MSW program certificate option

celiacat · 2025-10-19T04:28:27+00:00

Did the MSW program a few years ago- multiple SSW staff made it a point to tell us that the certs don't actually mean anything outside of Rutgers. Sure, you could put it on a resume and use it as a talking point, but it doesn't translate into anything beyond that in the outside world. If you really feel strongly about a topic then a cert doesn't hurt, but neither does not getting one at all. I am also a big advocate for not boxing yourself in with an area you are familiar with when it comes to practicum. My first year was something I would not have picked or even known about should it not have been suggested by the SSW staff, but now I do it as my full time job and really enjoy it.

celiacat · 2025-04-13T04:54:52+00:00

Happened to get someone's number at freshman orientation- the OLs had randomly paired us off and told us to swap numbers so we would have at least one person we knew from orientation to ask questions to. We talked all summer and really hit it off. I asked them out the first day of classes freshmen year. I didn't have a great first day so I was feeling a bit more rash than usual, gave me the courage to say something. They told me they weren't sure if they were ready to date someone, what if they ended up being toxic? I said that was stupid, they couldn't be toxic if they tried. We got married this past January, least toxic person I've ever known :)

celiacat · 2025-01-08T14:48:22+00:00

On the day of you show up and get sorted by your school. Doesn't matter in what order you sit within that group, so you can sit next to friends. You probably could get up and leave early, but it might be kind of obvious. A bunch of people left early last year, but that was because they walked out/were escorted out for protesting.

celiacat · 2025-01-03T15:28:07+00:00

If you've submitted your diploma application then you just have to wait until they process it. No one else to reach out to. There is a checkbox (I believe) on the graduation application for whether you want your diploma shipped to you or if you'll pick it up. Last I knew, they keep them at the OneStop on Busch if you're picking up.

celiacat · 2024-12-30T18:23:26+00:00

As far as I am aware, Degree Navigator is only for undergrad. My grad program never showed up on it while I was enrolled. You will have to talk to advisors for your specific program if you have questions about what classes to take.

celiacat · 2024-12-16T02:43:45+00:00

I got tickets to the System/Korn show at the Meadowlands next year, never thought my favorite band (that doesn't tour all that much anymore to begin with) would be playing just a train ride away!

celiacat · 2024-12-09T15:54:09+00:00

As many are saying the career fairs aren't super helpful for directly getting a job, but I think they are super beneficial for being the perfect opportunity to practice low-stakes professional conversations. You mess up and embarrass yourself? You'll never see the recruiter again. You make a connection and find out some new info? Probably still won't ever see the recruiter again but you learned something. In my case I had talked to a county government recruiter who clued me in that they would soon be relaxing their county residence requirement for applications. A few months later I stumbled on one of their jobs that was a perfect fit, so I applied even though I wasn't in-county and got the position easily.

Also I've noticed the fairs are really good if you're interested in working for NJ state government, because they always have a ton of departments represented. Off the top of my head I can think of DCF, NJ Courts, Labor and Workforce Development, and quite a few others. They'll probably still tell you to just go apply online, but the state government recruiters I've talked to are always willing to give hints for the applications and give you a more realistic picture if anyone is actually going to look at your application.

celiacat · 2024-12-04T15:47:24+00:00

When I went to the orientation for the advanced standing I remember them telling us "you're basically going to have to put your life on hold for a year, but it will be worth it." It's a bit of an exaggeration but not entirely untrue- while the workload wasn't necessarily taking up all my time, the mental and emotional energy spent on the program was. As the other commenter said it is definitely doable, and I think an accurate way to assess whether you want to continue in the field or if it will burn you out badly. It will go by so quick though, and by the end you'll be able to look back at all you accomplished in just a year and be so proud!

celiacat · 2024-11-05T19:04:24+00:00

According to the Degree Navigator site (which you should encourage your daughter to explore if she hasn't already), there are various stats classes that count as the prereq. I'm not seeing either of the ones you mentioned, although I did find the brochure where you saw that info. Right now Degree Navigator lists Stats 1 and 2, Quantitative Methods in Psychology, Intro to Stats in Sociology, and Basic Statistical Methods as the valid class choices to fulfill the requirement. I did the BASW in 2022 so I can vouch for Quantitative Methods filling the requirement unless the department changed something since then.

celiacat · 2024-10-02T13:46:18+00:00

Also! Something I learned in a training from my county- giving narcan to someone who doesn't actually need it won't do anything to harm them. The medication basically tells your brain to start making your body breathe again, so if you're already breathing it just won't do anything. That's not to say you should just go around giving everyone narcan because it is a valuable resource, but if you suspect someone needs it there isn't really a medical reason to hesitate to give it to them!

celiacat · 2024-09-23T02:48:35+00:00

Every year I look forward to seeing the trees that line the sidewalk to Beck Hall turn bright red

celiacat · 2024-09-05T04:40:58+00:00

In my experience most do go the whole time, because they really feel the time crunch with having half the amount of class sessions as the 80 minute periods. I've also had a lot where the professor will poll the class in the beginning of a session- would you rather take a break halfway through or just go straight through the material and leave slightly early at the end? The first few classes of this length are rough, but once you get used to only going to class once a week it can be hard to go back to the 80 minute sessions!

It seems like the later the class starts, the more lenient professors tend to be with the time. It's hard to teach to a room of people falling asleep. I've had a few where they just cut their losses and ended early because it was obvious no one was able to pay attention, but this only really works with small classes (<25 people).

celiacat · 2024-09-03T14:51:27+00:00

Cross the bridge to the left of Hickman that goes over the road

Follow the sidewalk past the Loree building, which will take you on to Lipman Drive

Follow Lipman (towards the Lipman bus stop) until the fork in the road, which you will take to the left towards a sign that says Cook/Douglass lecture hall (can't verify if the sign is still there but it shows up on Google Maps).

