DD2021

I emailed Windsor today to get an update on my MSWwp application (in process on January 13), here is their reply:
 
Thank you for your email. Your application is in the final stages of the admission process. At this time, the Office of Graduate Studies is dealing with a large volume of files which has caused delays in our processing timeline and do not have an estimate when the applicants will be notified. When an admission decision is made, it will be notified to you by email. Thank you for your patience.

More experience is never a bad thing. From my experience I've seen several successful non-BSW applicants who also completed a SSW diploma or something similar. It shows the admissions committee your interest in social work and your dedication to learning. A SSW may open up new volunteering/work opportunities for you as well. If you go the route of a diploma, I would recommend choosing something you are genuinely interested in. And, if you get accepted to the York program or get off the waitlist for UofT, you can just withdraw your place in the SSW program. 
Feel free to correct me if you are already doing this, but have you considered volunteering for a distress line/crisis intervention service? My connection at UofT said that my >1500 hours on the crisis text line was more than enough on its own to make my application competitive. This is a great way to gain direct client experience and teaches you crisis intervention skills. The Kids Help Phone crisis text line is also pretty flexible, you do it from home on your computer and you can do your hours at any time (they ask for a minimim of 4 hours/week for the first year). 
Relatedly, my UofT connect told me it's easier to get into the advanced standing MSW vs. 2-year MSW at UofT, as there are fewer applicants. 

Yeah of course! I had some experience doing research, I had worked two short-term contracts at non-profits doing grant writing, advocacy and communication. I volunteered with a non-profit in a community outreach/organizer role for a while and a crisis text line. When the York PD-BSW application was due I had 2 months of shelter experience which didn't make it onto my MSW application because the deadline was much earlier. York is SUPER social justice based, so I focused my application on systemic issues of the youth homeless shelter system. I would highly recommend chat lines like KidsHelpPhone or Greater Toronto Distress Centre. It can be heavy and challenging but super relevant experience and a great way to get your foot in the door to other jobs working directly with people. Front line jobs are a great starting point as well, I have now worked in the shelter system for over a year and held a counselling job for a while which set me up to get an amazing practicum placement
Honestly, do the best you can, sometimes it feels frustrating doing things without immediately seeing results but it's all cumulative, and any experience you can get through work or volunteering makes you a stronger applicant and social worker! 

I'm also interested in the collaborative specializations, either the community development or sexual diversity studies. But my main question is the program only indicates students take 2 electives, meaning those would have to go entirely to the collaborative specialization? There are so many useful electives that I feel I'd be missing out on. Does anyone happen to know if students are permitted to take more than 2 electives, i.e., graduate with more than the minimum required credits? 

Hey! I had 1 reference from a prof and 2 from work experiences! A tip i would give is to have your references look at the questions they have to answer before hand. Walk them through the process and let them know what to expect, I find doing this helps them write a strong reference for you. If you have many options to choose from as your references, then I would choose people who you had a strong professional relationship with and know the quality of your work.  Let me know if you have other questions. fingers crossed for you

Hi all,
Just wanted to mention that I was waitlisted for UofT's 2-year MSW program and I'll be turning down the offer. I got accepted into a counselling psychology program instead so I hope this will help those who are also waitlisted as well :,)
Best of luck to everyone!!

Hey there long time lurker myself, I want to validate that it sounds like from your back ground that social work is really where you need to be! Whether that is with U of T or Yorkville is a matter of your needs and goals.
In that, yes one school does have a wildly better reputation than the other and it still may not be a good fit for you. With this, if you are only planning on entering private practice Yorkville should be fine.
Hot take maybe: it is my experience that most individuals seeking therapy do not know the difference between the schooling of an MSW and counselling psychology within private practice. They're really just concerned with who they vibe with and if they are knowledgeable enough to help them. And so where you graduated matters little.
However, if you are planning to pursue further schooling or social work specific employmemt Yorkville may very much hinder you, as some institutions may specify a counselling psych background not enough. Further, Yorkville particularly, (and I won't mince words here) I have always heard it referred to as the school people go to if they cannot get in anywhere else.
As I said it really comes down to what is best for you and your goals. Good luck!
I hope this helps!

