Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2015 admissions

[smpalesh]

So I did decide to take the advice of those here and rework my previous personal statement for Laurier.  I rewrote portions of it and updated others but it was definitely a lot less stress to not have to start from scratch.  I got everything compiled and submitted by noon so now all I have to do is wait....for 2.5 months...  I am happy that I already know I am accepted at UofT but I would really rather go to school close to home so I am really hoping that I get accepted Laurier.  I hope everyone still working on applications gets everything done with a minimal amount of stress!

[Bettyg]

Dear lord reading this thread has been intimidating.

 

I'm a women/gender studies and anthropology major at U of T applying to the York U and U of T 2-year MSW programs. My cumulative GPA is a 3.26 (just shy of a B+), but I scraped together a 4.0 last year (4th year, part 1) and feel confident I can keep it up for my remaining credits this year (4th year, part 2). 

 

Experience-wise, I have (in no particular order):

--a semester of co-op TA'ing in grade 11, including students with special needs (not paid)

--500+ hours of child care (paid)

--Between 200-300 hours as a crisis line counselor and trainer with a rape crisis center (not paid)

--the head office of a major retailer consulted with me RE: books on "LGBTQIA" (their acronym, not mine) people with which to stock their stores (paid)

--i wrote a three-part series on a very specific topic within sexual violence research which was published by a respectable online magazine and shared by a major feminist news source (not paid)

--about 50 hours of equity consulting work with a student publication at McMaster (not paid)

--about 50 hours as a peer sex educator at u of t (not paid)

--Co-hosted/moderated a panel last year at a prominent conference organized by a non-profit organization (not paid)

--Spoke on a panel AND gave my own talk at the same prominent conference the next year (paid)

--I'm also including a work-in-progress thing where i'll have some sort of blurb on an anti-sexual violence education project i'm working on.

 

Honestly, what are my chances?

 

I think you have really interesting experience that is very different than what a lot of us are applying with, so that's an advantage to you! I would say to just really use your personal statement to highlight why this experience makes you right for the programs and you have a good chance  

[AMetallo]

Hello everyone,

 

I am applying to U of T Counselling and Psychotherapy program, MSW U of T, MSW Laurier and BSW at Lakehead.

I applied last year to the MSW at U of T but did not put enough effort into it as I realized I need to (clearly did not get accepted).

I  have a high B+ average (graduated with psychology degree) and have an A or higher in important courses such as research methods, stats, honours thesis. Something that brought my mark down was my geography courses (it was my first major until I decided it was not for me!)

I have volunteered at an anxiety lab, a sexual abuse center, childrens aid society, youth assisting youth, research assistant at York, and at Kids help phone as a data assistant. I have also recently got accepted as a volunteer support worker at the distress centre of Toronto. So I have quite a bit of experience!

 

I am super stressed working on these applications! Like some of you have said no matter how many times you read it or get people to read it it still doesn't feel perfect!

 

Really hoping I get in this year!

Edited December 2, 2014 by AMetallo

[LP3]

smpalesh, I'm so glad you made the deadline! I'd been procrastinating on this thread following your struggle but didn't get a chance to apply!

 

One of my references has completed the form, but the other two have not started still. I heard that Laurier has had a glitch with their system, and so I went a couple days without any sort of confirmation from applying! Now, I've received two sets of notification e-mails, and my Loris account shows 2 MSW applications that are active, with my referees listed under only 1. I'll give it a couple more days, and then e-mail the registrar to ask what's up. Anyone else seeing a similar thing?

[nutella14]

.... you sound like a strong applicant! I don't know how to say this but it sort of stresses me out that you didn't get in with all that experience, lol. I guess the application and statement counts for a lot after all. Which is good in a way because if you work on them more this year, I'm sure you have a good shot!!
I'm applying to the 1-year Lakehead HBSW program in Orillia. Are you applying to Thunder Bay or Orillia??
 

Hello everyone,

 

I am applying to U of T Counselling and Psychotherapy program, MSW U of T, MSW Laurier and BSW at Lakehead.

I applied last year to the MSW at U of T but did not put enough effort into it as I realized I need to (clearly did not get accepted).

I  have a high B+ average (graduated with psychology degree) and have an A or higher in important courses such as research methods, stats, honours thesis. Something that brought my mark down was my geography courses (it was my first major until I decided it was not for me!)

