PersonalStatements–goodorbad?

Discusstheprosandconsofeachopening

paragraph…

alwaysalso

passion

really

relish

thrive

always

Iwasluckyto…

Iwasfortunateto…

Don’t describe the subject you are studying – theadmissions tutors already know about it!

Don’t use the same word in the same sentence.

Don’t start every sentence with ‘I’.

(1)Why do you want to study this subject? This bit is really importantand is where you show that you are interested in a particularsubject. Try to think of experiences that have made you realisehowmuch you like the subject.

(2)How what you have studied so far will support your application –talk about transferrable skills you have acquired in each subject.

(3)Subject specific extra-curricular activities including relevant workexperience.

(4)Other extra-curricular activities such as part-time work, againincludingwhat transferrable skills you have gained.

(5)What you want to get out of the course.

Top 5 reasons for wanting to study a particularsubject…

(1)You like it – but explain why!

(2)You’re good at it.

(3)You want to gain a deeper understanding of it.

(4)Something got you interested – teacher/workexperience visit/trip/the course structure at aparticular university.

(5)You want to get a career out of it.

Suggested starts to sentences…

•What attracts me…

•What interests me…

•The reason I’m applying for…

•I’m good at the skills required, for example…

•…and I am also capable of the academic side, forexample…

What if you don’t study the subject you are applyingfor? (Law, Medicine etc)

Use transferrable skills from other subjects, e.g.

Textual analysis (History)

Logic (Maths)

Problem solving (Maths, Sciences)…

…but, make sure you include some examples!

In Chemistry, I have improved my problem solvingskills by being able to interpret NMR spectra toidentify unknown compounds…

Researching …….. for my personal study in Historyhas enabled me to familiarise myself with using theuniversity library…

For Joint Honours, you can either…

•Consider each subject separately, or, EBI…

•Overlap the subjects – how does one subjectinform another?

Universities are interested in academics, so they willbe very interested in any independent and relevantreading that you do.

Look on university websites to see if there is a pre-reading list.

Go to www.cam.ac.uk and look for subject specificreading lists.

Natural Sciences at Cambridge

To find out more about ……., I read …… and from thisI enjoyed….. because it gave me a greaterunderstanding of/connected to my other studiesby…

To build on what I enjoyed about …… or, to get adifferent/specific view of another area, I went on toread/watch…. and this has deepened myunderstanding by….

English Lit – read at least 12 pieces, including books(6), poems (3) and plays (3).

For Arts based subjects…

•Regularly update your sketchbook

•Date everything you put in it

EPQ– universitiesloveit!

Ifitappliestothesubjectyouwanttostudy,mentionithere

J

This is where you can show interest in your subject…

Join the royal society for your subject.

Set up a subject society in your school.

Readmagazines relating to your course; The Economist, History Today etc.

Any trips or visits you have organised independently.

Competitions you have entered.

Relevant work experience and what you have learnt/experienced from itand how it has helped your understandingor development of the subject.

www.ted.com to see short lectures about different subjects.

Research short courses offered by the Open University.

Medics

How did your work experience help you to understandcauses, symptoms, treatments and recent developments ofdiseases?

Have you done any further research on these illnesses?

Any participation in regional/national level in sports/arts etc

What have you done in your free time over an extendedperiod and how have you improved? Proves reliability,determination.

How has your enrichment helped you to improve differentskills such as communication, team work, independence,presentation, working with different age groups, empathyetc…

Final closing statement about what you want to get out ofuniversity, e.g. moving away from home, enjoying theexperience.

Look online to see people who have done your course – whatdid they do next?