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Personal Statements. Kirsty Alexander , Reach Project Officer University of St Andrews. What is covered: What a Personal Statement is Recommended content and structure of a Personal Statement Writing your Personal Statement Dos and Don’ts. The UCAS Three: Academic Grades Reference
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Personal Statements Kirsty Alexander, Reach Project Officer University of St Andrews
What is covered: • What a Personal Statement is • Recommended content and structure of a Personal Statement • Writing your Personal Statement • Dos and Don’ts
The UCAS Three: • Academic Grades • Reference • Personal Statement
What is a Personal Statement? • Comprises one third of your application • It helps you to make your application stand out • It is a piece of work that is as important as any you have done so far
What makes a strong Personal Statement? Engagement with the subject/department • A commitment to and understanding of the subject area/profession • Themes/areas of interest – relate to university course e.g. department specialisations (use department websites) • Indication of key debates/ ‘hot topics’/new research – personal views on these? • Wider reading beyond school texts – invest in a first year text book?
What makes a strong Personal Statement? Motivation for choosing the subject • Career plans – general, not specific (e.g. not future Prime Minister) • Personal experiences • Personal interest/curiosity e.g. interest in how things work? How politics affects ordinary people?
What makes a strong Personal Statement? Evidence of interest in the subject • School subject choices – why are they relevant, any specific projects • Reach project! • Relevant extra-curricular activities • Occasional events – work experience, internships Academic attainment • Prizes/recognition of academic qualities
What makes a strong Personal Statement? Evidence of responsibility/transferable skills • Position of responsibility e.g. prefect, mentoring, leader of organisation, first aider • Independent work – projects • Group work – committees, sport, drama, • Communication skills – public speaking, drama • Commitment – membership of organisation including sports, art, music • In all of above – what skills have been gained, how these have been exercised and how can you use these at university or for the subject you want to study
Things you must avoid: • Lack of in-depth awareness of subject • Indication that you’re not committed to a particular subject e.g. when applying for different courses • Focusing on one subject if you are making joint applications e.g. if Philosophy and German must link the two together and ensure relevance between them • Mentioning a university by name e.g. ‘I’ve always wanted to go to St Andrews…’ • Detailed description of e.g. school trips/extra-curricular activity only – must link it back to the subject • Unsubstantiated claims (I want to be PM), jokes/humour (may not be understood) or abstract/irrelevant stories (When I was young I always wanted to be a princess, but now…) • Plagiarism!
Practical first steps • Treat it as a job application • Take a couple of pieces of paper & jot down all the things you feel you might like to include • Gather together all your certificates, papers and notes • Do not expect to complete it quickly - take your time, draft ideas etc. It ought to take weeks to perfect • Talk to your teachers, parents & friends already at university • Draft in a Word document – do not write your Personal Statement into your UCAS application. Only copy and paste carefully once you are completely happy with it
Practical first steps • Start during your summer break (October 15 and January 15 deadlines) • Be aware of your own school deadlines • Think carefully about why you are applying to Higher Education • Check course requirements and details • Draft a statement and read it over and then read it again • Get someone to read it over – ask them if it represents you correctly
How to make a good impression: • Don’t repeat material already on the application form • Take care with the layout - make the most of what you’ve got • Do not start every sentence or paragraph with 'I' • Unpack and expand on things e.g. “I am a prefect” • Don’t finish up with a long list of unrelated hobbies • Be positive and enthusiastic • Don’t ramble, or pad it out • Take care with your sentence structure and check your spelling and grammar
Deferred Entry: • Use your Personal Statement to prove to admissions officers that you will be doing something constructive with your time • Work/travel in an area relating to your chosen course will earn you “brownie points” • Remember that deferred entry is not always available on some popular courses - always check with the University first!
Reference: • Parent power – ask the school to provide a reference for your child from a teacher who knows them • Submit your UCAS application as soon as it is ready – teacher has longer to write a properly crafted reference • Provide the teacher writing your reference with a list of relevant activities, personal qualities or other important information about yourself that you would like them to mention in your reference • Ask to see your reference before it is sent off – check that it refers to you, mentions things about you and does not contain the wrong name – demand no ‘copy and paste’ job
Reference: • Highly important part of the application – value/importance often underestimated by teachers • Applicants sometimes rejected on the reference • Important in differentiating between candidates • Personal – indicates referee thinks the candidate is worth spending time over • Academic capabilities including predicted grades, prizes, class comparison • Extra-curricular activities especially school-related – this means the applicant does not have to go into detail on these in the Personal Statement • Evidence of personal qualities