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CK41885

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Everything posted by CK41885

  1. Oh, the event will be held in the Luskin School of Public Affairs. Room 2355. I also have an electronic flyer. If interested, you can contact either the diversity caucus or me to get a copy. I do not believe that it is posted online quite yet.
  2. I am a current 2nd year MSW student at UCLA and wanted to invite anyone who is interested in learning more about the experience of the UCLA MSW program to a Diversity Fair on Saturday Nov 19, 2011. Registration in the morning begins at 9:30 and the event will go until 2:30 pm. We will discuss what you can do with an MSW, why choose UCLA, and attempt to answer any application questions you may have. Time will also be set aside for networking and individual application assistance. Current students, alumni, and faculty will be present. And breakfast will be provided!! If you would like further details, you may either contact the Diversity Caucus at DiversityCaucus@gmail.com or you may contact me at ck41885@ucla.edu.
  3. Hopefully, it isn't too late for some input from a current UCLA MSW student! Having just finished my first year at UCLA, I feel compelled to provide some honest information regarding the program to potential students; I certainly wish someone told me coming into the program. UCLA is currently going through a pretty massive overhaul of their MSW program and it has been showing in the drop in the quality of the faculty. Additionally, a significant amount of the courses are very superficial and it often feels like we are given assignments that are too elementary. I have a lot of worry that many of the students will leave the program ill-equipped for many of the monumental obstacles that are ahead. In the current state, I believe that the academic portion of the UCLA program provides minimal substance for those individuals who have had a very good psychology education or has spent time working in human services. However, the field placement portion is an extremely helpful learning experience and UCLA tries pretty hard to place you in a situation that WILL allow you to grow. Not everyone felt comfortable in their placement, but you don't grow much if you never step outside your comfort zone. In terms of your specific situation, you should understand that if you do attend UCLA, you will most likely not be placed in the West Side. If that is a deal-breaker, that should make your decision easy. However, I feel like you are really limiting your potential for development as a clinician if you don't try some things outside of your comfort zone. It sounds like a bigger factor in your decision making process is the geographical location. First off, from what I have heard, I think that the California licensing standards for LCSW's is one of the strictest in the country. What that means is that if you go to Boston and decide to return to CA, you might have to take some additional measures to retain your license. I'm not sure exactly how it would go if you went from CA to Boston. In terms of your career goals, if you want to move to the Northeast, it would benefit you greatly to attend BC. You would have a head start in getting to learn about some of the agencies in the area, and you would be able to start building networks through your school, classmates, and placement. Lastly, I'm sure the relationship is something that is weighing heavily on your mind. I think that is something that you need to consider carefully, and think about how it stacks up against the pros and cons of attending BC. I have tried to add some honest information about the state of the UCLA program and my view of the BC program. I think it will be up to you to ultimately decide how much the relationship means to you. Best of luck with the decision, and feel free to ask if you have any other questions about the UCLA.
  4. Hello everyone, I am currently a CalSWEC Public Child Welfare recipient at UCLA heading into my second year of study. You guys have the basic idea of how the stipend works - that in return for two years of academic funding, you agree to provide your services to an child welfare agency for two years after graduation. I can provide some additional information based upon what I've been told at UCLA and going through some of the processes personally. From what I've been told, most people who receive CalSWEC funds in the Los Angeles area end up working for DCFS. The Dept. is currently extremely understaffed in terms of ER (emergency response) workers so most individuals will likely be slotted into that position when they go to work at the Dept. The responsibilities of this position involve going out to investigate claims of child abuse. When someone alleges a case of child abuse, they will usually send out an ER worker to investigate if the allegation sounds credible. At UCLA (and maybe at other schools as well), we are required to intern at DCFS during our second year of school too, so ultimately we will have worked for DCFS in some capacity for 3 years before we are free of our commitments. However, I know that there are students who are choosing to move out of the area and I believe that they have more flexibility in applying for non-profit type jobs. Just know that there ARE PLENTY of jobs of available in LA County DCFS. The turnover is unbelievable. In terms of your concerns about having to pay back the stipend, the most likely reason would be early drop out from the work commitment. From my experience at UCLA, it is extremely difficult for you to get anything lower than a B and I have found the academic portion of the program to not be very challenging. Additionally, if you are able to act professionally at your field placement, you should be fine and be able to avoid getting held back due to failure to meet the field placement requirement. I have heard of multiple students who have had to repeat their placements, but I also thought that they were not very professional, and clearly their supervisors did as well. If you are able to make it through the 2 years of school, then comes DCFS. The work there is tough from what everyone has told me, and there are many problems with how the system operates. I think of this as a challenge for me to tackle, but I could understand why many people are easily frustrated by it. I would say that the best thing to do is just take a good look at your self and think about how much you can tolerate emotionally draining scenarios and sometimes having little power to change them. If you think you can tolerate them, or even LEARN to tolerate them, I say you should definitely go for it. The number of CalSWEC awards are comparable in number at the different schools, so it is important to understand that your chances of receiving an award is greater if you apply to a school with a smaller number in its cohort. Last year, I was accepted into both UCLA and USC. I received the CalSWEC award for UCLA but didn't even get an interview for USC, even tho I got accepted for the Dean's Scholarship. A big reason may have been that UCLA accepted under 100 students while USC accepted over 500. If there are only 12 - 15 awards at each school, you can figure out what your chances look like at USC. Also, CalSWEC awards are given preferentially to those individuals already working for DCFS. The interview process is similar to a job interview, so if you google some questions that they commonly give you at job interviews, you should be fine. Best of luck to everyone!
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