Advocacy and Support for MSW Applicants Who do not Meet Admission Requirements

Abstract

This paper discusses a seven-phase model an office of admissions and student services of a school of social work employs to prepare for successful application those promising candidates who do not meet MSW admissions requirements but who are otherwise strong based on professional development criteria. The paper offers a rationale of the program, analyzes each phase of the model, and offers descriptive programmatic data on the model's performance. Implications are drawn for the role of social workers and schools of social work in the development of candidates for graduate professional education.Despite the need to use basic academic requirements to gauge success for entry into MSW programs, grade point averages and related academic indicators do not necessarily reveal the full qualifications for entry into the profession at the graduate level (Wodarski, 1979). Grade point averages and associated academic indicators like undergraduate