SDSU MSW Fall 2016

[BackNSchool83]

What do you suggest to a hopeful applicant with a few years to go?

[tine]

13 hours ago, BackNSchool83 said:

What do you suggest to a hopeful applicant with a few years to go?

SDSU was my top choice and I spent almost 2 years preparing so it's great that you're planning ahead. I was a transfer student and got my BS from UCSD  in clinical psychology with a minor in sociology. My best advice to a future applicant would be to get experience. I have always had a clinical interest but I was able gain experience in multiple areas which caused my shift from a psychology clinical focus to a social work one. Some of my experience includes: clinical research assistant for hoarding and anxiety disorders, group facilitator for an eating disorder prevention program for middle school girls, research assistant for an after school program at an elementary school, in class and after school tutor for refugee students, monthly visits to orphanages in tijuana, supervised visitation monitor (only paid experience. I started as an intern then was hired) and more. My experience fits for clinical, or a SW focus like child welfare which helped tremendously. I was also an officer for Psi Chi for 2 years, but I don't think I was able to incorporate that into my application. From what I gathered from SDSU, they value cultural experience and working with diverse populations. They don't care about research in the way that other masters do. For example, the old personal statement prompt asked:

1. Tell us what motivated you to consider the field of social work

2. Describe your capacity to work with diverse populations, include but not limited to at least 3 of the following: race, ethnicity, culture, disabilities, immigration issues, SES, sexual orientation, religion, gender.

The last application cycle asked to describe your motivation for pursuing  a masters degree in social work, and I forgot what the 2nd question was. In my personal statement I did mention my interest in clinical work, as well as becoming and LCSW. I made sure to show why I chose social work and not a different clinical degree. 

For the application, they do rolling admissions so the sooner you apply the better your chances. If you apply closer to the deadline there are more qualified applicants competing for less spots so the bar is raised. They grade your application based on a point system. Out of 100, 50 is for your GPA which is either your last 2 years GPA, or your overall. Whichever is higher and the average is a 3.5. Another big chunk is the GRE. This counts for 15/100. They only look at your writing score. I literally just picked random answers for the other sections and had studied my ass off for the writing. A score of 4 is the average. So if you have a weak spot in your application you can definitely benefit from getting a high GRE score. The rest of the points go to references, experience, and personal statement. 

I was admitted in the direct practice track, offered the Title IV-E stipend, and I am also getting my PPS. SDSU is one of the only schools in CA that will let you combine those which is great. If you have any more questions I'll be glad to answer them!