How I Passed the LSW Exam on My First Try
Y'all.
Taking the LSW was a real challenge for me. And I mean that literally sitting in that chair for three straight hours, staring at some Helvetica font while my stomach tried to scramble up into my throat, was hard. I had studied as much as I could and felt decently prepared, but when that first question flashed on the screen and it was formatted a little differently than any of the practice tests I took and didn't have answers that seemed like the "best" option I was supposed to determine, I thought my ship was sunk.
But I took a breath. Answered the best I could. And advanced to the next question. Then the next and the next and the next. To be honest, I never fully relaxed. Typically in situations like this, I self-regulate quickly and my anxiety dissipates. But not today. Maybe somewhere around Question 95 I surrendered to the god of "it is what it is" but as the questions neared the final one -- 170 -- I started to feel almost nauseous. At one point (maybe around Question 57?), I thought oh no, I am going to fail this.
These aren't my typical inner voices in situations like this. My confidence usually takes over and I brazenly stride through, laughing at the pre-test anxiety for having been an overblown use of my energy. This time, though? Oh no, I should feel stressed. I felt like I didn't know the answers.
But I forged ahead, anyway, remember my self-determined rule to read every question at least twice before even looking at the answer options and to make sure I read each answer option all the way through before selecting a response. There were so many questions that I literally muttered to myself, "I wouldn't do any of these things" and picked the answer I thought was "best."
I was very glad to have remembered to put some minty essential oils on my "Believe in Unicorns" face covering, still required because, ya know, COVID-19 is real. In moments of dire stress, I would take a deep breath and the minty-calm of the oil reassured me that, hey, even if I didn't pass, that was OK. I was going to be fine.
Then when I got to the end, I had enough time to review and as I clicked through my answers, my confidence started to wake up as I realized that I had answered the questions pretty smartly, only second guessing maybe three or four of the 170.
When it came time for the moment of truth -- that millisecond when I click the button to conclude my response period -- there was instantly a screen revealing a congratulations -- I had passed.
So how did I accomplish this feat?
As a Master's level social work student at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio (pardon me while I take a breath after that mouthful), I was able to receive the LEAP I Will Succeed: Social Work Licensing Exam Preparation book. It looks like this:
When I first received this book from the Mandel School back in, oh, November 2020, I also had access to a video version of the book, though by the time I went to study in October 2021, it seems that may have expired. So I only had the book when I got serious about preparing for the exam.
It may also be helpful to know that I was in the Community Practice for Social Change concentration at Mandel, which means that having an LSW isn't necessarily an imperative, like it is for my direct-practice friends. In fact, many CPSC students bypass the exam all together because it's an expensive test that takes time to prepare for and is largely unnecessary for community practice jobs. In fact, I have such a community practice job. But when I was getting ready to graduate in May 2021, I wasn't certain where I might land and so it seemed like a good idea to jump through the many hoops to take the LSW.
Word to the wise: start earlier than you think you need to with this process. I first requested my Letter of Good Standing (that link is Mandel-specific) around May 10th, received it May 17th, and then was able to create an account in the eLicense portal (that link is Ohio-specific) and pay the $80 (plus $3.50 fee!) -- that's just to apply for the license.
Then I waited.
I received my approval to take the exam on May 29th, though the instructions also asked me to wait at least two days to attempt to register for the exam to allow their system a moment to catch up.
That means I was finally able to schedule my exam, which would be administered through a Pearson VUE Testing Center. As I was going through the steps here, I was required to do an upfront payment of $260 for the exam....plus I believe there were related fees though I can't recall exactly how much those fees might have been (likely similar to the $3.50 fee related to applying for the license).
It ain't cheap to be a social worker, folks.
I had hoped to take the test in late June or early July, but was stunned to see that there were only two available test dates in June (neither of which I was available for) and zero available appointments in July or August. I searched several of the Pearson sites and it was the same across the board. I'm not sure if they weren't offering the test or it was truly that backlogged because of limitations due to COVID-19 or whatever it might be, but I wasn't able to schedule my exam at all until September 17th, a cool four months after I'd secured my Letter of Good Standing to get this process running.
