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UChicago, MSW 2019


harpert1

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On 12/6/2018 at 7:06 PM, harpert1 said:

Hello, everyone!  I know that it's a bit early in the admissions cycle, but I recently submitted my application to Chicago and I started getting excited.  Hoping that we can share information about decisions, scholarships, and anxiety as time goes on! 

I applied as well about the same date. Which program are you applying to? I can’t wait to hear back. ??

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1 hour ago, Crichmond said:

I applied as well about the same date. Which program are you applying to? I can’t wait to hear back. ??

I definitely understand.   I selected the full-time, Social Service Administration program. I’m really excited because I live five minutes away from the school haha (in addition to its program and reputation).

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On 12/17/2018 at 10:09 AM, harpert1 said:

I definitely understand.   I selected the full-time, Social Service Administration program. I’m really excited because I live five minutes away from the school haha (in addition to its program and reputation).

Haha, me too! I am applying ro advanced standing program. Fingers crossed.

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Hi guys! I'm in the exact same position! I applied to the full time SSA program on the Dec 1st deadline and I'm having so much anxiety! I think we're guaranteed to hear back by mid-February, but I've also heard that it's possible we might hear back by late January.

Does anyone have any info about acceptance rates? I've heard rumors that it's quite high (50+%), but I don't know what to think. 

Best of luck to everyone :) 

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4 hours ago, Rosyposy said:

Hi guys! I'm in the exact same position! I applied to the full time SSA program on the Dec 1st deadline and I'm having so much anxiety! I think we're guaranteed to hear back by mid-February, but I've also heard that it's possible we might hear back by late January.

Does anyone have any info about acceptance rates? I've heard rumors that it's quite high (50+%), but I don't know what to think. 

Best of luck to everyone :) 

Very happy to find yet another fellow applicant in the same position! Haha.  According to the SSA website here (https://www.ssa.uchicago.edu/deadlines ), we should definitely hear back by February 15, 2019 at the latest.  I’m definitely hoping to hear back in early January; my only skepticism is that the Christmas break would have probably slowed down the process a bit. 

I have heard these 50%+ acceptance rates as well; however, I have no data to support this so I’m not sure.  I will say that UChicago’s Harris School has a typical acceptance rate of 25%. I would imagine that SSA is less competitive than the Harris School, so for that reason I’ll guess, with no data, that SSA’s acceptance rate is 30-40%. 

Edited by harpert1
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2 hours ago, doctormelody said:

Hey, does anyone know if Chicago still gives decent aid if you apply by April 1? I'm considering applying to more schools but there's no way I'm gonna make it by January 15th... 

Hey, doctormelody.  I’ve heard that the aid is pretty good overall, even after January 15th, where most students get 1/4 tuition scholarships and many students get 1/2 tuition scholarships.  I haven’t personally met any SSA student with a full-ride or close.   My qualm with SSA is that even a half-ride makes the school still much more expensive than lots of other programs.  I hope you apply though!  And best of luck with all the apps. 

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4 hours ago, doctormelody said:

Hey, does anyone know if Chicago still gives decent aid if you apply by April 1? I'm considering applying to more schools but there's no way I'm gonna make it by January 15th... 

I was told by a rep from the MSW program that the application deadline should not impact the scholarship package, but I would suggest calling them and asking. The rep said that they give 95% of students at least $5,000 and that the average scholarship given is roughly $20,000, which makes it comparable to the cost of public education. She said that virtually no one receives a full ride and at most, one student per year may receive a full tuition waiver.  

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@harpert1 @Rosyposy Thanks so much to both of you! My worry would be that even with a very generous scholarship of $20,000, which I feel I am unlikely to get given my credentials, tuition alone is over double that cost and the limit one can take out in graduate PLUS loans is $20,500 a year. Does anyone know how people deal with this situation? Are there other loans (besides private) that people regularly take out? Not that I want to be $60,000 in debt for an MSW, but Chicago is an expensive city and I don't know how people can afford to live there with no income. I seem to remember Columbia offering me more than that in loans last year, now that I come to think of it. Also, does anyone know if aid is merit- or need-based, or both?

