MSW Applications Fall 2021

[Minhessica]

I wonder why Columbia has been taking so long and it seems like a pattern (from other past forums). If they know other schools honor the deadline they say why would they wait so long to release decisions? It’s a 50/50 chance students will pick Columbia over another great MSW program especially bc other schools give extensions as well.  

[aoikal]

Hi there,

I am stuck and need help from anyone who could give advice if they've gone through these respective programs. I have been accepted to both USC and Penn's social work programs. Both deadlines are coming up very soon, but am still waiting to hear back from Columbia. I'm leaning more on the end of clinical social work, but may very well switch to macro once I get situated in a program. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Best of luck to you all!! (: 

-Amanda

[mswhopeful21]

Just heard from Columbia, I got in!! Hope everyone waiting hears soon with good news!

[aaj12]

1 hour ago, mswhopeful21 said:

Just heard from Columbia, I got in!! Hope everyone waiting hears soon with good news!

CONGRATS!! when did you apply?

[mswhopeful21]

4 minutes ago, aaj12 said:

CONGRATS!! when did you apply?

Thank you! I applied at the end of December, and received an email about my completed application in mid-January. 

[xxsalmon]

28 minutes ago, mswhopeful21 said:

Thank you! I applied at the end of December, and received an email about my completed application in mid-January. 

lol same here but i still haven't heard back- i'm about to just commit to NYU at this point. Congrats though! Have you heard anything about financial aid? 

Edited March 27, 2021 by xxsalmon
add more

[mswhopeful21]

13 minutes ago, xxsalmon said:

lol same here but i still haven't heard back- i'm about to just commit to NYU at this point. Congrats though! Have you heard anything about financial aid? 

Thanks! They said that I should hear about financial aid within two weeks. 

When did you apply? Hopefully this means they're sending out notifications 

[swprospect]

22 hours ago, aaj12 said:

anyone who applied to columbia after priority deadline hear back yet? i know they said we'd hear by early April, but USC gave me a final extension until April 1st, so i'm worried i won't hear back in time  

heard back from them earlier this week -- applied late jan with a confirmation email in early feb. fingers crossed you hear back from them very soon!

[swprospect]

5 hours ago, SWStudent2 said:

Hi Thanks so much! Yeah I used this link and just heard back today that they are only able to offer 5k more which unfortunately is still unrealistic for me. About to decline my offer of admissions):

Oh man, sorry to hear  that makes me nervous about my request too haha. Definitely hope you got a better offer at another program!

[aaj12]

10 minutes ago, swprospect said:

heard back from them earlier this week -- applied late jan with a confirmation email in early feb. fingers crossed you hear back from them very soon!

thanks!! my application was also confirmed early feb, so hopefully soon! 

[Korovyev]

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to decide between Hunter and NYU and am really torn. I know they are both top programs but I'm trying to determine which one is more psychodynamic and more clinically focused. NYU offered me a scholarship, so tuition is less of a factor. I'd appreciate any input!      

[researchmswgirl]

16 hours ago, aoikal said:

Hi there,

I am stuck and need help from anyone who could give advice if they've gone through these respective programs. I have been accepted to both USC and Penn's social work programs. Both deadlines are coming up very soon, but am still waiting to hear back from Columbia. I'm leaning more on the end of clinical social work, but may very well switch to macro once I get situated in a program. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Best of luck to you all!! ?

-Amanda

Hi Amanda! I am actually deciding between those two schools myself and having such a hard time with my decision. Personally, I am interested in pursuing a PhD down the road which is making me lean towards Penn as well as just trying living out of state for a few years (im from CA) and like Penn's program enough. Although when speaking to Penn, they shared that MSW students don't typically work on research with professors because that is saved for PhD and doctoral students. But USC is a great program from what I have heard from the people I have spoken with. And has great connections in Los Angeles, and probably elsewhere too. 

[mswhopeful21]

Hi everyone! Does anyone what the process is for field placement once admitted to MSW programs? Do they usually get the ball rolling on your placement as soon as you commit, or is there a general timeline that all students follow? 

Or is it different for each school? 

Thanks:)

Edited March 27, 2021 by mswhopeful21
Added

[SWStudent2]

15 hours ago, swprospect said:

Oh man, sorry to hear  that makes me nervous about my request too haha. Definitely hope you got a better offer at another program!

I wouldn't be nervous about your request! They take a lot into consideration and I was asking for quite a lot so when I submitted it I kind of knew it it was unlikely to get approved. UMich gave me a few different scholarships and grants that will cover all of my tuition for the one year advanced standing program and I was asking for UChicago to match it and they said they couldn't ? Good luck with your appeal!!! 

[aoikal]

5 hours ago, researchmswgirl said:

Hi Amanda! I am actually deciding between those two schools myself and having such a hard time with my decision. Personally, I am interested in pursuing a PhD down the road which is making me lean towards Penn as well as just trying living out of state for a few years (im from CA) and like Penn's program enough. Although when speaking to Penn, they shared that MSW students don't typically work on research with professors because that is saved for PhD and doctoral students. But USC is a great program from what I have heard from the people I have spoken with. And has great connections in Los Angeles, and probably elsewhere too. 

I'm from Las Vegas! So I understand wanting a change haha. There's pros/cons of everything. I feel like I know more about Penn's program than I do about USC's oddly, would you mind sharing anything you know about USC's from what you've heard? I haven't seen much from other accepted students leaning towards USC, so anything would greatly help me understand the culture and experience of the program. I would be entering as a full-time 2 year student.

[Gradguy11218]

5 hours ago, mswhopeful21 said:

Hi everyone! Does anyone what the process is for field placement once admitted to MSW programs? Do they usually get the ball rolling on your placement as soon as you commit, or is there a general timeline that all students follow? 

