How to write a Master of Social Work (MSW) Personal Statement: with Examples
Over the past few years helping MSW applicants apply to their Master of Social Work, I’ve developed some of my top tips for getting started with writing a personal statement.
What schools of social work are looking for:
When starting to put together your personal statement, it’s important to make note of what each school is looking for. Most schools will provide instructions or guidelines about what they are looking for. In my experience helping applicants apply to schools across North America (and beyond), I find most schools are looking for a combination of the following:
Your personal experiences (from your life, professional experiences, schooling, etc).
A discussion of a social problem and how social workers can work towards solving it.
Of course, there are other areas schools ask about (such as ethics, your grades, and other specific questions), but the vast majority of schools focus on these two key areas.
In addition, most schools of social work are assessing your personal statement for the following:
Your ability to communicate clearly and succinctly
Evidence of critical and analytical thinking
Potential contribution to practice in an area of interest
Complement between social work and the applicant’s professional goals and interests
5 Tips for writing a strong MSW personal statement:
Understand what social work actually is
Schools of social work will often ask why you want to pursue social work, and too often I see people say something vaguely along the lines of “I want to help people”. Oftentimes, people applying have a limited view of what social work is. This is understandable because while social work is a broad field, we often think of a few key areas when we think about social workers (usually “micro level” positions such as therapists, school social workers, and child welfare workers)
When applying to MSW grad school, it’s important that you demonstrate an understanding of what social work even is, as this will help you answer the “why” question in a more comprehensive manner. I recommend doing some research about social work theories and the different roles social workers can have. I would also look into what makes social work different from similar fields such as psychology, sociology, nursing, etc. *Hint* It has to do with a focus on social justice.
2. Know your “why”
Now that you understand what social work is and how it differs from other helping professions, you should be better able to articulate why you want to pursue social work.
As I mentioned, most schools of social work are looking for a discussion of your experiences and a discussion of a social problem. When writing a personal statement, there should be some cohesion between your experiences, your goals, and the social problem you discuss. If you worked with kids and studied child psychology, it would make sense that you want to pursue a Master’s degree so that you can help kids in a more meaningful way and explain how a Master’s degree can help you achieve that goal. If you state that your goal is to work in the gerontology field and you discuss a social problem that your goal is to work with kids, this will create some confusion for the reader.
Now, I’m not saying that you have to stay in the same niche that you have experience with when writing your personal statement, I’m just saying that there should be some rationale about your goals.
If you’re having trouble defining what your goals as a social worker are you can meet with an MSW Application Advisor to help you figure out what to focus on and map out a plan for your personal statements.
3. Treat your personal statement like an essay
The personal statement is just as much about what you say and also how you say it. The personal statement serves as a writing sample and you should follow all of the same mechanics you would when writing an essay for school. This includes:
An introduction and conclusion
A thesis statement: “I am excited to apply for my MSW and I think I would be a good fit because” This is really important because it allows the reader to understand your experiences and goals without reading your whole paper. The digital guide/workbook goes into more detail about how to pull together an effective thesis statement.
Paragraphs that answer the prompts provided
Proper formatting. See tips for formatting your personal statement here
4. Sell/ market yourself
I often see MSW applicants be way too humble when writing their personal statements. I often even see people make self-deprecating comments in their comments. (Although I don’t have much experience, my grades aren't the best but…) When writing a MSW personal statement you should never say anything negative about yourself, and you should always explain to the reader why you’d make a great social worker.
If you feel the need to explain or make note of weaknesses in your application, try to reframe it in a positive way or focus on the strengths in your application. For example, if your grades aren’t great can you make note of the fact that you went through something difficult in your undergrad, and how you persevered and how this will help you be a great social worker? Or can you highlight some of the unique experiences you’ve had that relate to social work practice?
Always focus on strengths when writing your personal statement!
Another way to sell yourself is to highlight the need for more social workers in your niche/area of interest. This is where you can tie in the social issue you present. Going back to the example above, maybe you worked in a daycare while you studied child psychology, and noticed that there were gaps for certain families that made it difficult to access daycare. You can use research to back up your points and discuss how an MSW will help you fill that gap and work towards social justice.
5. Make it easy and engaging to read
Members of MSW admissions committees read hundreds of personal statements each year. Make your personal statement both easy and engaging to read to help you stand out. You can do this by:
Separating different sections so that the reader can easily decipher the main ideas of your personal statement
Be concise and get to the point
Following all of the instructions provided by the school (such as word/page limits, formatting etc.)
Use a hook to capture the reader's attention, and try to use your own voice in your personal statement
Ready for the next step?
If you found this helpful, don’t forget to enroll in my FREE 10-day mini-course for MSW applicants. Through a series of emails, I’ll teach you how to write a strong personal statement for your Master of Social Work program.
I’ve also put together a list of free resources designed to help MSW applicants write top notch personal statements for grad school:
You can also work directly with our Application Advisors to craft a strong personal statement. Learn more about personal statement editing here.
Happy writing!
-Michelle
