Show Notes

Kayla: Welcome back to The Designer Practice Podcast, and I’m your host, Kayla Das.

Are you applying for competitive MSW programs, but you just don’t know how to go about writing your MSW personal statement?

As an MSW graduate myself, I know all too well that writing the MSW personal statement for the application is one of the most stressful, yet exciting aspects of the admission process next to waiting for the acceptance letter itself. Because it’s one of the most important aspects of the MSW admittance.

However, unlike GPA, your experience, or even what’s written in your professional references, the MSW personal statement is one aspect that you have the most control over as an MSW applicant, making it that much more important to showcase your fit into the program, and as a future social worker.

But what makes a competitive MSW personal statement?

Well, fortunately, today’s guest is an expert about MSW personal statements. So today I am sitting down with Michelle Bruxer, social worker, fellow MSW graduate, and owner of MSW Helper to discuss MSW Personal statement tips for competitive MSW programs.

Hi Michelle. Welcome back to the show. I’m so glad to have you here again.

Michelle: Hey, Kayla. Thank you for having me. I’m so excited to sit down and talk all things personal statement.

Kayla: Michelle was here just a few months ago actually, to share her own social work journey to starting MSW Helper and gave us a deep dive into all the amazing services that MSW Helper provides to help MSW applicants get into competitive MSW programs.

If you haven’t already listened to that episode, after you finish this episode, head back to Episode 118: MSW Helper: How Does it help MSW Applicants? It’s such a great conversation.

So, Michelle, for anyone who hasn’t listened to your previous episode, please introduce yourself, where you’re from, and tell us a little bit about your social work journey to then starting MSW Helper.

Michelle: Sure thing. So, my name is Michelle and I am a registered social worker in Ontario. And I’m also the founder of MSW Helper. MSW Helper is a platform dedicated to helping students who are applying to master of social work programs. We offer personal statement, editing, application support services, and a lot of free resources to help people apply to master of social work programs with confidence.

I started MSW Helper after going through the process of applying to MSW programs myself and realizing just how stressful that process was. I applied to, I think, five schools across Canada, and even one in the US. And I remember it felt like having a part-time job on top of everything else that I was doing as a fourth year BSW student.

And at the time there were no social work specific resources. I remember I took to Google to try to find answers to specific questions I had, and I really couldn’t find anything that was specific to social work. And I went to my school’s academic writing center for support. And while that was really helpful for writing mechanics and grammar, again, they just didn’t have that social work specific knowledge.

So, after I got accepted to my Master of Social work, I started helping people with their personal statements. Really empathizing with the fact that I had been through that experience myself and understood what they were going through. And that started really just as a side hustle out of my school library.

And it was something I did while I was in graduate school and working as a social worker. Yeah. Every year MSW helper had grown and grown into what it is now. And now we have a team of application advisors who are all social work students who are providing that service. And over the last six years, we’ve helped over 1500 applicants apply to Master of Social Work programs.

Kayla: That’s so amazing. And I know I mentioned this in the episode back in May, but I think MSW helper and the fact that you filled a gap, that even to this day, you’re the only person that I know that’s doing something like this is so fabulous. So, I’m so appreciative for you coming back on our show today.

So, what is an MSW personal statement?

Michelle: Yeah, so the personal statement is one of the most important parts of the MSW application, and basically what it is, is an essay in response to questions asked by the school. And the personal statement is a tool that schools use to assess your motivation for pursuing a master of social work degree.

There’s a couple different main questions that they’re going to ask. But the majority of schools are going to know why are you interested in becoming a social worker? What skills do you have that prepare you for the profession? And what are you hoping to do as a social worker? The reason that the personal statement is so important is that it basically serves as an interview. Your GPA and your resume and the different parts of your application don’t really tell the full story of your potential to becoming a social worker.

The personal statement is your opportunity to really make sense of all of those things and provide that context to the reader. The problem, and the one thing that I have noticed is that there’s often a disconnect between what an applicant writes in their personal statement. And the potential that I actually see in them when we talk face to face.

When we’re face to face, we have great conversations about their motivation for becoming a social worker, but then in the personal statement, it doesn’t reflect the same way. So, our job is to really bridge that gap and make sure that what you are writing down on paper really reflects who you are as a potential social worker.

We strongly believe that you do not need to be an amazing writer, to be an amazing social worker. And so yeah, we really wanna pull those strengths and make sure that the admission committee, everything that they need to see in your personal statement.

Kayla: In groups that I’m a part of, I often see MSW applicants comparing themselves to others. So, like, whether it be an applicant saying that they don’t feel that they have the highest GPA or the best work experience and they don’t think that they’ll be able to get into any MSW program. So, like they’re contemplating, should I even try?

