Inquiry from a worried undergrad.

[Jay14]

It seems to me that a lot of people take time off between their undergrad years before entering a Masters program. I'm a little worried because due to a financial situation, I don't really have the option of taking time off before grad school. How hard will it be for me to be accepted into a graduate school coming straight out of undergrad w/ these statistics? Keep in mind I will be applying to NYU, Colombia, Hunter, Adelphi an Fordham.

GPA: 3.7

Major: Sociology

Experience: Was President of my high schools Peer Mentors Program / 6 months and counting volunteering at a local nursing home/ Internship working with at-risk/ Runaway teenagers/ Currently helping to start an after school program at a local middle school for teenagers struggling in school / President of my fraternity / Worked as an Orientation leader for 3 years

Research: With the help of a Professor, I have conducted by own study on the correlation between self-perceived social class and school bullying which I will be presenting at the Eastern Sociological Society

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[arjayz]

I'm actually in the same position, and applying to almost all the same schools (Columbia, UPenn, Hunter, Fordham, NYU, and Yeshiva.) It seemed to me that many people going into graduate school for an MSW already had a ton of work experience, so I spoke to people from different programs (Yeshiva, Columbia, and Fordham) who all stated that many of their classmates had come straight out of undergrad.

I even spoke to one student at Columbia who told me that oftentimes schools prefer students straight out of undergrad because they haven't been "trained" yet and don't yet have a particular approach to social work.

Now, I can't speak for the validity of her statements, but I sure hope that she was right- if so it would seem like we have an advantage!