Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2012 admissions

[Laurie S.]

I was originally "rejected" back in January when Admissions miscalculated my A- average to a C-. What a lot of work that was to get sorted out!

[heneyka]

Hey Heneyka, yes I have made my final decision-I am attending York this fall. I am super excited and nervous. I hear you with not wanting to have to take stats in that way. I was prepared to take a course in stats at the undergrad level as well as start reading stat books I bought, in case I did not get into any program and had to re-apply at a later date to other MSW programs that require stats. I believe McGill, Windsor and a few other programs I looked into require stats. I know it is necessary for the Doctorate level and other endeavours, so somewhere down the line me and stats will be meeting lol.Have you made a final decision or will you wait to hear from York?

That's excellent, Nala! Big congrats on York! That is such a huge achievement and I'm glad to hear you are glad about the fit with their program design. I think the 'super -excitement' and nervousness is normal - I feel it too! I did decide to go to Calgary and am making plans along those lines. It's such a big move, but I have been wanting this since I first applied and I know it's the right decision. My friends in Ottawa just can't help but jokingly point out that it's King Harper's Alma Mater and the Big Oil city, but I like the idea of being in a setting where you're consistently challenged and not just around people who think the same way you do - and also, most of the stereotypes are just that, and I found living there a few years ago was a great experience. It's a really diverse city.

That being said, I WOULD still love to hear from York, just like others on the boards have mentioned. They've unsurprisingly failed to meet their end-of-April commitment, and even though I'm not counting on it, it is good to know where you were or were not accepted to put things into perspective a bit. Best of luck, everyone! Just checked myfile and nothing.

[lb01]

Hi All,

I emailed York on Thursday and they replied stating they are hopeful to have decisions made within the next couple of weeks....

[Laurie S.]

Hi All,

I emailed York on Thursday and they replied stating they are hopeful to have decisions made within the next couple of weeks....

Weeks? OMG. LOL.

[lb01]

Weeks? OMG. LOL.

I KNOW! That is what I thought!! I am currently on the waitlist at U of T and I would just love a definite answer from someone

[Laurie S.]

I don't get then how some people have been admitted if they haven't finished making decisions? If they only enroll 20ish people each year, why are they not finishing their review before they start accepting people?? What if they get to my application and think that I have absolutely everything they're looking for but too bad they already filled the class. I certainly hope they're not going alphabetically or I'm screwed.

This is very frustrating. I have 20 years related experience, a degree in social development, 9 social work courses at the undergrad level, stats and research courses including a 4th year research apprenticeship, and 2 certificates of social work. If I don't get in, I really don't know what I can do over the next year to improve my application.

[Laurie S.]

And, while we're waiting to hear back from York, here's a little something to help pass the time

http://www.watching-grass-grow.com/

[praying4MSW]

Hi All,

I emailed York on Thursday and they replied stating they are hopeful to have decisions made within the next couple of weeks....

WEEKS?! :| I don't know if I can handle that.

I tried calling York but the line disconnects everytime I call :s Anyone have any luck?

[Laurie S.]

I've sent a tweet. I'll let you know if I get a reply.

[lb01]

please do! .... I really don't want to wait any more WEEKS at all.

[SittingWaiting]

Hey everyone,

I've been following the conversation for a while now - it has been the only thing to keep me from losing my mind in all of this! Just to put things in context, I have applied for the advanced standing MSW at York and UofT (wait listed there).

I haven't really had anything to contribute to the conversation, but after reading that York JUST told someone that we have another few weeks wait.. well I had to respond! I called them two weeks ago and they said they would be sending out results in 1-2 weeks (which meant by the end of April). And now they are saying about the same thing, two weeks later!? It seems as though this is their answer regardless of what the truth is. I don't really mind not having an answer yet, but I hate thinking "today might be the day" and waiting anxiously for my mail to come because they can't just tell us the truth.

Anyway, with that little rant out of the way, I look forward to hearing what the admin at York ends up telling anyone who speaks with them (tweeting is a good idea Laurie), but I wouldn't be surprised if they just keep giving us the same line every time.

