Ready Set Go!

My professor for my Theories of Personality class told us once that... if you tell enough people you're going to do something, you will most likely follow through. That way, you're not just letting yourself down if you don't follow through, you're also telling everyone else you told that you failed. So, to make sure I follow through with these applications and don't fail myself and others, I am turning to the blog world and informing everyone. I AM APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK. Easier said then done.

I have always known that one step in the grad school application process would make me stop short and procrastinate.

The essays.

They're so daunting. Most personal statements for social work programs involve talking about social work ethics, past experiences, why I have decided to pursue a degree in this program... and blah blah blah. I don't even know where to begin with them. I just bought a book off Amazon entitled "The Social Work Graduate School Applicant's Handbook: The Complete Guide to Selecting and Applying to MSW Programs." Hope it's helpful ha.

Today, I'll share the personal statement for the University of Denver. Looking at it now, there are sections that I feel like I could answer pretty well. Though, other sections just taunt me.

A. Rationale
Discuss the primary reasons for your desire to pursue your Master of Social Work (MSW) degree.
B. Attributes and Liabilities
Please identify your strengths, and briefly discuss any knowledge and/or skills that you might need to improve in order to successfully complete the requirements of GSSW’s MSW program.
C. Employment and Volunteer Experience
Please Identify and briefly discuss the relationship between your previous employment and/or volunteer experiences and your decision to pursue an MSW.
D. Education
Please discuss the relationship between your undergraduate education and your preparedness to complete GSSW’s MSW program.
E. Life Experiences
Discuss how your personal experiences have led you to a career in social work. Many people enter this field because of life experiences that have resulted in a desire to help others. Often these experiences can be transformed into passions and strengths that fuel one’s career or can impede one’s ability to develop professionally. Please include any relevant life experiences and the way in which you have dealt with them. Be advised that we are a strengths-based profession, and our interest is in seeing how people have coped with their life challenges.
F. Social Work Values and Ethics
Discuss how your personal values and experiences have prepared you to meet the ethical obligation of social workers to practice without discrimination and with respect, knowledge and skills related to clients’ age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation. How do your personal values relate to this ethical obligation? What are some experiences that you have had that demonstrate your willingness to fulfill this ethical obligation?

So. Average length of personal statements are 5 pages... and exceeding 7 pages is discouraged. Denver's application is due first, by January 16th. I guess I'll tackle this one first?

I'll be posting my progress on the applications here. Hope everyone here will help me out... offer feedback for these personal statements because they're a big obstacle for me.

Deuces.

On the road...

... to grad school!

I have been using the U.S. News Best Social Work Programs website as a start to my big grand research on different graduate schools in the country. So hard to narrow my list! Considering I will go almost anywhere in the US... well no correction. I will not go almost anywhere. I probably won't go anywhere near the south. Too many weather hazards and bugs. No thanks.

My list is still pretty extensive. Though, I started writing down deadline dates and information sessions at various schools. Curious?

The University of Denver. (costs an arm and a leg)
The University of Maryland, Baltimore. (realistic)
The University of Michigan. (#2 ranked social work school in the US. wishful thinking)
Rhode Island College. (surprising, right? Good program. And I fell in love with RI during those 10 months)
Portland State University. (back to the west coast, maybe?)

Maryland, Michigan, and Portland State all have the Peace Corps Masters International Program within the MSW program... makes the programs so much more attractive.

More to come. Just giving yall a sneak peek.

Time for work.

Untitled

We always spend our lives wishing we had what other people had... wishing we did what other people have done.

Who says we can't do that same thing? I always encourage others to do what they want to do.. and take a chance.

I like to think I've done that... taken a chance. Moved away from everything and everyone that was ever familiar to a foreign region... New England. Ha. Endured a whole lot of crap while working as an outdoor youth counselor with disrespectful and mean teenage boys. And after those rough 10 months, I've moved out of the woods and on to Philadelphia, to keep trying out new things and having new adventures.

But, now I've come to a stand still. I'm in a job that I dislike and I want to quit... and I'm finding that it is easier said than done... to just quit and find a new job these days. I have applied to countless places and barely hear back from them. Send my resume out into the void of the internet world and hoping my resume makes me shine and makes them call me. But, let's me honest, my resume isn't all that shiny when compared to other applicants.

So, I ask myself... now what? Good question, Mel. I have no clue. Though, in the back of my mind, I know what I need to do... what path I need to be taking now. My bachelors degree has only taken me so far, and now I think it's come time for me to get a higher degree. Masters degree, anyone?

My international pursuits can wait, I guess. The world isn't going anywhere, but if I don't figure out some path or plan for myself now, who knows where I'll go and what state I'll end up in.

One thing I do know... a masters degree will open up opportunities for my professional life that I only dream about right now. All I need to do now is get the courage to apply... and not be afraid for the possibility of rejection.