Hello everyone, I'm Kitty In this video I wanted to share my experience on applying to a Master's degree at Columbia University This is Part 1 I'll talk about the application process Let's talk about my background When I did my Master's degree in Social Work I did it at Columbia University in NYC in the U.S. Why I went to the U.S. to study for my Master's degree I did my bachelor degree in Social Work in Toronto, Canada After I finished my bachelor degree in Social Work I chose to work first after my undergraduate studies I worked in Toronto for about a year Then I considered about applying to a Master's degree program Although I always thought about doing a Master's since I was in high school later I wanted to get some exposure in the society/ real world and to gain some work experience first before I decided to apply to do my Master's The first reason is wanting to experience living in a different city/ country especially for the U.S., and New York City Living in NYC in a once in a lifetime experience It was really special when I lived there so I chose NYC to study and to try the living experience there The second reason is Columbia University has a good reputation in terms of having good rankings in the world and it is one of the Ivy League schools the good reputation attracted me to do research about it's programs I did research on its Social Work programs I got really interested in its programs especially their program/ specializations in Gerontology after looking at the curriculum, courses placement opportunities Faculty's information etc. after reviewing all information and decided it is a good program for me before I applied to the Master's program in Social Work at Columbia University The third reason is I am a person who likes to try new things in my life and I think that it is good to take challenges in life for personal growth I wanted to try living in different cities/ different schools/ programs to develop myself The first material required is the transcripts from the undergraduate program They want to know your academic performance during your undergraduate studies The school that you did the undergraduate studies has to send the transcripts directly to Columbia The second material is resume It shows your education, work experience, volunteering experience/ community involvement etc. Work experience is not mandatory I had many classmates went to the Master's program right after the undergraduate studies They might not have many work experience to show on the resume They were able to get into the program and excelled there The third material is reference letters The third material is reference letters My program required one must come from a Placement supervisor to prove that you had good performance in the field practice They will write a letter about your performance and why they think you are suitable to do a Master's The second person was a course professor They can comment on the academic performance and make recommendations The third person was a Professor who I worked with on research projects The fourth material is admission essays, which I think is the most important item in the application It has 3 big questions, or 3 prompts to guide the essay Mainly around why you want to be in Social Work why you want to pursue a Master's degree in SW why you choose this school/ program and they want to know how you would use the knowledge after completing the degree what career development you want to pursue what contributions you want to make for the society I think this is a good way to demonstrate yourself as an excellent candidate for this program therefore I think the admission essays is the most important part in the application process The fifth material/ step is interview actually not all applicants need to go through an interview in the application process only oversea/ international applicants need to go through this process the interview was available on a virtual platform you don't need to go to NYC and the campus to do the interview it was conducted over the Zoom, over the internet It was a step that was near the end of the application process you submit all documents/ information first I remember I sent all the documents in December Then I got the interview invitation in late Jan/ beginning of Feb For some peers if English was not the primary teaching language in their undergraduate programs Then they needed to take language tests e.g. IELTS, TOEFL etc. I didn't need to take these tests as English was the language used in the undergraduate program I remember I submitted the application in December Then I had the interview in late Jan/ beginning of Feb I got the admission offer in late Feb I got the email, and saw "Congratulations" It was an admission offer from Columbia I was very excited I had a very genuine and big smile and then I called my mom and told my mom "Mom, I got in!" and I told my other family members about it and next I went to the U.S., NYC to do my Master's degree, happily That's the sharing about the application process This is part 1 of this video series you're welcomed to leave comment to ask questions/ let me know what are the things you would like me to share