Cheapest/Fastest way to get 12 CR?

[bjcheung77]

+1, I agree if that's a possibility as it is worth a shot at continuing with them, if it does not. then you can go the Karios route. Your main goal right now is to find the programs that may work for you and contact the institutions to verify you can get into their program or a similar program that aligns with your goal. There are so many different routes to finish your educational journey, keep us updated on how things go...

[joben]

Joben,

Small world. I am also from Illinois. A small Christian school near me recently closed. It was called Lincoln Christian University and it will be very much missed. It fell on hard times during COVID and closed its doors this last summer. 

It merged with your alma mater Ozark, and many of the faculty relocated to Missouri... in fact Ozark now hosts the Lincoln Seminary.

My point is this, LCU used to have an MSW/LCSW program. Despite being located at a Christian University, the program was fully certified, though I believe they did offer a specialization in Christian Counseling. You might check to see if the program survives at Ozark and if so, do you qualify for the alumni discount.

Worth a shot.

Ha! Go figure, that's awesome. That was indeed one of my first thoughts...At least for the time being it looks like OCC has not picked up any of the social work and/or counseling programs from LCU. At least not yet, anyways...that would be just a bit too easy

---

Does this school allow you to take the first four courses of the MSW program as a non-matriculated student, completing the coursework with a B grade or better? I was accepted to my master's in nursing program as a "Grad non-matriculated provisional nursing plan." After passing the first few courses, which were part of the degree program, I was fully matriculated and continued studies with my classmates.

Like Stonybeach mentioned, I thought conditional/provisional basis meant that the university accepts you into the program but monitors your GPA in your first semester or two like in SAP situations. Is the 12 credit hours "non-degree seeking" directly related to the MSW or just random graduate level courses at the school?

Have you applied to other universities? My best friend has a 2.0 gpa and wanted to get a master's degree for some reason. He went another route, but it was my understanding that MSW was one of the few graduate programs where there is a greater emphasis on the holistic application (essay+recommendation letters+work experience/volunteer work over just the GPA) due to the nature of the program.

Yeah, so it's a little bit unclear to me, honestly. I'm needing to get some more clarification here, but of course the offices are closed for holiday break so I'm stuck spinning my wheels for a little bit.

The exact response I received (relevant bits, at least):
"[we] are unfortunately unable to offer you admission at this time. This decision is based on the careful evaluation of your college GPA, which unfortunately does not meet the minimum GPA required for admission. Even though the GPA for your bachelor's degree was not high enough for admission to your desired program, we encourage you to consider one of the two following alternative routes:
1. Reapply to one of our 300+ graduate programs (my note: Why? Haha. Unless there are others with a lower admission threshold, I'm not sure what point this would serve... )
2. Apply and gain admission as a non-degree-seeking student, complete twelve credit hours, and obtain at least a minimum GPA required for good academic standing in, and graduation GPA from your desired program. Please be advised that non-degree-seeking students cannot receive financial aid. "

So what's not entirely clear to me is that:
A.) It doesn't specifically say 12 *graduate* credit hours, although I guess perhaps that is implied with "...from your desired program"? However, when I last spoke to a counselor on the phone, they did specify that it would need to be graduate credits.
B.) I don't know if it's expected to just be any 12 hours, or if you are able (or not) to turn around and apply them towards your degree. That would of course be ideal...
C.) I was also told in speaking with a counselor that I could take 12 credit hours from an outside institution and transfer those in to meet the minimum GPA admission requirements. But again, not clear if this is just ANY 12 graduate credits or what, exactly.

As far as looking at other universities, I have a bit but not too terribly extensively. In the past, in addition to my unimpressive GPA I've also at times ran into some schools not being terribly accommodating with regards to my undergrad degree. I run into some grey area as at the time I graduated, my alma mater was nationally accredited but still in the evaluation process (or whatever you want to call it) for regional accreditation. They became regionally accredited a year or two after I graduated and are now both RA and NA. It seems like some places won't look into it too much and are only concerned with the current status (RA/NA), but in the past I've had trouble getting places to accept my degree and/or courses at all. Liberty has been pretty accommodating in this way and - were I to choose to go back for a second undergrad - they've been pretty generous in accepting many more transfer credits than other places would, from what I've seen at least....

[Stonybeach]

This is all very interesting. You hold a bachelor's with a low GPA from a university that is now RA accredited but was NA accredited at the time of conferral. Would Liberty University "conditionally" accept you into a master's program? Earning another bachelor's degree from an RA school is certainly an alternative but may not be necessary. I would personally rather put my efforts into an RA master's degree. Take the 30-credit MA in Human Services Counseling at Liberty for example: https://www.liberty.edu/online/behaviora...-recovery/
Admission requirements for MA: " regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 2.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work."

