MSW Canadian Applications Fall 2023

[cdgy]

7 hours ago, Vanessa99 said:

Sure, and there aren't any groups there yet to my knowledge. I've never made a Facebook group before though lol

Same haha

[yenyyenn]

Has anyone been able to get off the waitlist for UofT advanced standing? I'm feeling a little discouraged at this point 

[RosieTheNanny]

20 hours ago, yenyyenn said:

Has anyone been able to get off the waitlist for UofT advanced standing? I'm feeling a little discouraged at this point 

I'm feeling the same way about the waitlist for the 2-year program at U of T. Has anyone heard anything?

[stressball101]

14 hours ago, RosieTheNanny said:

I'm feeling the same way about the waitlist for the 2-year program at U of T. Has anyone heard anything?

Nope  I'm confused, I feel like I haven't seen a single person on here that has made it off the waitlist?! Seems so late to hear nothing

[Socialworkenthusiast]

On 6/21/2023 at 5:37 PM, cdgy said:

how do you know this?

I asked them

[Kristine]

On 6/27/2023 at 10:03 PM, yenyyenn said:

Has anyone been able to get off the waitlist for UofT advanced standing? I'm feeling a little discouraged at this point 

I am on the waitlist for advanced. I haven't heard anything either :///

[msw2023hopeful]

On 6/27/2023 at 10:03 PM, yenyyenn said:

Has anyone been able to get off the waitlist for UofT advanced standing? I'm feeling a little discouraged at this point 

I totally empathize with you all there
I was finishing my BSW last spring and was waitlisted for the Uoft advanced standing as well as 6 or so of my classmates who had also applied. I bugged Angela within their admissions and the graduate studies placement coordinator at Trent whom i have a personal relationship with, and they both in different terms said how little movement there typically is on the waitlist after the tuition deadline of june 1st.

The first reason is that Uoft is most peoples #1 choice and tends to come out a couple weeks after other GTA based advanced standing responses (york admissions are sent out a few weeks before as well as TMU) so those who make up the bulk kind of know where they stand when they get their acceptance. 

The second reason which kind of feeds into why its some peoples #1 choice, is the placement. Students are made aware of where their practicum placement is well before the tuition deposit deadline is, which further gives them an idea if they are going to take the seat. Placement assignment is in late april and while some may decline to pay the deposit and give up their seat if they didnt get into a hospital setting, that movement is mainly around that june 1st due date. 

[jmcinn97]

Has anyone gotten off the waitlist for the 2 year MSW at Carleton?

[EN1988]

I'm curious if anyone has been accepted off the waitlist for Laurier's PT online (regular track) MSW? I wasn't sure whether there would be any movement on the waitlist yet, or if they hold off until after their deadline for acceptance on Friday... I hate not knowing where I fall on the waitlist or even how many others were waitlisted too. This whole process has been so painful, lol 😩

[dazydays]

Hi all,

At this point, I've given up hope in terms of making it off the waitlist. This is my first time applying to UofT and York for their 2 year MSW programs. 

I am already mentally preparing myself for next year's application. For the statement of interest, does anyone know if you can reuse a good chunk of the material, or do graduate schools use technology to compare SOIs from past applications?

Thank you.

[sydney18]

50 minutes ago, dazydays said:

Hi all,

At this point, I've given up hope in terms of making it off the waitlist. This is my first time applying to UofT and York for their 2 year MSW programs. 

I am already mentally preparing myself for next year's application. For the statement of interest, does anyone know if you can reuse a good chunk of the material, or do graduate schools use technology to compare SOIs from past applications?

Thank you.

This was my second year applying and I did use some of my previous material in terms of research interests, reasons for pursuing the field, and future goals. I don’t think it was word for word because I really tried to rework the statement to improve my chances of being accepted. However, like I said, a lot of my core information didn’t change, just the way I wrote it and how I related it did. I don’t know if they use any technology or care if you reuse some things, but I would recommend making some changes, because I think that really helped me this time around! 

[wildcatzhou]

7 hours ago, EN1988 said:

I'm curious if anyone has been accepted off the waitlist for Laurier's PT online (regular track) MSW? I wasn't sure whether there would be any movement on the waitlist yet, or if they hold off until after their deadline for acceptance on Friday... I hate not knowing where I fall on the waitlist or even how many others were waitlisted too. This whole process has been so painful, lol 😩

I am still waiting. Meanwhile, I am wondering what the waitlist of Laurier means. If one was not accepted off the waitlist successfully, does this person need to start the next application as all other new applicants? Will this person to be considered with a higher priority because he/she used to be on the waitlist? 

[EN1988]

Good question... I would assume we have to re-apply again, but it sure would be nice if they would just reconsider our applications at the next opportunity. I'm sure you could contact admissions to confirm.

[MSMSW16]

Hi, Just to say that I was offered a place at Laurier (part-time, non BSW) off the waitlist this afternoon.  Beyond happy and grateful to the person who declined their place!  Good luck to anyone else waiting! 

[wildcatzhou]

1 hour ago, MSMSW16 said:

Hi, Just to say that I was offered a place at Laurier (part-time, non BSW) off the waitlist this afternoon.  Beyond happy and grateful to the person who declined their place!  Good luck to anyone else waiting! 

Congratulations!  Would you mind sharing the exact time of you receiving your waitlist email by the way? I suspect they send them by sequence. I received mine at 10:03am on June 19. Thanks!

[msw.helper]

On 7/10/2023 at 11:29 AM, dazydays said:

Hi all,

At this point, I've given up hope in terms of making it off the waitlist. This is my first time applying to UofT and York for their 2 year MSW programs. 

I am already mentally preparing myself for next year's application. For the statement of interest, does anyone know if you can reuse a good chunk of the material, or do graduate schools use technology to compare SOIs from past applications?

