MSW Application Questions

[lbb88]

Hi, everyone. I am looking to apply for MSW programs for Fall 2016. Although it is some time away still, I have started doing some preliminary research. I came up with a few questions about the application process.

 

1. In terms of lowest program cost, is an in state public university pretty much always your best bet? I was wondering how often out of state public and private universities provide tuition assistance for MSW programs.

 

2. How many schools do most applicants apply to? (I realize there will be a broad range.)

 

3. Is there anywhere to find statistics about MSW program acceptance rates?

 

 

Thank you!

[Stupid Guns]

Hi Ibb88.

I'll do my best to answer your questions.

1. My guess is that generally speaking in state tuition will be the cheapest. However, numerous variables, such as where you are applying, your personal financial situation, and your competitiveness as an applicant, may affect whether you receive any need based financial aid or merit based scholarships/grants.

2. I am personally applying to three schools. I was applying to a fourth as a safety school, but I already received an acceptance to my top choice so I don't think I'm going to finish that application.

3. I used this web site. It seemed to have good data.

http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/searchresults.aspx?id=OWI0YTBmMzQtMTMzMC00YzI0LTk0MzgtNzcxYjlmN2Y4MTVk

[lbb88]

Thank you! The Petersons site was helpful- well, you know, as much as those sort of sites can be. But I found it useful to see some admissions statistics to get a feel for what programs seem to be more/less selective.

 

I am planning on applying to three state schools, one private school, and one of of state school that gives a reduced tuition rate for my state of residency. I guess I am a little nervous because I don't have a BSW. I definitely don't think this is a tremendous barrier to a future in social work, but at the same time I might be an atypical applicant.

 

Congrats on getting accepted to your top choice school! What a great achievement.

[SocialWaiter]

Things may be different for where you live, but from my research, in-state schools tend to be a better deal vs. private & out-of-state schools.  There's another thread in this forum where someone makes some really good points.

 

For example, in California, some Cal State Universities are around $16,000 for 2 years (tuition).

 

University of California (Berkeley and UCLA) can be closer to $42,000.

 

Private schools can be $40,000 and up.  USC is around $92,000 from what I remember.

 

The out-of-state schools I looked at were around $40,000 - $60,000+.

 

 

You should contact the schools you're interested in for more details...some financial aid is available (scholarships, tuition reimbursement, etc..), but my guess is they are limited.  Some require you to commit to working for a certain state agency 1-2 years.

 

Someone else mentioned in another post some really good points.  If you were going to med school, law school, business school, etc...then your ROI makes sense to go to a prestigious, expensive program.  But if you're going for social work, you have to be realistic.  It's up to you to decide how much debt you want to be in after you graduate. 

 

 

Regarding statistics...some schools post info on their website regarding acceptance rate and number of applicants.  If they don't, try contact the respective admissions officer from a school. I emailed a few schools and they gave me accurate numbers....such as one Cal State last year received over 1,200 applicants and only accepted around 250.  Another school I asked said they get 400 applicants and only accept 100.  Another big school said they got around 600 applicants and accepted nearly half.

 

So contact a school and hopefully they'll give you some info to help you decide how many schools you should apply to and what your chances are.  Good luck.

[pickfights]

OP i'm in a similar situation! Would love to hear people's feedback on a good number of schools to apply to. For undergrand i think i applied to 8 but for MSW i was thinking 4-5. 

[Nochal]

My sense is that most folks apply to 3-5 schools. It'd be interesting to see statistics on this though. 

[MermaidturnedMSW]

I applied to 3. From my experience most people apply to 1-4 programs. 

[hyronomus4]

For me, I did an advanced standing MSW and the program length of the programs varried.  The fastest I could get my degree in-state was 18 months.  Even though in-state was cheaper per year I went to a program out of state that I could finish in one school year and saved money.  At my school they didn't offer much in terms of scholarships and most of the deadlines were before you actually found out if you were accepted so for a one year thing they were pretty useless.   

 

When I got my MSW I applied to 1 school and thankfully I got in.  At the time I wasn't concerned because I was working at a job I loved so if I didn't get in I would have just just waited a year and applied to more the next year.  Most of my friends applied to 3 but I'm sure it just depends how competitive the programs you're applying to are.  

[BunnyMeadows]

Some schools list their acceptance rates. I believe that Tulane accepts 85% of applicants. State schools seem to be all over the place..I recently asked one school about acceptance rates and the answer was, "we're trying to increase our enrollment."

I'm applying to 7 schools.