I have volunteered at an anxiety lab, a sexual abuse center, childrens aid society, youth assisting youth, research assistant at York, and at Kids help phone as a data assistant. I have also recently got accepted as a volunteer support worker at the distress centre of Toronto. So I have quite a bit of experience!

 

I am super stressed working on these applications! Like some of you have said no matter how many times you read it or get people to read it it still doesn't feel perfect!

 

Really hoping I get in this year!

[purplegrey]

My UofT status changed to "Under Review"!! What does this even mean?! I'm freaking out. It's only been 36 hours since I applied... 

Edited December 3, 2014 by purplegrey

[b39]

My UofT status changed to "Under Review"!! What does this even mean?! I'm freaking out. It's only been 36 hours since I applied... 

 

Hey there, no need to panic! That happens after all of your documents have been submitted, basically it means that everything has been received. It will stay this way until you receive your admissions response, then it changes to "decision made".

Edited December 3, 2014 by b39

[purplegrey]

Hey there, no need to panic! That happens after all of your documents have been submitted, basically it means that everything has been received. It will stay this way until you receive your admissions response, then it changes to "decision made".

 

Okay thank you . I was so scared I did something wrong so they were rejecting me 48 hours later. I'm glad that is not the case. 

[smpalesh]

LP3 - One of my references had problems with the reference forms.  It wouldn't let her submit them.  I emailed them multiple times and finally they let her submit to them by email.  I would email them if I were you bc they changed the system this year and I think there are some bugs.  Don't feel bad about nagging your references either, I sure did!

[smpalesh]

purplegrey - Mine NEVER changed to Decision Made even when I was accepted.  I know a lot of people who had that happen too.  It will say under review for months, until near the time when decisions go out.  At that point it MIGHT change to decision made but it might not.  I kept checking mine for a month after I knew I was accepted and it never updated.  UofT does all their notifications by snail mail so even if it did change closer to the date it wouldn't say what the decision was, just that one was made.  When it is decision time you will either get a small white envelope (rejection or waitlist) or a big envelope with a bunch of info in it (acceptance).  Since you are applying to the 2 year program you won't hear anything from UofT or Laurier (I don't know about other schools) until April. 

[purplegrey]

purplegrey - Mine NEVER changed to Decision Made even when I was accepted.  I know a lot of people who had that happen too.  It will say under review for months, until near the time when decisions go out.  At that point it MIGHT change to decision made but it might not.  I kept checking mine for a month after I knew I was accepted and it never updated.  UofT does all their notifications by snail mail so even if it did change closer to the date it wouldn't say what the decision was, just that one was made.  When it is decision time you will either get a small white envelope (rejection or waitlist) or a big envelope with a bunch of info in it (acceptance).  Since you are applying to the 2 year program you won't hear anything from UofT or Laurier (I don't know about other schools) until April. 

Such a detailed response! Thank you. I'm loving that there are a few of you who have already applied, it's so nice. Snail mail? Seriously, that's the worst. Now I'll be checking online and my mailbox, haha. The waiting continues. 

For those who are applying to Carleton, I emailed and they said "later in the new year". I'm not sure if that's February or April, but lets hope its sooner than later. 

[Guest]

Purplegrey- I applied last year and was waitlisted, and I didn't see that it said decision made until I logged on to apply for this year, since there wasn't a final decision until mid-september. What it says online doesn't mean a whole lot for U of T.

[Aslwin]

Hi everyone! 

 

I came across this forum when searching for information on when admissions decisions would be made. I found the posts to be really helpful, so I thought I would join the conversation 

 

I have applied to University of Calgary's 2 year MSW-clinical specialization. They are the only one that I intend on applying to, so hopefully they accept me! Has anyone else here applied to the U of C program?

[Bettyg]

I am trying to decide if I should apply to the HBSW at Lakehead Orillia. I think my chances of getting accepted are very high, but it would kill me to live in Orillia for 6 months. I am a city person, and I don't own a car or anything. Does public transit even exist in Orillia? 

 

If I don't get into any of my other choices, I will kick myself for not applying to Orillia, but I am struggling because it's $200 for the application. 

