Canada MSW 2020

[kaur96]

11 hours ago, tashmsw said:

I just got waitlisted for Laurier's advanced standing MSW program starting Jan 2020. I have already started my MSW at another school. So I'm unsure if I would transfer if I get accepted

Hi! Congratulations! Where are you doing your MSW from?  

[MSW204Bri]

Hi Everyone!

Very excited to read everyone's posts regarding their profiles heading into application. I'm waiting until next year before I apply.

My current dilemma is evaluating whether I want to work on a micro level (more clinical) or macro (policy level)! I have an undergraduate degree in Community Development, and research/policy is what interests me the most, but as far as a job goes everyday, interacting with youth fulfills me. Hard to reconcile that! I currently am gathering 2 years of work experience as a caseworker for Big Brothers Big Sisters before I even think of applying to grad school, and my 1:1 interactions with youth totally drive my passion. 

However, I also have big research interests- particularly the intersection of social work and public health- I'm currently very interested in co-housing communities and their effect on inter-generational living situations between seniors and children, and the social and emotional health of their community members.

I feel like I find myself getting pulled each day in pursuing micro vs macro graduate studies (another good reason to avoid applying yet!) 

If anyone could share their stories in what informs their decision of what level of the community they plan to situate themselves within, or whether there are programs that it doesn't have to be a dichotomous decision, etc, or even a school you'd recommend to me, that would be fabulous! Would love to hear your stories!

Edited September 17, 2019 by MSW204Bri

[girltryingtofigureoutlife]

Hi guys, 

really happy to have found this thread online, as you can see I'm just a girl trying to figure out life and its nice to see somewhere people can connect to get real answers about this stuff. So, I am currently finishing up my Sociology degree at a Quebec University. My grades are poor to be honest, my CGPA is about 2.4 and my last GPA is about 3.0, but I still have a year left to boost this. Regardless, my transcript right now looks incredibly poor. I recently started volunteering at a womens shelter, however it is very fresh. I am really wanted to go into social work and am wondering if anyone knows of what my chances really are applying to a MSW. I have the options of living in Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver (Vancouver is the only city I would drive, so could drive a bit further). I am wondering if any of you know of any schools that have an easier admissions process for this program, or similar. 

 

Thanks :) 

 

[Maturenotwise]

Hi Everyone!

I was just accepted into the January 2020 start of the part-time online MSW through WLU.

I am super excited. Anyone else get in? It would be nice to make contacts moving forward as it has been over a decade since I was in school and online schooling can be so faceless. 

[VanSW]

On 9/18/2019 at 3:23 PM, girltryingtofigureoutlife said:

Hi guys, 

really happy to have found this thread online, as you can see I'm just a girl trying to figure out life and its nice to see somewhere people can connect to get real answers about this stuff. So, I am currently finishing up my Sociology degree at a Quebec University. My grades are poor to be honest, my CGPA is about 2.4 and my last GPA is about 3.0, but I still have a year left to boost this. Regardless, my transcript right now looks incredibly poor. I recently started volunteering at a womens shelter, however it is very fresh. I am really wanted to go into social work and am wondering if anyone knows of what my chances really are applying to a MSW. I have the options of living in Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver (Vancouver is the only city I would drive, so could drive a bit further). I am wondering if any of you know of any schools that have an easier admissions process for this program, or similar. 

 

Thanks

 

Admission to MSW programs for students without a BSW tend to be more competitive than admission to MSW for students with a BSW. You could consider applying to a 1 or 2 year BSW program (e.g. Lakehead, McMaster, etc.), which will give you the opportunity to increase your grades, complete a placement, and better your relationships with professors so you can have great references for when you apply to a MSW program in the future.

I would recommend you take this next year of your undergrad to increase your grades and volunteer experience, and then apply to an accelerated BSW program. That's what I have done, and I am very happy with my decision.

[nicoleMSW]

Hello! Just wanted to reintroduce myself on this thread like I did last year  I am currently in year 2 of the 2 year MSW at Laurier! I am in the on-campus program, feel free to ask any questions  

2nd year is busy so I will reply when possible!

