ladybug3

Thank you, Takeruk. I was thinking of similar ideas, especially the page numbers on the slide. I have yet to investigate the room (I just found out where it will be), but from my understanding this is phone communication only. I need to submit my slides early so that they can be sent to my committee member who will then follow along. I imagine if any video was involved, then I would not need to provide the slides as they would be part of the presentation. Luckily questions are asked in rounds after my initial presentation, so I don't have to worry about being interrupted - although that is great advice for the questioning rounds. Thanks again!

I am finishing my Master of Education thesis and I am lucky enough to defend this month. I just found out that one of my committee members will be joining via teleconference. I have never taken part in any kind of teleconference, let alone one for such an important presentation. I know I have to keep my PowerPoint simple (no animations that require a second click) and I need to tell my committee member when I change slides so that they can follow along from their office. But does anyone have any advice for presenting via teleconference and/or defense advice in general?

I don't know exactly what you're researching for, but I am surprised you have not looked into academic journals. Try The International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning; The American Journal of Distance Education; The Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology; The European Journal of Open and Distance Learning; and The International Journal of E-Learning to start. You should find lots of articles on distance education within those journals and I am sure many of them are qualitative (or tell some form of a story from the subject's perspective). If there's a specific question you're looking into or you're trying to decide if distance education is for you, feel free to message me. I am in a mixed program that includes both in class courses and online courses. Most part time students take only distance courses while most full time students (myself) take both.

I go visit my family that is a 4 hour drive from me about once a month. If I was visiting once a week, they'd probably have to be within 2 hours driving distance..

I was just reading this today: http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/09/05/the-broken-generation/ It is a McLean's article about how mental health issues are increasing in students right now, especially compared to students in previous decades.

There is an entire board under professional programs as well as several threads in the waiting it out section and other application posts. No worries: social work is anything but under represented.

I PM-ed you, but the short answer is that yes, there are those of us out there who struggled with anxiety disorders and/or major depressive disorder while applying to grad school. To be honest, I think the process itself could make the calmest of people anxious about the situation at hand - and their future in general. I think anxiety is something grad students can relate far too much to.

This is more for Canadian schools, but this late in the game, the waitlist only moves if someone changes their mind about their acceptance. I am not saying it can't happen, but by August, people have been planning their move and school year since May or often times earlier. It would typically have to be something pretty serious to move the waitlist now (think illness, family emergency, maybe their own waitlist acceptance). I was waitlisted for a MSW program last year. We were told we could be accepted right up to September 17 (a week after the program started) but the list didn't actually move after June. But there is hope. When I eventually did get my rejection letter (believe me, I tried to stay hopeful through August), I improved my resume, published an article, worked hard on my research and reapplied. I was actually accepted to that same program this year, although I decided a different program was a better fit. Funny how life works

I have a question for anyone who has ever received OGS before or knows much about it. So, I am receiving OGS for 3 terms for the first year of my Masters, starting in September. I recently was offered a small research assistantship of $5000 for the year. I went into the OSAP office to report boh of these changes on my application. Now I no longer qualify for OSAP. It isn't a huge deal; I am getting about $1500 more than the max OSAP anyways, but I am worried that no longer qualifyin for funding means I no longer qualify for OGS.. in which case (funny enough), I would be in desperate need for OSAP funding! Does not qualifying due to income from OGS/assistantship count as not being eligible for OSAP (and thus OGS)? I meet the criteria in that I would be getting OSAP funding if I hadn't been fortunate enough to receive OGS...

If you know a journal or two in your field, you can go right to their websites and consider ordering a subscription. This might not be as specific as your interests, but will give you a great overview of the current research in your field. You can also look for open source journals, which might publish journals each month that are free to access for everyone.

Do both. So, last year, I was in the same boat as you. I had applied only to UofT, found myself on the waitlist, and was ultimately rejected. I decided at the last minute to postpone my graduation and return to school to finish my minor. I completely courses in Social Welfare for my minor and found a class with a volunteer Community Service Placement at the local AIDS Committee. I also furthered my research and got both a publication and presentation under my belt. So, my advice to you is to go back to school and look into courses that have more practical experience. If you're into medical social work, take courses related to that if you can. Also, retake stats. At the info session, they stressed how important a good mark in stats/methods course is. They said they often won't even waitlist people without at least 75% in stats because they don't want to give false hope of getting in. If you're in the 75-low 80% range, I would recommend re-taking it and trying to improve your mark. In any case, I got into UofT this year and also to a local school for my M.Ed. I decided on the M.Ed route and declined my offer at UofT. Like I said, a year gives a lot of time to change and grow. Either way, I got into 2/3 schools I applied to this year and I am up for multiple scholarships at the school I accepted, even after being rejected last year and having to reapply. If you made it this far, you're qualified for the program. It's not a matter of if you get in, just a matter of when

As others say, it really depends. During my undergrad I did 5-6 courses per semester and spent about $1000 a semester on books. I tried to buy used when I could, but with the Psychology program at my undergrad it seemed pretty typical for a newly updated book to be used every year. To be fair, sometimes I had all year courses so the $200-250 I spent (on one book) would last me the whole year, but for the most part this was not the case. Anyways, what I am saying is that the expensive fee you are claiming on supplies would be heaven for a student who spends so much more each semester. I am sure the school you go to as well as the specific program you are in plays a large role. My friends who were English majors bought far more books than I did, but spent a fraction of the cost as their books were usually common novels that they could shop around for...

