reyna323

I'm 34 and was just accepted to a full-time MSW program! I am currently a stay-at-home mom with a 4.5yo and a 10yo. My youngest is starting pre-K in the fall, and of course my oldest is in school too. My husband makes a comfortable salary, so I decided to go full-time and knock it out quickly so I can get to work sooner. My social work experience is mostly volunteer and unpaid stuff, so I really feel like I'm starting over to some extent. But I am a paralegal by trade, so I'm going to check out forensic social work to figure out if I would enjoy marrying those skills together. Our field placement coordinator said that my experience with the courts should serve me well. Anyway, in response to the OP, I know the feeling about being the old lady. I believe that most of the older students at my school are probably in the part-time program and are continuing to work, so I do expect to be on the older end of the cohort. I've been fortunate to be able to stay home with the kids since my youngest was born (i worked full-time when the oldest was little), so I can't exactly relate to the leaving work thing. I am a little nervous about the transition from full-time home to full-time school, though!

I am a married mom of two, going to grad school at age 34. My husband was making a career shift at the same time I was considering graduate school, so he focused his job search on places that had schools with decent MSW programs. We ended up in Knoxville, TN and I applied and was accepted to UT Knoxville. It's ranked #37 on US News & World Reports for MSW programs, and it made the list at #60 for a "Best Value" public school. My priorities for school were to find a decent program that was cost-effective, and I think I've found that in UT. The bursar's office estimated annual graduate tuition at around $10K, so around $20K for the program, not including any scholarship assistance I may or may not receive. Also, I won't have much of a commute (we live 15 miles from campus), and my husband works on campus so I can easily run into him on class days, which is a nice perk. I know some people are committed to going to big-name schools for their MSW degree, but I have never felt the same pressure or desire to do that. I'm pursuing the clinical concentration, and I just can't really see how it matters what school my degree is from. The programs at the foundational level are all so similar. I understand people have their reasons for going to expensive private schools, and I have my reasons for NOT doing that. With two elementary school kids, and starting this career in my mid-30's, there's just no good reason for me to rack up any more debt than I absolutely have to. I refuse to do that to my family, especially when I can get a degree that suits my purposes for less. We are and have always been somewhat averse to debt in general (our only current debt is our mortgage and my husband's undergrad loans), so of course that plays in to my decision to attend a low-cost state school. With the current state of our economy, and the fact that most of us are not exactly getting into social work for the money (!), I think it makes a lot of sense to keep your costs as low as possible, unless you have some compelling reason otherwise. Good luck to all of you!

I had to pay a $200 "seating fee" at UT Knoxville to accept my admittance and reserve my spot in the program within 30 days of my offer letter. I assumed this was sort of standard operating procedure at other schools as well... Can anyone else weigh in on this? UTK didn't even send out our departmental scholarship application until several weeks after I was admitted. The scholarship app is due April 15, and they send out funding decisions in June. I'm fairly certain that there are other universities that work this way as well, which makes it dang near impossible to know about the financial aid part before committing to a program. Then again, I know some schools send funding info along with the offer letters. How are others handling this? (It's a non-issue for me since I only applied to one school, but I'm just asking for the benefit of others.)

Options are always good! We just moved to the Knoxville area in May when my husband took a job with UT, so that's the only school I applied to. I know you said you have family nearby, but if you have any questions about the place, let me know and I'll try to answer them. Good luck!

Hey folks! I know there are some people on here who are currently in an MSW program, recently graduated, or are teaching in one, so I'm soliciting some help. I am currently a stay at home mom (age 34 next month) with a supportive husband and two great kiddos (ages 10 and 4). I have been accepted to a full-time MSW program for the fall and am very excited. However, I don't personally know anyone else who has taken on a full-time program while their spouse is also working full time. If you have done this, or know someone who has, and wish to offer any advice or words of wisdom, I would love to hear it. Tips for prioritizing, time management strategies, general organization stuff, anything would be helpful. More on me: I worked full time when our daughter was little (age 1-5), and I worked part time from home when our son was younger, so I'm no stranger to multi-tasking. I'm just trying to get a sense for how much more difficult I should expect it to be. I've met other MSW students who are already knee-deep in my program, and they seem to think I'm nuts for trying to do it full-time with a family. On the one hand, this makes me very nervous that I'm biting off more than I can chew. On the other, most of the people who have said that do NOT have a family and can't really relate. I feel a little like having a family will be my biggest challenge AND my biggest asset, since I'm already accustomed to juggling a hundred balls on a daily basis. But I don't want to go into it blind, so any information and perspective you all can provide would be awesome. I find I'm much less anxious about things if I have at least some sense of what to expect and can mentally prepare for it! Thanks in advance for your advice!

Meg0822, have you heard from UT Knoxville yet? Which school is your first choice?

Hi all! I only applied to one school - UT Knoxville - and I just got word yesterday that I was accepted! Should be getting a packet with financial aid and scholarship info in the mail soon. Anyone else on here who applied to UTK? Now that the waiting is over for me, I am looking forward to meeting some other people and getting to work on scholarship applications. I wish we didn't have to wait till August for orientation! Does anyone know if any of the programs do a mixer or anything for new cohorts? Good luck to those of you who are still waiting, and hang in there!

Thanks for the suggestion, Inspired V! I think I will do the same thing you did. I do think they are largely merit-based, and I think my grades and scores are high enough to get me in the running (I hope, anyway). But I wanted to do something to let them know I'm interested in case that might set me apart somehow or make them remember me when they're deciding.

Hey Abbigail001, we just moved to Tennessee from Atlanta. I was planning on applying to UGA as well, till my hubby got a job and we relocated. I'm in the same boat as you - 33, married with 2 kids, and only applying to one school - U. Tenn Knoxville! I better get in!!! But seriously though, I was wondering if you had considered Kennesaw State? I met with some of the faculty up there, and it seemed like a good program, but quite different from UGA. It's another option to consider, if it's not too late in the game. Maybe less of a commute than Athens, depending on what part of town you're in (we were in downtown Decatur). Can't remember when their deadline is. GSU was out for my because I'm doing clinical and they only have a macro program. Anyway, just thought I'd mention it in case you weren't aware that they had a program.

Hi fellow MSW hopefuls. I am putting the finishing touches on my professional statement for my application and decided to come to the forums and read up on some last-minute tips before I finish my edits. Still have to do my resume, but all my rec letters are in. We relocated last year when my husband took a position at Univ. of Tennessee (Knoxville), so that's the only school I'm applying to. Our deadline is Feb. 1, but I should have mine in by the end of this week. I'm hoping my stats (decent GPA and fairly high GRE scores) will get me considered for a GA, but I'm not sure how to make it known that I'm interested in that. Is that something that comes up in a financial aid form later on, or should I somehow incorporate it into my essay? Seems like most of you all are on the east or west coasts, since I'm seeing lots of Cali and New England schools mentioned. Best wishes to everyone!

Hi Folks! I'm new to the forums and enjoying reading about others' experiences with applying for and choosing their MSW programs. Lots of valuable info about schools, scholarships, and job opportunities. We're about to relocate from Atlanta to Knoxville, TN (my husband accepted a job at UTK) and I'm anticipating applying to their MSW program for Fall 2013. I know that their Social Work program is one of the most highly funded grad programs at that school, and that they have just recently instituted a clinical PhD program that can be taken online. Seems like they are doing good things. However, I have not read anything here on the Forums about it. If anyone has any info, please respond!