Joy418 Posted February 7, 2016 Posted February 7, 2016 29 minutes ago, morlvera said: Ugh, it's the end of February now? February 15th was so close, but the 29th seems like ages from now. Never again will I count myself as being a patient person. I haven't visited Pittsburgh yet either, but I've heard/read it's a decent place to live. I'm hoping the social work program has an admitted students day or something. So far the public health folks have done a much better job of acting like they want me to attend. Seriously?? UGH I WANT TO KNOW NOW.
eblakes93 Posted February 7, 2016 Posted February 7, 2016 Hi all - I'm late to the party. I am working on applying to Rutgers MSW Program - Fully Online Option. I am working on my personal statement. How appropriate is it to take about self-care as I way to handle stress in the personal statement? I had a friend in a music PhD program review the statement and she said to exclude that kind of talk, but i imagined self-care would be a crucial component of a social work program and practice and thus would be okay to include. Any thoughts?
kabendt Posted February 7, 2016 Posted February 7, 2016 Hello everyone. I'm a little late to this thread. I applied to Michigan State University's (MSU) MSW Advanced Standing program and the wait is killing me! I had all my application materials in by the end of September 2015. The deadline wasn't until January 10th but I wanted to get it out of the way. So here I am now going on 5 months later and I still haven't head anything and it's driving me crazy! I'm hoping to hear by the end of this month but it could potentially be mid May (according to their website all admission decisions are made by then). However, people I know who have been accepted generally hear back in February, but knowing by luck it could be longer. Has anyone else applied to MSU? If so, have you heard anything?
ediblestranger Posted February 7, 2016 Posted February 7, 2016 31 minutes ago, eblakes93 said: Hi all - I'm late to the party. I am working on applying to Rutgers MSW Program - Fully Online Option. I am working on my personal statement. How appropriate is it to take about self-care as I way to handle stress in the personal statement? I had a friend in a music PhD program review the statement and she said to exclude that kind of talk, but i imagined self-care would be a crucial component of a social work program and practice and thus would be okay to include. Any thoughts? I agree that resiliency is a pretty important quality for social workers to have, especially for those in direct practice. I decided to mention self-care in my personal statement on the basis that showing rather than telling is generally considered a good approach. I explained how I learned to practice self-care throughout my social service experiences after initially over-extending myself by working over-time, in order to guard against compassion fatigue. I think it showed honesty and maturity and probably helped.
eblakes93 Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 1 hour ago, ediblestranger said: I agree that resiliency is a pretty important quality for social workers to have, especially for those in direct practice. I decided to mention self-care in my personal statement on the basis that showing rather than telling is generally considered a good approach. I explained how I learned to practice self-care throughout my social service experiences after initially over-extending myself by working over-time, in order to guard against compassion fatigue. I think it showed honesty and maturity and probably helped. That's helpful. I think maybe instead of talking about how I plan self-care in my program, I should talk about my self-care now and how it will extend into the program.
ediblestranger Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 14 hours ago, eblakes93 said: That's helpful. I think maybe instead of talking about how I plan self-care in my program, I should talk about my self-care now and how it will extend into the program. I would discuss not only how it will extend into the program but also social work practice. Good luck with your applications!
ljo377 Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 I don't know; I think "self care" is a term folks throw around so much it almost doesn't mean anything any more. It could maybe work as long as you have something new to say about it and aren't disclosing personal mental health details (which of course *shouldn't* be taboo, but that's the current reality of the world we're living in, especially not knowing the admissions officers). But I'd think focusing more on the actual work you've done, rather than your strategies to manage your commitments, could make a stronger essay.
ediblestranger Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 (edited) 49 minutes ago, ljo377 said: I don't know; I think "self care" is a term folks throw around so much it almost doesn't mean anything any more. It could maybe work as long as you have something new to say about it and aren't disclosing personal mental health details (which of course *shouldn't* be taboo, but that's the current reality of the world we're living in, especially not knowing the admissions officers). But I'd think focusing more on the actual work you've done, rather than your strategies to manage your commitments, could make a stronger essay. I wasn't talking about self-care in terms of coping with mental health issues, but as a way of guarding against compassion fatigue and secondary trauma, which do affect a large number of direct practice social workers. As for discussing mental health issues in the personal statement, I don't see a problem with it as long as it is done with a great deal of care and tact. As long as you can show that these issues have been overcome and will not affect your work, and you can demonstrate how it has made you a better fit for social work, then I think it's fine to include. Now I'm not saying these things should be discussed at length, but the admissions committees are looking for evidence that you will be successful in the field after all. As I understand it, listing all your strengths and not mentioning any weaknesses at all may raise a red flag. Edited February 8, 2016 by ediblestranger
MrsKozee Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 @RCtheSS @anony2888 I applied to UCLA on November 25th and have not heard anything... I called them today to make sure I don't need anything else and she said applications are still being reviewed..... I'm going crazy.