[nutella14]

Hi Bettyg

I'm in the same boat!! I am going to apply to the Lakehead HBSW (Orillia), but have the same reservations as you do. I've never even been to Orillia.
However, I've rationalized in my mind this way.... it's only 6 months, and 6 months would go by quite quickly (especially in such an intense program). I wouldn't be ALONE in Orillia, I would be starting a program with 60 other people. And, as you said, I will be seriously kicking myself if I don't get into an MSW and I don't have the HBSW as a backup. I had originally planned to only apply to MSW programs; if I don't get in, I would just work for a year and reapply. But I figure now that there's no guarantee that I would be able to improve my application during that year -- what if I can't find relevant job experience? I figure that by doing the HBSW, I'm boosting the strength of my application and (hopefully) boosting my grades as well. I have a competitive average (A- in final year) but I would like to apply for OGS and SSHRC funding for my MSW, and I'm hoping doing the HBSW would let me boost my average further. And I'll be in Orillia with nothing to do but study!! Ultimately I figure spending 6 months in Orillia and getting my MSW in two years is better than it taking 3 years.

I don't have a car either. There is public transit in Orillia and a bus route from downtown to the Lakehead campus. There is also a bus line that has regular trips to Toronto: http://www.ontarionorthland.ca/index.php/en/   Greyhound's schedule isn't as good as this company. I'm also guessing that other HBSW students will driving back to Toronto pretty regularly on weekends. Rent is cheap in Orillia... from Kijiji it looks like you could find a room in a house shared with other students for ~$400-$500 all inclusive.

So... that's how I've rationalized it in my mind!! U of T is still my top choice, so that's what I'm hoping for.

OH and the downside of the HBSW (aside from Orillia itself) is that tuition is quite high - around $11,000-$13,000. It's a full-year condensed program so I guess that's why. That doesn't include books or living or anything.

Has anyone on this forum done the HBSW program?? I'm curious about the workload, the quality of the program, etc.
 

I am trying to decide if I should apply to the HBSW at Lakehead Orillia. I think my chances of getting accepted are very high, but it would kill me to live in Orillia for 6 months. I am a city person, and I don't own a car or anything. Does public transit even exist in Orillia? 

 

If I don't get into any of my other choices, I will kick myself for not applying to Orillia, but I am struggling because it's $200 for the application. 

Edited December 4, 2014 by nutella14

[CDS_TO]

Hello!

 

I have a question, so I did my undergrad at U of T, and have applied to the 2 year MSW at U of T, and on the webpage it says that if you did your undergrad at U of T and graduated after 95 they would access your transcripts and you don't have to send them in. I'm just getting a little nervous bc on the application page it still says that my official transcripts are pending. 

 

Just wondering if anybody has any insight! 

 

Thanks! 

[msw22]

Hello!

 

I have a question, so I did my undergrad at U of T, and have applied to the 2 year MSW at U of T, and on the webpage it says that if you did your undergrad at U of T and graduated after 95 they would access your transcripts and you don't have to send them in. I'm just getting a little nervous bc on the application page it still says that my official transcripts are pending. 

 

Just wondering if anybody has any insight! 

 

Thanks! 

 

You are best to call or email Angela Umbrello

[PregnantSeahorse]

Hello!

 

I have a question, so I did my undergrad at U of T, and have applied to the 2 year MSW at U of T, and on the webpage it says that if you did your undergrad at U of T and graduated after 95 they would access your transcripts and you don't have to send them in. I'm just getting a little nervous bc on the application page it still says that my official transcripts are pending. 

 

Just wondering if anybody has any insight! 

 

Thanks! 

 

I would give them a call! I also did my undergrad at UofT, and without doing anything, my 'Official Transcripts' have been received. 

 

I do have a question about this part of the application though. It says I need to upload an electronic transcript in PDF form in addition to the hard copy official transcript. Let's just say I'm not super savvy with technology. What the hell does this mean? Haha. I'd have no problem converting the transcript to a PDF file, but I have no idea how to get this electronic version in the first place...

 

Thanks in advance!

[CDS_TO]

I just went into my ROSI account and copied my transcript there, pasted it into a word doc, converted the word doc into a pdf and uploaded it  

 

about how long from when you submitted the application did the status change to received?

 

thanks and good luck!

 

I would give them a call! I also did my undergrad at UofT, and without doing anything, my 'Official Transcripts' have been received. 

 

I do have a question about this part of the application though. It says I need to upload an electronic transcript in PDF form in addition to the hard copy official transcript. Let's just say I'm not super savvy with technology. What the hell does this mean? Haha. I'd have no problem converting the transcript to a PDF file, but I have no idea how to get this electronic version in the first place...

 

Thanks in advance!