Congrats on your two offers! In terms of what would look better on paper, it would almost certainly be being a Registered Social Worker with an MSW from UofT (school rep, greater employability, etc.). 
In terms of financially, this is hard to say. Yorkville tuition is more expensive. But you'd have to factor in Toronto rent/living expenses if you chose UofT. So you'd have to do some extra calculations to determine how Toronto rent/living expenses + tuition compares to just paying Yorkville's tuition.
In terms of your post-grad career, yes Yorkville doesn't have a great rep, but I know people (my therapist)/have heard several other people mention that they know Registered Psychotherapists who graduated from Yorkville. So I would say many people don't have a serious issue meeting the required supervised hours to become registered. And once you're registered, the school you went to won't really matter. So if staying home is really important to you (and you don't want to reject both schools and try your luck with Laurier's online MSW next year), then I don't necessarily think it would be career suicide choosing Yorkville. 
But if you can handle ~ 1.5 years in Toronto, then I would lean towards UofTs MSW as I think most would objectively consider it a stronger program than the Yorkville counselling MA. 

Hey everyone! I’ve officially heard from all the schools I applied to and thought I’d share with you guys my results in order of when I heard!
Disclaimer: I applied as a full time advanced standing applicant for all the schools
Ryerson - Waitlisted UofT - Waitlisted Waterloo - Rejected Western (King's) - Initially waitlisted then offered admissions York - Offered admissions Laurier - Rejected To those who have yet to hear or who are currently on the waitlist, do not lose hope. My personal experience and results show that just because you're rejected somewhere doesn't mean you'll be rejected everywhere, and just because you've been waitlisted doesn't mean you'll never be able to get off it. This whole process is extremely stressful and I hope you’re all taking care of yourselves. Please do not give up hope❤️

Woww sooooooo officially received an offer of acceptance into York! I am very excited!!!
I have been applying over 7 years to clinical (in the meantime completed a masters in personality and measurement, and have been working as a research assistant over the past 3.5 years, with ample publication opportunities). 
Also... if any others are headed to Toronto and would like a roommate, or even someone else to shop housing with for moral support, please let me know. Toronto living on a student wage might be a ~*struggle*~. 
Hope all of you are holding up - this process is very stressful and it can be so difficult not to take rejections as a reflection of personal competence/worth. I was so close to giving up this dream, but I am honestly grateful for the time it took because I feel so much more prepared now. Best of luck to everybody ❤️

Hey all, got my waitlist email from UofT 2 year MSW as well. I've already accepted my offer to King's, so just wanted to let people know I'll be rejecting UofT and thus making the waitlist a little bit shorter ? congrats to everyone who got accepted, and good luck to everyone still waiting. Please don't give up!

I got accepted into UofT MSW (fourth attempt). UofT was my top choice because of location (I can't move super far from Toronto/want to keep my current job as part time during grad school), I know many UofT social workers who have great careers in my areas of interests, they have 5 streams which helps you specialize into your area of interest (I'm choosing Mental Health/Health), and they usually have great practicum placements available (esp. Clinical-focused placements).
 
Overall UofT is very clinical-focused which is ideal for people who want to work in hospitals/practice in clinical settings and do therapy. Other schools have different foci like social justice, macro practice/policy, and others are more generalist. 
 
Forgot to add but another poster reminded me - this is one of the few programs that have a non-BSW program and they have a much bigger cohort (140 vs. 25-30). 

I got accepted into UofT MSW (fourth attempt). UofT was my top choice because of location (I can't move super far from Toronto/want to keep my current job as part time during grad school), I know many UofT social workers who have great careers in my areas of interests, they have 5 streams which helps you specialize into your area of interest (I'm choosing Mental Health/Health), and they usually have great practicum placements available (esp. Clinical-focused placements).
 
Overall UofT is very clinical-focused which is ideal for people who want to work in hospitals/practice in clinical settings and do therapy. Other schools have different foci like social justice, macro practice/policy, and others are more generalist. 
 
Forgot to add but another poster reminded me - this is one of the few programs that have a non-BSW program and they have a much bigger cohort (140 vs. 25-30). 

I got accepted into UofT MSW (fourth attempt). UofT was my top choice because of location (I can't move super far from Toronto/want to keep my current job as part time during grad school), I know many UofT social workers who have great careers in my areas of interests, they have 5 streams which helps you specialize into your area of interest (I'm choosing Mental Health/Health), and they usually have great practicum placements available (esp. Clinical-focused placements).
 
