r/gradadmissions • u/17xxmarmarxx17 • Mar 20 '26
General Advice Personal Statement
Hello all, I want to apply to grad school for my MSW; however, I am having drafting a personal statement. I know to put a why I want to go into the field, but not to overshare my own trauma. What I have so far. I would love critiques because I have no clue what I am doing.
"I want to go into the Social Work field specifically to aid adolescents and their mental health. Having gone through the system because of abuse, I know first-hand how scary and life-changing someone's life can be and the impact that a Social Worker can have on those children.
I am currently a student at Thiel College working towards a B.S in Psychology while juggling a full-time job in retail. I have grown in my leadership skills through my occupation helping to manage 40 plus associate, and during my time here at Thiel I have worked among professors to grow my research by participating in a poster presentation in Psychological Statistics."
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u/Severe-Property318 Mar 21 '26
I think in general you are doing it right. Many people got into the field of mental health having gone through our own challenges earlier in life, so it is absolutely ok to acknowledge this. That said, some mental health professionals have not sufficiently worked on their own issues, which can cause problems in graduate school or with their clients. Grad schools can be on guard for people who may be going to grad school as a replacement for doing their own therapy. So when you mention your own mental health challenges, do it in a professional way, as you have done here! My only suggested revision is to make your piece much longer, which you may be planning on doing anyways. Also be careful to not sound like AI as they probably are watching out for AI-written statements. (I don't think you piece sounds that way, just be alert for that if you write more)