briefinterviews

Don't be shy about getting in touch with faculty you are interested in working with and arranging informational interviews. Applying for a PhD is a different, more competitive ballgame than an MSW -- you're really applying to work with specific faculty whose interests align with your own and who have the capacity to mentor incoming students. During admissions, it's faculty who are choosing who they want to work with, so it's worth putting in the effort to make yourself known. It also helps you to better determine fit before you invest the time and resources into submitting an application.

Received offer from USC today by phone. There really was no place else I wanted to be, so I am very excited. Congrats to fellow admits and best of luck to those still waiting!

Denied at Penn. Received email to check the website this morning. Like previous poster, my decision letter cited faculty fit and availability. Not surprised -- onward!

My bad for presuming; I am very sorry to hear about the denial and hope you are hearing better news elsewhere this season!

Congratulations! Thanks so much for the information. I am presuming a denial on my end, though I am not surprised. There was really only one faculty member whose research interests aligned with my own.

Results page shows an acceptance via website from Penn. Radio silence on my end and my application page looks the same. Any one in the know care to share any details or intel?

Received campus visit invitation from University of Southern California (USC) this morning. The original timeline indicated invitations would be sent 2/20-25, so this was was a pleasant surprise!

Finalists are notified by email February 20-25. Campus visit on March 20. Offers made April 1-10.

USC sent a very clear, detailed timeline of their admissions activities about two weeks after their December 1st deadline when they confirmed receipt of my application. Really takes some of the edge off.

I am sure your application is strong in other ways; the important thing is that you are giving yourself the opportunity to succeed by applying. I know PhD students whose GREs weren't great or who had little to no formal research experience before matriculating, but they brought other strengths to the table and demonstrated potential. One professor I spoke with said the GREs are essentially a formality and that programs don't expect applicants to be published (although it doesn't hurt). I get a sense that programs try to bring a diverse cohort together -- you may very well be one program's missing piece.

I finished both of my applications last month. UCLA was also originally on my list, but I decided not to apply. Now we play the waiting game.

I am reading a lot of "cons" to transferring in your post; you may have already answered your own question. I would stick it out and remain open to your prospective program. Don't try to find a way out before you are even admitted. Your world tends to get smaller in graduate school anyway, and you may enjoy your program and cohort enough to transcend your distaste for the location. I completed my program in a city I wasn't particularly happy in, but the two years go by quick and I had a job waiting for me in my city of choice when I graduated.

While this is true, you also have to consider that the cost of living in California is also high. Over half of California renters are spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs; this gets worse in places like the Bay Area and Los Angeles. I wouldn't equate a higher income to making the price tag more doable, especially if you have other loans or debts.

Not sure if this is still helpful or if you’re already committed to a program, but just in case... Only you can decide if the tuition is worth it to you, but I will offer my $0.02 as an MSW grad from Cal who is definitely paying for it now. Looking back, was it worth it? For me, I think it was. I was from L.A., intended to work in L.A. after graduation, and had admission offers from UCLA, USC, and several out-of-state programs. But I was a macro student who wanted more control over my field placement assignments, a smaller cohort, and a program with a strong research focus. Berkeley gave me that and more—including a job offer from my field placement. However, I chose to leave the Bay Area and had a job waiting for me in Los Angeles by graduation. The training, experience, and relationships I gained at Cal opened a lot of doors for me and continue to benefit me in my career in a lot of ways. I most certainly would not have had the same opportunities elsewhere. Though no one can say for certain whether that is for better or worse, I can say that Cal set me on a path where I’ve made significant contributions to my field working on high-profile and large-scale projects (including national work) and where I am now turning my eye toward a PhD. As a clinician, your mileage may vary. The debt is real, but there are options to make it more manageable. Networking is important, but I might argue that it is less so for clinicans. No program is perfect, and you will be disappointed if you expect Cal to be any different. There is no shame in pursuing the prestige of Cal if that is your dream, but there is also no shame in being pragmatic and taking the more economical route.

I'll be throwing my hat into the ring. My research interests center around young people experiencing homelessness and housing instability. My background includes work in direct services, local government, and applied research. MSW '14 in Management in Planning from UC Berkeley. USC, UCLA, and UPenn are on my list.

I'm late to the party, but wanted to hop in re: 'marketability' of clinical vs. macro social workers. Macro social workers usually have to be more proactive and creative in their networking, entering spaces where MSWs are in the minority or might not be considered part of the traditional landscape. It depends what kind of work you're looking to do, but macro social workers take all forms. Graduates from my cohort are now working as consultants, coordinators, directors, and analysts in varied settings--nonprofits, universities, government agencies, etc. Nobody 'changed' their mind from macro to direct practice during the program, but a handful did decide to return to direct practice and pursue licensure when they reentered the job market. Entering the program, many folks didn't necessarily have a particular population focus or an exact picture of what they wanted to do, but the program allowed us to explore different arenas and discover what made us tick and what didn't.

