Part-time vs. Full-time

[Tom Ray]

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Hi all,

I have some general inquiries about going part-time versus full-time to a masters in social work program,. On one hand, I've been told that its better to go full time because you get support and basically the program is sort of designed for that. However, the reason I am considering part-time is because I'd like to lessen the burden of a full time course load +internship. Perhaps this isn't a good reason to enroll part-time (which is why I'm asking this question) but I can't imagine other students haven't considered this.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[wigflip]

Hi all,

I have some general inquiries about going part-time versus full-time to a masters in social work program,. On one hand, I've been told that its better to go full time because you get support and basically the program is sort of designed for that. However, the reason I am considering part-time is because I'd like to lessen the burden of a full time course load +internship. Perhaps this isn't a good reason to enroll part-time (which is why I'm asking this question) but I can't imagine other students haven't considered this.

Thanks,
Tom

Whether to go PT of FT may depend on the way your program is set up. For example, are there opportunities (such as research) or scholarships that are only open to fulltimers? On the other hand, going PT might provide you with an opportunity to get some coursework under your belt before your first internship (if your program is structured that way), which in my opinion is a good thing. We started our first internship after 3 weeks of classes and I felt underprepared,* and truth be told, more than a little pissed off.**

*Unless you call playing the "name game" adequate preparation. After week one I had learned that "Betty likes beans!", "Tyrone likes tomatoes!", and "Paco likes Pizza!" It didn't get markedly better from there.

**If the work can be done without any specialized training, why am I doing it (and paying for the privilege of doing so via practicum units or whatever they were called)?