[KatRousi]

Hey Everyone, 

 

My name is Kat and I am currently in the one-year HBSW at Lakehead (Thunder Bay campus). I am not actually applying to my MSW this year, I would like to take a year off to work and apply for the 2016 advance-standing year instead. I just remember that when I was applying to the HBSW program, there were not as many people who could speak to what the HBSW program was like. I thought I would share my experience at Lakehead for those who are interested. 

 

First, I would like to say that I applied to social work MSW 2-year programs for three years, and was rejected from all of the programs almost immediately. Yes, it truly sucked (for lack of better words, it just sucked) being rejected from so many programs, but every year I would dust myself off, and make myself a stronger applicant for the next cycle. Eventually, I was accepted to the HBSW at Lakehead, which was (and is) highly competative to get into (last year there were 475 applicants for 25 spots in Thunder Bay). I was also accepted to York's 2-year BSW and rejected from UofT (for the third time) this past cycle. The point I am trying to make is to not give up and to preserver. Social work is highly competitive, and thought 11 rejections was incredibly difficult to digest, I am so thankful that I kept going because it was worth it. I am also grateful that I was rejected so many times because I gained a breadth of experience from each rejection, and now I have many lenses to see the world and various client/service-users. I am, and always have been, a social worker. This year has only confirmed that.

 

In terms of the HBSW at Lakehead, I would like to start off by saying that I love the program. We just had a meeting with the director of the faculty (Marg McKee, she is absolutely amazing and will excite you about choosing social work as a profession if you are ever lucky enough to have her as a professor) to discuss our curriculum, what we like about our classes, and areas for improvement. In that meeting, I found out that the HBSW at Lakehead is one of the few BSW programs that actually has a skills class (that is generally reserved for Masters students), which I find astounding, because that it the class we enjoy the most, and the one that will prepare us most for placement (there are not a lot of MSWs in Thunder Bay, so placement for the one-year students does involve a lot of counselling, which I will be doing in January when I begin my placement and skills has really helped us build the fundamentals for counselling at the undergraduate level). For a one-year program, you really get a lot of bang for your buck (and your time). I love how our class is only 20 people, and our skills class is only 11 people. I also really like how approachable the faculty members are, and how Sonya still knows who I am (she is one of the reasons I chose Lakehead over York, no word of a lie). Everybody is reasonable, and they genuinely want the students to excel, so they don't curve down grades or make assignments/tests insanely difficult just to pull off a 70 average in the class. If the average happens to be a 75-80, they let it be. I worked my rear off this semester, was enrolled in 6 classes (I had my elective this year), and I pulled off amazing marks because I was incredibly dedicated to studying. It is a manageable pace, I personally had to dedicate myself to the program, as did many others, but I know of a couple of classmates who were able to work part-time or have a number of hobbies/be involved in the community during the program. 

 

Another thing that I really like about the program is the placement. Although I was terrified of doing a 6-month, 100-day placement at Lakehead, I began to see the benefit of having a placement for that long. For the first three months of placement, students play more of an observational role and learn about various therapies, community development work, etc. But in the last three months, you are viewed as essentially a staff member, and you are in charge of your own case-load and even see service-users/clients on your own. I find experience like that difficult to come by in southern Ontario, and in a BSW program in general. (I may be wrong about this last point, but that is my understanding at least).

 

Finally, Thunder Bay is actually a wonderful place to be a social work student. There are a lot of wonderful and progressive programs happening in the city, and people are fighting for real, systemic change. I am actually from Toronto, and I feel like having a Northern perspective is valuable in the South, as many people from the North move to the South and have to adjust to being in a metropolitan area. The more lenses you have to see the world, the better social worker and practitioner you will become. 

 

The one-year program obviously isn't all rainbows and butterflies, its hard work, and there is room for improvement. But I feel like my voice has been heard, which I think is incredibly valuable in a program. It is a generalist social work degree, which I really appreciate because we cover a lot of theories and perspectives, and I really like that we are not tied to one way of viewing systemic and individual problems that exist in Canada. I would also like to say that I applied both to Orillia (my first choice) and to Thunder Bay (my second choice) and I was accepted to Thunder Bay, so for the extra $30, If I remember correctly, if you can swing it, apply to both. 

 

Feel free to message me with any questions. 

-Kat 

[PregnantSeahorse]

I just went into my ROSI account and copied my transcript there, pasted it into a word doc, converted the word doc into a pdf and uploaded it

 

about how long from when you submitted the application did the status change to received?

