Wishing

Hmm, I have the exact same award info you do. I do wonder what the balance is - the other schools I got finaid info from were split... one included PLUS/alternative loans and the other just assumed those would make up the balance and didn't record them. I wonder which Michigan is. It actually isn't that late here and now I am off to see the midnight showing of The Hunger Games. Lol, I need something to distract me from the non-decision I already made.

Congrats on having scholarship stuff up! What tab specifically are you looking under? I perused a couple of mine and didn't see anything posted, but Wolverine Access gives me hives because there are so many damn tabs so I'm not exactly sure where to look and I'm not focused enough to ensure I'm clicking every single place. I know I sound like a dumb*** (it will be a miracle if I win a scholarship at all with this level of critical thinking skills...) but seriously... where am I looking, exactly?

Briefinterviews, I couldn't agree more. While I may wish that in a perfect world prestige would matter less and/or that prestigious educations were more readily accessible, the reality is that it does matter in our society. How much it matters depends very much on the field and one's personal goals, but even then there is no denying it has an impact, especially early in one's career. Of course having integrity and working hard and developing a network are skills essentially to a promising career in any field. I would never dispute that, and as someone who feels I possess those qualities I can point to the ways they have already helped me outpace my peers since graduating from college. HOWEVER, and this is a huge caveat, I absolutely DO NOT think that peopl eget ahead in our society by working hard. In fact, implying that anyone can achieve their dreams if they just work hard enough borders on irresponsible given the type of social justice and equity concerns that we as social workers will need to be attentive to throughout our careers. Please let's not invoke the whole American Dream thing and equal opportunity for all. We can certainly challenge those structures, but considering that none of us will successfully break down those barriers for all of our society within our own lifetimes, I think it behooves us to make conscious choices and be responsible with the power we are given as a virtue of our positions of relative authority. If that means using a highly-ranked degree program to pull strings in the political world that is a choice to make. If that means attending a less well-known school and receiving a to-notch clinical education that is another choice to make. What annoys me about this board in general is that many posters repeatedly make claims about social work education that are highly contingent and dependent upon areas of focus or their own opinions and then use those claims and opinions to devalue the choices of others. How about I make clear that I am in no way suggesting it is less desirable to go to a public or lower ranked program but also that I also do not (to quote) have my "head up my ***" in my choice to go to the program I identify as most closely meeting my own career and educational goals. Quite the judgey crowd.

Haha, yes, I figured we both would! I thought an acceptance from Michigan would make me waver on BU, but instead it's emphasizing exactly how much my original personal "rankings" of the programs I applied to have changed over time. I'm really happy with my decision. Now, if I somehow get tons of aid from Michigan maybe that will change my mind, but it's likely to just make me more bitter about the financial aid situation at BU. I'm out of state, so without significant scholarship money from Michigan BU will still make the most financial sense. I am still waiting on the National and Community Scholars program decision, so there's that. I haven't been rejected, at least. It would be hard to turn down a big scholarship like that, but the more I consider moving to actually attend the programs the more I'm reissiting the idea of doing an off-location field placement like NCS requires. It seems like more of a headache than it's worth, even with the prestige of having a named fellowship. Blah. Maybe I am more confused than I thought.

Just got my decision from Michigan off of Wolverine. I'm in. Still no email or finaid info. I am so frustrated. I know it's not the right school for me, but I hate that the application process took so long that I've already committed to another school. Serious reforms are in order for the way MSW programs do admissions. :/

Thanks for the heads up! I love Michigan but I'm not so impressed by the response times, especially since it sounds like they didn't send your financial aid info with your acceptance.

Congrats, Kristi! I am still waiting, of course. Really I just want to see if I get in, and I haven't received a rejection from the National Community Scholars program, either, which is interesting. I am still probsbly going to BU though. I don't think anything Michigan says would sway me at this point.

