Personal Statements

Your Personal Statement

• 4000 characters (including spaces), or 47 lines.

• Written in the first person - All about your subject interest and you

• Use a British dictionary

• Check spelling, grammar and punctuation - proof read

• Type out in word first - page long

Admission Tutors will Question…

•Your interest in the course and can you show your research as to why?

•Your suitability for the course?

•What qualifications do you have?

•Can you work under pressure?

•Will you be able to adjust to life in a university?

•Can you communicate effectively?

•Are you hardworking?

Prepare a Skills Audit

• This is a great way to identify your strengths and qualities and help you start to draft your statement.

• List all the experiences you have and then draw out any skills e.g time management, teamwork, presentations skills, that may be relevant to your course.

Structuring your Personal Statement

80% Academic, subject specific

20% Extra curricular – general information

Structuring your Personal Statement

1. Introduction

2. Main Paragraph

3. Experience Paragraph

4. Interests and hobbies

5. Conclusion

ABC Framework

• Activity: what is the academic, sport, hobby, work or volunteering example you want to include?

• Benefit: what are the skills or knowledge you gained from the activity, what did you achieve and did you learn from it?

• Course: how does the example link to the course? How is it relevant to the subject you want to study?

Introduction (Academic)

• Positive first impression is vital

• Why are you applying for the course?

• Where does this interest come from? How has it developed?

• Outline any career plans you may have.

Introduction Example

“My aim to read English at degree level is primarily due to my love of literature and its many interpretations. To expand my knowledge of the course I read Richard Jenkyn's

'Classical Literature'. Through research of the influences that classical authors and their texts - namely the Homeric epics - have had on Western literature, I gained a more thorough understanding of the subject itself. Studying this period, so critical in the

development of literature, aided me in exploring the origins of literary theory, credited to Aristotle in the fourth century.”

Main Paragraph (Academic)

• Expand on your interest for the course and focus on your knowledge and skills that you have gained from your academic studies.

• Back up what you say with specific examples.

• How have you developed these skills?

• How will these skills be important for your course?

• What are you looking forward to studying within the course?

• Use examples inside and outside the classroom - reading, MOOCS, lectures, EPQ

Experience Paragraph (Academic)

• Add any work experience, volunteering, summer schools, other opportunities

• Reflect critically on that experience, achievement and skills gained

Interest and Hobbies Paragraph (Extra Curricular)

• If an activity or hobbies is relevant to your chosen course then include it if its not then leave it out.

• Sports, hobbies, interests

• Volunteer work / Paid employment

• Other achievements: Duke of Edinburgh Award, Music grades

• Focus on skills developed and use your experiences to evidence these skills

Conclusion

• Conclude with a positive overview that leaves a good impression

• Summarise concisely and finish on a positive note so that the admissions tutor is confident that you are a suitable candidate.

Conclusion Example

“Studying physics will open the doors for me to be able to conduct the research to create the questions for the next generation of physicists and I feel this course is the best

opportunity for me to get a fuller understanding of our universe and the rules that guide it.”

Personal Statement: Do’s

• Make sure what you say is appropriate for all your choices

• Be positive, original and enthusiastic

• Make sure that your statement flows naturally

• Provide examples to illustrate your points

• Have several attempts until you are happy with it. Leave plenty of time.

• Ask other people to read it - tutor and subject teacher

Personal Statement: Don’ts • Feel that you have to use elaborate language to impress; if you don’t know what a word means, do not use it.

• Waste characters by repeating material that appears elsewhere on the form

• Avoid quotes, cliches, humour and sweeping statements

• Name specific institutions

• Just make a list of what you’ve done - reflect on what you have learnt from your experiences

• Make simple mistakes - Check spelling and punctuation

• Make things up to sound better - the information could be the basis of an interview

• Plagiarise - UCAS run all statements through a screening device called CopyCatch