Bachelor of Science, Social Work
Employed as a clinical social worker in Troy, New York
I enrolled in Elms College’s Bachelor of Social Work degree completion program in 2020. At the time, I already had a master’s degree in another field, but I wanted to change careers and enter the field of social work. I was advised that to pursue my master’s, I would first need to earn my bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW). Elms allowed me to take only the BSW classes that I needed for my degree. This was all during COVID and I was able to take my classes remotely.
I was able to earn my BSW and then go on to pursue my master’s degree. Elms provided me with a firm foundation to build upon. I applied at several graduate schools with Master’s in Social Work programs and was accepted at all of them. Elms has a good reputation for academics at other schools.
I enjoyed my time at Elms. Classmates were from a wide variety of backgrounds throughout New England, and I enjoyed interacting with them. I found the coursework to be challenging, and I certainly improved my writing skills.
I found all of my professors to be very good and engaging, especially Tom Verdi and Jessica Morris. Tom was my academic advisor and I took a great deal of my courses with Jessica, so I naturally got to know them well. Both Tom and Jessica were superb instructors who were able to connect their knowledge to real-world experience.
I am pleased to have attended Elms and I would recommend it to others. I liked the fact that it was a small program and most of the students were able to get to know each other. For a small college, it does a good job of linking liberal arts to more practical, marketable professions. It might not be fashionable to admit this, but students today are often economically stressed and need to know there is a good chance their studies will lead to a job. Centrally located in Chicopee, which allows networking throughout New England.