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SearchForMeaning

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Everything posted by SearchForMeaning

  1. SearchForMeaning
    I strongly agree with you, Saf. This has been my first year applying for an MSW, and I was also thankfully accepted at U of T. On a certain level, I feel humbled (yet weirdly audacious?) for applying and having been accepted, despite coming from a different educational background (undergrad in poli-sci + law degree) and practically zero social work-related experience... especially when I hear how much direct social work-related experience many people on this forum have. I am positive that what got me in was not so much my resume or grades or professional work experiences by themselves, but how I was able to relate my past experiences to my present desire to practice social work, and the unique ways in which the "unique I" would be useful to the profession....I think that being able to clearly articulate this will necessarily come from the personal experience and reflection that you do for your own personal career planning, moreso than being just something you say in an application to improve your chances of getting in.... Anywho, If the admissions committee relied solely on my grades + resume, I am 100% sure I would have been declined if only because nothing about me "on paper" has anything remotely to do with social work. I think that making a compelling case for why you want to be in social work, and how your experiences/skillset/insights would make you a valid contribution to the profession, is really what makes the difference in your application moreso than your experiences themselves.
  2. SearchForMeaning
    I also just got the official acceptance letter from the 2-year MSW at U of T (you get an email indicating there has been a 'change' to your application on the SGS portal, and you can view the letter there).. last name starts with C. Reposting the facebook group made for the 2023-2025 cohort, that was posted by someone else a few pages back: https://www.facebook.com/groups/595433832254424/
  3. SearchForMeaning
    That's me too. I'm not 100% sure but would sure think that it means you're accepted. It would make little sense for the university to set up your ACORN account so that you can pay the deposit (and possibly do so), only for the faculty to tell you a few days later that your waitlisted or rejected.
  4. SearchForMeaning
    Taken from ACORN homepage on my phone
  5. SearchForMeaning
    It looks like decisions at U of T 2-year track program are coming out. Nothing on my main application page but now there is an "Invited" status icon on ACORN!
  6. SearchForMeaning
    I hear you. With the greatest exercise of self-control that I could muster, I've committed myself to "only" check my ACORN 4 times a day 😅
  7. SearchForMeaning
    I think you're very likely right.... the timing of me getting that arbitrary notification threw me off, considering that admission decision might just come any day now!
  8. SearchForMeaning
    Lol we are all overanalyzing. With that said, I still think it would be a huge pain for an admission committee to go out and obtain official transcripts on behalf of 800+ applicants, so I really do like to think that they would only go through the trouble for applicants they are seriously considering admitting. But the timing very likely means nothing, my last name initial is C and I got the same message you got just today.
  9. SearchForMeaning
    Yes that's right! Knowing you got it back in january completely defeats my theory of this message meaning anything. It is a strange message too, because I also submitted a scanned copy of an official transcript, and submitted it as such.. so they had an "official" transcript all along.
  10. SearchForMeaning
    I applied for the 2-year regular track MSW at U of T. This could be and likely is completely insignificant - but I just got an automatic message that my undergraduate transcript (also from U of T) has been received (when I submitted the application, I sent a scanned copy of an official transcript; but evidently the admissions committee went out and obtained an original themselves). My thinking is that the admissions committee would not go through the trouble of requesting official transcripts for every single applicant (i.e.: hundreds of applicants might be deemed non-competitive off the gate; why go through the administrative nightmare of obtaining official transcripts from their respective universities... makes sense to make such requests only when they are whittling down to the pool of people they will admit or put in a competitive spot on the waitlist). Could be a total red herring but its nice to finally see some slightest pulse of movement on my application!
  11. SearchForMeaning
    Hey, I am totally not qualified to give really good advice since Im just an applicant myself, and dont know the full details of your finances (i.e.: how big of an immediate financial impact on your lifestyle does the UofT vs. York decision makes for you)... I will assume that the financial-factor is a survivable one for you. All I can say (having done an unrelated graduate program before), is that the school you go to; the courses offered, and the people you meet, will very likely shape your career trajectory in ways you cant really expect or map-out in advance... that's just the nature of starting a career in a new field where you are still exploring the ways you can use a professional degree! If one school offers you more promising opportunities/courses in your area of interest, I like to think it usually pans out well in the long-run, even if it costs $20k or more so than the other option. Putting all that aside, I am also someone who is child & family focused and for that, the course offerings and faculty of U of T blew me away. So I can appreciate your perspective & dilemma.
  12. SearchForMeaning
    Hello everyone, A little bit of background on me before I dive into the topic of this thread itself. I live in Toronto, and have applied to 2-year ("regular track") MSW programs offered in GTA universities. Applying for an MSW is a career change for me (I'm currently in law), and a fairly "stark" one, in that it's a decision that isn't based on my work experiences per se, but other personal experiences which give me a strong gut feeling that social work is a field that I will generally find more satisfaction and purpose in (at least for me!) than conventional legal roles. I am going into this field with an open mind, but what has motivated the decision to apply for an MSW in the first place is the prospect of doing clinical social work practice. I am still working effectively full-time in law (but on a 4-day per week schedule), but while I wait to see if I get accepted into the programs I applied to, I wanted to take up an additional volunteer or part-time work commitment that at least helps give me some sense of what social-work-adjacent work is like, and the different ways I can use an MSW. This where I turn to you: does anybody have any good experiences or insights to share regarding volunteer or part-time work opportunities (1-2 days a week) they've had in the past, either before or during MSW studies, in Toronto? Specifically: the type of positions you do not need BSW/MSW qualifications for? If there is anything that approaches counselling-type work, all the better. Simply diving into a volunteer/job search online and applying to whatever random places/positions I can find is a little overwhelming. Even just a good word or two about anyone's previous volunteer/work experiences, and what they gained from it, might help start giving me a better sense of where to look Thanks in advance for reading and responding!
