olayak

Hi 
I have a MSW from NYU and I also have a BA, MSEd, and MA (Psychology) from Hunter. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have  
Honestly, I love NYU and I'm going back for my DSW in the fall. But I really love Hunter and they have an amazing MSW program.  The NYU program put me in serious hardcore student loan debt. The Hunter MSW program is great and also affordable. To be honest, if I had to do it all again I would go to Hunter instead of NYU for my MSW. Just my 2 cents. 

Hi, 
I'm still looking to connect with any DSW applicants! Or current DSW students! Are there any on Grad Cafe? 

I understand how you feel, I felt the same way during my last semester at undergraduate in 2015. I had a really bad field experience my supervisor look and treat horrible. It took me a year to finally realize that I can't let that horrible supervisor deter me from what I'm destined to become. Now that I've been working in a nonprofit organization almost 2 years now I learned that becoming a clinical social worker or social work period is what I really want to do, it's my passion. Don't let the bad experience deter or shake you up too much, just learn from it as much as you can. Know that you are great and getting better at what you want to become.

Hi 
I have a MSW from NYU and I also have a BA, MSEd, and MA (Psychology) from Hunter. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have  
Honestly, I love NYU and I'm going back for my DSW in the fall. But I really love Hunter and they have an amazing MSW program.  The NYU program put me in serious hardcore student loan debt. The Hunter MSW program is great and also affordable. To be honest, if I had to do it all again I would go to Hunter instead of NYU for my MSW. Just my 2 cents. 

To play devil's advocate, I don't really see how it could help to email them either. Chances are, if they've already made a decision about you they'd probably notify you about it as soon as they could. And even if they are able to pinpoint a date when you will hear back with a definitive decision, you are still going to have to wait until that day to get your answer. I don't think knowing when that day will come will change much. In my own opinion, I prefer the excitement of "maybe I'll hear back today!" over "exactly two weeks to go until I hear back."
The fact of the matter is, a question like "when can I expect to hear back?" carries no urgency (unless you are being pressured to make a decision somewhere else, which you say is not the case here). It's also risky, because they have already answered it for you (albeit in two vaguely different ways). Sending an email asking this risks you coming off as impatient, inattentive, unconfident, or pushy, with no reward at all. I would really only send emails that will meaningfully impact either your application or your final choice of where to attend. It's natural to be curious and anxious about hearing back, but it's just something we all have to wait through.

You start your MSW in January?  Then you are still a long way off from a PhD. Unlike in other fields,  a MSW is a terminal degree and so is REQUIRED before you apply to doctoral programs. And most PhDs in Social Work or Social Welfare require you to have AT LEAST TWO YEARS of work experience AFTER you finish your masters.  So you already have over four years before you can even apply.  By then you may not even be interested in a PhD.
Social Work is one of the few fields where you can do A LOT with your masters.  You can still do research.  You can still teach as an adjunct.  You may also want to consider a DSW instead of a PhD. For many DSW programs they don't require the GRE but use the MAT (Miller Analogies Test) instead.  
Check out the other programs.  But in the meantime you have AT LEAST FOUR very busy years before you can even apply.  So,  I suggest focusing on the moment, on your current work. You'll get to the PhD eventually.  But right now focus on the NOW. Because you never know what might change in the future. 

Is anyone else in waitlist hell that wants to keep me company? I only applied to ONE program for my PhD because it's really the perfect fit for me. They accepted 5 and put 3 of us on the waitlist. Soooooooo close! They accept people off the waitlist every year, but I have no way of knowing if I'll be one of those lucky ones. So now more waiting, more obsessing, more making sure my Plan B is solid....

I'm 50+ currently finishing a master's in info science, and applying to the PhD program in the same.
About 95% of the other students in the master's program are about the same age as my oldest 2 kids (26 year old twins), the other 5% are in the 45-60 range. The PhD program I am applying to is pretty evenly split between late 20's early 30's and the 45+ group, so it is a bit different from what you are experiencing - they are expecting older students in this case, as the master's is a prereq for application
 

A PhD is primarily for people who want to do research. That's not being out in the world being an advocate. It's being in a room, analyzing data. Also, it's for people who want to be a full time professor, as a career. You can be an adjunct professor with a MSW.
You don't need a phd for credibility in this field. There are many highly successful social worker who have a LCSW.  Continuing education is required to maintain your license and there are tons of training opportunities, so you'll always be working towards becoming a more skilled practitioner. 
You don't need a phd to be more credible or to be a good advocate. You just need to work hard and be passionate about your work. You can even be the director of a program one day. You don't need a phd to run an agency. Or you can develop a new treatment modality. There's so much you can do with the LCSW. The PhD is for researcher and teachers, not advanced practitioners. Trust me, you wont survive a phd program if you're not into research. 
If you do want to go for a doctorate, I suggest you consider the DSW (doctor of social work).  It's a practical doctorate and seems to fit your interests more. It's for people who want to be advanced practitioners, administrators and policy makers. 

Has anyone ever received a decision on a weekend?

My interviews were via phone (common for the field) and acceptances were sent out 2-3 weeks later.

I was told after interview week(end) you will usually find out 'unofficially' in a few days after but the department/university usually takes more time to go through all the steps to finally and officially accept you.

