SFSU vs UCLA vs SDSU MSW

[BadBruin]

So I have been accepted into all three programs. I am leaning toward UCLA (I did undergrad there) but have been offered a Title IV stipend through SFSU, and have an interview for the title IV program at SDSU Friday. It is still a possibility I will be offerred the Title IV stipend at UCLA, but not sure when I will know about it. It may be that I have to accept/reject SFSU and/or SDSU before I would hear about the stipend for UCLA.

 

Will going to UCLA open more doors for me after graduation, since it is a Master of Social Welfare vs a Master of Social Work at SFSU and SDSU?

 

I know that the SFSU program is highly selective, but it is still a state school. Does that really matter in the field?

 

Thank you for your help.

[swrker14]

Go to SFSU! I'm slightly biased because I was accepted into their Title IV-E program as well but honestly, it makes NO DIFFERENCE where your MSW is from. I'm from the central valley (Fresno) and interned with CPS. The Department of Social Service's director had a Masters from a state school. I firmly believe its your skills, personality, and knowing what the hell you're talking about that lands you the job you seek after graduation. Someone that goes to a UC or Ivy League college is no better skilled than someone that attends a state school. No offense, but its the name that you're paying for, when you can receive the same education at a great state school. SFSU has a great program compared to other state schools, and their Title IV-E professors are ALL Berkeley graduates, so we'll receive a pretty bad ass education, for half the price. The other plus side, after tutiton is paid for, there's a good 10 grand left over from the stipend, to help with any costs you may have, such as rent and such. And lastly, San Francisco is just a beautiful city in general. I think the only time it matters where you went to school, is where you decide to attend for your PHD.

[briefinterviews]

Consider cost of living (San Francisco is bananas), and fieldwork opportunities.

I also did my undergrad at UCLA and was accepted into their macro program, but headed north (...though now I will be returning to Los Angeles this summer--Bay Area just isn't for me). Although I did feel like I needed a break from L.A. and wanted to experience something different, the high concentration of MSW programs in the area and the impact that had on fieldwork opportunities was a big turnoff.

I also got the sense that UCLA and USC both framed first-year placements as intentionally throwing you into work very different from your interests or area of focus. I wanted to be more strategic in my field placements since I had a relatively new and burgeoning interest in youth homelessness when I began my MSW, and it was a trajectory I wanted to follow throughout my program. Find out how much input and control you have during the first-year placement process, if that is important to you.

Again, name doesn't really matter for clinical folks, though I would argue that there is a bit more to be gained for people interested in policy and other macro-level work.