Lisbeth

Hey, Congrats! That's really great. I would first have to ask you what your chosen concentration is a SJSU as this should play a big part in which school you want to attend as well! Did you choose school/mental health&health/Aging/Child&family? And what are your biggest goals, or where do you see yourself enjoying to work the most? Since your second year will be specific to that concentration you'll gain more experience as you know in that field. I'd say driving two hours is crazy, but i know people who went twice a week from LA to UCSB (like 3 to 3.5 hours)! You'd only have to drive to campus two days a week both years, and you can choose to ask for a field internship that is in oakland maybe or for sure you can ask for SF because my questionnaire for SJSU had me state where I'd prefer (not guaranteed) to have my field work and it said "ie SF, San Jose, Monterey" so you could possibly have it up in oakland too or closer at least! That would really help you out. I'd call up SFSU and ask how many people were accepted this year since there was debate on this forum about whether it was 25 again or they upped it to 75 or something. Or really, just ask how big your class sizes are because sometimes how many are accepted doesn't really mean your class size at all. SJSU has the cohorts, and abt. 150 each year are accepted but that means abt. 37 per concentration but those are split between full time and part time it seems like, and they mentioned that they may have to be cutting that number back because of budget cuts, so really this year could be less at SJSU as well. And the second year you're with not the cohort, but people in your specialty only. I'd also call SFSU and ask how many mental health stipends they expect to have this year, everything's up in the air and they may not know for sure, but they also may have a good idea...but I can imagine if they had a huge cut to their program over the past few years that they might offer less stipends. I know their website says 40 for the child welfare stipend, which is a lot but I think they're big on that and I think they say 10ish for the mental health but not positive. Either way, I know I would not want to commute even twice a week for 4 hours a day!! yikes. Would you not be able to move if it became to difficult? It's a difficult decision, and I wish you the best of luck! I would say make a list of the most important things to you like distance and stress from commuting, call SJSU and ask if they have fieldwork in oakland or near by, what topic you really want to focus on etc. and compare stipend chances etc.

Thanks!

Thanks! Although I did grow up in Eureka California, so I am from the "real" northern california LOL. I moved here about ...oh gosh 2003 when I graduated high school, but it will be my first time living around the bay area. I won't be living in San Francisco though, I'll be in San Jose right near the school I hope. Too expensive in SF for me and I want to be able to bike/walk to school if at all possible! I am very happy though that I can visit SF, that will be much fun and I have friends there too. So I think I'll have even nicer weather in San Jose in terms of warmth, but still not as warm on average as here. I hate the pollution (compared to humboldt it's horrible) but have grown to love the sun being out umm pretty much every day with a lovely temperature I'm sure you'll love SFSU's program and thanks for posting your stats for us all to check out, good advice you gave. And yes you're right, SJSU offers the mental health stipend, the number each school offers differs between each cal state as the funding changes each year, It's very competitive, but I'll at least try, I mean why not...what a great opportunity! I would love to have to commit a year for $18,500. Either way I hope to get licensed eventually and land a job that will be in an underserved area in CA and be able to earn loan forgiveness then too.

I decided I'm going to go to San Jose's Mental Health/Health option 2-year. I had done a lot of thinking the past month and oddly my first choice changed from CSUDH to SJSU and although I hate to leave LA because I'm so comfortable here and it's so warm lol, It's worth it for me! So now there will be a spot for someone at CSUDH! If anyone is going to SJSU remind me, I can't remember the 2 who had got in earlier, I'll go searching when i have the time perhaps!

Congrats! Wow first to get into SFSU on here I think, awesome and good luck. If you got the time, please post your stats like i did (doesn't have to be so long, I tend to keep writing when i start lol) but it'd be nice to compare since my gpa was lower, but experience was decent..maybe others for next year can draw some conclusions from yours too!

I got a call this morning from San Jose State, I had emailed on Friday stating how I need to know the status of my app. by May 1st if possible, and if waitlisted that'd be great too. They called and said I had originally been waitlisted, but that now they were offering me my first fricken choice of mental health/health option 2 year!!!!! I seriously can't believe it, I was pretty darn sure that I was not getting in there, so this is a shock and kind of difficult since I was almost hoping they'd reject me and I'd just be able to go to CSUDH or see abt. CSULA (waitlisted) and keep living in southern california where I'm comfortable lol. But now I need to decide. hmmm Well either way I'll be giving a spot to someone since I already had accepted CSUDH, so that makes me feel good!

