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UrbanMidwest

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Everything posted by UrbanMidwest

  1. First, the person should take the SAT/ACT. That's the biggest concern. He should go over basic algebra, geometry and maybe some pre-calc. The science section, from what I remember, is just basic earth sciences. I recall that everything that I worked through was given in the question; all my knowledge of physics, chemistry and biology counted for little. The reading section is just comprehension. There's also a writing section. Just tell him to take out an ACT prep book to get use to the pace and format. Second, I came from a BA to MSW, but with several years of work in a non-related field to social work and I was accepted into a program. I did not major in social work. Given this, I do not see the person's undergraduate path as a detriment if his GPA and writing skills are decent. Volunteer work with youth or his population of interest is also a major plus. I take the person has been out of school for a while since high school, so getting back and putting on the "student cap" maybe a challenge. A community college would help him ease into that "cap." If he does well there then he has a chance to transfer into a decent 4-year college. Some community colleges have contracts with certain 4-year institutions where if you meet a certain GPA you're automatically accepted. He should make sure that the college he wants to transfer to has social work as a major, though, in order to be considered for the 1 yr MSW program. After he completes his BSW he's in the same boat as everyone who's applying for a MSW. I don't see his associate degree and the age he'll be when applying (around 28/29) as an issue. We have soldiers returning home from war using their GI Bill and entering Columbia. I know another story of a woman who attended community college then transferred to a 4-year public, applied to medical school, and was accepted in Yale School of Medicine. A 60+ yr old man attended community college, transferred to a 4-year public and is planning on obtaining a master's. There are various paths to the end goal. Your friend's application wouldn't raise red flags if he does well all throughout his undergraduate years. Also, congrats to your friend for wanting to earn a college degree. It seems he knows what he wants and has a good idea on how to go about achieving it. EDIT: I want to add that attending a CC would be a wise choice financially. As with entering the "helping field," the cheaper the program the better - on all levels, be it undergrad and master's. Graduate with the least amount of debt possible on each level.
  2. Hmmm. I wonder what's the name of the education-base company the OP started.
  3. socjobrumors.com What a nasty, nasty bunch.
  4. I suppose it depends on how they're run and how serious the students treat them. From what I gather from others and my experience many labs tend to be "we need to do something to make us look like busy-bodies because we're in a doctoral program!" It also depends on the discipline and the research interests of your fellow peers. I suppose that's where my arrogance comes in - I just think my research interests are far more interesting and relevant than some of my peers. When someone presents a weekly update on Mexican food trucks I just look away; I'm all ears (because she may come to me and ask if I liked it), but I look away for the fear of them seeing my smirk.
  5. Stimulation of the mind ... Okay. You'd think all that stimulation produced a Utopia by now. I believe professors still commuted to their university, at least all of mine did -- two live about an hour away. Depressing happy hours? Speak for yourself. bold - I'm not sure about that. Academia is basically a bubble. Grass is always greener, eh? Don't answer that.
  6. @ediblestrangerI overlooked the internship part. I have no delusions that the unpaid internships will be changed anytime soon, but I won't advocate it based "fair labor practices" since what is fair to one industry is not necessarily fair in another. If agencies cannot afford to pay interns then it's best to set up a fund/scholarship the way CW has done. I am currently contemplating on whether or not I should pursue a MSW due to this realization. I haven't paid anything yet, haven't signed any loans, so I have some time to decide. The only tricky part is withdrawing and telling the dean of my program why. I do want to become a school social worker, later helping in the VA, but I just think the process in order to become one is questionable. I may need to not think about it for a couple of days and later return to the matter.
