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Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2015 admissions


smpalesh

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Anyone else hear back for 1 year program at u of Windsor?

Me! I was accepted but I'm leaning towards other Universities. Just waiting on all of my acceptances/declines to come in so I can make a decision.

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@soapaddict I have heard similar things as SocialWork93, with that said, a girl that I knew who graduated from the program last year said it was very nice because it was such a small program - very intimate because of the small number of students.

 

I have also heard the number of students ranges from 20-40 in some years (I'm guessing it depends on how much money they get because from what I remember York offers students they accept funding). I can't wait to start hearing back from schools, some days I can't believe it's already the end of February and other days I can't believe it's only February haha. 

 

Good Luck!

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Hey all! For the PPl accepted to the Windsor program, how long did it take for the acceptance to come in after your application was complete? Mine was just completed last week due to a lagging reference...wondering how fast they are at decisions..thanks!

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I'm really starting to freak out! Last year Carleton applicants found out on the 17th.... that's TOMORROW!!! ahhhhh. I can hardly handle it! I wonder if we will be finding out this week or next week. I'm really hoping for this week too! Any other Carleton applicants starting to stress?!

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I'm really starting to freak out! Last year Carleton applicants found out on the 17th.... that's TOMORROW!!! ahhhhh. I can hardly handle it! I wonder if we will be finding out this week or next week. I'm really hoping for this week too! Any other Carleton applicants starting to stress?!

 

YES!!! I have been stressing like absolute crazy. All the other schools I applied, I wont hear back till March or April. It would be so nice knowing that I am in somewhere! I have been having dreams already about getting accepted and rejected (in different dreams) from Carelton. Im sooo anxious!! 

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I feel the exact same way! I really really want to get into Carleton so it's scary hearing from your first choice first! You've applied to same schools though so I really think you have great chances :)

YES!!! I have been stressing like absolute crazy. All the other schools I applied, I wont hear back till March or April. It would be so nice knowing that I am in somewhere! I have been having dreams already about getting accepted and rejected (in different dreams) from Carelton. Im sooo anxious!! 

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Hey all! For the PPl accepted to the Windsor program, how long did it take for the acceptance to come in after your application was complete? Mine was just completed last week due to a lagging reference...wondering how fast they are at decisions..thanks!

I think one year moves a bit faster, so I applied late November and I received my acceptance about a week and a half ago.

I think the two year program takes longer because there are many more applicants for it.

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This week is going to be total torture!!!  I am waiting on Laurier (Advanced Standing) and they notify the last two weeks of February.  Tomorrow is the 17th so it could definitely be this week.  Every time my phone dings I am going to jump through the roof.  Maybe I can just sleep through this week?  That is a reasonable solution, right?

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This week is going to be total torture!!!  I am waiting on Laurier (Advanced Standing) and they notify the last two weeks of February.  Tomorrow is the 17th so it could definitely be this week.  Every time my phone dings I am going to jump through the roof.  Maybe I can just sleep through this week?  That is a reasonable solution, right?

Last year, the first person to announce their admission was on the 21st. That is this week. I loved that today is a holiday and it was one less day I had to worry about because I knew no one was working.

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Socialworkerr - I know, I actually applied last year too.  I applied to both Laurier and UofT last year and I was waitlisted to Laurier and accepted to UofT.  I had to defer due to health reasons so I am still accepted to UofT but I decided to try Laurier again because it is local to me and my top choice.  Last year acceptances were the 21st, rejections came in the mail around the 24th and I heard about the waitlist by email on the 26th.  It could be early this week though because in 2013 people got acceptances earlier in mid-February.  So from this point on I am on red alert!

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Hi everyone,

 

I was accepted to UBC-Okanagan's advanced MSW program last week. The only other school I applied to was U of T, and as you all know I should hear back from them in a few weeks. Because my goal is to become a therapist, and UBC-O's program is a clinical one, I was pretty much dead set on going there. As well, it's much closer to home for me. As a result, I accepted my offer at UBC-O.

 

Unfortunately, I just received some bad news. UBC-O very rarely approves practicum placements outside of the Kelowna area. My entire family lives in Calgary, so I was hoping to complete the coursework from Sept-April, then go back to Calgary for my practicum in May 2016. The prospect of spending a year in Kelowna, where I do not know anyone, is a bit upsetting to me. I know I would eventually meet people, and that it would only be an extra three or four months in Kelowna, but ultimately what it comes down to is Calgary is where I would rather be after the coursework is done. Three or four months is a long time to be away from the people who are most important to you. I would have applied to the University of Calgary's clinical MSW, but I was missing one of their requirements this year.

 

My preference for a Calgary practicum is not so strong that I would wait an entire year and apply to U of Calgary for the next application cycle. I am definitely going to go do my masters this fall, even if it means having to be away from family longer than I would like. That being said, this new information might change where I attend if I end up getting an offer from U of T. Does anyone know what U of Toronto's policy is for practicum outside the Toronto area? I cannot seem to find it on the website. If they allow it, it might be a better choice for me to go there. Also, I think Toronto's MSW is only 8-months long, whereas UBC-O is 12-months, so I might end up choosing Toronto if I am accepted there purely because it would still allow me to get back to Calgary when I originally intended to.

 

Any info/guidance would be appreciated. There seems to be a lot of Toronto applicants on this forum!

Edited by jjmr89
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jjmr89 - UofT does allow in some cases for you to do your placement in your home community.  I was accepted to UofT last year and they worked with me to arrange a placement in Kitchener.  I had to defer until this September but I will be working with them again to do the same.  That said they really prefer you do your placement from September-April.  They prefer that because the placement is supposed to coincide with the coursework and seminars.  If you wanted to go to UofT from September to April why wouldn't you just do your placement from September-April along with your courses?  The placement only goes until the end of the first week of April so you wouldn't have to stay any extra length of time.  Good luck!

