Deez Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 Deez, how long did it take to hear back from CSUDH with a decision? 3 months. I applied on Oct 7th and got my letter Jan 17th.
jalapeno_bagel Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 Hi all! This forum is awesome! I've been lurking on here for a while and finally decided to join the club! I have a question for those of you who applied to University of Minnesota. Has your application status changed? My status changed to " awaiting for program decision" 2 weeks after I submitted ( Submitted on Jan. 3rd) then three days later it said "your application has been completed". My application was already complete for weeks so I don't know what this means... I'm very anxious! Also, please share if you have already been accepted,rejected or wait listed and your status. My stats: Psychology: BA/ Soc minor GPA: mediocre Work experience: 5 in social services/ mental health field Thanks! My status also says "awaiting program decision," but this is the first time I have logged in to check it. I applied on 1/3 as well.
moonbeam2900 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Has anyone heard back from Chico or University of South Florida?I applied all the way back in August and have not heard from them. Super slow! I know the deadline is the 15th of this month so hopefully they will start looking. I even called every couple of months and they hadnt started looking at apps
MSWer2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Yay Jalapeno! I found a fellow U of M applicant!!! I called the admissions office this morning and they said that January 13th is the day that my application was forwarded from the graduate school admissions to the school of SW, so may be I made it to teh first cut? Will see. I noticed that you got accepted to other schools, are you still concidering U of MN? Please update me if you hear from the U of M. Thank you!
AstoriaGal Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Still nothing from Hunter. I even tried to call to see if they had a time frame for when they'd begin interviewing. They don't answer the phone at all. Extremely frustrating!
jalapeno_bagel Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 I just got an email from Hunter today, it says: Thank you for submitting your application to Silberman. Our goal is to make this a smooth and transparent process for you. You are able to track the receipt of your transcripts and references on your online application. We are in the process or reviewing each of your applications. As you can imagine this process will take time, please be patience with us. We will call or email you directly if we have questions regarding any missing documents. If you uploaded your transcripts to your online application, we will need to manually review them in order to complete your application. Thank you for choosing Hunter College School of Social Work.
jalapeno_bagel Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 I applied to the U of M because I have lived in the twin cities for the last five years - it would be super easy to stay here and their program looks cool. But I'm trying to use grad school as an excuse to move and start a new adventure. As of right now I am leaning toward Philadelphia or New York. I will keep you posted on what I hear from then though!
demelza_cat Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Jalapeno (and anyone else who cares to comment), would you mind elaborating on what you talked about in the Penn interview? Thanks so much!
AstoriaGal Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Jalapeno Bagel, i received that same email! hopefully this is good news that they are starting the process.
monochrome Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Just heard back from CSULB today. I got in! Pretty excited about it, though I don't know 100% what to choose. They have a really good program but so does SDSU, my other top choice. Anyone out there apply to CSULB as a top choice?One of my co-workers applied only to CSULB three years ago. She had nothing but good things to say about the program.
eastsidechickMSW Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I was placed on an alternate list for University of Michigan . Does anyone have any insight? Do I have a chance at all?
Mingus1 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Has anyone heard from Smith, UW Seattle early decision, or Hunter College (for an interview) ? I was accepted to Smith today! I haven't heard from UW yet and I didn't apply to Hunter.
jalapeno_bagel Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Jalapeno (and anyone else who cares to comment), would you mind elaborating on what you talked about in the Penn interview? Thanks so much! The interview was really relaxed and comfortable. I was nervous about the Skype aspect, because I always feel so awkward on video chat. But it turns out using Skype for professional contexts is actually much better than personal ones. I was interviewed by an alum who works in admissions and teaches an elective course in the MSW program. She asked me your basic interview questions - why social work, why UPenn, to elaborate on my experiences from my personal statement and resume. I talked about the interdisciplinary focus of the program and how it related well to my undergrad degree, my experience balancing academic work with internships, the importance of anti-racist work and research to my own feminist ideologies, the urban and cultural context of UPenn, etc. It lasted an hour, and at the end she told me she was strongly recommending me for admission. I got to ask her questions about the program, which was exciting and helpful. I asked for more info about a couple of the certificate programs they offer, how to best prepare for graduate study at this point in the process, what the biggest challenges MSW students/Upenn students specifically face. Honestly, walking out of it made me wish I had done interviews with every school! It's helpful to speak to someone about programs after muddling through bland college websites and program descriptions. Good luck!
