I took the exam this morning and yay yay yay after some paperwork, I will be an LCSW!
So while everything is fresh in my head, I thought I would post about studying and the exam.
Studying:
Some test prep sites are questionable. After disagreeing with some answers, I decided to focus on studying facts, things that can be proved by a quick Google search. So I didn’t pay attention to any of the “What do you do first” type questions. I knew I needed to study up on things like theories I don’t use and stages of development. I’ve been studying since my last post so about 2 months. My very supportive boyfriend reassuring me and encouraging me to study helped a lot, too. :)

So sites that helped me:
Social Work Podcast
The earlier podcasts cover a theory per podcast. The bibliography is a good resource, too. I noticed a few books cites multiple times and bought older versions of them for a few dollars on Amazon.

LCSW Blog
Social Work Test Prep Blog
These are blogs by people that are also studying or have studied for the exam. Social Work Test Prep is in CA so the exam is different than the exam in IL but the info is still useful.

LCSW Flashcards
User created flashcard sets. Actually good for multiple subjects, not just the LCSW exam.

A friend gave me her study tools. She subscribed to one of the sites that emails a question per day. She collected the questions and answers and used that along with brief descriptions of theories, developmental stages and diagnostic criteria.

I used some of the same tools I used for the LSW exam. I have a practice exam from Social Work Examination Services that I got in grad school. I also reviewed The Complete Guide to Social Work book.

The test:
I went to the Uptown ACT test center in Chicago. If you choose this location, I would recommend public transportation because the meters are for 2 hours and the exam probably takes longer. It rained a lot last night and my meter had condensation in it and I couldn’t read the display. So I took a pic and went inside. Ended up being OK.
Dress in layers! The exam room was pretty cold. This location is really loud (for a test center). I took my LSW exam downtown and it was almost silent. At Uptown, there are little kids from some program down the hall constantly running up and down the hall and screaming. There was a group of people singing and then a woman bellowing, er, singing after that. I heard staff hush the kids multiple times and they had a sign in the hall so it wasn’t their fault. They have big headphones you can wear to block noise and a staff person reminded me about the headphones when the kids started to get noisy. I think you can bring earplugs in, too. I can deal with the noise but if you’re a person that needs silence for test taking, go downtown or some other location.

I saw the word “acknowledge” a billion times. I swear, every “what would you do first” question had an “acknowledge client’s thoughts/feelings” response. And a couple times in the questions the last line said “After acknowledging the client’s feeling, your next step would be…” So I took that to mean that acknowledge was the correct answer.

Most of the content was predictable. I finished in just under 2 hours. I reviewed the first 20 questions because that’s how long I felt it took me to calm down and get in a good test taking state of mind.

So now I figure out the paperwork stuff and I get to make a new sign for my office door at work!

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