I did my undergrad at UCLA, and lived and worked in Los Angeles for three years before doing my MSW at Berkeley--then I moved back to Los Angeles. I was accepted to UCLA and USC, and a smattering of out-of-state programs, but had a gut feeling about Berkeley. There is a high concentration of MSW programs in the Los Angeles area, and I was concerned about field placement opportunities. UCLA and USC also seemed to pride themselves on throwing first-years into wholly unfamiliar territory for their field placements, and I wanted my field placement selection to be more of a strategic collaboration--which is what Cal ended up being able to offer (at least in my concentration). Other factors included reputation, cost, research opportunities, cohort size, and I think on some level I knew I wanted to come back to L.A. after my program, so an out-of-state move just wasn't worth the hassle when I had a great in-state option. In hindsight in regards to cost, though, I probably actually would've been better off if I had stayed in L.A. Tuition at the time was lower, but the cost of living in the Bay Area was definitely higher. However, before I was even admitted, I knew the Bay Area was not going to be my scene (and it wasn't). It is a little too crunchy granola (and cold!) for me, and there is an air of pretension. People who like it up there really tend to like it up there, and more power to them (though they also tend to love to hate on L.A. without being provoked). That being said, I never regretted going to Berkeley--I had incredible learning and work experiences, amazing mentors entered my life, and I would not be where I am right now without the training and opportunities I had while in my program.

Gerontology and MAP tend to be smaller cohorts (particularly the former). As an applicant, you are only competing against other applicants within your chosen concentration, and some are more competitive than others. Your 'odds' have to do with both the size and the quality of the pool, and the number of spaces available in the cohort. Good luck to those still awaiting results.

I would also strongly suggest taking the time to get field experience before pursuing your MSW--you will gain much more from the program in the short- and long-term if you do. UC Berkeley does place a strong emphasis on work experience; not one person in my cohort came directly from undergrad, and there were very few in the direct practice concentrations who did. For what it's worth: I did my undergrad at UCLA and worked for about three years in Los Angeles; when I decided to go back to school, I was accepted to UCLA, USC, and a smattering of out-of-state programs, including Michigan. However, the high density of MSW programs in Los Angeles turned me off (among other factors at the time), as students all end up vying for the same internship placements and I wanted more control and opportunity. Still, I ultimately wanted to work in L.A. and was a remote applicant while beginning my final semester at Cal. My offer was finalized about a month after graduation, so heads up to anyone looking at public sector jobs! I had my eye on a very specific government agency, and it was a six-month process from start to finish.

Most, if not all of the students in my concentration had a part-time gig in addition to our fieldwork (and some of us got paid at our field placements, too), though it was almost always tied to the university in some way. There were at least a smattering of folks in other concentrations who had employment outside the university, with agencies they had been working with prior to matriculation. I can't speak specifically on any one person's experience, but it seemed as though it was really difficult for students with families. It seemed incredibly stressful, and usually something had to give so they could find some sort of balance. Personally, both my field placements paid me an hourly rate and I also had a part-time research job that probably averaged around 10hrs/wk, though there were some points that were busier than others. I did it because I was interested in research, and the right opportunity came along at the right time. In general, it was about setting priorities and working within the culture of the program. Berkeley was definitely little more laissez-faire than it seems other programs are when it came to coursework; this made it easy to not stress out about doing all of the reading and putting more focus and energy into my fieldwork and research while still doing well academically. Only you know what your boundaries are, and you will have to figure out what your limits will be so that you can work comfortably while still dedicating time to your coursework, your family, and your sanity. The first semester always seems to be the roughest, so if possible I would think about taking a lighter load at your job to help ease the transition, and then increase your hours as you see fit.

This. This is part of the reason I left Los Angeles for my MSW, though I returned after graduating. There is a high density of MSW programs in the L.A. area, and I didn't want to have to just "take what I could get." Programs down here also have the tendency to purposefully assign first-year students into placements unrelated to their focus or interest, and I wasn't particularly keen on that approach and wanted more control and input. Field placements can take some time to get up and running--it might seem like they don't know what to do with you, but that's not entirely abnormal. Every new job has that limbo period in the beginning, but if it really seems as though they are going to struggle to assign you to projects or clients, then leverage your field consultant at your program to help get your learning needs met. I do think it is a little crass to claim that after the first day you believe you won't learn anything; if you wind up 'stuck' with this field site, you will certainly learn something, it just might not be what you envisioned. I get the impression that you're very upset because your expectations aren't being met, but I would encourage you to step back and re-strategize on how you can make the placement work. Construct and review your learning agreement, acknowledge the limitations of the site, and work toward some common ground. First-year field placements can be so hit-or-miss, and while that can be difficult to sit with when you're investing a lot of time, money, and resources, I don't think that it has to be a complete wash. Advocating for yourself is a challenge in and of itself, and perhaps that is part of the lesson you are learning here already. Best of luck. Hopefully some constructive, solution-focused conversations with your field consultant will prove fruitful in navigating the challenges with your field instructor and overall field placement experience.

