Advice - NYU vs Columbia MSW

[kiskustar]

Hello everyone,

I am sorry if there has already been a discussion about this topic but since I was not able to find the answer to this specific question, I wanted to start a new thread.

I got accepted into both NYU and Columbia MSW programs. I am very clinically oriented and would like to apply to the doctoral programs in the long run. I know that NYU is very clinical, and I knew that Columbia was more policy oriented. Now I am a little bit confused since recently i have been talking to faculty and students at Columbia and they say that Columbia is also clinical but since it has different focused "tracks" it's not known as a strong clinical program. I also went to the Open House at Columbia yesterday and everyone kept saying that 67% of students are clinically oriented. I loved the environment and the faculty at Columbia but I dont want to regret going somewhere that might not provide as many clinical skills as I would like to obtain.

I have yet to make a decision by this Friday so I am trying to obtain as much information as i can in order to make an educated decision.

If anyone has advice, is a current student or an alum, I would really appreciate if you could PM me or just reply to this message.

Thank you very much for all your help!

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[Vasa Lisa]

I would ask both schools for names of grads who are working in the clinical area that you are interested in working in and then contact those grads and ask about their experiences.

You might get names of grads who had rosy experiences - but you will also get to talk to people who are doing what you want to do and find out how they got there.

You don't mention cost of the programs - but since they are both reputable - I would choose the one that offered the most assistance - tuition waiver, GA etc. and the least debt. This field doesn't pay all that well and debt load can be crushing.

Best of luck with your choice and congrats on being accepted at both!