RCtheSS Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 5 minutes ago, MrsKozee said: @RCtheSS @anony2888 I applied to UCLA on November 25th and have not heard anything... I called them today to make sure I don't need anything else and she said applications are still being reviewed..... I'm going crazy. Dang, they must have received a whole bunch of applications this cycle. I also applied to the UCLA MPP program so I wonder if I'll get a decision back from both at the same time.
Joy418 Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 Pittsburgh Update--I spoke to the admissions person and she said they're still planning on getting the scholarship letters out by Feb 15th or sooner. When you gets yours might depend on when you applied, but I'm assuming everyone who got their application in by the priority deadline will get their scholarship offer soon. ediblestranger and morlvera 2
kargigogo Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 @Joy418 - thanks so much for asking about Pitt scholarships. Eagerly (and with fingers and toes crossed) waiting for that to come through! Joy418 1
Joy418 Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 Also I still haven't heard from UChicago. I was supposed to know last week...called today and left a voicemail for admissions. I think they've forgotten about me.
Joy418 Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 Ha nevermind, they must have gotten my message! Just got in RCtheSS, morlvera and fenetian 3
RCtheSS Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 Yay @Joy418!! Congrats! I'll be visiting SSA this upcoming weekend since I can't attend their official admitted students event.
Joy418 Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 2 minutes ago, RCtheSS said: Yay @Joy418!! Congrats! I'll be visiting SSA this upcoming weekend since I can't attend their official admitted students event. Let me know how it is!!
RCtheSS Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) Holy hell... so I get home from work, check my mailbox and see a letter from UT-Austin SSW! I open the letter with haste... and it's a generic letter confirming that they received my completed application, decisions go out 6-8 weeks after the deadline, yada yada. I'm sitting here wondering why they'd use snail mail to confirm something 1. I've known since January 15 and 2. I can check online. So for the hell of it, I decide to check my application status again--it's been what, 4 days since I last checked? And I see the words "Congratulations!" and "Admitted" in bold... I'm so confused. My demeanor just did a 180 completely and now I can't stop squealing! Edited February 9, 2016 by RCtheSS anony2888, morlvera and GradCafe7235 3
sugarandspice Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 4 hours ago, Joy418 said: Pittsburgh Update--I spoke to the admissions person and she said they're still planning on getting the scholarship letters out by Feb 15th or sooner. When you gets yours might depend on when you applied, but I'm assuming everyone who got their application in by the priority deadline will get their scholarship offer soon. Thanks for the info! I wish other schools were quicker about admission decisions since we have to respond back by March 15!
GradCafe7235 Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 Congrats!!! Now we're both waiting on LBJ! Fingers crossed. And yeah, that Social Work letter confused me too RCtheSS 1
RCtheSS Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 7 minutes ago, kayaker7235 said: Congrats!!! Now we're both waiting on LBJ! Fingers crossed. And yeah, that Social Work letter confused me too Woohoo, go us!! I can't wait for March 1 to arrive! GradCafe7235 1
morningjunky Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 Has anyone heard anything from CUNY Hunter in terms of scheduling an interview? I submitted my application in November (now complete) and haven't heard a peep.
leeangie Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 Thank you @tudor3x8, @morlvera and @sugarandspice for your answers about UPitt and NYU concerns. I was able to extend my deadline for NYU by 4 weeks and earned some more time to wait for other school decisions and plan out financial stuff. I hope UPitt will mail out the scholarships soon.. I am eager to find out about scholarship because I am in dire need for aid. @morningjunky, I am visiting Hunter College today because my app has been 'incomplete' for a while.. I'll ask about group interview schedules while I'm at it.
tudor3x8 Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 2 hours ago, morningjunky said: Has anyone heard anything from CUNY Hunter in terms of scheduling an interview? I submitted my application in November (now complete) and haven't heard a peep. I sent an email on January 26 asking when they may start looking at applications/starting interviews, and they said that they weren't going to start reviewing applications until the deadline (February 5). So hopefully soon!
sugarandspice Posted February 10, 2016 Posted February 10, 2016 Are you guys picking schools based on affordability? Location? Ranking? I think cost will be the biggest factor for me in the end
MrsKozee Posted February 10, 2016 Posted February 10, 2016 Location and affordability.... I applied to UCLA and USC... Crossing my fingers I get to go back to UCLA....
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