2011 MSW Hopeful

Reviving this one. I'm set to accept a job at UPenn, and I'd love to get some housing guidance. I lived in University City for a summer four or five years ago, and am excited to be returning to Philly, but my situation is obviously different now. When I was there before, I rented a room in one of the large Victorians around 40th & Spruce and I fell in love with that area. My sense is that it's pretty safe east of 48th or so, north of Baltimore, and south of Market. I would be happy to live in the UC area, but my significant other is concerned about crime and would prefer Center City. We're fine with renting either a studio or small one-bedroom, but the problem we're most running into is that he has a car and will need either very reliable street parking or a reserved spot. So, I suppose my question is, is it doable to find a studio or 1br with parking in either Center City or University City close to Penn if we'd like something that's less than $1,250 a month? I have a feeling we're going to have to sacrifice the parking.

Yes, this. It's definitely not a given that professors let Masters students help with their research projects - if you're choosing a school because you'd like to work with a specific professor, be sure to check with that person before making your decision.

What are you thinking about in terms of "private loans"? Through the federal Grad PLUS loans, you can borrow up to total cost of attendance including room and board. The interest rate is higher than for Stafford loans, but it's doable and certainly much wiser than pursuing private loans. PLUS loans are eligible for income-based repayment. They are credit-dependent, though.

I love living here. I live on Everett between 55th and 56th, and feel extremely safe and like the vibe of my little corner of the neighborhood. You'll have to walk a tad farther for restaurants and grocery stores, but the buildings and neighborhood are nice, being close to the lakefront is wonderful, and the parking situation is better here than in the rest of the neighborhood. Not sure which buildings you're looking at, but I love mine and find it really affordable.

I don't really see the value in programs like this - what you can do with a DSW, you can probably accomplish with an MSW and specialization/continuing ed. I wouldn't fork out the money for a DSW; rather, I think it makes much more sense, if you want a doctorate, to get a PhD. Unless you have an extra $100k lying around, anyway. A PhD program will be much more research-intensive, but respected and funded.

You are assigned your first year internship by the school, and the second year internship is selected via an application/interview process. Everyone definitely gets internships. I can't speak as much to the international student experience of classes, other than to say that classes are pretty intense but there are a lot of resources (writing tutors, etc.) to help you along. First year research assistantships are offered competitively based on merit, but it's pretty easy to find paid or volunteer research assistant jobs in other departments and, as a second year, at SSA.

It's particularly helpful in lobbying for more financial aid if you have proof of a stronger offer elsewhere. The person in charge of financial aid when I applied asked to see my offer letter from UChicago - he didn't ultimately end up raising the scholarship, I think because of some weaknesses in my undergrad transcript, but he was certainly willing to entertain the idea.

I think that this is something that's wise to ask about when deciding between schools, and it's easily overlooked when considering other factors. But you'll be spending much more time at field placement than in class, and finding out what that process is like at a given school can be important. My school, like amanda lauren's, assigns first year field placements with varying degrees of consideration to your preferences. They somewhat intentionally challenge students and try to get them out of their comfort zones first year. Some students are happy with that, and others find it off-putting. There are other programs that allow you to choose or interview for your first year placement. I can see pros and cons to both approaches - with the assignment, you don't have as much choice to influence your career path, but your range of experiences will be wider. The important thing is to be sure that you get experience that will make you a competitive applicant for your second-year placement working in a section of the field where you'd like to focus your career. I would ask about field placements - how they're assigned, whether they're good (talk to students!), and what agencies a school has contracts with, especially for second year placements.

Specific advice is difficult, because my class, at least, is really diverse! There is a mix of people who came straight from undergrad with strong academic records and research/volunteer experience, and people who have worked as professionals in various fields. A lot of people in my cohort seemed to have 2-4 years' experience in the social services field before starting the program. If I could have done anything differently, I'd have wished for a higher undergrad GPA - SSA is great with need/merit-based aid to everyone, but there are some extra scholarships and research assistantships for people whose undergrad records are really amazing. Unfortunately, you can't lobby for them, they're just awarded based on your application.

Several of my classmates are in second year clinical practicum placements at the VA. From what I can tell, there are opportunities in a lot of different programs, including counseling, inpatient psychiatric treatment, assertive community treatment, substance abuse treatment, medical social work, and various other opportunities. I'm a little less sure about macro/administrative placements within the VA. I'm also not sure whether anyone gets first year placements there -- I'm inclined to think not. If I were interested in a VA placement, I would try to get field experience and take courses involving issues that commonly impact veterans -- substance abuse, homelessness, PTSD, etc.

A lot of universities offer continuing education professional development seminars, and there might be some on that topic. In New York, it seems very possible that you could seek out a professional development or other sort of class or seminar...for example, I know that the Social Security Administration sometimes does presentations to consumers and agencies that interact with the benefits field. Otherwise, I'd just talk about it being a field that you're interested to know more about in your cover letters/interviews, and cite other times that you have helped clients navigate complex processes or have networked with other agencies.

I'm in my second year MSW right now. The workload is tough to manage at first, definitely, but I was able to hold a work-study job (about 10 hours a week) first year in addition to field placement and classes. The best advice I got as an incoming student is that you probably won't need to read everything that's assigned for every class, so don't kill yourself trying. I still do as much of the assigned reading as is reasonable, and it definitely takes some time, but I think prioritization is an important skill to learn in grad school. Second year is very busy - a full course load plus three days a week in field, and I've had to scale back some of my work-study commitments. In terms of working more than 10 hours a week, you might be able to do it if your job were very flexible, and I think some people do, but I'd imagine that it's really challenging.

SSA at UChicago recently started an International Social Welfare concentration. It's still developing, but they have a summer study abroad option in India, and there are a lot of opportunities with the Human Rights Department. Some field placements work specifically with refugee populations.

I'm applying for post-Masters fellowships for 2013, so a little different, but the idea of writing another personal statement and summarizing my MSW experience is a little overwhelming. Glad to have time to think about it over winter break!

I'm considering applying for social work fellowships at Children's Hospital Boston, but the low stipend is really giving me pause. Is $26,000 even remotely enough to subsist on in Boston? For reference, I'd be looking to find a studio (probably) or 1br as I live with my boyfriend, who would probably experience a period of unemployment/job searching. Any insight would be great!