I said this in another thread so I'l say it here again: I know many other people disagree with this on the board, but as a macro focused student I very much believe that where you attend school will affect your career options and this is at least somewhat tied to the cost issue. many of the less expensive schools do not offer strong macro skills to their students. In all but a small number of schools, mostly those schools that are more expensive/bigger name (although I think this is incidental and/or due to strong public policy schools located there as well), the macro courses are at the minimum required for social work accrediting. Other schools allow a more involved and well-rounded macro education. Yeah, these schools are typically more expensive, but I would not feel confident in my career path if I didn't think I would get the preparation I needed at the school I chose. I have been working in nonprofits for a while, so I know a little bit about what organizations are looking for in new hires and to me it's worth it to pay a little bit more to get the best education I can in my area of interest. This may not be true for clinical, but for macro-oriented jobs, especially in nonprofits and policy, MSW grads will be competing with graduates from a bunch of other types of programs, including public policy and public/nonprofit administration and those are fields where prestige matters (especially policy). An MSW in that case is a slightly nontraditional path to the same career as grads in other fields and thus MSW grads need to have a strong background in the macro area of their choice (or a broad range of macro skills). I plan to borrow around 70k. I don't have very much remaining on my undergrad loas (like 5k) so that impacted my decision. As a married student in a dual grad student and eventually dual earner household, I think I am a bit less debt adverse than most of the other posters here. My wife and I have a lot of experience saving large amounts of money on small salaries in HCOL areas and given our prior success with this I feel good about our ability to pay off debt jointly and quickly. Depending on the income-based repayments we may decide it makes more sense to draw out the federal loans for a bit longer after we hit the 6th or 7th year of snowball repayment... I don't know yet. What I do know is that the two of us working to pay down our debt together gives us a lot more strength than I'd have on my own. It's also worth noting that both of us are choosing school and the cost of school over things like having kids (not interested), buying a house (not interested and not practical), staying in one location (we're willing to move for jobs and opportunities), etc. It is a trade-off. I've had people with babies tell me I was insane for taking loans to get an MSW, but over the course of their lifetime they will easily pay that much and more in the cost of caring for their child, even with the cost of my interest on the loans. It's a matter of priorities. Everyone has different priorities and I can honestly say that I don't think there is a right or wrong on this one. Just my 2c. I have a lot of opinions, so take it for what it's worth.

I think prestige is only important s it relates to your ability to get what you need out of your education. As a macro student, that does mean giving schools like Columbia serious thought, because there aren't really many good alternatives at less expensive schools. For clinical students it seems the consensus is a little bit different, but I don't think that is cut and dry either. People on this board are obsessed with the "where you go to school doesn't matter" thing, which is smart frrom a debt perspective if it brings you to a less expensive school, but it's not the only thing that matters to me as I make my choice. I considered cost of the program, the strength of the program in the areas I wantd to study in, reputation in the region or city it's located in/I intend to practice in, quality of life for me and my family in the area the school is located in, and the cost of living. For what it's worth, I did end up turning down Columia because the high cost of living in NYC combined with the high cost of the program itself (need-based aid wasn't really enough to offset this, even though I got their max award) and the fact that they separate out nonprofit admin from policy in their macro branches (I want to do a combo of both) made it not the right choice for me. Good luck making your decision!

