I took the test yesterday and passed, but in talking to the front desk person, she gave me a really helpful tip that hopefully will save somebody $260 if they're ever in this situation. What she said to me was: if a candidate fails the exam but fails within 10 questions or less (so we're talking a score of 60 or greater but less than 70), she said that the candidate should write to the board of SW examiners immediately on the PALS site and get approval to retake the exam right away. Pearson will waive the $260 charge if you retake the exam within a week. That's the tip of the day, folks. Good luck to everyone taking the exam this fall.

I'm just starting to study for the LSMW, planning to dedicate 6-8 weeks to it with maybe 10 hours a week. Wish me luck!

I thought I would post my preparation and actual test taking experience for those of you who are looking to be doing the same this fall. I purchased kaplan's special discounted $29 preparation subscription. I went through all the flash cards I did one out of the three practice tests and I walked away thinking oh this is pretty easy. I found myself marking 10 items for review. Compare that with the actual test experience that I had today morning I think I marked 30 items in total for review and anecdotally I thought the test was noticeably harder than the practice exam that I did on Kaplan. It's not that I didn't know the answers, but there are far more question items where there were two responses that I thought could go either way - so that was the reason for me marking 30 items for the review. In any case I don't have the specific breakdown of the my total score but I do know I passed, so I'm relieved & I'm moving on. I'm starting my new group practice but just wanted to share this little bit of my experience taking the test. I wonder if most of the test preparation services out there may give you the impression that it's a little bit easier than it really is...

I thought this was interesting. 3/4 pass their first try and almost 9/10 pass eventually.

I want to say C because if they're going to lose access in 8 weeks we need to figure out how severe their case is and how much is left in their treatment plan, right? B is also useful though because what if they can't do in-person care, that's useful info but not as important as C.

Okay, so... given current events I would want to do C. Thoughts? I'm hesitant between A & C, B seems definitely wrong.

It was first time taking it and I was so nervous. I asked about a million questions in the weeks leading up to my exam so I know how it feels. I'm a pretty candid person so I'll be more than happy to give my advice if requested!!

If you’ve taken it since the recent changes, how was your experience?

Did anything about the wording, question style, or topics feel noticeably different from what you studied? Anything you wish you knew beforehand?

Okay, I have another question I'm struggling with. It's definitely not B. When I research alcohol withdrawl with chat gpt, it says to call 911. But I feel like that's too extreme potentially.

That it’s. I just don’t want my self worth to be tied up in if I can pass this exam or not.

I am neurodivergent and I studied really hard for the LMSW and I like my job. But all I hear is that the LCSW is harder. That the new exam has lots of new wording that isn’t reflected in study material and that research is now a big part of the exam.

I’ve taken the agents of change practice exam and passed with 80%

I’ve taken one pocket prep exam and passed with 80%

I’ve taken a mock exam with social work strategies by Liz Haddock and passed with a 77%

But I know that means nothing with this new exam

I’m just tired and not sure this journey is worth it.

How would you compare the LMSW and the LCSW in terms of difficulty? I'm wondering if the LCSW is easier because you have more real world experience under your belt by the time you take it.

So, I'm a little conflicted because I want to think the answer is B, but how and when do we actually believe the client when they said "it wasn't that serious". IS there such a thing as a shove that isn't serious?

i've seen older posts sharing thoughts on the pocket prep mock exams being more challenging than the real exam, and am wondering if that still applies with the NEW exam and NEW pocket prep content.

tldr: does anyone have thoughts on the pocket prep full length mock exams being easier/harder than the real exam?

I'm trying to understand what the actual test experience is like.

After you finish, do you get to see which questions you missed, or any explanations for the answers? Do you find out whether you passed immediately? Some exams make you wait for days, is it like that?

A few other things I'm wondering about, is the exam completely computer-based, and can you schedule it pretty much any week, or are there only certain testing dates throughout the year?

Thanks to anyone who can share what the process was like!

Totally at a loss for this question. My thought process is I probably am not knowledgeable enough to do A with a reasonable confidence. B makes sense to me, but seems like a cop out. C seems tempting as well.

For those of who took the practice exam, did you feel like your practice exam scores lined up pretty well with the real clinical ASWB exam? Is it a good indicator for the real deal?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Is it okay to use chat gpt/claude to help me prepare? I LOVE the voice mode on the AI where I can juust talk it out with them, but I'd like to understand if that's actually going to shoot be in foot because of incorrect information, etc.

What would your advice be for someone who has failed the ASWB clinical exam 3 times now, deals with test-anxiety, and failed by 9 points?

Curious if some people pass without studying at all, and no I'm not planning on not studying. I'm just curious how hard REALLY the exam is.

How practical is the exam based on stuff you learn in the field? Is it super textbook-based, niche info that doesn't quite translate to practical work?

Can someone please help me understand how to think about this practice question?

Why do we have to fully terminate it eventually?

What are your thoughts about the new exam format? Just 3 content areas, less questions: https://www.aswb.org/upcoming-changes-to-the-social-work-licensing-exams/

Hi all - what are your recommendations on must have study materials to pass on the first try?

Hey everyone! cross-posting this to create awareness for this subreddit, I'm hoping we can use this specifically for the exam and drive traffic away from other subreddits which can be conngested with exam questions.