 

thanks and good luck!

Ok great, maybe I will just do that! Sounds simple enough.

I believe I paid for my UofT app on November 18th, so it would be sometime between then and December 1st, when I first went back to upload more documents and noticed the change.

[nutella14]

Hey Everyone, 

 

My name is Kat and I am currently in the one-year HBSW at Lakehead (Thunder Bay campus). I am not actually applying to my MSW this year, I would like to take a year off to work and apply for the 2016 advance-standing year instead. I just remember that when I was applying to the HBSW program, there were not as many people who could speak to what the HBSW program was like. I thought I would share my experience at Lakehead for those who are interested. 

 

First, I would like to say that I applied to social work MSW 2-year programs for three years, and was rejected from all of the programs almost immediately. Yes, it truly sucked (for lack of better words, it just sucked) being rejected from so many programs, but every year I would dust myself off, and make myself a stronger applicant for the next cycle. Eventually, I was accepted to the HBSW at Lakehead, which was (and is) highly competative to get into (last year there were 475 applicants for 25 spots in Thunder Bay). I was also accepted to York's 2-year BSW and rejected from UofT (for the third time) this past cycle. The point I am trying to make is to not give up and to preserver. Social work is highly competitive, and thought 11 rejections was incredibly difficult to digest, I am so thankful that I kept going because it was worth it. I am also grateful that I was rejected so many times because I gained a breadth of experience from each rejection, and now I have many lenses to see the world and various client/service-users. I am, and always have been, a social worker. This year has only confirmed that.

 

In terms of the HBSW at Lakehead, I would like to start off by saying that I love the program. We just had a meeting with the director of the faculty (Marg McKee, she is absolutely amazing and will excite you about choosing social work as a profession if you are ever lucky enough to have her as a professor) to discuss our curriculum, what we like about our classes, and areas for improvement. In that meeting, I found out that the HBSW at Lakehead is one of the few BSW programs that actually has a skills class (that is generally reserved for Masters students), which I find astounding, because that it the class we enjoy the most, and the one that will prepare us most for placement (there are not a lot of MSWs in Thunder Bay, so placement for the one-year students does involve a lot of counselling, which I will be doing in January when I begin my placement and skills has really helped us build the fundamentals for counselling at the undergraduate level). For a one-year program, you really get a lot of bang for your buck (and your time). I love how our class is only 20 people, and our skills class is only 11 people. I also really like how approachable the faculty members are, and how Sonya still knows who I am (she is one of the reasons I chose Lakehead over York, no word of a lie). Everybody is reasonable, and they genuinely want the students to excel, so they don't curve down grades or make assignments/tests insanely difficult just to pull off a 70 average in the class. If the average happens to be a 75-80, they let it be. I worked my rear off this semester, was enrolled in 6 classes (I had my elective this year), and I pulled off amazing marks because I was incredibly dedicated to studying. It is a manageable pace, I personally had to dedicate myself to the program, as did many others, but I know of a couple of classmates who were able to work part-time or have a number of hobbies/be involved in the community during the program. 

 

Another thing that I really like about the program is the placement. Although I was terrified of doing a 6-month, 100-day placement at Lakehead, I began to see the benefit of having a placement for that long. For the first three months of placement, students play more of an observational role and learn about various therapies, community development work, etc. But in the last three months, you are viewed as essentially a staff member, and you are in charge of your own case-load and even see service-users/clients on your own. I find experience like that difficult to come by in southern Ontario, and in a BSW program in general. (I may be wrong about this last point, but that is my understanding at least).

 

Finally, Thunder Bay is actually a wonderful place to be a social work student. There are a lot of wonderful and progressive programs happening in the city, and people are fighting for real, systemic change. I am actually from Toronto, and I feel like having a Northern perspective is valuable in the South, as many people from the North move to the South and have to adjust to being in a metropolitan area. The more lenses you have to see the world, the better social worker and practitioner you will become. 

 

The one-year program obviously isn't all rainbows and butterflies, its hard work, and there is room for improvement. But I feel like my voice has been heard, which I think is incredibly valuable in a program. It is a generalist social work degree, which I really appreciate because we cover a lot of theories and perspectives, and I really like that we are not tied to one way of viewing systemic and individual problems that exist in Canada. I would also like to say that I applied both to Orillia (my first choice) and to Thunder Bay (my second choice) and I was accepted to Thunder Bay, so for the extra $30, If I remember correctly, if you can swing it, apply to both. 