[cece_munro]

22 hours ago, nicoleMSW said:

Hello! Just wanted to reintroduce myself on this thread like I did last year  I am currently in year 2 of the 2 year MSW at Laurier! I am in the on-campus program, feel free to ask any questions  

2nd year is busy so I will reply when possible!

Hello! Thank you for posting here! Just wondering what your experience level was when you applied to the program? I am looking to apply to the advanced standing 1 year program 

[taylord]

Hi! I have applied to the online part-time msw at Laurier for the May start. Does anyone know what OSAP looks like for this program if you are common law with no dependents?

[nicoleMSW]

On 9/21/2019 at 2:59 PM, cece_munro said:

Hello! Thank you for posting here! Just wondering what your experience level was when you applied to the program? I am looking to apply to the advanced standing 1 year program 

The first time I applied, I had a few years experience volunteering with youth, but no direct work experience. I didn't get in that round.

The second year I applied, I had accumulated a year and a half of experience in youth justice. That work experience (plus the perspective it provided me/the new experiences I could speak to) helped a lot - I was accepted round 2!

Amount of experience is important, but it isn't everything. Focus on what those experiences taught you, what stood out and what is important based on your knowledge of the field. 

[Alyssa.O]

Hi everyone! I am new to this so I apologize if this is a silly question, but this forum seems super supportive so I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out with this  I am in my fourth year of psychology at Ryerson, and am planning to graduate at Spring convocation, which is hopefully May! I was looking into masters programs which are geared towards those who do not have their undergrad in social work but have it in another social science (I believe that these schools are York, Laurier, U of T, King's College at Western, U of Windsor and Carleton if I'm not mistaken?) None in advanced standing, obviously ? However, for example, I went on Laurier's MSW website, and it stated that I needed to be graduated in order to apply. But, I thought for graduate school, you could apply in your last year of study so that there is a chance you will be accepted after graduation, so there is no gap. Is this the case for all the programs; will I have to wait until I have graduated in the Spring to apply? Or, do I apply as though I am technically graduated (trust me, I only have a few courses left so I'm pretty positive my name will be at that grad ceremony  Lol.) Or are some schools just strict as in, you cannot apply until you have received your Bachelors. I have four years of experience working in a community centre for underprivileged youths, and also teaching swimming to those with a disability, plus have experience as an elementary school volunteer. I also work in a developmental lab on campus. My current average is a B+, and I'm hoping it can be raised to an A-. I am also trying to gain more volunteer experience. I am wondering if this is enough to even apply or be considered. Please let me know, and good luck to everyone out there!  

[cece_munro]

Hey everyone! 

Just wondering if anyone has applied to Renison (university of waterloo) before! I have started my application and I am a bit confused and would love some clarification. Is there a personal statement involved? If so do I receive the information about that once I submit my OUAC? Does everyone who is being considered for the program receive an interview or only some?

Thank you!! ?

[spookyszn]

2 hours ago, cece_munro said:

Hey everyone! 

Just wondering if anyone has applied to Renison (university of waterloo) before! I have started my application and I am a bit confused and would love some clarification. Is there a personal statement involved? If so do I receive the information about that once I submit my OUAC? Does everyone who is being considered for the program receive an interview or only some?

Thank you!! ?

Hey there,

You can find information about the statement of intent and other supplemental materials here: https://uwaterloo.ca/school-of-social-work/msw-other-application-pieces. You are asked to answer 3 questions with a word limit of 500 each. You should be able to see the questions by clicking on the hyperlinks or scrolling to the very bottom. 

As far as I know, there are no interviews involved in the application process for Renison, or at least there wasn't since the program was started. 

Edited September 24, 2019 by spookyszn

[cece_munro]

11 minutes ago, spookyszn said:

Hey there,

You can find information about the statement of intent and other supplemental materials here: https://uwaterloo.ca/school-of-social-work/msw-other-application-pieces. You are asked to answer 3 questions with a word limit of 500 each. You should be able to see the questions by clicking on the hyperlinks or scrolling to the very bottom. 

