Bay Area MSW!

[nettyspaghetti]

Hi everybody!

I applied to UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, San José State, CSU East Bay, and one school in the Central Valley (Fresno State), but obviously I’m hoping to be in the Bay Area, and reeeeally hoping for UCB. Anyone have any news on acceptance decisions for any of these? I know Berkeley’s website says decisions will be sent by March 1st but I’m curious to know if anyone has already received a response. Good luck to all of my fellow applicants waiting to hear back!

[mlhk]

I have applied to Berkeley, SFSU, SJSU, CSUEB, and Smith in the East Coast - I haven't heard back from any of the Bay Area schools yet! CSUEB sent an email saying that we should expect hearing from them from mid to late March. Fingers crossed for everyone here! 

[fiofarrell17]

Hi! I only applied to SFSU in the bay area, but it's my top choice! I haven't heard anything back but my application was sent to the department on 1/11 and I read that it usually takes 4-6 weeks after the department gets it. 

[hannied]

Hiii! I also applied to Berkeley, SFSU, CSUEB, SJSU, CSULB and Seattle U. I was accepted into a Boston program last year and deferred (due to COVID).

I'm hoping to stay in the bay area since I'm from here. I saw that Berkeley will let us know by March 1st. I applied to SFSU last year (reapplied this year) and heard in April. I hope that gives you all some context.

Please post if you hear back from any of the bay area schools :) 

[fiofarrell17]

13 hours ago, hannied said:

Hiii! I also applied to Berkeley, SFSU, CSUEB, SJSU, CSULB and Seattle U. I was accepted into a Boston program last year and deferred (due to COVID).

I'm hoping to stay in the bay area since I'm from here. I saw that Berkeley will let us know by March 1st. I applied to SFSU last year (reapplied this year) and heard in April. I hope that gives you all some context.

Please post if you hear back from any of the bay area schools :) 

Thank you for the update with sf state! Would you mind sharing your stats of when you applied to sfsu last year and what the result was? I know it's a competitive program but I have no idea what's even considered a "good" application for grad school. Thank you! 

[hannied]

On 2/5/2021 at 9:36 AM, fiofarrell17 said:

Thank you for the update with sf state! Would you mind sharing your stats of when you applied to sfsu last year and what the result was? I know it's a competitive program but I have no idea what's even considered a "good" application for grad school. Thank you! 

What do you mean by stats? I was not accepted so after speaking to head of department I got some more field experience and re-applied. ?

[fiofarrell17]

Just now, hannied said:

What do you mean by stats? I was not accepted so after speaking to head of department I got some more field experience and re-applied. ?

Thanks for responding! I was wondering like what GPA you had and what experience you had! It's my top school so I'm just looking to compare where I fall with other applicants

[nettyspaghetti]

Anyone else get a psych-out email from SJSU? I got one saying there was a new message in my portal but it was just a reminder to complete the FAFSA. It was so upsetting!

[Dexinsf]

On 2/21/2021 at 6:42 AM, nettyspaghetti said:

Anyone else get a psych-out email from SJSU? I got one saying there was a new message in my portal but it was just a reminder to complete the FAFSA. It was so upsetting!

Same... I was driving and I pull over... 

[fiofarrell17]

I reached out to SFSU's admissions team, they said they were hoping to start sending out decisions in early March, so we're almost there! They also let me know they have 40 spots this year and received 358 applications

[n_avocado]

Hey y'all, just made an account to post on here lol. I was checking at the UCB MSW page and they are saying applicants should be notified by March 15th. I did receive my acceptance for SFSU under the Title IV-E program and will more than likely be going there! Good luck y'all!

[bananamuffin]

21 minutes ago, n_avocado said:

Hey y'all, just made an account to post on here lol. I was checking at the UCB MSW page and they are saying applicants should be notified by March 15th. I did receive my acceptance for SFSU under the Title IV-E program and will more than likely be going there! Good luck y'all!

I also found this on their website which says the week of March 1... I wonder what is more updated https://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/admissions/msw-admissions

 

[fiofarrell17]

34 minutes ago, n_avocado said:

Hey y'all, just made an account to post on here lol. I was checking at the UCB MSW page and they are saying applicants should be notified by March 15th. I did receive my acceptance for SFSU under the Title IV-E program and will more than likely be going there! Good luck y'all!