Or is it different for each school? 

Thanks:)

Looking at past forums the summer months is when accepted students started hearing about placements

[MSWlk]

Anyone else heard from Portland State yet? I haven’t seen anyone post about it in a while.

[aaj12]

12 minutes ago, MSWlk said:

Anyone else heard from Portland State yet? I haven’t seen anyone post about it in a while.

not yet. i've seen a couple people have heard back in the past week or 2, so hopefully soon!

[cp98]

On 3/27/2021 at 11:21 AM, mswhopeful21 said:

Hi everyone! Does anyone what the process is for field placement once admitted to MSW programs? Do they usually get the ball rolling on your placement as soon as you commit, or is there a general timeline that all students follow? 

Or is it different for each school? 

Thanks:)

Hey! I committed to Boston College on March 3rd and had someone reach out personally for field placement on March 11.  I'm not sure how other schools do it, but BC was very fast.

[mswapplicant7]

On 3/26/2021 at 10:57 PM, Korovyev said:

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to decide between Hunter and NYU and am really torn. I know they are both top programs but I'm trying to determine which one is more psychodynamic and more clinically focused. NYU offered me a scholarship, so tuition is less of a factor. I'd appreciate any input!      

Out of curiosity, how much aid did they offer? If you're comfortable sharing!

[mswapplicant7]

On 3/26/2021 at 5:03 PM, aoikal said:

Hi there,

I am stuck and need help from anyone who could give advice if they've gone through these respective programs. I have been accepted to both USC and Penn's social work programs. Both deadlines are coming up very soon, but am still waiting to hear back from Columbia. I'm leaning more on the end of clinical social work, but may very well switch to macro once I get situated in a program. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Best of luck to you all!! ?

-Amanda

Hi! I didn't apply to USC but was admitted to Penn a few weeks ago. I'm pretty torn, but I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about Penn. I've spoken to several students who aren't happy with their decision to enroll at Penn, especially considering the cost of tuition.

[Korovyev]

40 minutes ago, mswapplicant7 said:

Out of curiosity, how much aid did they offer? If you're comfortable sharing!

Sure! They offered 15k per year. 

[Gradguy11218]

On 3/26/2021 at 10:57 PM, Korovyev said:

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to decide between Hunter and NYU and am really torn. I know they are both top programs but I'm trying to determine which one is more psychodynamic and more clinically focused. NYU offered me a scholarship, so tuition is less of a factor. I'd appreciate any input!      

If tuition is not a factor its pretty hard to decide. They both have good and respected clinical practices. One thing i will say if you plan on going into private practice the NYU name will bring in more clients. If you plan on running a non profit Hunter is a great choice because of their progressive background. Silberman is on the upper east side. NYU is in lower manhattan in a trendy neighborhood. Its a hard choice. Hope you are satisfied with whatever choice you make.

[peachy4345]

Not trying to be a downer, but something to consider if anyone is thinking about Columbia:

Among your choices, you should also consider which programs have a grad worker union AND treat grad students right. I am a current 2nd year PhD student at Columbia. The majority of grad students are currently on strike for a living wage, better healthcare, and protection from harassment and discrimination. I have been watching the process of our new graduate union try to bargain for our first contract for over two years. In these sessions, I have seen admin (and their sleazy lawyer, who charges $1,500/hr) do everything possible to stall negotiations, belittle us, and play down heartfelt testimonials that make clear why our demands are reasonable and necessary. Every time we've gotten a raise in the past, our Columbia rent magically goes up by a higher percentage. Our wages are not enough to live in NYC. There is no dental or vision coverage, and they recently removed the better health insurance plan option. The school has a terrible history with harassment and discrimination cases brought by both undergrads and grads (Google it), and at the moment they are doing everything possible to avoid meeting our contract demand about changing the investigation process to give more rights to the complainant (see link below). It's also worth noting that in the School of Social Work, workers were traditionally paid less than workers in other schools--our contract is currently trying to bring all grad workers to the same MA and PhD wage level across schools.

We're entering the 3rd week of the strike, and Columbia has made very clear that they plan to not only doc our bi-weekly pay (which we receive for TA/RA work), but our academic stipends--yep, they are going to debit our student accounts, thereby jeopardizing course registration, degree progress, visas, and health insurance. We have a legal right to strike, but this later action constitutes illegal academic retaliation.

Long story short: I'm sure a lot of schools are as corrupt as Columbia, but I've just seen first hand how rotten this place is to the core. They only care about profit (their endowment grew $300 million during the pandemic alone), squeezing as much our of grad workers and adjuncts for as little pay as possible, sweeping bad press under the rug, and gentrifying Harlem with multi-million dollar campus expansions.

I encourage folks thinking about attending/applying to Columbia to express concerns to department chairs and administrators, and ask them why they insist on denying grad workers a fair contract: 

• President Lee Bollinger officeofthepresident@columbia.edu, Phone: (212) 854-9970
• Provost Ira Katznelson provost@columbia.edu,  +1 212 854 2404
• GSAS Grad Admissions: gsas-admissions@columbia.edu

 

https://gothamist.com/news/columbia-grad-students-strike-over-wages-and-harassment-policies-nyu-counterparts-vote-similar-actions

[anothermsw]

2 hours ago, mswapplicant7 said:

Hi! I didn't apply to USC but was admitted to Penn a few weeks ago. I'm pretty torn, but I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about Penn. I've spoken to several students who aren't happy with their decision to enroll at Penn, especially considering the cost of tuition.

Hey there- would you be open to sharing more about what you've heard? Could use a bit of insight about the downfalls of Penn. Thank so much!