Posted on April 15 at 11:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This article shed some much needed light on the subject, but my recent experience leads me to wonder if agencies are as 'desperate' to fill vacant positions as your publication states. If they are, local universities should allow those interested in filling these positions to receive the education required of them to do so. I have recently decided that I want to pursue a Master's in Social Work and change careers upon completion of my degree. I applied to the University of Tennessee's College of Social Work, but was sent a rejection letter before the all of my application materials were even submitted.

The University's website states that the requirements for consideration into the program are a 2.75 or above cumulative GPA from an undergraduate institution, acceptable Graduate Record Examination Scores, a separate application to the College of Social Work, a statement of purpose as to why you would be competent for work in the field, and three letters of reference. At the time I received my letter of rejection, the only materials submitted to the university were my undergraduate transcript and my GRE scores, both of which met or exceeded the requirements for consideration into the program. The University did not even allow me the time to submit the other materials; the rejection letter was postmarked with the same date I mailed the supplemental forms. If they had taken the time to look at the rest of the application they would have seen that my previous work experience with underrepresented, underserved populations, and my desire to help people better function in their social environments would make me an excellent candidate.

The article stated that fewer and fewer students are enrolling into undergraduate and graduate social work programs and that the interest in the field is dwindling due to lack of financial benefits. If the Social Work field is so 'desperate' for people to fill all of these vacancies, as NASW statistics show, then universities need to realize that they cannot reject qualified applicants who are actually willing to take a pay cut, go into educational debt, and receive the training required to do so.

On Social worker shortfall predicted