It's great to have a community like this though, feeling less alone is a big help!

[kk_2012]

I don't get then how some people have been admitted if they haven't finished making decisions? If they only enroll 20ish people each year, why are they not finishing their review before they start accepting people?? What if they get to my application and think that I have absolutely everything they're looking for but too bad they already filled the class. I certainly hope they're not going alphabetically or I'm screwed.

It is frustrating...I know. In my last Master's program (Community Psychology), they let two Master students sit in on the selection process of the incoming students. I did it for one year. Of course, Psychology is different from Social Work but this is what our selection process ran like:

1) The secretaries in January had to go through all the applications (hundreds) and weed out anyone who didn't meet the obvious requirements like GPA, references, type of education, and other things like if they sent in all the materials required. That surprisingly cut out quite a bit of people. Then, the remaining applications were sent to our committee to review.

2) Each of us on the committee (six - four professors and two students) got a pile of the applications and were asked to review them based on criteria like GPA, educational experience, real life experience, volunteer experience, reference letters, and their own letter of reference (which was a huge component). From this point, we ranked ordered from most impressive to least impressive, and brought our findings to the committee where we'd share, discuss and debate each candidate. From these discussions, we'd select people for interviews at which time, those not selected for interviews were notified of rejection.

3) Interviews happened, and then we'd come back to committee and discuss once more, how the candidate tied in their experiences (academic and real life) with their letter of intention, and how that reflected on what the reference letters said about them etc etc...From this point, some people were sent rejection letters and others were sent requests for second interviews --- repeat process.

4) At this point, about fifteen people were left (April) and we had seven spots. The committee came back together and final rank ordering happened. Surprisingly, GPA did not pull the most weight but their letter of intent did, with their experience and references rounding it out. Some people had all the grades and experience, but their letters of intent did not fit into our program's values and mission statement as well as the other candidates did. So, it's a tricky process that sometimes isn't about having it all, but about how well you sell yourself to the committee that you're the best fit for that particular program.

6) End of April, the seven acceptances went out and the few rejections did too.

Social work seems different as there are more spots and no interviews, but I'd imagine that there was a committee thinking about similar things. The only advice from my experience is (after listening to the profs argue back and forth)is to write your letter to shadow the mission statement and values of the program, and weave in your background and experience into that.

I hope they're just being slow though as it would be nice to have you guys as classmates!

[nsachde3]

Hi All,

I also am waiting to hear from York.

I had called in mid-March and whoever I spoke to said they have a lot of applications this year. She said she couldn't give me an exact date as to when we would we hear back, but she was hoping end of April (...). She did further state that it could take up to May-June.

It is frustrating not knowing because I don't know what my plan of action will be until I hear back from York for sure...and Laurie I know what you mean when you're hoping they aren't going in alphabetical order..LOL that's one of the things that came to mind when I saw that people have been getting responses from March up until last week!!

[Laurie S.]

WEEKS?! :| I don't know if I can handle that.

I tried calling York but the line disconnects everytime I call :s Anyone have any luck?

Tweeted response is: "Grad offers go out on a rolling basis until the program is full so it's hard to say specifically when you'll hear back."

LOL.

So, rolling response? I guess that means they send out acceptances and wait to hear back and when some people decline the offer they send out more acceptances?

[Laurie S.]

It is frustrating...I know. In my last Master's program (Community Psychology), they let two Master students sit in on the selection process of the incoming students. I did it for one year. Of course, Psychology is different from Social Work but this is what our selection process ran like:

1) The secretaries in January had to go through all the applications (hundreds) and weed out anyone who didn't meet the obvious requirements like GPA, references, type of education, and other things like if they sent in all the materials required. That surprisingly cut out quite a bit of people. Then, the remaining applications were sent to our committee to review.

2) Each of us on the committee (six - four professors and two students) got a pile of the applications and were asked to review them based on criteria like GPA, educational experience, real life experience, volunteer experience, reference letters, and their own letter of reference (which was a huge component). From this point, we ranked ordered from most impressive to least impressive, and brought our findings to the committee where we'd share, discuss and debate each candidate. From these discussions, we'd select people for interviews at which time, those not selected for interviews were notified of rejection.