 

Feel free to message me with any questions. 

-Kat 

 

Hi Kat

 

Thanks so much for such a detailed post about the HBSW program!! It's really helpful to hear. I'm applying to the Orillia campus only. Do you know anything about the Orillia program? I assume the program itself is the same.

Do you have any advice for the application and the online exam?

Thank you so much!

[nugget]

nutella14,

 

I applied to the HBSW program in the past and got in (but took a different offer instead). I found it extremely helpful to have all the personal statements I wrote for other schools laid out in front of me while I did the online exam. If you find a similar question, type it straight from your notes. I'm sure a lot of the questions will be different, but some of it is bound to overlap.

Edited December 5, 2014 by jenste

[KatRousi]

Hi Kat

 

Thanks so much for such a detailed post about the HBSW program!! It's really helpful to hear. I'm applying to the Orillia campus only. Do you know anything about the Orillia program? I assume the program itself is the same.

Do you have any advice for the application and the online exam?

Thank you so much!

 

For the online exam, there is no work limit for the first question, which for me was "why do you want to pursue social work…" I actually really loved the online exam because you had to be quick on your feet and they got a real feel for applicants and their perspective of what entails good social work. I would recommend answering the questions that Sonya sends prior to the exam in prep. There are ethics questions as well, and ones that are not on the exam. From what I understand, after talking to my prof in my first summer course, lake head spends a lot of money hiring people both inside and outside of social work to objectively read the on-line exam and grade the applicants based on a scale. Then they overview them as well, this is to ensure there is minimal bias. So the process is incredibly thorough. In terms of grades, that is the last thing Lakehead looks at, which is contrary to the other schools. I did my undergrad at McGill, which is a ridiculously difficult school, so my undergrad average for the last two years was a B+, which is why I wasn't accepted all of those years (that and luck, seriously, it's 50% of the process). So they really get to know you as an applicant before they reject or accept you. I was accepted in the first round, so right away, but half of my classmates were wait listed. that wait-list does move, so don't be sad if you are wait listed. 

 

I would also recommend applying to Thunder Bay campus. It's an extra $30. I don't know a lot about Orillia, but I know the classes are bigger and half of the professors are not permanent, which can make a difference. I also know that the winter classes are on-line. I will say the summer and fall were INSANE, but like I said, my nose was glued to my book from day one, and I started reading before classes began. With my dedication to studying, I am pulling a 4.0 right now in a really intense program, which will put me in a wonderful position when I apply for my MSW, and for OGS applications as well. 

 

FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCE:

Before I was accepted to Lakehead, I did have a lot of experience, and it was quite vast. But in January of last year, I ventured up to Northern Quebec to work in one of the nine Cree communities in after school programming. It was honestly the best decision I ever made, I took a huge risk, but I absolutely loved my community, the people, and my students. I am still in contact with many people and receive regular messages and discussions from my students. The company is called Youth Fusion, they are now hiring for the Cree communities and Nunuvik. It also really opened up my eyes to Indigenous issues in Canada, which growing up in Toronto in an Immigrant family, I was not exposed to as much as someone from Thunder Bay or other parts of Southern Ontario. It also sparked my interest to learn about Indigenous issues on my own time, and I excelled in the Social Work with Aboriginal Peoples class this year. Although I didn't take the position to beef up my resume, it really did in the end, and I am fairly certain that is why I was accepted to Lakehead. Anyway, I thought I would pass that along to those of you looking for a unique, wonderful experience. I absolutely loved it, I was the Leadership and Healthy Living Project Coordinator. 

[nutella14]

Thank you so much for all this info about the HBSW!! I'm not applying to Thunder Bay because I need to stay close to Toronto (within driving distance).
I'm hoping to do exactly what you're doing - get into the HBSW and really boost my grades further, then hopefully land an OGS! Fingers crossed.
 

I would also recommend applying to Thunder Bay campus. It's an extra $30. I don't know a lot about Orillia, but I know the classes are bigger and half of the professors are not permanent, which can make a difference. I also know that the winter classes are on-line. I will say the summer and fall were INSANE, but like I said, my nose was glued to my book from day one, and I started reading before classes began. With my dedication to studying, I am pulling a 4.0 right now in a really intense program, which will put me in a wonderful position when I apply for my MSW, and for OGS applications as well.