emoleys

Aw, what a bummer. Thank you for clarifying that. No, I haven't heard about my financial aid package yet. I'm cringing at the thought of how little they are most likely going to give me. But this seems like the best plan for me right now since the company I've been working for is planning to lay off a lot of people soon (me more than likely included). And Columbia's MSW program has been one of the only programs that's really captured my interest so far!

It sounds like you have more than sufficient experience to do this concentration! I read up a bit about this concentration on the website on dual degrees between SIPA and CUSSW and from what I remember, I believe we need to send in an application at some point. Here's what it said: "International Social Welfare and Services to Immigrants and Refugees: Global social problems, international trends in social policies and programs including response to disasters, needs of immigrants and refugees, and community development; and activities of major international organizations and voluntary agencies. Students who select this field must have at least 9 months experience working, volunteering or interning outside of the students’ country of origin; or primarily with immigrants and refugees in this county. A written application that includes information about experience outside of country of origin, and anticipated skills and goals is required. Enrollment is limited and preference in acceptance will be given to those fluent in a second language." I'm curious about when this is due as well. But it seems that for both this and our track, I don't think we are "stuck" in our choices until our second year. From what the interactive curriculum map shows, our first year, we just take general foundation courses and then during our second year, we take courses for our specializations. I just sent in my $400 deposit today. EEK! I thought long and hard about it and talked to friends, family, and colleagues in the field. It seems that a lot of the ppl I've talked to think that going to Columbia will be worth it since it seems to have the program, resources, and environment that I'm looking for. I know I plan to do work in non-profit organizations or public service, for sure, so I'm thinking the loan forgiveness program will be the road I'm taking in order to pay off the loans, which will take 10 years, according to the website. I did some investigation and hopefully, I'll be taking on average, 15 credits per semester, so it will come out to about $26,000 per year? And the semesters when we do field education will also lessen the tuition dent because those "courses" will be worth 7 or so points (at least for the clinical route). I think that the estimate they provide on the admissions page may be a bit inflated. On this webpage (http://www.socialwork.columbia.edu/bulletin/2009-2010/10enrol.html#fees), the tuition calculation per credit is $928. Unless you're taking 19 units every semester, that's only when it reaches the annual tuition estimate of $34,000 that they give. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, I'm interested in this focus for the MSW at Columbia, too. I think that you don't have to be from another country. They just want you to have worked with immigrants, refugees, etc. in some capacity. I guess, to put it simply, they want you to have worked with people other than American-born citizens.

Yes, I am also planning to rely on federal loans as well. I've been looking into private loans lately and none of them seem to really compare. I've also been considering the loan forgiveness program for working in high need areas, however, the idea of being bound to a job for so long just to get my loans out of the way seems like a terrible idea for me in terms of my particular career goals. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program seems like the way to go, but I'm not sure what the government can offer me in the way of working with refugees, which is ultimately what I'd like to do. I haven't heard about the Income Based Repayment, I'll be sure to look into that. For now, I'm just going to apply to scholarships like a madwoman and hope that some of my work will pay off, literally. Good luck to you, too! It looks like despite all the financial circumstances, I'll be going to Columbia, as it still is the top choice for me.

I work for an airlines that's pretty strict about everything. I'm concerned that if I give notice too early, it'll make for bad work climate. I'm thinking...2 weeks before I plan to leave for school? I don't really know.

YES! ACCEPTED! Now for the money! Gimme, gimme CUSSW...

As I'm anxiously waiting for an answer from Columbia, I'm growing increasingly concerned that I will not be able to go because of $$$, if I'm accepted. I've seen so many posts from people saying that Columbia is stingy with their financial aid and their estimates for cost of living and tuition are pretty jaw-dropping. So I'm curious, how are all of you planning to finance your degrees? For those who are already in school, what kind of resources would you recommend? Are any of you considering the loan assistance program by working as a social worker in a high need area, or other similar tuition assistance programs? I've applied for the FAFSA and am crossing my fingers that all goes well! Thank you all in advance for sharing.

Oh man, Feb. 19? I can't take much more of this waiting. I hope that not that many more ppl applied than last year. This is still my top choice. I just hope that I can earn enough money/scholarships/financial aid package if I can make it in.

How wonderful to meet a fellow applicant who's also interested in social work that is internationally focused! For me, my interests lie with doing work with immigrants and refugees and after much research, I've found that Columbia will be the ideal school for me to attend. They have a concentration available on doing work with immigrants and refugees and their international affairs program at SIPA is very strong. If I get into the MSW program, I'm seriously considering doing the dual degree program of MSW/MIA (yes, it'll be plenty expensive!). Plus, being in NYC, I think that it provides the ideal environment for carrying out theory into practice for someone who wants to do international service. After all, the United Nations and plenty other international organizations (both non-profit and government) are located there, which means that there will be more opportunities to do your required field work in a setting that's more closely related to what you want to do. I'm not saying that this is the only and best option, but at least for me, I do feel that pros of attending Columbia help offset the enormous price tag attached.

Thanks! I was having trouble understanding precisely what they meant by "foreign". Because I am originally from Hong Kong and have American citizenship, I wasn't really sure if any work I did in either country would count.

I taught English lessons to primary school students there.

This will probably strike many people as a silly question, but I'm a bit confused. Sorry if this is a bit lengthy. Any and all help is highly appreciated. Two parts: 1.) I plan to apply soon for Fall 2010 to a bunch of MA programs in International Affairs/Relations. I'm originally from Hong Kong and became a naturalized American citizen four years ago. I've done work both here and in Hong Kong (and Macau), but I'm not sure whether either would qualify as work experience in a foreign country. 2.) I'm also increasingly serious about doing work in the Sichuan province of China for earthquake survivors. But because Hong Kong is considered an entity of the People's Republic, I'm not sure if they would even count that as a foreign country, even though I'd say that dialectical (Hong Kong is Cantonese-based and Mainland provinces are predominantly Mandarin-based) and historical/cultural barriers are big enough between the two places. What do you think? To tell you more about me: I have a GPA of 3.23 (I know, sucky!) with a double major in the social sciences from an American public university. I've studied abroad in Paris for a semester. I've worked a lot with NGOs (at least a year, both paid and volunteer work) based in California that deal with homelessness and human trafficking. I've also done research work for the Los Angeles Times and assisted with proposal writing for a PhD program at a university. I have also tutored ESL students in Hong Kong. My dream right now is to go to Columbia and complete a dual-degree program in International Affairs and Social Work. I'm open to any and all suggestions to improve and make my application competitive. Many thanks!

Hope this helps! I'm an LA native for 20 years plus. My sister went to UCLA film school and we live in Pasadena. I don't know if a lot of other grad students do commute but trust me, it's a HELLISH one. Not only do you have to brave the crazy traffic from Westwood, but you're also fighting traffic around downtown LA. And this is both to and back from UCLA! Sometimes accidents happen and that'll throw your schedule off even more. If you're just working on your dissertation, it probably wouldn't be so bad. In fact, it might be nice to be away from the busy-ness of West LA. But if you have to TA or have to take your required courses, it might not be so convenient.