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I know these aren't the schools you're asking about, but I would recommend looking into San Francisco State University's MSW program. I've heard nothing but great things about their program. They're one of the few state schools (Hunter would be another one) that's located smack dab in an urban city, which offers a unique perspective into urban social issues, diverse populations, diverse cohort, faculty, etc. SFSU and Hunter are also ridiculously affordable. If I were to apply again, I would definitely apply to Hunter. I've heard it compared to UCLA (the UCLA of NY/east coast). I chose not to apply to SFSU only because I wanted to move out of the bay area to get a different perspective (then come back); otherwise, it would have been a good option. UC Berkeley's MSW is also really great and more affordable than NYU (although I don't know how much out of state tuition is). My previous supervisor graduated from Cal and loved it. She did the nonprofit admin. route. The bay area in general is a fantastic place for social work as it's completely saturated with nonprofits - LOTS of interesting field education placement options. I feel like there's at least one organization addressing pretty much any social issue you're interested in. It's also a pretty darn great place to live, but it definitely comes at a price. It isn't the cheapest place to live, but totally doable! I do it on a nonprofit salary and also managed to get by in San Francisco when I was living off of the AmeriCorps stipend! Good luck with everything!

Thanks for this thread! I wasn't able to visit any east coast schools before making my decisions, so this has been very helpful. In regards to "non-traditional (older)" students, I feel like state schools (CSUs since I'm not familiar with other states) are the programs that have more of these students since they offer more evening classes or 3 year programs. I spoke to admissions at Columbia, UChicago, and UPenn and learned that the majority of the cohort are straight out of undergrad. then there are those who have been out of school for 1-2 yrs. and a sprinkling of students who've been out of school for much longer. I feel like diversity is lacking in any school, state or not, because the profession is basically dominated by white women (~80% according to NASW stats.), but at least CSUs offer some age diversity. Should make for an interesting experience for me as one of the few students of color. Based on what I've heard, CUNY seems like an excellent program! I hope you got in! The only reason I didn't apply to CUNY or Fordham is because I want to come back to San Francisco, or who knows where I'll end up in the future...maybe abroad, so I was concerned that employers outside of the NY/east coast area might not be as familiar with these schools. It seems like those within the area know how great CUNY's program is, but I don't know if the same can be said about those in other states or abroad. I could be completely wrong though. If not CUNY then you should join me at Columbia! mhatch: I have similar concerns as you. Maybe it's the students in the class that influence the depth of these discussions? You should join me at Columbia too! I want more classmates like you who will bring depth to these discussions. Part of my personal statement was about the need for cultural competency, so my biggest concern about CUSSW is exactly what you stated. How do I plan on paying for it all? It was tough justifying the cost of tuition. I've been working at non-profits for years while living in a very expensive city (almost as expensive as NYC, if not more), so I wasn't able to save as much for grad. school as I would have liked, but I did manage to squirrel away some money. After a while, I learned how to live comfortably on a non-profit salary and be ok with a large chunk of my paycheck going towards rent. I'm also going into this debt-free (already paid off undergrad. loans), so I have more wiggle room to take on new debt. I have some savings, Columbia's scholarship, unsubsidized grad. loan, and I qualify for an interest-free loan from this awesome non-profit agency because of the type of non-profit I currently work for (this is how I was able to pay off my undergrad. loans). Otherwise, I would have to go to a big bank like Wells Fargo to borrow the rest of the student loans, which I wanted to avoid. I also found out recently that my program ran out of funding, so they're laying me off at the end of the fiscal year (couldn't have applied to grad. school at a better time-phew!), so I'll have some unemployment to get me through for a bit which will be super helpful. I plan to pay the interest for the unsubsidized grad. loan while in school instead of waiting until I graduate to help keep the principle amount down. There are loan calculators online that'll help you figure out your monthly payment and the amount of interest you'll pay during the life of the loan. I think it's important to have an idea of how much your monthly payments will be to make sure you can manage it. Some people take out loans without really knowing then they're shocked after the 6 month grace period ends when they see the min. payment! Lastly, my fiance is relocating with me, so we'll be able to split a lot of expenses with him, which should slightly reduce my overall living expenses and amount of student loans I would have to borrow. Like you, I'm also interested in international social welfare (also clinical with youth and families). Come to Columbia! Let's make some changes. At this point, I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to meet a few classmates who share similar passions and a willingness to examine/recognize social issues, personal biases, etc. If students don't get this in the classroom then they'll certainly get it at their field placements! There's nothing like working on the front lines to make one recognize and examine the injustices of the world. Good luck with your final decision! I definitely understand what you're going through. I grappled with my choices for a long time before making my decision. My coworker's partner did her MSW at Smith and is now working on her phd there and she said Columbia is a great school for social work. I know this is only one person's opinion, but it made me feel a little better about my choice to take on so much debt. I also have a friend who has a hand full of friends who just graduated from CUSSW last year. 1 didn't really like the program, 1 had mixed reviews, and the others liked the program (all have jobs now). I need to email them to ask for their feedback, what types of jobs they landed post-grad., and will share it on the forum once I hear back.