Thank you.

Hey! Sorry to hear, however, both of those are very competitive schools so the fact that you got on the waitlist says something! Hopefully an extra year of work/life experience under your belt will help you for the next application cycle. 

I don't think you have to worry too much about not repeating yourself in your personal statement in terms of tech or plagiarism - Honestly you could probably submit the exact same personal statement and there wouldn't be anything technically wrong about doing that.  However, because the personal statement is such an important part of your application I would definitely so whatever you can to beef it up next year. If you have any questions about your personal statement feel free to send me a DM or check out my profile for my other comments as I have a post a lot of tips here. 

Good luck! - Michelle 

[mayooo]

Hi all!

I recently got off the waitlist for the 1 year MSW at King's University College (Western University). I am super excited about this! I am wondering if there are any existing groups (chats, facebook pages etc) for students in this program that have been made?

[Pizzapunx]

Hi everyone,

After some flip flopping I'm starting the slow process to apply by this fall. I have a non-BSW and a MSc in public health. I'm leaving a career as a paramedic after 20 years. My long-term goal is clinical social and private practice counseling. First choice is the University of Calgary clinical track. Backup is WLU, but I'm looking to add some other backups to my list. Any suggestions? I'm willing to relocate. Any other suggestions for programs to apply to without a BSW that have a good clinical foundation or track?

[lalaland97]

On 3/29/2023 at 8:48 AM, hannahb1997 said:

Hello! 

I can only speak from the experience of applying to masters programs from advanced standing. I am completing my 1 year hbsw at Lakehead and received an acceptance to Lakehead's MSW as well as TMU and Carleton. 

I applied to 2 year MSW's for 2022-2023 and got rejected with 3000 hours experience and 92% average in a psych undergrad. However I got into Lakehead's hbsw and took that route. From those I met in the program, it seemed that people use the hbsw programs as a backup to help them get into masters programs. 

From my understanding, regular track (2 year) msw programs are typically harder to get into. Carleton usually gets 80-90 applications for advanced standing, whereas they get 160-180 for 2 year. For UofT, as far as I'm aware, they have significantly more applications for the 2 year than the 1 year (from what I've seen in discussions on the forums). 

I got accepted to 3 MSW programs with a low to mid 80 average. I increased my amount of SW related hours through my placement, as well as volunteering and summer jobs. What I really think helped me get in was a strong and personal application essay, paired with professor recommendations who knew me very well from my time at Lakehead, and the fact I was applying to advanced standing MSW's at schools that were less competitive than their 2 year programs. 

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I plan to follow your path! May I ask which field your 3000 hours of experience are in?

I got around 3500 hours as an English teacher for a private language centre, not sure if that will be counted . Besides, my social services volunteer experience total hours would be around 100 hours only.

[paulinababy]

On 3/3/2023 at 10:25 AM, Madison Stewart said:

Hello everyone! Congrats on your acceptances!  

I got a status update yesterday informing me that I was waitlisted at UofT for the full-time advanced standing program. I applied to Health/Mental Health and Children/Families. It hurts really hard not being accepted and I am trying not to lose hope. 

Does anyone know the approximate timeline for when people on the waitlist will hear back? Do many people even decline their offers?  I am far from Toronto and am considering housing options downtown. Knowing an estimate of when I will hear back would be extremely helpful due to the fact that I would need to find housing. Do you know if it often takes until September to hear back?

Hello, I hope this is okay to ask. I was just wondering what your volunteer/work hours were when you applied for these streams at the time of your waitlist status?

[paulinababy]

On 3/2/2023 at 9:27 AM, missty said:

Hi everyone!  Yesterday (March 1st) I noticed that I was accepted to UofT through Acorn (advanced-standing; Children and their Families stream; my last name is T).  Later in the evening, I received an email that my application on sgs was updated.  I logged in and it still says "submitted" as the status, but once I opened my application I noticed there was "Status Update: View Update" right above my address.  I almost missed it!  The letter was within the link afterwards.  Hope this helps anyone!  

Hii! I was wondering what your volunteer/hours were at the time of the application? Do you think anything in particular stood out from your application?

[Cowsheepwow]

On 4/24/2023 at 5:34 PM, cookiecrumble said:

i submitted the day it was due and have about 3000 hours of experience. hope you hear back with good news soon!

Hello! Lol sorry for stalking last years admissions but I'm looking for anyone currently enrolled in the Laurier 2 year full time program to give me some insight about cohort sizes (how many people were accepted), and what the class make-up looks like in terms of experience levels! I'm a 2024 applicant currently stressed and waiting to hear back lol! Thanks so much  

[AspiringMSW1234]

On 3/3/2023 at 10:07 AM, itswingless said:

Hi all! I applied to advanced standing (1 year) MSW programs at UoT and UBC-O.

I got my acceptance into UoT Health and Mental Health stream recently but I'm waiting to hear back from UBC-O as it's my first choice. My application still only says "submitted" but I had been having CWL portal issues. I'm crossing my fingers!

For those lurking, my first bachelor's was really subpar, a degree in Psychology with a 2.9 GPA. However, I redeemed myself by completing Lakehead's HBSW program with 89%. At the time of application, I had 3600 hours of paid professional experience and 1000 hours of unpaid professional experience. My roles were community support worker serving LGBTQ refugee and immigrants, as well as community support worker serving sex workers and people who are houseless. In my applications, I emphasized my passion for community organizations and social justice.

Good luck to everyone waiting to hear about applications!

Hi, I know that this forum is older but I just got accepted to Lakehead's HBSW and am hoping to connect with former students to hear about their experience. Would you mind connecting or sharing how you enjoyed the program? Thank you! :)