tturtle

Hi! Of course! My memory is a little foggy but I will do my best haha. If I remember correctly, my BSW GPA was around 88-90% in my last two years. I also had two minors (psych + family supports community practice) and was enrolled in a con't education certificate for community engagement. In terms of my work/volunteer experience at the time of application, I didn't realize until maybe halfway into my second year of my BSW that I wanted to apply for my MSW. I had only had one job prior that was relevant to social work and I volunteered briefly at a counselling office and then went abroad for 1 month. From Mar 2020 to Sept-ish 2021, I sort of kicked everything into overdrive. I immediately looked to secure a PT job that was relevant to SW (I ended up getting two). For volunteering, I enrolled/signed up for anything that would give me even just one additional hour per week, and I was able to add seven more experiences to my resume through this. When I applied to UofT they wanted all of my prior work experience on my resume regardless of relevance, even Tim Horton's and random retail experience (my friends and I confirmed with the rep but this could have changed since). In total, I think I had about 11,000~ hours. I was initially set on Western and noticed they asked for professional affiliations/development on their application, so I did a lot of different workshops, webinars, and certifications to add to my resume. I also immediately registered for the OASW as a student ($109), and if you can, I would try to apply for their Student Advisory Group - great opportunity but also great for your application in general. The OASW enrolment will automatically make you a member of the CASW because of the reunification of the OASW into the national federation as of April 2021. Added both of these to my application of course. In total, I had 40+ professional development workshops, certificates, and/or pieces of training on my application. PS. If you're ever wondering about what to add to your application/resume, don't hesitate to confirm with the schools! My friends and I always sent emails because we wanted to be absolutely sure we didn't miss anything. Another big one is reference letters! Make sure they're coming from people who can really speak to who you are as a volunteer, employee, student etc. Having a resume with a lot of hours is great, but having strong reference letters (especially academically) is equally as important. If you have any other questions or would like some additional clarity, just let me know!

Good luck with your applications everyone! It's a stressful but exciting time!! 🥳

Hi everyone! 😊 I remember using this forum when I was applying for my MSW for Fall 2022. I found it super helpful while doing my applications and thought I would post if anyone had any questions regarding apps, schools, reference letters etc! Just for a little background, I applied to York, Carleton U, UofT - Children and Families, Western U, Wilfred Laurier, and Toronto Metropolitan U. I was accepted to all schools except Western where I was waitlisted - I ended up going to U of T (just finished 🥳)! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reply to this or DM me! I would be more than happy to help with your MSW application journey! ❤️

There's a facebook group for adv-standing students! https://www.facebook.com/groups/643658303585790

I'm SO happy for you!! :') ❤️

Sorry, that was for the advanced standing!

Laurier has started sending them out over the weekend!

Just a heads up! The "submitted" portion on SGS doesn't change once a decision comes out (mine hasn't anyway, still says submitted ?) I found out via acorn and then got an email about 3-ish days later

This is adv standing! hmm, I ctrl+f'd "additional" and maybe that will help?

on page 14 of the package

the last two you mentioned should be uploaded to the "Additional Document Requirement from Graduate Unit" which will be at the bottom of the drop-down menu :)

congrats to everyone hearing back!! there's an facebook group for advanced standing U of T students! https://www.facebook.com/groups/643658303585790

Don't feel dumb! Honestly, a lot of people didn't know, so no biggie! In terms of funding outside of OSAP, I really just started going to town on google tbh! It's super tedious searching and writing the essays/statements, gathering references etc but that's the only way I know how to fund mine as well atm ?

Hello! U of T's OGS application closed sometime in late January unfortunately!

You'll typically be informed if you don't get in, so I wouldn't assume the worst just yet! You can check on their website and where all your transcript, statement, resume etc. information was will turn into the offer/acceptance page. Hope that helps!