footballfan90

Thank you for the very informative and helpful response! Do you have any advice in securing a second-year field placement with the VA? The university I will likely attend this fall is located in a very competitive city for social work. There are several other MSW programs with students inevitably competing for a few coveted VA placements, so I am mindful that I will absolutely not be a shoo-in. I can assume that first-year grades play a significant role. I am still waiting for my first-level placement, and I indicated in my application that I am interested in a career with the VA--ideally as a housing coordinator or case manager. I am a recent college graduate, and my internship and volunteer experiences are all over the place (child welfare, corrections, seniors). Hopefully my placement in the upcoming year will fill in a few gaps and allow me to have direct client contact with people struggling with similar issues that vets face (homelessness, substance absuse, etc). I appreciate any suggestions you may have!

I think it is perfectly natural to worry about whether or not your program will prove fulfilling and lead to a rewarding career path. However, an MSW is a generalist degree that can translate into hundreds of unique career opportunities. In addition to your first and second year fieldwork placements, maybe you can do a few job shaddows in different areas of social work. Regarding your lack-of-public-transit-situation, I definitely understand your concerns. I don't know specifics about your situation, but is it possible to obtain your license this summer?

Thank you so much for your response! I will be attending the MSW New Student Orientation next month (my first visit to Chicago!!!) and I am really looking forward to it. LUC's Jesuit affiliation is definitely one of the reasons I chose to apply, along with its wonderful urban setting and relatively close proximity to many practicum sites. I recently applied for graduate student housing at Baumhart Hall. You mentioned that you spent most of your time at the Lakeshore campus, but have you heard anything about on-campus life at Water Tower Campus? I have visited the website, but other than that the information I have is pretty limited.

I can't respond specifically to the program at Cal Berkeley (although I've heard it's fabulous!). I have been accepted to the Loyola Chicago MSW program this fall and am considering attending. Since you attended for undergrad, I was wondering if you would mind sharing your thoughts and opinions on the program/school/Water Tower Campus? There has been minimal conversation on this forum about LUC, so I would be very appreciative of any comments!

I received my acceptance letter to Loyola yesterday! I am looking forward to visiting sometime over the next few months. Still waiting on BC and University of Denver.

I know this is slightly off-topic, but would you mind sharing with us your experience working for the VA? I am beginning my MSW this fall and hope to complete my second year practicum there. Do you suggest a particular concentration or any specific classes for an MSW student hoping to obtain employment? Did you find being a VA social worker to be a complete burnout job (hence the substantially larger salary)? Lastly, do they tend to mostly hire MSWs with many years of experience, or does someone fresh out of graduate school have a chance?

Hi Sarah! I am so happy that another prospective Loyola student has joined in on the conversation. How did orientation go? Even though the Water Tower Campus is removed from the Lake Shore Campus, do you also consider it to be an advantage because it is located downtown and close to many practicum opportunities? Does it seem like the WTC has a campus feel of its own? I'm from out of state and am currently looking at the graduate student housing in Baumhart Hall. Pricey, but it seems convenient to live across the street from Lewis Towers! Are you from the area? Have you heard anything (good or bad!) about graduate student housing? Regarding the MSW program itself, were you impressed with the orientation? What do you think about the prestige of the program? How about the faculty/current students/courses? Also, how long did you have to wait before receiving your acceptance letter & did you find Loyola to be pretty generous with scholarship money? I submitted my application the day before the March 1st scholarship deadline, although my application was technically not complete until March 13th because one of my references took a little longer to submit his letter of recommendation. I applied to (but did not attend) LUC for undergrad and received my acceptance letter around several weeks after applying, so I am waiting on pins and needles to hear something soon!

Regarding DU, how much of a disadvantage do I have as far as admission/scholorships go for applying a month and a half AFTER the priority deadline? I submitted my application in the first week of March, and I am wondering how many people they typically admit in the spring/summer.

Congratulations on your acceptance! That definitely seems pretty selective in comparison to other schools. Have you visited the campus yet? Where else did you apply?

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear that! Were you an in-state or out-of-state applicant? And was the bit about the 40% acceptance rate in the email they sent you, or did you call them afterwards? If you spoke to them personally, did they mention any additional admissions statistics? It's Thursday afternoon and I still haven't heard anything. I will call the office if I still have not received word by late in the day tomorrow.

Still waiting on pins and needles for my email from the UW. I have high hopes, however since they are taking fewer in-state students, I am even more apprehensive. Is anyone else still waiting on an admissions decision?

It's their loss--you would be a fantastic additon to any program! Did you hear anthing else about BC admissions regarding how many people applied this year or the acceptance rate over the last few years?

Did you end up contacting admissions today? I haven't heard anything either, so I will call on Friday if I do not receive anything before then.

There hasn't been a great deal mentioned about Boston College and LUC, so I figured I would start a new conversation to address these reputable Jesuit schools. Did anyone else apply or at least consider attending either of these schools? Loyola seems to be the overshaddowed program behind University of Chicago and UIC, so I am very interested to hear what people have to say about it. I submitted both applications at the end of February and am eagerly waiting for their decisions, which I am guessing will arrive sometime in April. I would be very interested to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions regarding both programs. To those already accepted, did you receive merit based scholorships? If so, for how much? I am also curious about the admissions statistics for both schools: Number of people applied, percentage accepted, etc. If anyone can speak to the difficulty level of being accepted to these MSW programs, I would appreciate it!

There hasn't been a great deal mentioned about Boston College and LUC, so I figured I would start a new conversation to address these reputable Jesuit schools. Did anyone else apply or at least consider attending either of these schools? Loyola seems to be the overshaddowed program behind University of Chicago and UIC, so I am very interested to hear what people have to say about it. I submitted both applications at the end of February and am eagerly waiting for their decisions, which I am guessing will arrive sometime in April. I would be very interested to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions regarding both programs. To those already accepted, did you receive merit based scholorships? If so, for how much? I am also curious about the admissions statistics for both schools: Number of people applied, percentage accepted, etc. If anyone can speak to the difficulty level of being accepted to these MSW programs, I would appreciate it!

I am applying for MSW programs this fall, and am looking for programs that would offer excellent curriculum and practicum experiences that would prepare me for a future career as a social worker with the United States Dept. of Veteran's Affairs. My top choices thus far are: University of Washington (unfortunately very difficult to receive admission as an in-state student), University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University, CUNY-Hunter College, Fordham University, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, and Portland State University (safety school). To all past and present MSW students with personal experience or any information regarding MSW programs offering preparation for a career with the VA, I would be grateful for any advice! I am trying to find out what the typical concentration would be for an MSW student with these aspirations, any information about VA practicum experiences, what I should look for in a program, post-grad job availability, etc. I would be interested in finding out if anyone attended one of the schools mentioned in the previous paragraph, and suggestions for another MSW program with this emphasis. Thank you!