MSWApplicantFall2018 Posted December 29, 2017 Posted December 29, 2017 (edited) Who's applying to University of Chicago SSA for Fall 2018? Anyone applying to the new advanced standing program? Any acceptances, funding info? Good luck everyone! Edited December 29, 2017 by MSWApplicantFall2018
HannahRae Posted January 2, 2018 Posted January 2, 2018 I applied! I didn't apply to the advance standing but, I did make it in for early decision. I see from previous years that funding decisions normally come with acceptance letters or very soon after.
Quinoa96 Posted January 20, 2018 Posted January 20, 2018 I just received my acceptance notice last night! You get a series of emails. The first email is the decision email, then you receive subsequent emails based on any scholarships that they give you. Good luck to you all! MSWApplicantFall2018 and HannahRae 2
HannahRae Posted January 20, 2018 Posted January 20, 2018 I received this email last night as well! SSA is my top choice and see as I already live in the neighborhood, very convenient for me. MSWApplicantFall2018 and Quinoa96 2
MSWApplicantFall2018 Posted January 21, 2018 Author Posted January 21, 2018 Congratulations! Were you happy with the scholarship you received?
HannahRae Posted January 21, 2018 Posted January 21, 2018 17 hours ago, MSWApplicantFall2018 said: Congratulations! Were you happy with the scholarship you received? Thank you and I am! A 15k scholarship makes the school tuition comparable to other schools. I also already live in the area and share an apartment with my partner so I won't have to worry about moving or expensive housing costs! Also if anyone has questions about Hyde Park or Chicago in general I would be happy to answer them! Plzacceptme and MSWApplicantFall2018 2
Quinoa96 Posted January 21, 2018 Posted January 21, 2018 17 hours ago, MSWApplicantFall2018 said: Congratulations! Were you happy with the scholarship you received? UChicago gave me around $26,000 in scholarship money, which blew my mind! Now I am stuck between UChicago and NYU (I have more familial/peer support in the NY area, and their program is more in line with my interests at the moment). MSWApplicantFall2018 1
Shari0418 Posted January 24, 2018 Posted January 24, 2018 I went to UChicago from 2011-2013 and received $25,000 each year. I had several friends who negotiated more funding, I would give it a try
Quinoa96 Posted January 24, 2018 Posted January 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Shari0418 said: I went to UChicago from 2011-2013 and received $25,000 each year. I had several friends who negotiated more funding, I would give it a try Did you think that the $25,000 was enough for you to get through the program comfortably? What other opportunities did you have as far funding? Thank you so much!
Shari0418 Posted January 24, 2018 Posted January 24, 2018 I still had to take out about $20,000 a year to cover the rest of the tuition, and I lived at home. I was work-study eligible so the first year I worked at Hillel and the 2nd year I worked at the front desk (which was the best, easiest job.) I also briefly worked at the Upward Bound office on campus although I wouldn't recommend it. There are TONS of work study jobs.
HannahRae Posted January 25, 2018 Posted January 25, 2018 23 hours ago, Shari0418 said: I still had to take out about $20,000 a year to cover the rest of the tuition, and I lived at home. I was work-study eligible so the first year I worked at Hillel and the 2nd year I worked at the front desk (which was the best, easiest job.) I also briefly worked at the Upward Bound office on campus although I wouldn't recommend it. There are TONS of work study jobs. I was wondering how you can find out if you are eligible for work study?