That's really neat! Does that mean you want to go into the policy side of education?

Thanks. That's not exactly what I meant. I personally want to work in a post-secondary setting helping students with disabilities transition to university life. I am just wondering what exactly other people plan to do after graduation.

I just rejected my offer at UofT and accepted a M.Ed instead. I hope someone on the waitlist enjoys my spot

I know some people getting a M.Ed degree do so because they are teachers and want additional qualifications, but I also know a lot of people with higher education degrees never plan on being classroom educators.. What is your career goal after you graduate with your M.Ed/PhD/EdD and what specialization are you planning to achieve this? (Special Ed/Adult Ed/Policy, etc)

So, like many others right now, I am attempting to decide between two different schools. Perhaps different, I am actually deciding between two programs. I applied for my Masters of Social Work in November, however I narrowed my interests more during this past year and at the last minute applies to a Masters of Education program. I was accepted to both and a lot of factors make me want to stay where I currently am, which means I would complete my Masters of Education. I think my career ambitions are perhaps more align with education as I want to assist people with disabilities transition into university. That being said, there is a lot of social work involved and I am hesitant to choose an exact program. I have been accepted online for my Education program, however I have yet to receive an official information package. I am hearing rumours that I may be getting full funding and this program is at a university I would love to work at (and where my long-term boyfriend of 6 years lives and where my family lives, etc). The Social Work program offers 0 funding and will cost me upwards of 40 thousand for two years, but it is at a well known school with a decent program [although I have heard far too many horror stories at the same time]. It seems like Education should win hands down, but I feel like the Education degree focuses on one or two areas of interest where as the Social Work degree is much more broad and allows me to be registered.. I really have no idea what to do.. any suggestions or advice?

This is exactly my story as well. From the information sessions, I know UofT gets about 600 to 700 applicants for the two year program and typically accepts 125 students. On the results board, someone said their waitlist letter stated that 140 students were accepted this year due to increased applicants. Laurier's two year program gets about 400 to 500 applicants and accepts 90. Through research I found that Windsor/York/Carleton each accept about 25 students for their two year program and get from 100 to 200 applicants.

Being waitlisted is an amazing accomplishment. Think about it - there's only room for about 20% of applicants and roughly another 10% [at UofT] are waitlisted. You made the top 30% of candidates this year. The waitlist does move [how much is debatable] but even if you don't get in off the waitlst, isn't is a pretty large accomplishment just to be on it?

Dear UofT, It was really mean of you to send out acceptances on the Monday before the longest weekend of the year. I live too far away and now there is no mail delivery until Tuesday. Easter Weekend will be even longer this year...

I don't know about all departments, but I know that the minimum requirements at the 3 I applied to must be met after graduating. In other words, you may be above the minimum when you apply and be accepted by a conditional offer, however you have to maintain above that point in order to be accepted in the end. It isn't fair to accept some people because their grades were high enough 4 months before graduation but refuse others outright for not achieving the minimum gpa. Conditional offers typically mean you need to meet that condition - grades above the minimum - in order for the offer to stand.

UofT did not contact me at all other than my waitlist letter (April 14, 2011) and a final rejection letter after the program had started. From what is said on the results survey, those who were later offered admission received a call from Angela and then an acceptance package later in the mail. I hope you get the phone call I am not really expecting to be accepted, but if I am, I am not sure if I am accepting. I have been offered a M.Ed position closer to home that allows me to do my own research in a more specific area of interest... so, if I get rejected I have an easy decision and if not, I have a lot of thinking to do.. hah

Hey! I was on the waitlist last year and may be joining you again this year [haven't yet got my letter, but I am quite North of TO]. Anyways, I know there were a few people last year who did. Last year they allowed about 4 weeks for people to accept/reject offers and then made a day of phone calls offering spots to those on the waitlist. Those offered a spot had about another two weeks to respond and the process started again until all spots were full. I believe people were offered spots until about June, however we got to find out 2 weeks earlier this year than last, so I'd assume all spots would be full by the end of May. You could technically get accepted up until the day classes start [ie, someone changes their mind about going at the last minute] but it's unlikely. I received my rejection letter around September 26th. For the record, my online status last year did not change until OCTOBER. I had known I was officially rejected for a month and had been on the waitlist for 6 months.. in other words, don't take the status too seriously because it does not necessarily reflect reality.

That's a pretty standard clause if you have yet to graduate. The minimum to apply/be accepted is typically a B+. It might not be overall gpa, though. Some schools count their minimum from the last year of courses, last two years of courses, or overall gpa. The B+ may be in one of those categories (in last year) as opposed to overall.. In any case, best of luck! You're almost done

To be honest, I think they get less applicants because they accept less people. They are also a lot more likely to offer funding, though, where as UofT and Laurier have minimum funding. They both have a lump sum that is broken into $4000 increments and offered to the highest average, followed by tue second highest average, until all the money is gone. Anyways, when I was battling whether to spend more than $120 to apply to schools that accept only 25, I looked at how many were accepted. The ratio doesn't change (higher acceptances = higher applicants), however I felt better knowing the $400 I spent opened me up to about 70% of the positions in Canada..