Application for Masters in Social Work
Instructions
Anastasia,
As you work on your SocialWork@Simmons application, keep in mind that your Statement of Professional and Educational Intent is a critical part of your application. It is your opportunity to give the school deeper insight into who you are and your motivations for seeking a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Simmons College. While the admissions committee looks holistically at your application, your Statement of Intent is an extremely important component. Some strategies and requirements for crafting your personal statement can be found below.
Make sure you address ALL of the following questions in one cohesive essay:
- How have your professional, volunteer, and academic experiences prepared you for graduate social work education and contributed to your decision to be a professional social worker? Provide specific examples from your professional, volunteer, or academic experience to explain your answer. Describe your role and the organizational, community, and social context for your experience.
- What particular aspects or special fields of social work interest you most?
- Why does SocialWork@Simmons best suit your educational needs?
- What contributions will you make to the school community and to your fellow students?
- How do you plan to manage the rigorous demands of graduate coursework and field education?
Be transparent: The admissions committee wants to make sure that you are prepared for the rigor of an MSW program. If you have any low or inconsistent grades in your academic history, make sure to reflect on your performance and discuss any contributing factors. It is important to also address any gaps in employment on your résumé. Please be sure to explain how you plan to manage the rigors of the program and field education requirements if you plan on working in any capacity during your studies.
Take your time: Spend a significant amount of time preparing and brainstorming how you’ll answer the essay prompt. The admissions committee wants to see that you dedicated time to reflect upon and write this statement and that you can communicate in an effective manner. Organizing your thoughts in an outline before writing often helps you to lay the groundwork for a clear, concise and cohesive essay and ensures you answer all of the prompts.
Share your experiences: The admissions committee wants to hear your voice, and your statement should reflect that. One way to accomplish this is to give examples of how your current skill sets align with the program and profession. Use examples that are interesting and drawn from your own experience, but refrain from simply rephrasing your resume.
Your Statement of Intent can be a decisive factor that helps you stand out from other applicants. We encourage you to use your Statement of Intent to showcase your writing skills and passion for social work while addressing all of the required questions. I hope you found these tips helpful.
Solution.
Application for Masters in Social Work
Allow me to express my interest in an opportunity to undertake my graduate studies in your institution. I believe that I have been well prepared for the course, through professional, academic and volunteer experience. I also have a heart-felt passion for assisting people solve their various social problems. My passion will be instrumental in making me a keen and appreciative student.
I am currently volunteering at Capital Caring since December 2016 where I help in the provision of emotional support to patients. I also assist in providing patients and their families personal and companion care, and perform administrative duties like preparation of reports, filing medical records and answering phone calls. I have also worked as a medical coordinator at Lifespire Inc., where I helped in training, supervising and assisting participants in volunteer activities in the community. I also supervised the implementation of rehabilitation activities in correspondence with providers of medical and psychological care. These activities helped boost my interest in becoming a social worker. They also prepared me for social work education by giving me some preliminary knowledge and confidence.
I was an intern at York College Women’s Center where I assisted in organizing special events and programs aimed at raising awareness and educational information. While there, I also helped in providing counselling and support to women and men, which exposed me to certain social issues in the community that affect women especially. As an intern at Western Queens Recovery Center, I helped in making schedules of clients’ appointments, handled clients’ case notes and charts and coordinated care services for clients. I was thrilled by the group therapy sessions, where I had the opportunity to share with clients my own experiences and listened to them open up to each other about their own challenges and fears. I once performed a one on one session with a client, which left me with a desire to assist more people with social problems.
I have also worked with children when I was an intern at Devoted Parents Inc. I cared for children, taught and nurtured them. Solving the issues that the small children had really challenged me, and made me desire to work as a professional social worker, thereby getting an opportunity to help people solve their problems. My biggest challenge, however, came in 2013 when I was interning at Leadership Training Institute, where I helped organize charitable work for local communities. Through the food pantry program, we were able to distribute food to some of the poor people. I came face to face with poverty as a social problem, and was able to observe its adverse effects. Since then, in my heart, I always feel that it is my social responsibility to do whatever it takes to better people’s lives through fighting poverty and providing moral, emotional, psychological and physical support. Becoming a professional social worker is my best shot.
