kurkz Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 Hi all! I am flying in from New York from March 20-25th if anyone around the area would like to meet up! I do not know anyone from the school and have a few friends in San Diego. I would really love to meet some of my potential MSW cohorts and adventure around the area! Let me know if anyone is interested! yayyyyyy!
SocialWaiter Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 Hi all! I am flying in from New York from March 20-25th if anyone around the area would like to meet up! I do not know anyone from the school and have a few friends in San Diego. I would really love to meet some of my potential MSW cohorts and adventure around the area! Let me know if anyone is interested! yayyyyyy! If you don't find anyone in your cohort, my ex gf is in the program and she's friendly--so if you want, I can ask her. She's on campus (for classes) on Tue & Thurs. She probably would be willing to introduce you to her friends and answer any questions you may have. In regards to adventures...there's lots to do and see. We sympathize with all of you in the East Coast dealing with cold winters and excessive snow storms. So enjoy your visit to LA & San Diego. If you have access to a vehicle during your visit, here are some fun suggestions - http://www.discoverlosangeles.com/blog/100-free-things-do-los-angeles-free-activities
Sarah.aj09 Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 I just applied for the Summer 2015 cohort. I am so nervous and excited. Anyone applying from the East Coast for the VAC program? MSWHopeful000 1
kurkz Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 Has anyone heard about financial aid yet or have an idea of when we will receive this information from the school?!
asdghasdghsjdgas Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 nope still waiting on my financial aid package.
dreamcatcher725 Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 all the financial aid info is basically the same. so you have whatever you got for the scholarship, 20k federal loans, and you can get a graduate PLUS loan for the total cost of attendance for the year. that's what people usually use to live off of. I got work study from another school, but I already have a job so I would reject that. that's about all we get in grad school.
MSWHopeful000 Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) I just applied for the Summer 2015 cohort. I am so nervous and excited. Anyone applying from the East Coast for the VAC program? I am! But I may try to transfer over to the in person program if they let me and if I am accepted. Edited March 19, 2015 by MSWHopeful000
asdghasdghsjdgas Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 is it common to get work-study awards from USC? i figured i'd have to take out the PLUS loan anyway to cover the remaining cost, so i'm hoping i get some more scholarships lol
ajcafe Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 Hello all! I just received my acceptance to USC's San Diego campus. Is anyone familiar with what the differences are between the SD and LA campuses? How does cost of living compare?
alex bo balex Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 (edited) Just got an email from them saying they don't have any of my transcripts. Meaning...they lost them, since I sent them in December/January. : / I'm annoyed, because there's a cost associated with re-sending the transcripts that I don't feel like dealing with (again), and I likely wouldn't have accepted an offer from USC anyway since I was accepted somewhere else (that's much more affordable)....but, it would have been nice for my application to not be a total waste of time and money, and at least find out if they were going to accept me or not. Anyway. I guess it doesn't really matter. Anyone else have their transcripts lost by USC? (FTR, I sent them to the address listed on their FAQ page: University of Southern California Office of Graduate Admissions University Park Campus Los Angeles, CA 90028-0915 but the address they gave me in the email is totally different: University of Southern California USC Office of Graduate Admissions3601 South Flower StreetRoom 112 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0915 I wrote to them to clarify--but for anyone planning on applying, I'd be cautious about using the MSW FAQ address. ) Edited March 25, 2015 by alex bo balex
alex bo balex Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 Just got off the phone with them--they're "aware of the error" on the MSW FAQ page and "working to correct it ASAP", but any transcripts send to that address are lost. So as a heads up....if you sent them there, you'll have to pay to have transcripts re-sent.
jasminei24 Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 I applied at the beginning of February, and just got an email yesterday that my application was complete and currently awaiting faculty review. I have no idea how I'm going to wait for the next 2-4 months for a decision!
ajcafe Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 @jasmine - you will probably hear within a week or two. I got that same email last week and got my admission email on Friday. Don't worry! @alex - thanks for the heads up! I also had some issues with one of my transcripts which was very frustrating.
kurkz Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 This totally happened to me also!!!! I put that exact address and my transcripts were lost for about a month. I finally talked to a student and she went on a hunt to find mine...luckily she did! I can't remember where that address was posted but that is 100% what happened to me! quote name="alex bo balex" post="1058260342" timestamp="1427300303"]Just got an email from them saying they don't have any of my transcripts. Meaning...they lost them, since I sent them in December/January. : / I'm annoyed, because there's a cost associated with re-sending the transcripts that I don't feel like dealing with (again), and I likely wouldn't have accepted an offer from USC anyway since I was accepted somewhere else (that's much more affordable)....but, it would have been nice for my application to not be a total waste of time and money, and at least find out if they were going to accept me or not. Anyway. I guess it doesn't really matter. Anyone else have their transcripts lost by USC? (FTR, I sent them to the address listed on their FAQ page: University of Southern California Office of Graduate Admissions University Park Campus Los Angeles, CA 90028-0915 but the address they gave me in the email is totally different: University of Southern California USC Office of Graduate Admissions3601 South Flower StreetRoom 112 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0915 I wrote to them to clarify--but for anyone planning on applying, I'd be cautious about using the MSW FAQ address. )
kurkz Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 I visited USC Tuesday! I decided that the best way for all future MSW students at USC to connect would be through Facebook! I created the group "USC MSW cohort Fall 2015"! I did this because I wanted to see how others from not the California area are making this happen (costs, housing, etc) YAYYYY FUTURE TROJANSSSS!
