Boise State University MSW Personal Statement Guide
Introduction
Applying for MSW programs can be an overwhelming process, and figuring out what to write in your personal statement can be a big piece of that puzzle. For many schools, the personal statement replaces an interview, so putting your best foot forward and ensuring your experience shines through is important.
In this post, I’ll break down how to format your Boise State University personal statement, what to write for each prompt, and some common questions you might have while working on your personal statement!
How to Format your Boise State University MSW Personal Statement
Boise State University gives a few formatting guidelines for the personal statement, though they are fairly general. What they do specify is that applicants should ensure their statement is no longer than 7 pages double-spaced, and the document should use 1-inch margins. Additionally, Boise State University requests that applicants start each section with the heading that they specify (more on this below!).
Other than that, Boise State University doesn’t give any further guidance for how to format the document, which can leave applicants unsure of other aspects of formatting. In this case, where there are limited requirements from the school, we generally recommend following APA formatting, as this is what is most commonly used in the field of social work.
To do this, we recommend an APA-style cover page, Times New Roman font, and page numbers in the top right corner. Additionally, if you decide to use academic references in the personal statement, be sure to use APA formatting for in-text citations, as well as the references section at the end of the statement.
If you’re not familiar with APA formatting, no worries! We have created an APA personal statement formatting guide that you can refer to for more specific guidance on this.
Boise State Unversity Personal Statement Requirements
Your personal statement for Boise State University should be no more than 7 pages double-spaced, and should respond to the 3 prompts that they provide. The prompts are the same for both foundational and advanced standing programs, aside from one small addition in prompt 1 that I’ll highlight below.
Prompt 1 Heading: Pursuing an MSW
What has led you to seek a graduate degree in social work? Why do you want to be a social worker? What specifically led you to apply to a social work program rather than programs for other helping professionals such as psychology, counseling, or healthcare? Do you havespecific career goals within social work? (1-2 pages).
For Advanced Standing students: How has your BSW education prepared you for graduate work and influenced your decision to pursue your graduate degree?
How to Answer Prompt 1:
Be clear about why you are drawn to social work: Whether you’re an applicant with a BSW or a non-BSW degree, being clear about why you are pursuing your master’s in social work specifically is not only an important part of this prompt but is important for personal statements in general. To do this, it may be helpful to discuss any experience you have in the field, or even personal experiences you’ve had that help highlight why you’ve chosen this specific program. This part of your response will probably also tie in well with your goals for the future, as these can help illustrate why you are pursuing social work in particular!
Highlight your professional and/or academic experience: When discussing what drew you to social work, writing about your personal or professional experience can often help illustrate this. Although I wouldn’t go into heavy detail about your specific experiences, giving a general overview and perhaps an example from your professional experience will help give the reader a better understanding of your path towards social work and how this will inform your perspectives both in the program and beyond as a professional in the field.
Consider including both short-term and long-term goals:While the school isn’t specific about what you should include when discussing your career goals, I recommend including both short-term and long-term goals. Even though you may not yet be 100% sure about your goals, giving the school an idea of how you will use your MSW degree helps show them that you are aligned with both the Boise State University program and the field of social work in general. This also helps illustrate why you are interested in social work as opposed to other similar professions.
Prompt 2 Heading: Case Review
Read the following case study. Write a short statement (1-2 pages) using the questions that are provided as a guide.
You are a social worker in a community health clinic, and you will be seeing a new client today, named River, who is 52 years old and lives with their long-time partner. The clinic where you work serves people who are uninsured and come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. It is a common part of your job to give out bus passes, referrals to the food bank, and help your client navigate the application process for various needs-based programs, such as food stamps. River has set up this appointment to address some of these tasks, but also the doctor at the clinic felt they would benefit from counseling as they have been experiencing some depressive symptoms. As you begin the meeting with River, they note to you that the intake forms that they completed prior to your visit only included binary gender options (i.e., female/male), and River identifies as genderqueer. They found the intake form troubling and non-inclusive, especially for a clinic that seeks to serve a wide range of underserved populations.
Discuss professional values and ethical principles outlined in the NASW Code of Ethics that apply to this case. How might you address River’s concern professionally during the session? After the session? What specific guidance from the Code of Ethics informed your response?
What issues are raised for you as you consider this case? How will you approach those issues as a professional social worker?
How to Answer Prompt 2:
Review the NASW Code of Ethics: Before you start writing your response for this section, I would suggest taking a look at the NASW Code of Ethics, especially if you aren’t already familiar with it (as most non-social workers aren’t). I would focus on getting an idea of the specific values that they highlight, and reflecting on which ones might align with your own experiences and perspectives, as well as the case study provided.
If you’re new to the NASW Code of Ethics and not sure how to incorporate it into your personal statement, no problem! We have a blog post on the topic that breaks down each of the core values, as well as some FAQs when it comes to writing about the Code of Ethics!
Don’t try to discuss every single NASW value: Now that you’ve reviewed the Code of Ethics, you may be tempted to discuss every single one of them in the context of this case study. However, by doing this, you lose the opportunity to go into depth about any of them due to the page count constraints. Instead, I would suggest choosing 2-3 values that align most closely with the case study from your perspective, and explaining what it might look like to apply them in this case. There is no one right answer to this, so you can choose based on what you feel fits best.
Consider drawing on examples from your professional experience: In addition to using the NASW Code of Ethics to answer this prompt, you may also find it helpful to include an example of a time where you encountered a challenging situation that parallels this case study in some way. For instance, perhaps there was a time where you advocated for a change in policy or supported a client through a distressing moment. By using an example from your own experience, you are able to show the reader how you might respond in a situation like this, rather than just telling them, which goes one step further in illustrating your readiness for an MSW program.
