nightwolf1129 Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 Thanks for the compliment icelestial! It definitely was a struggle, at times, to get through my Undergraduate degree as I started college 10 years after I left high school (8 1/2 yrs in the military). When I had spoken with the Director of Admissions at BC back in 2012, I showed him my resume and asked him if any of my prior military experience, internship, and work as a Research Assistant would be considered (since I had read on their website that they look at experience). He told me that all of that is good---because frankly, I was afraid that my prior military experience wouldn't be worth jack s#&# (citing a couple visits at job fairs during my Senior year where I showed folks my resume with my prior military experience and they simply said "Yeah that doesn't count, we're looking for psychology-related experience.") He also mentioned that BC had started a "Veterans and Families Initiative" within the MSW program that includes specific courses geared towards Veterans, military members, and their families. This was music to my ears as I want to work with these populations once I finish my MSW. Also I'm pretty sure that being a male Veteran played in my favor too since I'm a minority of a minority (e.g., not too many men statistically enter the MSW profession). And like sweetpearpie said, it's unfortunate that schools like BU might've used your overall GPA as a "cut-off" of sorts in determining a wait-list; however, BC does look at the big picture and you definitely have some great volunteering and social work-related experience. With that said though, BC is still a very competitive program and GPA may be factored just as much into their decision as volunteering/work experience. I wish you much luck and hopefully you hear some positive news from BC soon or even better are removed from the wait list at BU and accepted. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
sweetpiepear Posted February 14, 2014 Author Posted February 14, 2014 Nightwof1129, I got my letter today. I am assuming you will receive it tomorrow. Goodluck!
pmelwani Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 That's great news Sweetpiepear! Was there any info on financial aid in your letter? Thanks!
nightwolf1129 Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 Received my official acceptance letter today! There was noting on the letter indicating financial aid but I'll be calling them next week to see if I've been awarded any merit based scholarship..
sweetpiepear Posted February 14, 2014 Author Posted February 14, 2014 I do receive 2 letters in the mail that came in the same big envelope. One stated my acceptance to the program and the other one was a scholarship award. I have a friend that goes to BC, and she did not get any scholarship at the beginning. She later called and they somehow gave her some money. It doesn't hurt to ask. Good luck!
pmelwani Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 Thanks for the info sweetpiepear and nightwolf1129! I'm still waiting for mine but I assume mine may take an extra day or two since I live all the way in NYC!
nightwolf1129 Posted February 15, 2014 Posted February 15, 2014 For those that have been accepted into Boston College GSSW, congratulations! As I previously mentioned in this thread, I received my official letter yesterday. I just wanted to let you all know that Boston College gives a 3 week period from the time you receive the official letter to make the decision & provide the $200 tuition deposit. I know for many (or some) of you, you've applied to multiple programs and may want to wait to hear back from others in case they accept your application and provide more financial aid, etc. Boston College does state that you can request an extension in case you needed more time to decide; however, I'm unsure of how long that extension is. So again congrats to everyone who's gotten in already, good luck to those who have already (or will soon) apply/applied (as the deadline for all applications is fast approaching), and I cannot wait to hopefully see most of you (if not all of you) this Fall!
sweetpiepear Posted February 15, 2014 Author Posted February 15, 2014 Pmelwani, keep us posted. I look forward to seeing you all in BC. =)
pmelwani Posted February 15, 2014 Posted February 15, 2014 I got my letter in the mail today and also received a scholarship!! I'm excited but am still waiting to hear from 6 other schools. I think I'm leaning towards BC though. They are my top choice. Ugh so torn. I think I'll wait until the last week of February and make decision by then.
JMM1020 Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 Hi all! I'm new to this forum. My application for BC became complete 2 weeks ago so I think I probably have several more weeks to wait for a decision. Do any of you know how long it took before you received your decision? BC is my top choice I'm really hoping I get in!
pmelwani Posted February 18, 2014 Posted February 18, 2014 Hi JMM1020! Welcome to the forum! My BC application was complete on 1/21 but officially 1/28 and I was notified on 2/4 so I would say about 1-2 weeks. Good luck on hearing back!!
icelestial Posted February 18, 2014 Posted February 18, 2014 Hi JMM1020! Welcome to the forum! My BC application was complete on 1/21 but officially 1/28 and I was notified on 2/4 so I would say about 1-2 weeks. Good luck on hearing back!! wow pmelwani, that was fast on BC's end!!! I completed my on 1/22 but officially completed on 1/27, but I still haven't heard back yet! 3 days ago, I added one more recommender (4 recommender) to strengthen my application and she didn't submit her recommendation for me yet, so wondering if my application became incomplete again.