Well, I am in a slightly different situation than most in that my wife and I are both planning to be in graduate school at the same time next year. She will be finishing up her PhD and I will be starting my MSW. We will both graduate in 2014. The loan payback for us is pretty simple - we plan to use our combined income to pay off our loans jointly. We currently live on one of our salaries and save the other, but once we've both graduated our earning potential will increase substantially (even in a worst case scenario we will easily make 2x what we make now) and instead of saving vigorously like we do now we'd put one full salary toward loan repayment. I am also planning to go into nonprofits, so I hope to be able to take advantage of some of the loan forgiveness programs there, as well as the new income-based repayment. We have been living on a pretty strict budget these last two years in a VERY high cost of living area and have managed to do pretty well, so I am confident that we have the financial/budgeting skills it will take to pay down debt effectively. We also plan to be mobile for a number of years post-graduation, so we're willing to move for jobs and delay things like buying a house. Oh, and we'll be childless probably forever but at least within the next 10 years, so that kind of off-sets the cost of education. For us it's about prioritizing the things we feel are important and we both care a lot about our educations and not so much about other things we could potentially spend money on. Tangentially, and I know many other people disagree with this on the board, but as a macro focused student I very much believe that where you attend school will affect your career options. This may not be true for clinical, but for macro-oriented jobs, especially in nonprofits and policy, MSW grads will be competing with graduates from a bunch of other types of programs, including public policy and public/nonprofit administration. An MSW in that case is a slightly nontraditional path to the same career as grads in other fields and thus MSW grads need to have a strong background in the macro area of their choice (or a broad range of macro skills). Again, I know people on this board say repeatedly that where you go to school essentially doesn't matter, but many of the less expensive schools do not offer strong macro skills to their students. In all but a small number of schools, mostly those schools that are more expensive/bigger name (although I think this is incidental and/or due to strong public policy schools located there as well), the macro courses are at the minimum required for social work accrediting. Other schools allow a more involved and well-rounded macro education. Yeah, these schools are typically more expensive, but I would not feel confident in my career path if I didn't think I would get the preparation I needed at the school I chose. I have been working in nonprofits for a while, so I know a little bit about what organizations are looking for in new hires and to me it's worth it to pay a little bit more to get the best education I can in my area of interest. Just my 2c. I have a lot of opinions, so take it for what it's worth.

Hi Spmoran, Congrats on your acceptance! It sounds like we're in the same boat re: financial aid. I did fill out the "alternate computation" form in my original application. I am moving cross-country to attend BU and do not intend to have a job my first year in the program. I'll look for something part-time, but no guarantees so I didn't record anything. I just explained the situation, that I was moving, that I don't anticipate any income during my time as a student, etc. To be honest it didn't seem to help that much with the financial aid office. I am underemployed right now and qualified for the max financial aid from Columbia (need based.) But BU finaid office basically told me they don't care about the need aspect (in nicer words, but that was the jist) and they only do merit-based scholarships. Are you definitely attending BU next year? If so, very exciting! We'll be in the same class.

Haha, yes I can respond further in PMs if you'd like. If anyone else is curious just let me know and I can post it here as well. I know I learned a lot reading through the tangents of various threads and hearing what people had to say.

No problem! I've needed it plenty along the way. I definitely hear you on the CA schools... I am actually in CA right now and I am really wishing I liked the programs at the Cal State schools! Alas, they are pretty weak on the macro, at least in terms of the things I am looking for in a program. UCLA and Berkeley seem a little better on that front, although it looks like they really push doing the dual public policy/msw degree, which doesn't make sense to me financially. I didn't think BC really had a macro focus, but I may be wrong. I am gay and interested in working with LGBT youth, so Jesuit isn't really what I was looking for. UChicago is a REALLY good option - they have a great macro program and from what other posters on the board have reported, it seems like great financial aid/scholarships. I also totally relate to what you are saying about the prices, although my perspective is almost the complete opposite - I figure if my partner and I can make it living on what we do now we'll pay back the loans no problem once we're employed, even at the "worst case scenario" salaries. We're pretty mobile and willing to move for emoloyment, so I'm pretty confident. Or stupid... either way. Seriously good luck to you. Who knows, maybe I am 100% wrong and you will get a bunch of aid and I have no idea what I am talking about! That would be cool, right?

Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that. I don't think my FAFSA was a factor... I am in a similar situation to you in that I am very low-income and I qualify for the max amount for Stafford loans. Columbia gave me the max amount of aid they offer and that was income based. I told BU basically the same thing you are saying: I really want to attend and it's my first choice, but I can't really afford it without scholarships. They basically told me I was out of luck and that the scholarships are based on merit and not need. I have to suck it up or not go, which isn't an option for me right now. I am underemployed and I really need to just get my master's and be done with it, even if I have to borrow to do that. If you don't mind my asking, what other programs would you have applied for if you'd had the time? I ask only because I know BU and Columbia both have good programs for the international focus but I'm not familiar with the other programs that are strong in that concentration. Having seen the what the BU and Columbia financials looks like side by side BU is still cheaper even with max aid from Columbia, so that is something to keep in mind. Other than that, perhaps next year would be your year! I know it's really discouraging to hear. I almost cried when I saw I didn't have any scholarships because to be honest I thought I was a perfect fit for a lot of the ones described on BU's website and they made it sound like so many people got them. :/ Blah. The whole graduate school thing is so bad for the ego. I hope you get good news from BU and get to go next year!

Hi Sofie, Thanks! I think my stats are pretty good (hope that doesn't sound braggy, I graduated in 09 and took a look of time between then and now working on my relevant experience) but I did not receive any scholarship funds of any kind from BU. I will take the max Stafford Loan and Grad PLUS loans to cover the cost. This may not be true, but I am pretty sure they have already awarded all of the scholarship money and from the timeline it seems like I was one of the first applicants to be admitted without scholarship funds. This is somewhat speculative, but I did ask them for more aid and their answer was that it had all been awarded already and that I am high up on the scholarship wait list and could possibly be awarded aid if others do not accept the offer of admission and financial aid. I found this REALLY disappointing - like, huge hit to my ego disappointing - because their website did seem to indicate that a lot of students receive aid/tuition assistance, etc. They also did not offer me federal work-study, even though I qualify, because they have limited spots. The reason I am still attending is because it was my first choice and it is also still less expensive than the other two schools to which I applied. BU's tutition is lower to start and the cost of living (especially compared to Columbia) is also lower. I am still holding out hope that I may be awarded scholarship funding as it becomes available, as I imagine BU competes with many other highly ranked programs for accepted students. Do not give up hope! I know what I said sounds somewhat discouraging, but again, it's not like they told me this directly. Some of it is speculative given the information I have about students who were admitted before me and offered aid combined with the answers given to me by the financial aid office. I was happy with their communication and the information they gave me, but I didn't feel comfortable asking them outright and I doubt they would have told me anyways. Also, as cocky as I am, just because I didn't make the cut doesn't mean others won't. Maybe they are looking for something I didn't have. It also looks like certain specialties (mostly clinical or various certificates) are eligible for stipends and such that I didn't qualify for because I intend to concentrate in macro. Where else (if anywhere) did you apply? Are you still waiting to hear back?

Hi everyone! Good luck with your BU applications! I recently decided that I am going to attend BU next year, so I thought I would weigh in here. My BU application was complete on 1/15 and I received the confirmation email that my application was complete on 2/16. I was admitted on 3/9 via email. The decision was actually just an attached PDF in the email, so it doesn't look like they are using their website as an admission portal the way some other schools are. I have been very happy with BU's communication thus far. BU admissions and financial aid staff in the office have been responsive to my emails and phonecalls and very helpful about giving me information that helped me make my decision. Good luck! I applied for the Macro focus program, so my stats may look a little bit different from those seeking to concentrate in another area. My stats are as follows: 3.75 overall GPA from top 25 liberal starts college 3.95 GPA in major, Political Science. 4.0 GPA in minor, Gender Studies Honors thesis dealt with themes of ideology and American citizenship in public assistance programs. 2 years full-time experience in AmeriCorps as a volunteer coordinator and tutor to ESL students (paid) 2 years part-time experience as a research assistance on women's issues in public policy (paid) 1 year part-time experience as a nonprofit community organizer on LGBT issues (paid) 1 year experience as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (volunteer) 1 year experience as a volunteer with a nonprofit dealing with youth-led community change projects (volunteer) Assorted other volunteer experience, mostly in community/campus organizing, politics, nonprofit. My letters came from the following: Undergraduate professor who supervised my thesis research. I took 3 other classes with her during my junior and senior years, so she knows me well. Executive director of the nonprofit I work for currently (LGBT social services) Executive director of nonprofit dealing with youth-led community change Hope that helps! I know I was a wreck waiting to hear back... BU was my first choice and I already sent in my deposit and everything.

