Hi, everyone. I will be applying to MSW programs for the fall of 2016. My goal is to eventually become licensed as an LCSW. I'm coming from a totally unrelated background though... my bachelors degree is in political science. I will be applying to four public universities in the St Louis/Missouri region. (UMSL, University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri State, and SIUE.) I am really nervous though... I feel like my application will be less competitive than others. Points in my favor: -confident I can write great application essays -GPA for last 60 undergrad credit hours was about 3.8 - 2 solid references at my disposal -will have some volunteer experience in the field- I will be training soon to be a crisis hotline counselor, and volunteer at a hospice. - I have undergrad volunteer experience- unrelated field, but included some transferable skills, such as working with disadvantaged populations, etc. -will be taking a course this fall at the community college in crisis intervention -have been looking for other ways to gain skills, such as taking free online mental health webinars, and taking mental health first aid courses Points against me: -I won't have had extensive volunteer or work experience related to social work -the GPA for my first 60 or so undergrad credits was horrible, because of serious family issues at the time (which may be a non issue if I address is properly, because I did return to school and excel.. just depends on their perspective) -I need to find a third reference Obviously nobody here can tell me if I will get in, but do you think I stand a chance at getting in somewhere? Any advice for ways to improve my application are very very appreciated.