jalapeno_bagel Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I was accepted to Smith today! I haven't heard from UW yet and I didn't apply to Hunter. Congrats! When did you apply to Smith?
demelza_cat Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 The interview was really relaxed and comfortable. I was nervous about the Skype aspect, because I always feel so awkward on video chat. But it turns out using Skype for professional contexts is actually much better than personal ones. I was interviewed by an alum who works in admissions and teaches an elective course in the MSW program. She asked me your basic interview questions - why social work, why UPenn, to elaborate on my experiences from my personal statement and resume. I talked about the interdisciplinary focus of the program and how it related well to my undergrad degree, my experience balancing academic work with internships, the importance of anti-racist work and research to my own feminist ideologies, the urban and cultural context of UPenn, etc. It lasted an hour, and at the end she told me she was strongly recommending me for admission. I got to ask her questions about the program, which was exciting and helpful. I asked for more info about a couple of the certificate programs they offer, how to best prepare for graduate study at this point in the process, what the biggest challenges MSW students/Upenn students specifically face. Honestly, walking out of it made me wish I had done interviews with every school! It's helpful to speak to someone about programs after muddling through bland college websites and program descriptions. Good luck! Thanks so much. It's so helpful to have an idea what to expect. I really appreciate it!
morlvera Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Did anybody apply and get into Pitt? I'm not applying until the next cycle, but I'm wondering how much money people are getting for the merit scholarships. I'm in-state and the tuition is still pretty steep!
rooibos123 Posted February 11, 2015 Posted February 11, 2015 Hi all-- I hope you're getting good admissions news! I'm wondering if people have perspectives on the trade off of cost vs quality/prestige. I've been admitted to Smith, my first preference school, but with no institutional aid unfortunately. I've also been admitted to catholic in DC, and am waiting to hear if I got a half tuition scholarship. If I did, Catholic would be half the cost of Smith. I am much more excited about Smith's program, but i would end up with 40K in loans. Is it worth it in the long run considering how little MSWs make? (A starting salary is half of what I make now, without a loan burden). Smith is nationally recognized and perfect for what I want to do (psychotherapy practice), but I just don't know how much recognition, curriculum, and prestige matters when so much of being a clinician is about learning on the job. I live in DC and need to stay here to share living costs with my partner, so unfortunately a state school wasn't an option b/c DC isn't a state. Any perspectives sought.
SocialWaiter Posted February 11, 2015 Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) Hi all-- I hope you're getting good admissions news! I'm wondering if people have perspectives on the trade off of cost vs quality/prestige. I've been admitted to Smith, my first preference school, but with no institutional aid unfortunately. I've also been admitted to catholic in DC, and am waiting to hear if I got a half tuition scholarship. If I did, Catholic would be half the cost of Smith. I am much more excited about Smith's program, but i would end up with 40K in loans. Is it worth it in the long run considering how little MSWs make? (A starting salary is half of what I make now, without a loan burden). Smith is nationally recognized and perfect for what I want to do (psychotherapy practice), but I just don't know how much recognition, curriculum, and prestige matters when so much of being a clinician is about learning on the job. I live in DC and need to stay here to share living costs with my partner, so unfortunately a state school wasn't an option b/c DC isn't a state. Any perspectives sought. Congratulations on getting into Smith! In the news, we often hear about the common occurance of college debt and Americans dealing with high credit card bills and personal bankruptices...so it's great you're being responsible in planning and doing your due dilligence. My opinion is this is one of those things that is different for everyone. For some, 40K debt may not be big deal, and some graduates may have successfully dealt with. While for some others it's a struggle, that 40K debt turns out to be detrimental and a serious hardship. Some of my friends got their MSW from USC, and for them, 90K in loans was worth it to them. Suum cuique. Somebody else wrote a really insightful post regarding brand name, prestigious schools being comparable to designer shoes/handbags (I forget which one)...it really is subjective and up to a person to determine if it's worth spending a lot of $ for a prestigious luxury item compared to something basic and adequate. If you haven't done so already, maybe do the math...calculate an average expected salary, and figure out how long it will take for you to pay