NEW Canadian universities M.S.W thread (2017)

[jaylynn]

First and foremost, my fingers are crossed for all you two year applicants!

Now: this might not belong here, but I am in desperate need of advice.

It looks like I'll be attending Windsor's Advanced Standing program in May. 

Here is my problem. The school gave me a bit of money for an entrance scholarship, on the CONDITION, I do not work full-time. I was hoping to continue working full-time from May-August, and just drive up to Windsor once a week. Consequently, I purchased a used vehicle, so I could conveniently do this. Additionally, I have been paying back my former OSAP loans (more than the minimum), and now have very little money. I just reapplied for OSAP and my estimate was a joke. You would think that if I reliably paid back a large portion of my former loans, they would give me some grace. 

Anyone have any insight on what I can do in this situation? 

[2017hoping]

19 minutes ago, jaylynn said:

First and foremost, my fingers are crossed for all you two year applicants!

Now: this might not belong here, but I am in desperate need of advice.

It looks like I'll be attending Windsor's Advanced Standing program in May. 

Here is my problem. The school gave me a bit of money for an entrance scholarship, on the CONDITION, I do not work full-time. I was hoping to continue working full-time from May-August, and just drive up to Windsor once a week. Consequently, I purchased a used vehicle, so I could conveniently do this. Additionally, I have been paying back my former OSAP loans (more than the minimum), and now have very little money. I just reapplied for OSAP and my estimate was a joke. You would think that if I reliably paid back a large portion of my former loans, they would give me some grace. 

Anyone have any insight on what I can do in this situation? 

Happy to hear about the program at Windsor!  Great that you have a plan   I was just wondering, are you in the position to take out a bank loan? If you don't already have a mortgage, and have a decent credit score, you may be apply to apply for loan's...?  My sister couldn't apply for OSAP because of income situations, but got a bank loan and co-signer too; may be able to have a family member co-sign it so you can get approved too. 

Edited March 13, 2017 by 2017hoping

[KarebearSW]

Are there still any UofT advanced standing program people on this thread?  
A couple of us are wondering if anyone knows of a Facebook page for the advanced standing students?
Thanks so much.

Also, best of luck to all who continue to wait on their acceptance letters.  

[thelionking]

10 hours ago, jaylynn said:

First and foremost, my fingers are crossed for all you two year applicants!

Now: this might not belong here, but I am in desperate need of advice.

It looks like I'll be attending Windsor's Advanced Standing program in May. 

Here is my problem. The school gave me a bit of money for an entrance scholarship, on the CONDITION, I do not work full-time. I was hoping to continue working full-time from May-August, and just drive up to Windsor once a week. Consequently, I purchased a used vehicle, so I could conveniently do this. Additionally, I have been paying back my former OSAP loans (more than the minimum), and now have very little money. I just reapplied for OSAP and my estimate was a joke. You would think that if I reliably paid back a large portion of my former loans, they would give me some grace. 

Anyone have any insight on what I can do in this situation? 

Tell OSAP when you plan to become a fulltime student. You will need to send them proof of your fulltime status and then they will put your loan on pause while you are in school so you do not need to make any payments, nor will you be charged interest while you are a fulltime student.

As for your non-fulltime employment status, as long as you do not exceed 30 hours per week, you are considered a part time worker. Try to get your fulltime job down from 5 days to 4 days per week and you should be fine. If it's based on the honour system and they don't actually check, then it's your call on how you wish to handle it. 

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/concepts/definitions/labour-class03b

Also remember that tax season around the corner. If you were a fulltime student last year then you will likely get a generous tax credit this year (the same for next year when you are close to the end of your program). Of course it will depend on your personal circumstances, but it's not uncommon for students to get as much as $3000 back in taxes, not including GST cheques every 3 months

 

Edited March 14, 2017 by thelionking

[Inspired2017]

1 hour ago, KarebearSW said:

Are there still any UofT advanced standing program people on this thread?  
A couple of us are wondering if anyone knows of a Facebook page for the advanced standing students?
Thanks so much.

Also, best of luck to all who continue to wait on their acceptance letters.  

