Tips for Your Wilfrid Laurier University MSW Statement of Interest & Social Justice Issue
Disclaimer: MSW Helper is not affiliated with Wilfrid Laurier University. All advice, thoughts, and opinions in this blog belong to MSW Helper and do not reflect the views or opinions of Wilfrid Laurier University. Please email info@mswhelper.com for questions and concerns.
Wilfrid Laurier University is a popular choice for Master of Social Work applicants in Canada, and our team at MSW Helper has supported hundreds of MSW applicants with their application forms. This guide will walk you through how to complete the Experience Form, Statement of Interest, and Critical Analysis of a Social Justice Issue.
Wilfrid Laurier University’s MSW application is comprised of 3 key areas:
An experience form
A statement of Interest
A critical analysis of a social issue
In assessing your responses below, Wilfrid Laurier University states that they are looking for a demonstration of:
An interest in social work
A commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Analytical, critical thinking, and writing skills
Relationship-building skills and abilities
A critical understanding of contemporary social issues
A critical level of self-awareness and awareness of one’s social location(s)
In this guide, we will be looking in depth at what Wilfrid Laurier University is looking for and answering common questions MSW applicants have while completing their application.
Watch the WLU application tutorial below:
Work/Volunteer Experience Form
The first part of your application is an experience form. This is similar to a resume, but Wilfrid Laurier University has created a template that they would like you to complete.
You are to list, in order of importance, a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10 different paid employment experiences that have shaped you and prepared you for a career in social work. There is a separate form to do the same thing for volunteer experiences.
Don’t discount “non-relevant” experiences
Where applicants go wrong in this section: Many applicants make the mistake of discounting their experiences because it’s not “social worky” enough. However, the form explicitly states that that you can include any roles where you worked with equity-seeking groups or gained social work skills, and provide examples such as:
a counsellor at a summer camp for children with diverse abilities
a barista with members of the homeless community
a community organizer
or a teacher’s aide in a primary school classroom
So, be sure to really think about the roles you had where you worked with people OR where you developed soft skills. The amount of experience you have is a factor the admissions committee considers when assessing your application, so when in doubt be sure to include your “non-relevant” experiences, and let the reader decide if they want to include that role.
Description of paid and volunteer experiences
After completing the form, there is a text box for both the paid work experience and volunteer form, where you are to indicate how your listed paid experiences collectively support your suitability and readiness for graduate social work studies and a career in social work.
In this section, you are not just providing a role description, but instead demonstrating how that role provided you with skillsets, knowledge, and the critical thinking skills required to thrive in the MSW program and a career in social work. It’s important to provide examples of how your role prepared you for a career in social work.
For example, a barista might talk about how they gained communication skills and built relationships with members of their community by serving “regulars”. They might talk about how many of their patrons were homeless and through their role they often supported them by offering free food and coffee on cold winter evenings or called for various supports. They might even talk about ethical dilemmas they faced when their employer tried to implement a coded bathroom policy to prevent people who were homeless from accessing their bathrooms.
At first glance, most of us probably would not recognize the skills and experiences someone might have had as a barista, and that’s why Wilfrid Laurier University provides space for you to discuss the skills, knowledge, and experience you gained in non-traditional roles.
Statement of Interest Form
Here is the prompt for the personal statement provided by Wilfrid Laurier University. You can access Wilfrid Laurier University’s Statement of Interest form here.
“Write a brief statement of interest discussing how your personal, academic, volunteer and/or professional experiences have informed your decision to pursue graduate studies in social work at Laurier. Please address how these experiences:
Would influence your approach to social work practices with individuals, families, groups, communities, and/or organizations;
Have shaped your understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion;
Have contributed to your short-term and long-term career goals; and,
Influence how you might contribute to the student community, the learning environment, and life of the Faculty of Social Work community and the larger Laurier community.”
What is the difference between the experience form and the statement of interest form?
A personal statement (or statement of interest form) is generally a written work that provides an overview of your goals and motivations for becoming a social worker.
The work/volunteer experience form has a bigger focus on your skills and experience, whereas the statement of interest form is more concerned about your future goals as a social worker.
Going back to the example of a barista, they might talk about how their experience made them realize the challenges people who are homeless face, namely the lack of supports that exist. This made the barista realize that there is a need for social work in this area, and their long-term goal is to become a housing specialist or case manager supporting the homeless population.
Make sure you answer all of the prompts:
With a 500-word limit in this section, it can be tricky to respond to each prompt thoroughly. However, Wilfrid Laurier University asks for these prompts because your answer to each prompt highlights key characteristics and skills the school is looking for, so be sure that you touch on each prompt the school provides.
Through our personal statement editing services, our Application Advisors can help you make sure that you effectively respond to all of the prompts listed while still meeting the word count.
