ZippyZup123

Hey I know you posted this a while ago but I would say your chances are really good. It is a good idea to volunteer and they like admitting a wide array of students so your work and degrees will help you. You will have to do the two year program. Volunteer for the suicide hotline if you think you can manage the stress of it. Suicide is a very sensitive topic. You could volunteer on a more lowkey level like food pantries or other local organizations. Hunter is competitive but if you write a killer essay, quantify your reasons for social work and why Hunter would be a good fit, I don't see it being issue. The only thing I will tell you to be aware of is that they are very into white people recognizing their privilege in society and it doesn't really matter about your personal circumstances. You could be a cancer survivor and have lived in poverty but they will still want you to work your privilege and recognizing it into your situation that drives you to applying to Hunter - at least this is for the interview portion. The interview sucks. Anyway good luck!

Hey I just wanted to throw this question out there but I am curious about how other people are going to go about it. Do any of you plan on working while you are in grad school? Getting scholarships are not as accessible for grad students and tuition is a lot of money even for in state tuition. I know some some loans are available but I am interested in not taking out the students loans that fafsa awarded because the loans start accruing interest immediately and they can't be absolved in a bankruptcy. Another question is have any of you been successful in negotiating with your employer to give a stipend for grad school in addition to salary? I am interested in how other people are plan on dealing with tuition, work and school for the upcoming year.

I did the same. When I spoke to the admissions people, they said to just answer the questions that they are asking you to answer. When I was in contact with UMich, the first thing that I was told that the admissions people look for can you follow directions, are you clear in your intentions, and can you answer the questions being posed. This is the advice I was given and I followed. Other schools basically gave the same advice.

Hey I have totally been there. I applied to one program last year and got an interview and got rejected. It sucked and still sucks. It is a horrible feeling to get rejected, especially when you want to get in to a particular program. I got into grad school this year and I am really glad with my decision but it is totally ok to feel upset and frustrated if you didn't get into a grad school. Please rely on your support system, because the emotional support can really help. I am sending virtual support. I have been there and was determined to get into grad school and I worked hard and got in. Its something I want to do and refused to take no for an answer. Allow yourself to feel upset but your worth is not determined by their arbitrary system.

No problem. I have done tons of research and I am happy to help I am really happy with Rutgers and have been satisfied with their responses to my questions and feel supported. I also heard great things about their clinical and macro program and I am interested in both sides of social work so I want the ability to explore what I want to focus on. It also helps that they are the best and most well known social work school in NJ. I am very excited to start as well.

Fordham is also well regarded but there is a big difference between their in person program and their fully online program. I work with people who attended the in person program and they said that they liked the smaller classes and easy accessibility to teachers and felt supported. I also think the starting cost of Fordham is $65000 which is 20K cheaper from the start of NYU or Columbia, not including scholarships. The same can't be said with their fully online program. I was interested in their fully online program but I personally felt that they were too pushy and didn't feel professional. If you are curious about what some of their graduates are doing now, I know someone who is running a residential facility for I/DD population and is fantastic and the other person works for a well know hospital doing in-patient case management. Both people attribute some of their success to Fordham.

Hey no problem. I do not know what concentration you want to focus on but reading what you posted before I can infer that you probably want to focus on clinical route since you were checking PsyD programs. If you want to focus on the psychotherapy/ clinical route, I would recommend NYU. They have a great reputation for the clinical route and if it's the cheaper option, I would take it. I personally did not apply to NYU or Columbia but I will be attending Rutgers this fall. I know someone who is attending NYU now and is interested in doing the clinical therapy route and is loving the program. I hope this is helpful and I could give you some comfort in the choice you make. I am sure you will succeed in whichever place you choose. Best of luck!

Hi! I am from the NYC area and I know plenty of people that attended or are attending MSW programs in the tri-state area. While Columbia is a great school and does have a lot of opportunities, it's not held in better regard than attending a different MSW program. I think they do have more opportunites for the people who want to focus on policy or international social work but there are plenty of social work programs that offer the same level of education and same opportunities at a cheaper cost. If you get an awesome scholarship and you like what hear about the program then definitely attend but paying for cost of the ivy league name is not worth it. I know people who attended at full price and are still paying off the student loans years later. Obviously do your research, speak to current students, and attend the program that offers you the resources that helps get into field of social work that you want to do. Best of luck!

Also the accelerated program you applied to in the spring only admits 25 people in that cohort. Hunter accepts around 425 students for their fall program so your odds of getting accepted are way higher. Even the most qualified students that apply for the spring cohort might not get accepted. I hope this makes you feel better in some way.

Hey! It's totally normal to feel uncertain after getting rejected. Last year I applied to Hunter for their OYR program and after getting an interview I was rejected. That really got me upset for about a week but I knew I wanted to go for social work. Then COVID hit and I reevaluated my options when everything was falling apart. Honestly I am glad that I was rejected last year because now I am more financially ready to take on grad school and I made more clear choices. In order for me to be more "marketable", I volunteered with local food pantries and soup kitchens as part of the pandemic relief force and I got a letter from one of the directors, along with my other experience. I applied to 3 colleges, including Hunter and then I got to make the choice of which school I wanted to attend. I ended going with Rutgers because it would be WAY cheaper for me and I liked the vibe. I say totally reapply but reevaluate why you are going to that school. There are people that can rush applying and get into grad school, but schools like Hunter and Rutgers are way more competitive and their acceptance rates sit around 40% - 50% instead of Columbia's 75% and NYU's 85%. State schools are a great option but they have the option to be way more picky. Weave your narrative of why you should go to that school and why social work (since you are moving to a different area of study). Shop around and be open to going to other schools but make changes and if they see that you improved from last year to this year, then you can definitely have a shot of getting in. They look at each applicant at the time of their submission of the application and compare you to that round of applicants. Also I know current Hunter students and just know that COVID has changed the game of how education and field work is being done. Speak to people, see how they got in, and go from there. Also Hunter is known to be very liberal and woke, but I steer away from politics so I do not know if I can properly answer that question. If it seems too controversial, then it might best left out. Still see if you can speak to current and past students as they would know best. Don't get discouraged and good luck!

I am doing the online blended program focusing on the Area Emphasis on Health. I think I might do the MAP program since I have a lot of experience in advocacy and I enjoy working in policy. What do you plan on doing?

That's really awesome! Congradulations. I did a similar thing you did. I applied 10/30 and heard back 12/10. I already accepted my offer because I did not apply to many school and Rutgers was the one that offered me cheapest tuition with a schedule that works for me.

Hey is there anyone that applied to/ heard back from Rutgers? If you got in, are you going?

Those are fair and legitimate reasons. I looked into Fordham but I find them too pushy. They keep calling me every 4-6 weeks to check on my application. Also when I asked about scholarships, they told me I could qualify for loans, which isn't something I first want to consider. Do you know if they were generous with other students?

I am applying to grad schools for their typical 2 year programs. What is your reasoning for transferring to a different program?