asdghasdghsjdgas Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 @kurkz can you tell us a little bit about your impression of the USC campus?
kurkz Posted March 29, 2015 Posted March 29, 2015 Of course! USC is right in the middle of LA. This means, if you are not living close to campus, you will be in traffic ALL THE TIME....but hey thats Cali! The area around the school is....interesting...but this should not take away from the school itself. If anything, the environment around the campus is an eye opener and great to see...especially going into social work. The campus takes up most of the area...it is quite large but also small enough that you will not be lost or having to take the bus to a different side of the campus (this is usually not the case for bigger schools such as University of Michigan). You have campus and then you have student housing all around the campus. Outside of this area, there is a ghettoish kind of side and a large homeless population on the other. Who are we to judge though? Everyone needs a place to live and everyone is doing the best they can. On the further outskirts (7 minute drive or less) you actually come into a pretty cool/funky area. It is the downtown area of LA....you can tell that people are really working on restoring this area....it is working quite well....lots of lofts, nifty old buildings, coffee shops.....it seems that quite a few students live in this area! One thing to note is that EVERYONE is biking and long boarding....I think this is because people will live in downtown and it is so much cheaper to just bike onto campus. There are literally bikes EVERYWHERE....which is pretty cool The campus itself is BEAUTIFUL. There are parking garages, makes parking very easy for students, on the outsides of the campus. When you enter into campus, all of the buildings are pretty central to the middle. There is a middle campus that is full of grass, beautiful buildings, student tables doing campaigns and things, palm trees, coffee shop, bookstore, food....etc. a lot of the buildings are built off of this. The Social Work building is very very close to this area. The social work building is very nice and you can tell that it is updated. I met quite a few current students in the program and they had wonderful things to say! I would say, going to USC and seeing it first hand was the best decision I made. I got to meet with professors and students and see how I would fit into the program. Some things I noticed: The students that go to USC are VERY diverse (it does not seem like you can classify a "typical" USC student), everyone is very friendly, everyone is very happy. Before I visited USC I read a bunch of things about the campus...such as...."everyone is rich" "everyone is beautiful" "the price tag for the school is not worth it" "the area outside of campus is gross".... I will say, everyone is not rich. The school is very difficult to get into, you have to be smart NOT rich. Some students (a lot) have money but it really does not seem like they sit there and flaunt it. Not everyone is "beautiful" whatever that means....everyone is happy and really seems to genuinely like their school. The price tag is high because it is a private school. I was concerned about this at first. I really had to see if I would be successful after completing this program. After meeting with a professor in the macro field, USC is the only place to go. I have spoke to many local's, current students, and people who have even gone to UCLA. The resources that USC has are the best of the best in California. I have heard this from multiple people....when you become a Trojan, you almost join a family that wants to see you succeed. For me, I loved the macro program. They help you build a business, start a non-profit, or do WHATEVER it is that YOU want to do. They are able to give you tools and resources to succeed. On top of this, they really allow you to grow and work with them. The professors want to help you and want to give you extra support. I asked how hard it is to drop below a 3.0. It was stated that you would really have to be trying to fail to drop that low. The MSW program at USC seems to be the right fit for people who want to have support, be prepared for the real world, and know what they want in life. This program is rooted in advocacy but also has a huge stance in research. USC seems to have it all if you can push your own self and make it happen! -Let me know if you have any other questions @kurkz can you tell us a little bit about your impression of the USC campus?
asdghasdghsjdgas Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 omg THANK YOU so much @kurkz!! as someone who has committed to USC and who is looking to do macro social work, it's so gratifying to hear that they have a great infrastructure for it. SO EXCITED!!!! have you committed? what are you looking to do?
kurkz Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 @theatricalmadi No problem! I actually am very interested in global women's rights. I had to visit USC to make sure that I was going to be able to follow through with this passion of mine. If I am paying this much for school, I have to make sure that there are connections outside of USC linked to feminist activism. It seems that USC is very helpful in allowing you to grow within your area of interest. Although the area I am looking to go into is quite a bit smaller, it seems that I can really help make this movement stronger and connect with masters students in different programs! After speaking with a professor, I explained that I want to work on building a non-profit incorporating war, photography, film, and women's rights! She explained that this year they just started working with digital arts and activism and that this would be an awesome opportunity that they would help me grow. Very exciting! i think one thing people forget when going into MSW, especially macro, you have to pay for connections and opportunity. I can easily get a MSW from a local school but that is not going to help me grow as a person or give me the tools to change the world. Who knows? USC might not be my best fit BUT a lot of it comes down to, how much effort are you putting in? How much are you willing to give up to make your dreams come true? END RANT. Anyway, I am signing my life away to USC today Anyone who wants to connect.....USC MSW Cohort Fall 2015.....Facebook
kurkz Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 Good choice on not choosing UMich or Columbia! It is cold here in New York and even colder in Michigan (where I grew up) Some days it is difficult to make it to class because you have fear of turning into a snowman or being blown away!
asdghasdghsjdgas Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 i'm trying to find the FB page but i'm not having any luck... is there any way you could link it here?
kurkz Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 https://m.facebook.com/groups/1391444617841313?tsid=0.3438770684879273&source=typeahead
ctb11 Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Thanks for all the great info @kurkz! Anyone else still waiting on a decision? I called the office last week to make sure my transcripts were through after the posts on here about wrong addresses (mine aren't lost, thank god). I also asked how long I should expect and they said 2-4 months! Seems so late to me, hopefully they're just overestimating.
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