Congrats on the SFSU acceptance and stipend, that's so exciting!! Would you feel comfortable sharing your stats and when you heard back from them? 

[n_avocado]

26 minutes ago, fiofarrell17 said:

Congrats on the SFSU acceptance and stipend, that's so exciting!! Would you feel comfortable sharing your stats and when you heard back from them? 

Thank you! I had a 3.0 in my last two years of undergrad, and I've worked in mental health/non-public school counseling for the past 5 years. I heard back from them on Friday 2/18 and they gave me a couple of weeks to decide. When I talked to the admissions folks about being admitted in to the IFG concentration they were saying early-mid march is when folx will hear back. Hope you hear back soon!!!

Still waiting to hear back from UC Berkeley and according to @bananamuffin Berkeley should be notifying students by end of week but I've also seen March 15th on another section of the UCB msw site.

Edited March 1, 2021 by n_avocado
checked my email and realized they said early-mid march

[fiofarrell17]

7 minutes ago, n_avocado said:

Thank you! I had a 3.0 in my last two years of undergrad, and I've worked in mental health/non-public school counseling for the past 5 years. I heard back from them on Friday 2/18 and they gave me a couple of weeks to decide. When I talked to the admissions folks about being admitted in to the IFG concentration they were saying early-mid march is when folx will hear back. Hope you hear back soon!!!

Still waiting to hear back from UC Berkeley and according to @bananamuffin Berkeley should be notifying students by end of week but I've also seen March 15th on another section of the UCB msw site.

Sounds like you have some great experience under your belt!:) Congratulations again, that's so exciting!! And yes, I'm hoping to hear back within the next couple of weeks here! 

I think for Berkeley they'll start sending them out this week and then through the 15th! Going to be an exciting couple of weeks for sure!(:

[riseNshine]

3 hours ago, n_avocado said:

Hey y'all, just made an account to post on here lol. I was checking at the UCB MSW page and they are saying applicants should be notified by March 15th. I did receive my acceptance for SFSU under the Title IV-E program and will more than likely be going there! Good luck y'all!

Congrats on your acceptance! I also was admitted to SFSU Title IVE program and am waiting for UC Berkeley's decision to be released as well (hopefully this week). Have you already sent in your response to SFSU or are you waiting to hear back from Berkeley? Can I ask what factors are leading you to lean towards SFSU (over Berkeley)? Again, congrats!  

[n_avocado]

43 minutes ago, riseNshine said:

Congrats on your acceptance! I also was admitted to SFSU Title IVE program and am waiting for UC Berkeley's decision to be released as well (hopefully this week). Have you already sent in your response to SFSU or are you waiting to hear back from Berkeley? Can I ask what factors are leading you to lean towards SFSU (over Berkeley)? Again, congrats!  

Congrats on your acceptance as well!! I haven't sent a response to SFSU yet but I am very much leaning to SF anyways over Berkeley. Having that stipend is really important to me, and I would love to avoid student loans if possible so that's a very big influential factor. The other being the community that SF has in terms of social justice/DEI that the school seems to really embody through its actions. I have friends that have done various Master's programs at SFSU and all have said it was a great experience. My experiences in the Zoom info sessions for the program were also a lot more positive for SFSU over Berkeley (and Jerry from SFSU seemed very knowledgeable and kind). I would be thrilled to go to either school, and I know at the end of the day it's more important to have the degree/get the experience over picking the most prestigious school. 

Trying to practice more gratitude for this experience rather than beating myself up over which school to choose/which one to wait for  a lot easier said than done haha. Good luck to you and please let me know when you hear back from Berkeley! Maybe we'll end up being classmates!

[riseNshine]

1 hour ago, n_avocado said:

Congrats on your acceptance as well!! I haven't sent a response to SFSU yet but I am very much leaning to SF anyways over Berkeley. Having that stipend is really important to me, and I would love to avoid student loans if possible so that's a very big influential factor. The other being the community that SF has in terms of social justice/DEI that the school seems to really embody through its actions. I have friends that have done various Master's programs at SFSU and all have said it was a great experience. My experiences in the Zoom info sessions for the program were also a lot more positive for SFSU over Berkeley (and Jerry from SFSU seemed very knowledgeable and kind). I would be thrilled to go to either school, and I know at the end of the day it's more important to have the degree/get the experience over picking the most prestigious school. 

