Relevant Experience

[A_SouthWest]

So, I was declined from my first choice school Univ. of Washington for 13-14, but they admissions department had reapplicant meetings where they provided you with notes on your application (awesome)

My biggest weakness in my application turned out to be my relevant experience, volunteer + paid. I had about a 1.3 years when I applied and now have over 2 years of part time volunteer/internships at a crisis center. The 2012 admissions profile says the average experience was 2.65.

 

So, I need to find experience but am in a predicament.

 

My boyfriend and I are in the process of trying to move to Seattle, hopefully in the next few weeks (pending the sale of his house).  once in Seattle I will be pursuing a job in the field as well as research/volunteer positions to try to bulk up my experience as much as possible before applications open.

However, in the mean time I am very limited, most of the "social services" volunteer positions require training and commitments which I cannot make since I will be leaving soon.

 

Any ideas of what I could quickly get while still in Texas or any help with ideas once we land in Seattle?

 

[agentofchange]

I was accepted to a local MSW program with volunteer experience at the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, etc. Most programs are looking for volunteer experience that is helping various populations. I've been volunteering at various organizations since 2010, so I've got roughly three years of volunteer experience.

Anything and everything will help!

[citychild]

Does your current city offer something along the lines of:

http://www.handsonphoenix.org/

http://www.chicagocares.org/

Websites like these allow you to work with varied populations but grant you the ability to sign up as your time permits and most/if any require volunteer trainings.

I worked with HandsOn for some time and just put the HandsOn organizations on my resume with an overview of the populations I worked with during those times.