allyba

I guess it depends on what your goals are. Only you can make that decision for yourself. Maybe try to contact someone who did what you want to do and conduct an informational interview of sorts to see how they did it. Do you want to teach or see yourself primarily in a research capacity? Btw you can teach as an adjunct professor without a PhD. Of course big name schools carry prestige but, prestige doesn´t translate into huge salary increases in every field. For some careers I can see why they would be worth it. For social work however, I don´t think they are really worth the cost. At least not for me. Too much prestige in this field separates you a lot from the people you are hoping to help and work for anyways. While it is good to have perspective, I think too much distance can hinder your ability to help on a ground level which a lot of MSWs do.

Ellie that sounds very responsible of you. Congrats to everyone getting into big name schools. If you can afford it, great. Some of the programs look fantastic. However, I am with Ellie on this one. I just don´t see how going into significant debt to obtain an MSW is a smart choice. I think we should start sending these schools a message that we won´t pay such high rates. How are we supposed to be effective social workers if one of our main concerns post MSW is making enough to make our loan payments every month? California state schools are great for residents. There is also a program for students from the western region of the U.S. to apply for a discount in tuition so, they don´t pay as much as other out-of-state students do. The tuition is getting higher in California but not even close to 38,000 a year yet. These programs are competitive. Many accept a lower percentage of MSW applicants than big name schools do. If I don´t get into a state school this year, I think I´d rather apply again next year in California than go elsewhere where the cost is staggering.

It sounds like the interview is a standard part of CSUN´s application procedure. I don´t think the interviews are selective for this school. When I asked they said that applicants that have been chosen to advance to the second stage of the process are contacted for an interview.

Thanks! i am discouraged by the sticker shock of the out of state options I´ve looked at. So expensive. There are plenty it seems with later deadlines but, realistically, taking out big loans for an MSW isn´t an option for me. I have emailed CSULA and I am not impressed with the admin/advising department. Gave me a bad feeling. Of course, they could just be rushed right now and everyone has bad days. I have to decide in the next few days if I even want to put my app in. I used to work as an academic advisor and I think that admin/advising can be a reflection of the quality of the program. Anyone know much about their program?

Hey Everyone, I am working abroad right now and hadn´t planned on heading back this year but, it is looking like my job isn´t going to work out great in 2012. So, I thought I´d apply a little earlier than expected to MSW programs. I rushed in apps to CSUN and CSUEB. Thinking of turning one into CSULA if they don´t do rolling admissions. Anyone know? Really bummed I wasn´t able to turn them in early but I didn´t know at the time what was happening. I hope my experience abroad helps! Anyone know if people were accepted last year that applied later in the application period? Also, can anyone recommend schools out of state that have later application deadlines?