In the meantime, I was lucky enough to become gainfully employed doing a job I had served as the intern for during my first year at Mandel and was happily on my way to utilizing my Master of Science in Social Administration (MSSA), which is the fancy Mandel School way of saying MSW - plain ol' Master of Social Work.
It also turned out that I had a program to run on the day I had scheduled my exam, so I was able to change the date until November 13th with relative ease and at no cost right on the Pearson website.
All this to say that by the time I got serious about studying for the LSW, I was working full-time at a job I loved that didn't require this license and so I fully almost bailed on taking the exam at all a few times. I was convinced by a few trusted friends -- and also by the almost definite truth that it wasn't likely I'd get a refund (I didn't even attempt to ask for a refund, full tea, so I don't know if this would have been possible) -- so I decided to hunker down and do the best I could.
That's where the LEAP study guide entered the picture.
I started studying on Sunday, October 10th. My friend Lexi (also a CPSC student) had taken -- and passed -- the exam and she said that she'd mostly relied on this study guide to get her through. That sounded like sage advice, especially because that book had sat in my workspace staring at me for almost a year.
OK, OK, I'll read you already!!
I began by reading the intro to the study guide, which had both pro-tips about the exam as well as instructions for how to use the book. What it recommended was that I take the 150 question practice test at the back of the book first and see how I did without reading the book; then it recommended I read the book; then it recommended I take the practice test again to see how my score (hopefully) improved.
So I did those things, just as prescribed.
When I took the practice test the first time, I thought I was really nailing it -- until I scored myself and got a 63%. Oh. OK, I guess I'm not all set yet! Then over the next couple of weekends, I made my way through the entire book and then took that test again -- this time scoring an 84%. That would definitely count as a "Pass," so I started to feel pretty confident that I was good to go.
But just for fun, I thought I'd google to find some free test questions and just make sure I was on the right track.
I'd consistently get 60-70% on those practice tests, which made my confidence return to shaky ground.
I once again considered bailing on the test all together or even moving it back another month or two for some mysterious idea that I'd have free time down the road (ugh, as if). But my friends continued to encourage me to soldier on and take the test as-planned and so I got really serious about studying the entire weekend before my exam as well as every night in the week leading up.
I knew it was an option to pay for complete practice exams and whatnot but I was bound and determined not to spend another cent on this process than was absolutely necessary, so I sought out some free stuff.
I found:
1) The Agents of Change Social Work Test Prep podcast hosted by Meagan Mitchell (Spotify) -- she also has YouTube versions of these podcast episodes, though I didn't watch them since I opted to do the listen-only versions.
2) The Savvy Social Worker Exam Prep YouTube channel hosted by Kimberly
3) I watched some of Phil Luttrell's practice question videos, too, but be warned -- he is super annoying.
Also? I somehow got on the email list for this social work exam test prep -- I must've taken one of their free ten-question sample exams. They sent a sample question for free every day, which was really helpful, too.
Beyond having all these tool is how I used them. The LSW goes way beyond simple recall of information, so while it's great to know definitions of things, that's only maybe a third of the battle. Most of the exam is application of knowledge, ethics, and procedure. Many of the questions will provide a scenario and ask what the social worker should do first or do next or what is the best way for the social worker to handle things. So when I would go through practice questions, I would follow the advice from Kimberly and Phil's videos to break down the question (identify things like what kind of social worker is it, how long has the therapeutic relationship been established, and, above all, what is the question really asking). The LSW is notorious for "tricking" test takers with a lot of distracting information that isn't necessarily related to the "correct" answer.
Both while studying and on test day, I recommend reading each question twice before even looking at the four options. It helps to make sure I knew what the question was asking before trying to decide the right answer. Ideally, the answer I'd determined in my mind before checking the options is one of the options and then, yay, I could pick that and move on.
Often, though, reading the four choices would cause me to read the question a third time just to make sure I was making the best possible answer choice.
