kobe36

problem solve(d)

school break

Hi all: I will be attending UW in fall 2010 and my bf and I are planning to go up there in about 2 weeks (may 20-24 to be precise). I will be there for welcome day but while there, I want to do some sightseeing too. Is there any particular landmarks you guys recommend or that is a must-see?? I don't know much about Seattle other than the Space Needle. Any help would be greatly appreciated !!

@hotpaws are you able to get any financial aid from the school? scholarships? I am just going to comment on the Hong kong part as I have never been to baltimore or atlanta but I have lived in HK before and regularly visits. For me personally, I think it is a great city. The food/culture is awesome and things are cheap and from what I understand, HKU is a very prestigious school, probably the best in Hong Kong (I don't know about now). However, I think a part of the decision making part will also be based on where I want to be after graduate school. Are you planning to stay in the US to find a job or move back to Asia?? If you get a phD are you planning to teach in the US or Asia??

@matcha I have always use Northface backpacks as I feel like they offered enough support and padding when I have to carry a lot of books. When I was in hs, I used to use jansport (the ones you buy at costco) but they were hard on my back and didn't have enough support. My northface is a bit pricey. I think they range from $70 to $150. I know they also have one with a separate compartment for a laptop. and I use mine everywhere I go including to the gym and travel.

i'll be the odd person out and say that I think I will be using a backpack for most of the time. Maybe for the days i don't need to carry as much stuff I will use my tote. I think my backpack is convenient and comfortable and although not the most stylish thing, works very well for me.

I will be working working working until maybe 3 weeks before school starts. trying to save some money for school. Then i will be moving, packing, and stressing to move two states away. I Have never been out of state for school and never been more than 2 cities away from my family so I am freaking out a little and also having to leave my bf of 5 years behind is not helping one bit. I think I might just try to spend tons of time with them and enjoy my summer before school starts. maybe get a leg up and start reading the books for my class. no vacation because I am trying to save money.

I think I will be attending UW this fall 2010. Has anyone start to look for housing yet ? I have briefly glanced at some and although i have had some horrendous roommate experience in this past, I think I am going to give it one more try. Since I will be moving from out of state and not knowing anyone from Seattle, i think having a roommate would be a good way to start meeting friends. Yes?? No?? Does anyone know where to start looking??

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this is for a master's program in social work. But you are right, it is so much easier to call the admissions and just ask. I think that I am just scared if they say oh we did make a mistake or something along those lines.

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thanks for all the advice.... i contacted the dept but did not give them my name and i asked when the official acceptance letter will get here and she says in 1 or 2 week and she also says that the graduate school will not deny you if u have a low GPA but only if your degree isn't real ... so I think I am just going to sit tight and wait until the letter comes. i read on here that someone did get an acceptance and the school retracted it that same week saying it was a mistake. so i guess it does happen more often than we think. however, i got my unofficial acceptance 3 weeks ago and if it was a mistake, they must have caught it by now, right???

hey msw2011cara let me just jump in here. I have the same GPA as you but from a state school and i applied for fall 2010 and I was rejected from all schools except for one which was uw (and i dont want to jinx myself here since i havent gotten an official notice yet) but I dont know why I was accepted. I did have 4 years of fulltime case management experience and i am also bilingual. my experience so far this season is that all the ca state school I applied to (sac state, sjsu, sfsu) automatically rejected me because my gpa did not meet the minimum. the other ones I applied (loyola-chicago, hunter, nyu, fordham) was also denied but for what reason i don't know. I do think especially for the field of social work that work experience is really important and so is your personal statement. I have been consitently working at the same non profit for the past 3-4 years now as a case manager working with low income families. I am hoping it was this point that got me into washington. I don't think all hope is lost for people with low GPA (granted I might say something different if I got rejected across the board) but I love what I do and I think that showing that in your personal statement is really important. if you have any questions, you are more than welcome to PM me.

congrats to everyone who has been accepted so far... has everyone decided already where they will be in the fall???

hi all: I am sitting here and I am totally freaking out. I have been rejected from all the schools except for one (which is also the highest ranked schools out of all the one I applied). The problem is it was an unofficial letter of acceptance via email and the official letter is not supposed to come for another week or 2. But I received the last decision an hour ago (from an STATE school) that rejected me because I didn't meet the minimum requirement for GPA> and so now I am freaking out that the school that accepted me (ranked #4 out of my major) might have sent me a false acceptance letter, maybe it was the wrong person or they read my GPA wrong or something. Has this happened to anyone?? rejected by all that they have applied to except the highest ranked one?? received a false acceptance letter??? maybe sharing stories will keep my mind off of this until next week when the letter is in my hands ...

