Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Family And School Social Workers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at James Madison, Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider James Madison, Norfolk State, Virginia State, and Old Dominion University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Mary Baldwin.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Virginia State, Hampton, Norfolk State, and Ferrum.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider George Mason, Old Dominion University, and Marymount.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Hampton, Eastern Mennonite University, Virginia Intermont College, and Marymount.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Ferrum, Lynchburg College, Virginia Union University, and Longwood.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at William and Mary, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and James Madison.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Virginia and William and Mary.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at William and Mary, Eastern Mennonite University, Virginia Union University, and Virginia Intermont College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Old Dominion University • Norfolk, VA
Studying Applied Sociology (completion in 2000)
• 8/29/2011
"I was very satisfied with ODU. While I may have missed out on some of the social experiences and sense of community other schools may have, the experience, knowledge, and expertise of the instructors more than made up for the lack of social opportunities."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would not hesitate to recommend ODU to others pursuing Sociology and/or Human Services if I knew for sure that the same staff members would still be there. However, one would hope that the integrity of the department and curriculum itself would be maintained regardless of staff changes. I would definitely recommend ODU and the faculty that I had, though I might suggest going for a different degree that would be considered "license eligible" down the road. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | To be quite honest, I don't recall hearing anything over the last few years in regards to the ODU Sociology department. This too may be because I left the area. |
| Program Quality | 10 | While I feel now that I did perhaps choose the wrong type of degree, I am still grateful for the instructors and professors with whom I worked and studied. I respect and admire them very much and they were what made the department and curriculum what it was. |
| Instruction | 10 | As mentioned earlier, I very much admire the quality of instruction I received from my instructors at ODU. Having received my B.S. in Criminal Justice and my M.A. in Sociology, I feel that I was exposed to a vast range of areas of expertise. In addition, I was chosen to work as a graduate assistant after my first semester which enabled me to work even more closely with instructors and professors with expertise somewhat outside the realm of Sociology and Psychology (i.e. I worked with an Archeologist one semester). |
| How Difficult | 2 | Undergraduate studies at ODU for me were more difficult that my graduate level courses. I think it probably holds true for most people that as you proceed further in your academic endeavors, the easier it becomes after advancing to the point when most or all of your classes have to do with your major area of study. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Undergraduate courses at ODU consisted almost wholly of book-learning. Once I entered graduate school and began working on my thesis and collecting my own data, the learning experience switched and became very hands-on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | I was always able to schedule my classes in the manner I was hoping to. Of course, once I began graduate school, those classes that did require one to be in the classroom were not offered more than once a week. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Old Dominion offered an array of resources, such as computer labs and study group support. I did find that it was much easier to access these resources when I actually lived near the campus and could walk to the University as opposed to driving in and worrying about parking and timing. I was much more likely to use the resources when parking and such were not concerns. |
| Social Life | 2 | Old Dominion University is somewhat of a "hybrid." While there are those students who live on campus and have just graduated from high school, there are just as many students who are older with full-time jobs and families and have to commute. This may be in large part due to the military presence in Norfolk. At any rate, the social experience just wasn't there, though I did make friends in classes. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I did attempt to utilize the school's career placement services. However, I found that this resource was lacking in what it offered. I did not receive any job leads, interviews, etc. from my time spent with career services. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I have never received anything from ODU as an alum. This may be due to the fact, however, that after graduating I moved around quite often and eventually left the Norfolk area. |
Virginia Commonwealth University • Richmond, VA
Studying Master Of Social Work (MSW) (completion in 2011)
• 4/3/2012
"I received a great education and had great networking opportunities in my internships. The social work program really opened my eyes up to the world around me and has made me a more socially responsible person."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I have already recommended it to others and will continue to do so. The school is in a nice city and has a great nationally recognized program. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | The school was a nationally ranked program when I attended. I just recently found out that it has gone up and is now the 11th ranked MSW program in the nation!! |
| Program Quality | 10 | I attended a nationally ranked MSW program. The school provided a good balance of classroom instruction and practical internship opportunities. |
| Instruction | 7 | The professors and course material were very informative. However, I felt most of the learning happened in the field while in my internships. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Not only were we required to carry a full course load we also had an internship on top of that. Our first year internship was 14 hours and a week (2 days) and our second year internship was 21 hours a week (3days). I remained very busy and it was a tough program. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I feel the program had a great balance of hands-on and book learning. I think more hands-on learning would have been better, but the book learning was valuable as well. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | There was not much flexibility. Your schedule was basically chosen for you. They did offer summer and night classes but I did not partake in any of those. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The overall campus had beautiful resources (libraries, computer labs, etc.) The social work program on the other hand was lacking in funding and could use a redo. But, what do you expect when you have social workers (who don't make much money) as alumni. |
| Social Life | 8 | There was always something going on with both the school and within the program. It was nice because you could have a bigger social experience within the school or a more intimate one within the program. |
| Placement Services | 7 | The internships and job placements were luck of the draw. I was lucky and had two internships I really enjoyed. However, not everyone was as lucky as me. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Since graduating I have received some communication from the alumni network. I have been disgruntled though since most of the communication has involved giving money to the school. |
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