Overall UofT is very clinical-focused which is ideal for people who want to work in hospitals/practice in clinical settings and do therapy. Other schools have different foci like social justice, macro practice/policy, and others are more generalist. 
 
Forgot to add but another poster reminded me - this is one of the few programs that have a non-BSW program and they have a much bigger cohort (140 vs. 25-30). 

I got accepted into UofT MSW (fourth attempt). UofT was my top choice because of location (I can't move super far from Toronto/want to keep my current job as part time during grad school), I know many UofT social workers who have great careers in my areas of interests, they have 5 streams which helps you specialize into your area of interest (I'm choosing Mental Health/Health), and they usually have great practicum placements available (esp. Clinical-focused placements).
 
Overall UofT is very clinical-focused which is ideal for people who want to work in hospitals/practice in clinical settings and do therapy. Other schools have different foci like social justice, macro practice/policy, and others are more generalist. 
 
Forgot to add but another poster reminded me - this is one of the few programs that have a non-BSW program and they have a much bigger cohort (140 vs. 25-30). 

I got accepted into UofT MSW (fourth attempt). UofT was my top choice because of location (I can't move super far from Toronto/want to keep my current job as part time during grad school), I know many UofT social workers who have great careers in my areas of interests, they have 5 streams which helps you specialize into your area of interest (I'm choosing Mental Health/Health), and they usually have great practicum placements available (esp. Clinical-focused placements).
 
Overall UofT is very clinical-focused which is ideal for people who want to work in hospitals/practice in clinical settings and do therapy. Other schools have different foci like social justice, macro practice/policy, and others are more generalist. 
 
Forgot to add but another poster reminded me - this is one of the few programs that have a non-BSW program and they have a much bigger cohort (140 vs. 25-30). 

I got accepted into UofT MSW (fourth attempt). UofT was my top choice because of location (I can't move super far from Toronto/want to keep my current job as part time during grad school), I know many UofT social workers who have great careers in my areas of interests, they have 5 streams which helps you specialize into your area of interest (I'm choosing Mental Health/Health), and they usually have great practicum placements available (esp. Clinical-focused placements).
 
Overall UofT is very clinical-focused which is ideal for people who want to work in hospitals/practice in clinical settings and do therapy. Other schools have different foci like social justice, macro practice/policy, and others are more generalist. 
 
Forgot to add but another poster reminded me - this is one of the few programs that have a non-BSW program and they have a much bigger cohort (140 vs. 25-30). 

Just got waitlisted for UofT 2 Year Program. My first time applying, last name starts with an S and I got the email at 1:39 p.m. I heard the waitlist is unranked bc if someone rejects their offer, they'll find someone with a similar candidate profile. For example, if you have lots of research experience but less field experience, they'll find someone on the waitlist with those same qualities to offer the acceptance to. 
Still waiting to hear back from the York 2 Year MSW program. Has anyone heard anything yet? 

I JUST GOT ACCEPTED TO YORKS AS!!!! AND while I was on the phone with Pip I got an email from Western offering me admissions. I AM SHOCKED. I literally thought it was over for me seeing that everyone had already heard back. PLEASE do not give up hope guys! 

My status still says Submitted as well when I first log in. However it says I have a status update when I actually open the application. 

One thing I would also say, is to pour your all into the personal statement and make sure you're references are really good. I do think the writing style is super important as well. that was one tip about uoft i recieved from this site. Feel free to message as well. This was my first time applying.

I gained A LOT more experience, I had an additional 3000 hours compared to when I applied last year (basically double). I am honestly shocked I got in after how tough last year was. I don't have super competitive grades either. My overall GPA was around 78/79% and in my last two years I had around an 88%. Feel free to msg me if you'd like to talk a bit more

I've been a longtime lurker of this thread and last years. I was accepted to UofT 2 year stream yesterday, along with many other people. I know people with last names starting with S, T, K and C that were also all accepted yesterday. Our letters were all dated the 23rd though.
I know it's super hard to be in limbo right now, and it definitely feels like a repeat of last year when I got waitlisted lmao. UofT def isn't the kindest when it comes to this process. I'm not quite sure how many people got accepted this year but I think that they are probably done going through the alphabet now, and will likely be sending out waitlist in the next week or two, followed by rejections

My status still says Submitted as well when I first log in. However it says I have a status update when I actually open the application. 

Anyone accepted into UofT 2 year want to make a Whatsapp group ?