Decision Making Fall 2017

[Amanda87]

Hi everyone! I wanted to start a thread specifically regarding decision about MSW programs and picking between multiple offers. I thought it would be nice to have a place for this, specifically for the MSW folks (and I hope someone else hasn't already started a thread like this). 

My current decision is really going to come down to picking between Boston College and Salem State University. I got a really generous scholarship offer from Wheelock College last night for $20,000 total in scholarship money (total for the degree program), but that still would mean WC would be more expensive than SSU. I like SSU's program a lot better. So I can safely say I've eliminated WC.

On the other hand, Boston College is my favorite, but Salem State is a very, very close second. I think (I hope) I have a good shot at an assistantship at SSU, which would be the best-case scenario. I've also decided I would need to have a pretty big scholarship offer from BC to make it affordable. I feel as if I can wait out BC until next Monday before I need to start really panicking. BC sends an email notification first and then mails a scholarship letter after the email, so I wouldn't know for probably another week after getting an email about financial aid. I'd say BC has a slim chance of meeting my needed merit scholarship, but I have read where what I would need has been offered. If I haven't heard by next week, maybe Wednesday, should I accept SSU? I know I may have an option for an extension from SSU, but I don't want to ask until I know I need to, and even then they might say no.  I guess I'm just looking for any feedback here.

Please also write in with your decision making process! This forum has been really helpful for the past few months!

[alisham]

For me, everything comes down to aid.  I haven't heard back from my in-state school, regarding financial aid.  UConn does offer need-based grants at a graduate level and I've heard a few people say that they covered most of their grad tuition with these grants.  UConn's social work program only offers graduate assistantships to PhD students, so that wouldn't be an option for me.  They also don't seem to offer much in the way of scholarships.  So, the only way I'll do UConn is if I'm offered substantial grants.

Boston College, on the other hand, has offered me a scholarship that covers 75% of my tuition. I'd still have to take out about 10,000 in loans per year for the rest of the tuition and more for the high cost of living.  Then again, Boston College seems to have a great program (so does UConn, though) with so many opportunities for amazing internships.  I'm also slightly sick of CT (there's very little to do here) and would love to live somewhere else.

Assuming UConn covers most of my tuition, I would have to make a big decision because while I love BC's program, UConn's is more convenient. Not only would I not have to go through the trouble of moving, I also have a few more connections here.  I've volunteered at a few programs run by social service agencies in the city where UConn's SW school is located.  My current job is as a preschool teacher in one of the school readiness programs funded by a huge agency that offers so many services, so I already have an in here if I choose to pursue a different role after grad school.  I also know someone who works as a LCSW in a mental health clinic in Hartford and she tells me that bilingual social workers are in hot demand there. 

All this is to say that I have no idea what I'm going to do yet and I'm still waiting for offers from two more schools.  My pros and cons list are getting huge.

Edited February 17, 2017 by alisham

[MSWnyc94]

I applied to Lehman, NYU, Fordham, and Hunter. I've been accepted to NYU and Fordham. I'm waiting for Hunter's decision and really just applied to Lehman as a back up school. I keep going back and forth on NYU and Fordham and have no idea which one i should go for. 

I know I would go to Hunter if they accept me but i don't have high hopes since i know the program is very competitive.That's why i've decided to pick between NYU and Fordham until i receive a decision from Hunter.

Fordham is cheaper and still a great program but so is NYU although it's about 6,000 more per year. However, I'm interested in a clinical concentration and know NYU's focus is clinical. Then again, Fordham also has a good clinical concentration. Ahhh I don't know what to do

[Amanda87]

I think that's all great ways to make your decisions. I actually made mine officially on Saturday. It was so funny, I was so, so anxious about making this decision and hearing from BC. I finally heard from BC on Friday, which I was thrilled about, but then I knew I wanted to go to Salem State. I had been agonizing over the decision for about a month and a half, making pro/con lists, etc. A lot of it was a financial decision, even though I don't know what BC has offered me yet. I think I'll get some offer of a merit scholarship, but I doubt that it would make the cost of attendance cheaper than Salem State. I also think I have a good shot at an assistantship at SSU. 

There was that, and the two schools for me were really close as far as which I preferred. I had a really great talk with a friend about all of this and he pointed out that while I was trying to compare the two schools, it was hard to compare because they were so different. It was one of those things, those cliche things, where you just know when you know. Of course, no one could have convinced me that would happen before it did, and I also think I only got to that point because I did put in a lot of thought about deciding prior to finding out the BC decision.