thank you for all the congratulations !! I am not ready to believe this myself until I get it officially in writing. You all have definitely made this process so much easier. Congrats to everyone who have accepted for fall 2010 and to all those still waiting, don't lose faith in yourself. There is still hope out there for everyone !! good luck to everyone !!

wow wow wow i just got an email from University of Washington saying I was accepted pending review from the graduate school. I keep reading and rereading the email thinking its a cruel cruel joke that someone is playing on me or maybe they sent it to the wrong person and that tomorrow or the next day, they are going to send me an email that says oops haha just kidding. I actually called the admission office but nobody picked up the phone. if this turns out to be true, i would be so grateful that someone out there believes in me. To everyone, please don't lose hope !! there is still hope, and to everyone waiting, good luck !!!

hi fellow grad cafers: i am really unsure what to do right now. I am currently employed at a job that I have been a t for 3 years already. Management has changed a lot in the recent past year. We started out as a group of 4 and we build this new program from the ground up (mostly it was my old manager but we helped ) and I am so proud of what it has become but now half of the team is gone and the only coworker that is left is leaving in June/July to go to grad school. I, on the other hand, has been rejected from 3 out of the 7 schools I applied to and am expected the rest to be rejections too. With this in mind, I recently went in a for a interview at another non profit that is closely related to what my major is but less intense work. Today, they offered me the job but its less money and less hours, more vacation time, nicer location (i work in a very bad area of town right now). I am not sure if i should take it. On the off chance that I do get into one of the remaining schools left, I will definitely go and will have to leave my new job after 3 to 4 months which really doesn't seem fair to them. On the other hand, if i don't leave and if i dont get in any schools, I will be stuck at a job that I have now grown to dislike very much and with my coworker leaving, it will be unbearable. I am so confused and I don't know what to do. I don't want to screw over anyone or myself either. Please someone help me and tell me what to do. Thank you !! and I am truly grateful that in this kind of economy where many people are unemployed, that I have a choice in where I want to work.

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Thank you so much for the advice !! It is really helpful and I am definitely going to take a GRE prep course so I can get a good GRE score. Also i am wondering if i do take some classes in order to boost my gpa or just to get to know a professor better, would i matter if i take it at state or at a community college??? Would it make a big difference if the LOR comes from a professor at a state university or a community college?? and I am definitely going to start working on my personal statement again. Also do either of you think explaining about my low GPA in my personal statement a good idea or should I not talk about it at all? and throwupandaway, I am definitely going to take your advice and call the schools and see what I can do to boost my apps. Thank you so much again.

hi all: I am seeking advice, comments, etc. on my apps. I am expected across the board rejection this year as I have already been rejected 3 schools our of 7 and expected the last 4 to be a rejection too as I don't even meet their min requirement for GPA. I graduated from a state school (SF State, to be precise) in 2006 with a BA in psychology. I am currently seeking a Master's degree in Social Work. My ultimate goal is to get my license as a LCSW and be a therapist for juveniles. -2.23 -overall gpa, 2.32 for major -3 LORs from two of my former manager and one co worker. I couldnt get a single academic one because I have been out of school for so long although i am SURE that all three of LOR was excellent. -3.5 years of social work experience as a case manager a ta non profit with low income families, 2 years of experience working as an administrative assistant at a another non profit organization (while in college) -no GRE score because all of the schools I applied to didn't require it -a very spotty academic record ( 4 F's (2 in chem classes when my major was in chemistry), 2 D's in major classes, and 1 incomplete (never bothered to retake the class), no withdrawal) -Personal Statement was average (my bf graded it a B on a scale of A-F if that helps) My options are these: 1) reapply next year (no doubt I will) 2) take a year and do a non profit management class at SF State although I am not sure what the certificate in the end will help me do (maybe it will prove that I can succeed academically in grad school and also help me get at least 1 LOR from a professor 3) take the certificate in Drug and Alcohol Counseling at City College (as it relates more I guess to my career) and this will also take a year although I don't know how much this will really help my apps as it will be at a community college 4) I think learning Spanish will really help me too so maybe take some classes at the local community college 5) take a GRE prep course and do so well that the schools next year will have nothing to do but accept me and give me a full scholarship 6) retake the classes I got F's in as a non matriculate student .. will be super duper expensive but will do if it helps !! So any advice, comments, suggestions to help me improve my apps for next year?? Thank you so much in advance. I know that I am sure everyone is stressing thru their own application right now and any help to me is greatly appreciated !! Good Luck to everyone and I hope everyone gets in their dream school with money !!

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