MSW Applications Fall 2020

[nicka F]

I just got an email from UCB. Its been my dream school forever..but i didn't get in. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but all i know is that right now this really sucks. hopefully someone can relate :( but for whoever on here that applied and got in, from the bottom of my heart congratulations :) 

[ZoeD]

Hi all- 

I just submitted my appeal to CU for increased financial aid. I was accepted into Rutgers and BU, but have not received financial aid information from them yet so do not have competing scholarships. However, Rutgers is significantly cheaper. My appeal was pretty simple- I just stated that I had been accepted into other area schools in which tuition was lower and that CU is still my top choice, but their tuition is a challenge. I also mentioned that I will be leaving my full-time job and moving across the country, which will be a financial hurdle in itself. I wasn't able to include any other competing scholarship info to match ?. 

Long story short, for those who appealed to CU (tagging @SWColumbia - btw, thank you for your help with the appeal information in general- it was so helpful  ) how long did it take for you to hear back? The response said two weeks but I am hoping it's less than that because I really want to submit my deposit and make it official! 

Thanks guys- congrats to all who received acceptances today. and those who received disappointing news- keep hanging on. I've been there- it's corny, but I have realized that if it's meant to be it will be. 

[Mmgaf]

26 minutes ago, nicka F said:

I just got an email from UCB. Its been my dream school forever..but i didn't get in. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but all i know is that right now this really sucks. hopefully someone can relate but for whoever on here that applied and got in, from the bottom of my heart congratulations

UC Berkeley?

[Gelibutter]

Just now, Mmgaf said:

UC Berkeley?

Yes, UCB is UC Berkeley 

[Mmgaf]

1 minute ago, Gelibutter said:

Yes, UCB is UC Berkeley 

Oh wow I didn’t realize cal had released any decisions yet. Sorry for the news, I’m sure something will work out!

Edited February 19, 2020 by Mmgaf

[lattes&equality]

32 minutes ago, nicka F said:

I just got an email from UCB. Its been my dream school forever..but i didn't get in. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but all i know is that right now this really sucks. hopefully someone can relate but for whoever on here that applied and got in, from the bottom of my heart congratulations

I'm so sorry  I also applied to UCB and am waiting for a response. When did you apply? I applied on 12/2. Did you apply anywhere else? UCB is so competitive, I hope you can take comfort at least in that. 

[SocialWorkStdnt]

I just visited West Chester's campus (PA) and I told them pretty much I'm waiting on scholarship information and I'm concerned because the decision date is approaching (they gave me march 7) and was told since they didn't pass the budget yet, they aren't sure of funding yet, and would extend the deadline date. I'm wondering for those who are concerned about the decision dates, if contacting them to extend it might be possible.

[nicka F]

20 minutes ago, lattes&equality said:

I'm so sorry  I also applied to UCB and am waiting for a response. When did you apply? I applied on 12/2. Did you apply anywhere else? UCB is so competitive, I hope you can take comfort at least in that. 

I applied on 12/2 as well. I'm sure you'll get an email soon, I believe the updates come in waves over the course of a couple of days. I applied to UCLA, CSULB, CSUF, and going to apply to USC (although I doubt I'd go there as it's really expensive) thank you, and I wish you the best

[lattes&equality]

22 minutes ago, nicka F said:

I applied on 12/2 as well. I'm sure you'll get an email soon, I believe the updates come in waves over the course of a couple of days. I applied to UCLA, CSULB, CSUF, and going to apply to USC (although I doubt I'd go there as it's really expensive) thank you, and I wish you the best

I applied to the exact same schools as you! I considered USC as well but like you said, it's so expensive. I don't think it's feasible for me. Wishing you good luck for the rest of the schools  

[Paul-BSW]

6 hours ago, fooliejulie said:

I applied to CSUEB. I hadn’t heard about snail mail response but I’m not surprised given that they were the only place I applied to that wanted the application materials in hard copy. C’mon decisions!!!!

Pitts also wants my Uni to mail my transcripts too despite receiving them via official email, hence I don't consider them an option anymore. 

[Paul-BSW]

5 hours ago, msw2020waiting said:

Sorry guys I just wanna rant a bit. Ive been so nervous since this application season and have been dreaming of both being admitted to all schools and being rejected by all schools. I'm doubting myself so much recently because I'm a new grad with no paid experiences. I also had withdrawn from three semesters to take care of my health conditions and my mother back in my home country. My transcript is really inconsistent. Although my gpa raised to 3.8, I still feel that I dont stand a chance among so many excellent applicants especially because I have so many Ws on my transcripts. I also applied late due to some issues and am still waiting on the first answer. ?It's really hard to deal with the stress

You'll be ok, I believe some of us can relate to what you're feeling but stay encouraged, I am sure nothing is wrong with you and big deal having to withdraw from a program on health grounds. You'll be fine. I hope this helps. 