  13. SearchForMeaning
    Without giving you a long-winded sob-story (which it isn't!) I am counting on this single program to jump-start a pretty heavy-duty career change.... as I'm in my early 30s, with my family finances & child-planning outlook for the next few years hanging in the balance (somewhat).. Suffice to state, this has been one of the most painful waiting games in my life😅😅
  14. SearchForMeaning
    Hey - I thought your comment about applying for the regular 2 year track MSW program at U of T, with a specialization stream (gerontology) was curious. I had understood that when applying for the 2-year program, you don't actually pick a stream until late in the first year of studies.. I know that in the application they ask you to 'select a stream' but I assumed thats just to gauge different applicants' prospective interests, but it's not as though you are committing yourself to a stream at this stage. Do I have that right or is there something I am missing?
  15. SearchForMeaning
    Thanks for answering and best of luck. I applied for the UofT two-year stream... the wait is gruesome for all of us!
  16. SearchForMeaning
    Hi there -- may I ask whether the waitlisting for U of T was for the advanced standing MSW or the regular track? Thanks!
  17. SearchForMeaning
    There's no harm in emailing the admissions department and asking if they can give you some substantive reason, so that you can know how to improve your chances for next year..
  18. SearchForMeaning
    I can only respond to the "part-time work question". My answer may be annoying (in that its a long way of saying "it depends"), and I say it without having done an MSW (just applying), but having gone through professional school (law). I am trying to be helpful based on that. I cannot imagine an MSW (or any post-graduate degree, for that matter) being so rigorous that it is practically impossible to juggle some degree of part time work (i.e.: a 10-24 hour/week commitment), while going through life's basics (e.g. sleep and modest amounts of social time and down time). The main question is, what limits do you set for your own week to week schedule; what are your priorities?... Every person's week/month rhythm is a balancing of school/work/volunteer work & extra curriculars/personal maintenance (eat/sleep/exercise etc.)/social and family life (possibly child care) and personal recreation or development. For example, I spent my years during law school not working part-time, but taking on a a handful legal volunteer work experiences (sucking up about 14-20 hours a week or so), while doing fulltime courses, and having a pretty fulsome social life and self-care routine. I prioritized the volunteer work because these opportunities seemed to be richer for my professional development, as a lawyer, than any paid-work experiences that were available (and fortunately for me, I had saved up enough money + had a line of credit and OSAP + a little bit of parental help to get me through financially). Even this schedule meant cutting corners (not going to every single class or doing every single reading; having a home that's messier than I would like, a somewhat erratic non-ideal sleep schedule that I could still function with etc.)... And I've met people in school who did more or less what I did, while holding down a 8-16hour/week part-time job on the side, and doing perfectly fine in class; they just probably cut corner elsewhere (e.g, more modest social life perhaps? being content with average grades? less sleep more coffee?) I think its safe to assume that even if you are a fairly diligent/efficient/organized/focused student, a grad program (class + study + assignments), would take up at least a solid 40-50 hours a week, and more during crunch times... I would be skeptical if someone were to say that being an "average grade student" for most grad programs would routinely require 55+ hours a week of coursework/study. Anyways, what is most important (and psychologically sustainable) for you to do during the remaining 118 hours (assuming 50 hours of coursework) in the week is truly and wholly up to you, and your own personal priorities. But as a function of basic math, yes one could hold a part-time job and survive grad school.
  19. SearchForMeaning
    Ditto for me
  20. SearchForMeaning
    Hi everyone, Nice to see so many eager and inspiring people applying for an MSW! I am new to the Grad Cafe and it is also my first time applying to any MSW program. I'm curious if anyone might have some feedback/knowledge/insights on two points. 1. I applied to the U of T two-year MSW, and am wondering if there has historically been a period of time (e.g. January or February??) when acceptances start coming in. 2. I reckon I'm probably somewhat of a unicorn applicant (for better or worse!). I am a lawyer who has been practicing law for roughly four years. During those years it's been civil litigation of different kinds (mainly defending healthcare professionals in malpractice lawsuits) but during my three years of law school I did several thousand hours of volunteering and paid work in legal clinics (serving low income populations and federal inmates on legal issues commonly faced by those populations, many of which you can say are "social justice" issues).. I am hoping to apply to an MSW since over time I recognize that my own personal interests/career aspirations are more in line with a 'helping profession' that has a psychological element. Even in undergrad (over 8 years ago) I had an interest in clinical social work and psychotherapy (and took some basic psychology electives during my pol-sci / philosophy undergrad) but ultimately pursued law. In short, I am now revisiting the career crossroads I faced in late undergrad ? while I have an abundance of professional working and volunteering experience, I do not have any 'clinical' or formal 'social work' experience, though I like to think I have experience in other fields that more or less require the same soft skills.. overall I have NO IDEA of what my relative prospects are for getting into an MSW now! I guess I'm just wondering whether there's anyone in this forum who has applied for or actually has an MSW when coming from another generally 'humanistic' professional working background, but not necessarily adjacent to social work. Any experiences/insights would be great to hear! Best of luck to all in the admissions process!
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