When studying, the videos and other test prep tools offer explanations for why an answer is right and the others are not -- I spent a lot of time reading those explanations so I could have a deeper understanding for why something was more correct than something else. Often, there are at least two of the four answer options that seem possible -- so spending time determining why answers were correct was highly valuable when it came to test day.
For the final flourish of studying, I returned to the practice exam in the LEAP study guide and went through the answer explanations one final time. I also revisited chapters I felt less confident about (the medications chapter, the diagnosis chapter, and the theories chapter, since we don't diagnose or do medications in community practice and we focus on different theories, too), though honestly I would have been fine skipping that part.
Before I go... a few notes about the test day experience at the Pearson site. When I arrived, there were pretty strict rules and procedures that I wasn't aware of prior to my exam, so I'll share a bit here, in case you're also unaware of how this goes...
They first checked my ID's (you are instructed to bring two different forms of identification -- a list of accepted ID's is emailed to you in advance of exam day) and they also did a scan of my palm. I then had to turn off my cell phone and it was placed in a sealed bag. I was assigned a locker and had to put all of my belongings in there. I was not permitted to bring water, food, or even mints or gum into the test space. -- so make sure you're hydrated and fueled up before you head in. They also basically patted me down before I was permitted into the testing room. They checked for wires and electronic devices -- they even examined my glasses to make sure they weren't Google glasses or whatever. I had to turn out my pockets and show them my ankles and even lift up my hair so they could see the back of my neck.
All of this gave me a window into the many ways people have tried to game the system in the past.
Holy moly.
I was offered complimentary ear plugs (which I turned down) and was then handed a dry-erase notepad and escorted to my cubicle where I sat for the next three hours taking the exam -- that includes the time I spent reviewing my answers.
FYI: you are allotted four hours to answer the 170 questions.
The entire exam is multiple choice and test takers use a computer to answer the questions. There is a brief tutorial that showed me how to use the equipment and there is also a warning that I was being video recorded as I took the exam.
In the bottom right hand of the screen is the countdown clock. It's far enough out of sightline that I didn't find it distracting but could glance at it as-needed.
The bottom left hand of the screen reported what question number I was on.
When I was done with my review, a kind of scary button asked me if I was SURE I was ready to say I was done with the exam. Within seconds of me pressing it, the screen flashed my result.
Seeing that "PASS" was such a huge relief.
I should clarify that my unofficial result is "pass." I think they withhold the official declaration until after they verify test takers didn't cheat or whatever. My understanding is it takes a week or two for the "official" score to come through.
While I wait for that, I moved on to the next phase of securing my LSW:
1) Submit my official academic transcript (that was another $5, in case you're keeping track of dollars and cents).
and
2) Get my BCI and FBI background checks -- cost $65 (details here).
I don't own a car, so this last bit is sort of a nuisance because the only place close to me I was basically told the woman who schedules those appointments takes eons to respond to messages and whatnot... So... I guess it's good I'm not in a massive hurry to finalize the paperwork, so to speak.
11/30/21 UPDATE: I was able to get my background check done this week. Another piece of advice? If you are getting your background checks done at a police station, bring cash or a check -- they do not take credit cards.
Long story long, that's been my experience of the process and how I studied to pass the LSW on the first try. I hope you find some of this helpful as you make your way through your own studying and I wish you the best of luck on your exam and in your work beyond licensure!
My biggest piece of advice is to treat the exam as if it were a client standing in front of you. Meet it where it is and proceed from there. You've got this. Slow and steady and all that jazz.
Honestly, I'm just so happy it's over.
Thanks to my friends who encouraged me to keep studying. Who knows when or if or how my license will come into play in my professional life -- just knowing that I had the gumption to take it and the ability to pass it is truly mind-blowing to me.
If I can do it, so can you!!
In the words of RuPaul: good luck and don't f*ck it up.
Wink.
SECOND UPDATE 11/30/21: I’m official! 🎉🎉🎉 It only took ONE DAY for my background check to come through, y'all.
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