Personal Statement Personal Statement Page Instructions: The personal statement

Personal Statement
Personal Statement Page
Instructions: The personal statement is highly-weighted in the
evaluation process. The Admissions Committee uses it to ascertain
the potential of the applicant to write at the graduate level and the
reasons for pursuing master-level education in social work.
Personal statements must be formatted in Microsoft Word or
converted to a .pdf document and uploaded to this application
page. Applicants must submit a statement that uses Times New
Roman font size twelve (12), one inch margins, and is double-
spaced. In social work education, the American Psychological
Association’s Publication Manual (APA Style) is used for formatting
and style. Applicants are required to use this guide for all formatting
and style including a title page, running head, page numbers, in-
text citations and a reference list. The personal statement must be
a minimum of three (3) pages Title page
and reference list does not count towards page limits. Applicants
are strongly encouraged to attend to composition, including
spelling, punctuation and the use of thesis statements and
introductory and concluding sentences and paragraphs.
Please address all of the following statements in one cohesive
narrative:
Thoroughly discuss a current social issue that is relevant
to social work practice and fostered or confirmed your
interest in the social work profession. You also may
mention additional reasons for deciding to pursue
graduate social work study at this time.
Discuss your career interests and/or objectives and how
you plan to take advantage of the resources at Fordham
University’s Graduate School of Social Service to support
you in your goals.
Discuss why Fordham’s online program is a good fit for
you. Please explain how you plan on balancing the
demands of our online platform, including the 8 week
class structure and field placements), with responsibilities
you would have outside of school.