As far as I know, there are no interviews involved in the application process for Renison, or at least there wasn't since the program was started. 

Awesome, thanks for the link!

I found online under the section "Future students" it states: "Please note: during the admission process applicants may, or may not, be called for an interview". It might be something new they have started. Maybe someone else will have some insight on that ?

Edited September 24, 2019 by cece_munro

[MSW204Bri]

On 9/22/2019 at 10:30 PM, Alyssa.O said:

Hi everyone! I am new to this so I apologize if this is a silly question, but this forum seems super supportive so I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out with this  I am in my fourth year of psychology at Ryerson, and am planning to graduate at Spring convocation, which is hopefully May! I was looking into masters programs which are geared towards those who do not have their undergrad in social work but have it in another social science (I believe that these schools are York, Laurier, U of T, King's College at Western, U of Windsor and Carleton if I'm not mistaken?) None in advanced standing, obviously ? However, for example, I went on Laurier's MSW website, and it stated that I needed to be graduated in order to apply. But, I thought for graduate school, you could apply in your last year of study so that there is a chance you will be accepted after graduation, so there is no gap. Is this the case for all the programs; will I have to wait until I have graduated in the Spring to apply? Or, do I apply as though I am technically graduated (trust me, I only have a few courses left so I'm pretty positive my name will be at that grad ceremony  Lol.) Or are some schools just strict as in, you cannot apply until you have received your Bachelors. I have four years of experience working in a community centre for underprivileged youths, and also teaching swimming to those with a disability, plus have experience as an elementary school volunteer. I also work in a developmental lab on campus. My current average is a B+, and I'm hoping it can be raised to an A-. I am also trying to gain more volunteer experience. I am wondering if this is enough to even apply or be considered. Please let me know, and good luck to everyone out there!  

Hey there!

While I've never applied, to me it seems that either a) they will issue you a conditional acceptance (conditions being you graduate and maintain x average or complete x course). but I've also noticed most schools that offer a MSW for those of us who don't have our BSW, they then expect you to be already "doing the work" so to speak, and have more experience out of school than our BSW counterparts. So for example, I graduated with a social science degree this past April 2019, and I plan to work for 2 years full-time in my positions as a caseworker (on top of my relevant experience while in school) just to make sure that my application is competitive. I think generally speaking it's more rare for them to admit students fresh out of a non-bsw degree into those msw programs. I think it's either UBC-O or U of T state at least 3000 hours of full-time experience. But I bet you there are programs that are flexible to it! Maybe an admissions person at schools you're interested in can provide you more information?

Good luck and stay positive!!

[BTF]

On 9/17/2019 at 7:50 PM, MSW204Bri said:

Hi Everyone!

Very excited to read everyone's posts regarding their profiles heading into application. I'm waiting until next year before I apply.

My current dilemma is evaluating whether I want to work on a micro level (more clinical) or macro (policy level)! I have an undergraduate degree in Community Development, and research/policy is what interests me the most, but as far as a job goes everyday, interacting with youth fulfills me. Hard to reconcile that! I currently am gathering 2 years of work experience as a caseworker for Big Brothers Big Sisters before I even think of applying to grad school, and my 1:1 interactions with youth totally drive my passion. 

However, I also have big research interests- particularly the intersection of social work and public health- I'm currently very interested in co-housing communities and their effect on inter-generational living situations between seniors and children, and the social and emotional health of their community members.

I feel like I find myself getting pulled each day in pursuing micro vs macro graduate studies (another good reason to avoid applying yet!) 

If anyone could share their stories in what informs their decision of what level of the community they plan to situate themselves within, or whether there are programs that it doesn't have to be a dichotomous decision, etc, or even a school you'd recommend to me, that would be fabulous! Would love to hear your stories!

You should’ve consider a Master in Public Health to Masters in Public Policy. Both fit within your area of interest. 

