michigan girl

From an admissions perspective, you are most likely to receive a rejection from a majority of the schools listed above. You stand a better chance with Loyola-Chicago and George Washington, although these two schools have become more selective since my undergraduate days. You should branch out because you haven't shown a gradual improvement in your grades during your five years of college, which will raise a huge flag to admissions committees. Since most full-time students graduate within four years, the fact that you haven't shown improvement in your fifth year may hurt you more so. Most admissions officers will overlook a couple of Cs, but you have at least 10 grades that are a C or lower. Are you looking for a master's program in higher education or student affairs? This is important because majority of the schools listed in your original post are heavy on research and theory (Michigan, in particular, requires a research course for master's students). I know Vanderbilt and Virginia have a student affairs concentration, but Harvard, Michigan, UCLA, and Stanford are all general higher education. I am currently attending Michigan, and its 1.5-year master's program is very rigorous. From my own experience as a master's student, I read ~1500 pages of materials this past term (!) and wrote over 15 papers that ranged between two and twenty-five pages. Now, I did extremely well (almost a 4.0) in my courses because I was very organized throughout the entire term. I can imagine programs like Harvard and Stanford are just as difficult because you have to condense more courses in two semesters. If you are not used to this kind of workload, then I highly recommend a less selective program.

I recommend that you visit NASPA's Graduate Program Directory Search and select Mideast (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA). Some of the schools listed in the directory are regional in nature and may have more lenient admissions standards (accept GPAs under 3.0) than the flagship publics and highly-selective privates. Other local schools that come to mind that offer higher education and student affairs master's programs are George Mason and George Washington Universities. You have to be realistic with your options and cast your net wide. I also recommend you browse schools in the Midwest and New England regions too.

Most merit-based scholarships require a GPA of 3.0 or higher. I am concerned that your bad grades are based on lack of participation and presentations. Most graduate-level courses may have up to 30% of your grade dedicated to attendance and participation. If you truly care about your studies, then you need to improve in this area quickly. I used to be a very shy student in high school, but I've learned over the years that it was more important to appear that you have something to say every week (even if it doesn't sound intellectually-stimulating) rather than just sit throughout the entire lecture and not say anything at all. Just showing effort AND attending nearly all your classes will ensure you won't earn less than a B grade. While my graduate program doesn't require online courses, I have taken a few at other institutions during my undergraduate experience. Distance learning requires time management and organization on your part. Some higher education and student affairs master's programs require hybrid (online + classroom) instruction. If you apply to any programs where students take these hybrid courses, then I highly recommend you improve in this area. You may also want to consider higher education and student affairs programs whose admissions standards won't penalize your sub-3.0 GPA (consider the regional universities that have a 2.5 or higher GPA requirement). While these are not highly-ranked programs, they do offer assistantships that can pay your entire way through graduate school.

OP, we need more information to know why you did not like your first graduate program. Are you originally from an Asian country where English is not your native language? The reason why I ask is because Asian international students generally have the hardest time adjusting to the demands of graduate life in American universities. It is more of a culture shock (Western customs are much different from Eastern customs) for international students.

A B+ is not the end of the world in graduate school. Was this course part of your primary research interests or a core foundation course required by all students? If it was the latter, just move on and be grateful that it's above a 3.0. If it's the former, however, I would request a meeting with the professors to ask for feedback about your performance. If this was your first semester, then take this as an opportunity to improve upon your mistakes. The first semester in graduate school is always the hardest for most students.

Penn is also launching a PhD program in Africana Studies. The big African American Studies programs however are Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern.

University of Michigan has a Global Scholars Program (concentration + scholarship assistance) for social work students interested in international service.

Government or nonprofit internship programs that hire graduate students. I know there are several targeted to undergraduate students.

If I want to take an independent study for one credit, how much work would that entail per week? What kind of assignment can I design that will satisfy one credit?

I graduated from the Michigan MSW program with a macro concentration. Since Michigan accepts a large cohort of students (~200), this enables the administrators to offer many courses and field placements to suit your particular interest. Interpersonal Practice is still the largest and most popular concentration (about 65% of the student body), but the faculty are very receptive to macro options in management, community practice, and social policy and evaluation. From my observation, only the flagship public universities with large budgets/endowments offer decent macro social work programs. Private universities are not worth it unless they offer you a substantial scholarship offer because starting salaries with an MSW degree are not generously high.

There's nothing wrong with attending graduate school where you attend undergrad as long as they have a good program in your field of interest.

I think you should consider the financial aspects of your MSW education. If you plan to work as a clinical social worker in Maryland, I don't see why you want to pass up on Maryland-Baltimore County. While Columbia is a fantastic program, I don't think it's worth the extra amount (thousands) of debt.

socialworkphd, do you believe doctoral programs should be accredited? It was my assumption that the MSW is the terminal practice degree and most social work/welfare programs are housed in a social work program (obviously, there are a few exceptions such as Brandeis). GADE also represents most social work doctoral programs.

Does anyone know any DC-area internship programs that accept graduate students? If you could provide a list of examples in this thread, I think everyone would appreciate it.

socialworkphd, do you recommend students to apply to PhD programs right after they finish their MSW or after they have gained work experience (2-5 years post-MSW)?

Have you thought about moving closer to the current graduate school program? I know that you may not want to pay for housing expenses. If you truly want to stay in this program, you may need to live closer. 2-3 years does pass by very quickly.

I had a W on my undergraduate transcript and was still able to pursue graduate studies in social work. Just explain your situation and you will be fine.

Having three academic references is totally fine for the application process. Another option is two academic and one professional.

You should also consider the University of Michigan, University of California-Berkeley, and the University of Chicago. All three schools offer joint MSW/PhD programs in Social Work and/or Sociology.

Are you willing to consider graduate programs in Maryland, Delaware, and Philadelphia area?

I think SeriousSillyPutty is implying that the OP should NOT look at Teach for America (TFA) as a short-term stint until she finds something else to do because you're dealing with underprivileged children who live in vulnerable conditions and deserve highly-committed teachers. These students need real mentors who have a strong desire to help them succeed in life; not someone who's in it to boost their resume and move on to more prestigious opportunities. That is a dangerous mentality, and is one major reason why I oppose TFA.

Do you have any higher education professional experience beyond the bachelor's degree? If the answer is no, I would not recommend PhD programs in higher education because you lack relevant work and research experience. If you want to make a career transition to higher education, then the master's degree is the better route. What are your career goals: student affairs or general higher education (policy, management, curriculum, etc.)?

Boston College, Boston University, Smith College, and Simmons College are all good choices for clinical social work in Massachusetts. Since all four are private universities, it basically comes down to which one offers you the best financial aid.

If you need work experience, then you should consider 2-year programs. Not only will you gain experience in a variety of student affairs environments, but employers can also better gauge what aspect of higher education suits you. 1.5-2 year programs will allow you to have 2-3 internships/student club roles on your resume. It will also give you the chance to learn more about the enterprise of higher education.

Michigan is also a 1.5 year program.