HopefulandCurious

Congratulations! That's me too, after the third application!

I heard back this afternoon, so they're movin'!

I will chime in with my 0.2c here to say that this program is wildly competitive. I don't know what it looks like now, but I know that in past years they took between 9-12 applicants a year, out of hundreds of applications. Not to scare you or anything, but to set reasonable expectations! The application also has (or had, at one point) multiple rounds of interviews. If I remember correctly, they don't "fill" their applicant spots, but only accept the best fit for the program, hence the small numbers and very competitive nature. Still always worth a shot, though.

Have people started hearing back already? The admissions people did say a few weeks ago that it would be mid-September, but I haven't heard anything either... Last I applied I heard on the 6th of the "target" month. (ie, Sept 1, Jan 1, May 1 are the targets for offers).

It sounds like you have a lot of very valuable experience. Anyone would be lucky to have you in their MSW program! Best of luck

I spoke to the admissions folks last week and they let me know that they roll out decisions mid-September. Judging from previous years it will likely be around the week of the 14th that we start hearing back!

Like many people lurking around here I had applied to Laurier for May 2020 (part time, online) and was waitlisted; didn't make it in. I have also applied to Laurier again for the Jan 2021 intake; I figured there wasn't really much to lose and I'm a sitting duck until the Fall anyway because all other Fall 2020 applications had already closed by the time I heard back from the waitlist. Laurier is one of the only schools with 3 intakes, so I just applied again because it was open. January folks are supposed to hear back September-ish, and pending that outcome I was debating applying to Waterloo and Dal for Fall 2021. Previously I had applied to just Laurier (once right out of my BA, pre-BSW, and then more recently). The application process is so mentally draining though that I really don't know if I want to apply to more schools or not.... But perhaps chances are higher elsewhere than just putting all my eggs in the Laurier basket!

Not a UWin student, but usually for most universities if you have to make some kind of account where your user is student # and the PIN is the password, the first pin is your birthday - dd/mm/yy or mm/dd/yy - 6 digits, and then usually you are prompted to change it. I don't know if that's the case for your university, but that could be it.

Hi! :). We will be waiting together! I have not applied anywhere else, but if this doesn't pan out I think I will apply to Waterloo and Dal, just to see what happens. My best piece of advice is to tailor your application to the school you're applying to (look at the learning outcomes and mission statements) because your fit for what that school teaches is an important factor in the decision-making. You can be extremely qualified but if you apply to a macro, social justice based program and say you want clinical micro practice, they're not going to want you. I think it is also a good idea to keep your statement clear and concise. What I mean by that is have a good understanding of what you actually want to do in the field. "I want to help people" is not as good as "I want to do x job because of y and z". Concise also means don't try to convince them you have experience by cramming all kinds of details in there, but try to highlight experience and skills that best accentuate your application to that school. The other point is having a good mix of personal and professional experience (not too many personal details, but also not strictly a repeat of what they see in your resume). I hope that makes sense! Best of luck to you!

I applied for May 2020 and was waitlisted, applied again for Jan 2021. I feel like admissions are so arbitrary that it's hard to say, really, what ultimately determines who gets in. It is very competitive. As mentioned above, they took 25 out of about 250. One of my references (who is a fabulous professor) did mention that it's not always the experience or the number of hours, but a lot of it has to do with your essay and ability to speak to why you are a good fit for graduate studies. I have seen people in this thread with 10 years exp. get rejected, unfortunately, and others with 1-2 years post BSW accepted. It's nerve wracking for sure because it's not the most predictable!

Oh no, that is so frustrating! You were waitlisted the first time, and rejected the second time? This is what I am afraid of... Waitlisted the first time I applied, now waiting on Jan 2021 decisions...

The fall decisions go out in May - don't draw too many conclusions yet! Laurier is notoriously slow at sending out acceptances. It wouldn't surprise me if Fall folks heard in late May/early June. Keep waiting and keep breathing!

Waterloo also has a 10 month BSW program!

I planned on working full time if pursuing part time studies. It is not recommended to try to work full time while studying full time (if your schedule allows, ie working from home/working evenings) - that's a really good way to burn yourself out! Of course to each their own, but you'd really have to amp up the self-care. I know that when I was looking at some full time programs and trying to see if I could keep working, all the recommendations for course loads said that full time studies are the equivalent of approximately 40 hours/week (course work, readings, assignments, etc).

Yayyyy! That the one you'd been hoping for! Congratulations.