loves_kwaito

Hey everyone,
I was accepted to the Advanced Standing program (concentration Adulthood & Aging) yesterday on 12/18/18. Good luck everyone!

@doctormelody Gosh, I am sorry that you still have not heard back.  IMO I think showing up without an appointment would be unprofessional, unless you had a casual relationship that involved unannounced drop-ins. Also, most professionals would typically respond to emails within 48hours. Your professor's conduct is highly unusual, especially because she is in session.  
I would suggest that you contact your plan B even though you have not been in touch for a while. Personally one of my references was my community college counselor and supervisor ( I was her office assistant for 2 semesters) . I had not spoken to her since July 2014 (4 years) . She was however very excited to  provide me with a letter of recommendation. Educators understand graduate school applications' bureaucracy.  As long as  you did well in his class, and had a cordial relationship, he will not overthink providing you reference. He probably has been there himself.
Alternatively, you could also leave a message with the front desk guy if that is an option. If you still do not hear from her in 48 hours you can make a decision on how to proceed.
All the best!
 

@JoeJoe85 I honestly think you are what the admissions committee is looking for! You have  experience working in various arenas of the social work field, and this  aligns with the generalist program. You are not going into the program "green," so I think your personal statements are probably incredibly informed by both your experience (practical) and passion for social work . Your GPA from what you have explained is way above the threshold that is required for the CSUs and even UCLA. Your peer reviewed article, and fully-funded PHD scholarship highlights the fact that you are able do well in a graduate program, especially in research classes. I think this will sits quite well with UCLA, since after all they are a research university. Aside from you merit-based qualities (extremely important) , I think the fact that you are originally from Australia sort of contributes to the diversity element that most admission committees value. You are able to bring a perspective that others can't.
Your husband is absolutely right! I believe(in my humble opinion) that you are a very competitive candidate, and that you will get into all the programs you have applied for. Your biggest worry in a few weeks will be to choose one school from the lot of acceptances, since they  all have their advantages.
All the best!!

Hi everyone!
I’m in Los Angeles and I’m applying to Cal State LA, CSUN and UCLA. My Cal State LA and CSUN ones are done, just working on the UCLA one now. Don’t really want to go to a private college, those fees are jaw dropping!
My background is a bit unusual. I am originally from Australia where I earnt my Bachelor of Social Work. Graduated with First Class honors and an abridged version of my honors thesis was published in a psych journal. I was offered a PhD scholarship by my university in Australia, but the timing wasn’t right for me as I was keen to start working in the field.
Australia is a different to the US, in that you only need your Bachelors to work anywhere as a social worker. Did two 500-hour placements in my BSW, one in child protection and the other doing student counseling. After graduating, I worked in the field for about two years, doing more child protection work and a senior job in a hospital ER.
Looking to get my masters now, as US is now my new permanent home.
I’m incredibly nervous applying! Australia uses totally different grading and GPA systems to the US, so I just hope they’ll look at my applications holistically. I even went to the trouble of having the CSWE evaluate my Australian degree, which cost upward of $500, and I had to harass my school in Australia to send them exact course syllabi from the semesters I completed each course. But it worked out okay, as they said it was the equivalent of a BSW issued in the US, so I’ve included it with my applications in the hope it will smooth things a bit.
I won’t be eligible for any advanced standing, given it’s been more than five years since I graduated, but that’s okay.
Best of luck everybody!

Hey Guys, 
I turned mine in very early, Monday, October 15th.
Received an email from MSW that Friday saying that they have received my application. I was the second person to turn in the application to MSW. 
I received an email from the University on November 7th that my application is complete.
Another email from the University on November 15th that my application has been sent to the department.
I should be one of the first people to hear back from them because I was the second to turn in my application. Hopefully, I hear back from them before Christmas. Will update you guys. 

Hello @valwantstohelp,
That's awesome! Do you mind sharing exactly what they stated in the email upon review. After turning in my application on 11/16/18, I received an email on 11/19/18 stating
"Your 2019 MSW Application has been received by the School of Social Work."
I didn't realize they take FAFSA into account, I'll complete mine asap now. 
Good luck and keep sharing your updates!
 

