waitingwaitingwaiting

Thanks for the information! I wish I read this before the interview, but that's ok :] I am concerned to hear that you do not find the program academically challenging. Hopefully the challenge of the placements make up for it? I saw that some of the electives you could take were at the law school. I would guess that those courses would be more difficult, but who knows. Ah well, I am still excited to go back to school. Maybe I will see you this Fall! They called me this week! I was awarded the CalSWEC stipend (which is what I preferred)! I am so happy. A friend of mine was awarded one as well, but she decided not to accept it. Perhaps if there is some sort of wait list, you have a chance of getting one even if you have yet to be contacted. Good luck!

It's actually not a forum, but on the LA County Job Listings. I found it from browsing DMH and DCFS jobs. Here is the one I found for child welfare workers: https://sjobs.brassring.com/11033/asp/tg/cim_jobdetail.asp?jobId=56963&PartnerId=25082&SiteId=5041&type=mail&JobReqLang=143&recordstart=1&JobSiteId=5041&JobSiteInfo=56963_5041&gqid=96 There does only seem to be a handful of listings, though. I don't know how many stipends are given at each school, but hopefully not everyone who gets it wants to work in LA! I plan to. As for the oral interview, I interviewed at Berkeley for the stipend, and they asked questions that were similar to personal statement questions like "what experiences led you to pursue a career in social work/child welfare?" A friend of mine interviewed at SDSU, and she said that it was like a job interview. My interview is in a week. Hopefully I do better than I did at Berkeley!

You definitely do not work for free for two years after graduation! It's a "pay back" of your time. From browsing job forums, I have seen postings in Los Angeles for social workers who have completed the stipend training program with salaries of ~50k. The purpose of the stipend is to train child welfare workers. In taking the stipend, you have specific field placements, and additional coursework/classes. Before applying/accepting the stipend, I suggest looking at all of the reasons you may have to pay it back (e.g. not finishing your MSW in two years, getting below a 3.0, leaving your job before the "pay back" period is over) just to be sure you are ready for the commitment. Another program you can look into is the IUC program. It's for the six social welfare schools in Los Angeles (UCLA, USC, CSUN, CSULB, CSUDH, CSULA) and it is one year instead of two years working in child welfare after graduation and the stipend is $18,500 for just one year instead of two. I am applying to both the CalSWEC and IUC programs at UCLA right now. If I don't get either, I am going to look into the CalSWEC Mental Health stipend. You can only apply for your second year. You get $18,500 and must commit to work at an agency with the Department of Mental Health for a year after graduation. Look into that too if you are interested! Good luck deciding :]

Hi Ben, I would guess you're not receiving many responses because this section of the forum is mainly for those interested in MSW programs, rather than MFT programs. I am guessing many people do not know the answers to your questions. When I was researching which degree path I wanted to take, I found http://forums.studentdoctor.net helpful. If you haven't seen it already, this might be helpful: http://forums.studen...ad.php?t=679748 I have a friend who got an MFT from CSUN, and he really enjoyed the program. He is having difficulty getting a job, though. This does not necessarily reflect on the program since there are many factors involved in job searches. A former co-worker of mine went to Pepperdine for her MFT, and she did not think it was worth the money and wished that she went to a state program instead, so the fact that you are looking into state programs is a good step! That's all for my anecdotal advice. Good luck with your search.

Hi fellow future social workers! I will be going to UCLA, where I will get in-state tuition (and the possibility of getting a stipend, CalSWEC or IUC, to subsidize my tuition). I chose it over Columbia and University of Washington primarily because of cost. I also already live in Los Angeles and ultimately would like to be licensed here in California. Though I was hoping to use grad school as an excuse to explore a new city, the practicality of staying here won me over. If anyone has any questions about UCLA or Los Angeles in general, I am more than happy to provide my input. I have been here for the past 4 years and spent the majority of my life in the suburbs north of LA.

Congrats! I saw that you said that it was the only place you applied. I decided on UCLA a couple days ago! Are you going to the Admit Day? I am debating going because I do not want to miss work. I was also a UCLA undergrad, so I feel like I don't really need a campus tour, etc. and I can wait until Fall to meet faculty and such.

Rejected. Emailed them requesting status last night and received regretful email just now. I hope you guys have better luck and/or credentials and interview skills than I. Luckily, I got into UW, Columbia, and UCLA, but I am still incredibly disappointed.

No word, unfortunately. Hopefully we hear by April. I've heard from all of the schools, so I know I will going crazy until I hear from Berkeley.

Pretty much the exact same scenario for me. I took them off my list shortly after the conversation. I would have loved to move to Seattle!

For those waiting from UW, I just got an email offering me admission! Hope you guys get good news too.

Waiting has been nerve-wracking for me! How did your interview go? Mine was okay. It could have gone either way. I thought the interviews finished up on the 11th, so I was waiting nervously all last week for a decision. I was starting to get discouraged, but if interviews only ended last week then I can have a little hope. Anyways, good luck! Keep us updated if you hear something. I have been checking the results list and the last anyone heard (acceptance, rejection or waitlist) was the beginning of March.

Congrats to you too! I would lean toward Berkeley as well :] I like LA, but I went here for my undergrad and really want to experience a new city/environment.

I am back with good news! UCLA took me! It is still unofficial because I have not heard from the graduate division and have not received a letter. But I received a "Congratulations" via email by an admissions person last week and got an email today inviting me to the admitted students welcome day :] It feels amazing to know that I do not have to reapply next year! But I still haven't heard from my other schools (Berkeley, Columbia, UW). Berkeley is killing me... I just need to know!! Alright, one day at a time. I hope everyone is hanging in there and not going too crazy waiting. I hope we all get more answers soon. March is pretty much halfway over, right?

I emailed them earlier this week and just got a response now saying that a decision has not been made on my application and to check my email tomorrow and next Friday. I guess decisions go out on Fridays only? Whatev. Somehow, I don't think that will stop me from compulsively checking my application until I get a decision.

Oh man, I almost wish I didn't apply for the stipend now! But it's okay. There's no guaranteeing I would have been offered an interview. Congrats on the admittance, though! Have you decided on a school?

Aw, I hope you are just exaggerating how bad it went. After mine, I told the Program Coordinator that it went just "okay" because I was too nervous and couldn't articulate everything I wanted to say either! She said that I would be fine if my answers were at all reasonable. I hope they were... I applied to UCLA, Berkeley, Columbia, and University of Washington. If I get into the Berkeley, the decision is easy. If I don't, I have a lot of thinking to do. Good luck and update us where you end up going too!

Has everyone from all concentrations heard back by now? I applied for the Children and Family concentration/Title IV-E program. They are waiting to complete the interviews before sending out decisions. I am getting very anxious. Congrats to those who have made it in!

How did your interview go? I had my interview a couple weeks ago, and it was okay... it's hard to tell! Berkeley's program with the stipend is my first choice; I really hope I get it. Where else did you apply?

That's great! Did you end up doing the interview? Does that mean that even if you do not get the stipend, you can still attend the school? I ask because I applied for the stipend program from the get go, so my admission to the school depends upon receiving the stipend.

Just found this forum too! Glad to find people in the same boat as me. I applied to UCLA, Berkeley, Columbia and University of Washington. I haven't heard from any of them, and I am going a little crazy. I really wish Columbia did not say we would have a decision "on or around March 3rd." It's the 9th! UCLA and Washington said all decisions would be out by April, so I will just have to be patient. Then, for Berkeley, I interviewed for the child welfare stipend, and they said that we would not release decisions until all the interviews were done. Hope you all are faring well in the waiting game, and congrats to everyone who has already received acceptances!