WRITING A PERSONAL STATEMENT

Vladimir Shaposhnikov

Careers and UCAS Adviser

Student Services

OML Site

Tel:216182

 

 Group tutorial with Level 3 students

Session Outline

Personal Statement basics

Personal Statement guidance

Questions

The Personal Statement

You will write a 500 word personal statement

The issues of PS

PS concludes the UCAS

applications Admission tutors consider PS

only after the achieved

qualifications and predicted

grades are taken into account PS matters only for competitive

courses

PLAGIARISM. It is standard: you

are expected to answer the same

questions

It is recommended to start it early

and edit it continuously PS is an opportunity to “sell

yourself”- present your best

qualities

Non competitive courses do not

require high quality PS. Really?

It is unique: the answers are your

own

The purpose of the Personal Statement

This is your opportunity to

tell the unis that they should

choose you. You’ll need to ensure that

you stand out from the

crowd.

Personal statement exercise

Answer 1

A personal

statement is a

maximum of 47 lines

or 4000 characters

whichever comes

first

Question 1

There is no

maximum length

to a personal

statement

Personal statement exercise

TRUE

FALSE

Answer 2

You can use

paragraphs in a

personal statement –

remember that blank

lines count towards

the maximum

Question 2

A personal

statement can

be written in

paragraphs

Personal statement exercise

TRUE

FALSE

Answer 3

Apply will not spell check

your work – we

recommend you prepare

your personal statement

offline using a word-

processing package and

copy and paste it into

apply

Question 3

The UCAS Apply

software has

spelling and

grammar checks

Personal statement exercise

TRUE

FALSE

Answer 4

You only write

one personal

statement and it

will be used for

all your choices

Question 4

You can write a

different PS for

each of your

choices

Personal statement exercise

TRUE

FALSE

Answer 5

You cannot use italics,

bold, underlining or

foreign characters (such

as á, ë, õ) in your

personal statement - the

system will automatically

remove these

Question 5

You can use

bold, italics &

underlined

characters

Personal statement exercise

TRUE

FALSE

Answer 6

The personal

statement could be

used as the basis for

an interview. Keep a

copy so you are

prepared to answer

questions on it

Question 6

You should keep

a copy of your

personal

statement

Personal statement exercise

TRUE

FALSE

Answer 7

All personal

statements are

checked by UCAS

copycatch system for

similarities – see

www.ucas.com for

more details

Question 7

There’s no

problem in using

material I’ve

found on the web

Personal statement exercise

TRUE

FALSE

Answer 8

The link on Apply will

take you to a section on

www.ucas.com where

you can find help and

advise on writing an

effective personal

statement .

Take time to read it

Question 8

There is a link to

a ‘Personal

statement guide’

on Apply

Personal statement exercise

TRUE

FALSE

What admissions tutors are looking for

Evidence of:

Independent study skills Self-awareness Motivation and commitment An understanding of the course Good numeracy and literacy Essay writing Research skills Time management skills Enthusiasm to go beyond the

syllabus INSIGHT of the chosen career

First section: your choice of subject to study at university

Second section: the subjects you are currently studying

Third section: your extracurricular interests and achievements

Structure & Contents

First section: 40%: Why have you chosen to read the subject at university?What is the background to your interest in the subject?What aspects appeal to you most and why?How is it related to your career aspirations and work experience?

Second section: 35%What particular interests do/did you have you in the current/past courses?How did they help you choose the course?What evidence of independent learning can you give?What useful skills have you gained from those subjects/courses?

Third section: 25%Can you show that you have important skills such as:PERSISTENCE INDEPENDENCE LEADERSHIP SELF-MOTIVATION RESPONSIBILITY MATURITYCOMMUNICATION INITIATIVE EFFICIENCY ?

Structure & Contents

What to include

Check the Entry profiles for the

courses you’re interested on

Course Search at www.ucas.com.

These explain what the unis are

looking for in the students and the

qualifications and experience

you’ll need for the course. The

EPs will give you some ideas

what to include in your PS.

What sparked your

interest in your chosen

degree subject?

What would your

friends/family say about

you if they were writing

your statement?

Have you had a

conversation with people

already studying in the

field?

Where do you see

yourself in 10 years

time?

Has anyone motivated

you? If yes, who and

how?

Have you faced any

challenges in your school

work? Did it change you?

What is your favourite

book, film or hobby?

How has it influenced

you?

What has been your

biggest achievement and

why?

List any prizes you have

won – inside or outside

school

Getting started – questions to ask yourself

Activity

Benefit

Course

Activity

Benefit

Course

What you’ve done

What skills it has given you

How these relate to your course

Personal Statement ABC Guide

Good

Better

Best

Structured, clear, concise, precise

Avoid waffle, slang and inappropriate language

Check GRAMMAR and SPELLING GRAMMAR SPELLING

I play badminton twice a week with a club

that plays in local competitions and I play

in both singles and doubles matches.

Doubles matches require good team

working, an ability to support your

partner, to devise a game plan but be able

to adapt it as required and fast reactions.

I take responsibility for organising the

social activities and fundraising events of

the club. This gives me an opportunity to

develop my organisational and planning

skills

I enjoy badminton

Personal Statement ABC Guide

‘So what?’

… I am working towards my Duke of Edinburgh Gold

award and will be undertaking a hike in the Brecon

Beacons. This has taught me a lot of skills.’

1

“ I am not a mind-reader – to win me over I need the applicant to explain more fully the skills they have gained ”

‘So what?’

… During my Duke of Edinburgh Silver award trip my team ran

short of provisions. As a result I am assuming responsibility for food

and drink for our forthcoming Gold Award trip. I have developed a

spreadsheet which details our precise requirements and I am

confident that my organisation will enable the team to perform at its

peak during the challenge.’

2

“ This is much better – she is obviously not afraid of responsibility, is organised and a true team player ”

Don’ts Intellectual Pretensions

Misdirected humour Plagiarism

Mentioning one institution

Committing GBH on English

language ‘I so don’t want to miss this

opportunity’ ‘It was a catch 12 situation’

Do’sMention future aspirations

Get feedback from others AdvisersParents

Write it early and edit

Take it with you to interview Be prepared to answer

questions about it

Personal Statement: Do’s & Don’ts

Dear John: I want a man who knows what love is.

All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful

people, who are not like you. Admit to being

useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For

other men, I yearn. For you I have no feelings

whatsoever. When we are apart, I can be forever

happy. Will you let me be. Yours, Gloria

Dear John: I want a man who knows what love is

all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful.

People who are not like you admit to being

useless and inferior. You have ruined me for

other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings

whatsoever when we are apart. I can be forever

happy – will you let me be yours? Gloria

Punctuation

Don’t Cheat

5% of applicants “borrow” from websites 234 applicants - dramatic chemistry set incident

aged 8 370 applicants – “a fascination with the human

body”! 175 applicants – “an elderly or infirm

grandfather” UCAS anti-plagiarism software – Similarity Detection

Websites

www.studential.comwww.thestudentroom.co.ukwww.getintouni.com

www.ucas.com

Similarity Detection Service

Personal Statements are checked against a library of

those already in the system, and from a variety of

websites and paper publications Each new statement is added to the library after

processing

QUESTIONS