JMM1020 Posted February 18, 2014 Posted February 18, 2014 Ah, icelestial you've just eased some of my anxiety. Thank you! I thought I was doomed there for a minute. That's a good question about the recommendation. I think technically your application would still be considered complete, you'll just have extra supporting materials.
pmelwani Posted February 18, 2014 Posted February 18, 2014 I know I was surprised to get a response so quick so I assumed they looked at my materials as they were submitted. Speaking of the 4th recommender, I had one too and had to delete them bc they didn't submit it yet and that's what made it complete on the 28th vs the 21st. Not sure if you want to call bc to confirm if it matters?
icelestial Posted February 18, 2014 Posted February 18, 2014 I know I was surprised to get a response so quick so I assumed they looked at my materials as they were submitted. Speaking of the 4th recommender, I had one too and had to delete them bc they didn't submit it yet and that's what made it complete on the 28th vs the 21st. Not sure if you want to call bc to confirm if it matters? yea Pmelwani, good idea I will probably call them tomorrow to see if that matters!
icelestial Posted February 18, 2014 Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) Ah, icelestial you've just eased some of my anxiety. Thank you! I thought I was doomed there for a minute. That's a good question about the recommendation. I think technically your application would still be considered complete, you'll just have extra supporting materials. yea JMM, i was hoping it works that way too! i hope we both get in!! Edited February 18, 2014 by icelestial
sweetpiepear Posted February 21, 2014 Author Posted February 21, 2014 For those that got in and decided to go, have you guys looked into your field placement application yet? I was checking the data base and it's pretty cool.
nightwolf1129 Posted February 21, 2014 Posted February 21, 2014 where is the field application located? Is it on the agora portal website?
sweetpiepear Posted February 21, 2014 Author Posted February 21, 2014 http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/schools/gssw/academics/field-education.html You can submit your application with the same login as your Agora portal.
icelestial Posted February 27, 2014 Posted February 27, 2014 Just got accepted by BC!!! I am so excited!! previously I was waitlisted by BU and nwo finally I can rest a little bit!!
icelestial Posted February 27, 2014 Posted February 27, 2014 Thanks for the compliment icelestial! It definitely was a struggle, at times, to get through my Undergraduate degree as I started college 10 years after I left high school (8 1/2 yrs in the military). When I had spoken with the Director of Admissions at BC back in 2012, I showed him my resume and asked him if any of my prior military experience, internship, and work as a Research Assistant would be considered (since I had read on their website that they look at experience). He told me that all of that is good---because frankly, I was afraid that my prior military experience wouldn't be worth jack s#&# (citing a couple visits at job fairs during my Senior year where I showed folks my resume with my prior military experience and they simply said "Yeah that doesn't count, we're looking for psychology-related experience.") He also mentioned that BC had started a "Veterans and Families Initiative" within the MSW program that includes specific courses geared towards Veterans, military members, and their families. This was music to my ears as I want to work with these populations once I finish my MSW. Also I'm pretty sure that being a male Veteran played in my favor too since I'm a minority of a minority (e.g., not too many men statistically enter the MSW profession). And like sweetpearpie said, it's unfortunate that schools like BU might've used your overall GPA as a "cut-off" of sorts in determining a wait-list; however, BC does look at the big picture and you definitely have some great volunteering and social work-related experience. With that said though, BC is still a very competitive program and GPA may be factored just as much into their decision as volunteering/work experience. I wish you much luck and hopefully you hear some positive news from BC soon or even better are removed from the wait list at BU and accepted. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! Nightwolf, thank you for encouraging me along this application road! Just wanna let you know that I have been accepted into BC's program! we will be classmates haha
nightwolf1129 Posted February 27, 2014 Posted February 27, 2014 You are most welcome icelestial! Congrats on your acceptance into BC's GSSW!! If you are ever in need of any tips, suggestions or whatnot regarding where to move to, I recommend reading the "BU Fall 2014" forum post that includes a response from me about what it's like living here in Boston. I hope you got enough financial aid/scholarship support from BC because it's not a cheap endeavor going to graduate school and living in Boston. Looking forward to going through orientation with you in the upcoming months Make sure to hold up a sign saying "icelestial" at orientation so I know who you are and I'll do the same lol
nightwolf1129 Posted February 27, 2014 Posted February 27, 2014 Or maybe I'll just come in my Jedi Master robe & lightsaber like my profile picture hahahaha
eunice Posted February 27, 2014 Posted February 27, 2014 Hi Everyone! Congratulations to all those accepted to BC! Wooo. This is a general question. When I received the mail last week, it included a scholarship award letter but it's only for 2014 - 2015. It did say "Scholarships are normally renewed for the second year of study, contingent upon satisfactory performance in the program." I have two questions-- 1. Is it safe to assume that I will be getting the same amount in 2015 - 2016? Cos if it is, that covers a lot of tuition and the remaining I could use my AmeriCorps award from 2 years of service and some savings. So in the end, I don't have to apply for loans and be in debt forever. Like some applicants have mentioned in the forum it's not practical to borrow more than 50k for a degree that will pay 40-50k your first year as a MSW. 2. So if I decide to not sign up for loans, do I still have to submit a financial aid application so I can renew my award or the scholarship award is separate? I read that GSSW scholarships don't need another application because they're reviewed during admissions but I just want to make sure I'm not missing a step.
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