Discuss how YOU would approach the case study or issues as a social worker, rather than being general: You may find it tempting to write generally about how a social worker might choose to respond to this situation. However, this is a great opportunity to allow your personal perspectives to shine through; it is a personal statement after all! Instead, I would consider briefly discussing your own values in relation to the NASW values and explain how you would respond if you were the professional social worker in this example.
Prompt 3 Heading: Social Issues & Navigating Different Beliefs
Take a position on a social issue of your choice (e.g., “The death penalty prevents violent crime”). Prepare 1-2 pages of argument, including facts/research in support of that position. (You will be assessed on the quality of your argument, not on the position you have chosen to take on the social issue)
Imagine you are leading a group with another clinician from your agency. After the group ends, while clients are still in the room, the other clinician expresses an opinion about a social issue and denigrates people who hold the opposite opinion. In a brief statement (1-2 pages), explain what you would say or do. What are important principles and practices to utilize when discussing different personal and/or professional beliefs?
How to Answer Prompt 3:
Be clear about the social issue and position you are taking: This may sound obvious, but you want to make it as clear and easy as possible for the reader to identify the issue you are talking about, and what your stance is. I would consider doing this at the very start of the answer to this prompt, so that the reader has the full context for the issue you are discussing as they review the rest of your answer to this question. In addition, it’s important to be specific when choosing an issue. For example, an issue like poverty is extremely broad, so it’s difficult to discuss the nuances of this topic in a short page count. On the other hand, something like food deserts in low-income areas is more specific, so you will be better able to discuss this topic in more detail.
Include academic references to support your argument: The prompt already suggests this, but I would strongly recommend including at least a few academic references to back up your argument in this section. By using 2-3 references (or more if you’d like!), you are able to show the reader that you not only understand the topic you’ve chosen, but also that you have the research and academic writing skills needed to do well in the MSW program at BSU!
Consider including an example to illustrate how you might respond in a disagreement with a peer or coworker: Similar to what I discussed in prompt 2, you may find it helpful to include an example from your professional experience (whether related to social work or not) to show how you might respond in the scenario they provided. This enables you to not only reflect on your values as a professional and a future social worker, but also highlight evidence of a time where you responded in a similar situation, adding more depth to your answer!
Frequently Asked Questions for your Boise State University MSW Personal Statement
Q: How should I show that I am a good fit for the Boise State University MSW program?
A: Unlike some schools, BSU doesn’t have a specific prompt that asks about your alignment with their program, but it’s still best practice to ensure your personal statement is tailored towards the specific program that they offer. To do this, I would recommend highlighting why you have chosen the MSW program at BSU when responding to prompt 1 when you discuss why you have chosen social work.
Additionally, you could consider tailoring your mission statement towards the Boise State University program by highlighting the fit between your experience and goals with the program specialty. For more information on writing a mission statement, you can check out our blog post on this topic!
Q: Should I include academic references in my Boise State University personal statement?
A: The short answer is yes, it would most likely be beneficial to include at least 2-3 academic references in your Boise State University personal statement! While the school doesn’t give much detail on this, in prompt 3, they do ask applicants to include facts or research to back up their arguments, so this is where I would recommend including at least a couple of scholarly articles.
Additionally, you may also choose to include some references when responding to prompt 2 when completing your case review to support the points you are making. Generally, I recommend aiming to include at least 3 scholarly references (research articles published in an academic journal, credible websites, government or NGO reports, etc.) and using APA formatting for in-text citations as well as the references section.
Q: How many pages should my Boise State University personal statement be?
A: Boise State University states that the personal statement should be no more than 7 pages. Typically, this is interpreted to mean 7 pages of written content, so a title page or references list usually does not count towards the 7-page limit, and can be included in addition to this.
Q: Can I talk about lived experience in the personal statement?
A: It may make sense to include some context from your personal experience in your personal statement for Boise State University, particularly when responding to prompt 1, where you discuss what draws you to social work. However, it is important to balance the level of self-disclosure while maintaining a professional tone. Ultimately, it’s important to ensure that the inclusion of lived experience is used to further highlight why you are drawn to social work and what makes you a great fit for the profession and the Boise State University program so that it feels intentional. We’ve also written a whole blog post on this topic that you can access for more clarification.
Q: Can I write one MSW personal statement and submit it with multiple MSW applications?
A: Since every school has a unique MSW program, I recommend avoiding submitting the same personal statement to multiple programs. While there will definitely be certain ideas, examples, or sections that you will be able to re-use, I suggest re-writing each statement from scratch (while still drawing from the same ideas), because each school phrases their prompts a bit differently, so this helps to make sure that you are fully answering each prompt specifically for each unique application.
That said, you can absolutely reuse examples, academic references, your mission statement, etc. for most of the statements you are writing, so you will most likely find that as you write more, they come together more quickly and easily!
Next Steps
Now that you have an idea of how to structure your Boise State University MSW personal statement and respond to the prompts, you’re well on your way to having your first draft done! To help you get started, we have a free personal statement template that will help guide you through brainstorming and writing your rough draft.
Looking for more tailored support? We have you covered! Feel free to book a 45-minute 1:1 call where we can answer any questions you might have, explore how to apply your professional experience to your MSW applications, and even discuss specific prompts.
Applying to other MSW programs? Check out our other school guides here.
Note: MSW Helper is not affiliated with Boise State University. All guidance in this post is based on publicly available program information and our experience supporting MSW and MSSW applicants. Always defer to the school’s official website for the most current application requirements.
