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MSW204Bri

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Everything posted by MSW204Bri

  1. Hi there, I don't know enough about it, but I think U of T is actually one of the most popular and is known to be fiercely competitive! You'll see it mentioned a ton on previous years and forums. I think Lakehead is predominantly mentioned for the HBSW program for students without a BSW. I'm positive UBC is competitive too, but I think there is a greater proportion of the population that lives in Ontario and would like to stay in Ontario / are active on this forum (just a guess? I'm Manitoban, wouldn't know!) And some of their schools (Laurier, U of T, York, etc) have a lot of prestige attached to their name, and to what I understand, competitive advantages when it comes to practicums.
  2. I think you aren't giving yourself enough credit. You've demonstrated plenty of civic engagement throughout volunteering with Special Olympics and in student organized initiatives (which demonstrate both your commitment to improving the quality of life of folks with disabilities/the importance of accessibility, your interpersonal skills and how to communicate effectively with people of varying abilities), you can spin your experience so many ways! Not to mention I think political science is a fantastic undergrad to complement social work, as any critical discourses around social work do intersect with politics and policy! And, as you mentioned, you occupy underrepresented identities in the field. Your presence in the field matters so much. Not only to diversify the voices that occupy academic and professional spaces, but for the people/communities you will interact with and work with in the future. To summarize my TedTalk: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! YOU ARE WORTHY AND NEEDED IN THIS FIELD
  3. Hi all! Wanted to chime in my experience... I flip flop every day on whether I need to go for an accelerated bsw or to apply to MSW programs!?! For education: I did a 4 years bachelor's degree at University of Manitoba (my home province) in Recreation Management & Community Development (BRMCD) in april 2019. My first couple years I didn't do well in Uni due to some family loss and mental health woes. Once I got into my faculty I turned it around. Cgpa is 3.6/4.5 and Agpa is 4.1/4.5. I was awarded the University Medal for graduating with the highest standing in my program which was such an honour considering how low I felt at one point! Prior, I had been a mentor at BBBS (Big Brothers Big Sisters) since I was a teen, worked 3 summers planning programming for the youth, and have served 3 terms as a delegate on their National Youth Council. While studying, I worked as an adult mentor in an afterschool Indigenous mentorship program, and conducted a literature review of mentoring programs in Canada. I also worked briefly as a research assistant on a related project. I try to volunteer a lot. Since graduating, I underwent the in-depth 3 month training to become a volunteer Pregnancy and Birth Control Counsellor at my local feminist health clinic. My 1st year out of Uni, I worked as a Caseworker/Mentoring Coordinator for BBBS. Doing assessments, intake, screening, monitoring of matches, etc. I was unfortunately laid off during COVID... but I recently became employed working in Therapeutic Recreation at a hospital in our regional health authority. I do assessments, charting, care plans and plan therapeutic interventions for marginalized folks in a transitional care unit. The programs aim to increase the patients social, mental, physical and community well-being. I don't know if my degree practicum is relevant too, or other random things I'm involved in. I'm paranoid that since I'm applying a few years after Uni that my professors will have forgotten me!! I'm also paranoid that my undergraduate degree isn't related enough to social work, despite it being very rooted in non-profit and community work. For schools I'm interested in... ack... anywhere that will take me ? the dream being maybe Wilfred Laurier (which I know is basically impossible), so otherwise maybe U of Calgary, Western University, UBC-O, Dalhousie.... idk!!
  4. Hey there! While I've never applied, to me it seems that either a) they will issue you a conditional acceptance (conditions being you graduate and maintain x average or complete x course). but I've also noticed most schools that offer a MSW for those of us who don't have our BSW, they then expect you to be already "doing the work" so to speak, and have more experience out of school than our BSW counterparts. So for example, I graduated with a social science degree this past April 2019, and I plan to work for 2 years full-time in my positions as a caseworker (on top of my relevant experience while in school) just to make sure that my application is competitive. I think generally speaking it's more rare for them to admit students fresh out of a non-bsw degree into those msw programs. I think it's either UBC-O or U of T state at least 3000 hours of full-time experience. But I bet you there are programs that are flexible to it! Maybe an admissions person at schools you're interested in can provide you more information? Good luck and stay positive!!
  5. Hi Everyone! Very excited to read everyone's posts regarding their profiles heading into application. I'm waiting until next year before I apply. My current dilemma is evaluating whether I want to work on a micro level (more clinical) or macro (policy level)! I have an undergraduate degree in Community Development, and research/policy is what interests me the most, but as far as a job goes everyday, interacting with youth fulfills me. Hard to reconcile that! I currently am gathering 2 years of work experience as a caseworker for Big Brothers Big Sisters before I even think of applying to grad school, and my 1:1 interactions with youth totally drive my passion. However, I also have big research interests- particularly the intersection of social work and public health- I'm currently very interested in co-housing communities and their effect on inter-generational living situations between seniors and children, and the social and emotional health of their community members. I feel like I find myself getting pulled each day in pursuing micro vs macro graduate studies (another good reason to avoid applying yet!) If anyone could share their stories in what informs their decision of what level of the community they plan to situate themselves within, or whether there are programs that it doesn't have to be a dichotomous decision, etc, or even a school you'd recommend to me, that would be fabulous! Would love to hear your stories!
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