[Jen985]

Hey everyone! I have been reading this thread on and off for about a week and thought I'd finally join the convo. Let me introduce myself- my name is Jen, I'm in my early 30's and am changing careers...sort of. I'm finishing up my masters degree right now at Northwestern University, where I've been working on the Master of Public Policy and Administration with a focus in global health. My bachelors is a double major in psych and broad field social science from UWSP a long time ago (yeah, Wisco, represent! haha). Career wise, I plan on working as a clinical social worker with victims of trauma, torture, human rights violations, those who have been exposed to war and genocide environments etc. I'll basically be combining my policy masters with the MSW and working on both sides, but I'll be making clinical social work my main focus. Background wise, I've done a lot of international volunteer work with refugees and those in poverty, I travel abroad now a lot as a coach with an international program, and I also have a long background with marketing for social justice oriented non profits. I'm also a crisis counselor at Crisis Text Line, which I love and highly recommend doing if you want some remote counseling experience. 

For those of you recently accepted to Columbia- Congrats! I actually was supposed to start their online MSW (two year) this January, and was going to juggle the rest of my Northwestern Masters alongside one or two Columbia courses, but after orientation in January I decided that was a horrible idea, and I declined my admission. I then applied to the University of Michigan for Fall 2020 (16 month program) and am really hoping to attend. I got my application in literally just before midnight on Feb. 1st, their priority deadline. It sounds like some of you have heard back from Michigan already who applied around Feb. 1st? I'm anxiously waiting. 

Looking forward to connecting with everyone here!! Hopefully I'll hear from Michigan soon  

Jen

[Jen985]

On 2/16/2020 at 8:00 PM, ara275 said:

Now that many of decisions have been released, how do we go about narrowing down? To be honest, I'm feeling myself kind of, "freeze up", decision fatigue if you will. I thought I might've been accepted to one program, but not my top three. UW hasn't released any financial aid information yet, I have my package from Denver, even if it's smallish, and I'm still waiting on UWMilwaukee to see if I am chosen for a fellowship. How do I decide?

 

I just feel kind of lost.

Hey! I dont know if this helps, but I'm originally from Wisconsin and I know Milwaukee... I can answer questions if you want?? UWM Is a good school! Totally understand having decision fatigue- I've been there too. My best advice is to make a list, on paper, of what is most important to you in a program. It can literally be anything from "cheap housing" to "research opportunities" to "urban environment" to "close to international airport" haha for traveling... really just make a list and no matter how small each point seems, add it. Then, when you're done, look at that list and see if any school jumps out at you. If not, do some more research on the city, the school itself, try to find student reviews, try to look up professors and see if anyone really jumps out at you to learn from. Also, if rankings matter to you, that's always something to consider. The answer will become clear though once you figure out your "must have" factors and your "deal breaker" factors... Kind of like dating, but with grad school  haha 

[Jen985]

On 2/17/2020 at 9:59 AM, Paul-BSW said:

Hey Guys,

I have been following the thread for a while and I must say thank you for sharing something similar to what am currently feeling - in terms anxiety, indecision, having to wait, etc. I hope to be an international student in the USA by fall 2020. I am an international student in India and in my last semester of BSW. I have returned to college after many years away from school.  

- I applied for MSW at Columbia - waiting for decision (I will probably write them soon). Waiting.

- I applied for MA (SID) at Heller School of policy (Brandeis Uni.). Accepted with 60% tuition scholarship but I have to accept by April 15th.

- MA Policy at UNA - still waiting.

Please, can any give me relevant info or advice about CU and (SID) "Sustainable International Development" at Brandeis, plus considering that my situation maybe a bit peculiar (international student), I would really like to get into CU especially if they'll offer me fellowship/scholarship better than Heller's 'cos I really desire to continue my career with SW. 

Thanks

From a career changer who went through the whole policy vs SW thing over and over and over....If you really want to continue your career in social work, which you said at the end of your post, then do that. You can always work in policy with a MSW..... You can never claim to be an MSW with a policy masters (I am almost finished with my policy masters at Northwestern and am jumping right into a MSW). The Heller School is awesome- I looked at them for a PhD in Social Policy- but if social work is truly where your heart lies, go for the MSW all the way, get that work experience, and get your clinical license. That will open up more doors, in social work, than policy ever will (for social work). Now, if you said "I dont care about social work anymore" my advice would be to go for policy, all the way. I also got into Columbia for Jan 2020- I declined- but I did attend orientation before I declined...so... I'm happy to answer any questions that I can answer for you. One other thought.... what about applying to a few more MSW programs, just to give yourself options, since you say you want to continue working in social work?  