If you want to be a licensed mental health counselor, you will have to apply for a master's in mental health that leads to licensure. It will be a lot of reading and writing in APA style, so study up on that. The tuition is hard to beat if you are a veteran or first responder! I would stick with Liberty and see if they will accept you to a master's program instead of obtaining a second bachelor's degree.

I noticed the Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling requires a 2.7 GPA but they have a graduate certificate "bridge program" for those with less than a 2.7 GPA. https://www.liberty.edu/online/behaviora...h-studies/

[joben]

This is all very interesting. You hold a bachelor's with a low GPA from a university that is now RA accredited but was NA accredited at the time of conferral. Would Liberty University "conditionally" accept you into a master's program? Earning another bachelor's degree from an RA school is certainly an alternative but may not be necessary. I would personally rather put my efforts into an RA master's degree. Take the 30-credit MA in Human Services Counseling at Liberty for example: https://www.liberty.edu/online/behaviora...-recovery/
Admission requirements for MA: " regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 2.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work."

If you want to be a licensed mental health counselor, you will have to apply for a master's in mental health that leads to licensure. It will be a lot of reading and writing in APA style, so study up on that. The tuition is hard to beat if you are a veteran or first responder! I would stick with Liberty and see if they will accept you to a master's program instead of obtaining a second bachelor's degree.

So there are two main things that (IMO) speak a bit towards going back for a 2nd undergrad. First is that - practically speaking, save for a few Sophia courses, I've been out of school for ten years. (I may be repeating myself here, I can't remember at this point). I do have a little bit of trepidation in regards to diving straight back in at the graduate level and part of me thinks perhaps it would be more sensible to ease into things by way of re-entering at the undergrad level for a couple of semesters before moving up.

Second is that - specific to social work - you are able to enter into an "accelerated" or "advanced standing" MSW if you've already graduated with BSW (many schools offer this option, FWIW). From what I can tell, the exact numbers/requirements vary from school to school but generally the "advanced standing" path is roughly twice at fast; for instance, at Liberty it's 60 credit hours for the standard MSW vs 31 credit hours for the advanced standing MSW. Of course it also bears mentioning that roughly 17 hours of the "standard" track are field placement/internship and roughly 9 hours in the advanced track.

I am able to transfer in just about all of the "non-major" classes towards their BSW program (already accepted/had transfer credits ok'ed). So, with that in mind it would take approximately 6 semesters (full-time) for a BSW, plus an additional two semesters for an advanced-standing MSW. By the same measure, a "standard" MSW should also take approximately 6 semesters full-time, not including any time required to complete any further coursework pre-admission... (of course, that assumes I am not able to find acceptance elsewhere either, to be fair).

I have wondered if it wouldn't be possible though to gain admission to a different program as a typical "degree-seeking" student, complete the requisite hours, then withdraw or whatever and attempt to apply those hours towards a MSW admission? In this way I'd presumably be able to get some financial aid going towards the coursework and perhaps also use this as a means to get my feet wet a bit again... and ideally find something close enough to be able to carryover some grad-level transfer credit as well.

[Stonybeach]

I like the idea you are obtaining a BSW instead of a generic BS or BA. The BSW has licensing opportunities in many states. https://www.aswb.org/licenses/how-to-get-a-license/

[joben]

I like the idea you are obtaining a BSW instead of a generic BS or BA. The BSW has licensing opportunities in many states. https://www.aswb.org/licenses/how-to-get-a-license/

Yep, that's a plus as well. Now to be fair - in my state (Illinois) for LSW licensure, I'm pretty sure it's 3+ years post-BSW. At that point, I'd (hopefully) already have completed my MSW and be en route to LCSW licensure, but still. My employer does offer some advancement opportunities as well for BSW grads who are in the process of obtaining/completing their MSW, so that's another selling point for me.

[Stonybeach]

It is too bad LU does not offer the 12-credit "Bridge program" for the MSW as they do for the master's in clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate certificate "bridge program" for those with less than a 2.7 GPA. https://www.liberty.edu/online/behaviora...h-studies/

[bjcheung77]

Hmm, it might be an idea, even though they don't have an official bridge program, to email them about a possible transfer or bridge they will take... Research other institutions while you're corresponding with LU in regards to possible options... Create a shortlist of those programs and report back on possible routes to your goal or what you think you're going to go...

[ejones]

Hello!

There have been a lot of good suggestions. 

I have an MSW and the independent clinical license in my state. I have also taught in some social work programs. I know most schools will not accept transfer credit for courses because social work courses tend to be specific to the school. 

I am not sure about the GPA requirement, but have you looked into Eastern University's MSW program. I know someone going through it and it is a good, affordable program. 

The other thought I was to take some courses at American College of Education. The courses are five weeks and very straight forward. I received a MEd and a graduate certificate from them. They have a graduate certificate in content area instruction in cognitive science that is applicable to social work practice. It is 18 credits, though. They do let people take individual courses that are fairly affordable. 

-Elijah

[Stonybeach]

disregard.