Please help in deciding...

[MSW2BE]

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Hello all, so I will be attending an MSW program in the fall- I applied to 5 programs and was accepted to all- I am choosing between UPENN, BU, and BC. I am living in PA now but would like to eventually relocate to Boston (that's where I am originally from- moved to PA to go to Villanova). I need help in deciding where to go. I have not declined any of them yet but need to decide ASAP!!! I want to do clinical social work and eventually have my own practice...which program would cater most to these career goals?? 😕

 

[LovinPsych]

Okay I am going to assume that UPENN is University of Penn State? What is BU and BC ? I need to know some more info to better help you out . 🙂

Like are you wondering should you continue to educate where you are ? or move back to Boston and begin to study ? How long will it take for each school ? Does one offer more courses in what you need over the other? Flexibility etc ?

 

[UCLAzy]

upenn has never been university of penn state. Lol

 

[MSW2BE]

Sorry should have been more specific-

The three schools I am deciding between are University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, and Boston University.

All are for 2 year MSW programs- I would be taking the clinical track within each program. I guess what I was wondering is which one has the strongest clinical program so that I would be well prepared to eventually go into private practice (way down the road after I get experience). Also- since I eventually want to be in Boston would it make more sense to go to school in that area (for licensing and connections purposes)...I am thinking yes, however UPENN does have a very good reputation nationwide.

Thanks for your help 🙂 I am leaning towards BC, but I would love some input!!

 

[LovinPsych]

You could always check out the licensing rules and regulations for both MA and PA , if they are the same and if you decide to practice in MA even though you obtained your degree from UPENN , you'd still be recognized . Especially if you are saying the rep at UPENN is most known . Also consider the finances too . Otherwise , if you feel BC or BU is the best and you're degree will be recognized then move there , study there , and practice there perhaps . espeically if that's where your heart lies .

Is this as far as you plan to go ? Like after the 2 years then you're done ?

 

[pingouin]

Any of those schools have great reputations and will set you up very well to meet the goals that you've stated. Go to the school that you like the most that will cost you the least. School name recognition really means squat when you're looking for a job. If you want to chill in Philly for a few more years before heading back to Boston, do that. If you're eager to get back to Boston, do that. All of them are accredited by CSWE, so it will not an issue when you decide to pursue licensure in any state.

Think about your experiences with admissions- how were you, as an applicant, treated? Did they make you feel comfortable? If you went on interviews, did you feel comfortable with the faculty or current students that you met? Was there any one school that you really got that "I could completely see myself here for 2 years" vibe from?

Let those types of things be your deciding factors when all else is equal.

 

[UCLAzy]

op: i wouldnt take advice from lovinpsych. they live on the east coast and dont know what upenn and bu are..not sure what rural part of md they from

 

[MSW2BE]

Thanks for the help everyone 🙂 I think I'm going to go with BC- I will be able to live with my parents and not go into crazy debt due to living expenses- also it is the cheapest of the three programs. I hope this program will give me a solid clinical background!! If anyone has any further input please let me know- or if you know more about BU's program and think it is stronger than BC's please let me know that as well. But the advice of going to the least expensive since they're all good schools makes the most sense.

 

[thepsychgeek]

Just a comment to say that BC is fantastic (I was going to go there, and wound up going to Chicago- different program)! I think it's a fantastic choice, they have a bunch of varied placements, and the program can't be beat.

 

[LovinPsych]

op: i wouldnt take advice from lovinpsych. they live on the east coast and dont know what upenn and bu are..not sure what rural part of md they from

Would you bud off 😡 , you're a pre-dental student for God's sake . You've no right to judge me . Got a beef with me? take it up on a PM . Quit looking for attention . I promise you I can eat a person alive for breakfast . 😡

ANYWAYS

Well I wish you good luck on your journey dear , may ask do you already know how you will fund it all ?

 

[jiji7]

Would you bud off 😡 , you're a pre-dental student for God's sake . You've no right to judge me . Got a beef with me? take it up on a PM . Quit looking for attention . I promise you I can eat a person alive for breakfast . 😡

ANYWAYS

Well I wish you good luck on your journey dear , may ask do you already know how you will fund it all ?

i am pretty sure they didn't mean any offense. calm down. they were simply saying that you are not familiar with those schools and maybe the person should take the advice of someone who is familiar.

as someone in the psych field i think you should really look at how you are responding to their comment. not reasonable at all.

 

[LovinPsych]

i am pretty sure they didn't mean any offense. calm down. they were simply saying that you are not familiar with those schools and maybe the person should take the advice of someone who is familiar.

as someone in the psych field i think you should really look at how you are responding to their comment. not reasonable at all.

Psychologists are doctors not perfect behaving humans . I know surely I am not being told how to behave here .

You talk as if Psychologists are perfect in a way they never get mad , angry , blow up ? Then I must say you must be one of those perfect ones . Last I checked we analyzed behavior and gain knowledge of why people act the way they do . We do not become immortal to those actions ourselves . You know normal human behavior . BTW this thread isn't going to turn into ..." Me" .

 

[jiji7]

Psychologists are doctors not perfect behaving humans . I know surely I am not being told how to behave here .