Or even the opposite. So, someone saying that they know of someone with a lesser GPA or work experience who got accepted into the same program as them, or maybe they were even rejected from a program, whereas someone else that they believe who had a lesser GPA or experience got in.

So how important is GPA and work experience compared to the MSW personal statement in the application process? And I’m sure it somewhat varies institution-to-institution too,

Michelle: For sure. This is something that comes up a lot. So, this is a good question. I always say, and actually schools often say that MSW applications are assessed holistically. So there usually isn’t just one thing that they are looking at, right? They’re not just looking at your GPA, and making a decision based off of that. They really do want to get the sense of who you are as a person. And one example I often give is, say you have one applicant who has a really high GPA. But they weren’t involved in anything while they were in school. They didn’t work. And that’s their strength is their GPA compare that to another applicant who maybe has a lower GPA, but they had to work to support their family through school.

Maybe they were very involved and passionate about something and the different things that they had going on made it more difficult for them to maybe achieve that GPA. I can totally relate to people who are comparing their stats to other people. I did the exact same thing when I applied. I remember scrolling forums and basically trying to create a stat part of what my application looked like compared to others.

But ultimately, it’s really not about those specific stats. It’s more about can you show the admissions committee that you have the critical thinking skills and the potential to fill a gap as a social worker. For me, I applied to my MSW right out of my undergrad, so I had technically no social work experience, even though most schools said that you needed two years in the field.

I knew that that was going to be something that I needed to off-set in my personal statement. So, I really use that as a tool to show the admissions committee that while I don’t have the experience per se, I still have the skillset and the critical thinking skills that they are looking for.

And often I see applicants who do have a lot of experience and a high GPA who do get rejected from the program because they are struggling to articulate their knowledge and skills in the personal statement. So that really goes back to why the personal statement is so, so important for showing the admissions committee that you have everything that they’re looking for.

And another concern that people have are career changers, people who maybe come from a different field and are wanting to apply to social work programs. But they don’t have traditional social work experience. Again, I think you can still use your personal statement to show them that you have those insights and skills that they’re looking for.

I often draw from the example of an applicant we had who worked in the banking industry, and at first glance, you would not think that working in banking has anything to do with social work, but when we really talked through it and found some of the overlap between banking and social work. This person was providing personalized advice, helping clients meet their goals, meeting them where they were at, and having those one-to-one conversations and developing communication skills.

And in addition to that, he had developed some very interesting insights that motivated him to pursue social work. So, he became aware of some of the systemic issues that his clients were experiencing because of his work in the banking industry. So even if you don’t have relevant experience, I think you definitely have unique insights and skills that transfer over to social work that you can leverage.

Kayla: This also makes me think of that critical analysis piece that most institutions are looking for within the personal statement. Is when you think of what you’re doing or the issues you see in just general society, how can you identify them, and critically reflect on those as social issues or barriers to access to services, and all of those things.

And I know in the last episode, you and I discussed how our businesses, you know, sometimes people wonder if they are social work-related businesses, but we talked about how they were. And I think that that’s where this critical analysis is, and this is where it comes from. What’s the traditional norms or expectations, and how can we go outside of that box? And utilize our experiences and our social work lens to be able to apply that information within the MSW application process or just afterwards into our social work careers.

Michelle: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that’s really the key, especially if you are a career changer. And honestly if you do have a unique background, that can actually be an asset in your application because it stands out, right?

Having a different background from social work and being able to take that experience. And find the gaps and why that experience motivated you to pursue social work can make for a very interesting application that stands out against the hundreds of people who maybe have a similar educational background.

Kayla: Absolutely. So, are there common mistakes or pitfalls that you often see when it comes to personal statements?

Michelle: Yes. So, one of the biggest mistakes that I see in the personal statement is applicants not having a clear why. It’s very important to connect to your goal as a social worker and use that to anchor you as you respond to the different questions.

So, for example, one mistake that I see is that because applicants are not connected to a specific why for pursuing social work, their personal statement ends up a little bit disjointed. So, for example, someone will say that they are interested in becoming a social worker to work in the child welfare field, but then when they are discussing a social issue, they’re discussing issues within long-term care.

And I understand why people do that. I think they are doing that to appear a little bit more well-rounded, but this misses an opportunity to show the gaps that exist in your area of interest. So, if you are interested in working in child welfare and the school’s asking about a social issue, you should discuss a social issue that has to do with child welfare, because then you can show that there is a need here and here’s how I can fill that gap.

I think the other issue with not having a clear why is you’re not going to have a specific goal in mind and social work is so broad. So, by having a clear why and getting connected to your goal as a social worker, it’s going show the admission committee that you know what you are wanting to do with your degree.

And you don’t necessarily have to know exactly what you want to do, but at least being able to identify a specific area of interest or connecting to your motivation for becoming a social worker is really important. The other big issue that I see in the personal statement is applicants will basically just regurgitate what can be seen in their resume.