Personal statement writing resources:
As a personal statement editing service, there is a lot more we could cover on this topic but I don’t want this article to run too long. Check out the following resources:
Critical analysis of a social issue
Here are the prompts for the critical analysis of a social issue provided by Wilfrid Laurier University. Be sure to check their website for the most up-to-date information:
“Write a critical analysis of a contemporary social issue (this can be at a local, national or global level) that is relevant to the field of social work. This analysis allows you to explore an area of interest as it relates to social work practice and allows assessors to be able to evaluate your analytical and critical thinking skills and academic writing skills. You are encouraged to use “I” statements and to draw from your first-hand paid and/or unpaid/volunteer work experiences in the area of social services and/or your personal lived experiences. Please be as specific as possible rather than giving generalities.
Please consider the following prompts in your analysis:
What is the social issue that you have identified and why is it relevant to the field of social work? What are the factors that influence this issue, including issues of power?
Why does this particular social issue deserve public attention and resources? If the issue is not being addressed by policymakers, why do you think this is so?
What, if any, are the differing opinions on how to address this issue?
Describe some specific possible ways that you as a social worker might contribute to addressing the issue; include a discussion of roles (e.g., leadership, ally, advocate, direct service provider, etc.) you might adopt and potential considerations related to your positionalities/social location and ethics.
Feel free to add any personal reflections you hold with regards to the issue you have chosen to present.”
Social issues should be connected to your goals
One of our signature strategies at MSW Helper is ensuring that your social justice issue is connected to your goals as a social worker. This is important because showing that there is a need for social work in your area of interest shows the admissions committee that you will fill a gap as a social worker, which reinforces your suitability for the program.
Example social issue
For example, someone who is interested in working with the homeless population in Hamilton, Ontario, might choose to talk about the specific barriers people in Hamilton face that contribute to homelessness. They might find statistics specific to Hamilton about housing waitlists, transportation issues, and application barriers.
When talking about what a social worker might do to address that issue, the applicant can take it one step further by talking about what THEY hope to do as part of their short- and long-term goals, and how as a resident of the Hamilton community they can work to address this gap and provide a unique perspective to the MSW program at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Personal Statement Formatting Tips
Follow word count requirements:
Wilfrid Laurier University limits responses to the personal statement and critical analysis to 500 words each, and the description of paid and volunteer experiences to 350 words each. It’s important to follow the word count requirements provided. Being far under the word count is usually an indicator that you have not provided enough information, and being far over the word count means you are not being concise enough.
Applicants will have to make a judgment call if they are a few words (up to 20) over the word count. On one hand, it is important to follow instructions, but on the other hand, one might not want to compromise the quality of their writing to reduce their statement by a few words.
APA Formatting:
For most schools, MSW Helper recommends that applicants submit their personal statements in APA format. However, Wilfrid Laurier University’s MSW program requires you to submit your application with a form they provide, so following APA format is not possible.
According to Wilfrid Laurier University’s application instructions, “If you choose to use references in either section, please use a consistent referencing style for in-text citations and the reference list. The use of references is optional. References are not counted in the word count and can be included after each question.”
Using the PDF provided by Wilfrid Laurier University:
Some applicants have reported challenges writing in the form that Laurier provides to applicants and that it often does not save applicants' work.
Past applicants have worked around this issue by copying and pasting the text from Laurier’s document into a new Word document, filling in their answers there, and then saving that Word document as a PDF.
Join our Facebook group to connect with other Laurier applicants and troubleshoot any application challenges or concerns.
Make sure you spell Wilfrid Laurier University correctly
The correct name of the school is Wilfrid Laurier University, but it is often misspelled as Wilfred, as this is a more common spelling. This is a common error, but it never looks good when an applicant interested in a school does not spell the name right!
Interested in personal statement editing?
For our purposes at MSW Helper, we consider both the statement of interest and critical analysis to be ONE personal statement, so if you are interested in personal statement editing, please be sure to send us both documents.
The experience form would fall under grad school CV/ resume editing.
Please email info@mswhelper.com with any questions you might have!
Wilfrid Laurier University MSW application checklist:
Hopefully, you have a better sense of what Wilfrid Laurier University is looking for in their MSW application form. Here is a summary checklist of what to include at each stage of the MSW application:
Experience form: List 1-10 roles for the experience form, and don’t forget to include non-traditional experiences where you gained social work skills.
Description of paid and volunteer experiences: Focus on discussing transferable skills gained in your roles and demonstrating your critical thinking skills instead of providing a job description.
Statement of interest: Provide an overview of your insights, motivations, and goals for becoming a social worker and how you will contribute to the social work field in a meaningful way.
Critical social analysis: Choose a social justice issue that is connected to your goals and how you will address that problem as a social worker and fill a much-needed gap.
Follow word count requirements: 500 words each for the personal statement + critical analysis and 350 words for the description of paid and volunteer work experiences.
If you follow these tips you will be well on your way to an MSW application that stands out amongst this competitive application process!