I'm so glad I found this thread. I'm about to start grad. school this fall, so I'm a little worried about how stress and relocation will affect the relationship. I met my now fiance (I'm a long distance non-believer turned believer! ) about 3-4 months before he headed to Singapore for graduate school. I had no clue he applied to grad. school abroad. He received his acceptance about a month or two after we started dating, so in my mind, this would be a summer fling then we'd part ways. Things were going so well that I decided to take a leap of faith and buy a plane ticket to visit him a couple of months into his program. Of course, I worried that maybe we wouldn't even like each other by the time my flight rolled around, but it all worked out. Long distance was a lot easier than I expected. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't terribly difficult either. I think it helped that his program was only a year, so we knew there would be an end date - light at the end of the tunnel to focus on! We also trusted each other and communicated well. Lots of little emails and video chat whenever we could - the time difference was tough, only gave us a one hour window in the AM and PM to connect! I also visited him again towards the end of his program and he flew back to the states to visit me a few times. He also moved back during summer break so that helped. Oh and he decided to study "abroad" back in CA for the last few months of the program, so we were doing long distance between northern and southern CA. At that point, 1 hour plane ride or 6 hour drive compared to a 12+ hour flight was easy peasy! Same time zone! Anyway, like others who've had successful long distance relationships because of grad. school have said, it's totally doable if both are committed to making it work. Now it's my turn to go off to grad. school and my fiance has been nothing but 100% supportive. He knows this is something I want and need to do and it's my turn! We're moving from San Francisco to NYC together. I chose schools in major cities to give him better job prospects plus we both have similar taste in where we'd want to live, so it wasn't a real sacrifice on my end. We went through the list together and decided why we wouldn't want to live in a particular city, so that helped me narrow down my list. My only concern now is that he was probably a much more disciplined student than I am. He'll get things done way in advance, whereas, I wait closer to the deadline, which puts me in a state of anxiety and panic, but I always get it done so of course, I don't learn my lesson. When I'm in this state, I will refuse to go out or do anything until I'm done with school work. It's a bummer on him because he wants to have a social life, but I have to put mine on pause. Does anyone have suggestions on strategies to balance school and personal life? How do you make your partner feel special and not neglected during a busy time where both individuals will have varying schedules and priorities? Also, were you able to introduce your partner to the grad. student friends you've made? How did your partner meet new people? I imagine it can be kind of isolating in a new city without access to a grad. school cohort for friends. There should be a support group where partners can meet partners of other grad. students.