I am looking into MSW as well. My goal is an LCSW, for I have a passion for mental health. I am currently a senior psychology student at CSUF. I am planning to apply to CSUF, CSULB, CSUSM, and UCLA. UCLA would be the dream, but I lack the confidence that I am qualified enough/ will succeed in their program. Here are my stats:
3.25 overall GPA, 3.80 Major GPA, 3.85 last 60 units (as the applications ask for). 
I have been doing ABA therapy for children with autism and other developmental disabilities for 3 years now. Within that, I was promoted to parent consult, where I teach the parents ABA therapy. I have been a parent consult for 1.5 years. I run programs with my clients and take data on their progression towards goals. I work in them with behavioral, communicational, cognitive skills. 
I am a volunteer Youth Mentor for the Mental Health Association of Orange County. I help my client with existing mental health needs by working on her goals as provided by her therapist. I additionally write monthly reports about her meeting her goals. Goals include self-esteem, assertion, self-sufficiency, independent living, etc.. 
I am a peer mentor for the psychology department at CSUF. I hold office hours for students, hold study skills workshops, help with academic questions, APA formatting, job searching, resume building, etc. I am also the co-editor of the psychology newsletter. 
Other than that, I am a member of 2 psychology clubs. 
Also, I have taken a large number of sociology courses that I feel would nicely suit social work for they illustrated concepts about social injustice/ inequality. For example, sociology of: gender, sex and society, social inequality, drugs, ethnic/minority relations, interaction, etc... 
I tend to doubt myself and my abilities to get into graduate school for social work- but I am hoping this can be a positive and uplifting environment for all of us when it comes to submitting our applications! I hope to hear from you guys, thank you! 

Hello, I am a current BSW student who will be applying to graduate school (advanced standing) for the fall of 2019.
My stats:
Major/Minors: social work major with two minors in case management and psychology
GPA: 3.3, could possibly end the year with a 3.5 (I have gotten mostly A's and 2 B's in all of my social work classes)
Activities/Extracurriculars/Societies: 
-Sorority 
-Phi Alpha National Social Work Honor Society
-Greek Life Honor Society 
-National Society of Leadership and Success
Experience:
-5 years of being a server in the skilled living/dementia unit of a retirement community
-Will be shadowing the social worker at the retirement community during my winter break
-Interning as a Child Mentor (working with kids with a mental health diagnosis) at a fairly large agency in my area for my senior year
I am applying to NYU, Columbia, Hunter, Fordham, UPenn and Temple U
I would greatly appreciate any input on my chances of getting in to any of the schools listed above, or any other advice!
 
 

Hello,
My stats are quite underwhelming, but a girl can hope
I am a recent graduate and I will be applying for MSW fall 2019.
Major:  English UCLA
G.P.A:    3.75
Extra Curricular Activities at UCLA- Zero (I was working full time)
Although at my community college I was in student government as well as International Students Club.
Work Experience:
1) Program Assistant to International Students Office at my community college: At this time, I was also an F1 visa student so I was hired at the front desk to assist with general office duties as well as basic socialization with shy students.  (I am hoping this can be a human services related field) (Approximately 1 year off and on depending on budget)
2) I was also hired as a Student Government Clerk: This was highly admin and clerical work. (2 years)
 3) Location Coordinator for a Language School (1.5 years). I also taught Swahili and tutored English .
4) I currently have a basic sales job (2 years). I needed a pretty chill job while I was in school.
5) I started volunteering at a Human Services field in their Needle Exchange Program. This is quite recent so I do not know how much of an impact it would have. I also assist with general admin services at the office. Kinda like a floating volunteer.
Schools I will be applying to:
CSULB, CSUN, CSUDH, CSULA and UCLA.  I do not have  a top choice since they are all generalist programs.
What are my chances considering my liberal undergrad and very limited human services background?
 
 
 
 

So, bear in mind that this is utter conjecture, but I think your chances are pretty good, especially for NYU, Temple, and Fordham. Your GPA could be higher and I witnessed some people with amazing stats get rejected from Columbia's Advanced Standing program last year, so Idk about that one. I would try to apply as soon as you can. Hopefully they'll be better able to handle the volume of applications this year, because last year was an absolute disaster (some people who applied in November didn't hear until April, for example). However, you have some good experience and I think as long as you write decent essays, you stand a good chance at all of the schools you listed.