I will be graduating with my BSW soon, and have a dilemma. I have my heart set on USC’s online advanced standing MSW program. The only issue is the hefty price tag. My one year there would cost me nearly $60,000, but it is online, and it is the school of my dreams. In contrast, APU would cost me around $25,000 for my one year masters degree. The issue with APU is that it is on campus and I live about 45 minutes away. It’s also a private christian college, and I am an atheist. It wouldn’t bother me none, going there, but I feel that I may be the orange in a bowl of apples. I did look for closer Advanced Standing MSW programs and they are all out in the Los Angeles area. So, question is: is it worth getting my MSW from USC? Should I save $35,000 and settle for APU?
One thing you need to figure out is - is social work a prestige-focused field? In some fields, like law and business, where you went to graduate school make a huge difference in the kind of work you can get and the salary you make. In other fields, where you got your graduate degree doesn’t matter that much for the kind of work that you can get - it’s more about making local connections. I suspect that social work is a bit of a mix of the two.
Check out the two universities’ schools of social work and their career services office. Where do students get placed for fieldwork? Where do students end up working afterwards? What do their post-graduation salaries look like? These are the kinds of questions programs are expecting you to ask, and you should ask them.
On the one hand, I have heard that USC’s SSW is very good, and they are well-respected within social work. On the other hand, there’s a big difference between $60K and $25K. Social workers don’t make very much money, so you have to consider whether you would even be able to repay those loans.
Often, the religious affiliation of a school really affects undergrads more than grad students - especially in professional programs you may find lots of students there primarily for convenience and cost. But you’d have to visit and check with current grads to be sure.