Trying to practice more gratitude for this experience rather than beating myself up over which school to choose/which one to wait for  a lot easier said than done haha. Good luck to you and please let me know when you hear back from Berkeley! Maybe we'll end up being classmates!

Thanks!  And what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. I definitely feel like I’m overthinking about my decision and am also trying to remain grateful for the choices I do have and that what ultimately matters is getting the degree at the end. 
 

I agree that SFSU seems very supportive and inviting. I didn’t get a chance to attend the info session but I got really good vibes from those in my title ive interview, especially Jerry. I thought UCB was supportive too during my application process (I didn’t reach out to SFSU) but the vibe from my SFSU interview definitely left a good feeling. I don’t know anyone who went to the SFSU msw program but I do know a couple from Berkeley who also enjoyed it there. I’m sure both are wonderful programs, so I know we can’t go wrong either way. 
 

Although I’m still waiting for UCB, my other big contender is Smith College in MA (with my internship placement here in the Bay). I’ve also heard good things about them as well. The financial aid package offered to me covers my tuition, so it’s definitely something I can’t ignore. Although I recognize that SFSU’s stipend would cover tuition and also have left over for living expenses. How do you feel about the 2 year commitment after grad? 
 

Is your SFSU decision deadline also this Thursday, March 4?

[n_avocado]

2 hours ago, riseNshine said:

Thanks!  And what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. I definitely feel like I’m overthinking about my decision and am also trying to remain grateful for the choices I do have and that what ultimately matters is getting the degree at the end. 
 

I agree that SFSU seems very supportive and inviting. I didn’t get a chance to attend the info session but I got really good vibes from those in my title ive interview, especially Jerry. I thought UCB was supportive too during my application process (I didn’t reach out to SFSU) but the vibe from my SFSU interview definitely left a good feeling. I don’t know anyone who went to the SFSU msw program but I do know a couple from Berkeley who also enjoyed it there. I’m sure both are wonderful programs, so I know we can’t go wrong either way. 
 

Although I’m still waiting for UCB, my other big contender is Smith College in MA (with my internship placement here in the Bay). I’ve also heard good things about them as well. The financial aid package offered to me covers my tuition, so it’s definitely something I can’t ignore. Although I recognize that SFSU’s stipend would cover tuition and also have left over for living expenses. How do you feel about the 2 year commitment after grad? 
 

Is your SFSU decision deadline also this Thursday, March 4?

Wow those are both amazing options!!! So many fun things to come this month haha. My deadline is also March 4!

to be quite honest I’m not sure how I feel about the 2 year commitment. I currently work for a non profit in child welfare and deal with local counties and CPS agencies and it doesn’t seem like the focus I want to do long term (mental health). However, I’m a big believer in understand how systems work in order to best serve the folx navigating those systems, so overall I would say I think that would be an invaluable experience that I wouldn’t seek otherwise. 2 years is a long time, but also it’s not a long time, which has me conflicted since my ultimate goal is to get licensed and move on to many other things. I’m not sure if that answers your question, but it sounds like we both have a big decision to make but no matter what we’ll make the right one :)

[nettyspaghetti]

FYI to all - somebody posted in the main thread about hearing good news from UCB last night. Fingers crossed for decisions to be sent out to the rest of us ASAP!

[poppyflower]

I got into Berkeley!!!! Just got an email around 7:15.

[riseNshine]

1 hour ago, Alyssaaa_93 said:

I got into Berkeley!!!! Just got an email around 7:15.

Congratulations!!! That is fantastic news  

[nettyspaghetti]

1 hour ago, Alyssaaa_93 said:

I got into Berkeley!!!! Just got an email around 7:15.

Me too!!! I’m so unbelievably excited!

[poppyflower]

2 minutes ago, nettyspaghetti said:

Me too!!! I’m so unbelievably excited!

Did your acceptance state what concentration you are in? I didn't see that listed on my letter. 

[poppyflower]

Just now, Alyssaaa_93 said:

Did your acceptance state what concentration you are in? I didn't see that listed on my letter. 

Congrats though!!!! Such a wild feeling to know your in!