I think you should make a pros/cons list. Think about what you look for in a program, what type of graduate experience would you want, and so on then do a side by side comparison. Some things that I considered when I made my own comparison chart were: - student demographcis (i.e. avg. age, ethnicity, etc.) - populations you would work with at each location (LA might give you access to diff. population than say, Fullerton - probably more homelessness, drug addiction, etc. in LA than in Fullerton, but I could be wrong!) - demographics of the location - % of graduates who find full-time employment soon after graduating - where do some alumni work - opportunties for global immersion during the summer - size of incoming cohort - avg. class size - Does the program offer a large variety of field placement opportunities, which I think speaks to how well connected they are to the community - Are there any professors who have areas of interest/research that align with your interests? You won't be doing research with them, but I'm sure their class content will somehow reflect some of their areas of expertise. - Look at your finances to see how much student loans you would realistically be able and willing to take on. I was only offered two different unsubsidized graduate loans and work study for SFSU. I doubt I'll qualify for the State University Grant, so no free money. You'll still have to take out loans, but the amount would be less since tuition is only around 6-7k per year. - Facilities/resources - this might not matter as much, but it could help you decide between two very similar programs. For example, maybe CSULB's campus is a lot nicer than CSUF's - better classrooms, libraries, student centers, etc. Which campus do you like being on more? Good luck!! I understand how tough it is - I'm still in the process of making my final decision. The way I see it, you can't make the wrong choice and have regrets if you've never experieced it. You might not even like the programs you didn't choose, but you'll never know because you were never there. There are pros and cons to each choice, but I think it all works out in the end. There will be great opportunities and experiences with any decision you make.

2500 is such a bummer! I ended up declining because I just can't afford it. The nice thing about UC is that they offer merit and need-based aid vs. some other schools who only offer need-based, so it seems like students (who didn't come off the wait list or miss their deposit deadline!) have been given pretty generous offers!

Hi Everyone, Thought I'd offer the little information I know about CSULB in case you find it helpful. My friend is about to graduate from CSULB's MSW program (older adults concentration) and overall, she likes her program. However, she didn't have the greatest second year field placement. Her supervisor wasn't very supportive and made her almost cry a few times! She also said it was challenging to make friends within her cohort, but she did interact with her classmates through group projects. One thing she did note was that field placement sites seem to prefer students from USC, but that there are field placements who host both CSU and USC students, so you would have access to similar field placement opportunities. Those sites might just take the USC student over you if spots are limited, but that doesn't mean you won't have access to other great opportunities! I don't think you can go wrong with CSULB. The cost of tuition can't be beat and if socal is where you want to be for the next two years or ten then seems like a no brainer. Personally, I couldn't afford the tuition at USC and declined their offer. Tuition costs more than other private and ivy league schools, which I find absolutely unsettling. I also chose not to attend CSULB because I didn't want to move back to socal if I had the choice to stay in SF or move to another urban city. I think there are multiple factors that will influence the "right" choice, such as program, cost, location, where you see yourself, professional goals, etc. A friend from college graduated from USC's MSW program in 2010 and seems to have liked his experience. He's currently working as a clinical social worker at San Francisco General Hospital - working with people who suffer from mental illness. It's a demanding job, but he loves it! I believe he makes at least 50k per year, if not more. Hope this is somewhat helpful! Good luck on your decisions!

