Canadian MSW Applicants 2018

[magfish]

Hey all! Wow - it's shocking how quiet this years thread is compared to the last time I applied (2015)!

Anyone else applying to the advanced entry year at Carleton? I'd love to chat about personal statements and mainly, are you writing it as a paper or just answering the questions? I never know what makes more sense!!!

[Aspiringmsw2320]

I am curious if anyone knows how Carleton U weights grades vs. experience. I’m applying to the 2-year MSW program. My gpa could be better. For the last 2 years it barely meets the minimum requirement indentified online. I have 3 years experience working in a homeless shelter, currently work as a mental health worker for CMHA, and a housing stability worker for a local addictions agency. I’m so nervous that my gpa is going to mess up my chances. 

I’m also planning to applying to Laurier, York, and maybe King’s. So any information would be much appreciated  

Best of luck everyone!

 

[Aspiringmsw2320]

18 hours ago, magfish said:

Hey all! Wow - it's shocking how quiet this years thread is compared to the last time I applied (2015)!

Anyone else applying to the advanced entry year at Carleton? I'd love to chat about personal statements and mainly, are you writing it as a paper or just answering the questions? I never know what makes more sense!!!

I applied to the 2-year MSW program at Carleton. I chose to write my personal statement as an essay as I felt that it flowed a lot better than answering the questions. I had an overall theme related to gender inequality and the unique experience of homelessness for women flowing through out the paper. 

[aesw]

If you need help with personal statements I recommend going to your school's career centre (I believe alumni of schools can use these services as well), my school had a career advisor that specialized in post graduate programs and she went through my application, both my statement of interest and CV. She really helped me develop a strong application. I would highly recommend contacting the career centre at your school or the school you graduated from!

[LP604]

Hey all! It's my first time posting here, so hi!

I did my BA in psychology (finished in 2014) and have been doing frontline work full time since then. I ultimately want to go into counselling but I've heard that the MSW route has way more options than an MA in counselling psych. 

I have applied for the 2 year MSW programs at University of Calgary and University of Toronto, and I'm working on my apps for the MSW at UBC Okanagan and the MA in counselling psych at SFU. Anybody have any info on these programs? 

Good luck everyone!

[LP604]

On 7/18/2017 at 2:28 PM, smntoronto said:

Hey GradApplicant22! 

I'm looking to apply to University of Toronto's MSW program with a specialization in mental health and health. I applied in 2015 and was waitlisted, but I feel like I haven't got much relevant experience since then. I ended up pursuing a post graduate degree in something completely unrelated out of panic because I wasn't finding a job after my undergrad. I may also apply to Waterloo's MSW program, though I'm not sure. Since I don't have a BSW my options are quite limited, but ultimately I'd like to get in somewhere with a clinical/research focus rather than a grassroots, social justice focus like York. What schools do you have your eye on? 

I've heard U of T has a pretty clinical program and I've heard similar things about UBC. I'm in the same non-BSW boat so UBC Vancouver doesn't have that option until 2020 or 2021, but UBC Okanagan is accepting apps for Fall 2018. I'm not sure if there are differences between the UBC and UBC-O programs but it's worth looking into!

[magfish]

On 2017-11-20 at 3:59 AM, Aspiringmsw2320 said:

I am curious if anyone knows how Carleton U weights grades vs. experience. I’m applying to the 2-year MSW program. My gpa could be better. For the last 2 years it barely meets the minimum requirement indentified online. I have 3 years experience working in a homeless shelter, currently work as a mental health worker for CMHA, and a housing stability worker for a local addictions agency. I’m so nervous that my gpa is going to mess up my chances. 

I’m also planning to applying to Laurier, York, and maybe King’s. So any information would be much appreciated  

Best of luck everyone!

 

From what I've heard of Carleton, they're looking for more "well rounded" candidates and thus your experience may make up for it!! York as well  - both are more "structural" programs and I've heard that they are generally more open to more diverse candidates, especially if you focus on this kind of stuff in your applications! I regretted not applying for either of these my first time around, because I think they're a little less "strict" in general, or at least a little more understanding? (again, from what I've heard!)