[Jen985]

9 hours ago, ctrmsw said:

Ah, I was waitlisted at Columbia. I didn't get an email, just an update to my portal. Pretty bummed. 

Keep your head up though, it can turn around really fast. I applied to Columbia last September, got waitlisted late October, and got accepted Nov. 15th. Remember- wait list does not mean no  Obviously Im not going there now because I'm on this thread haha, I ended up deciding to wait a semester, and apply to Michigan for their 16 mo program instead, but.. my point is... you definitely could be getting an "accepted" status very soon even though you got waitlisted. Keep your head up! You've got this. And if they say no in the end, then just know that it wasn't your door- if you bang on a door, and it doesn't open, it's not your door..aka not your path..something will work out. 

[Jen985]

6 hours ago, msw2020waiting said:

Sorry guys I just wanna rant a bit. Ive been so nervous since this application season and have been dreaming of both being admitted to all schools and being rejected by all schools. I'm doubting myself so much recently because I'm a new grad with no paid experiences. I also had withdrawn from three semesters to take care of my health conditions and my mother back in my home country. My transcript is really inconsistent. Although my gpa raised to 3.8, I still feel that I dont stand a chance among so many excellent applicants especially because I have so many Ws on my transcripts. I also applied late due to some issues and am still waiting on the first answer. ?It's really hard to deal with the stress

Hey- let me tell you a story (don't worry, swear its true lol). So now I'm in my early 30's but when I was 18-20 in college, in undergrad, I had the worst grades. I almost got kicked out twice due to academic probation. My dad had cancer and I was working three jobs- I frankly did not care at all about grades or school. I would blow off class constantly, for work usually, or because I worked all night and needed sleep, etc. Needless to say, my grades were horrible. Not only low, but I kept taking semesters off because I felt ashamed at my low grades, so I had lots of W's. This was in the early 2000's. So finally, at 23 or so, I went back. I decided I was done feeling ashamed and I was going to walk back into the psych department (I was a psych major) even though my professors probably saw me as a failure, and I was going to work super hard...and thats exactly what I did. I ended up with straight A's and a few B's in my final year or two years (whatever it ended up being). I took on 17 credit course loads and studied like crazy. I eventually had a few psych professors come up to me and commend me for how hard I was working. I then did a one year degree at UCLA, a few years after my bachelors, in marketing (post-bac) and graduated with honors (3.9/4.0 GPA). I then took a few non degree graduate classes, got A's in all of them. I then applied to Northwestern University for a masters degree which I am currently finishing up, and I have a 4.0 GPA. My point is- You've got this. You have SO got this. I know all too well how easy it is to look back at those old grades and think wow, I really messed up. But flip that mindset around- Look at how hard you worked later on to raise that GPA to a 3.8. Admissions committee's - everywhere you apply- will see that turn around and think wow, this person is determined.. look at that work ethic.. they are amazing. It would be one thing if you had bad grades and W's and never came back from it.....but not only did you come back from it, you soared  You've got this. From one former W's kid to another- you've got this. 

[Djedi22]

On 2/10/2020 at 10:44 PM, CluMSW said:

I got into Fordham last week!!

When did you submit ? And congratulations ?

[Olas]

11 hours ago, cwall17 said:

I applied on 1/26! I called today and they said it would take 6-8 weeks to get a decision

Ugh  Are you in-state? 

[cwall17]

1 hour ago, Olas said:

Ugh  Are you in-state? 

Out of state! What about you?

[Paul-BSW]

5 hours ago, Jen985 said:

From a career changer who went through the whole policy vs SW thing over and over and over....If you really want to continue your career in social work, which you said at the end of your post, then do that. You can always work in policy with a MSW..... You can never claim to be an MSW with a policy masters (I am almost finished with my policy masters at Northwestern and am jumping right into a MSW). The Heller School is awesome- I looked at them for a PhD in Social Policy- but if social work is truly where your heart lies, go for the MSW all the way, get that work experience, and get your clinical license. That will open up more doors, in social work, than policy ever will (for social work). Now, if you said "I dont care about social work anymore" my advice would be to go for policy, all the way. I also got into Columbia for Jan 2020- I declined- but I did attend orientation before I declined...so... I'm happy to answer any questions that I can answer for you. One other thought.... what about applying to a few more MSW programs, just to give yourself options, since you say you want to continue working in social work?  

Thanks for taking time to respond to and offer valuable advice to me. Your response has given me reason to think deeply again about my decision and options. I really love the profession of Social Work and I think i'd be more effective and happy if I get opportunities to practice at macro level and/or kinda like managerial positions. I would love to work on ambitious innovative projects or programs that can have great impact on many people at once, or design programs or policies as such.

