nutella14

I agree with BettyG.... ohgosh, I didn't take your post as "sour grapes" at all. and smpalesh, SW15 asked for input and ohgosh replied. If none of us ever relied on "heresay", this forum would be completely empty aside from chatter about writing personal statements and the agony of waiting. The majority of posts here are a guessing game - what's the reputation of each school, what school would be better, what each school looks for, what your chances are, etc. And it's true that different schools have different reputations. Other peoples' experiences are valid - including current students, recent grads, and those practicing in the field - I think much more so than baseless speculation from people like us. All of this being said, I have heard very similar things from people who are currently in the U of T program or who have completed it. Both of these people (current students) told me that U of T is not as progressive, and is more entrenched in the status quo, than programs like Ryerson or York. They advised me to consider York or Ryerson if I was interested in social justice, anti-oppressive social work (note that I'm only interested in GTA schools). I've heard the same thing from two practicing social workers who both have a social justice, anti-oppressive practice. To me, that's not heresay - it's valuable information from someone who knows better than me or other MSW hopefuls on this forum. BUT.... How much does any of that that matter? I think it's important to remember that it's up to you to make the most of your education. An MSW is an important step towards a career in social work, but it's up to you to find and create opportunities to tailor it to your needs and interests (through practicum, a thesis/major research paper, further education, extracurriculars, independent reading/community work, etc.) If you're going to U of T and want to focus on social justice, anti-oppressive work, you can still do that! Of course you can do that - and do it well. You can do community work, do your own personal work, read and seek further education, get involved in grassroots organizations, etc. You don't have to seek work in a clinical setting. U of T isn't a barrier to working in social justice by any means. York offers little in the way of clinical social work skills, but if you're set on pursuing a career in that area, you can arrange clinical placements, pursue further training or education after graduation, etc. My two cents

There are thousands of apartments listed on Kijiji in Toronto (~10,000) and quite a lot more on viewit.ca as well I've kept my eye on both sites for several months and those numbers have stayed steady throughout The bed bug check is a good idea - you can Google it and a site like this (http://www.bedbugregistry.com/metro/toronto/) will come up

I feel really relieved to hear this!! Thanks for saying so.

Hey, thank you so much for sharing that!! I have been really wanting to hear from someone with experience at York. Can you elaborate a bit more? When you say the SW school doesn't fit the standard curriculum, do you mean the CASW standards? Under fire from who (students, or CASW?) I know that York isn't a clinical program, but did anyone in your BSW do a direct practice/clinical placement? Thanks! To be honest I still don't know what kind of social work I want to do. I'm hoping that some practicum experience will help clear that up. I've done some direct practice work and a lot of research, social service administration, policy, etc. Not sure yet which way I want to go. I partly feel that I should get more direct practice experience, so I have more on-the-ground experience, which would provide context for any research, policy, government work I do. Does anyone have feedback on that idea? I feel like everyone else has a clear plan of what they want to do (specific population, specific role, e.g. counselling, child protection, etc) -- Is anyone else attending in the fall and still unsure??

Got my waitlist letter from U of T today. Feeling happy to at least be waitlisted.

Honestly smpalesh gave this advice to the other poster who is in the exact same position as you: Pick one and go with it (smpalesh said it better, but still) Wait until mid-June and see if you are off the waitlist for U of T. If not, commit to going to Lakehead. Take your name off the waitlist at U of T, pay your tuition at Lakehead, and do the HBSW. I understand where you're coming from with option 1, but seriously, there is someone out there who would LOVE to go to Lakehead's HBSW. With Option 1, you're taking up a spot in two programs. Nobody could take your place at Lakehead after the program has started. So yes you're only personally out $200, but you're not doing any favours to the school and are literally delaying another person's life plans by a full year. Going to Lakehead and then doing advanced standing will still take you 2 years.. you aren't getting behind by doing it, by any means. So... that's my two cents. I imagine it's really hard to do, but I think the "right" and fair thing to do is to pick one and go with it, and give someone else the chance to have your spot (either on the U of T waitlist or at Lakehead).

As one idea, I found it really useful to look at the degree requirements between different grad programs and to deeply reflect on whether the courses interested me, excited me, and aligned with my interests and goals I had been considering doing a master's of public administration or public policy, but when I looked at the degree requirements I literally thought "UGH, no!" when I looked at each course. I was interested in policy from a social justice, social work, community development perspective. When I looked into MSW programs and looked at the courses I'd take, I felt excited and motivated and interested. So it's not an exact science, but for me, that was telling. Yes, sometimes you need to do things that don't interest you to pursue your goals. But I literally did not want to do ANY of the MPA courses. There would be a similarly stark different between MA/MSc clinical psych programs and MSW programs. Although I guess if you're interested in everything, it'll be a bit more difficult!! Good luck with your decision.

Then it depends entirely what you want to do. A PhD in psychology would lead to a very different career than a PhD is social work. Do you want to be a psychologist? Do you want to teach, do direct practice, or do research? A PhD in clinical psych will entail 6 years of mostly research-intensive work. What would a PhD in social work do for you that an MSW + years of work experience wouldn't do? Unless you want to teach or do research, why do the PhD in social work? A PhD in psychology is a significant and distinct credential compared to a master's of clinical psych. I don't know much about the differentiation between an MSW and a PhD in social work, aside from teaching/research... and if that's what you want to do, then your choice of clinical psych/social work will depend on what you want to teach and research. Maybe other people on this board know more about the opportunities afforded by a PhD in social work.

I didn't know that social work had combined MSW+PhD programs. Where did you apply? I thought that only existed for clinical psych.

They don't release that info and they also won't tell you where you rank in the waitlist

Does your ROSI still say No Registration History?

Not silly!! I'm also wondering if there are typically exams (specifically at York in the 2-year program, but any info helps)

Hi there, yes my myfile changed. I received an acceptance email on March 18th and myfile changed a few days later... either March 20 or 23, I don't remember. And I got a package in the mail sometime during the week of March 23rd.

FYI There were at least 1 or 2 people on this forum who are currently completing the Lakehead HBSW who were also accepted to an advanced standing MSW program for Sept 2015. Can't remember who

Hi everyone This is a long shot but does anyone know what evaluation is like in a 2-Year MSW program (specifically York)? Are there usually exams in first-year courses? I have a travel opportunity in Dec 2015 and it's a long way off but I'm hoping it can somehow still work out.. Again, I know it's a long shot in asking, but figured I'd try. I'm trying not to bother the program coordinator as it's such a busy time for them.. guess that means my questions end up here, haha Thanks!