3) Interviews happened, and then we'd come back to committee and discuss once more, how the candidate tied in their experiences (academic and real life) with their letter of intention, and how that reflected on what the reference letters said about them etc etc...From this point, some people were sent rejection letters and others were sent requests for second interviews --- repeat process.

4) At this point, about fifteen people were left (April) and we had seven spots. The committee came back together and final rank ordering happened. Surprisingly, GPA did not pull the most weight but their letter of intent did, with their experience and references rounding it out. Some people had all the grades and experience, but their letters of intent did not fit into our program's values and mission statement as well as the other candidates did. So, it's a tricky process that sometimes isn't about having it all, but about how well you sell yourself to the committee that you're the best fit for that particular program.

6) End of April, the seven acceptances went out and the few rejections did too.

Social work seems different as there are more spots and no interviews, but I'd imagine that there was a committee thinking about similar things. The only advice from my experience is (after listening to the profs argue back and forth)is to write your letter to shadow the mission statement and values of the program, and weave in your background and experience into that.

I hope they're just being slow though as it would be nice to have you guys as classmates!

Thanks for the info! I imagined the process went pretty much like you described. So, based on your experience, do you think they picked "x" number of people who met the requirements and now they're wrangling over the final spots? Or do you think that all acceptances have gone out and we're just on some sort of waiting list?

[Laurie S.]

In other news, I applied for a part-time BSW program at U of W. Application deadline was mid-March. Offers will go out sometime next week or the week after (and when they tell me that, I actually do believe them).

If anyone is interested, they have an application deadline of July 5 for a January 2013 start. The program is offered in a "multi-modal" format" (some classes on campus in the evenings and some on-line with at least one weekend class on campus). They also have an optional "international experience" in Mexico. It takes 2 years to complete. U of W is also just starting up a 1-year on-line MSW program, with two 1-week summer blocks on campus. Both taken together could take a minimum of 3-years.

I've been a student of U of W and this school comes highly recommend by me. At times they've bent over backwards to help me succeed and if this is the route I take, even though it'll be an additional year, I know it'll be without administrative hassle.

[praying4MSW]

In other news, I applied for a part-time BSW program at U of W. Application deadline was mid-March. Offers will go out sometime next week or the week after (and when they tell me that, I actually do believe them).

If anyone is interested, they have an application deadline of July 5 for a January 2013 start. The program is offered in a "multi-modal" format" (some classes on campus in the evenings and some on-line with at least one weekend class on campus). They also have an optional "international experience" in Mexico. It takes 2 years to complete. U of W is also just starting up a 1-year on-line MSW program, with two 1-week summer blocks on campus. Both taken together could take a minimum of 3-years.

I've been a student of U of W and this school comes highly recommend by me. At times they've bent over backwards to help me succeed and if this is the route I take, even though it'll be an additional year, I know it'll be without administrative hassle.

What's York's twitter?

And, which school are you talking about by "U of W"? Windsor or Waterloo?

[Laurie S.]

York's twitter account: @yorkuniversity

And, sorry, I meant University of Waterloo

Edited April 30, 2012 by Laurie S.

[LOLBRBY2K]

Hi All,

I emailed York on Thursday and they replied stating they are hopeful to have decisions made within the next couple of weeks....

WEEKS ARE YOU FING KIDDING ME.

I tried logging in to Myfile today and it was taking sooooo long for the page to load. I guess cause everyone is freakign out because they said end of April and people are prob refreshing the page every five minutes!

Well if I dont hear by the end of this week I have to start my classes at George Brown on Monday. Which means I have to pay them hundreds of dollars (which I may not get back even if I do get into York) and start taking courses and going to class 5 days a week for the whole day (intensive program) on top of buying books JUST INCASE I dont get into York.

Well, Im screwed. I hate my life.

[Laurie S.]

WEEKS ARE YOU FING KIDDING ME.

