult but somehow less time consuming, if that makes sense.
Thank you! Is your field internship 21 hours a week?
-
8 hours ago, JonoDuncan said:
Definitely not as generous as other schools. Most incoming students get some sort of institutional scholarship but I believe they are based on need, not on merit. There are other merit-based scholarships you can apply for through the school. I received $11k a year I think.
When did you find out about the merit based scholarships thru the school? I can't find such info on the website.
-
6 hours ago, doctormelody said:
How long have you been out of school? Did you take the bar exam? Did you try to practice law and decide it wasn't for you? An admissions committee is gonna look at both things and wonder why you made all that effort to finish a degree that you clearly didn't enjoy and didn't do well in. I think you should worry less about your GPA and more about your personal statement, tbh. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but especially because law degrees are SO expensive, my first question as an ad com would be why on earth you gave up on the profession so easily. Unless I'm missing something that you could clarify here?
Also, if you have extenuating circumstances that are the reason for your poor performance, I would mention that as well.
I graduated in 2017, registered for the bar, and have been working in a JD required position. I did write an addendum addressing medical reasons for the application.
To give some context, law school is graded on a forced curve. At my school, the median was set to a 2.9/3.0ish, meaning that 50% of the class had a 3.0+ GPA and 50% class fell below. 2.87 looks bad to someone who's not familiar with law school grading systems, but based on the forced curve, I'm in the middle 50% of the class. So not remarkable, but not bottom of the barrel either.
Are MSW programs graded on a forced curve?
-
- In social work school are grades based mostly on final exams, or on final research papers? Or is it a mix? Also, are there usually assignments periodically throughout the semester or are the grades 100% based on one thing?
- What is the typical length of papers that you have to write?
- Are social work programs typically graded on a forced curve?
- Outside of fieldwork/classes, how many hours do you spend a week on coursework?
-
My application for Columbia MSW is complete!
-
17 hours ago, JonoDuncan said:
I'm not sure the school really tracks this data. CSSW definitely looks at applications holistically though. People have been accepted with GPAs all over the charts.
Your admissions essay and experiences are just as important, if not more important than your GPA. I remember there being a lot of discussion about this on the Fall 2018 Columbia MSW thread if you care to look back.
Also, is there any truth to rumors floating around on the internet that the acceptance rate is 70%? Seems to good to be true!
-
Although my undergrad GPA was a 3.82/magna cum laude (3.92 in major), I did very poorly in law school, and ended up with a cumulative GPA of 2.87. What impact will this have on my admissions cycle?
-
9 hours ago, JonoDuncan said:
I'm not sure the school really tracks this data. CSSW definitely looks at applications holistically though. People have been accepted with GPAs all over the charts.
Your admissions essay and experiences are just as important, if not more important than your GPA. I remember there being a lot of discussion about this on the Fall 2018 Columbia MSW thread if you care to look back.
Thanks! How generous is Columbia with merit-based scholarships?
-
Does anyone know what is the median undergraduate GPA for accepted students?
-
Am I competitive? Stats are as follows:
- Sociology and Anthropology major, Spanish minor at an all women's liberal arts college
- 3.82 undergraduate cumulative GPA (magna cum laude); 3.92 GPA in major
- Dean's List
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Fluent in Spanish and Hindi; Beginner French
- 2.87 law school GPA
- Pro Bono Service with Outstanding Honors
- 2 stints of AmeriCorps
- multiple internships at public defenders offices and nonprofit legal aid orgs assisting population such as inmates, immigrants/refugees, domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, veterans, homeless, etc.
-
Although my undergrad GPA was a 3.82/magna cum laude (3.92 in major), I did very poorly in law school, and ended up with a cumulative GPA of 2.87. What impact will this have on my admissions cycle?
-
Just submitted my Columbia app on 12/1!
-
3 hours ago, Rosyposy said:
Hello there!
I just submitted my application to the MSW programs at Columbia and U Chicago and I am eagerly awaiting to hear back. I've heard through whispers on the internet that their acceptance rates are quite high (upwards of 70% for Columbia and 58% for U Chicago), but neither program has ever confirmed these statistics. It seems simply too good to be true!
I hope it's true, but I have a very difficult time believing these prestigious institutions would accept such a high rate of students (even though I understand these schools have a lower yield of students who will actually attend).
What do you all think? If you've been admitted to either of these schools, what were your stats? Do you know anyone seemingly underqualified who was admitted?
