career changer, excited about MSW

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baileybeans

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hi there, i have been reading this board for the last six or months or so. your posts been so helpful, and i feel i have learned so much! so thank you all for all of your knowledge and insight :D

basically, i just have a few questions about getting accepted into an MSW program in the NYC area - preferably columbia, fordham, nyu or hunter. in a nutshell, i have been a classical clarinetist for most of my life. i went to college for music performance, and since i graduated in 2001, i have been working as a professional musician in various orchestras around the country. while i feel extremely fortunate for all i have done, i have always questioned my place in the music world, and in the past year or so (for a number of reasons), i have decided that i want to leave the music world and pursue a career in social work.

while i have a very good undergraduate GPA, i have a BM (bachelor of music), and not a BA, and i fear this may not necessarily look great on my applications. so currently, i am taking 2 undergraduate psychology courses after taking intro to psych this summer, and just trying to get beef up my transcripts a bit (i plan on taking at least 3 more next spring as well). i am also just starting to volunteer - sadly this has taken me so much longer than i thought it would (i started filling out volunteer apps back in june!) - but i will be volunteering at 2 pediatric hospitals and at a program for underserved children and their families in the NYC area. as of right now, i think i would eventually work as a social worker in a hospital, preferably in pediatrics or ER.

so here are my questions. do you think that MSW programs will consider someone with my background? while i know they like diversity and life experience, i am worried that my background may be a little "too far" from the norm. also, while i really would love to begin my master's as soon as possible, do you think it is in my best interest to volunteer/gain experience for one more year and apply to MSW programs for the fall of 2010 instead of 2009? i am assuming it is probably best to just apply once, especially since i am such a unique case, and i am afraid of ruining any chances i may have. since most apps are due in january or february, and i will only have been volunteering for 4 months or so, i don't want to take any risks!

if any of you have read this far, i can't tell you how much i appreciate it. any feedback/advice/questions you have would be so helpful. i am really excited about this next step in my life! thanks so much again! :):):)

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Many MSW programs have pre-reqs (usually 1 semester human bio, 1 semester econ, 1 semester political science, intro to psych, and stats, but some have different requirements, so check with the specific schools). Also, keep cost in mind... I have heard from a fair number of NYers who got an MSW at Columbia that they regretted it due to high cost and wished they had gone to CUNY or another, cheaper program.

Good luck!
 
Many MSW programs have pre-reqs (usually 1 semester human bio, 1 semester econ, 1 semester political science, intro to psych, and stats, but some have different requirements, so check with the specific schools). Also, keep cost in mind... I have heard from a fair number of NYers who got an MSW at Columbia that they regretted it due to high cost and wished they had gone to CUNY or another, cheaper program.

Good luck!

Do double-check the prereqs though- I was freaking out because I didn't have the human bio req, but there are a bunch of schools that don't ask for it. Generally, a "liberal arts" education is good enough.
 
thanks so much for your thoughts...looking on the websites, it doesn't seem that the programs i am looking into have any specific course requirements, so that is good. but i am going to a few info sessions in the upcoming weeks, so hopefully i will have a better idea then. thanks again, and any other advice you guys have would be great!!
 
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