  7. I'm sorta fine with interns not being paid, but that feeling is geared towards the 2-3 month undergraduate interns during the summer. I was lucky enough to be paid a little over minimum wage for my summer internships (research and as a second PI); these internships were part of research grants. My semester internship at a think tank was also paid labor -- and think tanks are non-profit, at least the one I was at. What leaves me a little bitter is going 8-9 months unpaid for a masters. And you're right: almost nothing is ever done about discussing these social work internships being unpaid. It's as if the M.O. is "If we don't say anything about it maybe they'll go away ... " Crickets are present and fallacious arguments are usually brought forth by instructors and doctoral students. My favorite was "This internship got me my job!" Yea, so did my brother's internship at a Big 4 accounting firm which he was paid for. Then again his industry has a lot of money, so apples to oranges. I want to re-state that upon re-thinking about the unpaid internships I'd be less irritated if field instructors and professors, and whoever, defend the no pay reality based on economic/*industry limitations. You know, reason debate and injecting critical thinking based on how economic systems work. I feel they aren't being honest (or maybe they're just stupid even with a Phd). But it seems like that's frowned upon as opposed to WE MUST ADVOCATE FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE A VOICE. The helping field can't even advocate for it's own workers so it's hard to take such indignation seriously.
  8. You should probably call, not giving two sh*ts about their no-call policy. It makes no sense that all my material was submitted a handful of days after yours yet I receive my decision and you haven't.
  9. @ Sketchitar: My current work place definitely doesn't meet the field criteria, so I'm SOL. If I choose to carry through, and if I'm lucky to get the internship of my choice, it's within the vicinity of my parents so I may just have to move back home with them for the school year. That will at least save me on rent; or maybe I can sleep on the sofa at a friend's place and work out my "rent" by making him meals and doing his laundry... Either way this totally sucks. The reality of an unpaid internship just "hit" me yesterday as I was making my budget for the next two-three years, almost forgetting about my expenses for the fieldwork part. This where I disagree with those overseeing field placements. I honestly consider this an insult. If we apply that exact same reasoning then the graduates of MSW programs should work for free, after all graduates will be working in social services. There is great irony to this. I mean, do you see it as well? Social workers support a "living wage" and then they're expected to live an academic year without pay when pursuing the degree that allows them to practice and gain license. What's worse, $8.50 an hour or nada an hour? Something in the philosophy behind modern day social work is messed up. We aren't entering the religious life. I can understand agencies not having the funds, but work for free because "it's social services"? Give me a break ... And these professors/instructors are employed with full-benefits. The hypocrisy. It doesn't help that the fieldwork is the most important factor of the MSW; without it the MSW is just a wet noodle degree. @ljo377 : That's what bothers me. I'm seriously thinking of dropping out due to this. It's a ludicrous reality. Add on loans geared towards tuition. It's almost completely pathetic. "Help the disadvantage! Work for free for approximately nine months and be as poor as they are before you receive your diploma - with debt, too!" I'd be fine working for free if by the end of the year the program produced Army Rangers and/or Green Berets, but no. At least by that standard you'd be a bonafide bad_ss. EDIT: Upon re-thinking, there's much dissonance, if not flat out ignoring economics, on the side of field instructors, professors and instructors. It's amusing to me that people support the increase of minimum wage, not really taking into account how that would negatively affect the businesses that are forced to implement the new wage (hint: it would lower the number of people hired), yet unpaid internships for social work are defended on "it's an education" but rarely on how a paid intern can eliminate the number of internships available. Social work = a_s backwards & filled with contradictions yet the field will blame it on "society" and how "society doesn't value the helping field." And it's fitting as well, since it's National Equal Pay Day. (Which, the most common narrative being pushed, is false.)
  10. Anyone concentrating in school social work? Is the internship for the school year paid labor or are we expected to work for free for the sake of the children? If it's unpaid, well, I think I'll be dropping out.
  11. The only reason why it's an advantage coming from a BSW background to a MSW is that the coursework is just a continuation of your undergrad. I majored in a sociology and philosophy, entering a MSW program and I don't feel I'm at a disadvantage. If you wrote decent research papers and have decent writing you should be more than prepared on the academic side. Remember, this is social work. Social work. I'd be more concerned with a BSW wanting to enter a terminal degree for, say, philosophy. He'd probably cry and drop out. In my program there are at least 60% of us who have not majored in social work; we have those that majored in psychology, elementary education, history, engineering etc. Social work doesn't necessarily call for a specific background in terms of one's undergraduate major since many of the theories and concepts applied aren't difficult to grasp - there's nothing too abstract to "get." (A little secret for those that haven't majored in social work: You're just taking classes that the undergrads took alongside policy classes. That's why they ask if you've taken statistics and research methods when you apply. Non-finance, accounting, math, econ majors are in a similar situation when they enter an MBA program. In fact, a good MBA program is most likely more intense than even the most intellectual MSW program.)