[swismyjam]

Hello everyone. I have my BSW (2018) and I'm applying to the MSW Advanced standing at UVic and Wilfred Laurier for Fall 2020. Am only able to study online so am limited to programs with a distance option. I talked to WLU and they said they get 400-500 applications for the Advanced Standing. Thinking about applying to a third, Dalhousie, but still undecided.

Volunteer experience at an Indigenous agency (200+ hours over 3 year span),  1000s of hours employment in a homeless shelter, post grad worked almost a year in CP and have left for a job in mental health and substance use. I have a solid GPA I think low 90s.

Any suggestions for a distance MSW with a more clinical focus?

Although the CASWE page doesn't list it as a distance program, UNBC seems to have their MSW mostly online. Looking at their MSW courses, they have a very strong Indigenous focus and rural practice focus, and they're CASWE accredited. Might be a good option for some.

Good luck to all who are applying. It sounds pretty competitive.

[Golden10]

Hi everyone,

For those who were accepted into Laurier MSW Advanced Standing for January 2020 start, what was the date you had to accept by? I am currently on the wait list and just trying to gauge if I have any hope of it moving forward! Congrats to those who were accepted!

[courtmsw]

Hi everyone, 

just wondering if anyone had any idea when Windsor sends out acceptances for the advanced standing program? 

I can’t seem to find it on their website

[Rehbekuh]

Hi all,

I am currently working on my applications for Laurier and U of T - both full-time Advanced Standing.

Question to those that have been offered acceptance or wait-listed for these programs - what kind of unique experiences and reflections did you focus on in your personal statements?

Thank you!!

[danielle_maria]

Hi everyone! I am currently in the last year of my BSW. I'm applying to U of T, Windsor, York, and Ryerson.

My GPA is around a 3.5 but should go up to at least a 3.7 by the end of this year. 

I have over 2000 hours of combined volunteer and work experience working with low income youth, refugee and newcomer youth,  as well as within the school system as a family support worker. I have worked as a research assistant in two labs and am currently heading a research project on the effect of access to music therapy on children with ASD. We are hoping to have this paper published sometime within 2020.

Good luck to everyone else applying, I'm pretty nervous haha. Fingers crossed for us all! 

[MSWMSW2019]

If anyone has any experience at Lakehead's HBSW program, please message me! I'm looking to apply this year and would love your insight

[jdnr86]

Hi all!

  I was wondering if anyone could give any general comments about the different MSW programs within Ontario in relation to the questions below?  I'm specifically looking at UofT, Western, and York, with an interest in focusing on/working in mental health frontline care and policy.  

- Does which school you go to matter much for job applications later on?  Are any of these schools considered to by significantly better or worse than the others?

- Are there significant differences in the approach of these different schools (i.e. more policy/research based vs. more frontline care based)?

Thanks so much!

 

[tashmsw]

Hey! If anyone is on the Waitlist for WLU online advance standing MSW Program I had sent an email asking about transferring credits if I got accepted and they said that they do not anticipate moving the waitlist for Winter 2020.

[Rehbekuh]

On 10/21/2019 at 11:34 AM, jdnr86 said:

Hi all!

  I was wondering if anyone could give any general comments about the different MSW programs within Ontario in relation to the questions below?  I'm specifically looking at UofT, Western, and York, with an interest in focusing on/working in mental health frontline care and policy.  

- Does which school you go to matter much for job applications later on?  Are any of these schools considered to by significantly better or worse than the others?

- Are there significant differences in the approach of these different schools (i.e. more policy/research based vs. more frontline care based)?

Thanks so much!

 

All 3 schools have a good reputation. U of T has the capacity to be front line focused, they do have an emphasis on research as well and are rated the #1 best school of social work in Canada and #2 in the world. Western is very front line clinical focused. York is policy focused. Part of the MSW experience is being able to network, so one consideration might be which school is closest to the community you would like to settle down in and grow your career. 

[VanSW]

On 10/20/2019 at 8:55 PM, karanMSW said:

If anyone has any experience at Lakehead's HBSW program, please message me! I'm looking to apply this year and would love your insight

Hey, I'm in the HBSW program currently if you (or if others reading this) have questions!