 

Also, I had the opportunity to look at their online placement system before I opted out and there are so many amazing placement opportunities in Toronto.  I'm sure you could find a position in your area of interest.

Edited by smpalesh
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smpalesh - thanks so much for the response. The more I find out about this, the more it seems like Toronto's program might be a better option for me as it would allow me to be done everything in April. We will see if I end up getting accepted!

 

Do you know how it fares as a clinical program? I know that UBC-O has a lot of very clinically oriented courses, and it seems like U of T strikes the middle road between clinical and research. 

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smpalesh - one more thing: now you have me so curious about the placement opportunities in Toronto! Were there any that were very therapy oriented? Do you know if they were competitive to get at all? Is it some kind of lottery or do you get to choose?

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jjmr89 - UofT is often known as being research oriented but it is a still broad MSW program.  Courses will depend on which speciality you chose of the 5.  If you go on the website you can see which courses are taken for which speciality (I am assuming you are applying for advanced standing as you mentioned you were applying for advanced standing in BC).  You also take a couple of electives so you can specialize a little more that way as well.  I am not research oriented but I still feel I can get a well rounded MSW program at UofT (if I don't get into Laurier because that is my first choice for family/health reasons).

 

I didn't get a chance to view all the placement options (there are hundreds!) but there were placement opportunities for every interest.  I personally want to work in direct service level work (homelessness, addiction, abuse, violence) and there were many opportunities.  I am positive there would be therapy opportunities as well.  The opportunities available are categorized by your chosen speciality.  So, for example, if your speciality is mental health and health then when you log on your choose that from the drop down menu and it gives you all the possibilities for that speciality.  Some of the opportunities fit more than one speciality and it will say that beside it. 

 

Some of the placement opportunities are competitive.  It depends on how many people are interested in it.  When a certain number of people have indicated interest it will flag as being highly requested, but that doesn't mean that you won't get it!

 

Here is how the process works.  When the system opens up (called the PAS) you can go on and search through all the many opportunities.  You have a while to do that, I think a week or two, I'm not positive.  Then you will fill out an online form indicating your top choices.  I think it is 5 if I remember correctly.  At a certain date that form closes and that means you can't make any more changes to your choices.  It will notify you when you can log back in and at that time it will show you which choices you are matched to for an interview. You are matched with 2 interviews.  After the interviews you go on the system and leave your opinion of each placement.  Again, at a certain point the system will lock and then you will be notified to log back in and it will say which place you have been matched to.

 

It sounds very complicated but it's actually not.  I ended up arranging a placement outside of the system (they call that opting-out of the system) so I could get one in my home community.  I had to opt-out before the choices were submitted otherwise it would obviously mess with the system.  I knew multiple people who went through the whole process and they ended up really happy with their placements and how the process goes.

 

I hope this info helps and I hope you get in. :)

Edited by smpalesh
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smpalesh - thank you so much for the helpful response! I did apply for the advanced standing at U of T, and chose the mental health and health specialization. Am I correct when I see from the program booklet that there are three courses each semester, plus practicum? That sounds like a really great setup. I am surprised it's not four courses per semester..

 

In terms of practicum, specifically, my interest is in becoming a therapist for people with eating disorders. But I would happy doing a family therapy placement or even a placement in cognate areas like anxiety/depression, etc. It would be great if there were options in those areas. At what point last year did the practicum matching occur? Was it during the summer?

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There are actually 7 courses.  If you look at the list there are 4 main courses, 2 electives, and then everyone has to take a course Research for Evidence-Based Social Work Practice.  So it would usually be 4 in the fall and 3 in the winter.  The practicum matching starts at the end of April and I think is done by the end of May. 

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Hi everyone!

 

I found out I was accepted to UBC's 2 year program last week. I haven't had a chance to read through the entire thread but so far haven't seen any UBC Vancouver students.. anyone out there or any applicants? Good luck everyone :)!

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I'm really starting to freak out! Last year Carleton applicants found out on the 17th.... that's TOMORROW!!! ahhhhh. I can hardly handle it! I wonder if we will be finding out this week or next week. I'm really hoping for this week too! Any other Carleton applicants starting to stress?!

Up early, goign to be checking nonstop all day and week! good luck!

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smpalesh - thanks so much for the response. The more I find out about this, the more it seems like Toronto's program might be a better option for me as it would allow me to be done everything in April. We will see if I end up getting accepted!

 

Do you know how it fares as a clinical program? I know that UBC-O has a lot of very clinically oriented courses, and it seems like U of T strikes the middle road between clinical and research. 

 

U of T MSW is a very clinical school. You do not need to worry about that :P 

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jjmr89

 

One thing to consider -- 

It sounds like you want to work in Calgary and therefore would register as a social worker with ACSW (Alberta's provincial association) Alberta has a specific regulated designation for Clinical Social Workers. So does BC. Ontario does not -- in Ontario, you can register as an RSW or a Social Service Worker; there is no Clinical Social Worker designation. So this is why UBC-O and Calgary call themselves clinical programs, but U of T does not.

There are specific requirements to register as a clinical social worker in Alberta and in BC. Both require some specific coursework. So, you should make sure that the electives offered by U of T include the courses you would need to register. As far as I can tell you can complete a regular MSW (like at U of T, or even UBC - Vancouver which doesn't designate itself as clinical) and meet the requirements either through i) taking the right electives in your advanced year, or ii) taking supplemental coursework after you graduate.

I'm pretty sure the U of T advanced program would be fine but you may want to double check.

 
ACSW's requirements:

 

http://www.acsw.ab.ca/public/faq/clinical_registry

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