Might be interesting to collapse the Google spreadsheets from prior years into one workbook--I know there's one for my class, entering Fall 2012, floating around here somewhere. Just a thought! Best of luck to all.

I don't know my exact loan amount at the moment, but it is a pretty penny. Thankfully, I do not have any debt from undergrad. I had $20k+ in work study, income from a research job that supplemented that amount, and a fellowship, but I am still carrying not-an-insignificant amount of debt. My living expenses in the Bay Area were expensive. I could have offset some of that, but I made the choices I felt I needed to make at the time regarding my housing, and I am content with those decisions. Housing is what will ultimately get you, though--what is happening in the rental market up there is nothing short of a crisis, and I am glad I got out when I did. Ultimately, though, I am not very concerned about the debt because of PSLF; however, there have been some recent proposed changes to PSLF that institute a cap for future borrowers, which is worth keeping an eye on if that is a repayment option that appeals to you. Berkeley was more research-oriented, but that was a plus for me and something that also contributed to my decision to matriculate. We took a semester-long research methods course and then a year-long research seminar. There were also courses on community organizing, and a policy practice class that is universally adored by MAPpers, but for a school with such a rich history of social justice, I actually found that aspect wanting a bit. At least in some of the dialogue that was (or wasn't) taking place in some courses. FWIW, I see a tendency on this board of people in search of The Perfect MSW Program, which just doesn't exist. There are going to be things that frustrate and disappoint you, and it's important to go in with your eyes wide open and being able to manage your expectations. Whatever you aren't getting in one setting (e.g. the classroom), does not mean you cannot find it in other places (e.g. in field, in the community, in your cohort) to round out your experience and lay the foundation for your life-long learning. Personally, I was very interested in exploring and bridging the gaps between research, policy, and practice to advocate for structural change, and I can say that through a combination of different experiences through my graduate program, that is exactly what I got to do. But I digress--ultimately, you will have to decide where cost factors into your equation, and determine what your priorities are.

Short answer: No. Not all MSW programs offer advanced standing, especially those that are more competitive. My undergraduate degree is in English, but I never felt behind or at a disadvantage in my MSW program. At times I wish I'd taken more sociology classes, just for my own edification, but that was about it. But I never regret my major--if anything, it has proven to be a tremendous asset.

This might not answer your question entirely, but I thought I would offer my experience. I just graduated from the macro concentration at UC Berkeley, and am now working in Los Angeles doing a mixture of community organizing, policy work, applied research, and management for a city-county agency responsible for coordinating homeless services throughout L.A. County. While I had a job offer from my second-year field placement, I had no desire to stay in the Bay Area. However, I still retain a research associate position with a team from the School of Public Health, doing statewide research and technical assistance (the experience and network from which I strongly believe helped me obtain my current job). I applied to and was accepted at two other programs in California (UCLA and USC), and several out-of-state programs. Since I was macro-focused, I wasn't drawn to the Cal State system--mostly because I don't believe the majority of Cal States offered a macro concentration, and also because reputation/'prestige' did matter to me. Overall, as problematic as it is, I feel reputation matters more for macro than clinically focused practitioners; but that is one person's opinion, and there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Ultimately, I chose Berkeley for the following reasons: reputation, the structure of its fieldwork program, and overall opportunities. Also, there is a high density of MSW programs in Southern California, so students end up competing for all of the same field placements and I wanted more control and flexibility in that process. I also discovered that I did not have it in me to move out-of-state; though I didn't like the Bay Area, no other programs struck me the way Berkeley's ended up doing. Honestly, I cannot really remark on how my experience compared to students in direct practice concentrations at my school or elsewhere. I knew someone who was in the forensic social work program at CSULA (she left before completing the first foundation year, for personal reasons), and it sounded really intense--a very heavy workload on the academic side. Berkeley was much more flexible, and instructors did not expect us to do all of the reading, but to focus on and engage with that which interested us most. You already had a bunch of high/over-achievers in the room, but it was impossible to do everything so we all learned to set our own priorities for learning and professional growth. I did well academically, but was much more into my fieldwork and research. I learned a lot from the folks in my cohort, who were incredibly intelligent, passionate, and talented folks, some of whom I definitely consider part of my professional support network (after an intense first day at my new job, I had a pep talk with one of my fellow grads). Only you can determine what your priorities are and what you want out of a program; what was important to me in my selection process may not be important to you at all. But one thing I would suggest you look into is the strength of each program's network, and to gauge whether there are opportunities (even outside the department) that are in alignment with your professional/academic interests. And talk to current students. Also, not to be reductive, but: trust your gut.