Smith College MSW

[mce-123]

Hi, y’all! Lurking here has been super helpful during the MSW application process. 

 

With that being said, I’m wondering if anyone has any experiences with the Smith MSW program in Northampton, MA.

 

I just got an email informing me of my acceptance with a $7000/yr. merit scholarship + $300/month living stipend. I may also be eligible for more need-based aid (does this mean loans, or could it be grants, too?); I will know when I get the official letter in the mail. 

 

Are these specs good for a program that’s $30,000/year? I also got into Springfield College, but with no aid.

 

Finally, I also applied to Westfield State. It’s incredibly cheap but I haven’t heard back from them yet, and I need to give Smith an answer by 2/20. Eek! Help!

 

TLDR; Any Smithies in the house???

[VirtualCryptid]

I can't be super helpful but Smith is a VERY expensive school. I was accepted to NYU which is ~24,000 a year and I was offered 12,000/yr. However Smith is super prestigious! Everyone I spoke to has only good things to say about the program. I'm a Mount Holyoke student so I'm right down the road if you want a look into the area haha. Congratulations btw!!

[mswguy]

I’d say 23k a year for tuition plus a 300$ monthly stipend isn’t horrible. NYU is actually 45k+ in tuition, not including living expenses, and even with a max scholarship of 15k a year, that’s still 30k+living expenses per year. State schools will cost a fair amount less. I’ve heard good things about smith’s Program as well.

[newdisplayname1]

Hi, @mce-123! I was also accepted into Smith's MSW program yesterday! It was a pleasant surprise to receive the email, especially considering their own website says that they "do not give out decisions by phone or email." I also applied to the MSW programs at Rutgers, where I was accepted about a month ago, and Bryn Mawr, where I received an emailed acceptance notification about an hour ago.

Smith was my top choice going into the application process with the program's reputation, size, and structure. I still have some math to do in terms of living expenses, but I might end up graduating from Smith with similar debt to Rutgers (which is in-state for me) -- it looks like nowhere near Westfield State, though.

Like you, I received merit aid and a small stipend. The rest of the cost (for me, anyway) was provided in the form of loans; you should have a breakdown on Net Partner.

Good luck with your decision process!

[Anatta]

Congratulations @mce-123 and @carrythenothing!  Excited for you!

I've been lurking for a while, and I was finally going to ask if anyone knew whether we'd get a hint about the decision before getting something in the mail.  I figured there may be financial aid info posted or something.   I need to finish another application this weekend unless I know I got into Smith.

But after reading this, I'm not feeling so hopeful... I haven't received any email yet!  Ugh!

[ehipassiko]

I did not get an email, but did get a letter in the mail telling me I've been deferred to the regular decision pool. So -- another month-plus of possible waiting around for me.....

[Anatta]

@ehipassiko Sorry for more waiting , but hopeful you'll get in!

When did you get the letter?  I'm on the west coast, so I guess it may take a few more days before I get anything in the mail.  I'm glad to hear that deferring is another reason to not have received an email...

[ehipassiko]

@Anatta I live in Belchertown, which is 20 minutes from Smith, so I got the letter on Thursday. I hope you've gotten good news since then! From your username, looks like you're a meditator too -- I'm hoping that wherever I get in there are others too. I have a friend from Insight Meditation Society who's in his second year of the Smith program.

Edited February 11, 2019 by ehipassiko

[Anatta]

Thanks, @ehipassiko!  Yesterday I got the letter about being deferred to the regular decision pool.  I actually felt pretty good to read it, partly because the other option was being denied, and partly because the letter included something about "very impressed with your credentials" and "your application was strong".  It's just a form letter, but it was still nice to read.

Yes, I am a meditator!  I hadn't realized that ehipassiko is Pali!  I thought "anatta" would be a silly username... "Hey!  It's not me!"

I visited a friend at Smith last summer, and I got to meet a bunch of students.  There was a good number of Insight/Vipassana meditation practitioners.  Some had done some serious retreat time.  There was a sitting group for the first half of the summer, before the host got too busy.

Where else are you applying?

I live in California, near Insight Meditation Center.  IMC has become a big part of my support structure, so I figured it's a good idea to find similar support wherever I go (plus I had trouble narrowing down my list of schools).  I'm in the process of applying to BU and BC (I hear CIMC is pretty good to be near), plus a few MFT programs around here (there's a *lot* of Dharma, but it's *so* expensive to live here).  I also applied to Pitt as a backup, since my GPA guaranteed admission (even though my degrees are in engineering... GPA is a really strange guaranteed admission criteria.  Makes me question the program.).  Still thinking about applying somewhere else, if I can find time. Was hoping to get an acceptance letter from Smith and get my weekends back from all these applications!

I'm clearly excited to see another meditator on here :).  Wish you good luck.  Sending lots of metta!

[ehipassiko]

Yup we got the same form letter -- you're mentioning the exact phrases I've been thinking were nice to read too. I made the decision to apply to MSW programs on very short notice and without much time, so I only have an application in at Smith and one at Westfield State. 

I know some of the teachers in your area pretty well,  I've sat a few retreats with Andrea Fella and I did a month at Spirit Rock a few years ago when I was living in Seattle. You're right that CIMC has a great community. I think there's also actually quite a bit of dharma in the Amherst/Northampton area as well beyond Smith -- although I haven't yet been to the local insight meditation group, which is in Easthampton. IMS is only 45 minutes away, but in a very rural area, so the community is mostly staff-oriented, but there are opportunities for volunteering, and tons of amazing teachers going through there, the Forest Refuge, and Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

Wishing you luck and metta as well!

[Anatta]

@ehipassiko I talked with Smith, and they were very encouraging.  Said the deferral letter is a good sign.  They would have just sent a denial letter otherwise.  Just wanted to pass that on

I wanted to do two months at Spirit Rock or six weeks at IMS, but grad school applications (and a chaplaincy internship!) got in the way.  Maybe someday...

I'm glad to hear there's a lot of other Dharma out there!  I don't think there'd be much time to get away during the "semester" at Smith, but probably before/after/during-the-break.

It would be nice to connect if I end up in your neck of the woods!  Hope you're having a good day!

[ehipassiko]

That's great to hear about Smith. On the retreat stuff, I'll send you a DM.

Edited February 20, 2019 by ehipassiko

[nealox]

Has anyone heard back from Smith for the regular admission deadline?  It's almost the end of March!

[ehipassiko]

Not yet!

[Anatta]

I met someone at BU last weekend who got a Smith acceptance letter two weeks ago.  So I thought I would have a rejection letter waiting when I got home.

Then I talked with someone at Smith admissions, and they said that they mail out decisions every Monday, and they're still mailing them out until April 15.  They didn't mention the acceptance email, and I didn't ask about it.

April 15th (plus a few days to receive the mail) would be really late... It's barely six weeks to quit my job, give notice to my landlord, pack, move, and hopefully take a little time to unwind and rest before showing up on May 31st for orientation and the start of a really crazy summer session.  It would be hard to wrap up my work projects and do a proper transfer-of-knowledge in two weeks, but I've warned my company that it may have to be like that.

Anyway, that's what's on my mind right now!  Super-busy with other things, too, so it's not totally overwhelming... but that super-busy is why I want a break before it all starts!

And in a year or two, this will be a tiny memory...

Hope y'all are well!