MSW Girl, I don't know anything about UCLA's MSW program in particular, but my spouse is a PhD student at another UC school, and her graduate program works the same way as what you are describing. The department reviews applications and recommends they be admitted to the program, then the Graduate Division gives them the go-ahead for the students they have recommended. I have NEVER heard of anyone being rejected by the Graduate Division. It is up to the departments who they admit, basically. The only issue I can see is that if there is a minimum GPA or GRE cut-off point the Graduate Division uses at that school, the department may have to petition the Graduate Division to make an exception. Also, for PhD programs, the Graduate Division determines the bulk of the funding, so when they really like applicants the department has decided on they give them funding through the graduate division. The remaining students receive funding from the department, outside sources, or loans (although PhDs are commonly funded well, unlike most MSW programs!) I don't know how it works for the MSW programs but it may be similar. I hope that helps to ease your mind! You are in, there is no need to worry.

I am officially accepting Boston University! I am still waiting on a decision from UMichigan, but there is nothing that could sway me now. Boston is the more affordable option and the better option for what I want to do. I am so excited! Now on to apartment hunting... That means I am also turning down Columbia, so hopefully a spot will open up for someone out there who hasn't received an acceptance yet!!

Hi Kate! Good luck with your BU application! My application was complete on 1/15 and I received the confirmation email that my application was complete on 2/16. I was admitted on 3/9 via email. The decision was actually just an attached PDF in the email, so it doesn't look like they are using their website as an admission portal the way some other schools are. BU used the same online system for submitting the application that UMIchigan did, but unlike UMichigan and Columbia it did not really have a place to check your admission status online. My BU thing looked just like yours: it shows that my letters have been received and says "application complete." I have actually been very happy with BU's communication thus far. As long as I am receiving an email once the decision is made, I don't feel like I need to log in to check my application status, and none of the other schools I applied to had updates about the status beyond confirmation and admission decision anyways. BU admissions and financial aid staff in the office have been responsive to my emails and phonecalls and very helpful about giving me information that helped me make my decision. Good luck!

I guess it's not a final decision yet, but I am 99% sure I'll be attending Boston University next fall! I am really excited. I am from MA (currently living in CA) and have family living in Boston as well as across the state. I am macro practice and love that BU makes it easy for students to take classes in community organziing, public administration, and policy without segmenting them so rigidly as some other schools do, and BU macro students seem to have first pick of the macro field placements, as the other Boston area schools focus mostly on clinical practice. I am still waiting to hear back about financial aid, but given that BU has the cheapest tutition of all 3 of the schools (including my aid package from Columbia) I am pretty sure I will end up there. I am waiting to hear back from UMichigan as well, and I love their program but am less excited about the prospect of living in Ann Arbor and am not sure the school as a whole is the best fit for me. Congrats to everyone and good luck making your decisions!

Also, just to add some additional options for people beyond the Ivy League status (especially since only two Ivies offer MSWs!), it might help if you have better financial aid offers from schools ranked above or closely below Columbia on the US News and World Report ranking for schools of social work. I know Columbia is pretty high up, but I'd imagine a competitive financial aid package from Michigan or Chicago, for example, would pull some weight, Ivy League name aside. Ultimately I don't know whether asking for more money from Columbia is going to help. All the scholarships for the school of social work are based on need, so I imagine they're not very flexible in awarding a lot more unless your financial situation has changed.

