Hi aska!
So I have officially completed my credits and will be graduating in November. Yay! I decided third year that I wanted to do an MSW and I didn’t want to be taking a full course load and working on applications, so here I am. I decided to take one more credit this year (two f courses) because I am so use to being in school and I can’t imagine working extra hours at my part time job, its brutal! So I saved up money to be academically involved in something for a year.
Anyways, I prepared to apply for my MSW I was aiming at UofT or either Laurier. I got my recommendations and everything! I actually volunteered A LOT over the past 6 years because I never really gave anything up after I did my 40 hours for high school, I am VERY involved in the community, kind of made me realize my aspirations for the field. So they look at your last year for admissions. I have A’s and B’s and then I have a C- … in a course that I clearly should have dropped. Yet, my final year GPA stands at 3.15, and admissions ask for a 3.0 so I figured I was okay.
I also have to work and go to school to pay for tuition… it really sucks but I have always been able to clearly manage a B average which is what I THOUGHT I always needed. One of the social workers at a site I volunteered at went to UofT and she told me she got in with the 3.0 cutoff range. So I went to see the psyche department head to make sure I have all the necessary credits after I checked on degree explorer because there were some changes in the new catalogue that freaked me out. He asked me what my plans were and I told him and he basically told me I won’t get in because my grades were too low…
I understand the program is competitive and I do have other aspects to my application, for one thing I’ve been extremely involved in the community and have a part-time job where I manage 20-25 hours a week. He told me I should apply outside of Ontario to other provinces because I will have a better chance of getting in. I can’t afford the move, the move to Waterloo would be costly enough. He recommended that I do not work and take a few more courses to boost my final 10 credits but credits cost money that I get from working…
So I guess this is the end for me?
Lost and hopeless
———————————————
hey there,
first things first: get a second opinion.
i’m not saying the head of the psych department doesn’t know what they’re talking about – they definitely know more than i do* – but as a rule of thumb, i always like to get advice from the source.
so, the first thing i would do is talk to someone at factor-intenwash, preferably someone who works admissions, and see if you can get a feel for how competitive a 3.15 GPA would be. then, at least, you have a second opinion and you can make a decision that’s a bit more informed.
if you meet the requirements, i would apply. what have you got to lose? you don’t know for certain what will happen until you actually get the admission result, right? as 2013 me would say, #yolo.
however, i do think that it’s important to consider alternatives, whether that be taking a few extra credits next year to boost your GPA, applying out of province, etc. the faculty of social work also recommends possibly completing a B.S.W. and applying to uoft from there.
i completely get the concern about money. being a student and working and trying to do well in school and volunteering and blah blah blah is really, REALLY hard.
unfortunately, every option you’re looking at is going to cost some money. some of the options will be more expensive than others, but if you want the master’s degree, you may have to bite the bullet and go for a pricier option.
if you don’t have the money now, i would look into alternative financing. consider applying for osap if you’re not already getting it, and take a look at the funding options available at some of those out-of-province schools that offer M.S.W.’s.
there are ways to get around the money issue (at least partially). osap lists a few of them, but if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by that list and don’t know where to start looking, i’d highly recommend you talk to your registrar’s office. they can help you come up with some definite plans that you’re comfortable with.
aska
* not that it’s hard to know more than i do. i’m just a chicken suit that got hold of a computer. fear me.