You talk as if Psychologists are perfect in a way they never get mad , angry , blow up ? Then I must say you must be one of those perfect ones . Last I checked we analyzed behavior and gain knowledge of why people act the way they do . We do not become immortal to those actions ourselves . You know normal human behavior . BTW this thread isn't going to turn into ..." Me" .

wow. i'm going to chalk up your response to your age.

first, i wasn't telling you how to behave, i was simply encouraging you to look at how you responded to someone trying to give their best advice to this person. you got defensive rather than realizing that you may not really have the best advice for this person in particular.

i wasn't at all claiming that psychologists aren't human. yes all of us are allowed blow ups, but what you blew up about was so unreasonable. in my opinion that is especially unreasonable for someone looking at going into this field.

for you to tell someone "quit looking for attention" for giving the poster reasonable advice, all the while saying you would 'eat' them?

a more humble, reasonable and non-defensive person would have simply said "hey you know what, that person probably is right, i don't know much about those programs, so good luck deciding and hope you get the best information possible."

fact is they were simply saying that you are not familiar with those schools and maybe the person should take the advice of someone who actually is familiar with those programs and is more knowledgable. you are not knowledgeable in that regard. period.

 

[LovinPsych]

I'll forgive your self-righteous demeanor . I shall leave it at that .

 

[thepsychgeek]

Hello all, so I will be attending an MSW program in the fall- I applied to 5 programs and was accepted to all- I am choosing between UPENN, BU, and BC. I am living in PA now but would like to eventually relocate to Boston (that's where I am originally from- moved to PA to go to Villanova). I need help in deciding where to go. I have not declined any of them yet but need to decide ASAP!!! I want to do clinical social work and eventually have my own practice...which program would cater most to these career goals?? 😕

...I'm going to actually respond. In the interest of full disclosure, I don't know much about the UPenn program (I didn't apply, so I didn't do much research on their program), so I'm not going to talk about it. It's not positive or negative, I just don't know anything about it.

Both BU and BC are fantastic clinical programs. Boston College has a slightly better known clinical program, Boston University has more extensive field placements (it's bigger). Do you have a sense of financial aid? It IS okay to make your decisions based on fiscal concerns!

I hope this helped a little bit. Good luck on your journey!

 

[jiji7]

I'll forgive your self-righteous demeanor . I shall leave it at that .

how predictable.

 

[pingouin]

OK, guys- let's take it down a notch here. Any comments that aren't related to the OP's questions are probably not helpful to him/her. A few things for everyone to remember:

1. This board- as with most internet forums- is a good example of caveat emptor in all its glory. We can only hope that people are honest about their status regarding where they are in their schooling and professional development. Since we can't prove any of it, everything here needs to be taken with a very large grain of salt. If you spend time reading the forums, you will get your own sense of whose advice you can trust and whose you can pass over, whose style you like and whose you don't.

2. It is in all of our own self-interest to post in a professional manner on here. We are a lot less anonymous than we'd like to be based on clues that we post here, there, and everywhere. I don't know whether any psych, SW, or counseling programs check these boards, but I am well aware of several medical schools' admissions offices that read the med forums regularly. Think before you post as to whether you would want your potential programs to see every post that you make.

3. It's the INTERNET, people. Probably a better use of your time to expend emotions toward people/situations that are part of your "real life", rather than a bunch of people you'll never meet.

4. It is a good rule of thumb to post only when you are familiar with the topic. This is why I rarely-to-never respond to posts regarding MA/psychology programs, or PhD/PsyD admissions.

All that said, jiji makes a good general point regarding being aware of our emotions and how we express them in order to help our clients work on that aspect of their own lives when it's a therapeutic issue. Having spent hours upon hours working with patients with emotional dysregulation issues, I can't tell you the number of conversations I've had surrounding the question of whether "most persons, given that particular situation, might have a similar response to what you [the client] had". If we as clinicians are not able to distinguish this, we are ineffective at best- and damaging at worst- to our patients. That is not to say that we do not or should not have emotions, but that we need to be aware of them and how they impact others (and ourselves).


And now, back to your regularly scheduled thread...

 

[appelsoranjes]

Yeah, not having heard of Upenn is pretty unforgivable. It's a top ivy league school. I'm sure the cost of those 3 programs are pretty similar, but the cost of living is prolly less at Penn.

 

[MSW2BE]

...I'm going to actually respond. In the interest of full disclosure, I don't know much about the UPenn program (I didn't apply, so I didn't do much research on their program), so I'm not going to talk about it. It's not positive or negative, I just don't know anything about it.

Both BU and BC are fantastic clinical programs. Boston College has a slightly better known clinical program, Boston University has more extensive field placements (it's bigger). Do you have a sense of financial aid? It IS okay to make your decisions based on fiscal concerns!

I hope this helped a little bit. Good luck on your journey!

Thanks for replying to my question, your advice is very helpful! BU and BC will be about the same cost and since I feel as though BC is a better fit- I think I'm going to go with that. I will be able to commute from my parent's home to both schools, so I will be able to save money that way.

If anyone else goes to BC or has anything to say about their MSW program- just let me know! Thanks🙂

 

[thepsychgeek]

Thanks for replying to my question, your advice is very helpful! BU and BC will be about the same cost and since I feel as though BC is a better fit- I think I'm going to go with that. I will be able to commute from my parent's home to both schools, so I will be able to save money that way.

If anyone else goes to BC or has anything to say about their MSW program- just let me know! Thanks🙂

Congratulations on making your choice. Boston College has a fantastic program (I had a tough time turning them down), and you'll get a really solid clinical education there. Best of luck in your education!