I tried logging in to Myfile today and it was taking sooooo long for the page to load. I guess cause everyone is freakign out because they said end of April and people are prob refreshing the page every five minutes!

Well if I dont hear by the end of this week I have to start my classes at George Brown on Monday. Which means I have to pay them hundreds of dollars (which I may not get back even if I do get into York) and start taking courses and going to class 5 days a week for the whole day (intensive program) on top of buying books JUST INCASE I dont get into York.

Well, Im screwed. I hate my life.

I hate to say it but I think we're all safe to assume that we're not likely getting into York. From everything I've read so far, we must be on a waiting list. What other explanation makes sense given that acceptances have gone out as early as end of March (one poster said they received an offer March 29)? We're just left waiting to see if people don't accept their offer. Even then, we have no idea of where we might be on the waiting list.

York's program is suffering from a terrible lack of transparency. They should have let us know back when initial offers went out that we were on a wait list. At least that way, people could make informed decisions on what their next steps should be.

[Laurie S.]

WEEKS ARE YOU FING KIDDING ME.

I tried logging in to Myfile today and it was taking sooooo long for the page to load. I guess cause everyone is freakign out because they said end of April and people are prob refreshing the page every five minutes!

Sorry, that was probably my fault ...

[Thumper86]

I feel really bad for all of you who are waiting to hear back from York. I was rejected from their two-year stream on January 24!!!!!! That was probably the fastest rejection I've ever heard of and I'm not really sure why it came so fast but at the end of the day I'm glad that I heard.

Stay strong everyone! I keep checking this page for York acceptances. I'm rooting for all of you!

[Laurie S.]

I feel really bad for all of you who are waiting to hear back from York. I was rejected from their two-year stream on January 24!!!!!! That was probably the fastest rejection I've ever heard of and I'm not really sure why it came so fast but at the end of the day I'm glad that I heard.

Stay strong everyone! I keep checking this page for York acceptances. I'm rooting for all of you!

Thanks Thumper! You're so nice to keep thinking of us

And, by the way, I was also initially rejected from York in January. When I called admissions to enquire, I was told that it was because I hadn't graduated with my 4-year degree yet. I told her, of course I hadn't ... I'll be graduating in the spring. She told me - she actually insisted this to be true - that you can't apply in your last year, you can only apply the next year. After an incredibly frustrating conversation with her, I hung up and called and spoke with someone else. She could hardly believe what the other woman had told me. In the end, it turned out to be an administrative error in calculating my final 2-years average. OMG, I'm so glad I called or else I would have completely wasted my application fee.

At least now, even if I don't get accepted, I feel better knowing my application was fairly reviewed.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Laurie S.

[Thumper86]

Thanks Thumper! You're so nice to keep thinking of us

And, by the way, I was also initially rejected from York in January. When I called admissions to enquire, I was told that it was because I hadn't graduated with my 4-year degree yet. I told her, of course I hadn't ... I'll be graduating in the spring. She told me - she actually insisted this to be true - that you can't apply in your last year, you can only apply the next year. After an incredibly frustrating conversation with her, I hung up and called and spoke with someone else. She could hardly believe what the other woman had told me. In the end, it turned out to be an administrative error in calculating my final 2-years average. OMG, I'm so glad I called or else I would have completely wasted my application fee.

She actually said that??!!?? How does someone like that keep their job?!?

I have a feeling they may have calculated my average wrong and rejected me altogether. I never thought that I could call and inquire but I'm okay with the rejection. The program wasn't a perfect match for me anyways. But I did waste 100 dollars or so

[kk_2012]

RE: Laurie S:

With us they were sent out together. Then, when people opted for other programs, people from the waiting list were sent acceptances. With York, I'm not sure.

Knowing universities administration processes, they likely haven't sent them all out *shrugs shoulders*. It is surprising that it is taking this long considering that 20 positions isn't that much. If your MyFile doesn't say waitlist, then you musn't be on it but rather waiting for someone to click that "admitted" button on MyFile. Sometimes I wish we could just go in person and ask them lol. Like a group of us bombard the social work office.