  12. @Lblatz On my acceptance letter it said I had up until April 27th to notify them of my decision. I understand your anxiety. If I were faced with your dilemma, I personally wouldn't attend DePaul due to the cost unless an assistantship was a possible reality second year. Social work doesn't pay much so going into massive debt is a heavy stone to swallow. As I said in another thread a MSW ROI is the opposite of a prestigious JD or MBA degree, or even medical. Then again, if you like the program and its faculty, it might ease the idea of paying so much. From what I've read there seems to be a few happy graduates that have risen to leadership roles within the state, but that sorta is par for the course for every other decent MSW program. If UIC doesn't work out I'd say wait a year, work and save money. If you believe that UIC is the program that's right for you, at a price that you're willing to pay, then wait a year and re-apply. It's one year -- you may conclude that a MSW is the right professional degree for you or you might realize it's not. EDIT: I see you're from Chicago. I am too. The weather lately has been a bi-polar mess.
  13. Sent my "official admission" decision just an hour ago to UIUC's Graduate College.. I now need to schedule a doctors appointment to get my immunization sheet filled out. Other than that I'm waiting on my FAFSA for 2015-2016 (filled out really late) as well as for summer 2015.
  14. I've read UPenn's DSW FAQ and found out that doctoral students fund their education through loans and "personal resources" aka your own pocket. If the program can't fund its own doctoral students then I'd consider that a big red flag. Honestly, if admissions can't give you a straight answer to, what I guess should be a common question. I'd mark that as a warning sign. Also, on UPenn's reason for the creation of the program left me skeptical and wanting more out of their reasoning. UPenn's DSW FAQ A little OT: I was on another institution's website checking out the plethora of M.A. degrees in their College of Education -- yikes! It seems like they had a masters for every thing they thought of under the sun.
  15. The last of my application was finished the day it was due, so Jan. 15th. Just in time. Phew. And thank you! I hope you get a notification soon.
  16. Just received my acceptance via email this morning.
  17. Nope, nothing on my status. I emailed the admissions office about a week ago and no response. Based on what you wrote and what others have written, UIC's process of notification is downright strange and inconsistent. Phone calls a few days after applying, emails, one month late of said notification through snail mail ... Their modus operandi sucks.
  18. I'll be a distance student so I already have a divide between the full-time students in my program! Since that's my situation undergraduate students aren't on my radar.
  19. I'll be in the MSW program - their Outreach Program which is mostly online, to be exact - so I'll be staying put in Chicago until Jan. 2018 when it's mandatory to be on-campus for a single semester.
  20. Go to the less expensive program. You're paying for a MSW, not an MBA. The ROI for a sector that pays pathetically poor is not worth insurmountable debt, even if the difference is16K.It would be a different picture if you're talking about an MBA from Rutger vs Columbia. In this case, forget the Ivy name; prestige is just hot air. No one really cares in the social work profession unless you want to do academia or international work (even then it seems negligible). You're getting the same degree once you graduate and the same qualifications once you're licensed. Remember, you're going into debt for a Masters in Social Work. The last time I heard social workers weren't making north of 50K after five years in the field (and that's after two college degrees).
  21. @ Lblatz: There's a hashtag for acceptances? Huh. Cool. But yea, I hope you find out soon. One would think Jane Addams CSW has this system done since it's a sought after program within the state of Illinois, but it doesn't seem like it. I've read older threads saying UIC is horrible with notifications. As stated I have up until March 29th to notify UIUC, so unless UIC responds with a yes or no till next Monday I'll be pushed to accept UIUC's offer, the more expensive program. On the good side the admission people at UIUC have been very responsive and clear. They actual kept to their time frame when dishing out notifications.
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