Fall 2017 Applicants

[mcfall17]

On 10/26/2016 at 1:57 AM, qt_dnvr said:

I was told this was how they make their funding decision, so its a mini-fafsa so to speak I tried to be ethical and honest: I have a certain amount saved, plan to work, and then the remainder will be financed. I included grants I was applying to to show I that I am very sincerely in need of aid and have a realistic and mature understanding of how to finance my graduate education. I ventured that unlike the FAFSA where you want your number to be 0, you want to show you are actively looking for aid, leveraging all of your resources, and still have substantial need. 

But that was my approach. I might get bitten for it, we'll see.

That's super helpful! Thanks!

[esimanon]

Hello All - I'm a second year at a UC Master of Social Welfare program. Let me know if you have any questions about the application process. Also, feel free to check out the google docs I created below that give a summary of the skills/experience of applicants

[qt_dnvr]

On 10/27/2016 at 11:04 AM, schleca said:

Thanks for the response! I know it's a shot in the dark. 

Yes- urbanitism is real, and it is my issue as well. I am fairly under the city spell and committed to studying and working in metropolitan areas. 

For anyone looking now or in the future, I did end up making a massive list of schools to compare out-of-state tuition. There are a number at 20k+ around the country. The only school (as of Fall 2016) I found in a large city for 15k/year or less was Georgia State in Atlanta. I'm still a bit unfamiliar with the program, but there it is. (As a disclaimer, I am not only selecting schools based on tuition, as tuition is really only part of anyone's decision making process. But since I am now pretty much out of state everywhere, I was trying to decide on a couple financially 'safe' schools). 

Just realized I forgot a college in my own city. Metro State University of Denver is offering an MSW as of a few years ago, and I believe colorado is one of those weird states where you can get in state your 2nd year.

[HaleyWantstobeaTherapist]

On 10/27/2016 at 1:04 PM, schleca said:

Thanks for the response! I know it's a shot in the dark. 

Yes- urbanitism is real, and it is my issue as well. I am fairly under the city spell and committed to studying and working in metropolitan areas. 

For anyone looking now or in the future, I did end up making a massive list of schools to compare out-of-state tuition. There are a number at 20k+ around the country. The only school (as of Fall 2016) I found in a large city for 15k/year or less was Georgia State in Atlanta. I'm still a bit unfamiliar with the program, but there it is. (As a disclaimer, I am not only selecting schools based on tuition, as tuition is really only part of anyone's decision making process. But since I am now pretty much out of state everywhere, I was trying to decide on a couple financially 'safe' schools). 

May I ask, what schools in large cities did you find that were around 20k?

[schleca]

13 hours ago, HaleyWantstobeaTherapist said:

May I ask, what schools in large cities did you find that were around 20k?

Yep! As long as I was reading tuition charts correctly,  Rhode Island College, Portland State University, San Francisco State University, Chicago State University, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Wisconsin Madison, and Metropolitan State University of Denver all hover somewhere between 18-24k/year for out of state tuition. There are definitely more! I omitted searching in states I would not want to live or study in, which is about 20-25 states, and limited my search to fairly sizeable metropolitan areas. I also omitted programs that did not have some sort of macro option. 

As a side note, if you are not concerned about living in a city, and especially if you are interested in a rural-focused program, there are some much better financial options, and the list is long for more 'affordable' out-of-state options. For instance, Colorado State University in Fort Collins participates in WICHE/WRPG, available to residents of multiple western states. This allows you to pay resident tuition, which is quite low. The catch is that Fort Collins is quite small, and their program appears very rural-focused. (I found a number of programs like this, but couldn't be bothered to record all of them, as I am unwilling to leave behind my public transit, chaotic big cities and populations I really want to work with).

On 10/29/2016 at 7:11 PM, qt_dnvr said:

Just realized I forgot a college in my own city. Metro State University of Denver is offering an MSW as of a few years ago, and I believe colorado is one of those weird states where you can get in state your 2nd year.

Thanks! Go Colorado! I didn't know about that but I am already applying there. That is super helpful, and definitely worth looking into for criteria to qualify for in-state. Double thanks!

P.S. I have some coding skills, and I am considering building a simple app that compares tuition prices in the states, especially out-of-state. I was really impressed by the difficulty of searching for seemingly simple data-points for financial comparison. Maybe I'll do it in my spare time waiting for admission decisions to come in... unless someone else knows about a super cool comparison resource I missed. 

[Racket]

I got scared that I wont be accepted anywhere and decided to add more schools to my list. I am applying to NYU, Columbia, Hunter College, Fordham, and USC's online program. Hopefully *someone* lets me in? 

[postgradpanicker]

On 10/31/2016 at 4:21 PM, schleca said:

P.S. I have some coding skills, and I am considering building a simple app that compares tuition prices in the states, especially out-of-state. I was really impressed by the difficulty of searching for seemingly simple data-points for financial comparison. Maybe I'll do it in my spare time waiting for admission decisions to come in... unless someone else knows about a super cool comparison resource I missed. 

Peterson's is a great resource for getting a big-picture idea of the school (tuition, student demographics, acceptance rate, etc.) and
GraduatePrograms.com is easy to navigate and has more succinct information on the data points but also lets current students review, so you get a better idea of the day-to-day.

A side-by-side comparison program would be undoubtedly helpful, though.

[radicalroyalty]

Hi! So far I'm planning on applying to Wayne State, University of Michigan, Columbia, and Hunter.