Edited February 21, 2017 by Amanda87
clarity

[GradGoals]

On ‎2‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 9:44 PM, MSWnyc94 said:

I applied to Lehman, NYU, Fordham, and Hunter. I've been accepted to NYU and Fordham. I'm waiting for Hunter's decision and really just applied to Lehman as a back up school. I keep going back and forth on NYU and Fordham and have no idea which one i should go for. 

I know I would go to Hunter if they accept me but i don't have high hopes since i know the program is very competitive.That's why i've decided to pick between NYU and Fordham until i receive a decision from Hunter.

Fordham is cheaper and still a great program but so is NYU although it's about 6,000 more per year. However, I'm interested in a clinical concentration and know NYU's focus is clinical. Then again, Fordham also has a good clinical concentration. Ahhh I don't know what to do

You and me are in the same boat. I got accepted to NYU and I'm going to a HUNTER interview today. I'm very torn between what school I should attend. I hate that Hunter is so competitive.

[MSWnyc94]

5 hours ago, GradGoals said:

You and me are in the same boat. I got accepted to NYU and I'm going to a HUNTER interview today. I'm very torn between what school I should attend. I hate that Hunter is so competitive.

Congrats on receiving an interview!! I actually went there today to drop off my official trascript and my last recommendation was just submitted yesterday so I probably won't be hearing back for awhile. Im so scared and want to recieve an interview so badly.

If you don't mind me asking, when did you submit all your application materials and when did they invite you over for an interview? How did the interview go??

 

[green_dots21]

I wasn't offered any funding from Michigan, and I am still waiting to hear about a graduate assistantship at Loyola. It's looking like Loyola since I am already in the city and the tuition is significantly cheaper than Michigan. 

Good luck with making your final decisions! 

[GradGoals]

7 hours ago, MSWnyc94 said:

Congrats on receiving an interview!! I actually went there today to drop off my official trascript and my last recommendation was just submitted yesterday so I probably won't be hearing back for awhile. Im so scared and want to recieve an interview so badly.

If you don't mind me asking, when did you submit all your application materials and when did they invite you over for an interview? How did the interview go??

 

 

Thank you so much, I submitted my application on January 10th and all of my forms weren't in until January 23rd. I received an email for the interview on February 7th. According to the interviewer that was very quick, she said that they want to make the process fast and that we should be hearing back from them in about 7 to 10 days. 

As far as the interview went i was very nervous, I'm not sure i did as great as i could have however i just hope i did good enough to get in. She only asked us like three questions and they were based on answers that she was hearing, so it wasn't like she had questions prepared in advance to ask. The three questions she asked was, Why did we choose to study in the Clinical Track, How do we identify our self and what issues could we have going into the field based on our identity, such as race, gender ect.... and the last question she asked us was to give a time we had gotten feed back from our field supervisor and how did we take it. We also had to do a writing sample where she gave us an article and we had to write two paragraphs on what we thought the social justice issue was. In my opinion this was challenging because of the article that she gave us, i felt like there was no clear cut social justice issue to really discuss but i tried to make it work.

When you get in i would advice that you try to be relaxed as possible, be honest, open, and give other people a chance to speak don't try to steal shine from anyone. The lady told us that we are not in competition with anyone in the room there is enough space for everyone. Other than that you should be fine another thing i forgot to mention is that i am going for Advanced standing in the clinical track. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. I will let you know if i got in. I wish you the best of luck. 

[MSWnyc94]

16 hours ago, GradGoals said:

Thank you so much, I submitted my application on January 10th and all of my forms weren't in until January 23rd. I received an email for the interview on February 7th. According to the interviewer that was very quick, she said that they want to make the process fast and that we should be hearing back from them in about 7 to 10 days. 

As far as the interview went i was very nervous, I'm not sure i did as great as i could have however i just hope i did good enough to get in. She only asked us like three questions and they were based on answers that she was hearing, so it wasn't like she had questions prepared in advance to ask. The three questions she asked was, Why did we choose to study in the Clinical Track, How do we identify our self and what issues could we have going into the field based on our identity, such as race, gender ect.... and the last question she asked us was to give a time we had gotten feed back from our field supervisor and how did we take it. We also had to do a writing sample where she gave us an article and we had to write two paragraphs on what we thought the social justice issue was. In my opinion this was challenging because of the article that she gave us, i felt like there was no clear cut social justice issue to really discuss but i tried to make it work.