Hello Everyone, I've noticed quite a few discussions around average salary working in social services and people wondering what they could expect to make after they graduate. I'll share my agency's pay scale to give you an idea, but realize that my agency is a bit of an anomaly plus I live in San Francisco where cost of living is high so salary tends to be a bit higher too. I work at a non-profit in San Francisco. I coordinate a youth program and make $44k per year with generous benefits (4 weeks vacation, 2 weeks paid sick time, comped monthly public transit pass, retirement contributions, flexible schedule, etc.). My agency has different pay scales for different position levels. If you're a specialist then you can make anywhere between 37-42k, coordinators make between 42-45k, coordinators who supervise staff make btwn. 45-50k, program managers btwn. 50-60k, senior managers and directors btwn. 65-80k, executive management/directors btwn. 85-120k. I believe our executive director and all 5 or so members of the executive management team make over 100k. It's insane how much they make in comparison to the rest of us! Most EDs at other agencies don't even come close to hitting 100k. I started working here as a specialist then was promoted to coordinator a couple of years later and have hit a ceiling because I don't have a master's degree. My agency tends to favor hiring managers who have graduate degrees. We do have 1 or 2 managers who don't, but that's because they have tons of experience, worked their way up, and the position happened to become available at the right time, so it was a bit of luck and timing. There's one coordinator in our youth department who recently got her master's degree in non-profit administration, so I'm sure she's first in line for a promotion if a manager position ever opened up in our department. I need to go back to school to get my master's if I want to be able to get in line with the rest of them. San Francisco is saturated with insanely qualified people with impressive academic pedigree, so graduate school is a must for me to play the game. I think the disheartening thing for me is knowing I would be lucky to find a job that pays 44k after I graduate and I'd be in debt. Woohoo! Tons of debt, all to go back to what I was already doing without a master's degree. It's such a catch 22 situation. I think for those who don't have a lot of social services experience then you'll most likely have to start at the bottom post-graduate, but for those who are going to school with solid experience under their belts then there's a higher chance of getting a mid-level position that pays a bit better. It also depends on where you end up living. San Francisco is ridiculously saturated with social service agencies (you can probably find a CBO serving just about any population/need), which is fantastic, but there are also a lot of qualified individuals going after those jobs. I noticed there's been a bit of a debate going on about whether prestige matters when it comes to social work. Well, I wish it wasn't the case and it really shouldn't be, but there are agencies like mine who go gaga over pedigree. Ooh, so and so has a graduate degree?? OOOOH. It's from where?? Double oooh! It totally sucks that this is the case, but there are many shallow people out there who take prestige into consideration when it really shouldn't matter. I also think prestige matters less as experience increases and vice versa. If you're straight out of school and don't have a lot of experience then name might help you a bit, but if you have tons of relevent experience then school name probably won't do too much for you because your experience will speak for itself. I think there were valid points made about both prestige and less prestige. At the end of the day, you should choose the school/program that is the best match for your interests, financial situation, future goals, etc. It really does come down to personal preference. For some, moving to NYC would be nuts due to the cost of living, but for others, like myself, it isn't such a huge jump in cost of living. San Francisco ain't cheap! So, the initial shock of rent, etc. won't be so stark. I don't know if this is necessarily a good or bad thing. Anyway, for those who are San Francisco-bound, feel free to let me know if you have any questions about where to live, cost of rent, etc. etc. I'd be more than happy to help! I totally get how difficult it is to relocate to a place you aren't too familiar with. Lots of changes! I also have a 2 bdrm. 1 bathroom apt. I'll need to rent out! Anyone in NYC want to swap apts.??? I'll create a separate post about the apt. once I finalize which school I'll be attending and what not. Good luck to you all, wherever you end up! I'm so glad I found this forum. My friends must be sick of me talking about grad. school app. stuff by now!

It makes me really sad to see how much you all were offered!! Excited for you all, but so sad for me. I was only given $2,500. They didn't say this would be renewable, so I have no idea if I would get the same amount the 2nd year or hopefully more. But, who knows how much more since it seems like students received renewable awards, so I have no idea how much is even available in the financial aid money pool for the 2nd year. It might be wishful thinking (and a huge gamble) to think 2500 would jump to at least 10+k for the 2nd year. I should be getting the financial aid award letter soon, so we will see. They told me it could potentially change based on how well I do during my first year, but who knows, it could only be a few thousand more which is peanuts compared to what you all received. Thanks again for all of your helpful input!!! SofieCat, it's merit and need-based! They're generous with aid as long as you don't come from the wait list, at least in my case.

Thanks for your replies! I'll have some tough decisions to make in the next few days. Eek! So very exciting though! Best wishes to you both!

Hello! I need your help! For those who were accepted to UChicago, how much aid did they offer you? I was accepted off of the wait list and aid is pretty much depleted by now, so I'm trying to figure out on avg. what students get to see if it would make up for it during the 2nd year. I'm absolutely thrilled that I've been accepted, but devastated at the prospect of not being able to afford to go. Thanks so much for your help!!

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to add my 2cents before we end up with more than 1 group. I think it should be something like CUSSW or Columbia University School of Social Work Class of 2014; otherwise, the other names are too general and will be confusing for future cohorts as well as our own cohort. Thanks for taking the lead on making the group!