Canada MSW 2019

[Noelle1]

Does anyone know of any MSW programs that are online besides Laurier and UVIC? And BSW programs that are offered online? TIA. 

[Tara1]

On 10/17/2018 at 12:18 PM, Noelle1 said:

Does anyone know of any MSW programs that are online besides Laurier and UVIC? And BSW programs that are offered online? TIA. 

Hi Noelle1,

I have been doing some research today regarding Advanced Standing MSW online programs.

I have found programs available at:

Dalhousie University

Wilfred Laurier University

University of Waterloo 

University of Victoria

University of Northern B.C. 

 

I applied to WLU for January and was not accepted.  I had a short period of time questioning if I am going to apply for any other programs at this time (in many respects it does not feel like good timing).  But I have decided that I need to apply to some programs so that I can make a decision based on offers, knowing that I may feel better in September.  

[Tara1]

I am just posting a heads-up incase it helps anybody.  I am researching Canadian on-line MSW advanced standing programs.  Most of the programs that I have researched, the application is due by December 1st.  But, Waterloo (Renision) is due November 15th.

 

[MDS96]

Hello everyone!

This is my first time being on the forum and I'm so happy I found this thread! 

I graduated June 2018 with a BA (Honours) in Political Science. I will be applying to U of T, Laurier, and York for the MSW programs and York and Ryerson for the post-degree BSW programs. I'm currently in the process of working on my app's. 

I have a very strong academic record but average work/volunteer/research experience and am still on the look for a solid second professional reference (?); I've worked at the same organization for the past four years but am worried it'll reflect poorly on my application if I have two references from the same experience. I'm really honing in on my written statements and putting most of my energy there. 

Anyway, I wanted to post here to connect with everyone in the thread and follow along!! Best of luck to everyone!!!!

[SwagMaster]

On 10/16/2018 at 7:46 PM, Purple-Elephant said:

Hey fellow Renison buddy! You have eased my mind a little bit. It is so stressful because everyone seems so qualified. How are you liking UofT? 

I'm enjoying it a lot more than the BSW program. The program has more of a focus on research and evidence-based practice which is what I was looking for. Compared to the BSW, there are a lot more interesting practicum opportunities available as well. 

[peetabread]

Hello all

 

Looking for feedback if anyone has any ideas. 

 

I have a BSW and I worked my butt off to get roughly an A GPA (its from UVic, so a 7.75 on their scale)

 

After 3 years working I am feeling ready to go back and do a MSW. I would like to focus on mental health and specifically infant mental health.  I was thinking U of Calg. I would also really want to get back to the Maritimes and go to Dal. 

 

So my dilemma is the GPA calculation.. My Uvic gpa was calculated over 14 classes (not including practicums). However, I must be the dumbest person ever because I am finding out that quite a few schools calculate their GPA over 20 classes (last 2 years). Unfortunately for me, if I go back to my previous degree, that drags my average way way down--I did a degree in English and it really was not my passion. I ended up with a GPA of 2.7 on that degree. 

 

I guess my question is what suggestions to folks have if you don't mind helping me out. I feel so frustrated that a degree I did as a 21 year old would have such an impact on my future now. I can barely afford doing make up classes (if this would even work--I don't know if the classes have to be FT or not to count). 

[SOCIALWERK2020]

On 10/23/2018 at 7:01 PM, peetabread said:

Hello all

 

Looking for feedback if anyone has any ideas. 

 

I have a BSW and I worked my butt off to get roughly an A GPA (its from UVic, so a 7.75 on their scale)

 

After 3 years working I am feeling ready to go back and do a MSW. I would like to focus on mental health and specifically infant mental health.  I was thinking U of Calg. I would also really want to get back to the Maritimes and go to Dal. 

 

So my dilemma is the GPA calculation.. My Uvic gpa was calculated over 14 classes (not including practicums). However, I must be the dumbest person ever because I am finding out that quite a few schools calculate their GPA over 20 classes (last 2 years). Unfortunately for me, if I go back to my previous degree, that drags my average way way down--I did a degree in English and it really was not my passion. I ended up with a GPA of 2.7 on that degree. 

 

I guess my question is what suggestions to folks have if you don't mind helping me out. I feel so frustrated that a degree I did as a 21 year old would have such an impact on my future now. I can barely afford doing make up classes (if this would even work--I don't know if the classes have to be FT or not to count). 

It's not just based on classes, but also how many credit hours your classes are worth. Some are often worth more than others. For advanced standing programs, they often consider your BSW marks much more than and older, unrelated degree, in my understanding. Was your BSW a two-year, full time program? If so, it was likely 20 credits (equivalent of 5 classes per term). I'm in the same boat, with a GPA in my BSW that is much higher than my initial BA degree. As long as your research methods course has a high mark, and you have solid references, experience, and personal statement, I wouldn't stress too much about your old degree.