Another thing I love is teaching and/or talking/sharing knowledge and experiences with groups of adults (I have teaching background and I am already in my late 30s). I have left everything behind because I want to live the rest of my life knowing that I pursued a career that I love and practice till I die but then I also would like to make some money to be able to take care of my wife of many years who has supported my crazy ideas and all though it hasn't been easy. 

Note, I understand that there seems to be more opportunities in the areas of Health/medical social work, (though I am comfortable/good at working with individuals and I am the go to person for people that know me) but I really don't think I would be satisfied working behind the scene or desk (hope you understand me). I am deliberately laying all these out 'cos am open to ideas or suggestions that can help me achieve my goals without having to wonder around again. 

I have taken your advice about applying to more schools, though I really wish I could get into CU - considering the possibilities/opportunities and the calibre of students it garners (collaborations). For instance, I would love to explore social entrepreneur ideas and I hope to apply for PhD immediately after my MSW. I am currently working on an innovative idea in the form of a research project and I'd like to see such be developed into actual programs/real project that can affect millions of poor-rural children. 

I hope you guys don't mind reading all these while we all wait for responses and worry about different college decisions. Pardon me.

 

 

  

Edited February 19, 2020 by Paul-BSW

[IvySWCu]

11 hours ago, madisonc7 said:

Thank you! I'm shocked. I'm from a small town in western Kansas that no one has heard of, with the worst funding in the state. In my town, everyone goes to the hometown college and it was a big deal to even move 3 hours away. My mom sobbed when she found out I got in. She had me really young and gave up her education for me.  I feel overwhelmingly grateful today. 

I am so overjoyed for you Madison! Congratulations very well deserved!!

[IvySWCu]

10 hours ago, ZoeD said:

Hi all- 

I just submitted my appeal to CU for increased financial aid. I was accepted into Rutgers and BU, but have not received financial aid information from them yet so do not have competing scholarships. However, Rutgers is significantly cheaper. My appeal was pretty simple- I just stated that I had been accepted into other area schools in which tuition was lower and that CU is still my top choice, but their tuition is a challenge. I also mentioned that I will be leaving my full-time job and moving across the country, which will be a financial hurdle in itself. I wasn't able to include any other competing scholarship info to match ?. 

Long story short, for those who appealed to CU (tagging @SWColumbia - btw, thank you for your help with the appeal information in general- it was so helpful  ) how long did it take for you to hear back? The response said two weeks but I am hoping it's less than that because I really want to submit my deposit and make it official! 

Thanks guys- congrats to all who received acceptances today. and those who received disappointing news- keep hanging on. I've been there- it's corny, but I have realized that if it's meant to be it will be. 

I heard back after 5 business days, so about a week!

[IvySWCu]

8 hours ago, Jen985 said:

Hey everyone! I have been reading this thread on and off for about a week and thought I'd finally join the convo. Let me introduce myself- my name is Jen, I'm in my early 30's and am changing careers...sort of. I'm finishing up my masters degree right now at Northwestern University, where I've been working on the Master of Public Policy and Administration with a focus in global health. My bachelors is a double major in psych and broad field social science from UWSP a long time ago (yeah, Wisco, represent! haha). Career wise, I plan on working as a clinical social worker with victims of trauma, torture, human rights violations, those who have been exposed to war and genocide environments etc. I'll basically be combining my policy masters with the MSW and working on both sides, but I'll be making clinical social work my main focus. Background wise, I've done a lot of international volunteer work with refugees and those in poverty, I travel abroad now a lot as a coach with an international program, and I also have a long background with marketing for social justice oriented non profits. I'm also a crisis counselor at Crisis Text Line, which I love and highly recommend doing if you want some remote counseling experience. 

For those of you recently accepted to Columbia- Congrats! I actually was supposed to start their online MSW (two year) this January, and was going to juggle the rest of my Northwestern Masters alongside one or two Columbia courses, but after orientation in January I decided that was a horrible idea, and I declined my admission. I then applied to the University of Michigan for Fall 2020 (16 month program) and am really hoping to attend. I got my application in literally just before midnight on Feb. 1st, their priority deadline. It sounds like some of you have heard back from Michigan already who applied around Feb. 1st? I'm anxiously waiting. 

Looking forward to connecting with everyone here!! Hopefully I'll hear from Michigan soon  

Jen

You sound amazing, good luck with UM! And keep us posted

[perfectamity]

Anyone else waiting to get a final scholarship decision from Washington University in St. Louis?

 

[Olas]

4 hours ago, cwall17 said:

Out of state! What about you?

I am in-state. Have you heard back from other schools?