As a result of the challenge I received, I enrolled for a Bachelor’s Degree in Social at Cuny York College, from which I graduated in 2016. I learned more about some of the various social issues, including poverty, depression, homelessness, joblessness and various drug and substance addictions. Through field trips organized by the college, I was able to get hands on exposure to some of the many social issues that need professional interventions. The college also taught us about some of the most effective intervention measures towards solving social problems. One of the methods suggested was pursuing a master’s degree in social work and becoming a professional social worker. Through the education I obtained at the college, and the knowledge I acquired when volunteering and interning at the various organizations, I believe I have been adequately prepared for social work education.
Since I have learnt that there are a lot of people who have medical and psychological problems, who really need counselling and medical support. As a result, I developed a special interest in the provision of medical and emotional support to patients. I believe that, with a MSW, I can become a psychologist, medical care giver or professional counsellor. I am also passionate about helping the poor and may be interested in becoming a food aid coordinator. I can achieve these by being either employed or self-employed.
Solving social problems needs both a deep insight into the various social issues and exposure to such problems, which I believe I can only get at SocialWork@Simmons. I believe I will get valid and up to date knowledge on the state of social issues while enrolled at the college. I also have confidence that, through the rigorous field activities offered by the college, I will gain real-time exposure to the social problems and the methods of solving them. The student-centred education offered by the college will ensure that my weaknesses are personally addressed and I am incubated into a competent and knowledgeable professional. I also believe that the student support offered by the college can help me by staying focussed on my emotional development, as I continue to acquire the necessary knowledge and education.
When I was at Cuny York College, I was a member of the Young Adult Ministry (YAMS) at Emmaunal Baptist Church. I helped in providing support for fellows in organizing and carrying out food and clothing drives. This experience would have been excellent if I could attend school on campus. I would join the student organization and mobilize my fellows to carry out charitable deeds within the community. I would also lead willing students to organize occasional health camps, where community members can come and get free health care services. I believe such activities would help me, and my fellow students get relevant professional experience by putting to practice what we learn. However, all hope is not lost. I intend to reach out to my fellow students through online forums and platforms including mail and social media, and try to sensitize them to reach out to the communities through charitable work, be generous to other students and collaborate with the administration. If possible, I will organize a get together with all the nearby students and my professor so we can strategize on how we can help the needy community members. I have confidence that it will be possible considering my vast experience in management and leadership.
I intend to continue volunteering at Capital Caring so that I can continue to gain professional experience as I continue to study. Knowing that graduate studies and field education are quite demanding, I will approach the human resource manager at Capital Caring and ask her to allow me work part time in the evenings so that I can devote all of my mornings and day time for education. I will also give special attention to my studies at night, completing my coursework and doing my research at night after completing my evening shift at Capital Caring. However, I will be careful enough to allow myself enough time for resting so that I can stay alert and well rested at all times.
I learnt my lesson already when I was still in college, when poor time management and wrong priorities made me to score very low grades. My overall GPA from college was only 2.808, which really discouraged me. The reason for the low GPA was that, while I was in my senior year, I had serious issues with time management and prioritizing. I had a full time job by then. When I was informed that I had to take the class over, I made a sacrifice and resigned from the job so that I could focus solely on my studies. It helped a bit, but it was not enough considering time was gone. My GPA is only good enough for social work, but does not meet the minimum undergraduate requirements for graduate school, which stressed me a lot, knowing I will never have a chance to join graduate school. Therefore, when my admissions advisor told me I had a chance to explain myself, I was greatly relieved. I will not let anything else come between me and my studies again. Since I graduated from college, I have got a different picture of life, and I have seen the need for me to continue with my education. I have also learnt how to properly manage time and prioritize. I am confident that I will succeed in my graduate studies, kindly consider my application. I look forward to hearing from you soon.