Personal Statements Simon Smith Head of Sixth Form Colyton Grammar School

1. Personal StatementsSimon SmithHead of Sixth Form Colyton Grammar School

2. I don’t know where to start • I haven’t done anything to put on there • I’m useless • I don’t do anything outside of school • I’m no good at English – I can’t write well

3. IAG from Year 7 • A networked personal portfolio • CV & letter of application (Y9) • Work experience evaluation • Y12 learning journals • Y13 ambassadors

4. Hitting the ground running in Year 12 • Lesson culture …what are you reading, what are the routes forward, where does this lead? Extension work. • PSHE culture …drawing it all together • Extended Project …time-scale • Personal Statement …one draft finished before the summer holidays.

5. Managing the process • Nominating a single teacher • Draft turnover (in before & back after summer break) • Quality check (two week process)

6. A word of caution … • Bespoke Personal Statement services …

7. Getting started … UCAS – Home • Personal Statements Advice • Entry Profiles Online Prospectus

8. Structure • Short introduction (always leave until last) • The main body of the PS should be course-related • It could tell a story about a developing and proliferating interest – or one about increasingly close focus. • End with your wider interests/achievements.

9. Drawing links … Between texts within subjects (thematically/intellectually/aesthetically) Between texts within subjects and wider reading (EP?) Between subjects (electro chemical gradients in Chem. – nervous impulses in Bio.) (French Revolution –His. Rousseau –Fr. Blake – Eng. Lit.) Between subject and work experience (physiology and pathology Bio. that poorly snake at the vets - WEX)

10. Work experience “During my Year 11 work experience placement at a local museum I really developed my team-working skills. I spent lots of time working with a curator looking through Victorian exhibits in the archive and this taught me the importance of being thorough and meticulous. I also helped out at the front desk and showed around visitors which developed my communication skills.”

11. Work experience • Make it tell a story – how it fits into the journey towards the degree you are applying for. • Where it goes in the PS is determined by where it comes in the journey. • How a particular interest lead to it … • How it created a new interest … • What questions it raised…

12. Work experience “Assisting the curator of Bridport Museum in reorganising the archive, last summer, it struck me how Victorian collectors were obsessed by taxonomy. I went on to read Jacqueline Yallop’s How Victorians Collected the World which introduced me to the way that scientific research is often the way we justify cultural theft.”

13. Wider interests & achievements “As Head Boy I have demonstrated leadership skills in organising charity events and developed my communication skills in giving formal addresses to large audiences at school events. I have managed to motivate a team on the Ten Tors competition, especially those team-mates who were flagging and dispirited.”

14. Your wider interests and achievements Keep it concise Be judicious but honest Don’t brag They should speak for themselves (dynamism, ability to balance demands, outgoing nature) But …

15. Wider interests “To be frank, outside of school I just love unwinding through reading a good book or being with my friends. I also enjoy film, especially film from abroad, as I like the insight it gives into cultures different from the one I live in. I particularly like Iranian and Turkish film. One day I would love to visit the Middle East, and I hope that the benefits I can draw from doing a degree will allow me to travel and possibly even work abroad.”

16. Career aspirations “Hopefully, if being fortunate enough to get a good degree, I would like to do a Law conversion course and go on to work in Chambers or in the City.”

17. Careers • A nice way of rounding off (how the degree fits into journey) • If it is well-researched & relevant (vocational degrees) • However … • Avoid a fixed view – a degree is there to broaden your appreciation of a subject and to develop you too. • There’s more to a degree than a particular career. • Think in terms of ‘opportunities’ rather than ‘careers’?

18. Career aspirations “Although a career involving international law inspires me as a Sixth Former, the reason I want to study Law at university is to get the opportunity to develop a working knowledge of many other branches of the Law so as to make a more informed choice of career by the time I graduate.”