I would honestly recommend NOT applying to the 2 year program at Laurier especially with what you've said about your GPA worries. Honestly, I think it'll be a waste of time and money for you. I was flat out rejected from Laurier's 2 year MSW when I applied, and the letter they sent me said "successful candidates typically have 2 years full time experience AND at least an A- minimum GPA". I think I was hovering between a B+/A- and didn't have quite enough hours. So, maybe your hours will make up for it, but I've heard that Laurier is a much more clinical / research focused school and thus cares a lot about grades and stuff, as in, you need to be above the minimum to be considered.

U of T, from what I know, also talks about wanting "well rounded" candidates. I think having the experience is a great point for you and since you do meet the minimum requirements it's probably worth trying it out? Also, they have one of the biggest programs by far which I think is good, a lot easier to get in when they accept ~100+ people versus schools that take 10-20.

On 2017-11-20 at 4:06 AM, Aspiringmsw2320 said:

I applied to the 2-year MSW program at Carleton. I chose to write my personal statement as an essay as I felt that it flowed a lot better than answering the questions. I had an overall theme related to gender inequality and the unique experience of homelessness for women flowing through out the paper. 

That's what I ended up doing as well - essay format! I went through with a theme on mental health and I'm pretty happy with it, so I think we made the right call. Thanks!!

On 2017-11-20 at 10:04 PM, aesw said:

If you need help with personal statements I recommend going to your school's career centre (I believe alumni of schools can use these services as well), my school had a career advisor that specialized in post graduate programs and she went through my application, both my statement of interest and CV. She really helped me develop a strong application. I would highly recommend contacting the career centre at your school or the school you graduated from!

This is good advice that I maybe should have followed. Unfortunately I'm now on the exact opposite side of the country from where I did my BSW (New Brunswick, now I'm in Vancouver!) and didn't think of this till it was probably too late. Beyond that, STU doesn't have any post grad programs and their career centre was monumentally unhelpful when I went for resume tips, but still not a bad idea for anyone else still writing with time to do this!!

[fylucn55]

I'm currently in year 1 of the two-year MSW program at U of T. ask me anything! 

[LP604]

16 hours ago, fylucn55 said:

I'm currently in year 1 of the two-year MSW program at U of T. ask me anything! 

I'm applying for the two-year MSW program at U of T. Do you know anything about what the deal is with the thesis? The other programs I'm applying for just give you either a thesis route or coursework route and that's what you apply for, but from my understanding, U of T only does that once you're already in? 

[SWYorkie]

Hi all,

I'm with the MSW program at York University in Toronto, Canada. Feel free to ask any questions.

[smntoronto]

On 12/6/2017 at 9:51 AM, SWYorkie said:

Hi all,

I'm with the MSW program at York University in Toronto, Canada. Feel free to ask any questions.

@SWYorkie I'm just editing my statement of interest for York's 2 year program right now and would love to know what you think about including personal experience vs. explaining how and why the program itself would benefit you as a learner/prospective social worker. Also, is research a major part of the program? Thanks!

[fylucn55]

On 12/1/2017 at 4:27 PM, LP604 said:

I'm applying for the two-year MSW program at U of T. Do you know anything about what the deal is with the thesis? The other programs I'm applying for just give you either a thesis route or coursework route and that's what you apply for, but from my understanding, U of T only does that once you're already in? 

I'm pretty sure that a thesis option at U of T only applies once you get into the program. There's a good amount of people in my cohort (around 140) and the majority of people are going the coursework route, since U of T is a pretty clinical program

[Aspiringmsw2320]

34 minutes ago, smntoronto said:

@SWYorkie I'm just editing my statement of interest for York's 2 year program right now and would love to know what you think about including personal experience vs. explaining how and why the program itself would benefit you as a learner/prospective social worker. Also, is research a major part of the program? Thanks!

I am also curious about the personal statement for York. I’m having a hard time condensing everything into 500 words. Any tips on what is crucial to touch on would be super helpful!! 

[SWYorkie]

For the personal statement at York, the guidelines aren't as firm as with other universities. I would suggest including both. The personal statement should aim to be a combination of your work/personal experiences, why an MSW and why at York, areas of interest and research focuses, as well as contributions you would like to make to the field of social work. 500 words definitely isn't a lot, but given that York's 2-Year MSW program only accepts 20 students out of almost 1000 applications, long statements coupled with the number of applications would be a LOT for them to go through. 

The key would definitely be to tell a story and ensure everything flows well. The professors here love students with experiences that tell a clear and concise story.

If there are certain things you couldn't include in the Statement of Interest, definitely include them in the Supplementary Information Form on the online portal. There should be a section at the end where you can input additional information.