Hi, I am... I haven't found any Facebook pages specifically for advanced standing students. I did however find a page named U of T FIFSW MSW Class of 2018. 

Anyone attending the advanced standing program part time? I'm curious to know what the tuition fees will look like. 

[Shelby0314]

I just got accepted to Western's MSW program (at King's)!!!

[Inspired2017]

1 minute ago, Shelby0314 said:

I just got accepted to Western's MSW program (at King's)!!!

Congratulations!! 

[Newfor2017]

1 hour ago, Shelby0314 said:

I just got accepted to Western's MSW program (at King's)!!!

Congratulations! Is that your first choice? Will you accept that offer before hearing back from Windsor? 

I'm curious because I will be attending Windsors advanced standing program in May and am wondering if anyone else from this thread will be as well.

[Newfor2017]

 

Hey Jaylynn-congrats on accepting your placement at Windsor! Do you know anyone else attending the program? I'm curious on the demographics of the students enrolled in the advanced standing program.  I currently work part time in the field (with victims of domestic violence who have family court proceedings) but I graduated with my BSW in 1999. Are you currently working full time in the field?

 

[thelionking]

Jaylynn,

I wanted to add one last point to my comment.... You could also call up WindsorU and ask about this hypothetical situation.... If you are in your final semester and need to pay your tuition a few weeks late, will you be allowed to attend classes with an outstanding balance? During undergrad at my school, if it was not your first semester, you could have an outstanding balance all semester long. They would change a late fee of about $150 or so and you would only be allowed to register for more courses the following semester after your balance was paid off. Your grades, transcript and convocation requests would also be withheld/frozen until the account was paid off. If this is allowed, it could give you an extra 3 months or so to come up with the last semester of tuition if you really need it.

[Shelby0314]

41 minutes ago, Newfor2017 said:

Congratulations! Is that your first choice? Will you accept that offer before hearing back from Windsor? 

I'm curious because I will be attending Windsors advanced standing program in May and am wondering if anyone else from this thread will be as well.

Yes I think I will accept because it's closer for me and I think it's a good program too! Good luck at Windsor

[dallas709]

Hello!

I'm new to the thread but have been creeping it for a couple months! Haha.

I was wondering if anyone else applied to Carleton? There aren't too many posts on here about it so I wanted to check! I applied for the 2 year program as my backup in case I don't get into U of T. I was accepted into Carelton on Feb 23, but am still waiting for U of T!!

Is anyone else thinking about Carleton? To be honest I don't know too much about the program and am hoping to learn more!

[ssbbaker]

17 minutes ago, dallas709 said:

Hello!

I'm new to the thread but have been creeping it for a couple months! Haha.

I was wondering if anyone else applied to Carleton? There aren't too many posts on here about it so I wanted to check! I applied for the 2 year program as my backup in case I don't get into U of T. I was accepted into Carelton on Feb 23, but am still waiting for U of T!!

Is anyone else thinking about Carleton? To be honest I don't know too much about the program and am hoping to learn more!

Yes, I'd applied to Carleton's advanced standing and was accepted a few weeks ago with funding. However, I decided to go to U of T.

I'd originally applied to Carleton because they offer a policy specialization that was placement based. I want to do mental health policy for youth but as I read more and more about it, it seemed like the policy was more welfare-specific and didn't allow for much specialization beyond that. However, that was just my take! If you have any specific questions I *might* be able to answer them but likely not. Message if you'd like Seems to not be many other Carleton people on here.

[ssbbaker]

13 hours ago, Inspired2017 said:

Hi, I am... I haven't found any Facebook pages specifically for advanced standing students. I did however find a page named U of T FIFSW MSW Class of 2018. 

Anyone attending the advanced standing program part time? I'm curious to know what the tuition fees will look like. 

Thanks for asking @KarebearSW! And yay @Inspired2017 for knowing about this group! I just asked to join. Hoping to meet other U of T ers

Edited March 14, 2017 by ssbbaker

[Kara26]

38 minutes ago, dallas709 said:

Hello!

I'm new to the thread but have been creeping it for a couple months! Haha.