19. And finally … The Introduction

20. “I have been interested in Physics since I was very young. I am interested by its thought-provoking complexities. You could say it has a beauty that is often overlooked by those who feel it is boring. I have read many books on the subject, really researching it in depth. It is fair to say that I am passionate about Physics and this is what drives my application to study it at degree level.”

21. “I have been interested in bell-ringing since I was very young. I am interested by its thought-provoking complexities. You could say it has a beauty that is often overlooked by those who feel it is boring. I have read many books on the subject, really researching it in depth. It is fair to say that I am passionate about bell-ringing and this is what drives my application to study it at degree level.”

22. The Dirty Dozen

23. 12Repeating information captured elsewhere on the form … • “I have got 8 a*grades at GCSE” • “I am studying Biology, Geography and English at ‘A’-Level”

24. Avoid by: Demonstrating what has interested you (where relevant) on these courses.

25. 11Explaining why you chose an ‘A’-level course … “I chose French because it goes well with Geography.”

26. Avoid by: • Commenting on what has most sparked your interest in your 6th form studies and showing how this has lead to your H.E. choice.

27. 10Describing the ‘A’-Level “Maths is really useful as it has Units on statistics and probability, both of which are important aspects of an Economics degree …”

28. Avoid by: • Showing what aspects of statistics/probability have interested you and why. How will you be able to develop this curiosity on the degree course you have chosen?

29. 9Explaining a course to an academic… “History is about the past.” “Geology brings together physics and geography.”

30. Avoid by: Thinking about what it is that really interests you about the study of History at degree level. Conceptualise without cliché.

31. 8Giving a lecture … “ …ultimately King James achieved very little in his attempts to unify a nation split along religious and economic lines.”

32. Avoid by: • Showing what interested you in the study of a particular topic: “in studying Jacobean politics, I was impressed by Gillian Fraser’s idea that …”

33. 7Making work experience sound like your school made you do it “I did my Year 11 work experience placement at …”

34. Avoid by: Not mentioning the phrase “work experience”: “While observing the testing of investment-cast turbine airfoils at a local engineering firm, I found …”

35. 6Unnecessary memoirs… “Ever since I was three I have been fascinated by animals…” “I really enjoyed studying the history of medicine in Year 9 …” When I was only six I remember being puzzled by tadpoles …”

36. Avoid by: Concentrating only on post GCSE experience.

37. 5.Unread books … “I found Hegel’s The Phenomenology of Mind a really interesting read. Very thought-provoking.” “I am currently reading Hegel’s The Phenomenology of Mind which is a fascinating textual exploration of Hegel’s unique philosophical outlook.” “As I am so consumed with my passion for Philosophy I plan to read Hegel’s The Phenomenology of Mind …”

38. Avoid by: Having read the book

39. 4Nepotism “Coming from a family of doctors, I know just how hard it can be…”

40. Avoid by: Talking with relatives to draw out salient issues for comment: “ I appreciate the difficulties that a GP practice faces as it prepares itself for the challenges of the new Health and Social Care Bill …”

41. 3Hyperbole “I am passionate about Physics.”

42. Avoid by: • Thinking rather than emoting: “What interests me about Physics is that …”

43. 2Beginning with a Google quotation: “If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is.”

44. Avoid by: If the source is relevant, paraphrase the quote, see if it still interests you and – if it does – comment on it: “Ezra Pound’s assertion that literature is “news that stays news” captures for me both the importance and immediacy of the texts that have interested me since starting English Literature ‘A’-Level study.”

45. 1Telling rather than showing “I am a part-time volunteer at a nursing home. This demonstrates my compassionate nature.” “I have been a tennis coach at a local club. This shows my abilities to communicate and my sense of responsibility.”

46. Avoid by: Showing not telling • “working as a volunteer at a local care home, I have noticed that …” (care, insight …) • “as a tennis coach at a local club, I really enjoy …” (care,responsibility, enthusiasm …)

47. Number 1 head-ache?