I hope that helps!

[lastsupper]

Phew! Deadline for the UofT MSW program is now done, that's one application off our radars.

@SWYorkie thanks for being here to answer questions about York! It's my top choice, which doesn't mean much considering it's also seemingly the hardest to get into. Is there anything you would suggest specifically NOT doing? What you think would be a red flag for the committee reading the application?

Edited December 12, 2017 by lastsupper
adding the @

[SWYorkie]

9 hours ago, lastsupper said:

Phew! Deadline for the UofT MSW program is now done, that's one application off our radars.

@SWYorkie thanks for being here to answer questions about York! It's my top choice, which doesn't mean much considering it's also seemingly the hardest to get into. Is there anything you would suggest specifically NOT doing? What you think would be a red flag for the committee reading the application?

No problem at all. 

And agreed. York's School of Social Work gets anywhere from 800-1000 applications, and they take only 20 for their 2-Year Program, and under 60 for their 1-Year Program. It's also the only school that offers guaranteed funding, and if you get into the program as a full-time student, your tuition and books are pretty much covered completely. 

Given that York's School of Social Work does not have a strong focus on clinical social work, I would advise against gearing your application towards that. I recommend those interested in clinical social work apply to UofT (since it has a clinical stream). I would also advise against listing/citing work experience from several different workplaces in different areas of social work. This can be viewed as the applicant not having a strong idea of what he/she/they hope to do in the future. 

DO ensure that your passion for social work and social change comes through. DO makes full use of the Supplementary Information Form and include the names of the professors you would like to work with. This would seem odd given that most of you haven't attended York, but it would definitely impress the committee if you did research on particular professors we have here that specialize in areas you're interested in. Then, list these professors on your Supplementary Information Form with perhaps a small blurb as to why you chose them and what you admire about them. 

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions. 

 

[SWYorkie]

^ Sorry for the grammatical errors. Typed that in a rush.

Let me know if you all have any more questions. 

[lastsupper]

@SWYorkie Thanks for your help! After writing 2500 words for the UofT personal statement, condensing all of it into 500 words is proving to be very tricky. There are also some technical issues on MyFile right now, so I'm not able to even see the supplementary information form right now, which is making me anxious. Here's to hoping it gets resolved overnight!

[SWYorkie]

11 hours ago, lastsupper said:

@SWYorkie Thanks for your help! After writing 2500 words for the UofT personal statement, condensing all of it into 500 words is proving to be very tricky. There are also some technical issues on MyFile right now, so I'm not able to even see the supplementary information form right now, which is making me anxious. Here's to hoping it gets resolved overnight!

Definitely! I would suggest calling the school if you continue to experience issues. The staff here are pretty awesome and very accommodating. 

[SWYorkie]

Hi everyone,

I've received word that the School of Social Work at York University is having issues with their Supplementary Information Form being displayed on MyFile. They're currently working on solving the issue. If you aren't able to see the link by tomorrow morning, give the Graduate Program of Social Work a call and they can manually send you one.This will not impact your application in any negative way. 

[lastsupper]

One of my references submitted this morning instead of last night  does it hurt my chances if a referee submits after the deadline?

[semimicro]

50 minutes ago, lastsupper said:

One of my references submitted this morning instead of last night  does it hurt my chances if a referee submits after the deadline?

No. Before they recommend you for committee review, they have to go through all applicants' transcripts. 

[Aspiringmsw2320]

Does anyone have any knowledge about Windsor U’s 2-year MSW program? I am hearing mixed reviews about it. 

 

Thanks  

[agentofsocialization]

How explicit were some of you guys in regards to the fourth question in the written statement of UofT's MSW application? Re-reading mine now, and I feel like I spent more time contextualizing my social problem of interest and embedding my personal experiences in there, and feel like I could have dedicated more to addressing how social workers could solve it 

[lastsupper]

3 hours ago, agentofsocialization said:

How explicit were some of you guys in regards to the fourth question in the written statement of UofT's MSW application? Re-reading mine now, and I feel like I spent more time contextualizing my social problem of interest and embedding my personal experiences in there, and feel like I could have dedicated more to addressing how social workers could solve it 

I was extremely specific, but it didn't feel like a strong statement because of it. The "social worker will do X and Y to contribute to Z" structure felt very weak. I'm not sure how closely they want us to follow the questions.