Boston College SSW, Fall 2016

[morningjunky]

Hey everyone!

Really excited to see you all this fall! Is anyone in the Social Innovation (Macro) concentration? 

The Financial Aid Office finally got back to me and they informed me our financial aid packages/awards will be available online in early April. The website says around April 5th, so probably the first week. We will receive an email alerting us to log onto Agora in order to see what sorts of packages we received (loans, work-study, etc.).

Edited March 16, 2016 by morningjunky
grammatical errors

[senseless_panic]

19 hours ago, Denise Lee said:

Hi everyone!!

I put down my deposit and am super excited to attend in the fall and to meet all of you

@senseless_panic I received my official letter maybe about 3-4 days after the email. When I got my formal letter, the letter behind it was my scholarship letter. I was very fortunate and was able to negotiate my scholarship and they're paying almost all of my tuition!

@Denise Lee would you mind sharing how you went about negotiating your scholarship? I need to appeal but don't know where to begin/who to talk to/how to go about it at all!

[jellybean919]

Hi everyone! BC was my first choice and they were able to match my NYU scholarship so I am almost certain I'll be attending!! Really really excited! 

I'm planning on pursuing the micro track and I'm interested in medical social work. 

[jellybean919]

@senseless_panic not sure if someone already responded to you privately, but I directly wrote to Bill Howard, the assistant dean of admissions, and explained to him that BC was my absolute first choice, but had received such and such scholarship offers from Columbia and NYU, and was not financially equipped to pay full tuition at this time. In less than 24 hours he offered to match the higher of the two! I'm also planning on applying to outside scholarships, and possibly GAs. Anything helps!

[KatePurpleOrchids]

@Denise Leeand @jellybean919 looking forward to meeting you two soon! I am so antsy for school to start.

@senseless_panic I wouldn't hesitate to shoot them an email or give them a call, especially if you are pressed for time. 

@morningjunkythanks for the update!

[KatePurpleOrchids]

Have any of you been in touch with your fieldship advisors yet? I met with mine on Thursday and thought she was really nice and helpful. 

[morningjunky]

Received an email to my BC email that my 2016-2017 Financial Award was complete. Basically the scholarship I received and the max amount for the subsidized loan ($20,500). I was hoping for work-study as well, but looks like I'll apply for GAs in the coming months!

[TeaTime23]

@KatePurpleOrchids Did you end up finding a few places for your internship? I just talked with my advisor on the phone and it was helpful but it seems that all the eating disorder clinics that I was interested in only take second year applicants. What have you found? It is difficult for me because most of the places are far away from where I will be living and I won't have access to a car/do not want to be walking around Boston especially at night time. This process is already stressing me out!

[KatePurpleOrchids]

Hey @Teatime123. First year placements are notoriously limited for all SW students no matter what school you go to because many medical insurance companies only accept bills when second year students apply services, so many organizations don't want first years because it essentially means they can't bill for services. The goal of the first year, though, isn't to hone in on your specialty but just to gain exposure to the field. I have heard so many stories of people starting SW school thinking they were interested in one thing and then they got placed somewhere their first year that was outside their interest and they ended up really developing a love for that area, so my suggestion is just to be open this year to having your interests change. Unfortunately, you have more options if you have access to a car, but I there are some places that are accessible by public transportation. St. Francis House is one that I know of, and I know people who are employed there who are very happy. It's a homeless shelter that deals with all kinds of clients, from the mentally ill to addicts to people just down on their luck, so you would get a lot of exposure to different issues and become familiar with the various services out there that can help people. It's like a 30 second walk off the Chinatown stop on the Orange line. 

Another thing to be aware of is that Boston is a very bike-friendly city for most of the year. Once it gets really cold, you'll want to Uber it, but because the internships are just two days a week, it might not be too horribly expensive. 

[TeaTime23]

@KatePurpleOrchidsThank you for the advice! I'm definitely going to go into this a lot more open minded than I had originally planned on, I had no idea about the insurance aspect so thanks for letting me know! I think I'll be looking into a bike too and it will be nice that its only twice a week if I am in an agency that is difficult to get to by transportation. 

[KatePurpleOrchids]

Hey all,

Are any of you going to the reception for newly accepted students on May 9? I just put in my RSVP. 

[jellybean919]

@KatePurpleOrchids I'll be there! Looking forward to meeting you  

Has everyone who's out of state found a place to live? I've been religiously Craigslisting, but have yet to get a response. If anyone is looking for a clean female roommate, I am your woman! Private message me if interested.  

[morningjunky]

38 minutes ago, jellybean919 said:

@KatePurpleOrchids I'll be there! Looking forward to meeting you  

Has everyone who's out of state found a place to live? I've been religiously Craigslisting, but have yet to get a response. If anyone is looking for a clean female roommate, I am your woman! Private message me if interested.  

Did you make an account on BC Off Campus Housng? I created an account two months ago and have been emailed by 5-7 prospective roommates. 

[jellybean919]

15 hours ago, morningjunky said:

Did you make an account on BC Off Campus Housng? I created an account two months ago and have been emailed by 5-7 prospective roommates. 

Thanks for the tip! I think I had set up a bio early on and never activated it. Did you find a match?

[morningjunky]

21 hours ago, jellybean919 said:

Thanks for the tip! I think I had set up a bio early on and never activated it. Did you find a match?

Yes! A few sent me photos via email while others were looking at securing a new apartment/lease for the upcoming school year. Your best bet is through there. I actually have a friend who lives in Boston so we are finding an apartment in early to mid July. 

[Artista]

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Edited July 11, 2016 by Artista