70% for Columbia seems too good to be true. Have you asked the admissions staff?
-
On 11/29/2018 at 2:59 PM, JonoDuncan said:
Hey everyone! I'm currently at CSSW as an advanced standing student in the policy concentration. I'll be graduating in May.
I'm happy to help with any questions based on my experiences. From what I know, admissions was short staffed last year which resulted in long application decision times. I applied before the priority deadline and didn't hear back until March. Could be different this year!
If my memory serves me right, during our orientation one of the assistant deans said that our cohort was the most competitive and that the program is getting more competitive because they receive higher amounts of applications each year. I believe the acceptance rate last year was around 60%.
60% acceptance rate is a lot higher than I thought, given it's an Ivy.
-
20 hours ago, ss0112 said:
Just submitted my application to Columbia today! I applied to the 2-year advanced clinical social work practice with a focus on health, mental health, and disabilities!
I just submitted today too! And my concentrations will be the exact same as yours. Did you elect the online or in-person program?
-
On 11/13/2018 at 11:28 AM, TooExcited&Nervous said:
Word of advice, BE PATIENT. Columbia takes FOREVER to get back to you. I heard back in late March after I applied in November of last year. If anyone needs help or advice with personal statements, PM me. I don't mind helping or giving advice.
Do you know what the acceptance rate is? I could not find such info on the website.
-
On 11/6/2018 at 11:37 AM, FutureEdPHD said:
I'm applying to the Ed policy program too! How far along are you with the application?
Just started! It's kind of annoying that we're asked to attach a resume but still have to manually enter in all of our employment separately, lol.
-
I'm planning on applying to this program (the M.A.), which is under Teacher's College Department of Education Policy & Social Analysis.
Is anyone privy to the acceptance rate and generally what admissions is looking for?
-
On 10/27/2018 at 9:31 PM, green_dots21 said:
In advanced level courses, I had to write upwards to 15 pages, which is not much compared to other graduate courses I've taken. You can go to writing centers on campus if you have difficulty with writing papers. I also encourage you to speak with professors if you feel your writing skills will be an obstacle in obtaining high marks.
Oh wow, that's not a lot. I'm accustomed to writing papers longer than 15 pages in law school. Thanks!
-
Didn't see a thread for this! Anyone else planning to apply by the priority deadline?
I'm interested in Education Policy myself.
-
On 10/24/2018 at 3:16 AM, ZeChocMoose said:
Eh - that is not generally how cash cow is used in higher education. Cash cow programs use the prestige of the university to generate student demand, have non-selective admission requirements so they let most people in, and then do not offer grants/scholarships to these students so that they need to pay the full sticker price of tuition and fees. In order to not water down the quality of the core program (usually a PhD but it could be another master's program), they may offer a separate curriculum for the cash cow program compared to the core program and sometimes these courses are not taught by the core faculty, but by adjuncts. So the end result is the cash cow program adds substantial amount of money to the department - but it takes little effort for the program to maintain because they farm out most of the teaching and advising to non core faculty members (who they usually don't tend to pay well). This would be the true model of a cash cow program. It gets a bit murkier when programs have some of these characteristics but not all.
I do agree that some cash cow graduates do wind up with good career prospects depending on how they took advantage of their time in the program - but the only characteristic of a cash cow program is not that it is expensive. There are a lot of graduate programs that students are not funded well (medicine, law, dentistry, vet, etc.) - but aren't considered cash cow programs because the assumption is the salaries for those professions should be high enough to pay back the student debt. (You can argue that this is not the case for some fields now.)
I looked at the course list for the MA program I got into and it looks like most are taught by tenured faculty as opposed to adjuncts-hoping that's a good sign?
What do you consider "non-selective"? Admissions rate above 50%?
-
If you apply by the priority deadline, results come out on or about Feb. 15 (according to previous threads).
-
On 10/31/2018 at 2:27 PM, CRPLS said:
Hi all. Was wondering if anyone submitted their applications yet and/or received answers.
I haven't yet, but I plan to before the 12/1 priority deadline. According to previous years threads, decision for priority applicants come out on or about Feb. 15.
-
On 10/17/2018 at 8:48 PM, green_dots21 said:
You should be fine long as you are able to write long papers and understand statistics. But that is only one part of being a successful MSW student.
What was the longest paper you had to write in your MSW program?
Columbia University MSW Fall 2019
in Social Workers Forum
Posted
online.