off loans after you graduate. Keep in mind accrued interest and the lost opportunity cost (trade-off) of the money saved from the other school (Catholic?) that you could use for other things like saving for a house, car, etc.... And maybe ask yourself, can you be a happy, effective, and successful social worker if you went to other school instead? Is Smith's program worth the extra cost? For some people, it will be....education & training, networking & connections, job prospects, etc... These other message threads may give you a more helpful perspective: Good luck with your decision! Edited to add: Here's what someone else posted: My two cents: I only applied to cheaper State schools because as an individual who already struggled to pay off 25k for an undergrad at UCLA, I am now very afraid of getting more into debt. In addition, I scared the crap out of myself because I googled "student loan horror stories" and read THOUSANDS upon thousands of sad tales regarding the debt trap that hopeful students fall into and can't crawl out. I will be turning 29 soon and I currently have a negative net worth -- which frankly sucks. My hope is to graduate as soon as possible with minimal debt so I can start building my life, saving for retirement, etc. I really don't think pricey out-of-state or brand name schools matter much in this field, unless of course the individual has lofty goals of going into top management or academia. From what I hear, experience and individual capabilities matter more in getting a good job. MSW's really don't make much money and I cringe at the estimated 45k (undergrad+grad) loans that this degree will cost me. In response to the first poster, 50k max is probably the most I'll pay for an MSW. No more. So yeah, if you have time, google "student loan horror stories" and not to scare you, but maybe that will offer additional perspective. Edited February 11, 2015 by SocialWaiter
kg25 Posted February 11, 2015 Posted February 11, 2015 Glad I found this forum again! This time last year, I was applying to Cal State LA, Cal State Northridge, and Ohio State University (I'm originally from Ohio and wasn't sure if I was going to stay in Ohio or move at the time). I was accepted to Cal State LA, but deferred it for a year to do service in an Americorps program. The program I am a part of does a partnership with USC, and I looked at USC's curriculum and I really liked it, so I applied. I applied for the early decision deadline, but application difficulties occurred, and my application didn't count until the December 8th deadline. I hope I get in USC, though I do understand how the cost is pretty scary (I'm gonna have to receive A LOT of financial aid). That being said, I'm waiting to hear back from USC, as well as receive my deferrment package from CSULA in the mail to see what that process is like. Has anyone heard back from USC or CSULA? I heard back from USC about a week ago via email. Anyone hear from University of Washington?
hla003 Posted February 11, 2015 Posted February 11, 2015 Hi all-- I hope you're getting good admissions news! I'm wondering if people have perspectives on the trade off of cost vs quality/prestige. I've been admitted to Smith, my first preference school, but with no institutional aid unfortunately. I've also been admitted to catholic in DC, and am waiting to hear if I got a half tuition scholarship. If I did, Catholic would be half the cost of Smith. I am much more excited about Smith's program, but i would end up with 40K in loans. Is it worth it in the long run considering how little MSWs make? (A starting salary is half of what I make now, without a loan burden). Smith is nationally recognized and perfect for what I want to do (psychotherapy practice), but I just don't know how much recognition, curriculum, and prestige matters when so much of being a clinician is about learning on the job. I live in DC and need to stay here to share living costs with my partner, so unfortunately a state school wasn't an option b/c DC isn't a state. Any perspectives sought. Hi Roobios! When do you heard back from Catholic? I applied 1/14 but haven't heard anything yet. Thanks!
kelseygwynne Posted February 11, 2015 Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) Did anybody apply and get into Pitt? I'm not applying until the next cycle, but I'm wondering how much money people are getting for the merit scholarships. I'm in-state and the tuition is still pretty steep! I did! I got a merit scholarship but oddly they didn't say how much it was in my acceptance letter? I got in in November and have not heard a peep about financial aid. Not too impressed with their communication about that :/ Edited February 11, 2015 by kelseygwynne
rooibos123 Posted February 11, 2015 Posted February 11, 2015 This is so helpful, thank you all! I'm going to crunch numbers and amortization tables this weekend and decide what to do. Hla, I heard firm Catholic 3 weeks ago; I submitted my application the first week of Dec. Good luck to you!
ericabriggs Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Anyone applied to Dalhousie for 2015? I hear their acceptance letters go out mid-February, and I haven't heard so I am wondering if anyone else has.
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