[Slim22sworker]

On Monday, October 10, 2016 at 1:14 PM, leftytaketwo said:

I'm in California, so I plan to stay local. CSULB, CSDH, CSUF, and possibly UCLA and USC.

Me 2..have you started your application?

[Slim22sworker]

On 9/20/2016 at 6:23 PM, TAN_491 said:

Hi! I'll be applying to CSULB, USC, and CSULA.

Good Luck....I am applying to CSULB, CSUF, CSUDH and CSUN.  Have you turn in your application yet? Let keep each other updates....Goodluck again!

[jessieheck]

On 10/27/2016 at 0:04 PM, schleca said:

Thanks for the response! I know it's a shot in the dark. 

Yes- urbanitism is real, and it is my issue as well. I am fairly under the city spell and committed to studying and working in metropolitan areas. 

For anyone looking now or in the future, I did end up making a massive list of schools to compare out-of-state tuition. There are a number at 20k+ around the country. The only school (as of Fall 2016) I found in a large city for 15k/year or less was Georgia State in Atlanta. I'm still a bit unfamiliar with the program, but there it is. (As a disclaimer, I am not only selecting schools based on tuition, as tuition is really only part of anyone's decision making process. But since I am now pretty much out of state everywhere, I was trying to decide on a couple financially 'safe' schools). 

Schleca - Would you mind sharing your list with me? I am working on doing a lot of the same comparison's it sounds like you have already done.

[green_dots21]

I applied to Loyola University Chicago. My application was completed on Halloween, so I should hear back within 6-8 weeks of that date. I'm going to give it until the first week of January since it's the holiday season.

Working on USC, University of Washington - Seattle, and University of Michigan. So much $$ for these darn applications!

[leftytaketwo]

On 11/18/2016 at 9:08 PM, Slim22sworker said:

Me 2..have you started your application?

Hi there, 

In the process, just completed my first personal statement. How's it going for you?

[Slim22sworker]

On 11/27/2016 at 9:00 PM, leftytaketwo said:

Hi there, 

In the process, just completed my first personal statement. How's it going for you?

Good...im just waiting for response..i summited all november 1st. Now is a waiting game.   May i ask, how much job experience you have cause i feel that, this is my weakness.

[qt_dnvr]

I submitted for UChicagos early deadline. Should hear by February 15th- though it looks in results that people heard as early as mid January.

Waiting begins!

[wagne846]

I'm applying to the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College. My final recommendation just went in! My personal statement is a mess though.

[HaleyWantstobeaTherapist]

Anybody else applying to Smith? I just finished my first draft of the essay. The questions are so specific, I really hope I answered them fully. 

[YogaGal]

6 hours ago, HaleyWantstobeaTherapist said:

Anybody else applying to Smith? I just finished my first draft of the essay. The questions are so specific, I really hope I answered them fully. 

Hi there! I am applying to Smith. The questions are very specific and hard. I have rough draft for questions 1, 2, and 5. Struggling with 3 and 4.

[green_dots21]

Anyone else applying to University of Southern California and concerned about the price? 

[TAN_491]

On 11/21/2016 at 4:08 PM, Slim22sworker said:

Good Luck....I am applying to CSULB, CSUF, CSUDH and CSUN.  Have you turn in your application yet? Let keep each other updates....Goodluck again!

Yes I have, but I decided to just apply to USC. I turned in my applications about a month ago. How about you?

[Slim22sworker]

On 11/30/2016 at 8:52 PM, TAN_491 said:

Yes I have, but I decided to just apply to USC. I turned in my applications about a month ago. How about you?

I did. i summited to all 4 school on November 1st. Good Luck my Friend.

[qt_dnvr]

Now that apps are in I'm trying to brainstorm my "plan b" (these wheels just don't stop spinning). I'm in a good corporate job but I would still very much like to relocate- maybe I could try to get some experience in the field with a 1st level addictions counselor certificate? Do overnight supervision work for very little $?  What would you do if you had to wait a year or apply to lower tier programs?

[HaleyWantstobeaTherapist]

4 hours ago, qt_dnvr said:

Now that apps are in I'm trying to brainstorm my "plan b" (these wheels just don't stop spinning). I'm in a good corporate job but I would still very much like to relocate- maybe I could try to get some experience in the field with a 1st level addictions counselor certificate? Do overnight supervision work for very little $?  What would you do if you had to wait a year or apply to lower tier programs?

I've always figured I would look into working in an Americorps Public Allies program. Check it out, it's pretty relevant to our field because you are basically placed in a non-profit for 10 months and working for a stipend.

http://www.publicallies.org/site/c.liKUL3PNLvF/b.2775815/k.20E5/BE_AN_ALLY.htm

[qt_dnvr]

27 minutes ago, HaleyWantstobeaTherapist said:

I've always figured I would look into working in an Americorps Public Allies program. Check it out, it's pretty relevant to our field because you are basically placed in a non-profit for 10 months and working for a stipend.

http://www.publicallies.org/site/c.liKUL3PNLvF/b.2775815/k.20E5/BE_AN_ALLY.htm

 

I have a big issue with Americorps and the lack of of a living wage. I hear you're allowed to take outside employment now but 1300-1800/month is pretty harsh for full time work, and seems to encourage service-tourism from people of privilege versus developing leadership in the communities most affected.

[qt_dnvr]

Sorry full grump bucket in effect last night. Let me re-frame, I don't think I could personally live on that amount for a year, even with my partner's help.

SSA sent me a holiday card today by email- which was so very nice of them, and also a little terrifying that I would have an email this soon.