Lovey1115

Thank you so much ! I have roughly 3 years of social work experience but I've held a variety of roles in that amount of time. I volunteered as a crisis line responder, volunteered at a farm that did equine therapy with individuals with disabilities, worked as an anger management counselor, equine assisted therapist, and housing support worker. My GPA in my undergrad was pretty shitty but I did a 1 Year BSW last year at Lakehead University and graduated with an 87% GPA. My experience is not stellar but I think, or at least what I hope made up for it, was my personal statement. I tried to talk about my future goals, research I would like to conduct and how it will positively contribute to the sw field and just tried to sell myself.

Hey all, yesterday I got an email from Angela Umbrello, admin coordinator of admissions at UofT, offering me a spot off the waitlist for the 1 year advanced standing MSW! My last name starts with 'A' and I chose Health and Mental Health as my stream of specialization. I can't believe it but I'm over the moon! Good luck to all those still on the waitlist as it should start moving in these next couple weeks, keeping my fingers crossed for everyone! 😊

I got waitlisted for UofT for the Advanced Standing Health and Mental Health stream, really trying not to lose my mind as UofT is my first choice, and the only other school that I am waiting to hear from is Lakehead I hope they don't keep people who are waitlisted in the dark for too long. I'm also unable to login to my ACORN account for some reason.. Quick question, I am filling out the Waitlist confirmation form that is supposed to be completed and uploaded to SGS but I actually forgot what other stream I applied to aside from Health and Mental Health lol. Does anyone know if there is any section on the application where we can review the field of study choices that we made?

I am holding my breath for UofT's advanced standing decisions to come out! The anxiety is killing me! I hope they do not wait till close to April. Aside from UofT I am waiting for Lakeheads MSW decisions to roll out, but their deadline was Feb 1st for applications so I can't imagine that offers of admission will be coming out any time soon Keeping my fingers crossed for all of us!

Does anyone happen to know when offers of admission roll out for Windsors 1 Year Advanced Standing MSW on campus? I can't find the info anywhere on the website. TIA!

Hello everyone ? I recently graduated from Lakehead's 1 Year HBSW program and am looking to apply to MSWs for September 2023 as well. It's nice to know I am not alone in feeling overwhelmed and intimated by the application process! My GPA from the 1 year program was an 87, and I have roughly 3 years of experience across various mental health and social service roles, paid and unpaid. I'm hoping to apply to UofT, York, Lakehead and Windsor, although UofT is my top choice. I also have not seen registrations open up yet so that we can begin the application process. One thing that I am wondering, does anyone know how much you can disclose on a personal statement, with regards to your lived experiences and personal stories? How much disclosure is viewed as academically and socially acceptable? Looking forward to navigating this nerve wracking journey with you all !

I emailed the academic advisor Tess Buchanan, and she fwded my inquiry to Madge who said: Hi Tess, Another student had told me about this issue as well. Tell her to go ahead and register for all the courses. It's because the classes run right after the other that it shows up as a conflict. There you have it. Keep your selections. The issue will be overcome as the courses become active. So it looks like we are good to go ahead and register for the courses anyway. I feel like it's most likely because the courses are around 2 weeks long that it shows part time status but hopefully they can clear this up as well!

Has anyone else registered for their Summer 2021 courses yet? I understand we're supposed to be taking these 4 courses in the summer semester: Social Work 1100, Social Work 2011, Social Work 2012, Social Work 3401, however when I select them all, and go to pre-register, it shows that they conflict with eachother in the timetable, even though the starting dates for these courses are staggered. Are we supposed to register for all 4 courses at once?

I believe that is the offer off the waitlist but I emailed Madge just to confirm! I think maybe because it's not from the 1st round of acceptance but from the waitlist that is why it says alternate offer.

Hey @JMarble and to other fellow Orillia attendees, I created a group on fb for Lakehead's 2021-2022 HSBW Orillia cohort where we can ask each other questions, share feedback and get to know eachother more! You are welcome to join ?: https://www.facebook.com/groups/263556488786359

Does anyone know how long it takes for your offer of admission/admission decision to show up on the OUAC site? I have received the official offer of admission from Lakehead's enrolment services but nothing is showing up on OUAC beside my choices when I click 'choices/offers' on the OUAC application.

I also heard back from Madge who offered me a spot off the waitlist for the Orillia campus!! I can't stop smiling ?I'm sure you guys will hear back soon as well, keeping my fingers crossed for you all! ?

Thank you for the info and for the positivity! It does help ease the worry☺️. I emailed Madge this question and she also said: 'Students have until the end of the month to make their decision. If we have any positions available we will be looking at the waitlist at the beginning of May. However, in the past we have had to go to the waitlist multiple times throughout the summer before the start of classes in July due to people changing their minds. Since you have been waitlisted for Orillia, we will only be considering you for that campus and not for Thunder Bay' So that answers my questions, it looks like waitlisters can expect to hear back up until the last minute right before classes start! Goodluck to us all in this boat and those still waiting to hear back in general!?

