IPmsw2020

I'm honestly so irritated with CU...I applied Nov 1st, I hear nothing except for social impact live emails until March 2nd when I finally call them. Then I coincidentally get an updated portal yesterday, the day I finally called? Like if you knew I was waitlisted why couldn't you have told me, I find it hard to believe they just made the decision yesterday. It is so annoying it took four months just for them to give a "maybe". Ugh. Kept me waiting SO long just to wait some more. And I don't wanna sound paranoid, but CU was the only application I disclosed that I have Borderline Personality Disorder because I assumed they would be chill about the disorder (it is SO stigmatized) because of the DBT program, which I would've wanted to do, which I talked about in my essay. Now I'm thinking I shot myself in the foot by disclosing that. I'm regretting that essay so much rn. Just needed to vent. Also, CONGRATS to everyone that got in!!!! You got into a freaking IVY!!!!

UMich also waitlisted me lol. I know it's not a no, but I don't really agree with people saying it's a yes. I'm essentially benchwarming, I'm not really playing for the team. I am so happy I'm never applying to schools again, the process is so unbelievably frustrating.

well cu finally sent my decision, i got waitlisted.

“you should be receiving an email with an update soon”

if it makes you feel any better, i applied nov 1st and haven't heard anything. I'm going to call monday

I was making a joke about how many gd emails CU sends but has yet to send any decision info

Hi yes, just one thing I'd like to discuss--AM I IN OR NOT?!?!?

Congrats!!!!

at this point, i think the social impact live emails from cu are just being sent to me as a sick joke

idk for sure but im pretty sure i got multiple emails about my application being complete. i think it's a tech error but idk for sure

FOR REAL! When did you apply?

OMG CONGRATS!!!!!

does anyone know when Loyola Chicago sends financial aid packages?

I am so sorry you got rejected, being rejected really, really sucks, and it is totally normal to be hurt by it. But first things first, you just got admitted into an Ivy League School!!!! That is INCREDIBLE!!! Seeing as you got into CU but not UT Austin, I would assume UT Austin either got full, had too many people applying for a certain concentration, had a quota for admissions based on locations, etc. Honestly, it really seems like the admissions process for any grad school is incredibly flawed. I truly do not believe that acceptances or rejections from a school is a good judge of your character, intelligence, or qualifications. A GPA, three letters of recommendations, a transcript, a resume, and an essay(s) is not enough to judge someone's ability to become a social worker or to get the full picture of who you are as a human. Not to mention there was literally a scandal recently about rich people paying their childrens' ways into college (idk about people doing this for MSW programs but who knows). Maybe you had just gotten dumped last fall by your partner of 4 years, and then immediately had to write a bunch of grad school essays as well as be a full-time student, are those going to be good representations of your actual abilities in social work? Are those essays going to be the best quality you could do? These are only snapshots of your academic career that neglect any outside forces affecting your quality of work, and do not represent you wholly. Like, you could date someone for over a year and still be learning new things about them daily, how could an application with such little information about you be an accurate and complete representation of your skills and personality? Again, it is totally normal and valid to be hurt by rejections. It hurts, it makes you question your abilities. Let yourself be disappointed and sad, but don't let it dictate your self-worth. You clearly have qualifications if you got into CU. If you were truly incompetent/stupid/a bad fit for social work/etc., you wouldn't have gotten into anywhere (and even then it could've just been bad luck or an overly competitive year).

Current Ann Arbor resident here to confirm that COL in AA and Chicago are pretty much identical, and AA has a lot less to offer compared to Chicago yet is as expensive (I've have family in Chicago and am decently familiar with the city). If you go to U of M, live in Ypsi for the love of all things holy, it just is not worth it to live in AA. Also, AA rent is skyrocketing up. I don't know about Chicago but AA is just a ticking time bomb in terms of rent prices. I mentioned it before in this thread but I'm currently paying $750 + utilities for one bed in a five bed apartment that's a ~15 min walk from campus and is very much a college apartment in terms of quality. This house that has been turned into apartments comfortably holds like 8-10 residents MAX and currently has I believe 16, and the South Campus area will be same pricing and even worse quality. Parking is an absolute nightmare despite the fact that a car is incredibly handy because this is just barely a city and you will likely be in a food desert. I am double parked in a parking lot that holds 5 cars comfortably currently holding 9. I am extremely lucky to get free parking with my apt, landlords like to charge 50-100 a month for a spot. Street parking is a nightmare as well. Frankly, if UChicago and UM are the same price, I do not know what the Ann Arbor area offers that Chicago doesn't plus more. I really, really advise not to make the decision of UM over UChicago based on COL. Only stipulation being that Detroit has SO much to offer for field placements, but I feel like many of those same opportunities can be found in Chicago's more low-income areas. Honestly, you get much more bang with your buck in Chicago based on what that high COL gets you. There are townhomes a block down from Main Street, Ann Arbor and they cost $1 million, and it is almost hilarious how much it isn't worth that. Like my manager and I have joked about how much of a waste of money that is. What's appealing of AA over Chicago is the somewhat college town-y feel, but that's being geared more and more for rich students every year (UM is the least socioeconomically diverse college in the entire country for a reason). Many of the dive restaurants/eccentric shops that you find in a normal college town are disappearing rapidly and being replaced with Soulcycles and poke restaurants (there's like 3 within a ten minute walk of my place that didn't exist before I came to college). Ann Arbor may seem like a city if you're from a small town like I was. It really isn't. I would say it's barely urban leaning suburban. If you want to work in a suburban area then UM is your choice, but personally, I think it's worth it to pick UChicago instead. Obviously, you're choice, you may view things differently than I do, but as someone who has lived in AA for four years (and has worked downtown for 2) and knows Chicago pretty well, the COL is much, much more justified in Chicago. Chicago is a city, AA is a slightly urban college town. Edit: Obviously, choose the program that fits best with your career goals. Don't not come to UM just because the area isn't as bustling as Chicago. I just wanted to say that I wouldn't pick UM over Chicago just because of the COL.