Shari0418 Posted January 25, 2018 Posted January 25, 2018 You work-study eligibility is on your FAFSA application
Plzacceptme Posted January 26, 2018 Posted January 26, 2018 On 1/21/2018 at 12:14 PM, HannahRae said: Thank you and I am! A 15k scholarship makes the school tuition comparable to other schools. I also already live in the area and share an apartment with my partner so I won't have to worry about moving or expensive housing costs! Also if anyone has questions about Hyde Park or Chicago in general I would be happy to answer them! I was also accepted for this Fall! This was one of my top choices too. I will have some questions for you in the coming months about housing, so I'd love your help! HannahRae 1
HannahRae Posted January 26, 2018 Posted January 26, 2018 9 minutes ago, Plzacceptme said: I was also accepted for this Fall! This was one of my top choices too. I will have some questions for you in the coming months about housing, so I'd love your help! I would be happy to help!! I am also having dinner with a good friend who is finishing up her second year at SSA so If anyone wants me to share that information I would be glad to! wdj96 1
HannahRae Posted January 28, 2018 Posted January 28, 2018 So, having dinner with my friend and another current SSA student, helped me to decide to decline my offer! They both spoke about (and I have heard this from several others) that their classes did not prepare them to take what they were learning and to apply it to practical situations. They also spoke about an unhealthy sense of entitlement and aggressive competition among the students. As someone who lives in Hyde Park and and interacts with UofC students everyday, that last part didn't surprise me. They both confirmed what I had inferred from the information session I attended that many SSA students see themselves as better than other social work students in the city, even though there are two other great programs. They didn't say they regretted attending SSA but that they wish it was less theory based and more clinical. They did state that those who are interested in research and theory really enjoyed the program but that for those who are pursuing clinical career and want to live in Chicago should look at Loyola. It was a very eye opening dinner and really confirmed what I have heard from co-workers who attended the program and other alumni. jcm15850 1
MSWApplicantFall2018 Posted January 28, 2018 Author Posted January 28, 2018 6 hours ago, HannahRae said: It was a very eye opening dinner and really confirmed what I have heard from co-workers who attended the program and other alumni. Interesting. Thank you. Did they have anything positive to say about SSA?
HannahRae Posted January 28, 2018 Posted January 28, 2018 2 hours ago, MSWApplicantFall2018 said: Interesting. Thank you. Did they have anything positive to say about SSA? They did say that many of their professors have been wonderful and that the really enjoy their second field placements. They also mentioned the many opportunities to make connections. And speaking from personal experience, Hyde Park is a wonderful neighborhood to live in! The housing is pretty affordable and there are great place to eat!
MSWApplicantFall2018 Posted January 28, 2018 Author Posted January 28, 2018 Thanks. I have heard that the first year at SSA is somewhat tedious but that things improve in year two, when the program becomes more specific to your goals. My understanding also is that there can be some frustration with the first year field placement because it is assigned with limited input from the student. So, you potentially have a year-long placement that might be somewhat irrelevant. One of the things that intrigues me about SSA, however, is the sheer number of potential placements... more than 700!
MSWApplicantFall2018 Posted January 28, 2018 Author Posted January 28, 2018 (edited) I can see why a clinical student might not feel well-served by SSA. Even though the majority of its students are in the clinical concentration, I get the sense that the "vibe" of the school is very macro... I mean, the words "social administration" are still in the name of the school! Also, if you look at the bios of the full professors, many of them don't even have a social work background. A surprising number of them have degrees and professional experience in areas outside of social work. http://www.ssa.uchicago.edu/faculty-pages In fact, the Dean of SSA has a Ph.D. in psychology and doesn't seem to have any sort of background in social work... definitely not clinical. Edited January 28, 2018 by MSWApplicantFall2018
HannahRae Posted January 30, 2018 Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) Has anyone gone to a class visit? What was your experience like? Edited January 30, 2018 by HannahRae I made some weird typos in the original
CelestialJenkins Posted February 2, 2018 Posted February 2, 2018 I'm just waiting on one letter of recommendation, then I'll finally be officially applied. Does anyone know if that April 1 deadline significantly affects your chances of getting in/getting funding? I was aiming for January, but no such luck.
stheart Posted February 9, 2018 Posted February 9, 2018 JUST GOT IN WITH A 15K SCHOLARSHIP!!! MSWApplicantFall2018 1
jr1118 Posted February 9, 2018 Posted February 9, 2018 3 hours ago, stheart said: JUST GOT IN WITH A 15K SCHOLARSHIP!!! Congratulations!! Did you apply advanced standing? I applied advanced standing on 1/15 and I'm eagerly waiting for a response..
stheart Posted February 9, 2018 Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, jr1118 said: Congratulations!! Did you apply advanced standing? I applied advanced standing on 1/15 and I'm eagerly waiting for a response.. Yes I did!!!!! I applied just before the deadline, too!! Keep me in the loop! Edited February 9, 2018 by stheart
jr1118 Posted February 9, 2018 Posted February 9, 2018 12 hours ago, stheart said: Yes I did!!!!! I applied just before the deadline, too!! Keep me in the loop! Will do! How did you find out about your acceptance and scholarship? Did you find out at the same time?
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