Does anyone know if you're waitlisted for one campus, and you've applied to both, is there any chance you'll get accepted to the second campus? I guess they can only accept you at one campus. I wish we knew what position we are in on the waitlist, I'm not sure what the timeline is for those hoping to get into MSW programs but I'm hoping they give us enough notice so that we are not scrambling by the time July rolls around.?

Currently waitlisted for Orillia which was my first choice, still pending for Thunder Bay, I'll be happy to go to either given how competitive the program is but jeez this gives me even more anxiety!!! Fingers crossed for everyone else waiting to hear back, this process is so stressful?

Yup, I'm really hoping they let us know by early April instead of mid April like the website says, to give us more time to prepare. Madge said last year the offers went out early April, but I'm not sure if it'll be the same for this year due to the pandemic.The waiting is driving me crazy!

I was furiously typing up to the last 15 seconds, definitely could have used a bit more time! I wish we could find out our grades on the exam, but Madge said they only provide feedback to those who do not get accepted so they can review their application for future entry. Good luck to everyone!

Most previous students I reached out to did not remember the questions from the exam exactly but said they were pretty similar to the example questions on the Lakehead HBSW page: Identify and discuss life experiences that have significantly affected your decision to select social work as a profession. How would you describe the role of a professional social worker? Reflect on the qualities that you possess that might enhance your practice of social work and those qualities that you would like to develop further in your professional social work training. Any previous education and experience, why you think you’re an ideal candidate for the program, strengths and weaknesses I've also heard that there are a few situational questions that revolve around the SW/SSW Code of Ethics as well. Wow that's amazing work experience, I'm sure you'll have a great chance of getting in! I currently work as an Anger Management Counsellor, providing anger management and domestic violence intervention counseling with individuals who are court mandated, as well as providing equine assisted therapy for individuals struggling with their mental health, emotional issues, or seeking personal development (for about a year). I've also been volunteering as a crisis line volunteer for the Canadian Suicide Prevention Services as well as a facility that provides equine assisted therapy for the last two years. I'm hoping it's significant for admission as I don't have a social work background.

Nice to meet you! I don't know if this is weird but I actually reached out to individuals on LinkedIn who had taken the program for more info lol, but otherwise yeah it is hard to find that detailed info. My resume was initially 2 pages long but I edited it and resubmitted it so that I could add more info on my volunteer experience, initially I had only provided a brief description of my work background. I do think though that you are able to speak more to your experience (work and volunteer) when it comes to writing the personal statement exam, at least that is what I have heard from others. Can I ask what your work background is? I have a BA in psych but I'm hoping my work and volunteer experience will strengthen my application as my grades from my undergrad were not that great.

Hi all! I applied to the 1 Year HBSW at Lakehead for the Orillia campus as well, currently waiting for the personal statement exam. From what I've heard from others who have taken the program in the past, it's competitive as they only accept 30-40 applicants I believe, but they look at your application holistically. Grades are important but significant volunteer and work experience that are related to sw are very valued and strengthen your application as well, including any trainings or certifications you may have. Glad to meet others who are in the same waiting boat as me, I hope we get in lol ?

Hi everyone! I've been scouring over this thread for a few days and I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask or get advice but I'd figured I would give it a shot. I really want to apply for my MSW next September (2021), however my options are really limited given that my overall GPA is not great all, not to mention I have a BA in Psychology instead of a BSW so it is a bit more difficult. My final year of undergrad is when I actually got my act together and achieved good grades with a B+ average. I am hoping that I can make up for my less than decent grades with many hours of paid/volunteer experience in the field, I'm looking to apply to Windsor, Western, UBC Okanagan and a few universities in the States. I just wanted some insight and advice from anyone else on what I can do to strengthen my applications and which schools are more considerate of experience over a low GPA in your first 2-3 years of undergrad ? I've been volunteering as a Crisis Responder for the Canadian Suicide Prevention Services for almost a year now as well as volunteering at a farm that does equine assisted therapy and youth leadership programs, hopefully these hours will be considered relevant experience in the field. I've been looking into paid experience and jobs in the field but haven't found anything promising. Also, is it worth it to do a 1 year BSW program (like the HBSW offered at Lakehead) to then get into a 1 year MSW? or better to do a 2 year stream MSW as I don't have a BSW? I know my chances are slim and I may not get in the first try but I wanna get all my ducks in a row and add anything I can to my application to increase my chances of getting in! Any info is greatly appreciated. Thank you!