Congrats! I am still waiting on my BU decision... do you mind sharing when you submitted your application and also when you received email confirmation that your application was complete from the BU School of Social Work? My app was complete around 1/15 but I didn't receive the final confirmation until 2/16. In the email they said I could expect to hear back in 6-8 weeks and I'm really hoping it's closer to 6 so I can have some wiggle room before Columbia needs my deposit on 3/8. Did you have to wait the full 6-8 weeks?

Hi everyone, Just wondering if any past/current MSW students could offer some insight about a language instruction question I have. I noticed that Simmons has specific classes for social work students to continue or begin taking Spanish as part of their MSW studies. I haven't seen any (overt, admittedly I haven't been looking for them) mention of such options at other schools. Have any of you started or continued Spanish as part of your masters program? Is it possible to take those courses as electives through other departments and/or is something offered through the school of social work? Is this something that could be done as an elective, or would I have to take classes in the summer or what? I currently know little to no Spanish, but am planning to take some courses over the next 2 years while I am waiting to apply to schools (spouse is in a PhD program currently). I'm hoping to be able to continue taking Spanish once I start an MSW program and just want to know if there will be an opportunity to do so.

As a prospective Columbia student I would love to see your stats also!

Thanks so much for the responses! It definitely makes me feel better (silly, I know) to have feedback from other real, breathing people who know something about MSW programs. No one I know personally seems to have much to add or know anything about it, and although I have talked to a bunch of current/past students from some of the schools I am interested in attending (especially Columbia), it's awkward to go on and on about your qualifications/chances for admissions, if you know what I mean. I tend to stick more to questions about the programs, professors, field experience, etc. in those conversations. If I thought taking the GRE again would make a difference in my performance I definitely would. It's embarrassing to admit, but I took it last time coming fresh out of a Kaplan course which really did help me raise my score a lot. I'm not sure I could do as well again without re-taking the class, nevermind improve my score. If it helps I had a verbal: 600 / quant: 520 / AW: 5 I haven't really looked into how those scores look for MSW programs... for the PhD programs (sociolegal studies, feminist studies/women's studies, and sociology) I'd looked at previously they usually wouldn't even qualify me to APPLY, certainly not to get an acceptance... feel free to weigh in if you think they're not as bad as I think they are (or the opposite--I can take it!) Currently I do not plan to submit GRE scores to any of the schools I'm applying to other than Berkeley, which requires them for all applicants. I get the impression that Columbia and BU, among others, mostly intend for GRE scores to compensate for otherwise weak areas of an application rather than as a factor in and of themselves, and I don't feel like I'll need to compensate for GPA or other "quant" evaluations of my academic abilities. Whatever the case, the GRE scores obviously not the crowning glory of my application! My SOP will definitely be solid and I can clearly articulate a commitment to "the greater good" which is pretty evident in pretty much everything I do. I'm wiping out my undergrad loans completely with my AmeriCorps grant money, so I'm less concerned about the financial aid. I will ultimately be more concerned about the fit of the program with what I'm looking to do than the cost. I do know that the Columbia law minor is a competitive program. Sadly, I've read pretty much every shred of information available online about Columbia's program and talked to several former students. Since I have an undergraduate background in law and have taken law classes before taught in the same style prevalent in law schools (actually, one of my law professors got his J.D. at Columbia!) I'm not as worried about that portion of it. I don't want to sound arrogant and perhaps I'm underestimating the process or overestimating my abilities, but I figure I'll get to that part when the time comes. Oddly it's the one thing I'm NOT stressed out about! I guess all the time I spent thinking I'd apply to law school wasn't for nothing after all if it could help me here. At the very least I'll be able to take that one initial course (and, as you noted, not have to spend so much time in Human Behavior!) Thanks also for the advice about the professors-- I found the same thing in my undergraduate classes and chose my professors very carefully with a lot of older student influence. I had great experiences as a result. I'll definitely make it a priority to do some research before enrolling in courses!