I had a 3.1 gpa overall (had originally studied biology and done poorly in a few courses here and there and also spent 3 years at my JC before transferring, so this accumulation of units and not knowing what I wanted to study yet = slightly lower gpa than I would have had if I knew what I wanted to study, I just wasn't focused enough to care even though I love bio.), but my last 90 quarter/60 semester (which some schools use) ended up being 3.25 because I had gone back to school to take courses for nursing and done well. As for work experience, I have 3.5 years of continuous experience working with children, adolescents and young adults with disabilities (down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, fetal alcohol syndrome, MR etc.) in which I was trained towards the end in some applied behavioral analysis. That was at a nonprofit and with people from all different backgrounds, so I received a rounded experience with minorities/socioeconomically challenged individuals. After that I've worked as a researcher for the past 2+ years on joint federal/state/local public health and safety plans of which most have been federally funded and the largest was a multi million dollar plan for California. I still work as a researcher, but last year I wasn't given much work and I actually was going to take the time anyways and I went back for those nursing courses and became a california state certified nursing assistant (CNA) so I also had some practicum clinical hours added as experience since it was direct patient care. So I had over 5.5 years of experience that would be helpful to some degree depending on what type of social work I'd do...mental/child&family/medical/research. I had a letter of recommendation from a professor at my undergraduate school, one from a supervisor at my work with persons with disabilities, and one from my manager/boss at my researching job. I got to read the one from my boss because she's nice like that, same with my former supervisor, and I had originally planned to apply to another program but didn't, so I got to open up the remaining unused letter from my professor (yes I know this was wrong but mostly it's because they don't want you getting upset/questioning them, and it was actually a very nice letter and I was pleased with their writing abilities so that was nice) and the other two letters were very good as well. I feel my personal statements were strong too, I spent a long time planning out each essay for each school to fit their needs, however SFSU was definitely a challenge and I actually e-mailed them abt. line spacing and made mine single or 1.5 to fit those 4 questions on a page each since they didn't mind and said we could do it on our own if we added the question above (the filler one they had was like double spaced and offered no room), that was annoying and difficult! So all in all, I think my gpa may be low for SFSU, however I had a fair amount of experience. I did not directly say I wanted to work only with children/families/groups, I worked my essay to say the truth which is that I have certain interests which included becoming licensed and working clinically in mental health/medical social work, but I also made it clear that I have interests in research as well as other things. So, they may have liked those things but found someone else better suited, or wanted someone who really had more experience/interest with Just children/families or didn't simply have room for me...there were many qualified applicants and I do believe if I had really wanted to go there I could have targeted my essay to say so better, but I was Myself and I wasn't going to lie/stretch abt. anything when it's the career I want to go into. I just wanted to be accepted for exactly who I am!

Hey nemo6211 can't find your public post that i have in my email, where you wrote you feel my pain etc. but I was seriously just being humorous when I said what if they wrote "your shi*'s weak" lol I really do think that'd be great in a funny way. I'm not even that bummed surprisingly...I guess because SFSU was never my first choice and now I don't have to worry abt. their high living costs. I'm still stoked that I got into one school and am confident that I'll do whatever I end up doing regardless of where I go, so no big deal. I would have been really needing that consolidation if I got in no where though, I would literally hate to redo applying to MSW programs. I wouldn't mind applying to another type of program in the future, but to redo something again would piss me off, so if CSUDH likes me, I love them back!! lol

Funny that I decided to e-mail the admissions director for SFSU today as I spoke of above, because right now I just checked my SFSU (it didn't say this earlier today) because the person above said theirs told them an answer, and sure enough it states this: "After careful review of the application materials you have filed with the Office of Admissions, we regret to inform you that your application for admission to San Francisco State University has been denied. An official letter explaining the reason(s) for our decision will be or has been sent to you." I just wonder what they mean when they say they will explain the reason(s) for their decision...I wonder if it will really say why, that'd be pretty neat if it's true, or funny if it's like "because your sh*t's weak" LOL

Hey everyone, since I may be the first one on here to know, I did Not get into SFSU. What a bummer, but it was pretty much anticipated to be this way anyways . (If you didn't read previously, I only know because I went out of my way to call and then find out who to email and only because I needed to know by May 1st to save $100 acceptance fee that my bf would be paying to go there for undergrad. So this saves us one of the three $100 deposits he might have had to pay and I explained this in my email so I think that's the only reason they were willing to tell me. ) In the e-mail I received, she let me know that their acceptance and denial letters are going out early next week. She also stated that she checked my score on their database, so everyone gets some type of score. Good luck to the rest of you who still don't know, I'll keep my hopes up for you!!