When you get in i would advice that you try to be relaxed as possible, be honest, open, and give other people a chance to speak don't try to steal shine from anyone. The lady told us that we are not in competition with anyone in the room there is enough space for everyone. Other than that you should be fine another thing i forgot to mention is that i am going for Advanced standing in the clinical track. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. I will let you know if i got in. I wish you the best of luck. 

Thank you so much for all the info and advice! I spoke to a student there and she was telling me how she didn't really think she did well in the interview and then they asked her for a second interview and accepted her. I'm sure you did much better than you think, don't stress it

BTW, I visited NYU today for a campus tour, loved it but the money is such a huge concern to me so I will probably turn it down. I really feel stupid turning down NYU tho, It would probably open so many doors!

Thank you and good luck as well!!

 

Edited February 24, 2017 by MSWnyc94

[GradGoals]

I hope so, NYU gives you four weeks to accept their offer and you can also email admissions for an additional four-week extension. That's what I did I want to make sure that i get into HUNTER first before i completely turn down the offer, although i would probably prefer to g to HUNTER if i don't get in I will go to NYU. 

[MSWnyc94]

12 hours ago, GradGoals said:

I hope so, NYU gives you four weeks to accept their offer and you can also email admissions for an additional four-week extension. That's what I did I want to make sure that i get into HUNTER first before i completely turn down the offer, although i would probably prefer to g to HUNTER if i don't get in I will go to NYU. 

I will probably have to ask for an extension too since i was accepted about three weeks ago. Did you apply to Fordham as well? I am leaning more towards Fordham just because I liked the campus feel and is cheaper. What made you decide on NYU and not Fordham for now?

[GradGoals]

1 hour ago, MSWnyc94 said:

I will probably have to ask for an extension too since i was accepted about three weeks ago. Did you apply to Fordham as well? I am leaning more towards Fordham just because I liked the campus feel and is cheaper. What made you decide on NYU and not Fordham for now?

 

To be honest, the only reason why I applied for NYU is because I got my application fee waived, but the only school I wanted to go to was HUNTER and I also applied to stony brook because it is cheaper as well.  I would also consider going to NYU because they  gave me a scholarship, which brings the tuition down a little. 

[MSWnyc94]

2 hours ago, GradGoals said:

To be honest, the only reason why I applied for NYU is because I got my application fee waived, but the only school I wanted to go to was HUNTER and I also applied to stony brook because it is cheaper as well.  I would also consider going to NYU because they  gave me a scholarship, which brings the tuition down a little. 

Oh okay, well thanks! and good luck with Hunter

[GradGoals]

2 hours ago, MSWnyc94 said:

Oh okay, well thanks! and good luck with Hunter

Thanks same to you 

[KruMaew]

I just submitted my deposit for Michigan! Congrats, everyone  

[Gee_]

On Thu Feb 23 2017 at 9:53 AM, GradGoals said:

You and me are in the same boat. I got accepted to NYU and I'm going to a HUNTER interview today. I'm very torn between what school I should attend. I hate that Hunter is so competitive.

Hi there, I'm editing my previous question because I re-read and realized you answered the same questions to another poster. Congrats on your interview at Hunter.  That's definitely a step closer to admission. I also noticed that you also applied to Stony Brook. Have you heard from them? I applied to Hunter college (clinical/advanced) and my application was submitted on 1/11 and completed 1/30. I am wondering if I should contact them. Oh, and I applied to Stony brook too but haven't heard from them. 

Edited February 28, 2017 by Gee_

[Bella429]

On February 20, 2017 at 9:44 PM, MSWnyc94 said:

I applied to Lehman, NYU, Fordham, and Hunter. I've been accepted to NYU and Fordham. I'm waiting for Hunter's decision and really just applied to Lehman as a back up school. I keep going back and forth on NYU and Fordham and have no idea which one i should go for. 

I know I would go to Hunter if they accept me but i don't have high hopes since i know the program is very competitive.That's why i've decided to pick between NYU and Fordham until i receive a decision from Hunter.

Fordham is cheaper and still a great program but so is NYU although it's about 6,000 more per year. However, I'm interested in a clinical concentration and know NYU's focus is clinical. Then again, Fordham also has a good clinical concentration. Ahhh I don't know what to do

I am in the exact same boat as you.  Have you made a decision yet? Any advice or insight?