So, they will basically say, I am prepared to become a social worker. And then they will list their experiences, and basically just write in paragraph form exactly what we can see in the resume. The schools are asking for a personal statement because they want to see a deeper analysis of your experiences. So, what insights have you gained from those experiences and why has it motivated you to pursue a social worker?

So, I always say in the personal statement, it’s not so much about the what? It’s about the why and why your experiences have motivated you to pursue social work.

Kayla: You know, I love that. How important is it to identify your own personal hardships and potentially, if this is true for some people, the trauma that they experienced within their personal statement.

Michelle: Yeah, so this is a really good question and it’s something that comes up a lot. People often wonder if they are allowed to talk about their personal experiences. Again, I think if you are connected to your why, that’s going to really answer the question about whether you should talk about personal experiences or not.

I think for a lot of us, the things that we have been through are part of our motivation for becoming a social worker. And I think that that’s really valid, and it’s not something that we should shy away from if that is our truth. And the thing about having gone through hardships or personal experiences is that it can really help you in your social work career down the road.

Now, the one thing that applicants should be really careful of is adding in personal experiences for the sake of doing so. If it is not connected to your goal for becoming a social worker, and you are adding it in because you think it might give you some extra points. That’s where I would say that it’s maybe falling into the category of like trauma dumping in the personal statement. So, you want to just be very intentional about what you’re sharing and why you’re sharing it.

For example, a really good use of self-disclosure in the personal statement would be someone’s experience with mental health stigma within their culture. Maybe that stigma that they experience. Hindered their ability to get the support that they needed, and they can take that experience, and connect it to the big picture and show how this isn’t something that’s just happened within their family unit. This is something that is a social issue. And as a social worker, they can help address that gap by providing some of those culturally relevant mental health services.

So again, I think it’s really about connecting to your why and your goals and showing how those personal experiences will support you in your social work career.

Kayla: That’s really great advice. So, do you have any additional advice, insights, tips for listeners about personal statements or just the MSW application process overall?

Michelle: Yeah. So, in general, of course, getting connected to your why. And just to off of that even more, one of the biggest mistakes that I see is applicants saying that they become a social worker because they want to help people. We talked about this a bit in the last episode, but you and hundreds of other applicants also want to help people, so it’s not really that compelling. It’s way better to get specific about how you want to help people.

And in addition to that, it doesn’t even tell the reader why you’re interested in becoming a social worker because there are so many other professions where you could potentially help people. So, you really wanna have a strong understanding of what social work is, what social workers do, and how this degree can support you in your goals.

I also think it’s important to get specific in the social justice issue part of the personal statement. I often see applicants being way too broad, and it makes it very difficult to show how you as a social worker can address a gap. So instead of mental health or child welfare as a broad social issue, you wanna really narrow it down into a subcategory and think, okay, well what about those areas? What is an issue that exists in those areas? And the best way to do that is to focus on your own understanding and insights and where you became passionate about those things.

And then my last tip for the personal statement is to write it in a professional manner. I think because it’s a little different from other forms of writing that we’re used to doing. It maybe feels like a more of a casual tone, but this serves as an opportunity for you to showcase your academic writing abilities. So, they are assessing your application for that as well.

So I always recommend to follow the same mechanics that you would if you were submitting an essay for school, and write an APA format, double space your work. Make sure that you have all of those formal writing conventions that you need in a normal essay.

Kayla: Amazing tips. I love that. Michelle, you have a free resource that you’d like to share with our MSW applicant listeners. Can you tell us a little bit about what it is and how it can help them?

Michelle: Yes, so we have our personal statement template, which is a resource that I created to help applicants start brainstorming their ideas.

So, the personal statement template will kind of walk you through your past experiences and start thinking through some of those insights, or why those experiences have motivated you to pursue social work. And then how to put it all together. I think this is a great place to start, because often the hardest part is figuring out, okay, what am I actually going to focus on in the personal statement? And so, by just breaking it down in point form, that can kind of give you a bit of a structure to anchor yourself as you are starting to respond to some of the questions in the personal statement.

Kayla: Amazing. So, to sign up for Michelle’s free personal statement template, check out kayladas.com/mswhelperpersonalstatementtemplate

If you buy any services from MSW Helper, you can also use the coupon code KAYLADAS, so K-A-Y-L-A-D-A-S for $10 off any service.

Michelle, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today to provide some great MSW personal statement, tips for competitive MSW admissions.

Michelle: Thank you so much, Kayla,

Kayla: And thank you everyone for tuning into today’s episode, and I hope you join me again soon on The Designer Practice Podcast.

Until next time. Bye for now.

Credits & Disclaimers

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