I also called SFSU today because I needed to find out if I'll be finding out before may 1st or if there was any way that I can. The woman said basically the same thing as you, and that they have to be done by the end of April (their deadline) and that some notifications have already gone out. I then stated that I'm just trying get any of the three schools to tell me before may 1st so my bf won't have to pay $100 for each and waste 200 bucks if I'm accepted to one, or possibly $300 to waste! I asked her if it comes to it and it's Monday April 30th and my notification hasn't made it to my house yet, could I just call up and find out so we don't have to waste the money if I'm not accepted since I know it's so competitive this year, and she told me I might be able to get the director of admissions to tell me. So, I'm just waiting until Monday which cuts it SO close...I hope I just get something in the mail before then! At least we'll all know within a week or so...depending on where you live.

When did you e-mail him, was this recently? I'm sorry to hear that's what his response was, that really sucks. That's kind of why I don't want to email him, I'd rather be rejected formally...well even if it's through e-mail at least it'd be them reaching out to me first. Although I'm sure SJSU has a list of applicants that they didn't offer admission to yet, and eventually will, I don't think they have a wait list in which we are notified that we've been waitlisted. My assumption comes from the fact that for instance CSULA sent me a formal letter informing me that I am waitlisted back in the first week of March, whereas I haven't heard of anyone being told they're waitlisted this year at SJSU but have heard people have been accepted...which leads me to believe that the only people who are getting in at this point are when others are rejecting their acceptances and then a spot becomes available. I could totally be wrong as all of this is kept pretty secret for each school. It is a little weird that he just told you like that though instead of saying that you've been reviewed and will know within the next two weeks, but then again you did ask and he simply answered. Keep in mind too though that the admin told me she didn't know how many people applied but her estimate was like 500, and 117 will be or have been accepted, but that's All concentrations together...like 3 concentrations of I dunno how many for their full time and then for the part time as well. I do know that public schools can sometimes be more competitive than private universities, especially now, because simply they cost less and more people have been applying so it becomes very competitive. Whereas private universities usually have more space because they don't depend nearly as much on public funding and can afford to accept more people and offer more financial aid to cover their higher costs. Don't be hard on yourself, I'm sure you're as great if not better an applicant than many, and MANY more great applicants will not get into their first choice public university this year, many people are applying to them in hopes to keep debt in check so we're fighting for those spots together

I also called SJSU today just to confirm the last date we might hear by, and the admin assistant said May 29th. So then I asked if some of us will hear before then just to push the convo. along a little and she said oh yes and now they're starting to e-mail people as well. She didn't know anything about phone calls, but I know some have said on here they were called with good news. She then suggested that I could e-mail dr. goldman and let him know that I'm already having to enroll in another school soon and to ask abt. my application. However, personally I don't think this would help and I'm more worried it might be pushy and hurt me so I won't be doing that right now. I will be e-mailing on Friday though to ask if I've been reviewed yet because May 1st is the deadline for my bf to pay his $100 deposit to accept admission there, and it's just so expensive for him to be accepting 3 schools just because I don't know where I'm accepted/rejected.

Hey, yeah I spoke with her again today as well. I was going to let you know the same thing because I pushed it this time and she was like well yes technically you can enroll now except for the seminar course because that course will be assigned to you and we don't know those yet. Plus when I spoke to the financial aid office today, they made it clear to me that the SUG awards haven't been awarded yet to anyone because at CSUDH they get decided on After people have enrolled for the semester, to see what type of courses you're taking. So I'll only be considered after I enroll. They couldn't tell me if waiting until May to enroll whether others would possibly be awarded it before me, but that I should enroll as soon as I can. Just so I know, what online list are you speaking of when you said you'll follow the online class list? I think even though I'm waiting on SJSU CSULA (waitlisted) and SFSU, that I might as well enroll just in case...better safe than sorry! Plus they don't require a deposit of any kind to accept admittance which is nice. And yeah, that letter should already be to us if we're able to enroll tomorrow. Not that anyone will take our spots because they're only there for us, but in terms of financial aid stuff it should have been explained so we have the best chances.

Hey yeah I'm in the 2 yr full time program as well, that's why I want to make sure that they considered me for the SUG. I'm assuming you meant that you don't qualify for it because your EFC is more than $800, right? And yeah I noticed that it says we can enroll on 4/24, so I called them like a week or two ago and asked if we're supposed to enroll in courses but Claudia said "no, you're going to get something in the mail that describes how and when to enroll in which courses". I'm not sure how we were supposed to know this, but I was like umm ok so don't enroll even though we can? And she said yup, but then I was like ok but will there be space for me still, I don't want to lose my choice of courses, but she still said no don't worry you'll get something in the mail and you don't enroll until after you've come to our orientation with the actual department. I'm not sure if you know which courses to enroll in or you're just using your packet that we got, but I'd call her yourself and see. I'm probably going to call again and tell her that it's a little confusing since some people might be enrolling while others don't.