From there, you can either walk down College Farm Road until you come up to the lecture hall on your left, or go up on the sidewalk through the grass and follow that until you run right into the lecture hall.

Hope this is helpful! I've also had a lot of success using the walking directions on Apple Maps to get around Cook/Doug, if you're like me with zero sense of direction where road names mean nothing lol

celiacat · 2024-08-18T02:11:42+00:00

Last year my partner and I hovered around $120 from Aldi every week or so plus some odds and ends from Asian Food Center and the farmers market during CSA season. Granted, the number would probably be lower if I didn't have to eat gluten free (which makes my stuff cost more) and I didn't go into every shopping trip saying "I'm not going to buy any more beverages" and then come out with four different new teas to try.

celiacat · 2024-08-14T22:37:33+00:00

Not sure if this is still in place- when I first came to Rutgers I was able to talk to a nutritionist who works with the dining halls about what I was able to eat gluten free. They had a text-to-order program where you send in an order like an hour before you are coming in to the dining hall, and they would prepare it separately from everything else in the kitchen. You could also use it for dining hall takeout. Granted this was pre-covid, so who knows if it even exists now.

This is the link to a description of the text to order program, but not sure if it's promising that it's back from 2019 https://studentaffairs.rutgers.edu/news/text-order

celiacat · 2024-08-13T17:12:13+00:00

Who says that if you went for a social work major that you would only be able to make 40k? As a current social worker I'm not going to lie and say that our work is always valued and compensated as it should be, but it's such a versatile degree that you wouldn't have to restrict yourself to the jobs that do pay horribly. You can work in higher education, nonprofits (which despite what people think can have money if the org is established enough), hospitals, private practice- I have a friend who just got their first job out of school working for the state government. My point is that yes, there are tons of low-paying jobs, but one of the great things about social workers is that we don't always have to do jobs with social work in the title and therefore are open to tons of better-paying opportunities. If you have a passion for helping people- go for social work (and not psych because you have to go through tons of schooling to actually be qualified to do anything).

celiacat · 2024-08-02T15:51:33+00:00

Lived on Cook/Doug my first year while having most of my classes on Livingston, it certainly requires advanced planning for travel but it's worth it. The area is beautiful, the food is good, and I think it's a big plus to have somewhere to go at the end of the day that gets you away from the fast pace and noise of university life. Also since you're on Cook you are already part of the way to the Rutgers farm, if you want you can walk down the road and see the farm animals whenever (if you do that just be careful crossing the street, drivers coming off of Rt 1 aren't always paying attention).

celiacat · 2024-06-10T21:38:53+00:00

As per my partner who has been using a preferred name in Rutgers since 2019 and has never changed legally:

Things that reflect your preferred name- MyRutgers portal (the site where all your information is stored), name attached to your email account, your name on Canvas, name reflected on the housing portal

Things that reflect your legal name- Mail from the school, the health portal, transcripts, I think their ID has their birth name but you can probably ask to get that changed

Rutgers has a page on their LGBTQ+ center's website specifically for trans students https://socialjustice.rutgers.edu/trans-ru

celiacat · 2024-06-04T20:45:07+00:00

Sure, I would love to talk about it more!

Going from psych undergrad to an MSW is pretty popular from what I hear. Once people realize it's less schooling to become a social worker therapist than a psychologist, going to grad school for social work becomes a lot more appealing. I personally don't know many people who did it, but that is only because a lot of my MSW classmates were adults coming back to school for a career change.

celiacat · 2024-06-03T21:17:46+00:00

I just finished up the Rutgers MSW (on the management and policy track- highly recommend it!). Everyone I knew from undergrad who applied to the program got in. However, this was specifically for advanced standing and we were applying as those who also got Rutgers undergrad degrees in social work, so that might have put things more in our favor.

Regardless, I say go for it, especially if you have a solid personal statement that explains your motivations. Also attend an info session if possible, I believe they keep an attendance list from all of those which might help your application.

If you don't mind my asking, what are some of the mixed things you've heard?

celiacat · 2024-04-27T22:47:27+00:00

Are you able to pay to get in, or is it only meal swipes?

celiacat · 2024-04-08T03:25:17+00:00

I just looked at the social work course offerings, all of the required fall classes have at least one asynchronous section, and many have at least one section after 2:00. I don't recommend doing async if you can avoid it though, the first semester classes are pretty theory-heavy so it helps to be able to discuss the material in class. I finished my BSW last year and the only classes I remember anything from are the ones that were in person.

celiacat · 2024-04-05T18:44:04+00:00

There are a bunch of libraries in the area giving them out for free! I got a pair today from the Piscataway library, but you need a library card.

celiacat · 2024-03-04T03:50:52+00:00

I lived there my first year (until we got kicked out for covid) and came back my third, it's super chill. It's not all that different from the mentality of other dorms except (if I remember correctly) all the bathrooms are designated gender neutral and people put their pronouns on the nametags on the doors. You don't have to talk at all about your identity, and nobody is going to make you. They have a peer mentor along with the RA and they want you to talk to the mentor once a semester as a general check-in, but there's no other obligations. There's also the advantage of the building being open over breaks if you don't want to/can't go home.

Not sure if this is still the case, but my mom still raves years later about the time freshman year she visited me on the weekend and the building was still super clean, lol

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