[MDS96]

Anyone else applying/applied to UofT? How bad is it to get your application in past the suggested deadline of Nov 1?

I made a slight last minute decision to use a different academic reference and emailed a prof Oct 31, and am still waiting to hear back from him. I'll definitely have everything in by the actual deadline of Nov 28 but am worried I may be complicating things by not applying by Nov 1. ?

[SOCIALWERK2020]

On 11/3/2018 at 11:17 AM, MDS96 said:

Anyone else applying/applied to UofT? How bad is it to get your application in past the suggested deadline of Nov 1?

I made a slight last minute decision to use a different academic reference and emailed a prof Oct 31, and am still waiting to hear back from him. I'll definitely have everything in by the actual deadline of Nov 28 but am worried I may be complicating things by not applying by Nov 1. ?

I thought the suggested deadline was nov 10, so I definitely have not submitted mine yet......... uh oh

[Meiks]

Hey peeps!

Anyone applying to UBC Vancouver campus to the Advanced Standing program?

[FK@UofT]

Hi All

 

..Currently working on my statement of intent for UofT advanced standing MSW program ...wondering if anyone knows the stats for admission last year?

..Wondering if anyones applying for the second time, for any recommendations?

Coming in with a BSW + BA + SSW & 15,000+ hrs of SW related experienced but nervous about the make/break of the statements of intent

Looking for feedback/suggestion/support/warmth lol

[MDS96]

On 11/4/2018 at 11:11 PM, SocialWERK2019 said:

I thought the suggested deadline was nov 10, so I definitely have not submitted mine yet......... uh oh

This is the deadline information I know of: https://socialwork.utoronto.ca/admissions/msw/application-deadlines/

I think we're fine, though, as technically we do have until Nov 28. 

Edited November 6, 2018 by MDS96

[Laurabeth79]

Hello everyone!

I am so happy to find this thread and thank you all for sharing your experiences   I'm a BSW grad from UVic, and applying to Carleton, Laurier, U of T, Ryerson, York, and Western.  I'm really hoping for York, but am aware that it seems a tough program to get into.  I have a previous degree in Criminology, a Correctional Worker diploma from Fleming, plus about 14 years experience in social service (mostly working with youth in trouble with the law and substance misuse), and a decent GPA of 7.93 from UVic.  However, my previous GPA from Ottawa U in Criminology isn't so hot (I was young and more interested in the social aspects of university lol), so I'm wondering how much that will hurt my application?  Also, none of my experience is in research so I'm a little worried that will hurt my application as well.  Argh....so much to think about!  I'm looking forward to connecting with all of you as I'm finding this whole process very stressful!

In regards to the U of T application deadlines, my understanding was that the online part has to be done by Nov 28/18 at the latest (including official transcripts), and the supporting documents need to be in by December 10/18.  

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by Laurabeth79

[SwagMaster]

On 11/5/2018 at 4:19 PM, FK@UofT said:

Hi All

 

..Currently working on my statement of intent for UofT advanced standing MSW program ...wondering if anyone knows the stats for admission last year?

..Wondering if anyones applying for the second time, for any recommendations?

Coming in with a BSW + BA + SSW & 15,000+ hrs of SW related experienced but nervous about the make/break of the statements of intent

Looking for feedback/suggestion/support/warmth lol

Hey! I'm in that program now. I went the information session before the 2017 admissions cycle. The admissions rate that they gave back then was 1 in 4 for the advanced standing program starting in 2016. I'm not sure if its changed much since then. 

Hope that helps!

[idmsw]

So I applied to UofT last year and its at the top of my list. I am having a lot of difficulty writing the Written Statement and wish I could erase my memory because every time I write something I just end up with pretty much the same thing as what I wrote last time just in a different order lol. Does anyone have any advice? I made it on the wait list last year so I feel like my application was well done but Im having a hard time making improvements since not that much has changed. I have continued to get hands on experience in a residential setting, volunteer and improved my mark in the research requirement but the written statement will probably have the same focus as before (health/mental health). Im wondering if I should keep what i have and make improvements or just start completely fresh. ANY advice is appreciated! 

[SupremeReign]

On 10/13/2018 at 11:21 AM, SwagMaster said:

I had a similar academic background as you! I did my BA in SDS (2016) and then did the BSW (2017), both at Waterloo. I'm currently doing my MSW at UofT. 

You definitely have higher grades and more experience than I did when I got in, which hopefully means good things for you. I feel like what really helped my application were my solid references and academic research experience. 

When I was doing my research of MSW programs, all the schools I came across that had statistics on this had a higher acceptance rate for Advanced Standing programs versus 2-year programs. 

 

On 10/8/2018 at 3:45 PM, Purple-Elephant said:

Hi all! First I wanted to ask, does anyone know if your chance of being accepted to MSW programs is higher if you're applying to Advanced Standing programs (requiring a BSW degree) as opposed to applying for 2-year MSW programs? Reading replies to last years thread has me paranoid ?