I was wondering if anyone else applied to Carleton? There aren't too many posts on here about it so I wanted to check! I applied for the 2 year program as my backup in case I don't get into U of T. I was accepted into Carelton on Feb 23, but am still waiting for U of T!!

Is anyone else thinking about Carleton? To be honest I don't know too much about the program and am hoping to learn more!

Hey! 

I completed my undergrad (BSW) at Carleton and have accepted an offer for the MSW program at Carleton as well. 

The reason I chose to go back to Carleton is mainly based on location. I live close to Ottawa and I'm familiar with Ottawa and Carleton so that was the main reason I chose to accept my offer (the scholarship they provided also weighed in on this too lol). 

I really enjoyed the social work program throughout my undergrad, and from what I've heard from my friends in the MSW program currently, they are pretty similar. Carleton follows a structural social work perspective, which can be really unique. I often doubted how structural social work can be implemented in the real world, but now that I work in the disability field I see how applicable it is. 

Carleton's School of Social Work has very friendly and helpful staff members and Carleton in general is a great school to attend! 

Has anyone else accepted an offer to Carleton? If so, I look forward to meeting you in the fall  

[dallas709]

26 minutes ago, Kara26 said:

Hey! 

I completed my undergrad (BSW) at Carleton and have accepted an offer for the MSW program at Carleton as well. 

The reason I chose to go back to Carleton is mainly based on location. I live close to Ottawa and I'm familiar with Ottawa and Carleton so that was the main reason I chose to accept my offer (the scholarship they provided also weighed in on this too lol). 

I really enjoyed the social work program throughout my undergrad, and from what I've heard from my friends in the MSW program currently, they are pretty similar. Carleton follows a structural social work perspective, which can be really unique. I often doubted how structural social work can be implemented in the real world, but now that I work in the disability field I see how applicable it is. 

Carleton's School of Social Work has very friendly and helpful staff members and Carleton in general is a great school to attend! 

Has anyone else accepted an offer to Carleton? If so, I look forward to meeting you in the fall  

Thanks for the info! I tried to familiarize myself as best as possible with the structural perspective during the application process, and I do remember thinking that it sounded very unique and interesting!  I did my undergrad at U of O (criminology) which is why I applied to Carleton. I'm living in Toronto now, but I figured that if I had to move, I would want to go back to Ottawa! I'm still not ruling it out, but want to wait to hear back from U of T as well before making a decision. I am currently working in youth mental health, and I hope that both programs could be a good fit for me!

[KarebearSW]

14 hours ago, Inspired2017 said:

Hi, I am... I haven't found any Facebook pages specifically for advanced standing students. I did however find a page named U of T FIFSW MSW Class of 2018. 

Anyone attending the advanced standing program part time? I'm curious to know what the tuition fees will look like. 

Awesome!   Thank you, Inspired2017.

[KarebearSW]

1 hour ago, ssbbaker said:

Thanks for asking @KarebearSW! And yay @Inspired2017 for knowing about this group! I just asked to join. Hoping to meet other U of T ers

I just sent a request to join also.  Thanks again!!!

[Hopeful18]

Woohoo!  I just got a call from Ryerson letting me know that I have been accepted to the grad program and an email will be sent this week with more information!!!

[dallas709]

12 minutes ago, Hopeful18 said:

Woohoo!  I just got a call from Ryerson letting me know that I have been accepted to the grad program and an email will be sent this week with more information!!!

Congrats!! That's so nice to get a call from them as well!  

[SW_Student]

23 minutes ago, Hopeful18 said:

Woohoo!  I just got a call from Ryerson letting me know that I have been accepted to the grad program and an email will be sent this week with more information!!!

Congrats!! 

 

[alyosso]

Does anyone know when Laurier will be sending out e-mails regarding your application's status?

[nicoleMSW]

3 hours ago, alyosso said:

Does anyone know when Laurier will be sending out e-mails regarding your application's status?

I don't know anything for sure, but from my understanding it is around the beginning of April

[nicoleMSW]

U of T is really killing me right now though 

[c.dizzle]

For those who have been accepted into any MSW program, what was your GPA in your last 2 years? your GPA in your final year? and your relevant experience? 

Im just curious if certain schools lean more towards academics vs experience.

Cheers.