Edit: I'm sorry, I mean unsubsidized loans. I now realize that I have answered my own question with my mistake. I'd still like to know the answer to my second question though, if anyone happens to have that information.

Edited by doctormelody
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9 hours ago, Rosyposy said:

https://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/university-of-chicago-school-of-social-service-administration-000_10013608.aspx

Does anyone know the credibility of this website? I'm sure we're all quoting the admissions rate from the same source, but no one has ever corroborated this website's claims so I remain skeptical...

Lol, you're right on the money with that one, @Rosyposy. I have no idea whether it's credible or not... I suppose some brave soul could contact an admissions rep and ask, but I doubt they'd give a straightforward answer.

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3 hours ago, doctormelody said:

@harpert1 @Rosyposy Thanks so much to both of you! My worry would be that even with a very generous scholarship of $20,000, which I feel I am unlikely to get given my credentials, tuition alone is over double that cost and the limit one can take out in graduate PLUS loans is $20,500 a year. Does anyone know how people deal with this situation? Are there other loans (besides private) that people regularly take out? Not that I want to be $60,000 in debt for an MSW, but Chicago is an expensive city and I don't know how people can afford to live there with no income. I seem to remember Columbia offering me more than that in loans last year, now that I come to think of it. Also, does anyone know if aid is merit- or need-based, or both?

Edit: I'm sorry, I mean unsubsidized loans. I now realize that I have answered my own question with my mistake. I'd still like to know the answer to my second question though, if anyone happens to have that information.

@doctormelody I’m sure your credentials are great and worthy of a $20,000 scholarship!  To my understanding, one can take out the full amount of cost of attendance through using a Grad PLUS loan as there is no annual or aggregate limit; this bulletin from the Department of Ed has more info: https://ifap.ed.gov/dlbulletins/attachments/DLB0703Attach.pdf.  

“ SSA awards partial and full tuition scholarships based on merit and financial need to 95% of our master’s students. “ So both types of aid are awarded according to their website, but the amounts and proportions remain unknown. 

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1 hour ago, harpert1 said:

@doctormelody I’m sure your credentials are great and worthy of a $20,000 scholarship!  To my understanding, one can take out the full amount of cost of attendance through using a Grad PLUS loan as there is no annual or aggregate limit; this bulletin from the Department of Ed has more info: https://ifap.ed.gov/dlbulletins/attachments/DLB0703Attach.pdf.  

“ SSA awards partial and full tuition scholarships based on merit and financial need to 95% of our master’s students. “ So both types of aid are awarded according to their website, but the amounts and proportions remain unknown. 

You're too kind! And thank you so much for the info - you know, I believe I even read the above sentence on the website as well but simply didn't process it because my brain doesn't work well before 8 AM. :(

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On 1/2/2019 at 11:08 AM, doctormelody said:

You're too kind! And thank you so much for the info - you know, I believe I even read the above sentence on the website as well but simply didn't process it because my brain doesn't work well before 8 AM. :(

Thank you!  I didn't realize how large this text copied from the website (haha, that was unintentional) I was on my cell phone, and it looked regular size; I wasn't trying to make an emphasis or anything. :)  I currently have a concussion, so my brain has been working a bit slower in general! 

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21 minutes ago, harpert1 said:

Thank you!  I didn't realize how large this text copied from the website (haha, that was unintentional) I was on my cell phone, and it looked regular size; I wasn't trying to make an emphasis or anything. :)  I currently have a concussion, so my brain has been working a bit slower in general! 

No, you’re fine, I didn’t think the formatting was intentional! I was just laughing at myself for reading that sentence and totally not absorbing it, lol. Thank you so much, you’re so kind!

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I'm on edge! I'm really hoping we hear back from U Chicago in the next couple of weeks! 

In other news, I just heard back from U Penn today. I submitted on 12/31 and they emailed me this morning saying my admissions decision was ready. It was lightning quick, almost suspiciously so! ? I hope U Chicago is the same way!

Has anyone else applied to or heard from U Penn or other schools? 

Edited by Rosyposy
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