Imposter syndrome is very common among women, particularly in academia. I looked up imposter syndrome as it relates to black women and found this article, which you might or might not find resonates with how you're feeling. 
If you think it might be imposter syndrome, it can just be helpful to know that soooo many other academics (and I'm sure people in industry) feel the same way. I got into a great university after excelling at a small liberal arts university and I feel like I'm going to fail within the first month. There are countless mentions of imposter syndrome on TGC, search for it and I'm sure there are many threads with great advice. For me, knowing most, if not all, of the folks I know in grad school feel the same way helps in some small way. I also plan on getting into therapy once I start grad school to help deal with what the feelings of inadequacy and stress I'll be sure to experience. 
In general, I think people who want to pursue to "next step" have doubt, but you can't know if you'll succeed if you don't try. Which is cliche, but there's truth in there because you do usually have to push outside your comfort zone to achieve your goals. 

I think DSW programs are great! Personally I didn't go that route for several reasons. They don't tend to be funded and I can't imagine taking on paying for this myself; they don't have the research focus; and some R1 universities are hesitant to hire those with a DSW. I would love to be a tenure track professor someday and while that is possible with a DSW, it is easier to navigate that path with a PhD. 

Thats awesome! I'm hoping to work with Dr. Holloway. I spoke with him via phone in December so I can't really find a reason to reconnect with him now. If you or anyone else has any suggestion on how to reconnect after already speaking in December please let me know! 
I'm considering applying to USC's DSW program actually! It seems like its very research-practitioner focused which is awesome. 

Thanks for the insight. They are my top choice, but ultimately I applied to 5 schools. I really just hope I get into any of them haaha.

I would look into MSW/PhD programs since you will still do field placements to complete the MSW and you will also focus on your research as a doctoral student. From what I understand, doctoral coursework is 2 or 3 years, and you'll spend an additional year or two preparing and working on your dissertation. You could possibly do clinical work during that time. I don't know how easy it is to balance all of that, so it's only an idea to look into. 
Ashny's idea is good too. 

Just an idea - if it's possible to do a the PHD part time  while doing clinical work in the field so you get the best of both worlds?

I just had an interview and she was so hard on me, I was so nervous I did not give good answers. I have the blues, too. I'm already expecting that rejection letter. It's a shame because I usually interview so well. 

You can write a thank you e-mail and reiterate your interest in the program (something like: "Based on our conversation, my interest in your program is renewed" you know, better written). I wouldn't write to clarify anything. That's childish. Stick to your answers, even if you've messed up. The interview is done. The only time when I would do something like clarifying an answer is in person, casually. I have done that plenty of times after my seminars. In the end, my advisors pushed me to be more precise in the seminars so that I didn't have to rely on our coffee breaks to say what I meant. 
Agh, sorry about the awful writing here, I am saving my eloquence as I am writing a chapter. All the best!!!!!!! I'm sure you were fine!!!!
 

I was in the same situation last week. I emailed the interviewer with clarification for one of my answers and she never replied to me, so I'm not sure if it was inappropriate or not. I'm guessing it probably depends on the interviewer. You might want to write clarifying why you want to attend and not about your interests so it doesn't seem that you are trying re-do the whole interview. Draft it so that it comes across as thoughtful and reflective and not panicky. 

Hey everyone!

Is there a need/market for African-American/Black men in Social Work? I was reading an article somewhere that said there was a shortage, but I thought I would ask here since the majority are enrolled or have been enrolled in social work programs.

I don't think I could agree with olayak more! Just Google "MSW is the new MBA" and you'll see why corporations are in search of MSWs rather than MBAs - because corporations need guidance on ethics, policy, organization and evaluation. Occasionally, they also need in-house counselors. Social work has a terribly strong stigma of being low-paying, when in turn, it's quite the opposite for most who get an MSW. If you look at most of the top 20 MSW programs and their websites, they list typical income for job offers after graduation, and it's typically above $50,000. Not to mention an employment rate of over 95 percent for graduates. I'd say, overall, an MSW is very sound investment regardless of the direction you want to take your career.  

Olayak, you have explained a fantastic point very well. I agreed 100%!! May I ask what you do? I just want to know for planning in my social work career.
 
Pavlovsdog- 
Welcome to the thread!:) and congrats on your NYU acceptance! I agree with you. I would love to go to Hunter too, but I know they do have an interview process which makes it more difficult to get it. Sorry I don't know much about Columbia though.  I applied only to NYU and Hunter. What day did you get accepted into NYU last week? out of curiosity because I have a pending theory now that they send out their acceptances on Fridays.. 

HI guys! I just stumbled upon this thread and found it very helpful! I got into NYU last week after submitting my application on October 1st (such a fast process!). I also applied to go to Hunter and Columbia and submitted the applications on October 1st as well.
Hunter's application only just changed from "incomplete" to "complete" yesterday (10/19/2015)... They told me this is because they have to go through all the applications manually and it can take them a while sometimes for it to reflect on the website. 
Ideally, I would like to go to the most cost-effective program (Hunter) but NYU offered me money and so I have been considering that option more than I thought I would have to. Does anyone know if Columbia tends to give out scholarship money as well? 
Good luck to all of you!