About myself: I finished my BSW at UWaterloo in 2016 with a 92% cumulative average. I finished my BA in Social Development Studies also at UWaterloo with a 80% overall (damn you first year grades). If you are looking at my last 10 courses/5 full credits my average was 91.5%

I have 4,000 hours of professional/work experience and 550 hours of volunteer experience. I haven't volunteered in 2018 due to the hours of my full-time job being very unaccommodating which scares me. Post-BSW experience includes full-time work at a drop-in centre for teenagers for over a year, providing counselling and referral services and developing/facilitating programs; working as a respite caregiver (supporting a young person with autism) beginning nearly 2 years ago; and completing a 4 month full-time contract as a caseworker with individuals who have disabilities, teaching life skills one-on-one and leading group workshops. Volunteer wise I was part of a group that provided support to Canadian newcomers, and have volunteered for environmental initiatives. My BSW placement was working in youth addictions. Related experience I had Pre-BSW includes a summer job working for CMHA and a lot of volunteer experience with people who have disabilities and seniors.

I completed my application for Laurier's Online Advanced Standing MSW - May 2019 start. I am also applying to Laurier's Advanced Standing MSW Full-Time in class (Sept 2019 start) and might apply to Western's full-time program too. Online would be my preference! Anyone who is doing an online program, feel free to message me! I would appreciate chatting, especially if you are going to Laurier! 

Hey! 

I'm planning to attend UWaterloo's BSW program this fall and am currently attempting to write my personal statement. I was wondering how you all wrote yours. Did you write an essay that flowed to answer the questions or did you write a paragraph to specifically answer each question? 

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!

[socialtwerker]

Good Day all,

I'm a former graduate admissions officer for York University (with extensive experience in building a strong graduate application) for several of York's graduate programs, primarily the 1-Year Advanced Standing and 2-Year (non-BSW) MSW. My services include - 

• Assistance with developing a strong statement of interest (with examples)
• Putting together a professional CV
• Providing you with pointers you may take to your references to ensure they write you a strong reference letter
• I can also do pre-assessments by looking at your transcripts/full applications and tell you how you measure up

I also have an extensive "Statement of Interest/Intent" repository with statements from students that were accepted into the program within the last 5 years. York University's School of Social Work tends to be rather particular with their statement and at only 500 words, doesn't give much room to include a lot of detail. I would be happy to assist in helping you navigate that. 

Fees are reasonable. 

Please send me a PM with which program you're applying to and a little about yourself.

Cheers,

Mo

Edited November 13, 2018 by socialtwerker

[mgauth12]

On 11/4/2018 at 11:11 PM, SocialWERK2019 said:

I thought the suggested deadline was nov 10, so I definitely have not submitted mine yet......... uh oh

Hey, I talked to admissions about this, and the only reason they suggest getting it in by the first is to give your references more time. Submitting it later doesn't affect your application at all other than that! 

[Purple-Elephant]

On 11/9/2018 at 5:30 PM, SupremeReign said:

 

Hey! 

I'm planning to attend UWaterloo's BSW program this fall and am currently attempting to write my personal statement. I was wondering how you all wrote yours. Did you write an essay that flowed to answer the questions or did you write a paragraph to specifically answer each question? 

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!

I answered each question separately using their guidelines. I made sure to put the headlines above my answers. So did a friend of mine who was accepted into this year's cohort! 

[No display name]

Hi Everyone,

I applied for the May 2019 online MSW program at Laurier, back in August. Anyone else who's applied to this program: any idea when we're expected to hear back?? Ideally I would like to know before the next round of applications are due!

Thanks 

Emily

[ErinCM]

Hey Emily,

When I first spoke to Dilyara after submitting my application she had said December-January, but by the end of our correspondence it had changed to January-February. Based on previous cohorts it is only likely to get later. The stress is real

[SupremeReign]

21 hours ago, Purple-Elephant said:

I answered each question separately using their guidelines. I made sure to put the headlines above my answers. So did a friend of mine who was accepted into this year's cohort! 

Thank you so much for the response! I'll go that route then.

[SwagMaster]

4 hours ago, SupremeReign said:

Thank you so much for the response! I'll go that route then.

I also separated the questions

[SupremeReign]

6 hours ago, SwagMaster said:

I also separated the questions

Thank you for your response.

I guess people were writing essay formats for the MSW programs. Is that what you did for UofT?

Edited November 16, 2018 by SupremeReign
Added a question

[Natalie.Gravel]

On 10/17/2018 at 1:18 PM, Noelle1 said:

Does anyone know of any MSW programs that are online besides Laurier and UVIC? And BSW programs that are offered online? TIA. 

Waterloo is online for MSW